Industry moves this week

Each week, Investment Executive summarizes notable moves across the financial industry.

• Abraham Tachjian will continue as Canada’s open banking lead until Dec. 22, 2023, an extension of his term that was originally slated to end last month. Tachjian was first appointed in March 2022 by the Department of Finance Canada, accepting the role alongside his director of digital banking position with PwC Canada. He provided the extension news in a post on LinkedIn, saying he remains committed to his goal “to enable Canadians and businesses to gain greater control over their financial data and be better equipped to manage their finances.” In a June statement, Finance Canada noted it still planned to present “a read-only model of open banking this year,” following on recommendations going back to 2021.
• Laurentian Bank named both a new chief executive and board chair this week, following a major system outage in late September that the bank is still resolving. The bank said on Oct. 2 that Eric Provost, most recently head of personal and commercial banking, was now president and chief executive with immediate effect. Read more.
• Evan Parubets has been named head of the advisory services team with Vancouver-based investment manager Steadyhand Investment Funds Inc. He’s worked with the firm since 2016, most recently as an investor specialist, and he started in the industry as a financial advisor with Scotiabank.
• Karl Ottywill has become chief technology officer with alternative trading system operator Tradelogiq Markets Inc. He originally joined the company on contract in February as executive advisor, technology. His career spans more than a decade, including chief operating officer positions with the Alpha Exchange, Neo Exchange and Toronto-based Pascal WealthTech.
• Switzer Financial Services, run by portfolio manager Steve Switzer and his team, has joined iA Private Wealth in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. Switzer has been in the industry for 16 years, with previous experience at Edward Jones and then Raymond James Ltd. The team, which offers discretionary services, also includes associate investment advisor Claus Mueller and assistants Amanda Sears and Carly Switzer.
• CFA Societies Canada announced that Ronald Schwarz remains its board chair for 2023–2024. Four new directors were elected for two-year terms, effective Sept. 28: Chelsea Kittleson in Victoria; Tristan McBride in Atlantic Canada; Patrick Read in Calgary; and Jordan Wilson in Saskatchewan. The remaining eight directors were re-elected or continuing.
• Darren Lund has rejoined Fasken LLP as a partner, coming most recently from Miller Thomson LLP (both are based in Toronto). Lund, whose career spans more than 20 years, originally worked with Fasken LLP in the same role between 2018 and 2020.

In memoriam

Léon Courville passed away on Sept. 26 at the age of 78. He worked with National Bank from 1984 to 1999, including as president and chief operating officer from 1993 to 1999. Read more (content is in French).