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Each week, we summarize notable moves across the financial industry.

  • Paul de la Roche has been promoted to head of private wealth for the Canadian arm of Fiera Capital. He joined the company in 2013 and has 20 years of industry experience, most recently as senior investment counsellor and regional head of private wealth. He will retain his senior investment counsellor role.
  • Chris Heakes has joined the Harvest ETFs investment team, where he will play a key role in advancing the firm’s portfolio management and investment solutions. He previously spent 14 years with BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM), most recently as a lead portfolio manager developing ETF strategies focused on quantitative equity research and low-volatility investing. Laura Tase has joined the company as vice-president of institutional sales. She brings over 20 years of experience in financial services, most recently as vice-president of BMO ETFs with BMO GAM.
  • The Capital Markets Tribunal division of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has announced the updated membership of the Securities Proceedings Advisory Committee. They include Simon Bieber of Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP; Robert Blair, governance and tribunal secretariat, OSC; Maureen Doherty of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP; Raphael T. Eghan of Dentons Canada LLP; Derek Ferris, enforcement, OSC; Samantha Gordon of McMillan LLP; Grace Knakowski, governance and tribunal secretariat, OSC; Brian Kolenda of Lenczner Slaght LLP; Karen Manarin of the RCMP’s Toronto Integrated Market Enforcement Team; Anna K. Markiewicz of Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP; Cullen Price, general counsel’s department, OSC; Carolyn Slon, governance and tribunal secretariat, OSC; Ljiljana Stanic of McCarthy Tétrault LLP; Johanna Superina, enforcement, OSC; Lauren Tomasich of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP; Natalia Vandervoort of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP; Stephanie Voudouris of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP; and Jonathan Wansbrough of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.
  • The B.C. Securities Commission has appointed two new commissioners to its board. Noordin Nanji was a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP for more than 12 years before retiring in 2022. Before that, he spent 11 years at Ballard Power Systems in executive roles, and was also a partner at Lang Michener LLP for a decade. Doug Seppala retired in 2019 from DuMoulin Black LLP, which he joined in 1990. He was a partner and managing partner focused on private and public debt and equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, board governance and shareholder disputes.

In memoriam

  • John Hunkin, former president and CEO of CIBC from 1999 to 2005, died this week. He spent 36 years with the bank and is remembered for his leadership in CIBC’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch’s Canadian brokerage business and for strengthening the bank’s position in wealth management. He was also a philanthropist who helped advance education and health care through charitable contributions, including in Nova Scotia, where he retired.
  • Scott Stennett, the vice-chair of Richardson Wealth Ltd., died Dec. 23, 2024 after battling cancer. Stennett had three decades of experience in financial services, including 11 years as chief operating officer of the firm. He is remembered as one of the company’s longest-serving and most valued employees. “His loyalty to the company he helped build and grow for 20 years was unwavering,” the company said in a statement on LinkedIn. “His influence is deeply rooted in our company, our offices, our meeting rooms and our hearts.”