Why TD Bank veteran Raymond Chun is taking the reins from Masrani

Masrani described Chun as “the right leader at the right time” during a conference call on Thursday. A “lengthy and competitive” search was conducted, Masrani said, and external applicants were considered. But a major point for Chun was his 30-plus years with the bank working across all major divisions.

“I’ve known Ray for a long time,” Masrani said during the call. “Over the decades, he rose through various ranks and grew businesses across our franchise, and he led regions, product teams and operations.” That includes “critical business segments,” he said, such as retail banking, which “is important to TD now and in the future.”

In the past three years, Chun has held several roles tied to TD Bank’s investing and wealth divisions. Before becoming the leader of Canadian personal banking in December of last year, he was group head of wealth management and insurance for two years. Prior to that, he oversaw TD Direct Investing, a move based on a broad management shakeup amid Dave Kelly’s 2021 departure from the bank (Kelly now leads Richardson Wealth).

When asked about his background during the conference call, Chun said he couldn’t think of a bank channel in which he hadn’t worked. He specifically mentioned his retail banking experience, his work with data and analytics teams that have reported to him, and his oversight of the asset management and advice businesses.

“I have lots of experience running big businesses, complicated businesses and big P&Ls [profit and loss statements],” Chun said. It’s “early days,” but he’s no stranger to working with regulators and “mapping out complex strategies,” he said.

Masrani similarly pointed to Chun’s experience working in the wealth businesses alongside Leo Salom, group head of U.S. retail banking and president and CEO of TD Bank, in America, who will be one of Chun’s direct reports beginning this November when Chun is COO.

Chun’s familiarity with working with Salom will be useful, given TD Bank’s legal hurdles in the U.S. related to its anti–money laundering (AML) controls.

“We are navigating a difficult moment, and I am confident that Ray’s leadership will successfully guide this great institution into the future,” said Masrani in a release.

Still, he added, “The anti–money laundering challenges we face took place on my watch as CEO, and I take full responsibility. In the coming months, I will continue to advance and direct the critical remediation program required to meet our obligations and responsibilities and strengthen our risk and control foundation.”

Further, TD Bank’s operations across both Canada and the U.S. are paramount, Masrani said. Despite the AML challenges south of the border, and Chun having worked mostly within the Canadian business, Masrani said the Canadian segment is “absolutely not” going to be the main growth focus. Instead, “Ray is looking forward to working closely with Leo in the years to come,” based on Chun’s experience “running many businesses.”

Multiple executive shifts were outlined in the release about Masrani’s retirement. Among them, Paul Clark, currently executive vice-president of private wealth management and financial planning, will become senior executive vice-president of wealth management; Sona Mehta, currently executive vice-president of real estate secured lending, everyday banking, saving and investing, will become group head of Canadian personal banking, replacing Chun; and Tim Wiggan, currently group head of wealth management and insurance, will become group head of wholesale banking plus president and CEO of TD Securities, replacing Riaz Ahmed who’s retiring in January 2025 after decades with the bank.

All three will report to Chun, as will Salom; Barbara Hooper, group head of Canadian business banking; and James Russell, president and CEO of TD Insurance.

In response to conference call queries about the fallout of the AML challenges, Masrani said no other executive changes are planned.

After a US$2.6-billion charge related to the ongoing U.S. investigations, TD Bank Group reported a third-quarter loss of $181 million, a first for the bank since 2003. Net income for TD’s wealth management and insurance division was $430 million, relatively flat compared with the third quarter of 2023.

Other moves this week:

• Jean-François Courville was given the newly created role of president, Quebec, with Scotiabank. He’ll report directly to Aris Bogdaneris, group head of Canadian banking. A release said Courville’s work will support the bank’s ambition to expand in Quebec, tied to its broad goals for Canadian banking, global wealth management, and global banking and markets businesses. Courville is moving from financial services and technology company Purpose Unlimited based in Toronto where he’s been president and chief client officer, a release said. He’s also worked with Wealthsimple, RBC Wealth Management, Manulife Asset Management and State Street Corp.’s Canadian businesses, it said. He’s been in the industry for more than 30 years.
• Daniel Cohen will lead the new Montreal office of London, U.K.–headquartered Coller Capital Ltd. as head of Canada private wealth distribution. Cohen was previously head of investor relations with Fiera Comox Partners, a global investment manager of private equity, private credit and agriculture.
• Jean-Pierre Cadorette has been named executive vice-president and head of business development with asset management firm Walter Capital Management based in Westmount, Que. Throughout his 20-year career, he’s worked across multiple big banks and most recently was with Imbeault Capital in Quebec.

If you know of other people moves in the financial industry and/or would like us to consider your announcement, email Katie Keir at katie@newcom.ca.