Laurentian Bank Financial Group made several leadership changes in its Financial Group, including promoting Deborah Rose to COO and appointing Liam Mason executive vice president and chief risk officer. Susan Kudzman, who announced her retirement for June 30, agreed to stay with the group until October 31 to ensure a seamless transition.
“Since the launch of our transformation plan in 2015, we have made good progress in achieving key milestones and growth targets. We are now entering an important phase of our plan which will see us transitioning to a digital banking model. Our accomplishments thus far, as well as the changes announced today, will contribute to the global success of our transformation,” said François Desjardins, president and CEO of Laurentian Bank.
A 25-year financial industry veteran, Rose will oversee the administration, technology and operation activities for the group. She previously held the roles of president and CEO at B2B Bank, president and CEO at LBC Tech and executive vice president, intermediary banking and chief information officer at Laurentian Bank. Rose will continue the role of the group’s chief information officer in addition to her new duties.
Mason brings strategic insight and a comprehensive understanding of risk management in the evolving Canadian landscape. Since 2016, he has held the position of managing director in a lead supervisor role at OSFI. Previously, he spent 18 years in various senior roles at CIBC, most notably senior vice-president, head of Asset-Liability Management and senior vice president, Risk Management. Before joining CIBC, Mason spent 10 years with JPMorgan in New York in the treasury and capital markets areas.
Laurentian is also creating a new position: executive vice president, Personal Digital Banking, overseeing sales, marketing and digital retail distribution for the group. The role will encompass activities conducted through B2B Bank’s network of independent financial advisors, dealers and mortgage brokers. The bank plans to fill this role in the near future. In the interim, Rose will continue to oversee B2B Bank.
