Woman CEO a first for for major Canadian lender
Rania Llewellyn, a former executive at Scotiabank, takes over at Laurentian Bank starting Oct. 30
Laurentian Bank of Canada on Tuesday named former Bank of Nova Scotia executive Rania Llewellyn as its next chief executive, which the Montreal- based lender said will make her the first woman to lead a major Canadian bank.
Llewellyn will take over as CEO and president of Laurentian, as well as join its board of directors, on Oct. 30, the bank said.
“I am thrilled and honoured to join the Laurentian Bank at this critical juncture in its storied history and want to thank the board for its confidence in me,” Llewellyn said in the release. “This is a really exciting time for our industry, with rapidly changing customer expectations driven by new technologies and broader macro- economic uncertainties that are affecting our customers every day.”
Llewellyn’s appointment comes at a crucial time for Laurentian. The nearly 175- yearold lender had been searching for a permanent CEO since the June departure of François Desjardins, following disappointing second-quarter earnings and a 40-per-cent dividend cut.
Stéphane Therrien, Laurentian’s then- executive vice-president, personal and commercial banking, was appointed Desjardins’ interim successor.
Desjardins launched a seven- year campaign to overhaul Laurentian’s operations during his time in charge, with the lender spending on its technology and converting its physical branches into advice- only outlets.
However, Laurentian’s performance disappointed investors during that stretch — with the bank experiencing mortgage documentation issues and contentious contract talks with its unionized workers — while the onset of the coronavirus pandemic left the lender anticipating further delays to the strategic plan.
“Rania Llewellyn is the right leader to usher in a new era at Laurentian Bank,” said Michelle Savoy, a Laurentian director who headed up the CEO search committee, in the release.
“Following a rigorous search process, we are confident she is the change agent this bank needs to address the headwinds it faces and to establish a foundation for future growth and success. In addition, we are proud to have the first woman CEO in the history of major Canadian chartered banks.”
Canada’s Big Six banks all have male chief executives, although the Canadian arm of the United Kingdom’s HSBC Holdings PLC is led by Linda Seymour, who succeeded Sandra Stuart as HSBC Bank Canada’s CEO in September.
According to the biographical details provided by Laurentian, as well as those contained in a 2013 Maroon & White Magazine article and a 2009 National Post story, Llewellyn was born in Kuwait, and her family moved to Egypt in 1987 and then to Canada in 1992.
Soon after, Llewellyn began attending Halifax’s Saint Mary’s University, “winning more than her fair share” of matches on campus Ping- Pong tables, according to the school’s alumni magazine. She went on to earn a bachelor of commerce degree, MBA and honorary doctorate from SMU.
Llewellyn was initially a teller at a Scotiabank branch in Dartmouth, N. S., before rising through the ranks at the lender over the course of a 25- year- plus career. Most recently, she was Scotiabank’s executive vice- president of global business payments, but she also led the diversity and inclusion office for its global banking and markets unit and served as a member of the lender’s Executive All Bank Inclusion Council, Laurentian said.
Her experience in payments, which has become an increasingly competitive and digital part of finance, could prove an asset for Laurentian, which has been trying to modernize.
During a Bloomberg panel in July, Llewellyn noted that her job at Scotiabank involved both the business and technology sides. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology, but she also said it had prompted a more focused approach on how money is being spent and what sort of value is being created for customers, employees and shareholders.
“I think everyone’s revisiting their roadmaps and focusing in on the things that are critical in nature,” Llewellyn said. “And I think that’s something that’s going to continue over the next 12 to 18 months given the uncertainty around the economy, our customer base, the way we operate, and so on.”
National Bank Financial analyst Gabriel Dechaine said in a note to clients on Tuesday that the external hire by Laurentian could bring some welcome change to the lender.
“We believe LB needs a fresh face to lead the bank out of several years of subpar performance, along with several strategic and operational mishaps,” Dechaine said. “We also believe a new CEO will have more flexibility to take dramatic action to put the bank on more solid footing during the current downturn and into the future.”