RBC appoints new leaders and adds 780,000 customers following HSBC Canada acquisition
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is reorganizing its executive suite and dividing its personal and commercial banking division into two separate groups.
This move follows the acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada earlier this year, according to The Canadian Press.
The bank announced on Thursday that these changes, effective Sept. 1, will better leverage its scale and accelerate decision-making processes.
With the acquisition of HSBC Canada at the end of March, RBC added approximately 780,000 customers and 4,500 employees, increasing its total customer base to over 15 million.
This leadership restructuring occurs a little over a decade after Chief Executive Dave McKay assumed his role, prompting questions about his potential departure. However, McKay stated that he is enthusiastic about collaborating with the new leadership team “in the coming years.”
He emphasized the importance of their unique skills, experiences, and perspectives for RBC’s next growth phase.
Doug Guzman, currently group head of RBC Wealth Management and Insurance, will become RBC’s deputy chair. Neil McLaughlin, currently group head of Personal and Commercial Banking, will transition to group head of RBC Wealth Management.
Erica Nielsen, currently executive vice-president of Personal Financing Products, will become group head of RBC Personal Banking, while Sean Amato-Gauci, currently executive vice-president of Business Financial Services, will take on the role of group head of RBC Commercial Banking.
Additionally, Jennifer Publicover has been appointed group head of RBC Insurance and will join the group executive leadership team. Publicover has been CEO of RBC Insurance since 2023.
Jefferies analyst John Aiken noted that the changes highlight the bank’s strong leadership pool, though the CFO position remains uncertain.
“We are surprised that there was no resolution on the bank’s CFO position in conjunction with the announcements, with Katherine Gibson still retaining the ‘interim’ tag,” he said in a note.
RBC terminated former CFO Nadine Ahn in April following an investigation into a personal relationship she allegedly had with another employee and appointed Gibson as interim CFO.
Aiken mentioned that the executive changes might increase speculation regarding CEO succession, but he does not expect any immediate announcements about McKay’s departure.
