Good morning. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has promoted its interim CFO, Katherine Gibson, to the permanent role of chief financial officer, effective immediately, the bank announced on Thursday. Gibson has served as interim CFO since April 5, following the departure of former CFO Nadine Ahn, who was terminated for promoting a subordinate with whom she was romantically involved, according to the bank.
Dave McKay, president and CEO of RBC, congratulated Gibson on her new appointment in a LinkedIn post on Thursday: "From day one, she’s lived up to her reputation for being a highly respected and experienced executive."
McKay added that senior leaders across RBC rely on Gibson's strong global financial insights and trusted advice. And after conducting an international search, she was "clearly the best choice for the role."
Gibson joined RBC, the largest bank in Canada, 22 years ago, and most recently served as SVP of enterprise finance and controller. Her other prior roles include SVP of wealth management, investor and treasury services and insurance finance, and VP of enterprise optimization. She has also held board positions on some of RBC's domestic and global subsidiaries, served as chair of the ESG Disclosure Committee, and sat on the Enterprise Diversity Leadership Council.
“Katherine stepped into the role as interim CFO in April at a pivotal time for RBC, just a few days after we successfully completed one of the most important acquisitions in our history,” McKay said. RBC announced on March 28 that it completed the acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada.
Gibson's appointment helps RBC turn the page on the scandal surrounding Ahn, who was fired due to what the bank said was an “undisclosed close personal relationship” with another employee—a violation of the firm’s code of conduct.
According to RBC, the relationship “led to preferential treatment of the employee including promotion and compensation increases.” Ken Mason, the bank’s vice president of capital and term funding, who was the other accused person, was also terminated.
Ahn, along with Mason, have denied the allegations and subsequently filed separate lawsuits against RBC. The bank filed a statement of defense and counterclaim on Aug. 16. The investigation showed there was an “undisclosed close personal relationship and that Ms. Ahn misused her authority as CFO to directly benefit Mr. Mason,” RBC spokesperson Gillian McArdle told me last month. The relationship developed in 2013 or earlier and continued through to the termination of their employment, according to RBC's counterclaim.
In new legal documents filed in an Ontario court, Ahn accuses the bank of trying to “manufacture” a reason to fire her. Ahn claims that she and Mason were just “good friends,” and that she never abused her power to orchestrate promotions or pay raises for him.
Have a good weekend. See you on Monday.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
