Pedestrians are seen at the intersection of King and Bay streets in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
The Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) is reorganizing its boardroom and adding new professionals to the mix.
In a recent vote held in Toronto, the association elected Sylvain Perreault, chief compliance offer at Desjardins Group, to be its chair. He will be especially focused on changing regulations affecting 160 member firms.
"In the last few years, our industry has faced – and will continue to face – substantial regulatory reform through new rules and structural changes," said Ian Russell, president and chief executive officer of the IIAC, in a statement.
The IIAC also elected Greg Woynarski, global head of debt capital markets at Scotia Capital, as the board's vice chair.
Matthew Gaasenbeek, president of Canaccord Genuity in Canada, and Bryan Osmar, head of market infrastructure at RBC Dominion Securites, were also appointed to seats on the board.
Mr. Perreault takes over the chair's seat from Charlie Spiring, vice chairman at National Bank Financial. Mr. Spiring will stay on as a board member, along with Sandy Cimoroni, president of TD Mutual Funds, and Steven Donald, president of Assante Wealth Management Inc.
Mr. Russell praised his elected board for being representative of a range of dealers, from large retail players to small ones, and from institutional to bank-owned. He said their expertise is especially valuable as the industry faces challenging conditions.
"The underlying economic weakness in capital markets, and damage to the revenues and earnings of many firms, has gone on much longer than any of us thought possible," Mr. Russell said. "Industry fortunes have been further battered by the relentless unfolding of new rules and regulations in securities markets and tax-reporting obligations."