RBC appoints new CFO, months after sacking former executive

financialpost.com:

Royal Bank of Canada has appointed Katherine Gibson as its chief financial officer, months after terminating the contract of former CFO Nadine Ahn.

Ahn was accused of having an “undisclosed close personal relationship” with another employee, which supposedly led to promotions and compensation increases for the employee. Both individuals were let go.

The former CFO, however, denied the claims and said she and the colleague were just friends. Ahn filed a case against RBC for wrongful termination. The bank has denied her allegations in court filings, and the case is ongoing.

Gibson had been serving as the bank’s interim CFO since April 5. Prior to that role, she was senior vice-president, Enterprise Finance & Controller, and was responsible for head office finance.

She joins National Bank of Canada’s Marie Chantal Gingras as one of two female CFOs among Canada’s Big Six banks.

“Katherine is an outstanding senior executive with global financial insights and leadership capabilities,” RBC chief executive Dave McKay said in a statement on Thursday. “She … brings deep expertise in both business and global enterprise finance.”

Gibson has been an RBC employee for more than 22 years. Her prior roles included senior vice-president, wealth management, investor & Treasury Services and insurance finance, and vice-president, enterprise optimization.

Shares of RBC hit new all-time highs late last month after Canada’s largest lender reported higher profits and beat analysts’ expectations in its fiscal third quarter, the first full quarter since it completed the purchase of HSBC Holdings PLC’s Canadian business. The inclusion of HSBC increased net income by $239 million.