Advisory panel on resolution
The Advisory Panel on Resolution was created in 2013 to provide advice to the CDIC President and CEO on financial industry issues, intervention and resolution planning, and stakeholder relations related to CDIC’s mandate. Although bank-specific information is not discussed, CDIC’s ability to access the Panel’s collective expertise has provided valuable insights and perspectives on relevant issues for the Corporation.
Advisory panel biographies
Gale Rubenstein
Ms. Rubenstein is a partner at Goodmans LLP. She practices in the areas of commercial insolvency, restructuring, and pensions law. Ms. Rubenstein has been lead counsel on the insolvency of financial institutions, both domestic and international. Among her mandates, she was lead insolvency counsel to the Investors Committee chaired by Purdy Crawford dealing with Asset Backed Commercial Paper and to the Province of Ontario with respect to the restructurings of Chrysler, General Motors, and US Steel Canada. She is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University Pension Plan Ontario, a member of the Board of Directors of Scarborough Health Network, and a fellow of the Insolvency Institute of Canada.
Wayne Ralph
Mr. Ralph has held a number of executive roles at Dominion Securities, RBC Dominion Securities, RBC Royal Bank, CIBC Wood Gundy, and CIBC over the past 33 years. These roles have been primarily focused on the technology and operations facets of the respective businesses. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Depository for Securities and Fundserv, and is currently on the Board of Directors for the TSX Trust and chairs its Risk and Conduct Review Committee. In 2019, he took on the position of Senior Vice-President of the TMX Group and Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Depository for Securities.
Cathryn Cranston
Ms. Cranston served as Treasurer of BMO Financial Group prior to her retirement in 2018. In this role, she was responsible for strategic optimization of the structural balance sheet including the investment portfolio, enterprise liquidity risk management, and the bank’s global funding program. She was also accountable for the bank’s defined benefit pension plan, enterprise recovery and resolution plans, and was a key interface with regulators and other external stakeholders. Ms. Cranston is a Director of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, where she chairs its Human Resources and Compensation Committee, and sits on its Investment, Audit and Actuarial, and Operational Risk committees. She is a Director of Toromont Industries Ltd., where she chairs its Audit Committee, and sits on its Nominating and Governance committee. She also sits on several not-for-profit boards and committees.
Randy Benson
Mr. Benson has been the principal of R.C. Benson Consulting Inc. since 1999, providing strategic analysis, management, financial and operational restructuring, and recapitalization expertise to companies, including those considered in distress or underperforming. From May 2012 to August 2016, Mr. Benson was also co-lead of the National Restructuring Practice (Canada) at KPMG LLP. In addition, Mr. Benson has experience in finance, operations, sales, and general management gained through various roles he has held in operating companies, including as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of public and private companies. Mr. Benson was chair of the Board of Directors and chaired the audit committee of Advanz Pharma Corp (TSX) until December 31, 2019.
Helen Sinclair
Ms. Sinclair is a corporate and not-for-profit director. She spent her early career at The Bank of Nova Scotia, following which she served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Bankers Association. She currently serves on the Board of the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation where she co-chairs its Centre for Urban Health Solutions Cabinet. She is also a member of the Audit Committee of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Ms. Sinclair previously served as a Director of Stelco, TD Bank, Davis + Henderson, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and EPCOR Utilities. She was also the Chair of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, a member of the GTA United Way Campaign Cabinet and a member of the Board of Governors of York University. Ms. Sinclair has held positions on a variety of public policy and regulatory bodies, including the former Pension Commission of Ontario, and co-chaired an alliance of pension plan sponsors known as the Business Committee on Pension Policy, which commissioned research and conducted advocacy on pension legislation reform.
Catherine Bateman
Ms. Bateman recently retired from Deloitte. She brings 40 years of public accounting, audit, and professional services experience with Deloitte as well as experience serving as a part-time Commissioner at the Ontario Securities Commission, and as a director at several not-for-profit boards. During her tenure at Deloitte she was the Financial Services Industry Leader for Canada for a decade and a member of Deloitte’s Global Financial Services Industry Executive Board. She was elected by the partners to the Canadian firm’s Board of Directors on two occasions. Ms. Bateman holds a designation of a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant, Ontario, in recognition of significant career achievements and contributions to the profession and the community. In recent years she was the Council member on the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) Council representing Canada.
Eric Tripp
Mr. Tripp retired from BMO Capital Markets in 2015, where he held several senior positions, most recently as the President of BMO Capital Markets. In his roles at BMO, he led global corporate banking, trading products, and treasury operations businesses. He currently serves on corporate and non-for-profit boards, including Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, Connor Clark and Lunn Financial Group and Investment Management Corporation of Ontario. Previously, he also served as the Chair of the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC) and was a board member of the Toronto Futures Exchange and the TMX Group, and served on the board of Capital Markets Authority Implementation Organization. He was the founder and executive sponsor of the BMO Capital Markets Diversity Council and currently serves at the Advisory Council for Women in Capital Markets.