Nadine Ahn, chief financial officer (CFO), Royal Bank of Canada, was terminated from service for carrying on in a personal, close and secret relationship with another employee of the Bank. This was in violation of the Bank’s code of conduct, and hence, the Bank resorted to strict and immediate action by firing her. Katherine Gibson has been appointed in her place as interim CFO.
The Bank does not encourage such relationships because they may result in bias or partiality during promotions and increments, which is what happened in this case with the other employee involved in the relationship.
However, it has been proved that neither Ahn nor her close associate mishandled the finances of the Bank or tampered with the financial statements in any way. They have been cleared of any behaviour that could have affected the financial institution’s performance, in terms of business or finances.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ahn was the first woman CFO among the major six Canadian banks. Her association with RBC began in 2002, when she joined as senior manager, funds transfer pricing, corporate treasury, based out of Toronto. Her first promotion came four years later, when she became senior manager, ALM, corporate treasury, in 2007.
Two years into this role, she had become the managing director and head of enterprise liquidity risk measurement, corporate treasury. Four years into this role, she was elevated yet again, to the position of vice president, global financial controller. Two years later, in 2016, she became senior vice president, wholesale finance and investor relations. It was in 2021 that she was promoted to CFO.
