OBSI announces new board members

TORONTO, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors for the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is pleased to announce four appointments to the board:· Mary Condon has joined the board as a Consumer Interest Director. She is a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she teaches Securities Regulation and Advanced Securities in Osgoode’s JD program and directs and teaches the Professional LLM program in Securities Law. She served as Dean and Interim Dean of the school from 2018 to 2023. In October 2023, Ms. Condon was appointed as a part-time adjudicator of the Capital Markets Tribunal (Ontario). Previously, she was a board member of the Capital Markets Authority Implementation Organization, and Commissioner and board member of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), where she was also a Vice-Chair. In January 2024, she was appointed a Commission member of the Central Bank of Ireland. In 2018, she was named one of the top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by Women’s Executive Network. She is a recipient of the Walter S. Owen Chair from University of British Columbia and the first recipient of the Alan Marks Medal from University of Toronto.  

· Bonnie Lysyk has joined the board as a Community Director. She became the 13th Auditor General of Ontario on September 3, 2013, after having previously served as Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan, and Deputy Auditor General and Chief Operating Officer of Manitoba. She completed her 10-year term as Auditor General of Ontario on September 3, 2023. She also has significant experience working in senior roles in the energy, insurance and pension sectors, and has served on financial sector, professional, and not-for-profit boards. She has delivered audit and governance training domestically and overseas. In 2020, she was presented with the Distinguished Leader Award by the Goodman School of Business of Brock University for inspiring the next generation of business leaders. In November 2023 Toronto Life listed Ms. Lysyk as eight in their Top 50 Most Influential People of 2023. She is a Senior Fellow with the C.D. Howe Institute and a contributing columnist with The Trillium: Queens Park News.

· Sarah Shody has joined the board as an Industry Director. She is the Associate General Counsel, Wealth for HSBC Canada, where she advises HSBC Canada on legal matters related to its retail wealth management and asset management businesses. Prior to joining HSBC Canada, Ms. Shody held roles at Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal, and prior to those, she practiced litigation at two of Canada’s top Bay Street law firms. She is also an Industry Member of the Hearing Committee of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario School of Law, and also holds a B.A. in Media, Information and Technoculture from the University of Western Ontario.

· Michael Thom has joined the board as a Consumer Interest Director. He is the Managing Director for CFA Societies Canada. He leads the strategic direction of CFA Societies Canada and advances the highest professional standards of integrity and ethics for the ultimate benefit of Canadian society. He joined CFA Societies Canada following many years of leadership in capital markets and investment management. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia and is both a CFA charterholder and CAIA charterholder.

OBSI’s bylaws require the majority of directors, including the chair, to be independent, meaning they have not been affiliated with industry or government for at least two years. These independent directors are referred to as community directors. Three of the community directors are also designated as consumer interest directors, who have a particular interest in, access to, and competency with the interests and perspectives of the types of consumers that OBSI serves. The board also includes three designated industry directors who are directly affiliated with a participating firm.

Industry directors and consumer interest directors are expected to bring their unique perspectives and expertise to board deliberations to ensure that OBSI governance is undertaken with an understanding and appreciation of the interests and concerns of all the stakeholders served by the organization. All directors have a fiduciary duty to OBSI and do not advocate for or represent any outside interest while engaged in OBSI governance.

The Board of Directors would also like to express its sincere thanks to community directors Catherine Adams, Carmela Haines and Bharat Mahajan who have completed their terms, for their contributions, insights and commitment to OBSI throughout their many years of service. 

More information about the Board of Directors is available on the OBSI website here. 

Canada’s Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a national, independent, not-for-profit organization that helps resolve and reduce disputes between consumers and financial services firms in both official languages. OBSI is responsive to consumer inquiries, conducts fair and accessible investigations of unresolved disputes, and shares its knowledge and expertise with all stakeholders and the public. If a consumer has a complaint against an OBSI participating bank or investment firm that they are not able to resolve with the bank or firm, OBSI will investigate at no cost to the consumer. Where a complaint has merit, OBSI may recommend compensation up to a maximum of $350,000.

*For more information, contact:*
Mark Wright, Director, Communications and Stakeholder Relations
416-287-2877 ext.2225
publicaffairs@obsi.ca