CIBC names former finance minister Bill Morneau as next board chair

CIBC is naming former federal finance minister Bill Morneau as the next chair of its board of directors. He will assume the role on January 1, succeeding Katharine Stevenson, who will retire from the board at the end of 2026.

Stevenson has been chair of the bank for six years and an independent director for 10 years. Morneau is no outsider to the bank: he has served as an independent director of CIBC since 2022.

Before entering politics, Morneau led human resources and pension services firm Morneau Shepell from 1990 to 2015, giving him a long record in pension and benefits management before he moved into public office. He currently serves as chair of NovaSource Power Services and as a director at Clairvest Group Inc.

The appointment places a former finance minister in the chair of one of the country's largest banks, a governance shift that will draw attention from investors watching board independence and oversight. The transition is orderly rather than abrupt: Stevenson stays on the board until the end of 2026, overlapping with Morneau's arrival in the chair at the start of the year.