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Key people

Gerald T. McCaughey, President and Chief Executive Officer

Gerald McCaughey is President and Chief Executive Officer of the CIBC group of companies, one of North America's largest financial services institutions.

Mr. McCaughey began his career in 1981 as an Account Executive with Merrill Lynch. He held a series of progressive management positions throughout Merrill Lynch's Canadian Operations. In 1990, CIBC, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Wood Gundy, acquired the Private Client operations of Merrill Lynch Canada.

In 1994, Mr. McCaughey became President of Wood Gundy Private Client Investments, a division of CIBC Wood Gundy Securities Inc. He was appointed Senior Executive Vice-President, CIBC, responsible for Wealth Management in 1999 and Vice Chair of CIBC in December 2002.

In February 2004, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CIBC World Markets, the global investment banking arm of CIBC. Mr. McCaughey became President and Chief Operating Officer of CIBC in December 2004.

He was named President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of CIBC's Board of Directors in August 2005.

Mr. McCaughey is Chair of the Advisory Board for the Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center; a director of the Frontier College Foundation; and a member of The Learning Partnership's Corporate Advisory Board. He is also a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.

 

David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer

As Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer for CIBC, Mr. Williamson has overall responsibility for financial, management and regulatory reporting; maintenance of accounting records and internal controls; financial analysis and planning; tax planning and compliance. In addition, Mr. Williamson is responsible for sourcing and payment processing, corporate real estate, and liaising with CIBC investors.

Prior to joining CIBC in 2008, Mr. Williamson was President and CEO of Atlas Cold Storage, a publicly-listed logistics and warehousing company. He has also served as Senior Vice-President of Strategic Planning and Development for Canada Life and as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer for Clarica Life Insurance Company. From 1991 to 2000, Mr. Williamson held a variety of positions including Chief Financial Officer and subsequently President and CEO with Derlan Industries Limited, a Canadian publicly listed manufacturing company with operations in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Germany.

Mr. Williamson has worked as a management consultant with international banks, including a period of time working at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.

Mr. Williamson is a Chartered Accountant and graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1983.

 

Tom Woods, Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer

Mr. Woods has spent his entire career with CIBC. He joined Wood Gundy, the predecessor firm of CIBC World Markets in 1977, in the Toronto Investment Banking Department. In 1980, he moved to the Montreal Investment Banking Department and returned to Toronto Investment Banking in 1985. Throughout this time, he specialized in advising companies in raising financing in the equity and debt capital markets, and in mergers and acquisitions.

In 1996, Mr. Woods was named head of Canadian Corporate Banking and in 1998 was appointed Chief Financial Officer of CIBC World Markets. He became Controller of CIBC in 1999. In 2000, Mr. Woods was appointed Chief Financial Officer for CIBC and was promoted to Senior Executive Vice-President in 2003. In 2008, he was appointed Chief Risk Officer for CIBC.

Mr. Woods is the chair of CIBC's Capital and Risk Committee and a member of the Canadian Bankers Association's Risk Committee. He serves on the boards of FirstCaribbean International Bank; The Canadian Opera Company; Covenant House, Toronto; and Covenant House International, New York.

Mr. Woods graduated from the University of Toronto in 1975 with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Industrial Engineering. He earned his Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1977.