This month saw a number of leadership changes at top Canadian banks, spurred in part by the retirements of long-tenured executives.

Among those, Toronto-based TD Bank Group on Thursday announced a succession of changes to its senior executive team.

Michael Rhodes, group head of innovation, technology and shared services will take over in January 2022 as TD’s group head of Canadian personal banking. Rhodes succeeds Teri Currie, who will retire from that position after 35 years with the bank at the end of that month. Currie started as a teller at a branch in Alberta, Canada, and rose from there, eventually helping to create TD Bank’s trademark customer experiences, according to a release from the $1.37 trillion bank.

Rhodes joined TD Bank a decade ago to lead its North American credit card and merchant services business. He will now head up the bank’s digital and technology transformation, “building new capabilities to serve customers’ changing needs and enhance the bank’s execution capabilities,” TD Bank said.

In addition, Greg Braca, group head of U.S. retail and chief executive officer at TD Bank, will be named to a newly created position of vice chair in the U.S. Braca will report to Bharat Masrani, group president and CEO of TD Bank Group.

Continuing the chain of appointments, Leo Salom, group head of wealth management and TD Insurance, will pick up Braca’s former title as group head of U.S. retail and chief executive officer. Raymond Chun, president of TD direct investing and executive vice president of TD Bank Group, will become group head of wealth and insurance.

Also in Toronto, Scotiabank named Phil Thomas as the bank’s new chief risk officer. Daniel Moore, who last held the chief risk officer role and had “a successful 25-year career” at the bank, will be a strategic advisor through the end of the year to help with the transition, according to a release.

Thomas takes over as chief risk officer after “extensive and progressive leadership roles” in risk management across Scotiabank’s global business lines, according to the bank. As chief risk officer, he will be responsible for global risk management ― including enterprise, credit and market risk ― and will continue to have oversight of the bank’s customer insights, data and analytics, as well as its global anti-money laundering program.

Brian Porter, president and chief executive officer of the $949.9 billion Scotiabank, stated that Moore “elevated the bank’s risk management function in an evolving environment, and his leadership helped ensure the bank could navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and support our customers throughout.”

Citi lures Leyenaar Huntingford away from Goldman Sachs

After serving as managing director of mergers and acquisitions at $1.39 trillion Goldman Sachs Group, Luisa Leyenaar Huntingford will co-lead global infrastructure business at $2.33 trillion Citigroup, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

“We are thrilled to welcome Luisa Leyenaar Huntingford to Citi! She will be based in London as co-global head of infrastructure and partner with Todd Guenther in New York to lead our efforts,” Anthony Diamandakis, global co-head of global asset managers at Citi, posted on LinkedIn.

“Within the broader alternatives universe, the infrastructure asset class is one of the fastest-growing and evolving dynamically at the [general partner] and deal investment levels,” Diamandakis wrote. “We are so excited to further invest in this important category.”

Leyenaar Huntingford fills a position that had been held by Francisco Abularach, who left Citigroup after more than 25 years to take a role at Antin Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments, according to Bloomberg. The news outlet noted that Citigroup advised on the initial public offering of Antin Infrastructure that took place in September.

First Bancorp revamps management

There’s been a management and business restructuring at $8.20 billion First Bancorp and its subsidiary First Bank in the run-up to the exit of Eric Credle, who is retiring Nov. 12 after 24 years as First Bancorp’s chief financial officer. upon retiring, Credle will serve as a consultant during the transition, according to a release from the bank.

Elizabeth Bostian ― general counsel at First Bank since 2017 ― will become general counsel and chief financial officer at First Bancorp. Chief Administrative Officer Blaise Buczkowski continues with that title and is also now chief accounting officer, reporting to Bostian.

Adam Currie was named chief banking officer at First Bank; both he and Bostian will report to Michael Mayer, president of First Bancorp and chief executive officer of First Bank, which operates 100 branches in North and South Carolina.

With the changes, “we believe that First Bank will have expanded opportunities to implement our strategy of thoughtful and disciplined growth,” Mayer stated in a release.

Maragh joins SBA lending team at First Internet Bank

Tyler Maragh has joined the Small Business Administration (SBA) lending team at First Internet Bank as vice president and senior business development officer. His prior work includes business development and loan originations at $6.53 billion Byline Bank and small and midsize business lender Liberty SBF.

Maragh’s experience “gives him an excellent understanding of how to help [business] owners achieve success,” Mark Gibson, vice president and national SBA sales manager at the $4.3 billion, branchless First Internet Bank, stated in a release.

First Financial names Baughman region president

First Financial Bank promoted Chris Baughman to president of its Conroe, Texas region. He will replace Sam Baker, who’s set to retire in March 2022, according to a release from the bank, which operates 78 locations in the state.

Baughman has spent the last dozen years as an executive vice president at the $12.3 billion bank, working in commercial, real estate and consumer lending, and building depository and lending relationships. First Financial noted that Baughman has been the largest loan producer in the Conroe region, attributing to him a total portfolio of $98 million.