CIBC helps its people at all life stages
Molly Edwards was enjoying a satisfying career as a financial services associate at a CIBC banking centre in the northern Ontario city of Sudbury, but there was something missing in her personal life. She and her husband were close to giving up hope of having a child after two unsuccessful rounds of in-vitro fertilization. But when the bank’s benefits were able to cover a third – and successful – round, Edwards was overjoyed.
She and her husband relied on the bank’s extended benefits plan, which includes fertility treatments, surrogacy and adoption, to support the third round and, in December 2022, she gave birth to a daughter.
“I was given the flexibility to travel to the fertility clinic in Toronto using personal days and vacation days,” she says. “My manager and my team were behind us 100 per cent.”
“We genuinely care about our employees,” says Kevin Pyo, vice-president, pensions, benefits and well-being. “Our purpose is to help make their personal and career ambitions real. We have all sorts of ways in which we help employees achieve their ambitions. To ensure long and rewarding careers with our bank, we provide the benefits to support their total well-being, such as fertility coverage, gender affirmation coverage for trans team members, and reimbursement for mental health services – to name a few.”
CIBC offers a wide range of career opportunities, from client-facing contact centre and banking centre roles to those in wealth management, commercial banking and capital markets, as well as corporate and technology positions. “We have countless examples of employees who have spent 20, 30 or even 40 years with our bank,” says Pyo. “Their CIBC careers have encompassed 10 completely different roles before retirement.”
CIBC encourages employees to grow their careers by developing transferable skills. As well, the bank enables them to explore new opportunities across various lines of business.
“We have discussions with our leaders about where you see yourself in the bank and where you would like to go,” says Edwards. “I even had the opportunity to try a short-term role to see if I wanted to continue on that path or not.”
She accepted a short-term secondment to fill in for a banking centre leader who was on parental leave. “It was a great experience,” she says.
The bank offers a diverse suite of learning resources that are available through a variety of channels, including digital, virtual, instructor-led in person, and on-the-job training. CIBC people leaders are encouraged to provide continuous coaching as opposed to just annual performance reviews. Employees are also supported if they want to pursue professional accreditations. In addition to promoting and encouraging professional growth, the bank has also developed a holistic approach to personal well-being to support healthy employees and healthy workplaces, says Pyo. “Healthy employees are going to make for a healthy work environment, and that’s why we put a focus on meaningful benefits and well-being,” he says. “We believe that an employee who is well is an employee who is engaged and enabled to be their professional best.”
CIBC offers career paths from financial planning to AI
Helen Alemu was very shy when she was going to university, but during her three terms as a co-op student at CIBC, she made a point of getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. That personal mission made it possible for her to make presentations in front of several hundred people.
“In my last co-op, I was given a lot of ownership over a project,” says Alemu, campaign lead, digital direct campaigns. “I reported to the vice-president of the department and I went on to present my business case in front of 800 people. I don’t think that I would have gotten exposed to those types of opportunities anywhere other than CIBC.”
CIBC hires over 1,000 students annually as part of its co-op and summer student programs. Most are four-month placements during the summer, although the bank does offer some eight-month, 12-month and 16-month stints.
“We have a multitude of early talent development programs,” says Shannon Kyriakopoulos, senior vice-president of talent. “They are curated programs designed to give young people different experiences over a couple of years before landing in a permanent position.”
For those early in their career, CIBC continues to hire out of traditional programs such as finance, undergraduate business and MBA, but over the past several years has expanded its recruiting of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) graduates.
“We are thinking about the skills we need now and in the future,” says Kyriakopoulos. “Things are changing so fast that we need to make sure we’re keeping pace. As one example, artificial intelligence has evolved rapidly over the past five years. That has meant hiring has ramped up in that space as those skills are very much front and centre.”
CIBC also remains a diverse organization offering employees a multitude of career paths. And the bank provides mentoring as well as learning opportunities to help employees grow professionally.
“Mentorship was key for me when I started as a co-op,” says Alemu. “I met my mentor at a networking event. He was instrumental in giving me advice and he has helped me get to where I am now. Having someone as a mentor who is in a senior role is so helpful.”
Kyriakopoulos adds that the bank encourages team members to take charge of their careers and its Career Hub is one tool that assists along the way. “Career Hub is really intended to identify potential mentors, potential career paths and learning opportunities that would support that journey,” she says. “We are proud of how we develop our talent internally and move individuals around the bank.”
That applies at all levels, whether it’s a head-office position or someone working in a client-facing role in a retail banking centre.
“We really take the perspective that not one size fits all,” says Kyriakopoulos. “We try to think about programs that develop people in a meaningful way for the role they’re in today, as well as for the future. You can work in a variety of positions and really build a diverse, exciting career while benefiting from the investments we make in your learning and development.”
CIBC is committed to its sustainability goals
Caroline Cruickshank enjoyed a long career in international banking, during which she gained experience with sustainable products, before starting down a new path in a different sector in 2019. Three years later, she returned to her professional roots and joined CIBC in a role where she could continue to support sustainability and the transition to clean energy activities.
“I appreciate the importance of financial markets’ contributions in the transition to a low-carbon economy,” says Cruickshank, director, sustainability advisory group, CIBC Capital Markets. “This role gives me an opportunity to support our clients through this transition.”
CIBC participates in many energy financing transactions — supporting innovative deals and serving a wide range of clients.
“We have built a growing renewables franchise, providing our clients with expert advice, access to capital, and market- based solutions,” says Tom Heintzman, vice chair, energy transition and sustainability. “We’re ranked seventh in North America by IJGlobal for financing renewable energy projects in 2024. We’re right up there with the biggest global banks operating in the United States.”
The bank also set a goal of mobilizing $300 billion toward sustainable finance activities and services by 2030 (2018-2030) and it is well on its way to meeting that target. For more details, the Sustainable Finance Methodology can be found on the company's website. “This includes money that we lend,” Heintzman says. “It’s also money we raise for others. Sometimes we’re acting as an advisor and we’re raising capital for companies for sustainable investment purposes.”
In 2025, CIBC was recognized by ‘Global Finance’ magazine’s Sustainable Finance Awards for Best Sustainable Finance Bank in Canada, Best Bank for Green Bonds in North America, and Best Bank for Sustaining Communities in North America.
“We’re constantly looking at new opportunities,” says Heintzman. “We’re financing large EV charging networks in the U.K., providing financing and advice to various players throughout the EV supply chain, as well as large carbon capture and storage projects in Europe and North America.
“It doesn’t matter where companies are on the spectrum,” he says. “We serve both mature energy players and young companies that are producing next-generation technology.”
Cruickshank is part of the team supporting advisory work. This includes developing thought leadership on sustainability and energy transition to help clients navigate the complexities of the landscape. “I manage a podcast channel called the Sustainability Agenda that was launched in 2021,” she says. “We have more than 80 episodes which have generated over 30,000 downloads. This is just one way we deliver subject matter expertise.”
Her group also produces video webcasts and a monthly newsletter discussing sustainability issues, and organizes two key conferences per year, including an upcoming electrification summit that is expected to attract global participation.
“We’re helping our clients understand the importance of electrification in decarbonizing business operations and supply chains,” Cruickshank says. “The opportunity is notable with energy transition investments reaching $2.1 trillion USD globally last year, more than double since 2020.”
Heintzman points out that, despite ebbs and flows, the energy transition continues to advance. “This is a mega-trend that everybody recognizes is happening,” says Heintzman. “For many people, it’s important to understand that the energy transition is underway and will most likely continue for much of their careers. There’s an opportunity to get in at a relatively early stage and have a great career with the wind at your back, both literally and metaphorically.”