CIBC banks on attracting the best tech talent

I n 2005, Anantha Emani made a brief over-the-border visit to CIBC in Toronto as a software product consultant for a U.S. tech company. She had no idea it would change her life.

At the time, her parents, husband and young son remained in Hyderabad, India’s tech centre, while Emani worked on a special visa in the U.S. She was planning to return to India soon. But when her CIBC stint was ending, leaders approached her.

“The vice-president said, ‘Why don’t you join us? We will support the relocation of you and your family.’ I was quite surprised and very happy,” she recalls.

Emani accepted, her family came and she started work at CIBC as a developer. Today she is director, business banking technology, overseeing a large team of developers and other tech experts.

“My career grew with the support of all the great leaders and people from the team who valued my expertise and mentored me and gave me opportunities to learn and grow,” Emani says. “it’s a very inspiring story about CIBC that I often tell all my friends and family.”

It’s also a story about how much CIBC values technology talent as it continues to evolve its offerings to clients. The bank has long been known for pioneering digital products, from early mobile wallets and e-transfers to today’s wide variety of innovative client systems, from digital IDs to financial goal-planning technology.

“Our team is working on some of the most important and transformational projects in Canada,” says Lisa Luinenburg, vice-president, payments. “It’s a collaboration of folks across businesses, products and risk management, as well as technology, who are implementing these once-in-a-generation opportunities.”

In her area, she says, “we are looking for technology talent, including talent experienced in new technologies like blockchain, cloud, and artificial intelligence, and how we can use those to develop great new solutions for our clients.” Working at CIBC, she notes, offers a comparable environment to a so-called fintech – a financial technology startup – “but with the resources of the bank behind you and the leadership and support.”

As Emani can attest, talented tech people are recognized, encouraged and valued at CIBC. Having started as a developer in reporting, she was able to try different areas, from databases to web development to applications, and was soon elevated to team lead, then senior manager, and finally director in 2017. “It was really gratifying,” she says.

As for feeling appreciated, “It's not just me,” she says. “The bank values talent and they appreciate you and make sure that you are well-recognized. Twice I received annual achievement awards. They do identify and recognize whoever goes that extra mile to achieve things.”

Luinenburg notes that as part of CIBC’s outreach, the bank is putting major emphasis on inclusion. “Both within our internal teams and externally within our industry or communities, we have People Networks like our International Professional Networks that create opportunities for the next generation of leaders,” she says.

Like Emani’s son, perhaps. Having come to Canada in Grade 5, he became so intrigued by his mother’s work that he went on to graduate from McMaster University in software engineering. After working in the field for a couple of years, says Emani proudly, “he looked at the way I work here and the technology we use, and he was inspired to apply and join CIBC. For me, CIBC just feels like home.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers winners, published November 12, 2021 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

For young tech people, CIBC has it all

As an applicant for a student internship at CIBC, Maral Mohagheghi had an academic background that included robotics engineering, but not banking. Yet when she saw the trading floor at CIBC in Toronto, she knew what she wanted to do.

“I realized that it’s a fast-paced job where you're always busy,” she says. “It seemed like a fun environment where it’s easy to communicate with different people and things were going on all the time.”

Mohagheghi had applied for the internship at CIBC Capital Markets while studying at Western University’s Ivey School of Business with a five-year double major in business and mechatronic engineering, since she was fascinated by both – “I like problem-solving.” But she hadn’t started the business part when she got to the CIBC internship interview in her third year in 2019.

“I was nervous because I didn't have much of a finance background,” she says. “But the interviewers were super nice about it. They were like, yes, we know you haven't been to business school yet, but the internship is for you to learn. So when I got the offer, I accepted.”

Placed in the Wealth Solutions Group, Mohagheghi was given a buddy close to her own age on the trading floor, as well as a senior mentor. She returned the following summer amid the pandemic, joining the Alternate Solutions Group – a very tech-oriented team. In 2021, she was offered a job, and is now a sales and trading analyst. After completing a learning rotation among three different business areas, she will soon join the Alternate Solutions Group, working on an online tool to help overseas students pay their Canadian tuition.

Although she could have joined a so-called fintech – a firm, often a startup, offering technology for financial tasks – Mohagheghi found she could use her engineering background at CIBC while benefitting from the bank’s ample resources to launch large, leading-edge projects. “I actually do a lot of coding, “ she says. “One of the big things that I do is automating things to make them quicker and easier. And even on the analytics side, a coding background really helps.”

Executive vice-president and chief information officer Richard Jardim, who oversees technology across the bank, says CIBC can offer tech applicants much more than a fintech or Big Tech, where people work in very specialized areas.

“At CIBC, we are literally dealing with every type of technology,” he says. “We're deep into AI. We’re hiring cloud engineers and we’re certifying internal people who want to become cloud knowledgeable. We are using all the programming languages and building or buying very advanced, leading-edge technologies across a variety of product lines. And we deal with the older mainframe and legacy technologies as well. You name it, we do it.”

He notes that interns and co-op students have access to the bank’s Student Leadership Academy, with a range of professional development programs, as well as problem-solving challenges. “You come into a pretty vibrant community of young talent that we really try to foster at the bank,” he says.

CIBC also has tech rotation programs for graduate and undergrad degree holders, in which they are exposed to a variety of businesses and technologies over two years before landing in a place that best suits them. As well, Jardim notes that the bank is broadening its diversity outreach in the tech sphere.

To Mohagheghi, it’s also the people. “It's great to be part of a talented team that you enjoy working with and can learn from,” she says. “I’ve made great connections at CIBC and that’s something I really value.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top Employers for Young People winners, published January 18, 2022 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

CIBC enriches its culture through Indigenous relations

Meghan Shannon Kwaskochathikis often says, “I am the first generation in my Indigenous family not to have attended a residential school.” Kwaskochathikis comes from a family filled with educators, but she was the outlier who went into economics. That provided an ideal background to support her career aspirations, and today she works as a senior relationship manager on the Indigenous Markets team at CIBC.

Based in Vancouver, Kwaskochathikis helps Indigenous clients navigate their Indigenous Trust needs, while also working closely with the bank’s Indigenous commercial banking team. Trusts are used by a wide variety of clients to manage wealth on behalf of a larger number of people. Trusts are also used by many First Nations communities as a way of independently managing their finances, which in the past were often controlled by governments.

“My primary role is being the first point of contact for the nation, for the beneficiaries, acting as a liaison between the community and the bank,” says Kwaskochathikis. CIBC, she notes, has greatly expanded its work in this area in recent years. “When the Indigenous Markets team was established, they really decided to commit to changing how we work with and for Indigenous communities,” she says.

“Once a community has set up a legal trust,” she adds, “we help them develop strategies, policies and governance, and so we’re really there to partner with them to help transition their ambitions into tangible action within the community.”

Kwaskochathikis is Cree and born in Saskatchewan, but grew up in the Parksville area of Vancouver Island and graduated from the University of Victoria in 2012. After working in various roles involving the Indigenous community, including at a major professional services firm, she was approached by CIBC in 2019.

“The bank gave me a seat at the table by hiring me at a senior-level position,” she says. “It speaks to CIBC’s commitment to reconciliation, because it’s one thing to hire Indigenous people but it’s another thing to hire Indigenous people in positions of influence. We are in those conversations, to participate in the changing narrative of how Indigenous communities are supported by our financial institutions.”

At CIBC’s headquarters in Toronto, Hugh Smylie, who is Métis, feels much the same way. Smylie is vice-president, Retail Product and Channel Support Services, and he is directly involved with his community as executive sponsor of the CIBC Indigenous Employee Circle (IEC), one of 10 employee-led people networks at the bank.

“Our vision for this people network is to enrich CIBC’s culture through promoting awareness of Indigenous history, lived experiences and culture to all employees, guided by truth and reconciliation,” he says.

The IEC has been active in educating colleagues about Indigenous history and culture through a series of initiatives, events and talking circles. In preparation for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, CIBC launched the Four Seasons of Reconciliation training for all Canadian employees, developed in partnership with First Nations University of Canada and Reconciliation Education.

The bank also created a Reconciliation Action Committee last June, co-chaired by Lisa Raitt, vice-chair of Global Investment Banking, and Jaimie Lickers, vice-president of Indigenous Markets, to steward CIBC’s Reconciliation Framework.

Smylie says the IEC talking circles have been beneficial for him as someone who, due to the overt and systematic racism experienced by his mother and maternal grandmother, did not directly engage with Indigenous culture growing up. “One of the things that really helped me, just processing all of this, is that I’m not alone,” he says. “It’s amazing how many people have a similar story to mine.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada’s Best Diversity Employers winners, published March 8, 2022 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

CIBC helps create a platform to spur the carbon market

Get ready for Carbonplace – a new global sustainability initiative being championed by CIBC in partnership with other major international banks.

“It’s an innovative solution,” says Matthew Kielek, associate, sustainability advisory in CIBC Capital Markets. ”What we’re looking to do is build a reliable and secure record of ownership for voluntary carbon credits and provide a settlement layer to support the participants of the voluntary carbon market.”

Companies trying to get their greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by a certain date can buy credits that will help them cover the last mile of reduction – after they have followed all possible sustainable practices in their own operation. Voluntary carbon credits are offered by entities whose activities actually reduce emissions – a nature organization, for example, or a carbon storage company. Carbonplace will facilitate transactions and allow the owners of such credits to maintain a book of ownership. It will also provide settlement infrastructure for exchanges.

As part of its broad commitment to sustainability across the bank, CIBC teamed up with the U.K.’s NatWest Bank PLC, National Australia Bank and Itaú Unibanco of Brazil in 2021 to begin creating the Carbonplace platform, and recently welcomed UBS, Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas, all based in Europe, as additional members.

“The most exciting part of this project is the joint effort of banks working together to solve a global issue,” says Kielek. “The voluntary carbon markets have actually existed for over 20 years, but it’s been very difficult to navigate. This platform will overcome the friction that exists today.”

In the other part of his job, Kielek is actively involved in helping business clients reduce their carbon footprints on the way to net zero. He cites advising a construction and engineering company about using more environmentally friendly materials or a meal preparation outfit offering more vegan options. And he encourages more transparency across all industries, helping clients publish their sustainability targets and metrics.

“Sustainability is a journey that takes commitment to reach net zero emissions,” says Kielek. “So we’re actively working with clients to focus on decarbonizing their own operations and doing what they can to reduce their emissions as much as possible.” Eventually, he says, they can turn to Carbonplace.

Bindu Dhaliwal, vice-president, environmental, social and governance, says helping clients transition to a lower carbon economy illustrates CIBC’s strong support for sustainability. The bank’s own goal is to reach net zero in its operational and financing activities by 2050, with their operations targeted to be carbon neutral by 2024, including 100 per cent of the bank’s electricity derived from renewable sources.

CIBC has also ramped up its commitment to sustainable finance to $300 billion by 2030, to back sustainable business solutions and transition activities. CIBC currently ranks in the top 10 in financing for the renewable energy industry across North America. It has also set aside $100 million for investments in climate tech innovation.

Dhaliwal says the bank sees its own role as critical in tackling climate change and environmental issues. “We think that as enablers – as a bank that finances and makes investments – we can facilitate change by financing and investing in the technology and business models that are required.”

She notes that these investments, from Carbonplace to other innovations, are designed to support a future that is still unfolding. “We’re developing strategies today, in a world in which the technology solutions haven’t all been created yet,” she says. “CIBC has the drive to play a leadership role, making it an exciting time to be part of our bank.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Greenest Employers winners, published April 20, 2022 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.