Sonia Ameena Baxendale is a Canadian executive in the financial services industry. She received her undergraduate degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She has worked in senior positions for

CIBC The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

and

Foresters A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including Restoration ecology, ecological restoration and management of Pr ...

and in 2019 she was named President and CEO of the Global Risk Institute.

Biography

Baxendale obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto - Victoria College and went to work for

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

Canada and

Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi and Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency ...

before joining CIBC in 1992. Baxendale held various leadership roles at CIBC including Senior Executive Vice-President, CIBC Wealth Management, Executive Vice-President, Asset Management, Card Products and Collections, and Executive Vice-President of Global Private Banking and Investment Management Services. Under her leadership of the Retail Market, CIBC became Canada's largest issuer of

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

and MasterCard. In 2011, Baxendale retired from CIBC during a reorganization of the executive leadership team. From July 2017 to January 2018, Baxendale served as Co-Interim President and CEO of Foresters Financial until Jim Boyle was hired as full time CEO. She remains a member of Forrester's Board of Directors - a role she has held since 2012. She also serves on the boards of Laurentian Bank and

CI Financial CI Financial is a Canadian investment management company based in Toronto, Ontario. It offers investment management and wealth management services targeted to high net worth retail investors, as well as brokerage and trading services to portfol ...

and is a non-executive board member at RSA. In December 2019 the Global Risk Institute announced that Baxendale would replace Richard Nesbitt as CEO effective January 7, 2020. Baxendale now serves on a number of private and not-for-profit boards including the University of Toronto's

Rotman School of Management The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management (commonly known as the Rotman School of Management, the Rotman School or just Rotman) is a graduate business school at the University of Toronto, located at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. Th ...

Master of Financial Risk Management Advisory Board. In 2007 she joined the Board of Directors of SickKids Foundation and now serves as Chair of the Board of SickKids Foundation and a member of the Board of Trustees for The Hospital for Sick Children. Baxendale also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...

from 2012 to 2016. The TSO has undergone a number of leadership changes; Jeff Melanson resigned as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the

(TSO) after only serving 18 months. The orchestra announced that Sonia Baxendale would assume the interim role for six months while a replacement for Melanson was found.

Awards and honors

In 2000 Baxendale was recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Canada She was inducted to ''Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100''™ Hall of Fame in 2010 after having won the annual award three years in a row. She is a recipient of the University of Toronto, Victoria College Alumni of Distinction award in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxendale, Sonia Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce University of Toronto alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people