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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1081341
B A N K I NG Kathy Butler MANAGING DIRECTOR AND HEAD, CIBC CAPITAL MARKETS – BC Kathy Butler has worked in investment banking at CIBC for 22 years. That's highly unusual, she notes, explaining that she stays for the reasons that attracted her in the •rst place. After an invest- ment banking presentation at U of T's Rotman School of Management, where she got her MBA (•nance with honours) in 1996, Butler thought, "That is absolutely what I want to do." She enjoys the men- tal challenge of puzzling through di‹er- ent scenarios, helping clients solve their •nancing or strategic problems, and the camaraderie of working with smart peo- ple on project teams. Butler joined CIBC Capital Markets investment banking in Toronto right after graduation, moving back to B.C., where she'd obtained a BComm in Œinance with honours at UBC in 1992, •ve years later. Born in Jamaica, she moved here in 1987 from Toronto after previously living in Portland, Oregon, where her dad was a branch manager. On week- ends, she went into the banking centre and pretended to be a banker, playing with withdrawal and deposit slips. She often works with technolo•y companies, which she loves because of tech people's passion, drive and com- mitment to doing something di‹erent. Butler is a partner in the Social Venture Partners Vancouver philanthropic initia- tive. "It's run sort of like a venture capi- tal •rm," she says. "The partners fund not-for-pro•ts, and you coach them and help them succeed on their business plan and their mandate." She also serves on the board of governors of the Business Council of British Columbia. To encourage others to enter the Œield, Butler talks to high school and UBC students about Œinance as a pro- fession, as well as recruiting and men- toring informally. Unlike in retail and commercial banking, gender diver- sity on the capital markets side is still a challenge. "It remains a concern to all of us, and we continue to really reach out and promote the oppor- tunity within the Œinance industry," Butler says. Selling features are that no day is the same, there's always a chal- lenge, and •nance opens up a variety of career paths—the skills acquired and the knowledge gained are applicable to run- ning a company. —F.S. B . C .' S MO S T I N F LU E N T I A L WOM E N Christine Bergeron Senior VP, member experience and com- munity engagement, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union Claire Cobden VP and treasurer, Blue- Shore Financial Kathy Conway CEO, Interior Savings Credit Union Louise Fogharty VP, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Rowena Gill Senior VP and loan team manager, Western Canada commercial banking, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Canadian branch Julia Kelly District VP, Richmond, South Vancouver, South Delta, branch banking, TD Bank Kirsten Kennedy Managing director, fixed income sales, and sales manager, BMO Capital Markets Kellie Manchester Partner and co-founder, Sequeira Partners Karla McCarthy Head, business banking credit, BMO Western Canada Erica McGuinness VP, Sequeira Partners Launi Skinner CEO, First West Credit Union Georgia Stavridis Senior VP and head of financial crime compli- ance, HSBC Bank Canada Lesly Tayles Senior VP, B.C. and Yukon Region, Scotiabank Devon Thompson VP, commercial and financial services, Royal Bank of Canada Sophia Tsui Senior VP and chief audi- tor, HSBC Bank Canada Tamara Vrooman President and CEO, Vancity Frances Yip VP finance, Coast Capital Savings BCBUSINESS.CA MARCH 2019 BCBUSINESS 41