Bank of Nova Scotia

is appointing current chief risk officer Phil Thomas as its new chief strategy and operating officer starting in December, among other

executive changes

.

“Phil elevated our global risk management function during a period of rapid change and macroeconomic challenges, including the pandemic and ongoing global trade negotiations,”

Scotiabank’s

chief executive Scott Thomson said in a statement.

A chief risk officer identifies the risks a bank faces, and Thomas in recent quarters has talked about assessing threats stemming from United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.

Thomas will be replacing Anique Asher, who has held the role for about a year and a half. She will become the bank’s executive vice-president of Real Estate Secured Lending.

Shannon McGinnis, currently Scotiabank’s deputy chief risk officer, will replace Thomas as chief risk officer. She joined the bank in 2024 after working for nearly three decades at Toronto-Dominion Bank.

“These appointments reflect our commitment to developing exceptional talent and strengthening our leadership team to deliver sustainable, profitable growth,” Thomson said.

The executive changes come a few weeks after Scotiabank

started laying off workers in Canada

. The bank’s head of Canadian business, Aris Bogdaneris, sent a memo to employees last month that said “a transformation of this scale is not easy, especially when it means saying goodbye to valued colleagues.”

He also said the bank will continue to “deprioritize and eliminate activities that take up too much of our time and add little value to our clients and employees.”

Scotiabank also appointed Tracy Gomes as chief risk officer of Canadian Banking, Global Wealth Management and Credit Risk, and Meigan Terry as chief global corporate and public affairs officer.

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