After more than a decade — and a number of community-driven initiatives — the head of ATB Financial announced he will be retiring.
Dave Mowat will be stepping down as CEO and president of ATB on June 30.
“It’s been an amazing 11 years with a company I love,” Mowat said.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve, not only in terms of growing our business and the number of Albertans we serve, but also building a company that’s loved and respected by Albertans.
“We do an outstanding job of serving communities across the province and I’m especially proud of the fact that we’re consistently recognized as one of the best places to work in Canada.”
Mowat, 62, led the bank through the 2008-09 financial crisis as well as the oil price downturn that took hold in 2015. He leaves as the economy shows signs of recovery.
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“We have a great executive team and a lot of momentum in the organization,” he told Global News on Monday. “I’ll be 63 in June so the combination of me and the organization’s readiness… Once we get some new ideas, new perspective, I think it has the opportunity to really surge ahead.
“The timing is great for both of us.”
Since Mowat assumed the top role, ATB has grown from $20.3 billion in total assets in 2007 to $49.6 billion today. In that same time, the number of ATB customers has grown from 600,000 to 740,000.
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Since 2007, the company has contributed $72 million in corporate donations and sponsorships, including raising $9.1 million for the United Way and $9 million for the Stollery and Alberta Children’s Hospitals.
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“Dave is a visionary leader and he has been instrumental in transforming ATB from a more traditional financial institution to an innovative, forward-thinking company that’s constantly developing new and better ways to serve our customers,” board chair Brian Hesje said.
“He’s certainly guided the company through some challenging times and, while we’ll definitely miss his leadership, we’re in a strong position to build on the foundation he’s put in place, especially with the team of people at ATB.”
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Mowat was instrumental in developing Four Directions Financial, an innovative banking service with the goal of helping vulnerable citizens.
He also spearheaded the Light the Bridge project, which used individual donations to fund programmable LED lights across Edmonton’s High Level Bridge.
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The bank says it is starting a search for a replacement and will announce Mowat’s successor in May.
“Banking is going to be exciting,” Mowat said. “It’s hard to say banking and exciting in the same sentence but it’s going to change a lot in the next decade and we’re right on top of some of those trends.
“The next year, we’ll have probably our best year ever, both financially and in terms of morale, in terms of customer satisfaction, and that’s the launching pad you want for the next CEO.”
A news release from the company said Mowat plans to stay active both in business and in a variety of community causes.
Mowat has three adult children and is also hoping there will be an opportunity to be involved in a family business.
“One is a geomatic engineer, another builds houses and the other is a banker. They are all interested in a family business of some kind,” Mowat said. “It will be fun to work with them. I am flattered our kids want to do something together.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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