Alberta’s Crown-owned bank ATB Financial announced Thursday its next president and CEO is Curtis Stange, who will replace the retiring Dave Mowat.
After 11 years as head of the financial institution, Mowat will be stepping down as CEO and president on June 30.
READ MORE: ATB president Dave Mowat retiring after 11 years
The province formally approved Stange’s appointment. He is currently ATB’s chief customer officer and has more than 30 years experience in banking.
“To be given this opportunity is incredibly humbling and I’m inspired to work alongside 5,000 team members rich with culture and obsessed with serving our customers,” Stange said.
“We have the chance to transform banking and become more than a bank. We also have the privilege of using technology for the greater good of all Albertans and I can’t wait to see what our future holds.”
“Curtis is the perfect choice to become ATB’s next president and CEO,” said Mowat.
“ATB prides itself on being more than a bank and Curtis is certainly more than a banker. I’m confident that, under his leadership, there’s an even brighter future ahead for ATB.”
Mowat, who will turn 63 next month, has three adult children and is 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 told Global News when announcing his retirement from ATB earlier this year. “It will be fun to work with them. I am flattered our kids want to do something together.”
Mowat led the bank through the 2008-09 financial crisis, as well as the oil slump that took hold in 2015. He leaves as the economy shows signs of recovery.
He was also the chairman of an Alberta government panel that carried out a royalty review in 2015. His review recommended keeping things the same for oilsands projects, but tweaking the framework for conventional oil and natural gas wells so royalty rates better take into account the costs of drilling, instead of just production rates and commodity prices.
READ MORE: Alberta sets out details for new oil and gas royalty framework
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.
Since 2007, the financial institution 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.
READ MORE: ATB launches virtual banking assistant on Facebook Messenger
Mowat also spearheaded the Light the Bridge project, which used individual donations to fund programmable LED lights across Edmonton’s High Level Bridge.
WATCH: Jul 1, 2014 — Quinn Ohler took a look at what it took to get the lights on the High Level bridge.
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