People Watch: New appointments at Canada Infrastructure Bank, Financial Horizons

The Canada Infrastructure Bank has appointed Annie Ropar as its chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, effective June 1.

In her duties as chief financial officer, Ropar will handle financial oversight of the bank’s activities, including implementation of key finance processes and controls, assessing performance and developing the framework for enterprise risk management.

In her other duties as chief administrative officer, Ropar will oversee corporate functions such as legal affairs, human resources, technology, operations and information management.

Read: Canada Infrastructure Bank appoints interim CIO

Ropar comes to the infrastructure bank from Aequitas Innovations Inc., where she held the role of chief financial officer. She’s also a board member of Ontario Growth Capital Corp, a provincial agency supporting venture capital investment.

“Annie’s experience in advisory and board roles, financial and business operations, and the structuring, negotiation and monitoring of investment transactions will serve her well in this new role,” said Janice Fukakusa, chair of the board of directors of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, in a news release.

In other news, Financial Horizons Inc. has appointed Nick Pszeniczny as president and chief executive officer, effective July 1.

With Pszeniczny assuming the position, John Hamilton, founder and chief executive officer of Financial Horizons, will transition to the role of founder and senior advisor, while remaining on the company’s board.

“Over a 35-year career, Nick has developed a deep understanding of the needs of advisors and is the right person to lead and grow our business further in the coming years,” said Hamilton.

Read: Great-West Life acquires Financial Horizons

“John established [Financial Horizons] in 1990 with the goal to become the leading independent [managing general agent] in Canada. Today, the organization has grown to a network of 6,600 advisors operating in 30 offices nationwide,” said Pszeniczny.

“I thank John for his leadership and vision that has built our organization to what it is today.”