A Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sign is seen in downtown Toronto.MARK BLINCH/Reuters
Royal Bank of Canada hired a new executive responsible for technology and operations.
Bruce Ross joins RBC's executive committee from IBM, where he last served as North American head of global technology services, and was previously head of IBM Canada.
In the past, technology and operations would not have been regarded as high-profile compared to, say, capital markets, or as impactful to the bottom line as personal and commercial banking, but no longer. All of the Big Six banks are spending heavily on technology, doing everything from upgrading their retail sales force programs to investing in mobile wallets and cloud technology.
The role is especially important for RBC after the bank was embroiled in a difficult situation this spring surrounding the outsourcing of some Canadian jobs through a partnership with a company called iGate Corp. Mr. Ross has experience in this arena, having served as vice president of strategic outsourcing for IBM's global banking group.
Mr. Ross fills a hole created by the departure of Morteza Mahjour, the former head of technology and operations, who left the bank in July. Chief administrative officer and chief financial officer Janice Fukakusa helped fill the gap between that departure and Mr. Ross's hire, and will continue to chair RBC's operating committee.
Tim Kiladze