TORONTO, June 19, 2024 /CNW/ - Scotiabank and MD Financial Management (MD) are pleased to announce Pamela Allen, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MD, has been recognized as the 2024 Catalyst Honours Company/Firm Leader Champion. This recognition was awarded to Pamela for her outstanding contributions toward accelerating progress for women in the workplace.

"Pamela is well-known across the Bank for being an impactful and inclusive business leader, driven by her desire to effect change through education, advocacy and mentorship opportunities for women and other equity-deserving groups. On behalf of all of us at Scotiabank, we would like to congratulate her for this well-deserved recognition," said Scott Thomson, President and CEO for Scotiabank.

As the first woman to become the CEO of MD, Pamela has been able to support the professional, social and personal advancement of women in both financial services and medicine due to MD's exclusive focus on physicians as clients. She has used her position to champion several influential programs to build inclusive workplaces including:

• Creation of Project Diana, an extensive program designed to support women physician clients with financial literacy and wellness. Project Diana is intrinsically linked to the Scotiabank Women Initiative which helps women grow businesses, advance careers and invest in their futures.
• Developing the Women in Leadership program to provide the knowledge and tools for women employees at MD to drive long, successful careers as leaders. The program has been tremendously successful, evidenced by half of MD's executive leadership and 58 per cent of MD employees being women.
• Inspiring more women at MD's Private Investment Counsel into becoming Portfolio Managers by sponsoring a talent initiative to ensure MD's women advisors were aware of the opportunities that exist for them.
• Supporting MD's partnerships with inclusive physician-focused organizations, such as the Federation of Medical Women of Canada, the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, the Canadian Association of Physicians with Disabilities, and sponsorships with the Black Physicians of Canada.

Pamela has also paved the way for future women CEOs at MD and elsewhere in the financial services industry.

Scotiabank's vision is to be our clients' most trusted financial partner, to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and maximize total shareholder return. Guided by our purpose: "for every future," we help our clients, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With assets of approximately $1.4 trillion (as at April 30, 2024), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on X @Scotiabank.

SOURCE Scotiabank