EQ Bank founder Andrew Moor led $134 billion growth and digital shift before sudden death prompts transition
Canada’s longest-serving bank CEO, Andrew Moor, died unexpectedly over the weekend, prompting EQB Inc. to activate its emergency succession plan and appoint chief risk officer Marlene Lenarduzzi as interim president and CEO, according to a company statement issued June 18.
As reported by BNN Bloomberg, Moor, who led EQB since 2007, was instrumental in transforming the institution into Canada’s seventh-largest bank with $134bn in combined assets under management and administration.
His leadership saw the company evolve from a regional trust with 107 employees and $4.4bn in assets to a coast-to-coast lender with nearly 2,000 staff and more than 742,000 customers.
EQB chair Vincenza Sera said in the statement that “[Moor] was a visionary leader and a fierce advocate for change and innovation in banking that benefits all Canadians.”
She added that he “instilled a culture at EQB that is both forward looking and faithful to the sound principles of prudent banking that engender public trust.”
EQB confirmed that Moor and the board had been working on a CEO succession plan over the past two years.
As per the company’s release, “the process was very advanced at the time of his passing,” and the board plans to announce a permanent successor “in the very near term.”
According to the Financial Post, Lenarduzzi brings more than 25 years of experience in risk management, banking strategy development, regulatory affairs, and operations.
Prior to joining EQB, she held senior roles at Bank of Montreal, including head of counterparty credit risk and interim chief risk officer for BMO Ireland. She will also join the boards of EQB and Equitable Bank.
Moor joined EQB in March 2007 following previous roles at Invis Inc., CIBC, and Wood Gundy.
As per BNN Bloomberg, he led the firm through the global financial crisis and oversaw significant diversification of its lending portfolio—including expansions into reverse mortgages, insurance and commercial lending, and equipment financing.
EQB also became the largest securitizer of CMHC-insured multi-unit residential mortgages and expanded its presence through the acquisitions of Bennington Financial and Concentra Bank.
Under Moor’s direction, EQB launched EQ Bank in 2016, an all-digital platform offering no-fee, high-interest savings products.
EQB’s differentiated capital allocation approach contributed to one of the best total shareholder returns among North American banks over the past 18 years, as stated in the company’s release.
Andrew Graham, CEO of fintech lender Borrowell, told Financial Post that Moor played a pivotal role in his company’s founding in 2014 by providing early funding and board-level support.
Graham added that Moor was “a champion of financial innovation” and a strong advocate for open banking, which he believed would expand consumer choice in Canadian financial services.
Sera concluded that “thanks to [Moor]’s inspired leadership, EQB has the talented people, the high-performance culture and the proven shareholder value creation strategies to excel in his absence.”
