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Royal Bank of Canada executive officer Barb Stymiest.

Royal Bank of Canada executive Barbara Stymiest is retiring from the bank next summer to concentrate on board work and charitable organizations.

Ms. Stymiest, one of the most senior women on Bay Street, was recruited by the country's largest bank about six years ago, when she was the head of stock market operator TSX Group. While she had once been thought of as a potential successor to chief executive officer Gordon Nixon, her power within the bank decreased over the years.

Last year, Mr. Nixon shuffled the bank's leadership team, eliminating the chief operating officer role that Ms. Stymiest had held. Instead, she become group head of strategy, treasury and corporate services.

Ms. Stymiest sits on the board of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., as well as Symcor Inc., the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and the Royal Ontario Museum.

"As a key member of the group executive team, Barb delivered with dedication and integrity," Mr. Nixon wrote in an internal memo to employees about her departure, which she announced at an internal town hall to a standing ovation.

"Under Barb's leadership, we significantly raised the visibility of the RBC brand throughout North America and Europe, and developed a focused corporate citizenship approach," Mr. Nixon wrote. "Barb has evolved our corporate treasury function into a distinct competitive strength and further developed our award winning general counsel's function and leading internal audit function. She has provided visible leadership in addressing the increasing complexity of our regulatory environment while contributing to our operational effectiveness through her oversight of many key corporate services."

While she doesn't like to make a point of it, Ms. Stymiest has long been considered a trail blazer for female executives. When she was appointed partner at Ernst & Young at the age of 30 she was the youngest partner at the firm. By the age of 35 she was vice-president and chief financial officer of Nesbitt Burns Inc. As the head of the TSX, she presided over the restructuring of major stock exchanges located across Canada into one senior equities exchange which went public in 2002 with her at the helm.

As a result of Ms. Stymiest's pending departure, four senior managers will report to other remaining executives. Jamie Anderson, the deputy chair of RBC Capital Markets, will also assume the role of head of RBC corporate strategy and development, reporting directly to Mr. Nixon.

"Jamie has been an expert adviser to GE as well as to corporate clients throughout his career and has deep insight into financial services, both in Canada and internationally," Mr. Nixon wrote.

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