CI Financial CEO Bill Holland.Kevin Van Paassen
CI Financial Corp.'s Bill Holland will relinquish his role as chief executive officer of the wealth management firm on Sept. 1 to become full-time executive chairman.
Mr. Holland, who has been CEO since 1999, will devote his energies to important strategic initiatives and pursuing a growth mandate, the Toronto-based firm said Wednesday.
"It's just business as usual," Mr. Holland, 51, said in an interview. "I have the same office, the same hours and the same pay."
Stephen McPhail, 53, who has been president of CI since 2005 and chief operating officer since 1999, will take over as CEO.
Mr. Holland, who has overseen the growth of CI Financial since the 1990s to become the third-largest fund company in Canada, said that the transition has been under consideration for a number of months, and the alignment of titles merely reflects the duties that each have performed for some time.
Peter Anderson, executive vice-president of CI and a member of the company's senior executive team since 1997 as well as Mr. McPhail, were appointed to the board of directors on Wednesday.
The board has been increased to nine from seven members with a majority of members independent of management. Raymond Chang, who has served as non-executive chairman, will remain on the board.
GMP Securities analyst Stephen Boland said he believes the announcement is a "natural progression for the company and that there will be little day-to-day impact on operations as Mr. McPhail had previously assumed many CEO-level operational responsibilities. The title changes also highlight the depth of management."
CI's relationship with its largest single shareholder, Bank of Nova Scotia, has begun to gain some traction, as mentioned during a recent conference call, Mr. Boland added.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Holland told analysts that CI has "made considerable progress identifying and being offered business opportunities" with Scotiabank.
Mr. Boland said in a report that he also believes CI's long-term operational success will be with the management team that now has responsibility for the day to day operations, including Mr. McPhail and Mr. Anderson.
"With additional members of CI's management team on the board, we expect to see a greater number of growth initiatives pushed into action," said Mr. Boland. He rates CI stock a "buy" with a one-year target of $25 a share.