CIBC Names First Board Member Who Self-Identifies as Indigenous – Connected to Energy Projects

Podlasly is chief sustainability officer of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a collective of 144 Indigenous nations aimed at owning major infrastructure projects such as pipelines.

He also chairs the First Nations Limited Partnership, which includes 16 Indigenous nations engaged in a C$500 million ($368 million) commercial agreement with the Kitimat LNG project in British Columbia. Podlasly, who officially joins the CIBC board on Nov. 1, also sits on the board of Hydro One.

Canadian banks have faced calls to address a lack of diversity in their hiring, including at the board level.

But unlike gender-based goals — often in the range of 30% to 40% of directors — the lenders don’t generally have set targets for their boards on the appointment of people of color, Indigenous people, people with disabilities or those who identify as LGBTQ.

Canada’s large banks have also faced protests from Indigenous communities in recent years over climate policies and investment in projects such as oil pipelines that affect Indigenous territories.

Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank added Indigenous women to their boards in 2021: lawyer and activist Roberta Jamieson and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP partner and national leader Cherie Brant, respectively.

CIBC Chair Kate Stevenson said in a statement that Podlasly would contribute “deep expertise in sustainability, economic development for Indigenous communities and the development of large capital projects connected to energy, natural resources and community infrastructure around the world.”