Leadership in an Interconnected Risk Environment
GRI’s Women in Risk brings together risk leaders, board directors and senior executives from across the financial sector for a high-impact networking event focused on the most pressing risks facing the industry today. In an environment increasingly defined by interconnected risks and complexity, the program highlights the top risks identified by GRI members in the Canadian Financial Services Risk Outlook Survey 2026:
- Geopolitical and Policy Risk
- Macroeconomic Risk
- Technology and Cyber Risk
Sessions are designed to support strategic decision-making, strengthen boardroom engagement and translate complex risk issues into actionable insights.
Resources:
Sonia Baxendale,
President and CEO, GRI
Sonia Baxendale is President & CEO of GRI, bringing together leaders from industry, academia and government to focus on emerging risks to the Canadian financial system. She has extensive experience as an executive and non-executive in the financial services industry globally. Sonia sits on the boards of Laurentian Bank, Definity Financial Corp., and Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), and is past Chair of the Board of SickKids Foundation. Prior to joining GRI, she held senior roles at CIBC, including Senior Executive Vice President and President of CIBC Retail Markets, where she led the Retail & Commercial Banking and Wealth Management businesses.
Shelby Austin,
Chief Executive Officer, Arteria AI
Shelby Austin is founder and CEO of Arteria AI, and was previously Managing Partner of Growth & Investments and Omnia AI at Deloitte Canada, where she was responsible for inorganic and accelerated growth investments through acquisitions, ventures, incubation and scale-up and asset development. Shelby joined Deloitte through its acquisition of her first company, a high-growth startup. She was named to Maclean’s 2024 list of the 100 Most Powerful Canadians.
Deb Barnes,
Chief Risk Officer, OMERS
Deb Barnes joined OMERS in 2020 as Managing Director, Capital Markets Risk, and was appointed Chief Risk Officer in 2023. Prior to OMERS, she spent 15 years at QIC, an Australian-headquartered asset management firm specializing in Fixed Income, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Real Estate. After 10 years in QIC’s Global Fixed Income team, she made the transition to risk in 2016. As a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Risk Management for Corporate Leaders Program, she returns annually to present on the application of the program’s learnings.
Claire Fan,
Senior Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
Claire Fan is a Senior Economist at RBC. She analyzes key economic indicators, interest rate decisions, and trade flows to develop comprehensive macroeconomic forecasts. Claire co-hosts RBC’s 10-Minute Take podcast, making complex economics accessible to all.
Miranda Hubbs,
Corporate Director, Nutrien, Imperial Oil, PSP Investments, CIRO, Chair, Canadian Red Cross
Miranda Hubbs sits on the boards of Nutrien, Imperial Oil, PSP Investments and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and is Chair of the Canadian Red Cross. She was previously Executive Vice President and Managing Director of McLean Budden Ltd., one of Canada’s largest institutional asset managers. Miranda is a member of the ICD Climate Strategy Advisory Board and GRI’s Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee.
Romana Mizdrak, Managing Director, Risk Quantification Division, OSFI
Romana Mizdrak is a Managing Director of Risk Quantification Division at the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions. In her current role, Romana leads the team responsible for delivering advance analytics-driven, macro-prudential insights for assessing both financial and non-financial risks across the Canadian Financial System. Recently Romana has been actively engaged in understanding how advanced analytics (i.e. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) are reshaping Financial Industry Sector in Canada.
Serena Tejani,
Partner, Cybersecurity Services, KPMG
Serena Tejani is a trusted leader in digital identity and cybersecurity with over 25 years of experience driving large-scale technology transformations across North America. As a Partner at KPMG Canada, she leads the Digital Identity practice, helping organizations fortify assets, ensure compliance, and accelerate digital growth.
Pallavi Tripathi,
Senior Vice President & CIO, Capital Markets Technology, CIBC
Pallavi Tripathi is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Capital Markets, Commercial and Treasury Technology at CIBC, where she has been instrumental in driving transformation, innovation, modernization, and operational efficiency. With over 20 years of experience, Pallavi previously worked at TD Securities leading large-scale application upgrades focused on operational agility.
Karrie Van Belle,
Chief Operating Officer, GRI
Chief Operating Officer, GRI
Karrie Van Belle is Chief Operating Officer and serves as Corporate Secretary to the GRI Board of Directors. Karrie helps to guide strategy and execution of GRI’s mandate, addressing challenges and developing and implementing policies and procedures to enhance operational effectiveness. Karrie has held roles leading marketing, communications, digital operations and investment product teams. Before coming to GRI, she was Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at AGF Investments and previously held progressively senior roles at BlackRock Canada, Saint Elizabeth Health Care, Edward Jones and Canada Trust.
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