Toronto, Ontario, Canada, August 2025 – EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB) is pleased to announce that Anilisa Sainani will join EQB as SVP and Chief Financial Officer, and David Wilkes will be elevated to a new role as SVP and Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, both effective August 28, 2025. These key appointments will steward Equitable Bank, Canada’s Challenger Bank™, through the next chapter of its bold, growth-focused strategy under recently appointed President and CEO, Chadwick Westlake.
“At EQB, talent is our most powerful asset. As we embark on our next significant chapter of growth, we are fortunate to have attracted and nurtured world-class leaders who have the vision, expertise and capabilities necessary to achieve our full potential,” said Mr. Westlake. “With these important appointments, we are well-equipped to propel our growth agenda forward and continue galvanizing positive change in Canadian banking at an accelerated pace.”
Anilisa Sainani brings over 20 years of diverse experience in banking and finance at globally recognized institutions. She joins EQB after over a decade of increasingly senior financial leadership roles with RBC, including as VP, Chief Accountant, and, most recently, Chief Operating Officer, CFO Group. She has a proven track record of delivering on transformative strategic priorities, driving efficiency and leading with clarity. Her impressive strategic insight and global financial expertise, combined with deep community involvement, have brought her national recognition as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. She is a CPA Fellow and holds a BMath and MAcc from the University of Waterloo. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Directors for St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation and Kingsway College School.
“Anilisa is a force in Canadian banking whose career trajectory is uniquely impressive, and I’m delighted to welcome her to our ambitious challenger team as our next era begins,” said Mr. Westlake. “Her broad and impressive array of skills balance financial discipline with strategic foresight, and her highly effective leadership will be central to unlocking our many transformative opportunities in the near and long-term.”
“I’m honoured to join Canada’s Challenger Bank at a pivotal moment in its story,” shared Ms. Sainani. “This is a clear inflection point, with a distinct opportunity to pair disciplined action with bold ideas – unlocking growth, accelerating results and unleashing the full value of a challenger mindset at a time when Canadians, their families and businesses need it most.”
David Wilkes, currently VP and Head of Finance, will assume the new role of SVP and Chief Strategy & Growth Officer. Since joining EQB in 2022, he has overseen strategy, corporate development, M&A, financial planning and analysis, productivity and investor and regulatory reporting. He brings over two decades of leadership in banking and strategy, most recently as a Partner with McKinsey & Company where he advised financial services organizations across North America on driving transformational change, growth strategies and digital innovation. He holds a BASc in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
“David has been a cornerstone in our growth story since he joined us in 2022, strengthening EQB through his strategic acumen and disciplined execution,” added Mr. Westlake. “His leadership has been instrumental in building the momentum we have today, and there are few who understand our story and potential better than David. With our significantly reenergized focus on growth and achieving our full potential, including with organic and inorganic capital allocation, we are well-positioned to accelerate under his new mandate.”
Alongside these leadership appointments, Lemar Persaud joins EQB as VP and Head of Investor Relations. In this strategic role, he will deepen key relationships and amplify EQB‘s challenger story among all stakeholders. He joins from Cormark Securities, where he most recently served as Institutional Equity Analyst covering financial institutions. He completed a BAcc and MAcc from the University of Waterloo and holds CA, CPA and CFA designations.
About EQB Inc.
EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB) is a leading digital financial services company with $134 billion in combined assets under management and administration (as at April 30, 2025). It offers banking services through Equitable Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary and Canada’s seventh largest bank by assets, and wealth management through ACM Advisors, a majority owned subsidiary specializing in alternative assets. As Canada’s Challenger Bank™, Equitable Bank has a clear mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people’s lives. It delivers personal and commercial banking experiences to over 742,000 customers and six million credit union members. Through its digital platform EQ Bank, customers have named it one of Canada’s top banks on the Forbes World’s Best Banks list since 2021.
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