Partner Blog: CIBC

We had an excellent meeting with CIBC’s Alex Philips, Joseph Cox, Jeremy McKenzie, and Chad Schella. Alex is the Director, Government Relations, and Public Policy at CIBC. Joseph is the Head of US Government Relations. Additionally, Jeremy is the Senior Manager of Government Relations and Public Policy, and Chad is Associate Vice-President, Government Relations.  

CIBC operates its business in Canada and abroad through three divisions: retail and business banking, wealth management, and capital markets. As one of the largest banks in the country, CIBC’s government relations work is quite extensive. It was enlightening to hear about how Alex, Joseph, Jeremy, and Chad work to engage with the various levels of government to advocate on behalf of CIBC.  

While the OLIP interns have had the opportunity to meet with many individuals from the GR space, we found this meeting exceptionally interesting, as CIBC’s GR strategy operates at an international level, specifically between Canada and the US. We had a vibrant discussion about the potential role that banks may play in the relationship between the US and Canada. Our discussion covered the role of the banking sector in Canada and how banks truly impact the lives of every Canadian in some way. We were also able to spend some time debriefing the results of the recent federal election, especially how Prime Minister Mark Carney's experience in the banking industry will contribute to his position.  

Thank you very much to CIBC for the engaging discussion and their support of our program!