Rania Llewellyn

Rania Llewellyn was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Laurentian Bank of Canada in 2020, the first woman to lead a major chartered bank in Canada. Under her leadership, the Bank launched a three-year strategic plan, was de-unionized after 53 years, and exceeded all of its financial and non-financial targets.

Rania is a first-generation Canadian, having immigrated from the Middle-East in her teenage years. As a transformational change leader, her top priority is building high-performance teams and creating a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion. Her focus on improving the customer experience and driving growth and shareholder value has earned her wide recognition and awards, including being awarded the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Leader of the Year Award in 2023, being named on Maclean’s 2022 The Power List, and included as one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in 2021.

Rania has more than 29 years of experience in the banking industry. She previously served as Executive Vice President, Global Business Payments at Scotiabank, where she began her career as a part-time teller. Over the years she held increasingly senior positions at Scotiabank including as Vice-President, Multicultural Banking; President and CEO of Roynat Capital (a Scotiabank subsidiary); Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking; and Senior Vice President, Products and Services, Global Transaction Banking.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and MBA Degree from Saint Mary’s University where she focused on Finance, Marketing and International Business. In 2022, Ontario Tech University awarded her with an Honorary Doctor of Laws, and she received an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Saint Mary’s University in 2014. Rania is married to Sean Llewellyn and is the proud mother of two children, Sofia and Zachary.