Laurentian Bank ‘Crisis’ Elevates CEO After Chaotic Weekend (1)

The leadership change at Laurentian Bank of Canada was so abrupt that the new chief executive officer, Eric Provost, only found out over the weekend that he would be taking over. By Monday morning, even the chairman who made that phone call was gone.

Laurentian announced Monday that Provost is replacing Rania Llewellyn immediately, a rare sudden leadership switch by a Canadian bank. Less than three weeks ago, Provost had been given an expanded role leading personal and commercial banking. The promotion to CEO came as a complete surprise, he said.

Canada’s ninth-largest publicly traded bank has just emerged ...