AS I WRAP UP MY TIME AS CHAIR OF CFA SOCIETY TORONTO  and enter the final year of my second term serving on the Board of Directors, I can’t help but compare my two very different experiences on the Board. Some of my favourite moments from my first term, serving as Board Secretary in the mid-2000s, include many opportunities to connect face-to-face with my fellow members at conferences, networking events, and in-person board meetings. Meeting our membership helped me better understand member needs. My second term as Board Chair has been in the middle of a global pandemic. While I have missed those face-to-face interactions, I am incredibly proud of what we’ve all been able to accomplish and how well we’ve adapted and connected.

Our strides over the past two and a half years enable us to provide high-quality virtual events. While this past spring and summer marked a return to in-person meetings, we will continue to host a plethora of webinars and other online and hybrid programming to meet the demanding schedules of our membership. That being said, I am excited to meet with you in my new role as Past Chair at many of our in-person events scheduled for this coming year!

I also extend my sincere gratitude to Robert Cultraro, CFA, Director and Past Chair; Paul Hamilton, Director and Programming Chair; and Andrew Auerbach, Director and Board Member at Large, as they complete their terms. I want to thank Mr. Cultraro, CFA, who demonstrated steadfast leadership during his term as Chair, for his support as we faced and surmounted unique, and hopefully once-in-a-lifetime, challenges together. 

This year, we grew our membership to 11,000 people, becoming the largest CFA Society in the world; we also boast a member retention rate of 93.8%. I want to congratulate our members for achieving these notable milestones.

I am incredibly thankful to have been able to serve CFA Society Toronto twice in my career and am pleased to pass the baton and leave you in the capable hands of your new Board Chair, Mari Jenson, CFA.