Building success together.

Jake Lawrence was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Group Head, Global Banking and Markets in January 2021. In this role, Jake is responsible for the Bank’s Global Banking and Markets business line and strategy across its global footprint.

Jake joined Scotiabank in 2002 and has held progressively senior roles in Finance, Group Treasury and Global Banking and Markets. From December 2018 to January 2021, Jake was Co-Group Head of Global Banking and Markets with specific responsibility for its Capital Markets businesses, focused on building alignment across product groups and priority markets to best serve our clients throughout our global footprint. Previously, Jake was Executive Vice President and Head of Global Banking and Markets in the U.S., providing overall strategic direction and execution of Scotiabank’s U.S. businesses. Prior to moving into GBM, Jake served as Senior Vice President and Deputy Treasurer, responsible for Scotiabank’s wholesale funding activities and liquidity management as well as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations.

Jake holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Lakehead University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier School of Business and Economics.

James was appointed President and Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at Scotiabank in January 2021. In this role, he holds global management responsibility for Investment Banking, Global Business Payments and Corporate Banking with a specific focus on building strategic alignment, leveraging key growth opportunities and enhancing customer relationships while strengthening risk and governance oversight across the Bank’s Americas footprint.

Since joining Scotiabank in 1985, James has held a variety of leadership positions in areas including: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, International Banking and Global Banking and Markets.

James earned a BA in Economics and Political Science at McMaster University and completed the Ivey Executive Program at Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.

Paulo is responsible for the leadership of Scotiabank’s corporate banking operation in Brazil. Based in Sao Paulo, he manages a team focused on serving clients in the Energy, Power, Infrastructure and Mining sectors. Paulo joined Scotiabank in 2011 as a Managing Director, responsible for developing the corporate banking business in Brazil. Previously, Paulo spent many years with another multi-national financial services group and oversaw client coverage, business planning, strategy and marketing within corporate banking. He also held a variety of high profile positions in Brazil and London.

Paulo holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the Catholic University in Sao Paulo and a Master of Business Administration degree from University of Sao Paulo, with international modules in EM Lyon France, University of Cambridge, England and Vanderbilt University in the U.S.

Gonzalo has responsibility for managing the development in the Peruvian wholesale market, with a focus on corporate and commercial, investment banking and wealth management. Gonzalo has more than 20 years of experience in Peru’s financial system, having worked in corporate finance and capital markets teams at Scotiabank and Citibank. He currently acts as Chairman of La Fiduciaria, a leading trust services company in Peru.

From 2011 to 2013, Gonzalo served as CFO of Edegel, Peru’s largest electricity generation company and part of Endesa/Enel group, where he was a board member. He holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Universidad de Lima and has completed international programs in corporate finance, project finance, financial derivatives, leasing and risk, among other areas. He received the Execution program from the Universidad de Piura (PAD).

Stephen is responsible for leading the Bank’s growth in corporate, commercial, real estate banking, global capital markets and brokerage. He has more than 25 years of industry experience, including 18 years with Scotiabank. Most recently, he was responsible for corporate banking in Central America. He also led the integration of the corporate business line in Colombia following two acquisitions.

Prior to joining Scotiabank, Stephen held corporate and investment banking roles at another Canadian financial institution, with responsibility for Argentina, Peru and Chile, and prior to that, emerging markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Stephen served as Director, Scotiabank Costa Rica, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Scotiabank Chile Stock Brokerage, Director Scotia Chile Insurance and Vice President, Canada Chile Chamber of Business. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honors degree from Queen’s University and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

José Ignacio was appointed Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking for Latin America at Scotiabank in November 2020.

José brings over 17 years of experience in Investment Banking and Business Development and a successful track-record in M&A transaction origination and execution for Latin American and North American clients to this critical role at Scotiabank. He joined Scotiabank in 2013 as a Director on Peru's Investment Banking team and, for the past three years, was Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking in Peru. In 2019 and 2020, Jose was named as one of the four leading Investment Bankers in Peru by League Leaders. Prior to joining Scotiabank, José worked with the M&A team at another financial institution based in Toronto.

José holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Economics from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru.

Michael is responsible for the overall strategic direction and execution of Scotiabank’s U.S. businesses.

Prior to joining Scotiabank, Michael was Co-Head of Global Banking for the Americas at Standard Chartered, which he joined in 2013.  Based in New York, he oversaw the management of wholesale clients across six different industry segments including: Technology, Media & Telecom (“TMT”), Energy & Natural Resources (ENR), Industrials, Services, & Transportation (“IST”), Consumer, Healthcare & Retail (“CHR”), Latin America, and Commodities, Trading, & Agriculture (“CTA). 

Michael was previously based in Standard Chartered’s San Francisco office where he was Head of North American Coverage for the TMT segment and Head of the San Francisco Branch. In this role, he was responsible for interaction with the California Department of Business Oversight and the San Francisco Federal Reserve.

Before joining Standard Chartered, Michael was at J.P. Morgan Chase for 14 years, most recently as a Managing Director in the TMT segment in San Francisco. He was a founding member of the Global Corporate Bank and led numerous financings during his tenure at the firm. 

Michael started his career in leverage finance at Comerica Bank, where he worked for 5 years. He holds an MBA and Bachelor’s degree in Finance.   

​Héctor was appointed to his current role in, 2015 and holds responsibility for Corporate Banking, Capital Markets & Investment Banking México. Previously, Héctor was Vice President, Wholesale Banking at Scotiabank Chile, where he managed a team of 190 professionals in corporate, commercial and real estate banking, as well as product teams for Global Business Payments, leasing and factoring. He began his career with Scotiabank Chile in 2001 and developed the Corporate Finance Group, including loan syndications and local debt capital markets.

Before joining Scotiabank Chile, Héctor was the Managing Director and CEO of Corporate and Investment Banking in a global financial organization in Chile and spent four years at a major local bank. Héctor has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the Shorter University in the U.S.

Jabar is responsible for the growth and strategic direction of Scotiabank´s wholesale banking business in Colombia, which includes corporate, commercial, real estate, corporate finance, investment banking, transaction banking, capital markets, brokerage and trust services. Since joining Scotiabank in 2009, Jabar has progressed through various positions in commercial banking, corporate banking and corporate finance, across multiple jurisdictions. In 2016, he was appointed as Director – Latin America, International Corporate & Commercial Banking in Canada, where he supported regional business growth. He most recently held the position of Head, Corporate Banking – Colombia.

Jabar has a Master of International Commerce degree from l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, a Bachelor of Engineering degree (Industrial) from Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, and an Associate in International Business degree from The State University of New York.

As Senior Vice President, International Corporate and Commercial Banking, Robert is responsible for defining and implementing the strategic direction, goals and execution of key initiatives for the Bank’s International Corporate and Commercial Banking business lines.

Robert joined Scotiabank in El Salvador in 1999; since then he held a number of progressively more senior positions in Risk Management, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and more recently in General Management. In 2009 Robert was appointed Vice President of Corporate and Commercial Banking in El Salvador, with expanded responsibilities to include oversight of Treasury and Wealth Management. In 2011 he was appointed Country Head at Scotiabank Panama, and in 2015 he was promoted to Senior Vice President (SVP) and Country Head of Scotiabank Dominican Republic. In October 2018, he was appointed to his current position as SVP Corporate and Commercial Banking for the International Banking Division.

Robert has also built-up board experience having sat, and continuing to sit, as a Scotiabank representative on a variety of Bank subsidiary boards, and Bank-sponsored NGO’s.

Robert holds a BSc in Architectural Engineering (majoring in Structural Analysis) from the University of Texas at Austin, USA; a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas in El Salvador; a Banking & Finance Diploma from Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios, in El Salvador; and, a Master’s in International Business Law (LLM) from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. Robert is also a member of the first cohort of Scotiabank’s iLEAD Executive Management Program created in conjunction with Duke University’s Corporate Education.