Regional Leadership | Global Banking and Markets

Jake Lawrence

Group Head and Chief Executive Officer, Global Banking and Markets

Jake Lawrence was appointed Group Head and Chief Executive Officer, Global Banking and Markets in January 2021. In this role, Jake is responsible for the Bank’s Global Banking and Markets business 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. Most recenly, Jake was Co-Group Head of Global Banking and Markets with specific responsibility for its Capital Markets businesses. Previously, Jake was Executive Vice President and Head of Global Banking and Markets in the U.S. Prior to joining the GBM business, Jake served as Scotiabank's Deputy Treasurer as well as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations.

Jake is a member of the Advisory Council for Women in Capital Markets and a member of the Canadian Advisory Board for Right to Play.

He 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 A. Neate

President and Group Head, Corporate & Investment Banking

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 A. C. Bernardo

CEO and Country Head, Brazil

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.

Gustavo Ale

Vice President, Wholesale Banking, Colombia

Gustavo is responsible for the overall strategic direction and growth of corporate, commercial, real estate, corporate finance, investment banking, transaction banking, and capital markets within Colombia. This is a key market for Scotiabank since the country is part of the Pacific Alliance economic bloc. Prior to assuming this role in June 2021, he was Managing Director and Co-Head, Corporate Banking for Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets in Mexico. Since joining Scotiabank in 2004, Gustavo has held progressively senior roles across credit risk management, corporate finance and corporate and commercial banking in Chile, Mexico and Canada.

Gustavo holds a Master in Finance degree from Universidad Adolfo Ibañez (Chile) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance and a major in Economics, from Universidad Finis Terrae (Chile).

Gonzalo Gil

Senior Vice President, Wholesale Banking, Peru

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 Guthrie

Senior Vice President, International Corporate and Commercial Banking

Stephen Guthrie was appointed Senior Vice President, International Corporate and Commercial Banking at Scotiabank in June 2021. In this role, he is responsible for defining and implementing the strategic direction and execution of key initiatives in Scotiabank’s International Corporate and Commercial Banking business lines in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Stephen joined Scotiabank in Chile in 2000 and has, over the course of his career with the Bank, held a number of increasingly senior corporate and commercial banking leadership roles in Canada and the Pacific Alliance countries. He was, most recently, Senior Vice President and Head, Wholesale Banking for Scotiabank in Chile for six years. Previously, Stephen held senior leadership Corporate and Commercial banking roles in Central and Latin America and was Vice President and Head of Corporate Finance for Latin America.

Prior to joining Scotiabank, Stephen worked in Corporate and Investment Banking at another major Canadian financial institution, initially with responsibility for emerging markets within Europe, Middle East, and Africa and ultimately in Argentina, Peru and Chile.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree from Queen’s University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Stephen resides in Toronto. He is married with three children.

Jose Ignacio Valdez

Managing Director, Head of Latin America Investment Banking

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

Jose 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.

Jose 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 Kruse

Managing Director and Head, Global Banking and Markets, U.S.

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.

Hector Perez Osorio

Managing Director and Head, Global Banking and Markets, Mexico

Hector was appointed to his current role in, 2015 and holds responsibility for Corporate Banking, Capital Markets & Investment Banking Mexico. Previously, Hector 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, Hector 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 Singh

Senior Vice President, Wholesale Banking, Chile

Jabar is responsible for the growth and strategic direction of Scotiabank´s wholesale banking business in Chile, 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.

Robert Williams

CEO, Costa Rica and Senior Vice President, Central America

Robert has dedicated more than twenty years of his career to Scotiabank, supporting the Bank’s International Corporate and Commercial banking business lines in numerous jurisdictions. Most recently, Robert was appointed CEO, Scotiabank Costa Rica and Senior Vice President, Central America with oversight for Scotiabank’s operations in this region and the implementation of key initiatives in support of the business’ growth strategy.

Since 2018 he held the post of Senior Vice President, International Corporate and Commercial Banking, Latin America and Caribbean. Intimately familiar with the region, Robert was born in El Salvador and originally joined Scotiabank in El Salvador in 1999 and has since held a number of progressively senior positions in Risk Management, Corporate and Commercial Banking. In 2011 he was appointed Country Head at Scotiabank Panama, and in 2015 he was promoted to Senior Vice President and Country Head of Scotiabank Dominican Republic.

Robert also serves as a Scotiabank representative on a variety of Bank subsidiary boards, and Bank-sponsored NGO’s. He 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.