A long-time champion of CFA Montréal steps down: a tribute to Honorary President Frederick Chenel

After eight years of service to CFA Montréal, Frederick Chenel, CFA, a stalwart advocate for the organization and the profession, and an attentive, thoughtful leader, is hanging up his hat as the Honorary President of the Board of Directors. He has played a key role in the growth and development of the Society through a series of tangible initiatives that have helped shore up its governance procedures, secure its sustainability and heighten its visibility.

Chenel became the President of CFA Montréal in 2017. His previous experience with the Society prepared him well for this new challenge. In 2014, a few years after earning his BCom degree with a major in finance from McGill University and becoming a CFA charterholder, he began volunteering with CFA Montréal as a university event organizer. A year later, he joined the Board of Directors as Secretary and head of the Governance Committee.

By the time he ascended to the presidency, Chenel was already intimately familiar with how the organization worked. He felt strongly about making Montreal a world-class financial hub and considered himself an ambassador for local industry and business community stakeholders. It is a role he embraced with distinction and determination.

But it is his ability to drive innovation and forge connections, both with his fellow board members and with other committees and CFA Montréal’s administration, that has been the key to his success. This mindset is largely responsible for his being named 2019 Volunteer of the Year for the Americas at the Global Society Leadership Conference.

Under his leadership, CFA Montréal rolled out a high-calibre professional development program, hosting such prominent speakers as Ian Bremmer, Stephen Poloz and Bob Woodward.

In 2018, he invited Paul Smith, then President and CEO of the CFA Institute, to come talk about changing standards in the financial industry in light of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 financial crisis. The event received widespread media coverage and raised the Society’s profile to unprecedented heights.

“Frederick Chenel has been an incredible ally for CFA Montréal and given his all to whatever endeavour he has undertaken. His generosity, composure and wisdom have shone through in every aspect of his leadership. On behalf of the entire team, I thank him for having given so much of himself to our organization over the years,” said sitting CFA Montréal President Odrée Ducharme, CFA.

Here are just some of Chenel’s achievements during his tenure:

• Creation of a strategic planning committee to set out the objectives and development priorities of CFA Montréal, in line with the CFA Institute’s goals
• Strengthening of the network of volunteers to better support the Society’s mission and expand its service offering
• Implementation of various services aimed specifically at CFA candidates to lay the foundations for a strong relationship throughout their CFA journey and improve their chances of passing the exams
• Setup of the Fintech Committee to encourage members to develop new technology-related skills in order to keep pace with the changing financial industry
• Survey of CFA Montréal members on how the asset management industry had changed since the 2008 financial crisis, which led to an event focusing on the same theme and excellent media coverage for the Society
• (As Outgoing President) Outreach with CFA Societies Canada and the CFA Institute, thereby strengthening CFA Montréal’s positioning in the broader community.

Thank you, Frederick, for your many years of hard work and commitment, and for the indelible legacy you are leaving us with. Your involvement is the reason our members, and the financial and investment industry as a whole, value what we do so highly.