Business Continuity Planning for Financial Institutions

Effective BCP risk assessment
Carla Thompson

Conducting a thorough business impact analysis
David A. Johnson

Effectively testing the business continuity strategy
Martine Lapointe

Plan maintenance
Michael O. Addo-Yobo

Training staff on business continuity plan
Demetra T. Valente

Managing business continuity in a cross border environment
Thomas G. Frank
James L. Puralewski

Marylaine Canavan is Manager, Business Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in Business Continuity, part of their Risk and Regulatory practice, where she is involved in the development and review of recovery strategies and plans for many organizations. Previously, Marylaine worked as Director, Consulting Services for Agility Recovery Solutions. Prior to Agility, Marylaine was a senior consultant at IBM and a partner of Continuum Planning Inc. Marylaine has over 20 years of experience in Information Security, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. She is a well-known speaker on Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity topics and issues. Her industry experience spans many different business sectors, including financial, energy and manufacturing at all phases of Business Continuity Program maturity. Marylaine specializes in developing and implementing comprehensive Business Continuity Programs that integrate with corporate ethical culture and governance controls.

Michael Addo-Yobo is a Manager with the Enterprise Risk Group of Deloitte & Touche LLP in Toronto and currently leads the business continuity management service offering at Deloitte in the GTA. Since obtaining a first degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, Michael has endured 15 years of management and information technology consulting experience with national and multinational corporations in a number of countries including the U.S. and Canada. In the last 10 years, Michael has been involved with Business Continuity Management and related disciplines for large organizations, particularly in the financial services industry. A member of a number of professional organizations such as the BCI, DRII and ISACA, his current portfolio includes key Deloitte & Touche clients in the financial services, telecommunications and real estate industry. Michael has also been involved in IT Governance work related to strategy, risk and control as well as process. Michael has an MBA degree in strategic management and finance as well as the CISA and CBCP professional designations. He is also ITIL-Foundations certified. His industry experience includes banking/financial services, real estate, telecommunications, oil & gas, health, mining and air navigation.

Eric Boehm is a senior associate in Torys' Technology Group. Eric's practice includes negotiating outsourcing, system development agreements, technology services arrangements and Internet and e-commerce matters. Eric has extensive Canadian and international experience advising on complex technology and intellectual property transactions, including joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic relationships. Eric is a registered trademark agent in Canada, and is fluent in French.

Sharon Ferrari is Director, Environmental Affairs and Risk Management at Morguard Investments Limited, a real estate advisory company providing a full range of portfolio, asset and property management services across Canada. Established in 1975, Morguard was a pioneer in introducing real estate investment to pension funds and, with $4.2 billion in assets under management, continues as one of Canada's largest and leading real estate managers. Morguard Investments Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morguard Corporation, a real estate company, publicly traded on the TSE. Sharon has over 18 years of real estate experience at Morguard and Marathon Realty.

Tom Frank is the Director - Risk Management, Technology & Solutions. In this role, Tom is responsible for BMO Financial Group's Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program which includes the governance framework, BCP, Event Management, and the BCM Centre of Competency.

Tom has an undergrad degree from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and has certifications in Information Systems Audit (CISA) and Control Self Assessment (CCSA).

David is one of the most widely respected Business Continuity practitioners in North America. He has been a leading proponent of the profession for eighteen years, lecturing extensively throughout North America, writing numerous articles, and giving frequent interviews. David has helped numerous organizations develop, test and maintain strategies and plans for preventing or responding to disasters and crises. He is a Certified Business Continuity Professional, a Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, and a Certified Information Security Manager. He has been a member of the Disaster Recovery Journal's Editorial Advisory Board since 1994, and is a past president of both the Toronto and South Western Ontario chapters of the Disaster Recovery Information Exchange.

Martine Lapointe is Assistant Vice President IT at Montreal-based Laurentian Bank of Canada. Founded in 1846, Laurentian Bank ranks seventh among Canadian charted banks, with assets of over $16 billion. The Bank offers highly competitive products and superior personalized services to meet the banking and financial needs of individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. Prior to this, Martine managed IT projects in various financial institutions. In her functions Martine is responsible for the delivery of all IT projects of the organization. Her 5 years in this position is completed by another 15 years of IT management responsibilities. She holds a master in project management and a PMP certification.

Jim Puralewski is responsible for the Client and Management Services Group within Cash Management Services. Beginning in 2003, Mr. Puralewski took on the additional responsibility of overseeing the Business Continuity Management Program Office for the Harris Financial Corp. Mr. Puralewski holds an MBA from DePaul University and a BA from Roosevelt University.

Carla Thompson is a Senior Business Analyst with responsibility for Business Continuity Planning at Manulife Financial, John Hancock Division. She is also accountable for DR planning.

Demetra T. Valente joined State Street in July 2001, and is Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for State Street Bank and Trust Company - Canada Branch, State Street Global Markets Canada Inc. and for State Street Trust Company Canada. In this position she oversees regulatory compliance and risk management for the Canadian branch, the brokerdealer and the trust company. Ms. Valente is responsible for developing, directing and monitoring overall compliance, surveillance and training programs. Her team provides central oversight, consistent guidance on compliance programs and communicates compliance issues and risks to senior management by establishing a system of strong internal controls. Prior to joining State Street Canada, Ms. Valente had an 18-year career with the Bank of America Canada. Most recently, she served as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer.