Payments Canada seeks new CEO as Tracey Black resigns

Over the last five years, Black has led a series of major payment modernization initiatives, serving Canadians with secure, efficient, and resilient payment systems, and laying the foundation for continued innovation. The Payments Canada Board of Directors and Black feel it is an opportune moment to seek her successor in advance of the next phase of payment modernization. Black will complete her leadership term through the end of March 2024. The Board will initiate a comprehensive internal and external search process to identify Black's successor, who will lead the organization through the next phase of payment innovation. Until a successor is named, the Board has appointed Kristina Logue, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Jude Pinto, Chief Delivery Officer (CDO), as interim co-CEOs, effective April 1, 2024.

"On behalf of the Payments Canada Board of Directors, and all of our employees, members, and stakeholders, I want to thank Tracey for her many contributions to the organization through her leadership over the past five years," said Garry Foster, Chair of the Payments Canada Board of Directors. "Tracey's leadership has been crucial to the progress Payments Canada has made in modernizing the payment ecosystem in Canada and positioning the organization for the next phase in its advancements. As we search for Tracey's successor, Kristina and Jude's combined experience as seasoned industry leaders, and their expertise in leading critical operational aspects of our business, will serve Payments Canada well as interim co-CEOs. Kristina and Jude will work closely with support from our exceptional executive leadership team. I look forward to working with the Board during the search process to find our next successor to support the next phase of payment innovation in Canada."

Through Black's leadership, Payments Canada has worked collaboratively with the payment ecosystem to innovate payment systems and rules to benefit Canadians, and to ensure Canada and Canadian businesses remain globally competitive. Over the duration of Tracey's leadership, Payments Canada systems have operated with almost 100% availability with demonstrated resiliency and safety. Fundamental to this work, in 2021 Black led the seamless implementation of Lynx, replacing the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS), which served as Canada's high-value payment system since 1999. In March 2023, Black led the second release of Lynx, which introduced the ISO 20022 financial message standard (MX messages) to enable data-rich payments. More recently, Black played an instrumental role in supporting the expansion of access to Canada's national payment infrastructure, laying the foundation for continued future innovation in digital payments. Under Black's leadership, Payments Canada has also made significant strides in the design and preparation for the implementation of the new Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system in Canada, readying the RTR initiative for its next phase.

"It has been a privilege to lead this organization during my time as President and CEO. I am proud of what our team at Payments Canada has achieved in the continued modernization of our nation's payment systems, in partnership with our members and in collaboration with Canada's payment ecosystem. Together, we have achieved major progress in advancing innovations that serve Canadian consumers and businesses, and support our nation's broader economic interests on the global stage," said Black. "Kristina and Jude have been incredible partners, and together they bring a deep understanding of the organization and the payment industry more broadly. I feel extremely confident that Payments Canada, our members, partners and employees are in excellent hands - and perfectly poised for the next phase of continued payment innovation in Canada."

In her role as interim co-CEO, Kristina Logue will be responsible for the day-to-day functions of the organization, in addition to her responsibilities as CFO. This includes providing financial oversight, planning and analysis of all Payments Canada's activities as well as its Human Resources, Program Management, Procurement, Corporate Strategy and Business planning functions. Beyond her financial expertise, Logue is a respected people leader, mentor and organizational champion.

Jude Pinto, who brings 30 years of executive-level leadership within the financial services sector, has successfully led industry transformation and innovation, nationally and internationally. In his role as interim co-CEO, Pinto will continue to play a pivotal role in innovating Canada's payment ecosystem with a focus on safety, resilience and inclusiveness, enabling fair competition in Canada's thriving economy. Pinto will continue to lend his expertise and experience leading large-scale delivery programs in leading the next phase of the RTR, working in collaboration with members and the broader ecosystem. In his expanded role, he will take on oversight of Payment Canada's information technology and operations business unit.

Logue and Pinto will report to the Chair of the Payments Canada Board of Directors, and continue to be supported by the full executive leadership team, including Donna Kinoshita, Chief Payments Officer; Peter Dodic, Chief Risk Officer; and Shawn Van Raay, Chief Information Officer.