Regional bank CIBC Caribbean has announced the appointment of Monique French as Chief Risk Officer from the start of May 2025.

She replaces retiring Chief Risk Officer, Patrick McKenna whose tenure ends on April 30th, 2025.

“I am extremely proud and pleased to welcome Monique French to her new role as our Chief Risk Officer, effective May 1, 2025,” said Chief Executive Officer Mark St. Hill, noting that she was “eminently qualified for her new responsibility”.

She becomes the first Caribbean national to hold this position at CIBC Caribbean.

Ms. French has over 20 years’ experience in the finance and banking sector and is currently Chief Credit Officer with the bank with responsibility for implementing credit policies, models and risk appetite for investment and credit portfolios along with ensuring effective credit structuring, monitoring, and regulatory compliance.

She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She also holds a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst and the vice president of the CFA Society of Jamaica.

She joined the bank in 2014 having served as Senior Vice President of Credit Risk with another financial institution in Jamaica.

Ms. French leads the bank’s Women’s Network, which provides mentorship, professional support and networking opportunities to women in leadership positions across the bank’s geographic footprint.

In 2021, she was named among eight female winners in the Americas as part of the prestigious WeQual Awards, which shines the spotlight on female leadership across a range of categories.