Our Leaders
Management Team
Chief Executive Officer
Steven Ranson is the President and CEO of HomeEquity Bank, a federally-regulated, Schedule 1 Canadian bank and the only national provider of the CHIP Reverse Mortgage®solution. Appointed President in 1998 and CEO in 2001, Mr. Ranson has led HomeEquity Bank through the public offering of Home Equity Income Trust in 2002 and the subsequent creation of HomeEquity Bank in October 2009.
Under Mr. Ranson’s leadership, HomeEquity Bank has substantially expanded and has been named one of PROFIT 500’s fastest growing companies in both 2016 and 2017. In his role, Mr. Ranson is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Bank and has continued to grow the business by creating sustainable, long-term value and delivering performance consistent with the interests of its clients, the general public, employees and owners.
As the only Canadian bank that deals exclusively with seniors, Mr. Ranson is frequently asked to speak about topics related to aging in place, financial planning, proactive home equity release, the real estate market and mortgage trends.
Mr. Ranson holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and a Masters, Business Administration from York University. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has served on the Audit Committee for First Capital Realty Corp.
As a community leader and avid cyclist and skier, Mr. Ranson has served as Alpine Ontario’s Director and Treasurer and participates in the annual Wellspring Ride for Cancer Support. Mr. Ranson is also a member of the SSGF Campaign Cabinet for the YMCA of Greater Toronto.
Chief Financial Officer
As EVP & CFO, Mr. Chandra is responsible for the Finance, Treasury and Credit functions supporting the growth and development of the Bank. He provides oversight and leadership for a team that manages all accounting, financial and regulatory reporting, budgeting and planning, internal and external audit, underwriting, capital management and funding requirements of the Bank, and is a member of the Executive Committee.
Mr. Chandra joined HomeEquity Bank in 2016, and has previously served as CFO in the financial services industry for 10+ years.
Mr. Chandra has served as a Director on the Boards of The Scarborough Hospital and Oakville Hydro Corporation, where he was also the Chair of the Audit Committee.
Mr. Chandra, a Chartered Professional Accountant, graduated from an Indian Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and holds an MBA from Queen’s University.
Operations and Legal
As Executive Vice President, Operations and Legal, Ms. Cuthbertson is responsible for all mortgage operations, and human resources. In addition, as the Bank’s general counsel and corporate secretary she is responsible for legal affairs and the Bank’s overall corporate governance. Ms. Cuthbertson is a member of the Executive Committee.
Ms. Cuthbertson joined Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP, the predecessor to HomeEquity Bank) in 2002.
Ms. Cuthbertson graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law and she is also a member of the Ontario bar.
Marketing & Sales
As Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Chief Marketing Officer Ms. Ziomecki heads up Marketing and Consumer Sales operations and is responsible for developing sales, marketing strategy and vision for HomeEquity Bank.
Reporting directly to the CEO, Ms. Ziomecki is responsible for driving originations growth and increasing revenues through successful implementation of marketing initiatives, brand strategy, research, pricing, product marketing, marketing communications, advertising and public relations.
Ms. Ziomecki is a member of the Executive Committee. Ms. Ziomecki joined HomeEquity Bank in 2013.
Ms. Ziomecki graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts and she also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business.
Referred Sales and Partnerships
Eric Bisaillon joined HomeEquity Bank in 2007 and as Senior Vice-President of National Sales he is responsible for managing the entire B2B sales and sales support organization across the country. This involves overseeing all referred channels of distribution through the direct reporting relationships of the Sales Leadership Team. A member of the Executive team, the role requires active participation at the senior management level, as well as working to define and achieve corporate objectives including growth and profit initiatives.
Before joining HomeEquity Bank, Eric was Regional Manager of Eastern Canada for ING Bank Financial Advisors Services, working in partnership with financial advisors and their clients, where he lead and implemented the strategy for the bank’s entry in Quebec. He has also worked many years, in both Quebec and Europe, for various institutions in the financial services sector. He holds an MBA in International Finance from the School of Management at UQAM.
As Executive Vice President, Data and Technology, Mr. Favero is responsible for Data and Information Technology for HomeEquity Bank. As a member of the Executive Committee, Mr. Favero is the CIO and leads the Bank’s data management strategy which includes stewardship and enabling capability to leverage the data in driving business results.
Prior to joining HomeEquity Bank in 2020, Mr. Favero held senior executive positions in Information Technology with a large Canadian pension plan and global credit card company.
Mr. Favero graduated from McMaster University with Honors Bachelor of Science.
Mortgage Operations and Portfolio Management
As Senior Vice President, Mortgage Operations & Portfolio Management, Mr. Côté is responsible for credit, mortgage funding, portfolio management, client servicing, and collections. He joined HomeEquity Bank in 2017 and has over 20 years of experience across diverse roles within multi-national financial services companies.
Mr. Côté graduated from Ivey Business School with an Executive MBA.
As Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Ms. Dondo heads up the Human Resources, Internal Communications and Office Services functions, and is responsible for developing and executing the talent strategy for HomeEquity Bank.
Ms. Dondo joined HomeEquity Bank in 2020 and has significant global experience in financial service companies including Franklin Templeton, a global investment management company, where she held progressively senior positions over the past 20 years.
Ms. Dondo graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts and is an International Coach Federation (ICF) recognized professional coach (PCC).
Marketing and Contact Centre
As Senior Vice President, Marketing and Contact Centre, Ms. Gauci is responsible for increasing brand awareness and affinity, driving originations growth through digital and direct to consumer channels, and supporting sales teams in their efforts to expand HomeEquity Bank’s reach through banks and mortgage broker channels.
Ms. Gauci joined HomeEquity Bank in 2015 and has over 18 years of experience in global financial services companies and in marketing consultancy.
Ms. Gauci graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and she also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business.
Chief Risk Officer & Chief Compliance Officer
As Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Dr. Haddad is responsible for corporate-wide risk oversight and internal control policies and practices, and for ensuring compliance with all regulatory obligations and requirements. Dr. Haddad provides leadership and direction with regards to the Bank’s enterprise and business risk management and compliance strategies.
Dr. Haddad joined HomeEquity Bank in 2012.
Dr. Haddad graduated from St-Joseph University with an MD degree.
As Vice President, Enterprise Systems, Mr. Bell is responsible for all aspects of strategy, execution and operation of HEB’s integrated national business systems environment. He successfully leads delivery of systems capability for all functions, including sustainable development of workflow and business transformation in the bank’s heterogeneous IT landscapes.
Mr. Bell is responsible for the management of systems and platform design to support the necessary changes required for increasing revenues and growth of the bank.
Mr. Bell joined HomeEquity Bank in 2014 and has over 18 years experience in IT services. He graduated from the Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelor of Science
Finance
As Vice President, Finance, Mr. Cameron is responsible for financial reporting, cash management, and mortgage underwriting. He also has oversight of the deposit business.
Mr. Cameron joined Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP, the predecessor to HomeEquity Bank) in 2000 as Director of Finance and became Vice President, Finance in 2001.
Mr. Cameron, a Chartered Accountant, graduated from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute with a Bachelor of Business Management.
Treasurer
As Vice President and Treasurer, John Garofano is responsible for interest rate and liquidity risk management, coordination of bank financing activities, and oversight of banking and cash management, cash forecasting and short-term investing activities.
John joined HomeEquity Bank in 2014.
He is a Chartered Accountant, holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and has a Certified Treasury Professional designation.
As Vice President, Strategy & Analytics, Dr. He is responsible for helping senior leaders within the bank to drive sustainable and profitable growth, and ultimately increase business value. She develops the overall bank strategy as well as business unit strategy by leading the annual strategic planning process. She also oversees the implementation of cross-functional, strategic initiatives such as new product launches and dynamic pricing. Dr. He also stands up a Data and Analytics team to help enable more actionable customer insights, and data-driven decision making across the executive team.
Dr. He joined HomeEquity Bank in 2017 and has extensive strategy and management consulting experience for global financial institutions from both the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Monitor Deloitte (ex Monitor Group).
Dr. He graduated from University of Toronto with a Ph.D. Degree in Business.
As Vice President, Referred Sales, Western Canada, Mahmood is a key member of our leadership team with responsibilities across the Western Provinces from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Southwest Ontario. Leading our Sales Team across Western Canada including our office in Vancouver, Mahmood is accountable for the growth of our business in Western Canada, working primarily with our Sales Team. His responsibilities also include Business Development in Western Canada for key Mortgage Broker Partnerships as well as Banking and Wealth relationships.
Mahmood joined HomeEquity Bank in 2016 after 25 successful years in Financials Services in various Senior roles including Retail Banking, Commercial Banking and Specialized Sales.
Mahmood is a graduate of BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) where he majored in Finance and went on to complete his Executive MBA at the University of Athabasca.
As Vice President, Infrastructure Operations and Data , Mr. Malik is responsible for planning and execution of the overall Infrastructure and Data Management roadmaps to ensure a technology enabled organization that supports the achievement of the Bank’s business priorities. Mr. Malik leverages his extensive leadership experience in the areas of project execution, infrastructure, operations and data solutions.
Mr. Malik joined HomeEquity Bank in 2020, and previously, led Information Technology of Global Investments divisions at OMERS, where he held progressively senior positions for over 16 years.
As Vice President, Referred Sales, Andrea is a key member of our leadership team, accountable for the Referred Specialists, Sales Operations and Channel Analytics teams. Andrea is responsible for driving origination growth in the referred channel and strategic initiatives to enhance the partner and client experience, including spearheading the design, development, and execution of our sales compensation programs.
Andrea joined HomeEquity Bank in 2002 and has played an instrumental role in the growth of the Referred channel. She has over 18 years’ experience, having taken on progressively more senior roles working in both the direct to consumer sales and referred channels.
As Vice President, Consumer Sales, Mr. Nasmith is responsible for managing all aspects of consumer sales, including our contact centre and our team of specialists. Leading our consumer sales, Mr. Nasmith will help our consumer business with its momentum in growth so that more Canadians can live their retirement dream by staying in the home they love.
Mr. Nasmith joined HomeEquity Bank in 2019 after 21 years as a strategic sales leader in financial services. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Bishops University in Quebec.
Sue Pimento is the Vice President of Sale for Eastern Canada at HomeEquity Bank. A dynamic sales leader and innovative entrepreneur, with extensive experience in both the broker and lender arenas, Sue has garnered a solid reputation in the industry. Sue has a BA from York University and a diploma in business management from George Brown College. Sue is also a Coach, having completed her training at the Adler Learning Institute.
Sue’s passion is empowering others to be the best version of themselves. She is an engaging presenter and a prominent industry speaker.
Sue served on the Board of directors of Mortgage Professionals Canada during 2009, 2010 ,2015 and 2016. She has also been active in the community on behalf of numerous charities, such as the Ride to Conquer Cancer, Angels in the Night, Breast Cancer Society and the Aids Walk Toronto.
