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Sylvia Chrominska

banking on the success for women's leadership

YWCA Toronto
woman of distinction 2005 award: corporate leadership

Sylvia Chrominska’s flourishing career proves that the way up does not require keeping others down. Ms. Chrominska has broken new ground for women in the banking industry. Since the beginning of her career, she has held progressively more senior positions at Scotiabank, positions that were previously held exclusively by men. Never guarding this success as a monopoly, Ms. Chrominska promotes her conviction that business benefits come from having a truly diverse employee base and an equitable representation of women at the leadership level. Ms. Chrominksa receives the 2005 Women of Distinction Award for Corporate Leadership.

The first female Executive Vice President of Scotiabank, today Ms. Chrominska is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Public, Corporate and Government Affairs. She has global responsibility for human resources, corporate communications, government relations, public policy and corporate social responsibility of the Scotiabank Group.

Recognized in 2003 and 2004 as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network and the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business, Ms. Chrominska has shared her power through the establishment of formal and informal leadership development programs for women at Scotiabank.

Her Strive for Success program facilitates the advancement of women at the bank through an international network session. In web cast discussions, women from different countries have the opportunity to meet and talk openly about issues in an "Oprah" format. Her support of the Advancement of Woman Initiative program has made it a success, nationally and internationally.

To ensure young women who want to pursue a career in business and have the opportunity, she established the Sylvia Chrominska HBA Award in 2001 at the Richard Ivey School of Business. It is awarded to young women who have demonstrated academic excellence and are in financial need, and it provides funding over two years.

Ms. Chrominska serves as a tireless mentor to young women in all spheres of her life. Passing on the benefits of her own success, she has helped shape a new generation of women corporate leaders.

Despite a tremendously busy schedule, she currently serves on several Boards including the Board of the Canadian Club as Vice President, the Board of the Stratford Festival, the Board of Directors at Dofasco, and she is the former Chair of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. In the past she has also served on the Board of Goodwill, the Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto Foundation, and is a dedicated member of the Board at Sheena’s Place, a non-profit centre that provides support services to people affected by eating disorders.

At the top of her game in a highly competitive field, Sylvia Chrominska has the vision and is a torch-bearer for making gender equity a priority of corporate Canada.

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