RBC announces retirement of Chief Risk Officer and appointment of Mark Hughes as successor

Morten Friis to retire after distinguished career

TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2013 /CNW/ - Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) today announced that Morten Friis, Chief Risk Officer (CRO), will be retiring effective January 10, 2014 after more than 30 years with RBC.

"Morten has made an exceptional contribution during his distinguished career at the bank. His strategic thought leadership, breadth of experience, and deep understanding of the ever-evolving risk management landscape have made him an outstanding CRO," said Gordon M. Nixon, RBC's president and chief executive officer. "Clients, shareholders and employees have all benefitted from Morten's knowledge and expertise. We wish him well in his upcoming retirement."

Mr. Friis joined RBC in 1979 and has worked in many different divisions including Project Finance, Corporate Banking, Fixed Income, Business Banking and RBC's financial institution business. He was appointed chief risk officer in 2004 and joined RBC's Group Executive, the bank's senior management committee, in 2009.

Mark Hughes, currently chief operating officer, RBC Capital Markets, has been appointed chief risk officer, effective January 10, 2014, and he will also join RBC's Group Executive. As part of the planned transition, Mark Hughes will assume the role of deputy chief risk officer for RBC on November 1, 2013.

Mr. Hughes joined RBC in 1981 after completing an LL.B at Leeds University and an MBA (Finance) at Manchester University. He has held progressively senior roles at the bank primarily in Corporate Banking and Global Credit in Capital Markets. In his current role, Mr. Hughes has global responsibility for operational and administrative matters for RBC's Capital Markets business. He brings deep credit, market and operational risk experience to his new position through leading the work strengthening controls and governance in our capital markets businesses and providing oversight and coordination of risk management activities across all lines of business. He is also a key liaison with banking regulators.

Mr. Hughes has a strong understanding of RBC's businesses through long standing membership in a number of committees. These include RBC's Enterprise Strategy Committee as well as the Group Operating Committee, which integrates governance and oversight of day-to-day operations across RBC.

"Mark will report directly to me and will be an excellent addition to our Group Executive Committee. His in-depth understanding of RBC, global perspective and previous experiences will continue to serve him well in his new role," said Mr. Nixon.

ABOUT RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, and investor services and wholesale banking on a global basis. We employ approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

SOURCE: RBC