Shawn Cooper is a member of the Global Board and CEO Practice and advises clients on business and cultural transformations that require a realignment of talent management with corporate strategy. Based in Toronto, he has 19 years of experience consulting Canadian and international governance and corporate leaders on board effectiveness and diversity, as well as CEO and C-suite executive succession planning, assessment, benchmarking and development. He also specializes in financial institutions, investment management companies and family-owned enterprises. In addition to his client responsibilities, Shawn serves as the firm’s Regional Leader for Latin America and Canada.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Shawn served in various corporate strategy and crisis management roles for over a decade. As Vice President, Financial Institutions Division for the Canadian Bankers Association, he led the industry’s successful drive to deregulate Canadian financial markets and products to promote international competitiveness. Shawn also played a key role in NAFTA and WTO negotiations on cross-border trade in services. As Scotiabank’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Shawn advised the senior executive team on the regulatory impact of the bank’s M&A initiatives. Earlier, he served in the Planning and Legislation department, focused on growth strategies for existing and emerging lines of business, as well as the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement. In New York, Shawn worked in the Financial Institutions Ratings Group at Standard & Poor’s.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES & AFFILIATIONS
Shawn is a founding board member of the Mayor's Toronto Financial Services Alliance. He has also served on the Canadian Deputy Minister of Finance's Steering Committee on the Reform of the Supervisory and Deposit Insurance System. Prior to its privatization, Shawn was a member of the Board of Directors and the Audit, Governance and Independent Review committees of Third Canadian General Investment Trust Limited, a TSX-publicly traded mutual fund company. Shawn is Chair of the Soulpepper Theatre Company and a member of the Smith School of Business Dean's Advisory Board at Queen's University. He is a past Board Director of the Royal Ontario Museum's Institute of Contemporary Culture and Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for the Evergreen Brick Works urban redevelopment.

EDUCATION
Shawn earned a B.Com., with honors, from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Ontario and an M.B.A. in global management and finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.