Mr. Steve Geist reports

CIBC GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT INC. ANNOUNCES CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER APPOINTMENT

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's Global Asset Management Inc. has made senior appointments to further strengthen its portfolio management team:

• Suzann Pennington, managing director, chief investment officer;
• Stephen Carlin, vice-president, senior portfolio manager, Canadian equities.

Ms. Pennington will now oversee all of CGAM's portfolio management and research efforts. She will be focused on managing the bank's investment teams and optimizing capabilities across all asset classes to deliver superior investment performance and manage risk for clients. A continued focus on talent management will also be integral to the bank's pursuit of investment excellence. Ms. Pennington will remain head of equities and continue to manage the Canadian all-cap mandate.

Ms. Pennington has enjoyed a distinguished career that spans over 25 years. She has demonstrated strong leadership and has a long record of delivering superior investment performance in her mandates. As chief investment officer, she will be instrumental in generating solid results and leading investment teams as CIBC's asset management business enters a new phase of growth.

The bank is also very pleased to strengthen its team with the addition of Mr. Carlin. Mr. Carlin brings over 22 years of experience in equity investment management. Prior to joining CIBC, Mr. Carlin was senior vice-president, head of equities, at Aegon Capital Management Inc., where he managed Canadian, balanced, income and dividend mandates.

"The success of our asset management business is driven by the quality of our investment management team," said Steve Geist, president and chief executive officer, CIBC Global Asset Management. "These appointments further strengthen our ability to deliver superior investment results and manage risk for our clients. We have a very strong foundation and have built positive momentum with over $80-billion in assets, strong net flows and solid performance."