OpenText CFO Chadwick Westlake is stepping down from his current post to take over as president and CEO of Equitable Bank (EQB) following the unexpected death of Andrew Moor last month.
After serving as the CFO of EQB for just over four years, Westlake is returning to his former employer after joining OpenText just five months ago.
EQB said the board’s unanimous decision to select Westlake concludes “a thoughtful and deliberate” succession-planning process that began several years ago, with support from the late Moor.
“After reviewing many outstanding candidates alongside Andrew, Chadwick stood above all others,” EQB board chair Vincenza Sera said in a statement. “Not only does he possess all the requisite skills to be an outstanding CEO of a major bank, but he also knows our business inside and out and embodies our passion for customer service.”
RELATED: Canadian FinTech community mourns Equitable Bank CEO Andrew Moor
According to a statement from EQB, Westlake was responsible for EQB’s corporate strategy and development, treasury and securitization activities, investor relations, and core financial and legal affairs during his previous tenure with the challenger bank, all of which was “preparing him to seamlessly assume the CEO role.”
Following the loss of Moor last month, EQB director of PR and communications Maggie Hall said that the search for a replacement for Moor was in the “very advanced” stages when he died, and that a permanent CEO would be announced in the “very near term.”
“It is the greatest honour of my career to take up the mantle of Andrew’s inspired leadership.”
Chadwick Westlake
Moor had been CEO of Equitable Bank since 2007 and made it the one of the largest challenger banks in Canada. During his tenure, assets under management grew from $4.4 billion to $134 billion. Leaders in the Canadian FinTech industry shared their grief following his death. Wealthsimple co-founder Michael Katchen called Moor one of the “original champions” of Canada’s FinTech space, and Open Banking Expo co-creator Adam Cox called him an “inspirational leader.”
Westlake will officially depart OpenText in August following the completion of the Kitchener-Waterloo-based enterprise software company’s fiscal year-end reporting. OpenText said it is now searching for a successor while chief accounting officer Cosmin Balota fills the CFO role on an interim basis. OpenText concurrently announced that it’s expecting to report approximately $1.31 billion USD in revenue for the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, a slight dip from the $1.36 billion reported in the same quarter last year.
In a statement, Westlake said he was returning to his old employer while “entering a defining era in the evolution of banking,” adding that EQB’s market position is strong with its full potential yet to be realized.
“It is the greatest honour of my career to take up the mantle of Andrew’s inspired leadership and rejoin my challenger teammates to further the remarkable institution he built,” Westlake said. “I am intently focused on staying true to what makes EQB a force in Canadian banking, while unlocking new levels of growth, relevance and impact for all its stakeholders.”
Feature image courtesy EQB.