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Making It: A conversation about being Black in finance

Monday, February 28th 2022
12:30 PM to 1:00 PM
LinkedIn Live, ON

Canada's 2022 theme for Black History Month is: “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day,” which focuses on recognizing the daily contributions that Black Canadians make to Canada.

At WCM, we are excited to highlight and share the experiences and contributions of our members this month. We know allyship is an active, engaged practice of equity and inclusion, dismantling inequities, injustice and exclusion. This conversation with 3 senior-level black individuals will highlight some positive surprises and challenges of what it means to be black in finance. We invite you to join us for an illuminating and exciting conversation.

If you do not have access to LinkedIn: We will stream the event live on YouTube. Watch the stream!

Lovelyn Toyo

VP, Enterprise Initiatives Group, FICC | RBC Capital Markets

Lovelyn was born and raised in Nigeria, where she began her career in capital markets. Spanning over a decade, she worked for various commercial banks where she handled several roles in front office, sales, asset and liability management and also undertook some transformational projects. She moved to Canada in November 2018, and joined RBC Capital Markets in September 2019 through the Women in Capital Markets (WCM) Return to Bay Street Program (RTBS) as a 2019 Award Recipient. She is currently a VP in the Enterprise Initiatives Group, FICC at RBC Capital Markets, where she works as part of a team who collaborates with enterprise partners to develop solutions that enhance their ability to distribute FX and other Global Markets products to RBC clients. She has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos, and is an executive education alumna of the Lagos Business School.

Jemi Onyejiaka

Vice President, Capital Markets, Strategy | BMO Capital Markets

Jemi is a Vice President in the Capital Markets Strategy Group at BMO Capital Markets and is an experienced finance professional with over 12 years’ experience in the Capital Markets Space. Has a knack for building productive relationships with peers, colleagues and executives allowing her to thrive in any capacity. She has held a variety of trading roles in leading Nigerian banks before joining the regulator where she worked in the Regulatory Compliance Group and then moved on to lead the Market Services Group responsible for data analysis, data reporting, and systems support. She joined BMO Capital Markets in September 2019, relaunching her career in the Canadian Capital markets through the Women in Capital Market (WCM) Return to Bay Street Program (RTBS), being a 2019 Award recipient. She has a background in Accounting and is pursuing her Executive MBA at Ivey Business School. Outside of work, Jemi wears many hats but most important to her is being a wife, a mum and is passionate about empowering people. She enjoys cooking and will tantalize your taste buds with the wonders of her cooking. Feel free to ask Jemi about any of the many dishes she loves making, especially her potentially award-winning ‘Peppersoup’ a famous delicacy of her native tribe.

Dennis Mitchell

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer | Starlight Capital

Dennis Mitchell joined Starlight Capital in March 2018 as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. He has over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and has held executive positions with Sprott Asset Management, serving as Senior Vice-President and Senior Portfolio Manager, and Sentry Investments, serving as Executive Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Mitchell received the Brendan Wood International Canadian TopGun Award in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and the Brendan Wood International 2012 Canadian TopGun Team Leader Award. He also received the Afroglobal Television Excellence Award for Enterprise in 2020 and the Black Business and Professionals Association’s Harry Jerome President’s Award in 2021. Mr. Mitchell holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Business Valuator designations and earned a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University in 2002 and an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1998. Mr. Mitchell currently sits on the Board of the Toronto Foundation and is Co-Founder and Director of the Black Opportunity Fund.

What is your reaction to the fact that the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be chaired by a man?