Canadian Tire's Dean McCann named Canada's CFO of the Year for 2015

TORONTO, March 5, 2015 /CNW/ - Dean McCann, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, has been selected as Canada's CFO of the Year™ for 2015. Canada's CFO of the Year Award is presented annually by Financial Executives International Canada, PwC and Robert Half. The award honours and recognizes the quality, insight, direction and leadership of Canada's senior financial executives.

"Dean's achievements at Canadian Tire - which include leading the establishment of CT REIT and Canadian Tire Bank - are significant, and they have enhanced shareholder value," said Michael Conway, President and Chief Executive Officer, FEI Canada. "Dean's broad business experience truly exemplifies the role of today's CFO, which has evolved to leadership beyond finance."

"Our most heartfelt congratulations to Dean, who has proven himself to be an innovative and progressive leader," said Tahir Ayub, ‎Managing Partner, Markets & Industries at PwC Canada.  "More than just committing to transparency in reporting and financial responsibility, Dean has helped move the company in new directions in order to create value for Canadian Tire's investors and employees.  His leadership helped to guide the company through some challenging economic times and we commend him for ensuring the strength of such a valued Canadian company."

While appointed to his current role in March 2012, Dean has been with Canadian Tire Corporation since 1996.  In that time, he has served in progressively senior roles, including Corporate Controller of Canadian Tire Corporation and various senior management positions at Canadian Tire Financial Services (CTFS) and Canadian Tire Bank, including serving as President of CTFS and CEO of Canadian Tire Bank for three years.  Over his 19-year career with the Company, Dean has led a number of projects including the establishment of Canadian Tire Bank and driving the success of Canadian Tire MasterCard with over five million accounts issued. His accomplishments include the establishment of a shareholder value creation program for Canadian Tire, an enhanced dividend policy, share repurchase program and the establishment of CT REIT. Under Dean, Financial Services became an integral component of the Canadian Tire strategy. As head of the Financial Services business, Dean created new opportunities for the growth of the credit card business and developed new programs to support the core retail business, such as in-store financing and home services.

Dean holds the CPA, CA designation and is a graduate of the McMaster Chartered Director program. An active member of the Niagara community, he has held senior positions with the Boards of Niagara College (Vice Chair) and YMCA Niagara (Chair of the Audit Committee).

David King, Director at Robert Half, added "Robert Half is proud to once again support the CFOY program and celebrate the contributions of Canada's premier financial leaders. The award recognizes these professionals and the commitment, expertise and leadership that they demonstrate in supporting Canadian businesses to move forward in achieving their financial goals. Dean captures the essence of this award program through his achievements and we congratulate him on this distinction."

Dean was named Canada's CFO of the Year™ by an independent committee composed of several prominent members of Canada's business community, under the chairmanship of corporate director Bruce Waterman. The judging criteria are as follows: vision and leadership, external reporting and stakeholder relations, social responsibility, innovation, business performance, and mentoring and development. Award candidates from a wide range of business sectors were nominated by CEOs, members of boards of directors, financial analysts and other senior executives.

Previous recipients of Canada's CFO of the Year™ Award include:
2014: Janice Fukakusa, Chief Administration Officer and Chief Financial Officer at RBC
2013: Brian Lawson, Senior Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Brookfield Asset Management
2012: Colleen Johnston, Group Head Finance and Chief Financial Officer, TD Bank Group
2011:  Gordon Maron, Chief Financial Officer, PCL Construction Holdings Ltd. (PCL)
2010: Cynthia Devine, Chief Financial Officer, Tim Hortons Inc.
2010: Richard Bird, Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Development, Enbridge Inc. *2010 had two winners
2009: David Garofalo, Senior Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.
2008: Bruce Waterman, Senior Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Agrium Inc.
2007: Marvin Romanow, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Nexen Inc.
2006: Karen Maidment, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of BMO Financial Group
2005: Claude Mongeau, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of CN
2004: Peter Rubenovitch, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Manulife Financial Group
2003: Peter W. Currie, Vice-Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of RBC Financial Group

Canada's CFO of the Year Award 2015 is also sponsored by American Express, Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA Canada) and Lerners LLP. The media sponsor is The Globe and Mail. Presentation technology for the gala dinner is provided by AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions.

Dean McCann will be honoured at a gala dinner on May 13, 2015. Media are invited to cover the gala at the The Ritz Carlton Toronto. To confirm your attendance and arrange for interviews and camera space, please contact Emily Abrahams at [email protected].

For more information or to submit your nomination for the next Canada's CFO of the Year, please visit www.cfoy.ca.

About FEI Canada
FEI Canada is the all industry professional membership association for senior financial executives. With eleven chapters across Canada and 1,600 members, FEI Canada provides professional development, thought leadership and advocacy services to its members. The association membership, which consists of Chief Financial Officers, Audit Committee Directors and senior executives in the Finance, Controller, Treasury and Taxation functions, represents a significant number of Canada's leading and most influential corporations. For more information, please visit www.feicanada.org. Follow us on Twitter @FEICanada.

About PwC Canada
PwC Canada helps organizations and individuals create the value they're looking for. More than 5,800 partners and staff in offices across the country are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms with more than 195,000 people in 157 countries. Find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com/ca.

© 2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership. All rights reserved.

PwC refers to the Canadian member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About Robert Half
Founded in 1948, Robert Half, the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm, is a recognized leader in professional staffing services. The company has seven divisions including Robert Half® Finance & Accounting and Robert Half® Management Resources , for full-time and senior-level project professionals respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance. Robert Half International has staffing and consulting operations in more than 300 locations worldwide, including locations across Canada. Find more information at http://www.roberthalf.ca, and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/RobertHalf_CAN.

SOURCE PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

For FEI Canada: Laura Bobak, 416.366.3007 Ext.5113, [email protected]; For PwC: Emily Abrahams, 416.814.5734, [email protected]; For Robert Half International: Naz Araghian, 416.350.2330, [email protected]