Charles-Antoine St-Jean to leave CPA Canada in 2022

Toronto, November 17, 2021 – Richard Olfert, Chair of the Board for Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, today announced that Charles-Antoine St-Jean will be stepping down as President and CEO effective March 31, 2022.

Mr. St-Jean assumed the role of President and CEO in July 2020 in a time of significant transition for CPA Canada. During his term, he worked with the board and the leadership at CPA Canada to strengthen its professional team, improve operations and position CPA Canada for its next stage in providing leadership within Canada’s accounting profession.

CPA Canada and the profession also faced immediate and significant challenges resulting from COVID-19. Mr. St-Jean, in conjunction with the CPA Canada Board and management team, navigated the organization through the uncharted waters created by fallout from the global pandemic.

He was instrumental in the development of Canada’s bid to host the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), created by the IFRS Foundation. In this capacity, Mr. St-Jean played a pivotal role in bringing together a broad array of private and public institutions and organizations known as the Canadian Champions for Global Sustainability Standards to back the Canadian offer. On November 3, 2021, the IFRS Foundation announced that Frankfurt and Montreal had been selected to host offices with key functions of the ISSB.

“On behalf of the board, I’d like to extend our sincere thanks to Charles-Antoine for guiding our organization during a period of great uncertainty due to the pandemic, for introducing operational enhancements, and for his international leadership in positioning Canada to be a prominent player in setting sustainability standards globally,” says Mr. Olfert. “His depth of insight, combined with his commitment to the long-term advancement of the CPA profession have put us in a strong position now to begin the next chapter for our organization.”

Mr. St-Jean commented that, “My intention was never to stay for the long term but to work with the team within CPA Canada and with the board to provide guidance and direction at this particular time of transition. I am especially proud of our work in bringing the right partners together for Canada’s ISSB bid and in guiding development of the proposal. Our country will now play a leading role in setting international standards that address environmental, social and governance matters. History is in the making and these urgently required standards offer the promise of comparability, consistency and credibility.”

The ISSB will be a key focus for Mr. St-Jean during the remainder of his term at CPA Canada. He will continue to work with the senior executive team on the organization’s operations but will shift his primary focus to collaborating with the IFRS Foundation on establishing the architecture for the ISSB’s Montreal office. Mr. St-Jean will be working with CPA Canada’s Chair and Vice-Chair and the members of the Canadian Champions to ensure all details of the ISSB Montreal office are finalized and that the leadership and the support for this country’s role in shaping the future of sustainability standards smoothly transitions to the new CEO. 

Work is now underway to recruit the next President and CEO with the process being guided by Korn Ferry, an independent search firm.

“The board is committed to selecting the best candidate to fill the role and will take the time required to make that happen,” says Mr. Olfert.

While it is hoped the process will be completed by the end of March, the board is committed to gathering input from key stakeholders, including CPA Canada leaders and the provincial, territorial and Bermudian bodies during the process.