MINNEAPOLIS (Tuesday, July 27, 2021) – RBC Wealth Management-U.S. today announced it has appointed Shareen Luze to the newly created position of Head of Culture and Field Experience. The new role – unique in the financial services industry – bolsters the company’s commitment to a diverse workplace and employee wellbeing and brings a renewed emphasis to the importance of corporate citizenship during a time when communities, heavily impacted by COVID-19 and civil unrest, need extra support.
Reporting directly to CEO Michael Armstrong and serving as part of the firm’s 10-person Executive Committee, Luze, a 15-year veteran of the firm, will provide top-of-the-house oversight and counsel on workplace strategy and serve as the company’s key champion of positive employee experience. She will also oversee and implement a new 360-degree Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) strategy that is designed to bring greater sustainability, continuity and impact to the firm’s DEI work with employees, clients, community and the financial services industry.
“Our people-centric culture has long been one of our firm’s key differentiators, but during the global pandemic it took on even greater importance. Every single decision we made was guided by our commitment to our employees and our clients. As a result, we emerged stronger and more united than ever before,” said CEO Michael Armstrong. “As Head of Culture and Field Experience, Shareen will help ensure that our people-centric culture of teamwork, respect and positivity is at the core of our strategy as we accelerate our growth in the U.S.”
“Never in the history of corporate America has the wellbeing of employees, creating a positive workplace culture and acting as a good corporate citizen have been as integral to business strategy,” said Luze. “While RBC Wealth Management has always operated with these values in mind, I am excited to take that commitment to an entirely new level and ensure they are knitted into the fabric of everything we do.”
Luze joined RBC in 2006 as an associate general counsel. She transitioned to human resources in 2008, and became director of the U.S. employee relations team. In 2012, she took on additional responsibilities for workplace risk management before she was appointed head of HR in 2018. In that role, Luze helped oversee the firm’s COVID-19 response and championed the creation of several benefits to help employees and their families during the pandemic. Those benefits include paid school closure leave, special compensation for workers required to be onsite during the pandemic, and expanded benefits that provide access to virtual medical care. Luze, who has spoken publicly about her battle with anxiety, also led the charge to expand mental health benefits and resources at the company. Prior to COVID-19, Shareen was instrumental in implementing progressive benefits at RBC Wealth Management, including Milk Stork, a service for traveling mothers to safely ship breastmilk home; back-up childcare and elder care.
As Head of Culture and Field Experience, Luze will also serve as co-executive chair of the firm’s Diversity Leadership Council and executive sponsor of RBC Wealth Management’s Women’s Association of Financial Advisors, which celebrates its 30-year anniversary in 2021. She will also lead and provide strategic direction to the WM US RBC Foundation and Sponsorship programs; as well as the corporate meetings department.
“Shareen has shown by example how knocking down the personal barriers that stand in people’s way of bringing their full, authentic selves to work can help build a stronger company,” said Tom Sagissor, president of RBC Wealth Management-U.S. “Now as Head of Culture and Field Experience, she can take that passion for the employee experience and have RBC Wealth Management serve as a leader in creating a diverse and inclusive workforce and promoting positive change in the communities where we do business.”
In the United States, RBC Wealth Management operates as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Founded in 1909, RBC Wealth Management is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and other major securities exchanges. RBC Wealth Management has $500 billion in total client assets with more than 2,000 financial advisors operating in 180 locations in 42 states.
Investment and insurance products offered through RBC Wealth Management are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank or any bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.