Banker John Hunkin steered CIBC through turbulent times

During John Hunkin’s six years as chief executive officer of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, he had many wins, such as buying the retail operations of Merrill Lynch, and one big loss: Enron Corp. The massive accounting fraud, the largest in U.S. history at the time, fooled many banks in Canada and the United States, but it ended up costing CIBC billions of dollars, and was probably the reason Mr. Hunkin retired in 2005 at age 60.As CEO of one of the Big Five Canadian banks, Mr. Hunkin was one of the most powerful people in the world of Canadian business and finance. Adding to his influence was the fact he simultaneously served as chairman of CIBC’s board of directors for much of the time he was president and CEO, though he gave up the post of chairman in 2003 after a number of institutional investors lobbied him privately to make the move.