Andrew Moor, chief executive of EQB Inc. and a fintech pioneer, died unexpectedly over the weekend, according to the company, which owns subsidiary

Equitable Bank

. He was 65.

“Andrew’s death is a tragic loss to all of us at EQB and to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him,” Vincenza Sera, chair of the company’s board, said in a statement Tuesday. “Andrew was a visionary leader and a fierce advocate for change and innovation in banking that benefits all Canadians. As a result of his inspired stewardship of our company, he instilled a culture at EQB that is both forward looking and faithful to the sound principles of prudent banking that engender public trust.”

The board, which was already in the midst of a search for a successor to Moor, activated an emergency succession plan and named Marlene Lenarduzzi, Equitable’s chief risk officer, as interim president and CEO. She was also appointed to the board.

Lenarduzzi has more than 25 years of experience in risk management and banking strategy development, regulatory affairs, risk quantification, operations and execution. She was previously head of counterparty credit risk at Bank of Montreal, Canada’s third-largest bank, among other senior roles there including interim chief risk office for BMO Ireland.

“Andrew and the board of directors had been working closely together on succession planning for the past few years,” the company said in a statement. “This process was very advanced at the time of his passing, and the board expects to be able to announce his permanent successor in the very near term.”

Darko Mihelic, a financial services analyst at RBC Dominion Securities Inc., said Moor had been central to driving the company’s growth. But, in a note to clients, he highlighted the succession planning that had already been under way and interim CEO Lenarduzzi’s “solid” risk background alongside experience in operations, strategy development, planning and execution.

Moor joined the company as CEO in March 2007 after spending the early part of his career in investment banking at Wood Gundy, beginning in 1987, and then as managing director in the private equity division of

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

At Equitable, he helped navigate the global financial crisis and then transform a trust company with $3 billion in assets into a digital bank with more than $100 billion of assets under administration.

In 2007, the company had about 100 employees and a market capitalization under $400 million. Today, around 2,000 people work at Equitable, according to the company, which has a market cap of nearly $3.7 billion.

Equitable’s suite of financial products includes residential and commercial lending as well as high-interest savings products and guaranteed investment certificates (GICs).

Under Moor’s leadership, the company also launched a reverse

mortgage business

and became a major participant in the Canada mortgage bond program.

Equitable also grew through acquisitions during his time as CEO, entering the equipment lending business with the acquisition of Bennington Financial, and also acquiring Concentra Bank.

Moor had been positioning Equitable Bank as “Canada’s Challenger Bank” and was a strong supporter of open banking to broaden choices in financial services.

Andrew Graham, CEO of Canadian fintech and lender Borrowell, said Moor was instrumental in the creation of his company in 2014, providing early funding and advice as a member of the board of directors.

“I’m honestly not sure if Borrowell would exist today had it not been for Andrew’s support,” Graham said Tuesday, calling Moor a champion of financial innovation. “His decision to back our team was a major turning point.”

Graham said the two later worked closely to advance open banking, a development Moor believed would increase competition in Canadian financial services and benefit consumers.

“He was admired and respected throughout Canada’s fintech community,” Graham said, adding that Moor was also an avid cyclist, an activity they shared. “Canada’s lost a great business leader and a terrific man.”

Prior to joining Equitable, Moor was CEO of Invis Inc., a company he helped build into Canada’s largest residential mortgage brokerage, backed by private equity investors. Invis was acquired by HSBC in 2005.

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• Email: bshecter@postmedia.com

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