At its annual general meeting on Feb. 29, the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) elected four new community directors from both the public and private sectors.

In the press release announcing their appointment, OBSI chair Fernand Bélisle said that the four directors will help to resolve financial disputes between Canadians and their banks and investment firms. The new directors are:

Catherine Adams, MBA, is a retired financial services executive with over thirty years' experience in business strategy, product management, marketing, distribution and finance.

Carmela Haines, CPA, CA is the vice-president of finance and administration with Access Communications Co-operative Limited.

Bharat Mahajan, CPA, CA is vice-president of finance and chief financial officer at Aveda Transportation and Energy Services Inc.

Laura Tamblyn Watts, LL.B is a lawyer, research, and teacher at the University of Toronto who focuses on elder law, law reform and social inclusion.

OBSI notes that these four directors will replace Adrian Burns, Angela Ferrante, Ian Lightstone, and Louise Martel, who are departing from OBSI after completing their terms.