Kaz Flinn
Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Scotiabank

Kaz Flinn has been a public affairs and communications practitioner for 20 years. Her interest in public affairs was piqued during her university years at Carleton University. Immediately after graduation, she began working on Parliament Hill where she worked for 6 years. Kaz entered the private sector as a Public Affairs consultant in Toronto.

She was Director, Government Affairs, for Rogers Communications Inc. and then joined Scotiabank in 1998 as Director, Government Affairs and was appointed VP, CSR in May 2004. Scotiabank is proud to be the first Canadian bank to appoint a VP responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Her responsibilities at Scotiabank include chairing its CSR Advisory Committee, a group of senior executives that oversee the integration of CSR throughout the Bank. She has spoken at a number of conferences on topics such as the Millenium Development Goals and the role of the private sector as well as how to integrate CSR into an organization. Kaz's CSR portfolio is diverse, ranging from micro-finance to the adoption and implementation of the Equator Principles. As Canada's most international bank, Scotiabank is active in 50 countries and Kaz works with her colleagues around the world addressing CSR and GR issues unique to each country.

Kaz is very active in her community. She is a past President of The Creative Preschool of East Toronto and a member of The Girl Guides of Canada National Fund Development Committee.

She is a marathon runner, commutes to work on her bicycle and loves to hike and swim. Kaz Flinn is a native of Chester, Nova Scotia and is married with two children.