Biography

Mr. Sarabjit S. Marwah is a Senator in the Senate of Canada. He was appointed to the Senate in 2016 by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister.  Prior to his appointment, Sabi was the Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), a position he had held since 2008.  As Vice Chairman, he was responsible for the Bank’s corporate financial and administrative functions, and was actively involved in developing the Bank’s strategic plans and priorities. Sabi was also the Chairman of several Scotiabank Subsidiaries, and retired from the Bank in 2014

Sabi joined Scotiabank in Toronto as a financial analyst in the Bank's Finance Division in 1979. Over the years, he held successively more senior positions within the Finance Department, including Deputy Comptroller, Senior Vice President & Comptroller, and Executive Vice President. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 1998 and Senior Executive Vice President & CFO in 2002. During his tenure in Finance, he was also responsible for several functions outside the Finance Division, such as Audit, Economics, General Counsel, Information Technology, Real Estate, Shared Services & Operations and Treasury, and was actively involved in many of the Bank's strategic decisions, including acquisitions both in Canada and internationally. He became Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer in 2005.

Sabi has also been very active in social, arts and community organizations. He currently serves as a Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital for Sick Children, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto International Film Festival. He was a Founding Member of the Sikh Foundation of Canada, a member of the 2008 and 2009 United Way Cabinets, a member of the Board of Directors of the C.D. Howe Institute, and past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Humber River Regional Hospital. He was also a past member of the selection committee for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Sabi has been recognized with several awards including the following: Professional of the Year Award from the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce in 1994; the Sewa Award on 2 occasions from the Sikh Centennial Foundation; Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award; Words & Deeds award from the United Jewish Federation in 2009; and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012.

On the professional front, Sabi is currently a member of the Board of Directors of a few public sector companies.

Sabi earned an undergraduate Honors degree in Economics from the University of Calcutta, a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Delhi, and a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2012, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management.

He and his wife, Amrin, have two daughters.