Christine Timms retired from a successful 33-year career as an investment advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy. She achieved the firm’s top performance level for each of the last 24 years of her career. Her clientele included people from all walks of life and occupations including professionals, small business owners, public service workers, skilled trade workers, retirees, widows etc. Christine credits much of her success to an evolving business model and a strong team.

Upon retiring she wrote three Handbooks for Professional Financial Advisors including:

- Business Models for Financial Advisors: Develop and Articulate Your Unique Business Model

- Team Building for Financial Advisors: Enhance Client Services Grow Your Business and Improve Your Life, and

- Transitioning Clients and the Retirement Exit Decision: Includes Strategies and Tools for Seeking and Implementing Group Referrals

Christine refers to the process of buying and selling an advisor’s book as “group referrals”. During her career Christine referred a group of her clientele to another advisor as the focus of her practice evolved and was the recipient of a group referral from a fellow retiring advisor. Upon retirement Christine referred her clients to two advisors who maintained Christine’s 99% retention rate well after she left the practice.

Christine has also created customizable templates to help advisors implement ideas from the handbooks. Visit christinetimms.com for more information about Christine’s background, books and templates as well as links to articles and podcasts.

Sterling Shea is Managing Director, Head of Practice Strategy at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. He is a member of the Field Management Operating Committee within Wealth Management. Sterling leads the collaboration across Wealth Management Client Segments to drive strategic practice evolution for Financial Advisors and Teams while ensuring Field Leaders are aligned to consistently support locally—resulting in stronger growth, efficiency, and deeper client engagement. Key functions span the full spectrum of talent management including Financial Advisor Associate Talent Management, Advisor & Team Development, Practice Management Consulting, Internal & Industry Recognition, Field Management Events, Field Marketing Engagement, Field Leadership Readiness, and the Advisory Councils.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Shea spent 23 years at Dow Jones & Company, serving in several senior management roles and most recently as Global Head of Wealth and Asset Management at Barron’s Group. In this role he oversaw both the editorial and commercial functions of the firm’s activity in the wealth management space, including all the rankings of Financial Advisors published by Barron’s in the US and Australia, and the hosting of over 30 annual events in the US, UK, and Australia for elite wealth managers. He initiated Barron’s coverage of wealth management in 2004.

Mr. Shea is a graduate of Boston College and in 2015 he completed the graduate PLD business program at Harvard Business School.

Craig encourages his clients to think differently about investing in order to ensure a positive impact in his clients’ financial circumstances. He works beyond traditional portfolio management in the equity and bond markets alone and which includes alternative assets, offering more effective diversification and a benchmark that offers protection and peace of mind regardless of market conditions. Craig is a frequent commentator on wealth management practices for various media outlets, and a panelist and speaker at industry events

James Cowan is The Globe and Mail's investing and personal finance editor.

Prior to that, he was editor of The Globe's Report on Business magazine.

He was previously managing editor of special projects for Maclean’s, where he oversaw the magazine’s popular university rankings, along with other initiatives.

Prior to joining Maclean’s, he was editor-in-chief of Canadian Business. He joined Canadian Business in 2009 as a senior writer, becoming deputy editor the following year.

He also worked as a reporter with the National Post — where he covered municipal, provincial and federal politics — and as associate editor at Saturday Night magazine.

He began his career as a film critic for eye Weekly.

Amy Dietz- Graham is a Senior Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager at National Bank Financial, specializing in High and Ultra-High Net Worth families, high-performance professionals, and entrepreneurs. She grew up in Mildmay, Ontario—a rural Bruce County community shaped by hardworking parents and farming grandparents—where she learned early that security is built through effort, planning, and follow-through.

With close to 20 years of experience, Amy structures tax-efficient investment portfolios and provides holistic planning that integrates estates, trusts, corporate structures, retirement strategies, and philanthropy. She is especially known for helping entrepreneurs plan for major liquidity events, often structuring the proceeds and the plan well before a business sale occurs. Amy’s mantra is simple: plan with intention, invest with discipline and grow with patience. She is co-host to the podcast Small Change, Big Gains where she explores the small incremental changes that can lead to big payoffs in life and investing. Her work has been featured in The Globe and Mail, CBC News, The Canadian Press, Advisor’s Edge, and she has been interviewed on BNN numerous times.

Diandra Camilleri is an Associate Portfolio Manager at Verecan Capital Management Inc., specializing in discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and strategic philanthropy.

With more than a decade of experience in the finance industry and as a holder of the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation, Diandra works with individuals and families to make informed financial decisions, taking into consideration their long-term goals and the impact they wish to leave behind for the people and causes they care about.

Alongside her work with clients, Diandra’s commentary on the evolving nature of financial advice has been featured in publications including Globe Advisor, The Canadian Press, Financial Post, and Wealth Professional.

A forward-thinking investment professional with over 22 years of experience, Michael Zagari is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), the highest credential offered by the CSI. This distinction, combined with his designations as a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) and Certified International Wealth Manager (CIWM), signifies his deep commitment to ethical and professional practice in wealth management.

Michael has partnered with Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, a firm that oversees $45 billion in assets under administration, as a Portfolio Manager.

Recognizing the transformative power of technology, Michael believes in harnessing innovation to unlock new opportunities for wealth creation and is empowered to deliver exceptional service to his clients.

Joe Millott is a partner at Fort Capital Partners, an independent investment bank that specializes in wealth and asset management mergers and acquisitions, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

Joe brings over 15 years of experience in corporate development, investment banking, and entrepreneurship, with a focus on financial services and fintech. He held executive roles at Canada Drives and Purpose Unlimited, leading M&A initiatives and capital raises. Earlier, he spent more than a decade at HSBC, Standard Chartered, and NatWest (formerly RBS), advising financial institutions and corporate clients on a range of capital markets transactions.

Joe is a CFA charterholder and an active member of the CFA community. He writes a monthly column for wealth management professionals in The Globe and Mail and contributes regularly to Investment Executive and Advisor.ca on practice management, growth, and succession.

Canada Fellow is a well-known and accomplished financial planner and industry advocate. His commentary and writing have appeared in every major media outlet in the country. He currently serves as a columnist and advisory board member of the Globe & Mail's Globe Advisor.

Jason also holds the positions of director of the Institute of Advanced Financial Planners and and director of the Individual Finance and Insurance Decision Centre. He was the founding President of the Financial Planning Association of Canada and has served on many industry committees, most recently the CIRO Proficiency and Examination Committees.

Jason has also built a reputation as a thought leader in the advisor technology space. He advises ten advisor-technology startups across three countries, helping them navigate product strategy, AI integration, and regulatory alignment. Is the creator and host of the Fintech Impact podcast—one of the world’s leading shows on advisor technology— where he has interviewed more than 400 fintech founders, investors, and innovators. Jason is also an internationally recognized speaker on advisor technology, digital transformation, and the impact of artificial intelligence on the financial advice industry.

Mark Burgess is an award-winning journalist. He is assistant editor and manages the day-to-day responsibilities of assigning and editing content for Globe Advisor. He has been covering the wealth management industry since 2017, previously as managing editor of Advisor’s Edge and Investment Executive. Prior to that, he wrote about advertising as associate editor of Strategy magazine and covered federal politics as deputy editor of the Hill Times. He began his reporting career with the Low Down to Hull and Back News in Wakefield, Que.

Kendra Thompson is the founder of Epok Advice, a boutique strategy firm advising wealth and asset management organizations across North America on growth, transformation, and the future of advice. With more than 25 years of experience supporting the largest firms in the industry, she brings a unique combination of strategic insight, deep operational understanding, and hands-on transformation leadership.

Kendra specializes in helping firms design scalable, multi-generational advisory practices by integrating deliberate operating-model design, digital enablement, and systematic approaches to organic growth. Her work spans market entry strategy, M&A and post-merger integration, advisor-platform evolution, and AI-enabled workflow modernization. She advises independent dealers, RIAs, banks, and private-equity–backed platforms across Canada and the U.S., helping leadership teams modernize their businesses and better engage Gen X, millennial, and Gen Z investors.

Known for challenging industry orthodoxy, Kendra pushes firms to move beyond technology-first thinking and instead build truly differentiated advisor and client experiences rooted in clarity, values alignment, and intentional practice design.

A frequent contributor to Globe Advisor and the creator of the Epok Insider podcast, she is recognized for translating complex market forces into actionable strategies for advisors and executives navigating the industry’s next era of change.

Rudy Mezzetta is a reporter at Globe Advisor.

He has covered the Canadian wealth management industry since 2005, with a focus on tax and trust and estate planning.

Prior to joining Globe Advisor, he was a senior reporter with Investment Executive and Advisor.ca.

With over 30 years of investment industry experience, Jeet provides investment counsel to private clients, corporations, not for profits, individual pension plans and trusts, to help develop and implement personalized investment strategies. Jeet is a CFA Charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute and Toronto CFA Society. She graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce, as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. Jeet is actively involved in her community. She has been Co-Chair of TD’s South Asian Employee Resource Group for over 15 years, championing diversity and inclusion initiatives within the bank. She is a board member with 'Pink Attitude Evolution', a non-for-profit organization committed to helping women achieve their full potential.

Pablo Fuchs is editor of Globe Advisor at The Globe and Mail, a position he has held since January 2019. He oversees the editorial direction and editorial team for the Globe’s direct-to-advisor offering. Prior to this position, he spent more than 13 years immersed in the financial services industry and focusing on issues relevant to financial advisors as senior editor, then managing editor at Investment Executive. In those roles, Pablo was in charge of IE’s annual Report Card series and news coverage. He graduated from Carleton University’s School of Journalism in 2001.

Chris McHaney is the Executive Vice President, Head of Investment Management and Strategy at Global X Investments Canada Inc. Chris is an experienced investment professional with a deep understanding of the ETF industry and ecosystem in Canada, with more than twenty years of experience covering portfolio management, investment strategy and policy, product development, and sales. Prior to joining Global X, he served as BMO Global Asset Management’s Director and Portfolio Manager, where he oversaw the management of both passive and active strategies, derivative overlays, foreign exchange exposures and cross-asset portfolios. Chris holds an Honors Business Administration degree from York University’s Schulich School of Business and is a CFA® charter holder.

Brian Portnoy, Ph.D., CFA, is an entrepreneur, writer, and expert in the psychology of money. He is the founder of Shaping Wealth, the global wealth industry's premier learning & engagement platform for human-first financial guidance. In 2024, WealthManagement.com recognized Shaping Wealth as the financial advice industry's most disruptive firm. Brian’s three behavioral finance books have been published in 15 languages and one of them, The Geometry of Wealth: How to Shape of Life of Money and Meaning, inspired his current venture. Brian previously worked for 20 years in the hedge fund and mutual fund industries as investor, researcher, and educator. He serves on the ambassador’s council of the Alliance for Decision Education, is a CFA Charterholder, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. Brian earned his doctorate at the University of Chicago and undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan.

Meric Koksal is the Managing Director & Head of Product at CIBC Global Asset Management -a top 100 global asset manager with over C$300 billion in assets. Meric leverages her extensive knowledge and expertise in innovative product development to advance the organization’s global investment product platform. Meric’s leadership is instrumental in the delivery and distribution of a comprehensive suite of investment capabilities, including global fixed income, fundamental and quantitative equity, active currency, multi-asset solutions, beta strategies and alternatives investments. She is responsible for serving wealth and institutional clients globally, with a determined focus on innovation and developing new strategies that meet the evolving needs of our clients.

Meric joined CIBC in 2016. Most recently, she was Managing Director, Deputy Head and Head of Structuring, Innovation & Private Markets within CIBC Capital Markets, leading global product innovation, structuring and development.

Meric has over 20 years of financial services experience. She started her career in the equities division of Goldman Sachs, New York. While at Goldman, Meric developed derivatives research around indices, ETFs for both pension funds and hedge funds. She later moved to Asia (Japan and Singapore) where she worked as an equity derivative sales specialist focusing on hedge funds.

Meric is currently a member of the Capital Markets Inclusion Action Committee. She previously served as the business liaison for the CIBC Continuing Education Program and a member of the Capital Markets Learning Advisory Committee. She also contributed to driving diversity and inclusion as a committee member of the Managing Director selection process and served as the co-chair of the CIBC Global Markets Recruiting Committee. Recently, she was recognized with a 2024 VersaFi Champions of Change Award, reflecting her excellence in leadership and commitment to accelerating equity in the Canadian finance industry.

Meric graduated from Hamilton College in New York, USA as a mathematics and economics double major. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Jennifer brings over two decades of experience in the financial services industry, beginning her career in equity capital markets. Over the years, she has played a pivotal role in the success and management of multiple branches, and most recently launched a Total Wealth program in the GTA West market. Jennifer has also held leadership roles in sales and practice management, where she was responsible for advisor-focused training and development at another leading financial institution.

Jennifer’s leadership philosophy is grounded in robust practice management, with a strong emphasis on open communication and partnership. She believes that collaboration between advisor teams and management is essential for driving meaningful results and fostering successful branches.

On a personal note, Jennifer is the proud mom to her son, Narayan, and their dog, Milo. Her family is deeply committed to giving back to their community and is actively involved in several charities focused on supporting children in Burlington. Outside of her professional life, Jennifer is also a fine artist who enjoys painting and exploring the arts.

Deanne Gage is a reporter for Globe Advisor at The Globe and Mail.
She has specialized in issues pertaining to financial advisors for more than two decades.Areas of expertise include advisor trends, practice management, and estate planning.

She is the former editor of FORUM and Advisor’s Edge magazines and has been the recipient of several business journalism awards during her tenure.

She was the Toronto Star's Money Makeover columnist for five years. Her articles have also appeared in Morningstar.ca, Chatelaine, MoneySense, and Today’s Parent.

Alexandra Posadzki is an award-winning business journalist based in Toronto, where she covers financial crime and cybercrime for The Globe and Mail's Report on Business. She is the author of the instant national bestseller, Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada's Telecom Empire, which won the 2025 National Business Book Award and has been adapted for the stage by Crow’s Theatre.

Previously, Alexandra was The Globe's telecom reporter. Her industry-leading coverage of the dramatic power struggle at Rogers Communications Inc. was recognized with several Canada Best in Business Awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, including gold medals in the “scoop” and “beat reporting” categories. Throughout the two-year long regulatory review of Rogers’ $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., investors came to rely on Alexandra’s unparalleled coverage and consistent scoops. She is also a regular guest on The Globe’s daily news podcast, The Decibel.

Before taking on the telecom beat, Alexandra was The Globe’s capital markets reporter and wrote extensively about Canada’s fledgling cryptocurrency industry, particularly through a regulatory lens. Her network of contacts and deep knowledge of the space proved valuable during the collapse of Canada’s largest virtual currency exchange, QuadrigaCX. Alexandra’s contributions to The Globe’s award-winning coverage of the massive cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme led to her being prominently featured in multiple documentaries, podcasts and radio shows on the topic, including a 2022 Netflix documentary called Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King.

Alexandra is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Master of Journalism program and has an honours B.A. in psychology and literature from York University. She has also completed the Canadian Securities Course.

Prior to joining The Globe in 2017, Alexandra spent three years as a multimedia business reporter at the Canadian Press newswire, where she wrote about banking, real estate and the burgeoning cannabis industry, and produced a series of investigative stories on Canada’s lax anti-money laundering regime. She has also worked at the Toronto Star, Business News Network, Global News and The Globe's B.C. bureau. Alexandra got her start in journalism at York University’s student newspaper, the Excalibur.

As the Executive Vice President and Head of Advisor Growth and Succession at IPC, John Novachis is dedicated to driving the success of IPC and their team of independent Financial Advisors. With a focus on two key elements, recruiting top-performing Advisors along with assisting Advisors in building profitable businesses, John believes that a team-based, client-focused, and entrepreneurial culture is crucial for achieving success in both areas.

With over 25 years of experience at Investment Planning Counsel, John has lead various initiatives related to Advisor recruitment and transitions, business valuations, succession planning, and the development of IPC's corporate culture. In his current role as Executive Vice President, John works alongside his team to assist Advisors in overcoming obstacles to growth, provides support in Advisor succession planning, ensures Advisors can maximize the monetization of their businesses, employs financial modelling and market research to identify opportunities, and ultimately drives growth for IPC and their Advisors.

Additionally, as a brand ambassador for IPC, John prioritizes building strong relationships and through his leadership and expertise, he is committed to fostering the growth and success of IPC while empowering Advisors to build successful businesses.

Ms. Hamberg is a partner and National Low Carbon Fuels Lead at Deloitte Canada where she advises on the commercialization of climate technology at industrial scale. She serves clients across all sectors on the evolving clean technology and clean fuels landscape, advancing innovation to market readiness, and how to de-risk and operationalize the introduction of new technology. She is fascinated by the challenge of developing and commercializing the solutions Canada needs for the energy transition, particularly where new markets and new value chains need to be created.

Karen is a clean technology executive with more than 20 years of global experience in the deployment of clean transportation technologies and the policy/regulatory frameworks to enable growth, scale, and market leadership. Prior to Deloitte, she held a range of senior executive positions at Westport Fuel Systems with experience in corporate strategy, market creation and development, product commercialization, external communications, and policy and regulatory affairs.

Appointed to the Government of Canada’s Industry Strategy Council and named chair of the Clean Technology Economic Strategy Table in June 2020, Karen has advised on accelerating the deployment of made-in-Canada cleantech, scaling Canadian companies, and ensuring Canada’s global competitiveness in a net-zero economy.

An active volunteer, she is currently a Director of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, a trustee on the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum of Nature, Chair Emeritus of CALSTART in Pasadena, California, and past Chair of the United Way of British Columbia Campaign Cabinet.

Karen holds a Master of Arts from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts from Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba