Attendees

Jeff Aarssen
Jeff is vice-president of Group Retirement Services Distribution. Group Retirement Services is a division of Great-West, London Life and Canada Life, a provider of capital accumulation plans in Canada. Based in London, Ont., Jeff is responsible for the overall sales and field service functions in 13 locations across the country. He leads the largest network of group retirement specialists in Canada. Back to top

Irshaad Ahmad
Irshaad is president and managing director of Russell Investments Canada Ltd. Before he assumed this role in 2006, Irshaad was director of institutional services with Russell. Based in Canada, Irshaad oversaw all of Russell’s institutional businesses in Canada, including consulting and sales and service of institutional funds, alternative investments and implementation services. Before joining Russell in 2004, Irshaad held a senior leadership role in the investment consulting business of a large multinational consulting firm. Back to top

Eric Airola
Eric is the director of benefits for J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., a position he has held since November, 2003. Prior to his assignment to Benefits, he was the director of training and development for several years. During Eric’s 17 year tenure at J.B. Hunt, he has also served as a logistics manager and team leader, quality manager, and personnel manager.Back to top

Michael Annable
Michael is executive vice-president of administration for Linamar Corp. Back to top

Melissa Archer
Melissa joined Rogers Media in 2002 as conference co-ordinator and has recently been appointed to conference planner. She brings to her position wide-ranging organizational and project management skills including a diploma in marketing communications and advertising media. Melissa currently manages eight annual conferences for Benefits Canada, Canadian Investment Review and Canadian Healthcare Manager magazines as well as additional events for the Financial Services Group.Back to top

Lori Bak
In her position as vice-president of client relationships and marketing, Lori is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction and leadership of the national account sales, marketing, plan member education and client relationship management areas. Prior to joining the firm in 2003, Lori was publisher of the Canadian Investment Review and associate publisher of Benefits Canada and Avantages magazines. She is an award-winning business journalist and former editor of Benefits Canada. She is an active member of the ACPM. Back to top

Darryl Barclay
Darryl is senior director of human resources for PotashCorp. He has worked for PotashCorp for more than 25 years in the human resources area. As senior director, he currently oversees all HR activities for 1,500 employees in total, including pensions and benefits for the Saskatoon corporate office and all Canadian operations. Back to top

Michael Barnett
Michael is executive vice-president of retirement services and is responsible for the overall growth and daily operations of Fidelity’s institutional business in Canada. Michael has 19 years of experience in the Canadian financial industry. Appointed to his current position in July 2006, he joined Fidelity in July 1999 and has since held a number of senior leadership roles within Fidelity’s advisor distribution business in Canada. Most recently, Michael was senior vice-president of sales for Fidelity’s retail business, a $30-billion entity, in charge of revamping that group’s structure and strategy. Back to top

Don Bisch
Don is editor of Benefit Canada and provides overall editorial direction on Benefits Canada, Canadian Healthcare Manager and Gestion Santé magazines. Don joined the Rogers Publishing Healthcare and Financial Services Group in April 2000 and has led the editorial team at Canadian Healthcare Manager magazine for the past four years. He holds a master’s of journalism degree from Carleton University and a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Waterloo. Back to top

Lorena Breda
Lorena is senior principal at KPMG and is responsible for partner matters. Back to top

Christine Robin Brisco
Robin is a senior adviser in the treasury department at Syncrude Canada Ltd. In her current role, she is responsible for the management of both the defined contribution plan and the banking functions. Robin is a member of the Society of Management Accountants and holds an MBA from the University of Alberta. Back to top

Paul Cameron
Paul Cameron is manager of treasury operations at Ford of Canada. He is responsible for banking, pensions, employee compensation and benefits. Paul has been with Ford for 20 years. He has a BSc from the University of Toronto and an MBA from York University. Back to top

Michael Campbell
Michael is vice-president of Group Retirement Services Marketing. Group Retirement Services is a division of Great-West, London Life and Canada Life, a provider of capital accumulation plans in Canada. As part of the Group Retirement Services leadership team, Michael heads up a team of marketing specialists responsible for developing products and services and supporting the communication of those services in multiple mediums. Michael joined London Life’s employee benefits sales and service division in 1990 after graduating from Laurentian University with an Honours BComm. Back to top

Anthony Cardone
Anthony is senior vice-president of group savings and retirement for The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and is responsible for leading the conception, development and management of the marketing, sales and member communication strategies, and customer services in the group savings and retirement line of business. From 2003 to March 2005, Anthony was vice-president of marketing and sales development, retail markets, and from 2002 to 2005, he was senior vice-president of marketing for Standard Life Mutual Funds Ltd. Back to top

Michelle Chusan
Michelle is the manager, retirement programs and communication for Hudson's the Bay Company. Back to top

Mike Collins
Mike is vice-president of marketing and communications with Manulife Financial's group pensions and savings area. In this role, he's accountable for product development and group investments as well as plan member education and communications. Mike joined Manulife in 1986. During his tenure with the company, he has served in a variety of senior roles with individual life marketing and communications, Canadian marketing services, then group benefits marketing and communications. Mike graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in Honours Economics in 1977 and with an MBA in 2001. Back to top

Brian Cyr
Brian has been working in the investment field for more than eight years and joined Standard Life in 2003. He manages the investment team within the group savings and retirement line of business. As leader of the investment team’s activities, which include the Quality & Choice Program, Brian plays a key role in establishing the strategic direction and implementing key investment product and service initiatives in the group savings market. Brian began his career at the Quebec Pension Plan’s fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Back to top

Nadia Darwish
Nadia leads a team of client relationship executives across Canada and is ultimately responsible for creating a superior client experience. Nadia has more than 14 years of industry experience and joined Sun Life Financial Group Retirement Services in 1999 as a client relationship executive. Prior to joining Sun Life Financial, Nadia held different management and client relationship positions in leading financial institutions. Her in-depth knowledge of plan implementation and product research and development, coupled with her extensive experience, complements our client relationship team. Back to top

Sandy DeDeaupre
Sandy is the pension manager for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. She has more than 30 years of pension design and administration experience in both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Back to top

Andrew Dierdorf
Andrew is a portfolio manager for Fidelity Investments. Andrew is co-portfolio manager for Fidelity ClearPath™ Retirement Portfolios: ClearPath Income, ClearPath 2005, ClearPath 2010, ClearPath 2015, ClearPath 2020, ClearPath 2025, ClearPath 2030, ClearPath 2035, ClearPath 2040, and ClearPath 2045. In addition, he is a senior asset allocation analyst in the Asset Allocation Group at Fidelity, where he is responsible for monitoring and managing asset allocation portfolios, as well as providing asset liability analysis and portfolio management for institutional defined benefit plan sponsors. Prior to joining Fidelity in 2004, Andrew worked for CIGNA in Hartford, Connecticut. He has held various actuarial and investmentrelated positions and most recently served as head of product development in the Corporate Insurance Group. Back to top

Rehana Doobay
As vice-president Human Resources at american Express Canada, Rehana has overall responsibility for comensation, benefits, talent acquisition, employee relations, organisational design, employeed development and engagement. Her HR career has spaneed work in the U.K., Latin American and U.S. markets. She holds a BSc Hons in Behavioural Sciences and CHRM. Back to top

Leigh Doyle
Leigh is the assistant editor for Benefits Canada and the Canadian Investment Review. Back to top

Alexandra Fangor
Alexandra is the human resources manager, pension & savings, for Kraft Canada. Back to top

Chris Ferrill
Chris is manager, total compensation with Shell Canada Limited in Calgary. His current areas of responsibility include policy and programs for pension (both defined contribution and defined benefit), benefits, staff and executive compensation, expatriate administration, employee transfers, and job evaluation. Back to top

Elizabeth Forster
Elizabeth practices employment and labour law with Blaney McMurtry LLP. She represents employers, trade unions and employees. She has been involved in hearings before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, grievance arbitrations, collective agreement negotiations, Human Rights cases, and prosecutions under Occupational Health and Safety Act. Her work also includes wrongful dismissal actions, actions for breach of fiduciary duties and other employment and employee issues as well as labour related actions. She advises clients on employment contracts, employment policies, non-competition and confidentiality agreements and employee pension and benefit-related issues.Back to top

Lucie Fournier
Lucie is the senior consultant, benefits, for BCE Corporate Services and is responsible for developing benefits policies for 40,000 employees and 30,000 retirees. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Her main areas of responsibility include the design and communication of new benefits programs, negotiation of administrative and financial arrangements with providers and ongoing monitoring of related activities. Back to top

Eric Gagnon
Eric is the total compensation manager for Sico inc. He is responsible for compensation, benefits, pension and HR systems. He holds a Master’s degree in industrial relations. Back to top

Patrice Gauvin
Patrice is the vice-president of Héroux-Devtek Inc. Back to top

David Glennie
David is the director, compensation and benefits for Novopharm Ltd. He is responsible for job evaluation, salary design and administration, STI and LTI design and administration, group benefits and group pension design and administration, performance management systems, HRIS, payroll administration. Back to top

Jean Goulet
Jean is publisher at Rogers Publishing. He is responsible for all French titles under the Financial Services Group including Avantages and Objectif Conseiller. Jean works with the Montreal editorial and sales team to build on the Group’s market-leading presence in print and on-line in the Montreal marketplace. Jean has more than 20 years’ experience in a senior marketing role at both the retail and institutional levels with a number of major financial institutions including OpenSky Capital, CDP Capital, Talvest Fund Management, TAL Asset Management and Standard Life. Back to top

David Gregoire
David is a senior member of the client service and marketing team at Legg Mason Canada Inc. He is responsible for providing focused leadership for the group retirement plans and third-party markets. Previously, David was responsible for all aspects of the Legg Mason affiliate relationships, including mandate construction and compliance, sales and client service support and investment reporting. He has more than 15 years of experience in the investment business. Prior to joining Legg Mason, David spent 11 years with the RBC Financial Group. Back to top

Howard Hallam
Howard is director of human resources for Cooper Standard Automotive. Howard is responsible for all labour contract negotiations in 14 facilities in Canada and the U.S. He is also responsible for pension and benefit administration for approximately 2,000 Canadian employees. Back to top

Michelle Hamelin
Michelle is the manager, HR Programs for Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited. A graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce program at Ryerson University, she has spent most of her career managing pension and benefits programs.Back to top

Terry Hearn
Terry is the director, human resources for Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax. He is responsible for the delivery of all HR programs across the organization, including support of the current MSVU DC plan. Terry has worked in a number of global organizations, including Nortel and Manulife, with extensive work in postmerger pension integration and the development of SERPs. Terry is a member of the HRPAO and HRANS. Back to top

Linda Humphreys
Linda is the vice-president of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) responsible for finance, accounting, human resources, governance and information technology. AHFMR is an endowment based organization that supports medical and health research at Alberta based institutions with a budget of approximately $65 million per year and an endowment approaching $1.5 billion. Back to top

Kelly Jarvis
Kelly is director of human resources for Steelcase Canada Ltd. Kelly is responsible for the human resource strategy and implementation for Canada. This includes all aspects of pension, benefits, compensation, employee relations and administration. Kelly is a Certified Human Resource Professional and Certified Compensation Professional. She is an active member of the HRPAO (York Region Chapter) and the World at Work Society. Back to top

Zaheed Jiwani
Zaheed joined Hewitt Associates in 2004 and is a senior consultant in the investment consulting practice. In addition, Zaheed heads up the Toronto investment consulting office, overseeing the operation and growth of the business. He also leads the Canadian Capital Accumulation Plan investment consulting group and is responsible for the expansion and strategic development of the group within Hewitt’s global investment practice. Prior to joining Hewitt, Zaheed spent four years at a large insurance company as an internal investment consultant in its investment management services area. Back to top

David Keir
David is vice-president of human resources for Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., a private organization in Western Canada. He has been involved in general HR issues, as well as pension and benefit administration, for the past 30 years. Back to top

Hugh Kerr
As a member of the senior management team of group retirement services, Hugh provides strategic guidance and insight on legal and regulatory issues facing our industry and our business. In addition to his practice, which includes group life and health insurance and group retirement matters, he is also corporate secretary for Sun Life Financial Trust Inc., responsible for corporate governance and regulatory matters. He is the chair of the CLHIA Committee on Group Retirement Plans, the CAPSA Stakeholder Task Force on Common Pension Standards and the Association of Canadian Pension Management Advocacy and Government Relations Committee. Back to top

Maria Khader
Maria is vice-president of Capital International Financial Services and serves as that company’s marketing research and development manager. Her responsibilities include both marketing and communications for Canada and Latin America. Maria joined the organization in 1993 as a marketing research project manager, moving to head marketing research for Capital International in 2000. She earned her MS in economics from Florida State University and completed postgraduate studies in econometrics from Claremont Graduate School in California. Maria is based in the Los Angeles office. Back to top

Kenneth Kukkonen
Ken is vice-president of sales and is responsible for the business development and sales management activities of Standard Life’s Group Savings and Retirement Division across Canada. He leads the evolution of the national sales strategy, which will further strengthen Standard Life’s position in the rapidly growing group savings and retirement market. Ken joined Standard Life in 2004 as regional sales director for the central region. He has been extensively involved in the pension industry in Canada for the last 20 years in both sales management and business development. Back to top

Bill Kyle
Bill is senior vice-president for Group Retirement Services. He is responsible for all business functions including administration, systems, marketing and sales. Bill has been the senior leader of the company’s group retirement business since 1996 and was appointed to his current position in January 2003. He has been responsible for the Prudential of America, Great-West Life and Canada Life group retirement integrations. He has served as chair of the joint CLHIA/FSCO pension committee and the CLHIA pension committee and was an industry representative on the Joint Forum of Financial Regulators Capital Accumulation Plan Guideline working committee. Back to top

Robert Landry
As chief counsel of labour relations and human resources governance for Magna International Inc., Rob is part of the senior HR leadership team providing strategic advice and guidance on human resources and labour-related matters to the Magna International Group of Companies. These responsibilities include developing labour relations strategies, collective bargaining and managing employment-related litigation, as well as overseeing program design, governance, compliance and administration of Magna’s global retirement, healthcare, environmental, and health and safety programs. Back to top

Robert Leblanc
Robert is director of benefits for Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. He has held the position since August 2001 and has been with Costco Wholesale for 12 years. The first eight years were spent in operational roles in the Ottawa-area warehouses. He is also responsible for the benefit plans of the company, including health and dental benefits and the employee assistance program, as well as the Costco Pension and RRSP plans. Robert is a member of the HRPAO and the CPBI. Back to top

Claire Leboeuf
Claire Leboeuf is vice-president of compensation and benefits, corporate human resources, for SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SLI). In this position, Claire oversees the overall compensation, benefits and retirement plans of SLI employees as well as other projects including HR issues related to acquisitions. Claire has more than 25 years of experience in HR management and a BA from the University of Ottawa. Back to top

Paul Lorentz
Paul was appointed senior vice-president of Group Savings and Retirement Solutions (GSRS) at Manulife Financial in early 2006. Before joining GSRS, he held senior leadership roles within Manulife’s Canadian Division in the areas of Finance and Marketing. Back to top

Jo-Ann Luhr
Jo-Ann is the manager, benefits and pension at Baker Hughes Canada Company, oilfield service company. She manages the pension and benefit department and oversees plan design, implementation and governence. She is member of CPBI and World at Work and holds a CBP designation. Back to top

Alain Malaket
Alain is the senior director, pensions for George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited. Alain is responsible for the management and oversight of retirement programs in Canada and the United States. His work experience includes consulting in the field of pension, benefits, compensation and strategic HR as well as working with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and Management Board Secretariat. Back to top

Paul Malizia
Paul is the leader of Hewitt’s investment consulting practice in Canada. He has been a senior investment consultant in Hewitt’s Toronto office since 2004 and has 12 years of experience in the field. Prior to joining Hewitt, Paul worked as assistant vice-president of investment management services for a large insurance company, where he was also a member of the company’s investment review committee. In addition, he spent five years with an investment consulting firm, where he served as director of manager research for Canada. Back to top

David March
David is manager of benefits for Michelin North America Canada Inc. He is responsible for the administration of pension and benefit plans. Back to top

Dave Mason
Dave is a member of the institutional client service and marketing team at Legg Mason Canada Inc. Based in Vancouver, he is responsible for Client Service in Western Canada for Pension, Foundation, Endowment and Cash Management clients. Dave joined Legg Mason Canada in 2003 and brought with him over seventeen years of industry experience. Prior to joining Legg Mason Canada he spent nine years with UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) Co. as associate director responsible for Cash Management Sales and Client Service in Western Canada. He is a registered Canadian Investment Manager and a fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. Mr. Mason is President of TMAC-BC Chapter and on the TMAC National Board of Directors. He is also a Member of the Council for the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute (Pacific Region). Back to top

J.C. Massar
J.C. is president and a director of Capital International Asset Management (Canada), Inc. and chair and a director of Capital International Financial Services, Inc. J.C. focuses on international fund marketing and distribution through financial advisers. Prior to joining our organization in 1993, he was chief marketing officer of Transamerica Life Insurance in Los Angeles. J.C. earned a BA in economics from the University of Oregon and is based in Los Angeles. Back to top

Joy McLaughlin
Joy is a senior account manager for Benefits Canada, Avantages, Canadian Investment Review and the CPF Directories. She is responsible for the management of existing clients and business development related to those Rogers Inc. publications. Prior to joining Rogers, Joy held various sales positions with CP Rail, ICS Courier Services and IE:Money and Investment Executive. Joy has an Honours Bachelor of Arts from York University. Back to top

John McGuire
John is the sales and senior product manager for the pensions line of business (both group and individual pension plans) within BMO Financial Group. In this role, John is responsible for business development, strategic planning, product design, marketing, training, co-ordination of operations support, and larger sales opportunities. He has worked in the financial services industry for 23 years, the past 15 covering the group retirement market in Canada and the U.S. Back to top

Shirley McIntyre
Shirley is director of pensions at TransAlta Corporation in Calgary. Over the past several years, Shirley has held a number of roles related to human resources management in pensions, benefits and compensation, primarily at TransAlta as well as in a Calgary-based oil company. She has been an active member of the Association of Canadian Management and has spoken a number of times on a variety of pension-related topics at conferences and seminars throughout Western Canada and Ontario. Back to top

Dave McLellan
Dave is vice-president of defined contribution solutions and is responsible for new product innovation for Fidelity’s defined contribution record-keeping clients. He has been building investment solutions for plan members, sponsors and retail customers for the past 15 years. Dave is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. Dave is a member of the CLHIA’s Retirement Plans Committee and the SOA’s Education and Examination committee. Back to top

Judy Merrison
Judy is the manager of Programs and Benefits at Bowes Publishers Lt. She is responsible for the administration of our company's benefit programs including health care, pension, RRSP, and health & safety. Back to top

John Myrah
John joined Hewitt Associates in 1997 as a consultant. John has a Bachelor of Administration degree, is a CA, CFA and formerly practiced as a Chartered Insolvency Practitioner and licensed Bankruptcy Trustee. Prior to joining Hewitt' (predecessor firm, James P. Marshall) John was with Deloitte & Touche in Calgary and Regina, working in the Financial and Special Services practice. John has performed investment reviews and manager searches for a wide range of clients, including DC and DB pension plans, insurance funds and endowments, and is responsible for providing performance monitoring services to a number of Hewitt's western clients. Back to top

Cathy Needs
Cathy is the total compensation programs executive for IBM Canada, responsible for strategic ownership of programs related to compensation, pension, benefits and well-being services for IBM Canada and IBM’s Caribbean North countries, numbering approximately 20,000 employees. Cathy is a member of the Compensation Research Council of the Conference Board of Canada. She also participates on a variety of customer advisory councils related to health and retirement benefits issues. She holds a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. Back to top

Cheryl Neighbour
Cheryl is executive director of operations for the University of British Columbia Faculty Pension Plan and is responsible for the Plan’s governance and administration, and member communication and education. In her role, she is also secretary to the Plan’s board of trustees. Cheryl is secretary/treasurer for CPBI, Pacific Region, and is a member of the ACPM. Back to top

Bill Norris
Bill has been serving at Trinity Western University since 1990 and currently fulfills the role of director of employment and HR Administration. His role focuses on administering all aspects of staff recruiting, the university’s benefits and retirement plans, legal, immigration and overall HR office management. Prior to TWU, Bill spent 22 years with Sears (Canada). Bill’s academic training includes BCIT in administrative management and current graduate seminary studies. Professionally he was designated as a CHRP in 1999 and is a certified Targeted Selection® - Administrator.Back to top

Adam Petryk
Adam is the deputy chief investment officer of Legg Mason Canada. Adam manages the firm's domestic investment management processes in addition to the risk management, trading and compliance functions of the firm's investment management team. He is also responsible for all derivatives activities within the firm and structuring products to meet Canadian clients' needs. With over 10 years experience in the investment industry, Adam has been with Legg Mason Canada since 1999. He has served a number of roles within the investment management team and has been instrumental in the evolution of the firm's investment processes. Adam was responsible for building the Quantitative Management team and platform that spans the asset mix, equity, fixed income and risk management functions of the firm. Prior to joining Legg Mason Adam was an equity research analyst at Scotia Capital Markets specializing in the technology sector. Adam holds a Master of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering, both from the University of Waterloo. Adam also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Back to top

Catherine Rambaran
Catherine is the benefits and pension specialist for Bayer Inc. She manages day-to-day relationships with external vendors; provides benefits education/communication to employees and recommend and implement changes in internal and external administration processes. Back to top

Blair Richards
Blair is the CEO of Halifax Port ILA/HEA. Back to top

Vince Rinella
Vince is vice-president, compensation, pension and benefits for Maple Leaf Foods Inc. He is responsible for the management and administration of several DC and DB pension plans as well as numerous benefit plans for over 24,000 employees. Vince has over 30 years of HR experience with three large international companies and was educated at the University of Waterloo, Ryerson University and Queen's University. Back to top

Mark Ristow
Mark is the country controller and vice president, finance for ITW Canada, where he is chairman of the company's pension & benefits committee. He has a B. Comm from the University of Guelph and is a CA. Back to top

Mike Sandrasagra
Mike is with the Retirement Services area of Russell Investment Group in Canada, serving as a representative to Russell’s defined contribution institutional clients and alliance partners. Mike brings to this role more than 12 years of pension and investment consulting experience in the defined contribution industry. Mike joined Russell’s Toronto office in 2006 from Sun Life Financial’s Group Retirement Services where he spent three years working as an investment consultant for plan sponsors of capital accumulation plans. Back to top

Michelle Savoy
Michelle is president of Capital Guardian (Canada), Inc. with client relations and marketing responsibilities. She joined Capital Guardian in 1998 after a brief period as an executive search consultant with Spencer Stuart & Associates, Inc. Prior to that, she spent almost 12 years at CIBC World Markets as an institutional fixed income salesperson, most recently as managing director and global head of institutional sales. Back to top

Holly Scanlon
Holly is a pension consultant with The University of Western Ontario. She coordinates and develops education programs for plan members, designs communication strategies to reach members and advises active members and retirees. Back to top

Sharon Siefried
Sharon serves as the senior leader of plan design & implementation in Manulife’s GSRS business operation. She joined Manulife in 2004 with accountability for building and leading the teams who support customers as they establish capital accumulation plans with Manulife. Before joining Manulife, Sharon held a senior leadership portfolio with another major financial services firm. She offers more than 20 years experience in the group retirement and benefits industry. Back to top

Vivek Sood
Vivek is director of treasury for Sobeys Inc., a leading Canadian grocery retailer and food distributor. He has accountabilities within the company’s treasury, pension investment and investor relations functions. Vivek graduated from Dalhousie University with his BComm in 1992 and obtained his MBA from Saint Mary’s University in 1998. In 2004, Vivek received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is currently a member of the Atlantic Canada CFA Society and the CFA Institute. Back to top

Garry Sudul
Garry is director of pensions and benefits for JD Irving Ltd. Back to top

Giustina Teolis
Giustina is manager of compensation and benefits for Ericsson Canada Inc. She is responsible for compensation and benefits, including salary planning and job evaluation system, as well as group insurance and group retirement programs. Back to top

Gerry Valois
Gerry is vice-president of human resources for Agricore United with responsibilities for all functions of HR as well as for the offices services department and the environment, health and safety department. He has bachelor’s degrees in arts and education. Back to top

Gerry Wahl
Gerry is the assistant treasurer for Teck Cominco Limited, with responsibility for the governance and management of investments and plan structure for the firm’s Canadian and foreign operations. He is involved in developing and managing the security and trusts related to reclamation, Health and Welfare (and WCB) in Canada and the US. Formerly Gerry was the controller at Cominco’s Sullivan Mine and a director for the College of the Rockies and East Kootenay Chamber of Mines. Gerry currently chairs the BC Mining Association Finance Committee, is a director of Cominco (UK) and a member of four company pension committees. Back to top

Karen Welch
Karen is the director of compensation and benefits for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. She has overall responsibility for the design, development and implementation of compensation and benefits policies, systems and procedures for the Four Seasons Hotels global compensation, benefits and retirement programs. Back to top

Rebecca West
Rebecca is director of retirement services with Russell Investments Canada Ltd., managing Russell’s defined contribution business in Canada with responsibility for client service, Alliance Partner relations and business development. Becky brings to this role more than 19 years of experience in the defined contribution industry in client service, sales and marketing. Becky joined Russell’s Toronto office in 1999. She had spent the previous five years with Sun Life in the Group Retirement Services division. Her responsibilities encompassed business development in the Ontario region and then client servicing for national clients. Back to top

Becky West
Becky has been the pensions manager at TELUS for the past 18 years working with numerous defined benefit and defined contribution plans, including executive and supplementary plans along with retiree health and dental benefits. She earned a degree in business administration from BCIT, in Vancouver. Back to top

Richard Whitbread
Richard is pension and benefits manager for Agricore United. Based in Winnipeg, Agricore sponsors several defined benefit pension plans, a defined contribution pension plan, employee stock purchase plan, group RRSP, non-registered plan and 401k plans for 2,500 employees in 350 locations across Western Canada and into the U.S. Richard has an Honours BComm from the University of Manitoba and more than 20 years of experience in the human resources field. He is an active member of the CPBI and ACPM. Back to top

Joanne Wilson
Joanne is the national pension manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers with responsibility for the overall governance of defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements for staff and partners of the firm. With over 15 years experience in the pension field, Joanne has also held management positions at OMERS and Fidelity Group Pensions. Joanne has a BSc from University of Toronto and her MBA from the Schulich School of Business. Back to top

Dennis Wiens
Dennis is director, human resource services for the PCL family of construction companies. He is responsible for providing direction and management to the human resource services department. The department provides general human resources consulting services to operational departments/branches, as well as human resource policy development, general personnel administration, compensation, benefits and pension services for PCL's Canadian operations. He is also the director responsible for overseeing the management of PCL's corporate communications function and is chairman of their pension committee. Dennis joined the PCL companies in 1979. Back to top

Paul Williams
Paul is vice-president, Healthcare and Financial Services Group, Rogers Publishing. He joined Maclean Hunter Publishing in 1989 as editor of Benefits Canada. He is a former editor of the Canadian Investment Review. In 1995 he was appointed publisher of Benefits Canada. He now heads Rogers’ financial media group. Paul sits on the National Board of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute and on the Board of the Canadian Business Press. Back to top

Bruce Winch
Bruce is vice-president of institutional investments at AIM Trimark. Launched in 1996, AIM Trimark’s institutional assets now exceed $10 billion. Bruce works closely with pension clients, consulting houses and pension sales and service representatives to help them better understand the various AIM Trimark investment mandates. He meets frequently with plan sponsors and their pension committees to discuss the investment strategies and results. Bruce joined Trimark Institutional Investments in June 1996 and has more than 21 years of experience in the pension and investment industry. Back to top