The Future of Digital Advice Conference

Phil Barrar

Founder & CEO, Mylo

Phil Barrar is the Founder & CEO of Mylo, a mobile personal finance platform that helps Canadians achieve their financial goals. In the past two years, he not only raised $3.75M but acquired an asset management firm with $100M in AUM - all before launching a product. He has been invited to give live interviews on BNN and CBC as well as speak to existing incumbents to help them understand the future of finance. With Mylo and its cutting-edge AI, Phil is fundamentally changing the way that banks and financial institutions will acquire customers in the future.

Sue Britton

CEO & Co-Founder, FinTech Growth Syndicate

Sue Britton is CEO and Co-Founder of a 2-year-old company called FinTech Growth Syndicate (FGS) that she started after a 25 year corporate career. FGS is as a business accelerator that provides Fuel to start-ups to accelerate their sales, partnering and marketing strategies; and helps to Amplify innovation programs for Financial Institutions making innovation work inside and outside the organization. Sue has spent her career in Financial Technology and Financial Services. Prior to starting FGS, Sue was Head of Global Innovation for Finastra, leading innovation for the organization across their 8000 banking clients. Sue is a thought leader and community builder, speaks at numerous events, and holds many volunteer advisory roles in the FinTech community to help drive Global awareness and collaboration in Canada around innovation in FinTech.

Randy Cass

Nest Wealth

Pat Chaukos

Deputy Director, OSC LaunchPad, Policy

Pat Chaukos is leading the Ontario Securities Commission’s newest initiative, the OSC LaunchPad. This initiative is committed to modernizing regulation to support fintech innovation.

Pat has extensive experience with novel fintech businesses. Before leading OSC LaunchPad, Pat managed a team that focused on the exempt market, working with many new business models including online trading platforms, lending platforms and crowdfunding portals.

Pat holds a Doctor of Laws (JD) from Osgoode Hall Law School and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).  Before joining the OSC, Pat was Vice President, Risk Management & Compliance at Royal Mutual Funds and RBC Investments and has practiced as both a lawyer and a chartered accountant on Bay Street.

William Donegan

Chief Compliance Officer, Advisory Services, Manulife Financial

William Donegan is Chief Compliance Officer – Advisory Services at Manulife Financial and is responsible for securities and insurance sales compliance in Canada. Prior to joining Manulife Financial, William served as Chief Compliance Officer at Scotia Securities Inc. a member of the Scotiabank Group. Scotia Securities Inc. distributes mutual fund products through the Scotiabank branch network. Other previously held positions include: Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, Worldsource Wealth Management, Enforcement Counsel, Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada and Discipline Counsel, Law Society of Upper Canada. Prior to working in-house he was in private practice for 12 years.

Chris Enright

Aligned Capital Partners

Glen Gowland

Senior Vice President & Head, Asset Management, Scotiabank

Glen Gowland is Senior Vice President & Head, Asset Management. In this role Mr. Gowland is responsible for all aspects of Scotia’s Asset Management businesses including Dynamic Funds, Scotia Funds and Scotia Institutional Asset Management.

In his previous role as Senior Vice President & Head, Canadian Wealth Management Mr. Gowland was responsible for the wealth management advisory, client solutions and online brokerage businesses in Canada. This includes Scotia Wealth Management, (which includes ScotiaMcLeod, Private Investment Counsel, Scotiatrust and Private Banking,) HollisWealth, International Investment Advisory and Scotia iTRADE.

Mr.Gowland has over 20 years of investment industry experience. S ince joining Scotiabank in 2000, he has held a number of increasingly senior roles across Canadian Banking and Wealth Management, including Managing Director and Head of Business Development for Wealth Management, Head of Scotia Private Client Group, President and CEO of Scotia Securities Inc., and President and CEO of Scotia Asset Management.

Mr. Gowland has served on a number of inter nal and external Boards, including Co-Chair of Scotia Capital, and Chairman of the Investment Fund s Institute of Canada.

Mr. Gowland is very active in competitive sports and coaching. He is a Level 4 ski instructor and examiner with the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance, as well as an active mentor in the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation.

Chuck Grace

Associate Director, Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab, Ivey Business School at Western University

Chuck is a 35-year veteran of the Canadian financial services industry. As a member of the finance faculty at Western University’s Richard Ivey School of Business, he teaches courses on both institutional and personal investing. He also serves as an Associate Director with The Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab at Ivey Business School, as a Faculty Director for the Ivey Field Project and chaired Ivey's advisory council for Household Finance research.

When not teaching, Chuck stays grounded in the realities of Canada’s wealth management industry as Managing Partner and President, Bigger Picture Solutions Inc. where he provides strategic consulting to firms attempting to thrive in this highly competitive arena.

Manav Gupta

IBM Distinguished Engineer & Master Inventor
Cloud Native Competency Leader - Europe

Manav Gupta is an IBM Distinguished Engineer, Master Inventor and published author. In his current role, Manav provides guidance to develop a digital strategy for clients across North America, by leveraging cloud, analytics and cognitive platforms. Manav has published several books on service management, cloud computing and big data. Most recently, he authored 'Blockchain for Dummies'.

Lina Ismail

Managing Partner, Thinki3

Lina has spent her career working with fintech companies in Canada and Europe defining the vision and strategic direction through product innovation, marketing and cultural transformation.  Lina has propelled the growth of the business and enabled the development of solutions that have transcended the status quo. She believes that by challenging boundaries and broadening perspectives, you are able to harness the full potential and talents of people, which in turn will help achieve the best possible solutions.

Innovation is about taking risks; putting your ideas out there, and testing potential successes and failures. To be truly innovative, it’s about going beyond, and leveraging what others don't yet see, or understand.

Lina recently launched a consulting and advisory service company called Thinki3 and is working with technology companies from early stage growth to corporate enterprises.

Sandra Kegie

Executive Director, Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers

Sandra Kegie has been the Executive Director of the Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers since 2005, and is the founder and Past Chair of the Association of Canadian Compliance Professionals, leading that organization for fifteen years, stepping down as Executive Director in August of 2014.

She is also President of Kegie Consulting Corp. which, since 2005, focuses on helping mutual fund dealers, registered representatives and other stakeholders understand and comply with the requirements of regulation; works with senior management on relationship management, strategy and policy and risk management issues as well as mediation, dispute resolution and expert witness projects.

She actively participates in the policy consultation process and is often a speaker at industry conferences.  She brings with her many years’ experience in government and financial services, sales, marketing and communications.

Bonnie Kim

ThreeLefts

Julie Mansi

Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Julie Mansi is a partner in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. A corporate lawyer in the Securities and Capital Markets Group, she has a dual practice which focuses on both investment management, registrant regulation and compliance matters and has a corporate commercial practice where she specializes in mergers and acquisitions for securities registrants and other regulated entities. Julie is also a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions,  Investment Management, Derivatives and Cryptocurrency and Blockchain groups.

Julie has considerable experience in advising derivatives and securities market participants on Canadian registration requirements and compliance and risk management matters. She has assisted dealers, futures commission merchants, commodity trading advisers, foreign exchange dealers, commodity producers, physical metal brokers, domestic and foreign asset managers in navigating the Canadian registration and compliance regime. Recently she has worked on the launch of digital platforms including crowdfunding portals and online advisers and investment offerings employing artificial intelligence, social trading networks, high frequency trading and cryptocurrency and other digital assets. 

Greg Pollack

President and CEO, Advocis

Greg Pollock is the President and CEO of Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada. At Advocis, Greg is responsible for providing effective strategic leadership and direction. He oversees all the day-to-day activities, including advocacy, continuing education, best practices and E&O insurance. In addition, he coordinates the interests of Advocis' 40 chapters and helps grow membership by giving voice to the more than 12,000 members nationwide.

He is also the Chief Operating Officer of The Institute, the leading designation body in Canada for financial services practitioners in the specialty areas of wealth transfer, estate planning and living benefits.

Prior to joining Advocis in 2008, Greg was general secretary of the 43,000-member Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA). Greg was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his contribution to the teaching profession in Canada.

In recognition of his commitment to education and the financial advice industry, Greg was appointed to the National Steering Committee on Financial Literacy in February 2017. The committee is chaired by Jane Rooney, Canada’s Financial Literacy Leader.

Romeo Ware

ThreeLefts

Amelia Young

Founder, Upside Consulting Group Inc.

Amelia Young founded Upside Consulting Group Inc. in 2006 to help wealth management firms, and the vendors that serve them, benefit from the transformation of the industry. Clients like BMO, CIBC and D+H have engaged Amy to design new products, transform distribution models and improve customer experience. She brings a diverse toolkit of strategic planning, facilitation and project management skills to ensure plans are set up for success. 

Amy spent the first decade of her career on Bay Street working as an equity analyst and trader. She made the move into industry in 2001 to lead investor relations at a major Canadian software company and later held senior roles in the corporate strategy team at a global energy services firm. Amy holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, a BA in English from U of T and has been a CFA Charterholder since 1996. 

In addition to her consulting activities, Amy has taught business communications at the Master’s level at the Rotman School of Management and Smith School of Business (Queen’s). She gives back through extensive volunteer efforts in various industry associations and by offering pro bono facilitation services to charities related to financial empowerment. She is currently an Executive in Residence with the Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab at Ivey.