Mr. Cardinale is the Chief Compliance Officer for RBC Wealth Management Canada and RBC Dominion Securities Canada Inc. (Wealth Management). Before joining RBC in 2012, Mr. Cardinale was Managing Director - Legal, Risk and Compliance & General Counsel for UBS Bank (Canada) and UBS Investment Management Canada from 2002 to 2012. Prior to his time at UBS, Mr. Cardinale was in-house legal counsel in the financial services industry and commenced his career as a commercial litigation lawyer.
Minal Upadhyaya is Vice President, Policy & General Counsel at IFIC where she leads the team responsible for the development of policy positions and responses to regulatory proposals on behalf of the investment funds industry. She is also responsible for the day to day legal needs of the organization. Minal has extensive experience advising investment fund manufacturers, mutual fund dealers and investment dealers on a wide variety of matters. Prior to her role with IFIC, she was with a national wealth management firm for over 13 years, where she managed a team providing advice to senior management, registered representatives and operations groups. Prior to that, Minal was in private practice with firms in Toronto and Halifax.
Margaret Gunawan, Managing Director, is General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for BlackRock’s Canadian business. BlackRock is a global investment management and technology solutions firm that, as of December 31, 2018, manages over US$5.98 trillion in assets on behalf of investors worldwide. In her current role leading as Head of Canada L&C and Chief Compliance Officer for the Canadian business, Margaret leads a team of legal and compliance professionals in providing day-to-day advice and support on a wide variety of legal and regulatory issues and strategic projects. Margaret brings over 15 years of experience across investment management and investment funds work, including both public and private funds, securities, pension, general corporate and tax issues affecting registered firms in Canada. As a key member of the Canadian senior management team, she sits on the Canada Executive Committee. Margaret works closely with industry associations and regulators on regulatory development and advocacy issues for BlackRock and the investment management industry. She is a board member of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada and chairs its Industry Regulatory & Tax Committee. She is also a member of the Policy Committee of the Canadian ETF Association and a member of Women in Capital Markets. Given her experience in the changing regulatory environment, Margaret has been an active participant on advocacy issues impacting the industry, which includes speaking at events, writing submissions on regulatory initiatives and participating in meetings with regulators and government officials to discuss market trends and the impact of proposed regulatory changes on investors. Prior to joining BlackRock, Margaret was a counsel at the Royal Bank of Canada, specializing in wealth management, focusing on investment products, retail distribution, estates and trusts. She began her career as an associate at several Toronto law firms. Margaret earned a BA degree in anthropology from the University of Western Ontario and a graduate degree from the Osgoode Hall Law School.
William Doneganis 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 that he was in private legal practice for 12 years.
As a Compliance professional with 20+ years of industry experience, my primary focus remains on supervision and oversight of compliance activities on behalf of internal and external clients, regulatory compliance, and implementation of best industry practices.
Matt is Director, Compliance Legal Counsel in Global Banking & Markets and Treasury (GBM&T) Canada Compliance at Scotiabank. In this role, Matt is responsible for administering the compliance program and providing advice to the GBM&T business on regulatory matters. Matt is the GBM&T compliance lead for Canadian regulatory developments including OTC derivative regulatory reform. Prior to joining Scotiabank, Matt was an Associate at Miller Thomson LLP where he was a member of the Financial Services practice group.
Jason Alcorn is Senior Legal Counsel and Special Advisor to the Executive Director at FCNB. Jason has nearly 13 years’ experience in the field of securities regulation. Jason serves on numerous CSA committees, in particular: the Targeted Reform Project Committee & the Mutual Fund Fees Working Group on Embedded Commissions. Jason is actively engaged in his community, serving on the Board of Governors of the Université de Moncton, CPA NB, the YMCA of Greater Saint John, and the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation. He is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee.
Waqas Rana, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer is responsible and oversees The Cooperators Group Compliance, anti-money laundering, privacy and Ombudsoffice functions. Mr. Rana has 20 plus years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining The Co-operators, he worked in a similar role for CUMIS and Citigroup (Canada). Previously he held management-level position with Primerica and Assante in Canada and other financial institutions in the USA. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA, Ontario), and holds a Bachelor of Science (B-Sc accounting and finance) from University of N. Kentucky, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA - finance) from Xavier University, Ohio, USA.
Open banking, the concept that would allow customers to share data held by their banks with third parties, such as other financial institutions or fintech companies in order to combine it with data from other sources to yield new benefits to those customers, is gaining traction around the world. But are Canadian FIs ready for it? Explore the concept and the compliance implications:
Anticipate and prepare for Open Banking and the Canadian regulatory response.
Prema Thiele is partner in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and is a member of the firm's Partnership Board. She practises corporate and commercial law, including securities law, insurance business law, and mergers and acquisitions. Prema is the Toronto Representative on BLG’s national Professional Committee (which administers BLG’s Professional Excellence Program).
Prema is a leading practitioner in the investment management industry, and represents several Canadian and non-Canadian capital markets participants on ongoing legal and compliance issues in respect of the provision of services, the distribution of securities and the establishment, operation and administration of investment products in Canada.
Prema is a native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Donna is a partner in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Donna practices corporate law mainly in the securities and insurance industries, with an emphasis on investment management.
Donna provides advice to securities and insurance industry participants, including investment fund managers, dealers, investment advisers, insurance companies, insurance agents, insurance brokers and other insurance intermediaries, in connection with their day-to-day and their extraordinary activities and focuses on the regulatory, compliance, market conduct and governance issues they face as well as with transactional matters.
Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2019 edition (and since 2011) of The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Mutual Funds Law). Recipient of the 2014 Lexpert® Zenith Award (Corporate Finance and Securities).
Danielle is an experienced capital markets lawyer, risk manager and operations professional focusing her talent at creating a strong, positive operational and compliance culture for BloombergSen that promotes and reinforces best practises and integrity. Danielle’s career began as a lawyer in private practise before shifting to legal, compliance and operational roles with CIBC and UBS Canada between 1997 and 2008. In 2009 Danielle helped launch a Toronto based asset manager overseeing all operations. Danielle joined BloombergSen in 2015. Danielle graduated from law at the University of British Columbia at the top of her class and is called to the bar in both British Columbia and Ontario. Danielle has spoken at numerous industry events as an expert on regulatory compliance and operations in the Canadian alternative investment industry. Danielle is the Chair of the Canadian Chapter of 100 Women in Finance, a global organization of more than 15,000 women who collectively strive to make a difference in both industry and community. She is a past chair of the Managers Only Committee of AIMA Canada. Danielle is also a board member of Ridge Canada Cyber Solutions, a Canadian Managing General Insurance Agency providing cyber insurance products, consulting and loss control services to Canada’s insurance agents and brokers.
Scott Selig is the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer for Capital One Canada. Prior to his role with Capital One, Scott was a Director and Vice-President for BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. overseeing its trade surveillance and internal audit teams; the Deputy Ombudsman for BMO Financial Group responsible for its employee whistle-blower program and Canadian consumer complaints; and in-house legal counsel for BMO Wealth Management. Prior to joining BMO, Scott was a lawyer who specialized in class action securities litigation. Scott is an active volunteer for Pro Bono Ontario providing legal representation for those who need help with civil matters at the Toronto Superior Court of Justice and Small Claims Court.
Jason’s practice is focused on securities compliance and registration matters for portfolio managers, investment fund managers, exempt market dealers and other financial services providers. Jason is also experienced in the establishment of Canadian and cross-border investment vehicles and private placements.
Prior to joining AUM Law, Jason spent 17 years with Stikeman Elliott LLP, with the past nine years focusing on advising clients about all aspects of the securities regulatory regime involving NI 31-103 and NI 33-109, among other areas. In his first years at Stikeman, Jason assisted on multiple public securities offerings and M&A transactions, and assisted reporting issuers with their ongoing compliance requirements.
Jason received his LLB and BCL from McGill University in 1999, and was admitted to the Quebec bar in 2000 and the Ontario bar in 2017.
A strategic advisor to global financial institutions in Europe, Asia, Canada and the US. Chris provides guidance on investment processes, leadership on implementing financial regulation, compliance programs, as well as transparency on risk, operational control, and cost reduction opportunities. A strategic and "hands-on" consultant for transformational projects with results achieved in capital markets, wealth, retail banking, insurance and operations of international sites.