Our People

An Eckler Principal based in Jamaica, Alicia has been with Eckler since 2014 and has more than 16 years of pension consulting experience in both the United States and Jamaica.

She provides consulting services to and manages clients that span all business segments in both the public and private sectors.  Alicia has strong pension expertise focused on all aspects, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans, other post-retirement benefit plans and social security benefits.  She has comprehensive understanding and expertise in financial statement reporting, pension plan design, plan governance, plan mergers and conversions and plan wind-ups.  She also conducts trainings for Plan Administrators, Trustees and Plan Members.

Alicia is a former Trinidad and Tobago National Scholar, and her formal education includes an MBA with Distinction and an undergraduate degree in Actuarial Sciences from the University of the West Indies.  She is a vibrant member in the actuarial and pensions sectors, through her membership in the Caribbean Actuarial Association and her service with the Pensions Industry Association of Jamaica in various capacities.

• Valuations for pensions and other post-retirement benefit plans
  • Funding, Accounting (GAAP and IFRS), plan terminations, mergers, spin-offs
• Individual Retirement Counseling and Retirement seminars
• Benefits administration and compliance
  • Benefit calculations, annual statements and regulatory reporting
• Training for trustees and administrators
• Design and establishment of pension plans
• Presentations – Members, trustees and boards of directors
• Preparation of pension plan documents
  • Trust Deed, Rules, Members’ Handbook and Statements of investment policies
• Social Security Benefits
  • Valuation and forecasting – adequacy of benefits and contributions; solvency and sustainability

• MBA (Banking and Finance) – Distinction – The University of the West Indies
• Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Sciences – The University of the West Indies

• Chairperson – Pensions Industry Association of Jamaica, Public Relations Committee
• Member – Pension Committee of the Caribbean Actuarial Association
• Member – Pensions Industry Association of Jamaica, Membership Committee
• Mentor – Eckler’s Mentorship Programme

National Leader for Eckler’s Compensation Consulting Practice, Anand offers a combination of strategic and technical skills gained through more than 25 years of consulting and industry experience both locally and internationally. A trusted advisor to Board members and management, Anand is an expert in the design and implementation of corporate governance and compensation programs that support organizational strategy and objectives, as well as stakeholders’ interests.

Anand has advised Boards and executives at several leading public and private organizations. He has worked across multiple sectors, including financial services, insurance, mining, energy, chemical, consumer products, construction, manufacturing, retail, not-for-profit, public sectors and private equity. His extensive knowledge in compensation design and using performance metrics in incentive plans helps organizations to strike the right balance between retention and performance.

A frequent speaker at industry events, Anand also shares his industry insights by authoring articles and being a faculty member of The Directors College.

Anand graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) degree specializing in Finance and Economics.  He graduated from the Chartered Director (C.Dir.) Program from McMaster University and obtained his Global Professional of Human Resources (GPHR) designation from the Human Resource Certification Institute in Virginia.  Anand has completed the Canadian Securities Institute’s (CSC) and (CPH) courses.

• Compensation philosophy and total rewards strategy
• Variable/incentive pay design and administration
• Pay equity support
• Market insights and research on salary budget planning and HR practices/trends
• Compensation disclosure
• Compensation program assessment
• Pay for performance analysis
• Pay governance and administration guidelines
• Board governance and remuneration
• Total compensation statements and communications
• Market benchmarking
• Job evaluation and classification
• Custom compensation surveys
• Executive compensation reviews
• Special situations (i.e., Mergers and Acquisitions, Initial Public Offerings, Key Employee Retention Programs, etc.)

• University of Toronto – Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
• Human Resource Certification Institute – Global Professional of Human Resources (GPHR)
• Chartered Director (C.Dir.), McMaster University

• Member of GTA Rewards Association

• Served as a faculty member of the Directors College, McMaster University

How to handle push for salary increases Canadian HR Reporter – December 2022

Looking to attract and retain talent? Move beyond base pay and bonus to a total rewards strategy The Globe and Mail – November 2022

Canadian employers digging deep, with highest raises in two decades expected: Salary survey Talent Canada – September 2022

Could a total rewards strategy help foster more inclusive workplaces? Human Resources Director – September 2022

Are you ready to get transparent about pay? Canadian HR Reporter – July 2022

A Principal in Eckler’s Winnipeg office, Andrew joined the firm in 2010. He was appointed to the firm’s Board of Directors in April 2024. He works with a broad range of pension plan clients in the public and private sectors, across various jurisdictions including several University pension plans in Ontario and Manitoba.

Andrew is a qualified actuary (FSA, FCIA), with over 20 years of consulting experience.

Throughout his career, Andrew has advised corporations, boards of trustees, and pension committees on pension and employee benefits matters including all aspects of valuation, administration, plan design, governance, funding and accounting for pension, post-retirement and supplemental pension programs. Andrew’s other experience includes valuation of workers’ compensation claims liabilities, criminal rate of interest calculations, and homestead and life interest calculations.

• Criminal rate of interest calculations under Section 347 of the Criminal Code
• Defined benefit pension plan valuation, administration, plan design, financial reporting
• Defined benefit – defined contribution hybrid pension plans
• Defined contribution – capital accumulation plan administration
• Jointly trusteed pension plans
• Supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs)
• Valuation of Life interest
• Workers’ compensation consulting

• University of Manitoba – Honours Bachelor of Science, Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Serves as Chair of Mary Immaculate (SSMI) Advisory Council
• Serves as an Investment Committee Member – Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko
• Served on the Board of Directors – Holy Family Home (2010 – 2019)
• Served as a CPBI Manitoba Council Member Volunteer

A Principal in Eckler’s Group Benefits Practice, Anne has more than 25 years of insurance and consulting experience. She has led group benefits consulting relationships for numerous large and complex multi-employers, and public and private-sector organizations across Canada. Her clients also include boards of trustees and committees within the education sector and range in size from five employees to over 160,000 members.

Anne’s relevant consulting experience includes benefit strategy, account management, benchmarking studies, facilitating the design and implementation of the resulting improved programs, and support for provider searches and implementation – among others.

Anne has previously participated in developing and teaching part of the two advanced-level benefit programs for Humber College’s benefit course. She has been a featured speaker at various industry and association-sponsored benefit sessions.

Technically gifted in her area of expertise, Anne brings her technical knowledge and experience to every engagement to gain the best results for her clients while ensuring both client and member satisfaction.

Anne holds a Group Benefits Associate designation, issued by the International Federation of Employee Benefit Plans.

• Client Relationship Management
• Long Term Disability and Disability Case Management
• Total Rewards and Group Plan Operation

• Group Benefit Associate, International Federation of Employee Benefit Plans

A consulting actuary and Eckler Principal, Anthony has over 30 years of experience in the design, funding and administration of pension and employee benefit plans, along with the accounting and financial reporting for pension, post-retirement and post-employment benefit plans. Anthony has worked with a wide range of clients in the private and broader public sectors, as well as multi-employer pension plans, not-for-profit, and union clients. He is active in researching and monitoring regulatory developments in the pension area and serves as Eckler’s internal expert on income tax issues related to pension and retirement savings arrangements.

Anthony qualified as a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 1992. He graduated in mathematics as a gold medallist from the University of Waterloo and joined Eckler in 1989 after gaining experience with a major life insurance company.

Anthony has served on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Committee on Liaison with Government Authorities on Pension and Social Security Matters, the Canada Revenue Agency’s Pension Advisory Committee, and the Society of Actuaries’ Education and Examination Committee.

• Pension plan design
• Pension plan funding
• Defined benefit pension plan administration
• Accounting and financial reporting for pension and post-retirement benefit plans
• Private sector pensions
• Broader public sector pensions
• Not-for-profit employer pensions
• Pension and retirement savings taxation
• Pension standards legislation
• Supplemental executive retirement plans (SERP)
• Multi-employer pension plans (MEPP)

• University of Waterloo – Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Served for eight years on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Committee on Liaison with Government Authorities on Pension and Social Security Matters, including terms as Vice-Chair and Chair
• Served as an industry representative on the Canada Revenue Agency’s Pension Advisory Committee
• Served in various roles on the Society of Actuaries’ Education and Examination Committee, including Exam Vice-Chair, Exam Chair, and Education General Officer

With Eckler since 2011, August leads the investment manager research team. With over 20-years of experience on both the consulting and plan sponsor sides, August is known throughout the industry for his research expertise and experience. His areas of expertise include manager selection and assessment, trustee education, and application of asset allocation theory.

In addition to his role in manager research, August consults to some of Eckler’s most sophisticated clients and is frequently brought in to provide subject matter expertise on manager due diligence projects.

August has a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at the Arizona State University and is a CFA Charterholder. August is an active volunteer with the Investment Committee for the Salvation Army in Canada.

• Investment manager search
• Investment manager due diligence
• Investment policy development
• Trustee education
• P&C insurance investments
• Environmental, social, and governance assessment
• eVestment super-user

• Thunderbird School of Global Management – Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• University of California, Santa Cruz – Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Field Of Study Economics
• CFA Institute – Chartered Financial Analyst

While based in Eckler’s Barbados office, Bertha is officially a member of the Toronto property and casualty insurance practice. She joined Eckler in 2012 after spending 15+ years working for a large international actuarial consulting firm, as the Chief Actuary of a large international reinsurer and as an independent actuarial consultant.

Seen as a regional expert by insurers, Bertha is responsible for a large roster of the firm’s Caribbean P&C clients and plays an integral role in business development activities as well.

A Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Bertha graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science, with a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science with First Class Honours. She also holds a master’s degree in Applied Statistics from Oxford University, England.

• Appointed actuary services
• IFRS 17 implementation
• Loss modelling
• Loss reserving
• Product pricing
• Reinsurance pricing

• London School of Economics and Political Science – Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science with First Class Honours
• Caribbean-Commonwealth Rhodes Scholar
• Oxford University, England – Master’s degree in Applied Statistics
• Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

• Member of the American Academy of Actuaries
• Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association

Serves as a member on the following committees:

• General Insurance Committee of the Caribbean Actuarial Association
• Climate Index Working Party of the Caribbean Actuarial Association
• Climate Risk Task Force of the International Actuarial Association

Bertha is an active community volunteer and mentor. She participates in mentorship programs with the Bermuda Big Brothers and Big Sisters; YouthNet and the Barbados Youth Business Trust. She’s also an accomplished athlete having represented Bermuda at the World Netball Championships in 2003 and completed the New York City Marathon in 2001.

Her volunteer roles include:

• Member of the Technical Advisory Group of UNDP’s Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme of Barbados
• National Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee for the Commonwealth Caribbean
• Former Board Member of the YWCA of Barbados; Project proposal writer/videographer and manager

A principal in Eckler’s Toronto office practice, Blair has 30+ years of experience in the Canadian Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry, both as an insurance company executive as well as a consultant to the industry. He has an extensive working knowledge of pricing, stress testing, and the valuation of policy liabilities.

Blair is an expert in all aspects of P&C insurance pricing, including personal and commercial property, personal and commercial automobile, commercial liability, and niche lines of business. He has served as Appointed Actuary for Canadian insurance companies and quasi-insurers for many years, served as Chief Actuary for two insurers, and is currently Appointed Actuary for seven Canadian branches of reinsurance companies, as well as one Canadian company, and is the Loss Reserve Specialist for a Bermuda captive.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Blair is a Fellow of both the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• P&C insurance financial reporting
• Financial projections
• Loss reserving
• P&C insurance pricing
• Valuation of policy liabilities
• Stochastic modelling
• Stress testing, including Owned Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) and Financial Condition Testing
• IFRS 17

• Bachelor of Mathematics, Honours, Co-Operative Program, Actuarial Science – University of Waterloo
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS)

• Served as a consultant  (on IFRS 17 matters) to the CIA Committee on P&C Insurance Financial Reporting
• Served as Chair of  the CIA Committee on P&C Insurance Ratemaking
• Served as a member of the Facility Association’s Actuarial Committee
• Served as a member of the CIA Committee on P&C Insurance Financial Reporting

An Eckler Principal based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Brad leads the asset consulting team in Atlantic Canada and the firm’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) advisory practice nationally.  He has over 25 years of consulting experience and has been with Eckler for more than fourteen years. Brad provides counsel to pension funds, accident funds, insurance companies, health trusts, foundations, and other asset portfolios regarding governance, investment planning, policy design, and implementation, as well as ongoing risk management and performance analytics. His clients include organizations in both the public and private sectors, encompassing a broad range of innovative strategies and portfolio structures utilizing both public and private markets.

Brad has served on the Board of Directors of the Nova Scotia Teachers Pension Plan Trustee Inc. and is currently a member of the Mount Saint Vincent University Pension Governance Board. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Canada Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society and the Atlantic Council of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM).

His formal education includes an undergraduate degree in Economics and Commerce from Memorial University of Newfoundland and graduate studies in Econometrics and Financial Economics at Dalhousie University. Brad earned his MBA from the Sobey School of Business and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

• Alternative Investment Manager Due Diligence
• CAP Plan Provider Search
• Custodian Review and Due Diligence
• De-Risking / Liability Driven Investment Strategies
• Endowment/Foundation Sustainability Analysis
• ESG Investing
• Financial Modeling
• Investment Beliefs Review
• Investment Policy Design
• Manager Research
• Manager Search
• Risk Management
• Manager Due Diligence
• OCIO Governance
• OCIO Provider Search
• OCIO Due Diligence
• Performance Analytics
• Portfolio Construction

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts (Econ), Memorial University of Newfoundland
• Masters of Business Administration (MBA) – Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University
• Graduate Studies in Financial Economics and Econometrics, Dalhousie University
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

Professional Activities Current

• Mount Saint Vincent Pension Governance Board and Investment Committee (Since 2008)
• College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland Labrador – Finance and Audit Committee (Since 2016)

Professional Activities Past

• Nova Scotia Teachers Pension Plan Trustees – Board Member
• CFA Atlantic Society Program Chair
• Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) – Atlantic Counsel Member

An Eckler Principal, Bryan joined the pension and benefits team in 2011, following five years with another major consulting firm. Bryan leads the Financial Modelling and Risk Management practice. His expertise includes stochastic modelling for pension plans (defined benefit and defined contribution), health and welfare trusts, as well as other institutional investors. Bryan also leads Eckler’s valuation systems committee and Eckler’s capital market assumption committee.

Prior to focusing on the financial modelling practice, Bryan worked as a defined benefit pension consultant. In this role, he consulted on both single-employer and multi-employer pension plans, with extensive work on funding, solvency, and accounting valuations, plan design, and administration.

Bryan graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Mathematics, Actuarial Science. He is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and a member of the Society of Actuaries examination committee. Bryan was also a member of Actuarial Standards Board designated group that is reviewing the pension Standards of Practice with respect to modelling and meaningful stress testing.

• Financial modelling
• Risk management
• De-risking / liability-driven investment strategies
• Stochastic modelling
• Capital market assumptions
• Asset liability modelling
• Real-time modelling
• Defined benefit pension plan design, valuation, administration and financial reporting
• Multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs)
• Supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs)
• Target benefit plans

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Honours, Bachelor of Science, Specialist in Actuarial Science – University of Toronto

• Executive member of a Society of Actuaries examination committee

With Eckler since 1994, Cameron has more than 30 years of experience as an employee benefit plan consultant, specializing in multi-employer pension and benefit plans. He is responsible for a number of the firm’s major employee pension and benefits clients. His clients span a variety of sectors including construction, religion and education. He has created several benefit trusts for clients in the auto, agriculture and education sectors.

Cameron has been an active member of the industry helping to shape legislation, including being a member of the group that lobbied the Ontario government to adopt more appropriate funding requirements for multi-employer pension plans and as a witness to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance concerning the impact of Bill C-377 on pension and benefits plans. He was asked to be a witness to the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future regarding the effect of Bill 10 on multi-employer pension plans.

Highly respected within the industry and by governments, Cameron is known for his extensive expertise in member-run pension and benefit trusts. With strong problem-solving abilities, Cameron has a well-earned reputation for providing exceptional advice to his clients.

Cameron is the Chair of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s (FSRA) Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) for Pensions. The SAC advises the Board on FSRA’s priorities and budget, along with other pension-related matters.

• Benefit trusts
• Financial analytics of pension and benefit trusts
• Governance structures
• Jointly sponsored pension plans
• Member engagement
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Pension and benefits administration

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Multi-Employer Benefit Plan Council of Canada (MEBCO)

• Appointed to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) for Pensions by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in November 2019
• Currently a director and vice-president of the Multi-Employer Benefit Plans Council of Canada
• Recipient of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) silver award for volunteering
• Former Chair of the CIA’s Education and Examination Committee
• Former member of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s Actuarial Advisory Committee
• Served on several Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CPSA) committees including the Investment Policy Committee’s Industry Advisory Group, Model Law Committee, and Prudent Investment and Funding Committee’s Industry Advisory Group
• Served on various professional committees for the Society of Actuaries and Institute of Actuaries
• Served on the Fellowship Admissions Course Management Committee
• Served as a member of the CIA Task Force reviewing actuarial reports of multi-employer pension plans

As one of Canada’s leading multi-employer pension plan actuaries, Cameron has published articles on pension issues and is a regular speaker on pensions and benefits related topics. Here’s just a sampling:

Reforms May Be the Death Knell for Target Benefit Plans – Insights – July 2018 In this Eckler publication, Cameron shares his thoughts on the fostering TBP growth.

Employee Benefits in Canada – Fourth Edition Cameron is co-editor of this publication, which provides an in-depth overview of administration and compliance for public and private employee pension and benefit plans.

A consulting actuary and Principal based in Eckler’s Vancouver office, Catherine has over 25 years of actuarial experience. She has been with the firm since 2002.

Catherine consults to a wide range of clients on their pension and benefit plans, including various private and public sector organization plans and multi-employer plans. Her areas of expertise include actuarial valuations, retirement plan design and funding, costing benefit changes for union negotiations, pension and post-employment accounting and administration. She has a particular focus on accounting and monitoring regulatory developments.

An active industry volunteer, Catherine has served on numerous committees for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and earned her gold medal volunteer award in 2018. She continues to play a role in Eckler’s research team to ensure our consultants are up to date on the regulatory changes that may impact their clients.

• Defined benefit pension plan administration
• Defined benefit pension plan valuations
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• Jointly trusteed pension plans
• Jointly sponsored pensions plans
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Pension accounting
• Pension plan design
• Post-employment accounting
• Regulatory compliance
• Target benefit plans

• University of Glasgow – Honours degree in Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK) (FFA)

• Served as a member and past chair of the CIA’s International Pension and Employee Benefits Standards Committee
• Served as a member of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB)
• Served as a member of CIA’s International Relations Council Committee
• Served as a member of the Pension Plan Financial Reporting Committee
• Served as a member of the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee

When not serving her clients, Catherine likes to give back to her community. She has previously served on the Board of Directors for a local Hospice.

And she runs! Catherine has completed 25 half marathons and has no plans to hang up her runners any time soon.

An Eckler Principal, Chris is a member of Eckler’s Board of Directors. He has 25 years of broad experience in the pension consulting, investment consulting, and investment management fields. He has served a wide variety of clients during his career and has special expertise in providing meaningful and practical advice in areas such as asset allocation and investment policy, performance evaluation, modelling, and investment manager selection. From 2020 to 2024, Chris led Eckler’s largest pension and benefits practice. He also led the investment consulting team for five years.

Before joining Eckler in 2009, Chris was a vice president at an investment management firm. He also spent a number of years with other major actuarial consulting firms, most recently as a senior investment consultant. In this role, Chris was the key investment relationship manager for more than 40 clients. Chris also sat on the Global Asset Allocation Committee and was responsible for setting the Canadian economic assumptions for asset allocation studies.

Chris is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree. He is a CFA Charter holder and a Fellow of Society of Actuaries and Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• Corporate pension plans
• Investment consulting
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Not for profit

• Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of British Columbia
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• CFA Charterholder

• CFA Institute
• Society of Actuaries (SOA)
• Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA)

When he’s not working hard for his clients, Chris volunteers his time as a Member of the Finance & Audit Committee for the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

As an identical twin, Chris takes heart in longevity research that suggests the social bond between twin siblings will help him lead a long and happy life.

A consulting actuary and Principal, Christine has been with Eckler since 1992. Her broad experience has contributed significantly to the success of our clients in developing competitive and innovative products. She’s an expert in product design and pricing of individual life insurance products, including Universal Life, Innovative Term, Accident & Sickness, as well as Critical Illness insurance.

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Christine holds a Bachelor of Science degree and is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. She is also a member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association and the American Academy of Actuaries.

Christine specializes in serving clients with international insurance operations in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia.  She consults on product design, pricing, profitability testing, start-ups, strategic planning and reinsurance negotiations. She has also provided Appointed Actuary services to many insurers.

Since 2005, Christine has gained extensive experience in the international high net worth individuals (HNWIs) market for life insurance products.

Christine provides actuarial consulting services in both English and French.

• Financial reporting
• Actuarial appraisals
• Insurance company de-mutalizations
• Universal Life Insurance product design and pricing
• Innovative Term Life Insurance product design and pricing
• Accident and Sickness Insurance product design and pricing
• Critical Illness Insurance product design and pricing
• Reinsurance negotiations
• High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) life insurance market
• Longevity risk

• University of Toronto – BSc, Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA)

• Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)

An actuary and Eckler Principal, Constance leads our Jamaica office. She has over 30 years of professional experience throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, more than one-half of those with Eckler.

Constance is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Caribbean Actuarial Association.

Her work encompasses social security, employee health and welfare benefits, retirement plans and general insurance. She consults in both the public and private sectors to a clientele that spans all business sectors.

Constance is committed to the highest level of professionalism. She offers excellent, timely service working with Boards of Directors, Trustee Boards, Finance and HR professionals.  She conducts training for Trustees and Administrators, Meetings of Plan Members and Seminars.

• Benefits administration and compliance (benefit calculations and regulatory reporting)
• Design and establishment of pension plans
• Due-diligence reviews
• Government procurement – assessment of proposals from brokers and insurers for placement of property, casualty and group insurance
• Investment manager/administrator search and performance appraisals
• Preparation of pension plan documents – Trust Deed, Rules, Members’ Handbook and Statements of investment policies
• Presentations – members, trustees, boards of directors, the general public
• Public-sector work – Valuation and forecasting – adequacy of benefits and contributions; solvency and sustainability
• Retirement seminars
• Training for trustees and administrators
• Valuations for pensions and other post-retirement benefit plans – Funding, Accounting (GAAP and IFRS), plan terminations, mergers, spin-offs

• Enrolled Actuary
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (SOA)
• Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (CCA)
• BSc – University of the West Indies
• Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA)
• Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)

• Serves as a director of the Pension Industry Association of Jamaica (PIAJ)
• Serves as a member of PIAJ Committees – Legislative, Education
• Serves as a member of the CAA Pensions Committee

A Director in Eckler’s investment consulting practice, Corinne has over 15 years of industry experience and serves as a lead and backup consultant to clients of all sizes with defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

In her previous role, Corinne was responsible for maintaining relationships with private and public plan sponsors, record keepers, and consultants for an asset management firm. She spent the first 10 years of her career at a large financial institution where she held various positions, focusing on the creation and oversight of a global platform of investment products.

Today, with her diverse experience, Corinne works with clients in a variety of areas, ranging from governance to investments, to record keeper selection and plan design, and brings a detailed approach to all her clients in helping manage their DC plans effectively.

Corinne also leads Canadian equity research and overall DC investment research and sits on Eckler’s Investment Research Steering Committee which sets the overall strategic direction of the firm’s investment research efforts.

Corinne graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and is currently working towards the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

• CAP governance
• Plan design
• Investment strategy
• Investment policy
• Committee education
• Investment beliefs
• Record keeper selection
• Investment manager research

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – York University
• Osgoode Pension Law Certificate – Osgoode
• Level 3 candidate in the CFA Program

Along with raising two daughters, Corinne is an active volunteer within her community serving as the Director of Finance and a Board Member for the Vita Center.

Corrine is a committed workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion advocate. She was the founding member of the first grassroots DEI group at a former employer and actively participates in advancing Eckler’s DEI program as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ambassador.

With Eckler since 2019, Craig has 30 years and a wide range of experience in the employee benefits field. He specializes in account management, business development and all aspects of benefit administration. He has worked with a large cross-section of clients consulting on all aspects of their employee benefits programs.

Craig consults on employee benefits strategy including plan design and management and has expertise in the multi-employer trust sector.

Before joining Eckler, Craig held senior account executive roles with two major group insurers and was a senior benefits adviser with another consulting firm in Toronto.

• Group insurance
• Account management
• Business development
• Benefit administration
• Strategy
• Multi-employer trusts
• Benefit design
• Trustee marketplace
• Insurance
• Police associations
• Bargaining
• Pricing
• Risk management
• Governance
• Employee life and health trusts

Professional Qualifications

• Licensed Agent: Life Insurance and Accident and Sickness Insurance
• University of Waterloo – Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies

A Principal in our property and casualty insurance practice, Dane joined Eckler in 2018 and has over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Dane has extensive knowledge in the valuation of policy liabilities. He gained this expertise through his ongoing involvement as senior support to appointed actuaries and external reviewer of the work of other appointed actuaries for Canadian property and casualty insurers. Over the years Dane has gained significant expertise in financial forecasts, financial reporting and automobile insurance pricing.

Prior to joining Eckler, Dane worked for a major Canadian insurance company as well as for a major Canadian investment bank specializing in mergers & acquisitions for the financial institutions sector.

Dane graduated from Laval University with a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science. He is a Fellow of both the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He also holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management (Dean’s List and Bregman Scholar).

• Valuation of policy liabilities
• Financial Condition Testing
• IFRS 17 implementation
• Automobile insurance pricing
• Financial reporting
• External peer review

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences – Laval University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Rotman School of Management

Professional Activities

• Member of the CIA Committee on Continuing Education
• Member of the CIA Election Committee
• Served as a member of the CIA Committee on Property & Casualty Insurance Pricing
• Served on several exam committees for the CAS and SOA

In his spare time, Dane enjoys training for triathlons, learning languages, and listening to music. He has visited over 50 countries.

A Principal in the firm, Danny leads the Risk and Investment Practice in our Montreal office. Throughout his career, Danny has been involved in several mandates of investment policy work, investment management structure implementation, performance monitoring, selection of investment managers, asset liability studies and development of integrated risk management strategies for pension funds. Danny has particular expertise in the design, implementation and optimization of defined contribution pension plans and other capital accumulation plans.

Before joining Eckler, Danny was National Vice-President, Business Development, Group Retirement Savings at Desjardins Insurance. He was responsible for the development of their DC and DB investment platforms, service offering and investment manager monitoring tools. He also worked closely with plan sponsors to develop optimal solutions which enabled employees to achieve their retirement objectives, both in terms of plan design and employee communication, as well as in the creation of customized lifecycle solutions.

Previously, Danny worked for 11 years for another actuarial consulting firm as a pension and investment consultant. Among his responsibilities was the monitoring of investment platforms offered by Canadian service providers. He has worked in the industry since 2000.

• Asset allocation
• Defined contribution/Capital accumulation plan governance
• Disbursement policies
• Investments
• Outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) due diligence
• Performance measurement
• Risk management
• Risk transfer

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

Danny also contributes his insights to a variety of publications and conferences. Here’s just a sampling:

Revenu fixe : un impossible rendement? Finance et Investissement – Janvier 2021

Garder le cap… en pleine chute libre Avantages – Decembre 2020

Presentation at the Séminaire sur la gestion des caisses de retraite by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits : Impact de l’inflation sur les caisses de retraite (mai 2022)

Presentation at ARASQ yearly Advanced investment training: Compromise between risk and returns

Presentation at the CARRUM on Investment in a rising interest rate environment

Dany is a Principal of the firm, with close to 20 years of experience as a strategic pension actuary, investment management consultant and longevity risk management expert.

Since joining Eckler in 2002, Dany has gained extensive experience in designing sustainable pension plans and developing integrated funding, investment and benefits policies that meet the client’s objectives and constraints and the market’s best practices. He has also performed multiple actuarial assumption reviews and plan experience analyses. Throughout his career, Dany has focussed on the importance of education of plan trustees, but also of plan members. Together with the teams of administration specialists, he has developed and implemented client-tailored administrative solutions with a focus on plan participant experience and has developed communication plans that focus on enhancing the perceived value to members. Dany also does specialized work as a part of union negotiations, plan terminations and corporate mergers and spin-offs.

Dany’s work extends to asset consulting as well, where he is involved in the analysis and design of investment management structure, performance monitoring and manager searches for several pension funds. He has assisted clients in carefully executing thorough transition plans between managers and fiduciaries. Dany also has provided several training sessions to various audiences such as training and education to new Trustees. Dany has developed a specific expertise in longevity management. He has been involved in the development and implementation of Club Vita Canada, a longevity analytics service, and now serves Club Vita’s Quebec members.

Dany is actively involved with the research team by contributing to the technical review of Special Notice publications sent to our clients. He has also participated in the writing of the Consultation paper to provide comments to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) on the solvency funding framework for defined benefit pension plans. Dany is a graduate of the Actuarial Science program at Laval University, and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. He works in both English and French.

• Annuity purchase
• Asset management structure
• Change management
• Defined benefit pension plan valuation
• Designated plans
• Experience review
• Governance
• Jointly governed plans
• Legislative research
• Longevity analytics
• Members communication
• Other post-employment benefits Valuation
• Peer review
• Pension plan accounting
• Performance monitoring
• Plan design
• Plan funding
• Risk management
• Supplement employee retirement programs
• Target benefit pension plans
• Total rewards
• Unionized environment

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences – Laval University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

Deirdre leads projects providing compensation and total rewards solutions in partnership with human resources teams, management and Boards of Directors. Her expertise in reward strategy and integrative practices in compensation design is well known as a practitioner with over 15 years of experience. She was a total rewards trainer for the Human Resources Professional Association (Ontario) and is a frequent speaker at conferences and events (HRPA chapter events & national conference, World at Work).

Her specialties include job analysis, job evaluation, and developing sustainable compensation systems. She develops solutions which are integrated and consider employee engagement, talent strategy and broader organizational strategy. She is well versed in pay equity legislation and supports organizations to develop equitable practices to meet, or exceed, compliance obligations. Her extensive knowledge in this area is leveraged widely on broader gender pay and diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives.

With her expertise in job evaluation, pay equity and her ability to develop practical customized solutions, Deidre has helped organizations through mergers, acquisitions, culture changes and restructuring.  She enjoys bringing reliable data insights, HR strategy, and good compensation governance practices together to meet regulatory needs and sustainable practices for clients.

• Pay equity
• Pay Transparency
• Compensation planning
• Job evaluation
• Job descriptions /documentation
• Incentive plan design
• Market reviews
• Diversity, equity & inclusion
• Total rewards
• Variable pay
• Executive compensation
• Compensation benchmarking
• Salary administration
• Pay for performance
• Employee engagement

• Bachelor of Business Administration (University of Toronto)
• Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL)

• HRPA (Member, Peel Chapter & CHRL)
• GTA Rewards Association (Member)
• World at Work (Member)

World at Work 2024 Speaker (Generational HR/Total Rewards) World at Work – 2024

Contributor – Building a Total Rewards Strategy Roadmap McLean & Company – January 2023

How employers can support female talent, diversify hiring in male-dominated industries Benefits Canada- February 2023

HRPA, 2023 (Performance Management) HRPA – April 2023

HRPA, 2022 (Pay for Performance) HRPA – November 2022

HRPA, 2019 (Pay for Performance) HRPA – December 2019

HRPA, 2017 (The Pay Equity Journey,  A Primer, the Pitfalls and the Positives) HRPA – February 2017

HRPA, 2016 (Total Rewards & Pay for Performance) HRPA – September 2016

I run a local “pay it forward” group that helps families save money, and also be more environmental/sustainable – with the added bonus of building neighbourhood connections.

I enjoy managing a small backyard garden which yields the best tomatoes, herbs, rhubarb, beans and cucumbers in the summer time and manage a number of lovely houseplants which I refused to officially count and am always propagating.

At work I’m often working with precise data – but in the kitchen I measure with my heart and there’s no such thing as too much garlic!

A Principal in the firm, Derek is a senior consulting actuary and practice leader for Eckler in Halifax. Derek has over 30 years of experience in the pension consulting field, including the design, funding, and administration of pension plans. In addition to traditional defined benefit pension consulting, he has significant experience with strategic pension risk management, pension change management, and asset planning. Derek is the lead consultant and client relationship manager for numerous clients in Atlantic Canada.

Derek is one of Eckler’s, and the industry’s, leading experts in pension risk management. He promotes pension risk management as a key element of good governance and program success.

Derek has significant experience with the wind-up of pension plans including acting as Administrator for complex insolvency situations where the pension plan is a creditor with an underfunded pension plan. In this capacity, he has been involved with the exploration of alternative decumulation approaches beyond annuity purchase for underfunded pension plans.

He was a member of the CIA Task Force on Target Benefit Plans (TBPs) that recently produced a significant report on TBPs for use by government, regulators, and other stakeholders when considering the key issues associated with expanding the TBP environment in Canada.

Derek is a past member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) Pension Plan Financial Reporting Committee (PPFRC), the committee responsible for making recommendations to the Actuarial Standards Board and Actuarial Guidance Council regarding professional standards and guidance for Canadian pension actuaries and, by extension, for defined benefit pension plans operating in Canada. In 2009, Derek joined the CIA Practice Council, an oversight body for actuarial guidance and standards in Canada and completed his three-year term with Practice Council in 2012.

He has presented at many industry conferences and is a published author of articles on pension-related matters. He is also a past long-serving member of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute Atlantic Regional Council.

Derek graduated from Dalhousie University with a degree in Mathematics, and is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation and administration
• Executive retirement arrangements
• Change management
• Pension Plan wind-up
• Pension Plan mergers
• Pension plan financial risk management
• Stakeholder liaise support and governance

• Dalhousie University, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

Dianne joined EB1’s Investment Consulting practice in 2019, bringing with her over 20 years of industry experience, most of which was spent at consulting firms ranging from large multinationals to a small boutique firm. She also worked at a major insurance company conducting investment manager research and due diligence. Today, she leads the DC practice and consults to clients of all sizes with defined contribution and to clients of all sizes with defined contribution and defined benefit plans. She works across various areas, including governance, investments, record keeper selection and plan design.

Dianne also leads Eckler’s record keeper research and due diligence processes. She brings a detailed approach to all her clients and specializes in helping manage their DC plans effectively.

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Dianne holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Majors in Actuarial Science and Economics. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

• Plan design
• Record keeper research
• Decumulation
• Group registered retirement savings plan
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Retirement readiness
• Fee benchmarking
• Pension governance
• Deferred profit sharing plans
• Investment manager search
• Performance monitoring
• Defined contribution pension plans
• Defined benefit pension plans

Professional Qualifications

• Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) designation
• Bachelor’s of Science with majors in Actuarial Science and Economics – University of Toronto

A Principal and consulting actuary, Domenic leads Eckler’s Trusteed Plans consulting group and co-leads the pension actuarial practice. He joined Eckler in 2002 upon graduating from the University of Toronto.

Domenic specializes in working with multi-employer and jointly trusteed pension and benefit plans.  He consults on pension matters including extensive work on funding valuations, plan design and restructuring, governance, plan mergers, negotiations and administration. For several clients, Dom provides trustee education and frequently presents at plan membership meetings.

Active in the industry, Dom is a frequent speaker/instructor at conferences and events, a member of advisory boards, and has published several articles regarding pension and benefit topics.  In addition, Dom is actively involved in lobbying governments and regulators regarding pension and benefit issues.

Domenic graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science.  A Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries, Domenic has over 20 years of consulting experience.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation and administration
• Multi-employer pension and benefit plans
• Target benefit plans
• Pension plan mergers
• Plan design and regulatory compliance
• Trustee education
• Longevity analytics

• University of Toronto – Honours Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Instructor for the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Foundation of Trust Management Program
• Advisory Director of the Multi-Employer Benefit Plan Council of Canada
• Member of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario Defined Benefit/Target Benefit MEPP Advisory Committee
• Member of the University of Waterloo Actuarial Science Advisory Board
• Served as a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries PEC Examination Committee

A regular speaker and contributor to industry events and publications. Here are some highlights:

New target benefit plan framework in Ontario to provide more flexibility for administrators, boards: expert Benefits Canada – September 2023

New target benefit plan framework ‘more appropriate and based in fiduciary duties’ Benefits and Pensions Monitor – September 2023

A look at MEPPs in a shifting pension landscape Benefits Canada – May 2022

Ontario’s budget proposing framework for target-benefit pension plans Benefits Canada – April 2022

Newfoundland and Labrador granting MEPPs permanent solvency funding exemption Benefits Canada – August 2021

New Insights into Pensioner Mortality in the Construction Trades Plans and Trusts magazine – May/June 2016

A contributor to Eckler thought leadership content, Domenic’s most recent pieces are available below.

With over 15 years of experience in group insurance, Edward brings extensive hands-on knowledge in plan design, pricing, and client advocacy. As an actuary, Edward’s approach is grounded in theory; as an entrepreneur, Edward’s approach is practical. With his accumulated experience at one of the largest insurance companies in Canada and various consulting roles, Edward always finds a balance between the two.

Edward’s consulting experience is shared between the US and Canada. For five years, Edward was the consulting actuary for some of the largest utility companies in the US Eastern seaboard, involved in complex valuations, plan design, regulatory reporting, collective bargaining, and mergers and acquisitions. Edward was the consulting actuary for medium to large CPG and manufacturing companies in Canada for four years, involved in plan design, pricing, and financial projections and management. For seven years, Edward co-led the niche group business at one of the largest insurers in Canada, focusing on associations, affinity, and creditor insurance programs.

Joining Eckler in 2024, Edward brings a focus on serving clients’ needs through strong advocacy and creative solutions.

• Post-employment actuarial valuations
• Post-retirement actuarial valuations
• Group benefits design
• Group benefits renewal and financial analysis
• Group benefits insurer negotiation and marketing
• Group benefits pricing
• Group benefits harmonization
• Group benefits benchmarking
• Accident and sickness insurance
• Life insurance
• Group benefits administration
• International students’ insurance
• Creditor insurance
• Reinsurance
• Mergers and acquisitions

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Licensed Life Insurance Agent – Ontario
• Licensed Accident and Sickness Insurance Agent – Ontario
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA)
• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics – University of Waterloo

• Various CIA committees and sub-committees focused on Group Life and Group Health

Edward is actively involved in the community with entrepreneurial mentorship focusing on start-ups and distressed corporate re-organizations. While the industries of interest vary, Edward’s passion for customer service and experience is in the hospitality, food, and beverage space. Edward is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and is often found volunteering his time to share the joys and knowledge of wine with communities who have historically found wine inaccessible.

With Eckler since 2011, Ellen leads both the Group Benefits and Communications Practices. A Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, Ellen has over 25 years of benefits consulting experience.

Ellen provides advice on all aspects of group benefit plans, including appropriate underwriting models, renewals, financials, marketing, disability management and plan design. On the actuarial work, Ellen provides advice on all aspects of assumption setting, valuation, risk management and mitigation, plan design, funding, wind-up, and accounting for post-employment and post-retirement benefit plans. She has also provided education to clients and the industry on post-employment and post-retirement plan issues, through focused roundtables, education seminars, speaking engagements, expert witness testimony and published articles. She was instrumental in creating the ATMS training for benefit plan issues confronted by new trustees on behalf of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits.

In her professional capacity, Ellen has been a member and chair of several committees and task-forces of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries on benefit plan issues. Currently, she sits on Eckler’s Board of Directors, and the board of the Girls to the Power of Math

• Funding and accounting for benefit plans
• Trusteed (Employee Life and Health Trust) governance
• Financial modelling
• Plan design
• Insolvencies and benefit plan wind-ups
• Group benefits thought leadership

• Bachelor of Science – University of Toronto
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Serves as a member of Eckler’s Board of Directors

As a member of the editorial board, Ellen currently helps set direction for Eckler’s GroupNews, a monthly e-Newsletter that provides commentary on the issues affecting Canadian group benefit plans. The most recent issues can be accessed below.

Ellen is also a regular contributor to industry publications, and is often quoted in trade articles. Here’s just a sampling:

With baby boomers aging, the cost of long-term care is set to triple in the next 30 years. What’s our plan for dealing with this? The Globe and Mail – October 8, 2019 – Ellen was a contributor to the report discussed in this article

The Future Co$t of Long-Term Care in Canada The National Institute on Aging – October 2019 – Ellen contributed to this valuable piece of research as a peer reviewer.

 The Actuarial Foundation of Canada’s Fall 2018 Fundraising Campaign Canadian Institute of Actuaries Monthly eNewsletter – October 2018

Post-Age 65 Benefits After Talos v. Grand Erie District School Board International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans – Webcast – July 2018

OHIP+ for seniors a ‘significant win’ for employers with retiree benefits plans Benefits Canada – March 2018

Can the Retiree Health Benefits Situation in Canada be Saved? Benefits and Compensation International – 2014

When she isn’t working hard for her clients, Ellen offers her time to the Girls to the Power of Math as a volunteer board member.

She also takes time to keep both her body and mind active with her favourite hobbies – travelling, skiing, hiking, softball, volleyball and puzzles.

Emmanuel has over 20 years of experience advising institutional investors and specializes in manager selection and monitoring. He is based in Eckler’s Winnipeg office working with a range of organizations including public and private sector pensions, insurance reserves, benefit trusts, and foundations.

Before joining Eckler, Emmanuel served as Chief Investment Officer for a workers’ compensation board, Vice President of Institutional Investment Counselling for a major Canadian insurer, and senior executive in charge of manager selection at a firm serving high net worth clients.

He is active in the industry and local community having served as a long-time member of Cancer Care Foundation of Manitoba’s finance committee, and as a past instructor for the Canadian Pension & Benefit Institute as well as the University of Manitoba’s Department of Finance at the Asper School of Business.

Emmanuel graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

• Manager monitoring & selection
• Investment policy
• Asset allocation
• Alternative investments

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Bachelor of Commerce (Honors), Finance – University of Manitoba

• Cancer Care Manitoba Finance Committee
• Instructor Canadian Pension & Benefit Institute

Whether they are lay trustees or financial experts, Euan’s straight-talking approach helps his clients focus on the issues that matter. With more than 20 years of experience in Canada and the UK, he has advised clients in the public and private sectors on pensions, capital adequacy and risk management.

Euan is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK.

• Asset/liability modelling
• Defined benefit pension plan design, valuation, administration and financial reporting
• Longevity risk management
• Multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs)
• Pension risk transfer, buy-ins and buy-outs
• Public sector pension plans
• Workers’ compensation valuation, financial reporting

• Durham University – Master of Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (FIA)

Pension Risk Transfer Report Eckler – March 2019

Are Canadians continuing to live longer? Club Vita – July 2019

Feeling the heat? Club Vita – October 22, 2018

With Eckler since 2013, Eva is a Principal and senior actuarial consultant in our Montreal pensions and benefits practice. She consults to pension plan sponsors and pension committees/boards on funding and financial reporting, governance, strategic policy development, risk management and administration solutions. She combines her pension expertise with group benefits consulting.

A graduate of HEC Montréal (Master in Law and Taxation) and the Université Laval (Actuarial Sciences), Eva is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)
• Benefit plan design
• International pension plans
• Change management
• Buy-in and buy-out transactions
• Taxation
• Retirement planning sessions
• Communication
• Project management
• Group benefits

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Master in Law and Taxation – HEC Montreal
• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences – Laval University

An actuarial consultant and Principal, Faisal joined Eckler’s property and casualty insurance consulting practice in 1996. Before that, he spent three years working in the corporate actuarial department of a large global insurance company.  Since then, he has worked on a wide variety of projects, specializing in financial reporting matters ((including IFRS 17 implementation) and financial condition testing.  He has consulted for many different types of clients, including direct writers, reinsurers and industry associations, and ranging from large, long-established insurers to small start-ups.

Faisal has helped to build and maintain many successful, long-standing client relationships in Canada and in the Caribbean by acting as the principal point of contact with company management.  He works closely with other experienced consultants at Eckler while providing guidance to and mentoring junior level staff.

He became a Principal of the firm in 2013.

• Automobile insurance pricing
• Caribbean insurance
• Financial Condition Testing / Dynamic Capital Adequacy Testing
• IFRS 17 implementation
• Industry pools and associations
• Insurance start-ups
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Reinsurance
• Stress testing
• Target capital analysis
• Title insurance
• Valuation of policy liabilities

• University of Waterloo – Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, Actuarial Science
• Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (ACIA)
• Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society (ACAS)
• Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)

• Speaker, Milliman Casualty Consultants Forums
• Speaker, Caribbean Actuarial Association Annual Conferences

When not working hard to deliver stellar results to his clients, Faisal feeds his passion for travel by exploring the world near and far.

A Principal with our Montréal property & casualty insurance practice, Félix joined the firm in 2014. An actuarial expert in multiple lines of insurance, Félix has extensive knowledge of financial reporting and capital adequacy testing. He works closely with Eckler’s other experienced consultants while providing guidance to and mentoring junior level staff.

Félix manages an extensive roster of clients and is involved in many Appointed Actuary assignments. As a Fellow, he conducts external peer reviews and signs valuation reports. He has also helped grow the firm’s extended warranty business. Fully bilingual, Félix serves Eckler clients in both English and French.

A graduate of Laval University, Félix holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc) degree in Actuarial Science. He became a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) in 2010 and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FICA) in 2011.

• External peer review
• Extended warranty business
• Financial Condition Testing (FCT) / Dynamic Capital Adequacy Testing (DCAT)
• Financial reporting
• IFRS 17 Implementation
• Professional Liability Insurance Fund business
• Stress testing
• Target capital analysis
• Valuation of policy liabilities

• Laval University – Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc) degree in Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS)

• Planner and Speaker, Eckler’s Professional Development meeting
• Member of these two CIA committees : – Committee on Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Reporting (PCFRC) since August 2021 – Committee on the Appointed/Valuation Actuary since March 2022

A Principal in Eckler’s Quebec City office, François joined the firm in 2002. He works with a broad range of worker’s compensation and pension clients in the public and private sectors, across various jurisdictions including several provincial boards and large employers.

Throughout his career, François has advised corporations and provincial boards on workers’ compensation claims liabilities, financial projections, premium calculations and asset liability studies. François’s other experience includes advising pension committees on pension and employee benefits matters including all aspects of valuation, administration, plan design, governance and funding.

François is passionate about his profession and his commitment to his clients. He is known for his strong technical expertise and his ability to make the complex simple for clients.

A graduate of the Actuarial Science program at Laval University, François is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

• Asset/liability modelling
• Pension Administration
• Defined benefit pension plan valuation
• Worker’s Compensation Board
• Worker’s compensation for large employers
• Choice of limit per claim for the retrospective plan at the CNESST
• Financial impact of workplace claims on personalized premium rates and the retrospective plan at the CNESST
• Projection of future retrospective premiums adjustments for the retrospective plan at the CNESST

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences – Laval University

A Principal and consulting actuary in Toronto, Geneviève joined Eckler in 2013. She specializes in corporate pension plans, across a broad range of industries and jurisdictions, with extensive knowledge of funding, administration, financial reporting, plan design, and risk management.

She has also volunteered for the Society of Actuaries’ examination committee and was a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ International Pension and Employee Benefits Standards Committee.

A graduate of Concordia University, Geneviève is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

Geneviève is bilingual, speaking French as a first language.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation
• Pension plan funding
• Pension plan financial reporting
• Pension plan administration
• Pension plan design
• Regulatory compliance
• Risk management
• Supplemental employee retirement plans (SERPs)
• Designated plans

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Specialization in Actuarial Science – Concordia University

Electronic communications for defined benefit pension plans Eckler Insights – April 2021

Gino joined Eckler’s Montreal pension and benefits practice in early 2023. He has more than 30 years’ experience advising pension committees and pension plan sponsors in the public, university and private sectors. Before Eckler, Gino worked for two other major consulting firms, where he was a senior pension consultant and partner. In this capacity, he served a large client base and developed his reputation as a market expert in consulting to plans administered by joint pension committees.

Gino has extensive experience in pension plan consulting and administration, particularly in the areas of funding, accounting for employee future benefits, governance and risk management. His expertise also extends to actively participating in the collective agreement negotiation process and acting as an expert witness following pension-related grievances.

A graduate of Laval University, Gino is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

• Pension administration and funding
• Accounting for employee future benefits
• Collective bargaining
• Expert witness
• Plan governance
• Risk management

• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Bachelor of Science (Actuarial) – Laval University

A Principal in our Montreal office, Guillaume joined Eckler in 2014. He specializes in retirement plans and post-retirement benefit programs for funding, administration, plan design and mergers and acquisitions. Over the years, Guillaume has developed an expertise in benefit plan accounting under Canadian, US and international accounting standards. Guillaume is known for his creative solutions, his focus on results and he is also excellent at making complex information accessible.

Guillaume is a member of the CIA Committee on Pension and Post-retirement Benefit Accounting Discount Rates. He was also a member of the CIA International Pension and Employee Benefits Standards Committee.

A graduate of Laval University, Guillaume holds a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science. He is also a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

• Defined benefit pension plan and other post-employment benefit plan valuation
• Supplemental employee retirement plans (SERPs)
• Target benefit pension plans
• Designated plans
• Pension plan accounting
• Defined contribution/ Capital accumulation plan consulting
• Consultation with boards
• Total rewards
• Plan design
• Plan governance
• Plan funding
• Annuity purchase

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science – Laval University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Member of the CIA Committee Pension and Post-Employment Benefit Accounting Discount Rates

Rentes sans rachat des engagements: acheter la paix d’esprit (Only in French) Avantages – September 2023 

An Eckler Principal, Ian leads the firm’s largest Pension and Benefits practice. A consulting actuary with over 25 years of experience, Ian has a wide range of expertise that includes pension plan design, funding, administration and managing risks for both registered and supplemental pension plans. Ian specializes in providing strategic advice to large organizations in the public, broader public and corporate sectors on the redesign of their pension and retirement savings programs.

Between 2014 and 2021, Ian established and was seconded to Club Vita Canada as its Chief Executive Officer, driving the longevity analytics company to be the leader in its field.

With Eckler since 1994, Ian joined us immediately after graduating from the University of Western Ontario. He is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. Shortly after becoming a qualified actuary, Ian spent a year at Eckler’s Abelica Global affiliate Hymans Robertson in the UK.

• Governance
• Longevity analytics
• Pension plan design
• Pension plan funding
• Predictive analytics
• Registered, supplemental and public sector pension plans
• Risk management
• Strategic advice

• B.Sc. (Honours) Actuarial Science, University of Western Ontario
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Affiliate of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA)
• Member of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM)

• Served on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Pension Practice Committee
• Served on the ACPM National Policy Committee
• Served on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Government Relations Task Force
• Served on the ACPM National Conference Planning Committee
• Served on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Communications Committee

Ian contributes his insights to a variety of publications and conferences. He is also quoted in the media. Here’s just a sampling:

Finance and Stress: Can Plan Sponsors and Administrators ease the pain? Moderator: Special ACPM National Session – November 2019

Understanding and Pricing Longevity Risk Presenter: Session #24 – 2019 Life & Annuity Symposium – October 2019

Canadian Workplace Pensions Forum The Canadian Institute – October 2017

Longevity de-risking, A global opportunity with local challenges Speaker: CRC Insurance Conference – March 2017

Overestimating Canadian DB Plans’ Liabilities? Pension Pulse – February 2017

Increasing lifespans: A Pension Plan’s True Longevity Risk  The Observer – Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) – Spring 2017

Live to 100? More Canadians better plan for it The Globe and Mail – November 2014

In his spare time, Ian shares his knowledge and expertise to help his community. He’s currently the Chair of the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism (CCRJ) Pension Plan Governance Committee.

A sports enthusiast, Ian is an avid ice-hockey and baseball player, and fits in road cycling when weather permits. He has also recently turned his passion for rock music into on-again/off-again guitar playing.

In 2001/02, Ian enjoyed a year-long secondment in the United Kingdom, where he worked for Hymans Robertson to gain UK pension knowledge to complement his Canadian & US pension experience.

Jacquie has nearly 20 years of strategic communication experience – crafting thoughtful communication strategies and tactical rollout plans to achieve employee buy-in and drive business results. With deep subject matter expertise in communicating rewards programs – from group benefits to pensions to compensation and ancillary benefits – creating strategic Total Rewards campaigns is her sweet spot. She is dedicated to bringing fresh, innovative communication techniques to her work to drive employee awareness, understanding, and action. Further, her collaborative style ensures all perspectives are considered in the creative process, which leads to the best possible outcomes.

Her commitment to bringing fresh perspectives and building communication with impact has yielded several awards including an International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Silver Leaf Award and Benefits Canada Workplace Benefits Awards.

• Total rewards communication
• HR communication
• Change communication
• Communication strategy
• Employee engagement
• Pension communication
• Benefits communication
• Wellness communication
• Employee consultation
• Simplifying language
• Infographic communication
• Leadership communication
• Video
• Storytelling
• Financial literacy communication

• Prosci certification • Post-graduate certificate in Corporate Communication – Centennial College • Bachelor’s degree in Communication – University of Ottawa

A Principal in the firm, Janice leads Eckler’s financial wellness consulting group and consults on Capital Accumulation Plans. Janice is fueled by her passion for designing effective plans and providing the support members need to reach their financial goals.

Janice works with some of the largest Canadian organizations. Since joining Eckler in 2004, she established and grew the CAP practice into one of the leading consultancies in the country. Janice helps CAP sponsors design programs that achieve the best possible outcomes by:

• guiding clients in establishing governance structures,
• creating and refining plan design,
• selecting and monitoring record keepers, and
• developing and adjusting investment offerings over time.

She uses her years of working with CAP members, and studies in behavioural finance and personal finance to inform and inspire the financial wellness solutions Eckler provides.  Her extensive knowledge and experience working with member-directed plans is reflected in the innovative suite of tools and approaches Janice developed to help support employees as they build their financial confidence and security.

Janice is committed to increasing Canadians’ financial security and is driven to find effective ways to engage and motivate human behaviour. She regularly contributes to industry publications and is a frequent speaker at conferences and events.

• Capital accumulation plans (CAPs)
• Defined contribution plan administration
• Defined contribution plan design
• Defined contribution plan governance
• Financial planning
• Financial wellness
• Investments
• Member communications
• Member engagement
• Retirement readiness

• Bachelor of Business Administration, major in Finance, minor Economics
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

• Served as a member of the CPBI Ontario Regional Council

Janice contributes her insights to a variety of publications and conferences. She is also quoted in the media. Here’s just a sampling:

You can take workplace pensions off your list of things that are broken in Canada The Globe and Mail – July 15, 2024

From pensions to health benefits, the absence of inflation indexing is making us poorer The Globe and Mail – June 07, 2024

Employers can support employees through new year financial stress Benefits and Pensions Monitor – February 09, 2024

Employers can leverage choice, education to help close pension gap among BIPOC workers Benefits Canada – February 13, 2023

Financial stress is costing companies billions in lost productivity CBC Radio – November 17, 2022

ACPM Roundtable Broadcast: Achieving Financial Wellness – Panelist Association of Canadian Pension Management – November 2021

How employers can support employees’ financial literacy, wellness amid DIY-investing craze Benefits Canada – March 2021

Young people are turning their backs on an investment that turns 50 cents into a dollar, guaranteed The Globe and Mail – February 2021

2020 CAP Suppliers Report: Stretching into the financial wellness space Benefits Canada – December 2020

DC Plans in the Time of COVID-19 ACPM Roundtable Broadcast Event – October 2020

How to ease pension plan member anxiety if they can’t access their funds Canadian Investment Review – April 2020

Lessons for Canada from the U.K.’s cap on DC investment fees Benefits Canada – March 2020

Managing a capital accumulation plan through COVID-19 Canadian Investment Review & Benefits Canada – March 2020

Retirement readiness – how should employers help? Your Workplace, March – April 2020

Making a commitment to improve employee financial wellness ACPM – The Observer – October 2019

New pension paradigm needed to better serve employees: Report Canadian HR Reporter – July 2019

2019 CAP Member Survey: Helping each generation on their retirement journey Benefits Canada – May 2019

A fully qualified actuary (FSA, FCIA), Jasenka has over 25 years of experience in the pension consulting industry. She has been a Principal in Eckler’s Toronto Pension consulting practice for more than a decade.

Jasenka is an expert in the development of financial strategies and risk management for pension plans to ensure sustainability. She also has extensive experience in pension plan design, financial reporting, plan governance, plan mergers, conversions, asset transfers and wind-ups.

She provides consulting services to a wide range of clients including global and national corporations, not-for-profit organizations, broader public sector organizations and multi-employer pension plans.

• Broader public sector pension plans
• Defined benefit plan valuations
• Not-for-profit pension plans
• Pension plan asset transfers
• Pension plan conversions
• Pension plan design
• Pension plan financial reporting
• Pension plan mergers
• Pension plan wind-ups
• Plan governance
• Risk management
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)

• University of Waterloo – Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Member of the Association of Canadian Pension Management
• Member of the Actuarial Standards Board Designated Group on Benefit Security
• Member of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s Technical Advisory Committee for Asset Transfers

Jasenka contributes her insights to a variety of publications and conferences. Here’s just a sampling: 

The Future of University Pension Plans A joint pre-conference seminar at CAUBO 2019 (Canadian Association of University Business Officers 2019)

University lessons in solvency relief Benefits Canada – May 2012

Managing risk in a small pension plan Benefits Canada – June 2011

An age-old story Benefits Canada – May 2010 (co-authored with Eckler’s Chris Brisebois)

Jason, a Principal in Eckler’s investment consulting practice, joined the firm in 2006. He provides investment strategy advice to a wide range of institutional clients, including DB and DC pension plans, endowment/foundations, corporations and non-profit organizations.

In addition to consulting responsibilities, Jason is a member of the Investment Research Steering Committee which oversees investment manager and strategy research.

Jason’s specific area of expertise is alternative investments including infrastructure, real estate, private equity/debt strategies and hedge funds.

An active volunteer within the pension and investment community, Jason has authored several articles and presented on investment strategy at numerous conferences. He is currently a member of the Canadian Investment Review Advisory Board, a volunteer on the CNIB’s National Investment & Pension Committee and a director with the National Ballet School Foundation.

Jason graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1999 with an Economics degree. He has also earned the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

• Alternative Investments
• Infrastructure
• Private Debt
• Private Equity
• Risk Management

• University of Western Ontario – Bachelor of Arts, Economics (Dean’s Honour List)
• Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

• Serve as a member of the Canadian Investment Review Advisory Board
• Serve as a volunteer member of the CNIB’s National Investment & Pension Committee
• Serve as a director with the National Ballet School Foundation

Jason is an active public speaker sharing his insights on investment strategy at numerous conferences and other events. Here’s just a sampling:

Coronavirus, capital calls and liquidity in private market investments Canadian Investment Review – March 2020

Consultant’s Panel-Off the Record Panelist: 27th Annual Canadian Conference, AIMSE – January 2020

Accessing Alternatives Through the Secondaries Market Panelist: Canadian Investment Review Webinar – May  2019

Let’s Get Real: Latest Developments in Real Assets Moderator: Toronto CFA Society Luncheon – February  2019

The Growing use of Alternative Investment Strategies Presenter: Vancouver CEO Networking Dinner, PMAC – December 2018

Responsible Infrastructure Investing Presenter: Trustee Responsible Investment Master Class, SHARE – October 2017

Creating Sustainable Plans for the 21st Century Panelist: DB Investment Forum 2015, Benefits Canada – December 2015

A Director in Eckler’s investment consulting practice based in Vancouver, Jason joined the firm in 2023. He’s worked in financial services for over 16 years. He has 11 years of investment management experience working with a wide range of clients – including DB pension plans, government funds, settlement trusts, foundations, and family offices. Prior to joining Eckler, Jason worked as a corporate credit analyst based in Vancouver and the UK. He spent 10 years with a major global investment management firm based in Singapore where he worked with a range of institutional investors across the Asia Pacific region before moving to Canada to establish their Canadian office.

Jason also leads Eckler’s fixed income manager research, regularly meeting with investment managers to form views on their offerings and helping to develop new and efficient investment solutions for clients.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Jason holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) charterholder and a member of the CFA of Society in Vancouver.

• First Nations Settlement Trusts
• Fixed Income and Credit investments
• Multi-employer pension plans (MEPP)
• Manager research

Professional Qualifications

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
• Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Political Science – University of British Columbia

In his spare time, Jason enjoys traveling, golfing, and snowboarding with his wife and two daughters.

An Eckler Principal since 2012, Jean-François is a retirement consulting actuary with more than 30 years of experience.

He leads the Pension and Benefits team for our Montreal office. Jean‑François counts many years of experience in the field of retirement and investment consulting, and has developed specific expertise in plan design, funding, mergers and acquisitions, accounting, governance, conversions from DB to DC plans and pension risk management. Furthermore, he is a speaker at various conferences on pension and asset management and works in English and in French.

Jean-François has been a member of Eckler’s Board of Directors since 2015.

Before joining Eckler, Jean-François worked in the Montréal office of a leading global professional services firm where he last held the position of National Retirement and Investment practice leader. He sat on the Company’s Canadian Management Committee.

Jean-François is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries and graduated from Laval University with a Bachelor of actuarial science.

A Principal and consulting actuary in our pension practice in Toronto, Jeff joined Eckler in 2007. Specializing in multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs), Jeff consults to several large MEPP clients, with extensive knowledge on funding valuations, plan design, sustainability analysis, governance, risk management, plan mergers, negotiations, administration, and member communication. For several clients, Jeff provides trustee education and presents at plan membership meetings.

Active in the industry, Jeff is a frequent speaker at conferences and events, a member of advisory boards, and a published author of pension articles. He has also developed content for examinations for the Society of Actuaries and has served on actuarial examination and education committees.

Jeff graduated from Western University with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science. He is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

• Multi-employer pension plans
• Target benefit plans
• Defined benefit pension plan actuarial valuation
• Pension plan administration
• Governance
• Pension plan mergers
• Pension plan design
• Pension plan funding
• Regulatory compliance
• Risk management
• Trustee education
• Member education
• Longevity analytics

• Western University – Honours Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Serves on the Plans & Trusts Editorial Advisory Panel – International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
• Served on the University of Waterloo Master of Actuarial Science Advisory Board
• Served on the Education and Examination Committee of the Society of Actuaries

Target Benefit Pension Plan Sustainability: Assessing and Managing the Challenges Plans & Trusts – January/February 2023

Currently Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jeff joined Eckler in 2017 as Senior Director, Business Operations. He has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance and professional services consulting industries.

In his role as COO, Jeff provides strategic operational and risk management leadership for Eckler’s core business functions, including People and Culture, Marketing and Communications, Information Technology and Security, and Operations.

As the senior leader with direct oversight of the employee experience, Jeff ensures that Eckler continues to foster a workplace that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive to support our people as they deliver on our purpose. That purpose — to care and to do right by people, so that together we can achieve a brighter, more secure future — is woven into the fabric of the organization.

Jeff also leads Eckler’s corporate social responsibility and sustainability program. He takes great pride in the firm’s grassroots efforts to support justice, equity, diversity, empowerment, and education in our business and communities.

A Western University graduate, Jeff holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also has a graduate diploma in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability from the University of Toronto.

• Business risk management
• Corporate strategy and governance
• Corporate social responsibility
• Professional services business operations

• Masters of Business Administration (MBA) – Ivey Business School, Western University
• Graduate Diploma, CSR and Sustainability – University of Toronto – University of St. Michael’s College
• Bachelor of Political Science (Hons) – Western University

When not at work, Jeff loves to pursue his passion for fitness, travel and spend time with his partner and pet Doberman Tilly.

A senior consulting actuary and Principal in our Halifax Office, Jeff has over 20 years of experience in the funding and administration of pension plans. He consults to a wide range of public and private sector organizations in Atlantic Canada and serves as the day-to-day contact for many clients. In addition to traditional defined benefit pension consulting, he has significant experience in workers’ compensation benefits, pension and post-employment benefit accounting matters, legislative compliance, pension plan wind-up, and executive retirement arrangements.

Jeff holds a Mathematics degree from Dalhousie University and is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA). In addition to his work with Eckler, Jeff is a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Workers’ Compensation Committee, and a past member of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute Atlantic Regional Council.  He also previously served on the Society of Actuaries committee that oversees the SOA’s highest level of retirement specialty exams from 2005 to 2012.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation and administration
• Executive retirement arrangements
• Jointly sponsored pension plans
• Pension legislation/compliance
• Pension and post-employment benefit accounting matters
• Pension plan wind-up
• Workers’ compensation benefit valuation and rate setting

• Dalhousie University, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Served on the Society of Actuaries committee that oversees the SOA’s highest level of retirement specialty exams from 2005 to 2012
• Member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Workers’ Compensation Committee
• Past Member of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute Atlantic Regional Council

A Principal in our Toronto office, Jenn leads Eckler’s Communication Consulting team. With more than 25 years of consulting experience, Jenn has provided strategic communication advisory and implementation services to clients in a variety of industries across Canada and the United States, including corporate, trustee, multi-employer, and jointly sponsored arrangements.

Jenn thrives when developing Employee and Total Rewards Value Propositions. Her deep expertise in communicating [complex] change related to compensation, pension, benefits, and well-being further enables her to deliver solutions that address the target issues, aligning objectives with the organization’s business realities. She encourages her clients to adopt a simple, straightforward, and transparent communication approach.

Jenn passionately endeavors to destigmatize mental health, promote seeking support as a norm, and foster a comprehensive understanding that mental health is synonymous with overall well-being, emphasizing the holistic view of the self.

Fluently bilingual, Jenn is an award-winning strategic communication leader. A lifetime member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), she is also the recipient of Gold Quill, Silver Quill, and Ovation awards for Communication excellence.

• HR Communication
• Total Rewards Communication and Statements
• Compensation, Pension, and Benefits (including Flex Benefits) Communication
• M&A Communication
• Change Management
• Employee/Member Communication
• Website/Microsite development
• Strategic change communication
• Wellness and Well-being
• Mental Health

• Bachelor of Science, Neuropsychology and Biology – Queen’s University

Jessica has nearly 15 years of experience as a communication strategist – planning, developing and delivering communication campaigns related to pension, benefits, wellness, mental health and compensation.

Through her years of consulting experience and deep subject matter expertise, she’s supported dozens of clients in a variety of industries to deliver strategic plans and content that meet specific objectives – such as driving awareness and understanding, boosting engagement, inspiring decision-making, and encouraging action.

Jessica is also a highly motivated collaborator and diligent project manager. In each project she undertakes, she is committed to leading and managing her working team and delivering high-quality deliverables that exceed expectations.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and a post-graduate degree in corporate communications.

• HR communication
• Engagement
• Wellbeing communication
• Benefits communication
• Communication strategy
• Employee communication
• Total rewards
• Project management
• Two-way communication
• Branding
• Strategic communication
• Member communication
• Change communication
• Mental health
• Pension communication
• Communication planning
• Total wellbeing/well-being

• University of Toronto – Bachelor of Arts
• Post-graduate degree in corporate communications – Centennial College

A Principal in Eckler’s Toronto pension consulting practice, Jill joined Eckler in 1993 and was the retirement practice leader from 2003 to 2006. She was appointed Managing Principal in 2012, a position she held until May 2023, and Chaired the Board of Directors from 2012 to 2024.

Jill is a qualified actuary (FSA, FCIA) with over 30 years of consulting experience and has her ICD.D designation. In 2024, Jill was named among the industry leaders in the 2024 BPM Elite Women.

Throughout her career, Jill has advised corporations, boards of directors, boards of trustees and government agencies on pension and employee benefits matters including all aspects of valuation, administration, risk management, governance, design, funding and accounting for pension, post-retirement and supplemental pension programs.

In 2022, Jill was appointed by the Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) to a three-member panel of actuaries to review the 31st Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). She also peer-reviewed the 30th  CPP actuarial report in 2019.

Most recently, Jill completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Board Oversight of Climate Change course.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation, administration
• Jointly-sponsored pension plans (JSPPs)
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)
• Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF)
• Social security
• Risk management
• Governance
• Expert witness

• University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management – ICD.D
• University of Waterloo – Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Member of the Ontario Financial Services Tribunal (FST)

• Serves as a member of the Designated Group on Quinquennial Review of Social Security Programs Standards for the Actuarial Standards Board
• Serves as a member of the Ontario Financial Services Tribunal (FST)
• Served as a member of the Actuarial Standards Oversight Council (ASOC) for seven years, acting as Vice-Chair for two years
• Served as Chair of the Task Force on International Pension and Employee Benefits Standard
• Served as Chair of CIA’s Workers’ Compensation Committee
• Served as CIA’s representative to the International Actuarial Association of Pension and Employee Benefits Committee
• Served as a member of the CIA’s Committee on Relations with Other Professions, the Committee on the Actuarial Valuation of Post-Employment Benefit Plans
• Served as a member of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board’s Employee Benefits Advisory Group
• Served as a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Employee Future Benefits Implementation Guide Working Group
• Served as a member of the pension committee of the board of Queen’s University

In addition to her corporate efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, Jill has been a champion of gender diversity throughout her career, working towards developing and promoting female leaders within the firm and the industry.  Jill is the co-founder of the Women in Pensions network, which hosts networking events for women leaders in the pension industry.  She also serves as a member of the board of directors of Newcomer Women’s Services of Toronto.

In her spare time, Jill enjoys traveling, hiking, yoga, music and art. She is also an ardent animal lover and enjoys walking and playing with her two Bearded Collies.

Jill contributes her insights to a variety of publications and conferences. Here’s just a sampling:

Defined benefit pension plans strike back Benefits and Pensions Monitor – June, 2024

Staying the Culture Course – Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures Special Supplement Financial Post – March, 2022

CN Rail dispute ‘catalyst’ for same-sex pension plan policy reviews Benefits Canada Magazine – June 18, 2021

 2019 Consultants Report: What’s topics are top of mind for consultants? Benefits Canada Magazine – August 16, 2019

We wanted pension changes, but OAS age wasn’t one of them The Globe and Mail, March 19, 2016

Tax benefits of differing retirement plans should be equitable The Globe and Mail, December 4, 2015

A Principal, Johanan (Joe) has been with Eckler since 2020. He joined the firm as our first Saskatchewan employee to support a growing roster of clients in the province. He brings over 15 years of experience in the pension consulting field and is a fully qualified actuary. His professional background includes all aspects of defined benefit pension consulting as well as experience with defined contribution plan design and implementation.

Joe has worked with a variety of pension clients across the Prairie provinces and Ontario during his career, from small private sector plans to very large public sector plans. Before Eckler, he worked for a large global consulting firm.

A pension expert with a varied and broad background, Joe’s consulting assignments range from technical valuation work and programming to governance consulting, along with plan design for defined benefit, target benefit and defined contribution pension plans. He also has experience with valuing post-employment and long-term disability benefits. Joe has an in-depth knowledge of pension legislation and regulatory requirements along with expertise in pension accounting standards.

• Public Sector
• Target Benefit Plans
• OPEB Accounting
• ProVal
• Universities
• Regulatory filings
• Disability valuations
• Funding policies
• Saskatchewan pension legislation
• Pension accounting
• Actuarial valuations
• Project management

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science – University of Regina

In keeping with Eckler’s core value to support our communities, Joe is heavily involved in his local church where he currently chairs the Board of Elders and is a youth leader. He also coaches community soccer and baseball. Joe is also an avid disc golfer!

A Principal in Eckler’s Toronto Financial Services practice, Josephine joined the firm in 2012. She has over 30 years of financial sector experience, having previously worked with two major Canadian insurance companies, a major public-sector pension plan and a major Canadian bank.

Her extensive experience includes various financial aspects of insurance and pension operations, with a focus on asset-liability management, risk management, product design and development, financial reporting and governance. She has overseen the investment management of major pension and insurance funds with a particular emphasis on designing unique asset-liability linked portfolio structures and with material hedging programs.

Josephine currently serves as an Appointed Actuary for six Canadian life insurance companies. She also has expertise conducting independent peer reviews for life insurers, providing advice on mergers and acquisitions, ALM reviews for life insurance, property and casualty insurance and pension plans, advising financial institutions on implementing international financial reporting standards (IFRS), and financial modelling for pension plans and group insurance benefits.

A Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, Josephine is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

• Governance
• Investment consulting
• Life Insurance – financial reporting and valuation
• Life Insurance – mergers & acquisitions
• Life Insurance – pricing
• Life Insurance – risk management and capital management

• B.Sc. (Honours, Biochemistry) Queens University
• M.Sc. (Biochemistry), University of Toronto
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Served as a member and chair of the Actuarial Standards Board
• Served as a member of the board for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA)
• Served as president of the Toronto CFA Society
• Served as secretary-treasurer of the CIA
• Served as a member of Actuarial Standards Oversight Council
• Served as chair of the Actuarial Foundation of Canada

Josephine regularly offers her insights to industry publications and conferences. She authored a three-part article on Liability Driven Investing for the Canadian Investment Review and previously served as a regular contributor to Benefits Canada in her capacity as a member of the expert advisory panel.

She regularly contributes articles to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ monthly (e)Bulletin, including this one on COVID-19 and actuarial standards.

Other insights:

Prominent Canadian Actuaries Contemplate Stress Testing in Light of COVID-19 SOA News Canada  – July 2020

A Principal, Josh has been a member of  Eckler’s pension practice since 2009, Josh has worked exclusively on trusteed target benefit multi-employer and jointly sponsored pension plans (MEPPs and JSPPs) from different sectors and jurisdictions across Canada. Josh advises several of the firm’s largest clients by consulting on all plan matters including governance, design, funding, administration, sustainability, and risk management. He is passionate about the target benefit plan framework as a sustainable vehicle to help provide retirement income security for all Canadians.

Josh serves as the Chair of both Eckler’s Valuation Committee and Actuaries’ Meetings. He participated in the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Canadian Pensioner Mortality Study and prepared industry-leading mortality studies for the construction industry in Canada. He believes Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is critical to the future of the actuarial profession, and he holds the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) designation with the CERA Global Association through the Society of Actuaries. Josh is an expert in funding and benefit policy, and he continues to pursue interests in longevity, financial and risk modelling, and developments in plan design and governance around the world.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Josh holds an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics degree in Statistics. He is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

• Multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs)
• Regulatory compliance
• Governance
• Target benefit plans (TBPs)
• Pension plan administration
• Risk management
• Longevity analytics
• Jointly-sponsored pension plans (JSPPs)
• Modelling and forecast analysis
• Funding and benefit policy
• Defined benefit pension plan actuarial valuation
• Trustee education
• Negotiations and costings
• Pension plan mergers and transfers
• Member education
• Pension plan design

• University of Waterloo – Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, Statistics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA)

In his spare time, Josh enjoys playing with his three kids, reading, music, movies, theatre, and completing home renovations.

An Eckler Principal and senior actuarial consultant, Karen has more than 20 years of pension consulting experience. She’s an expert in the design and oversight of corporate and multi-employer pension plans across a broad range of industries and jurisdictions.

Karen’s expertise includes strategic risk management for pensions. Using real-time modelling and projection tools, she helps stakeholders understand the key factors impacting the long-term sustainability of their pension plans. Karen is also involved in managing Eckler’s pension administration practice, giving her a deep understanding of the day-to-day operations of a pension plan, member communications, and pension legislation across the country.

A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Karen is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. She remains active within the pension community through speaking engagements and producing educational materials and programs. She contributed to the current edition of the International Foundation’s Employee Benefits in Canada book and is an instructor for their Advanced Trust Management Standards program.

• Actuarial valuations
• Corporate sponsored plans
• Financial reporting
• IFRS
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Pension administration
• Plan Design
• Regulatory compliance
• Research
• Risk management
• Target benefit plans

• Honours BSc Actuarial Science and Statistics, University of Western Ontario
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Facilitator, Advanced Trust Management Standards for the IFEBP

Ken has 20 years of experience in the retirement industry, 15 of them with Eckler. He is one of the few people in our industry who combines expert actuarial knowledge, pension plan design understanding and technology architecture expertise. He specializes in the design and implementation of member-facing web applications, complex actuarial modelling and costing tools, and online pension calculators.

Since joining Eckler, Ken has been instrumental in developing leading-edge actuarial tools and software to the benefit of both our clients and our employees. Ken is the Solution Architect behind Eckler’s Guided Outcomes platform and the Club Vita Canada ecosystem and has developed several innovative tools used by our consultants to deliver superior results to clients across many disciplines.

• Actuarial software development
• Big data
• Cloud Technology
• Custom software
• Data systems
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Defined contribution pension plans
• Employee benefits
• Enterprise System Architecture
• Financial modelling
• Longevity analytics
• Pension administration systems
• Pension and benefits modelling
• Software design and implementation
• Software engineering

• University of Toronto – Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science, Mathematics, and Economics

A Principal in Eckler’s Winnipeg office, Kerem is a fully qualified actuary with 15 years of experience in the pension consulting field. His professional background includes all aspects of defined benefit pension consulting to deliver plan solutions for a wide range of clients. Prior to joining Eckler, he spent almost eight years working with a major international consulting firm.

Kerem’s consulting assignments have spanned a broad spectrum from technical valuation work to plan design for defined benefit plans. He is a key relationship resource for local Manitoba plans and regularly presents at board or pension committee meetings. Kerem has an in-depth knowledge of pension legislation and regulatory requirements along with expertise in pension accounting standards.

Kerem holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba majoring in Actuarial Mathematics, and is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)
• IFRS
• Individual pension plans (IPPs)
• Regulatory filings
• Pension funding
• Regulatory compliance
• Plan design
• CICA
• Hybrid Plans
• Trusteed Plans
• De-risking
• Liability driven investing
• Pension Administration
• Annuity Purchase
• Pension governance

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba majoring in Actuarial Mathematics

A senior consulting actuary and principal in Eckler’s Toronto office, Kerry has over 23 years of experience in the pension consulting industry. Prior to working at Eckler, she worked for another major benefits consulting firm. Her expertise includes pension plan administration, actuarial valuations, pension plan funding, plan design, pension legislation, plan wind-ups, plan mergers and conversions and pension plan financial reporting.

Kerry is an expert in the corporate employer pension field for clients sponsoring defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. She excels at managing client relationships and time-sensitive deliverables and consults regularly to a variety of clients, including national and global corporations, not-for-profit organizations and associations. And, she’s a member of Eckler’s actuarial valuation committee.

Committed to helping foster Eckler’s award-winning culture, Kerry is actively involved in training and mentoring initiatives and serves as a Corporate Social Responsibility ambassador.

Kerry graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science. She is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• Pension plan administration
• Actuarial valuations
• Pension plan funding
• Pension plan financial reporting
• Pension plan design
• Pension legislation
• Pension plan wind-ups
• Pension plan mergers
• Pension plan asset transfers
• Regulatory compliance and filings
• Risk management

• Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

With Eckler since 1992, Kim started her consulting career right out of university. Having consulted to the financial services industry in both Canada and the Caribbean for nearly 30 years, she has extensive actuarial experience and expertise.

Kim specializes in financial reporting, dynamic capital adequacy testing, financial condition testing, profitability testing and product pricing for all traditional and non-traditional life, health and disability products. She has also been involved in various projects in Canada, the Caribbean and Hong Kong including mergers and acquisitions, product pricing and development support for ingenius™, Eckler’s proprietary illustration and policy records system for life insurers. Kim has developed deep expertise in actuarial valuation, projection and pricing software.

Kim graduated from the University of Waterloo with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics majoring in actuarial sciences and statistics. She is an Associate of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• Dynamic Capital Adequacy Testing
• Financial Condition Testing
• Financial Reporting
• Profitability Testing
• Product Design and Pricing
• Traditional and non-traditional products for pricing, valuation and projection
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Insurance Company Demutualization
• UL Illustration System Development

• University of Waterloo – Bachelor of Mathematics – Major Actuarial Science & Computer Science
• Associate of Society of Actuaries (ASA)
• Associate of the Canadian of Actuaries (ACIA)

Kim joined Eckler in 2023 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, bringing over twenty years of experience in pensions and benefits law. In her role, she oversees the legal team, providing advice on all aspects of Eckler’s business and operations, including legal and policy compliance, corporate governance, and risk management. She also serves as Corporate Secretary to Eckler Ltd. and its subsidiaries.

Before joining Eckler, Kim was in-house counsel at a major Canadian bank and practiced pensions and benefits law at several international and national law firms, as well as an international pension consulting firm. Her work involved addressing legal and regulatory matters related to the implementation, administration, and governance of pension, group benefit, and other retirement savings plans. She also advised on pension issues in mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring.

Kim has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for Pensions and Employee Benefits and by Best Lawyers in Employee Benefits Law. She has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars and published articles on topics such as plan governance, fiduciary duties, and member communications. Currently, she is Co-Director of the Osgoode Certificate in Pension Law program.

• Corporate governance
• Pensions and benefits law
• Pension governance
• Risk management

• Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1998
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 1997
• University of Winnipeg, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and Justice and Law Enforcement (1993)

• Member, Ontario and Canadian Bar Associations
• Member, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
• Member, Association of Canadian Pension Management
• Member, Association of Corporate Counsel
• Member, Women’s General Counsel Canada

• Co-Director and Instructor, Osgoode Certificate in Pension Law
• Speaker, International Transfers, Certificate of Canadian Benefit Plans, International Federation of Employee Benefit Plans

A Principal in our Toronto office, Kim joined Eckler in 2022 with over a decade of industry experience. She has worked with a wide range of clients – including defined benefit pension plans, target benefit pension plans, defined contribution pension plans, endowments/foundations, employee life and health trusts, insurance companies and other reserve funds. Her specific areas of expertise include governance, investment policy and risk management, asset allocation, manager selection and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

In addition to her consulting responsibilities, Kim is a leader in the investment practice’s intellectual capital development and research. Intellectually curious with a passion for economics and capital markets, she regularly presents to Eckler’s consultants and clients on market trends and the implications for institutional investor portfolios.

Kim graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Economics. Her professional qualifications include Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

• Asset liability modelling
• Investment policy development
• Portfolio construction
• De-risking / liability-driven investment strategies
• Pension legislation
• Manager research
• Manager selection and monitoring
• Alternative investments
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Defined contribution pension plans
• Multi-employer pension plans (MEPP)
• Employee life and health trusts (ELHT)
• Private equity
• Target date funds

Professional Qualifications

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Queen’s University – Bachelor of Science, Mathematics and Economics

Professional Activities

• Benefits Canada Pension & Investments Advisory Board

Krista is an actuary with more than 15 years of experience in the industry. As a Principal in Eckler’s Technology Practice, Krista has a passion for delivering effective software solutions and advice to our clients. She has played a vital role in the development and management of pension administration systems, retirement planning tools, and Eckler’s actuarial calculation engine. Her responsibilities include requirements gathering and documentation, specification development, quality assurance and project management.

A key point of contact for several of our technology clients, Krista has delivered many special projects, including feasibility studies, modelling and analytics, vendor searches, and the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for various systems and administration projects.

A qualified Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, Krista joined Eckler in 1999. She has also served as a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Communications Committee.

• Data systems
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Defined contribution pension plans
• Employee benefits
• Pension actuarial science
• Pension administration
• Pension and benefits modelling
• Pension valuation
• Project management
• Quality assurance
• Software design and implementation
• Software requirements and documentation

• Post-degree diploma in actuarial science, University of Waterloo
• Bachelor of Mathematics, Acadia University
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)

• Served as a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Communications Committee
• Served as a volunteer grader with the Society of Actuaries’ Education & Examination Committee

A Principal in our Halifax office, Kyle joined Eckler in 2011.  He has over ten years of industry experience and delivers services to Eckler’s pension, foundation, endowment and trust clients across Canada. He advises clients in the areas of policy construction and implementation and has assisted multiple clients in the design of their governance structures.

As a senior practitioner in Eckler’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) advisory practice, Kyle has participated in some of the largest OCIO due diligence reviews and provider searches in Canada. He has experience in both public and private markets, including various alternative asset classes. His expertise covers real assets, private debt, private equity and absolute return strategies, both domestically and internationally focused.

Kyle has a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with distinction from Dalhousie University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designations. Kyle serves on the board of the CFA Atlantic Society and organizes the CFA Research Challenge for Atlantic Canadian universities. He has also volunteered his time as a past member of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Investment Policy Advisory Committee which oversees the operating assets of the HRM.

• Endowments and Foundations
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Defined contribution pension plans
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO)
• Shared Risk
• Workers’ Compensation Board

• Bachelor of Commerce degree, with distinction from Dalhousie University
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
• Financial Risk Manager (FRM)

• CFA Institute
• CAIA Association
• Global Association of Risk Professionals

• Serve as a Board member of the CFA Society Atlantic Canada – manage the CFA Research Challenge for the Atlantic Society
• Serve as a member of the HRM Investment Policy Advisory Committee

What do rising inflation, interest rates mean for pension de-risking? Benefits Canada – March 2022

Investing in a post-COVID world The Observer – Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) – October 2020

Managing a real estate portfolio amid the coronavirus crisis Canadian Investment Review – April 2020

Laura is a Principal in the Pensions and Group Benefits practices in Eckler’s Toronto office.  She has over 15 years of consulting experience and joined Eckler in 2016 after working in the UK for the first part of her career.  She has advised a variety of clients including broader public sector organizations, not-for-profit organizations and private sector corporations.  Her expertise includes pension and post-employment benefit plan valuations, plan design and administration, pension legislation and accounting for both pension plans and group benefit plans.

A co-author of the report ‘Affordable Lifetime Pension Income for a Better Tomorrow’, published in 2021 by the National Institute on Ageing and the Global Risk Institute, Laura continues to research and promote the development of Dynamic Pensions (a.k.a. VPLAs) in Canada.

Laura is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK.

• Pension legislation
• Pensions and benefits accounting
• Dynamic Pensions (VPLAs)
• Post-employment benefits programs
• Pension legislation
• Pension administration
• Funding valuations
• Benefit plan design
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (FIA)
• MSci degree in Mathematics – University of St. Andrews

Affordable Lifetime Pension Income for a Better Tomorrow: How We Can Address the $1.5-trillion Decumulation Disconnect in the Canadian Retirement Income System with Dynamic Pension Pools National Institute on Aging – November 2021

An Introduction to Dynamic Pension Pools: A New Chapter for Pension Income in Canada Global Risk Institute – November 2021

A Principal, Lewis works with a range of institutional asset owners, from pension plans to charities and endowments, to help them meet their investment objectives. Lewis joined Eckler’s Vancouver office in 2020 as an investment consultant and has a decade of experience in Canada and the UK. He advises on many different issues institutional investors face, from investment strategy and asset mix to manager selection and ongoing monitoring.

Lewis also specializes in alternative investments, leading Eckler’s manager research in real estate and infrastructure. He regularly meets with investment managers to form views on their offerings and helps develop new and efficient investment solutions for clients.

Before joining Eckler, Lewis worked as an Investment Consultant in London, UK for the largest independent investment consultancy in the UK. Lewis is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

• Alternative investments
• Real assets
• Real estate
• Infrastructure
• Private markets
• Manager research
• Manager selection
• Asset mix studies
• Asset liability studies
• Performance monitoring
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Foundations and endowments
• Investment policy and governance
• Portfolio construction
• Investment beliefs

Professional Qualifications

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder
• Bachelor’s degree in Economics – University of Reading, UK

How the investment strategies of the Maple 8 impact the decisions of medium- and small-sized plan sponsors Benefits Canada – June 2024

Canadian pension funds seeking diversification in real estate at home, abroad: experts Benefits Canada – April 2024

Lisa is a consulting actuary and Principal based in Eckler’s Barbados office where she leads its actuarial practice. She joined the firm’s Board of Directors in 2021.

She has been consulting to a wide range of clients since joining the Barbados office in 1999. At Eckler, her work is focused on the employee benefits practice and she advises public and private sector clients in the Caribbean. Her areas of expertise include actuarial valuations, post employment accounting, plan design and implementation for defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans and regulatory compliance.

Lisa is an active member of the actuarial profession having served as president of the Caribbean Actuarial Association. She is currently its representative on the Council of the International Actuarial Association (IAA). She was appointed to IAA’s Executive Committee in 2021. She also serves as a member of IAA’s Actuarial Standards Committee which is responsible for setting the actuarial standards for the global actuarial profession.

• Design of defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans for the public and private sector
• Valuation of pension plans
• Public sector pension plans – forecasting long term sustainability
• Wind-up of pension plans – general advice, valuation, regulatory filings and member communications
• Preparation of plan documents such as trust deeds, plan rules, employee booklets and statements of investment policies
• Pension plan presentations to boards of trustees, boards of directors, members and other interested parties
• Regulatory compliance for pension plans in the Caribbean
• Post-employment accounting

• Bachelor of Science in Business, Economic and Social Statistics with First Class Honors – University of the West Indies, Mona
• Master of Science in Actuarial Science, Heriot-Watt University – Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries (FFA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Served as President of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)
• Serves as a Member of CAA’s Pension Committee
• Serves as a Member of IAA’s Actuarial Standards Committee

A Principal in our property and casualty insurance practice, Louis-Christian joined Eckler in 1996 and has over 25 years of experience as an actuarial consultant.

Louis-Christian has extensive knowledge in the valuation of policy liabilities. He gained this expertise through his work as Appointed Actuary, and as external reviewer of the work of other Appointed Actuaries for several Canadian property and casualty insurers.

Over the years, Louis-Christian has gained significant expertise in financial forecasts and financial reporting, mortgage insurance, professional liability insurance, and stochastic techniques to understand reserve variability. He’s also an expert in the complex areas of economic scenario generation and stochastic simulation for capital modelling purposes.

Louis-Christian graduated from Laval University with a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science. He became a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society in 2001 and of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 2002.

• Valuation of policy liabilities
• Financial Condition Testing (FCT previously know as DCAT)
• External peer reviews
• Stress testing to support a company’s Internal Target
• Stress testing to support a company’s Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA)
• IFRS-17 implementation
• Stochastic techniques to understand reserve variability
• Economic scenario generation and stochastic simulations for capital modelling purposes
• Mortgage insurance
• Professional liability insurance
• Property personal and commercial
• Boiler & Machinery

Professional Qualifications

• Laval University – Bachelor of Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS)

Professional Activities

• Served as a member of the Property & Casualty Financial Reporting Committee of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Served as a member of the Continuing Education Committee of the Casualty Actuarial Society

Louis-Christian is passionate about three things that are not work-related:

• Travelling with his family
• Playing squash, and
• Drinking great wine

A qualified actuary (FCIA, FSA), Marie-Andrée is a Principal in our Montreal-based financial services consulting practice. She is also a member of Eckler’s Board of Directors. She has led several types of assignments, namely: Appointed actuary related work, financial condition testing (FCT), embedded values, appraisal value assignments and pricing of both life and accident and sickness products. She is also involved in assignments related to the IFRS 17 Standard. She has a strong knowledge of AVE and AXIS.

Since 2012 Marie-Andrée has been the appointed actuary for a foreign life insurance company and for two Canadian companies since 2016. She has been a member of the  Committee on Life Insurance Financial Reporting (CLIFR) for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Committee) since 2016, Vice-Chair of that committee in 2017 and 2018 and Chair since 2019.

Marie-Andrée obtained the Governor’s silver medal in 2001 and was elected La Presse personality of the week in 2001.

• Appointed actuary role
• Appraisal value
• AVE valuation software
• AXIS valuation software
• Embedded values
• Financial Condition Testing (FCT)
• IFRS 17 Standard
• LICAT / ESCAP
• Life and health insurance products
• ORSA
• Peer reviews
• Pricing
• Regulatory compliance
• Regulatory filings
• Reinsurance
• Software development
• Valuation expertise
• Valuation system conversion

• Concordia University – Honours Bachelor of Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Currently serves as Chair of CIA Committee on Life Insurance Financial Reporting (CLIFR)
• Currently serves as a member of the CIA IFRS 17 Steering Committee
• Currently serves as Chair of CLIFR’s IFRS 17 subcommittee on Coverage Units for Life and Health Contracts
• Currently serves as a member of CLIFR’s IFRS 17 subcommittee on the Estimates of future cash flows for Life and Health Contracts
• 2017-2018: Served as Vice-Chair of CLIFR and as a member of the CIA IFRS 17 Steering Committee
• 2016: Served as a member of the Committee on Life Insurance Financial Reporting (CLIFR) for 1 year

Marie-Andrée is an active volunteer in her community. She currently serves as a member of the board of Collège Jean de la Mennais, Laprairie.

A Principal of the firm, Mary Kate specializes in defined benefit (DB) actuarial consulting in the areas of pension valuation and pension risk management. Her clients include multi-employer, large public sector, and single-employer pension plans. Mary Kate is an expert in financial modelling and the development and delivery of real-time and other stochastic pension projection models.

Mary Kate is a qualified actuary (FSA, FCIA) and a CFA Charterholder with over 17 years of consulting experience. She joined Eckler in 2002.

Throughout her career, Mary Kate has advised corporations, boards of directors, and boards of trustees on pension matters including all aspects of valuation, risk management and risk transfer, design, funding and administration of pension programs.

• Asset allocation
• Asset-liability modelling
• Defined benefit pension administration
• Defined benefit pension plan design and redesign
• Defined benefit pension plan valuation
• Financial risk management and annuity purchase
• Liability hedging
• Multi-employer pension plans
• Real-time modelling
• Stochastic modelling
• Trusteed plans

• Bachelor of Science, double major in Mathematics and Computer Science, Acadia University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• CFA Charterholder

• Serves as a member of the CIA Committee on Pension Plan Financial Reporting (PPFRC)

Eckler report: 2022 pension risk transfer market has record year Benefits and Pensions Monitor – August 2023

Single Employer Target Benefit Plans: Issues for Consideration Co-authored article in the April 2019 issue of The Retirement Forum – a publication of the Retirement Section of the Society of Actuaries

An Eckler Principal, Maxime is responsible for the public and para-public sector pension practice in Montreal. He has more than 15 years of experience consulting to pension plans sponsored by municipal organizations. He is a trusted adviser to many joint pension committees.

Maxime has extensive experience in pension plan consulting and administration, particularly in the areas of funding, accounting for employee future benefits, spin-offs/mergers, governance, and risk management.

Having been called upon to work closely with plan sponsors, employee associations and multiple stakeholders in the field, he has developed an enviable reputation over the years.

In addition to his extensive technical expertise, Maxime is known for his proximity and dedication to his clients, his professionalism and as an excellent public speaker.

• Pension plan design, amendment, spin-off and merger
• Funding policies and risk management
• Coaching and training for pension committee members and members
• Investment monitoring and optimization
• Actuarial funding valuations and periodic monitoring of the financial situation
• Experience and longevity studies
• Financial reports and monitoring of separate accounts
• Accounting for employee future benefits
• Benefit administration
• Member communications and change management
• Joint pension committees
• Target benefit pension plans
• Municipal sector pension plans

• Laval University – Bachelor of Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Member of the Gestionnaires en Ressources Humaines des Municipalités du Québec (GRHMQ)
• Member of the Association de la Retraite et Avantages Sociaux du Québec (ARASQ)

A Principal in our Quebec City office, Maxime has been with Eckler since 2015. He has over 14 years experience consulting to a variety of clients including corporations and provincial workers’ compensation boards. His expertise includes workplace health and safety financing, actuarial valuation of claim benefit liabilities, premium rate-setting of large public insurance schemes, as well as financial risk modelling and quantification.

With a keen interest in and experience with emerging technologies and techniques and their application to actuarial problems, Maxime is known for improving and streamlining business processes through the thoughtful integration of software. He is skilled at conveying advanced statistical analyses in an easy-to-grasp manner for a variety of audiences.

Committed to giving back to the actuarial community, Maxime is proud to volunteer his time with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He is the vice chair of the Public Affairs Council and a member the Predictive Modelling Committee.

• Workers’ compensation
• IFRS 17
• Experience studies
• Python
• Predictive analytics
• Bodily injury plans
• Peer review
• Financial reporting
• Software development
• Database design and development
• SQL

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS)
• Eng., Mechanical engineering—McGill University

• Serves as vice-chair, CIA Public affairs council

Maxime is the proud father of two amazing children and husband to his loving wife Jeanne. When he isn’t working or with family, he can usually be found on a bike or a pair of skis going uphill.

Mazen brings over 30 years of experience to Eckler’s investment team, with over 25 years in the pension / investment consulting industry and over five years with a large Canadian insurance company. His long experience as a pension consultant / actuary gives him a unique understanding of the investment issues and de-risking challenges / opportunities facing DB plan sponsors. His experience leading the investment, product and research, and marketing teams for the group retirement business of Canada’s largest DC record keeper provide him with a deep understanding of the issues facing DC plan sponsors and members.

A passionate advocate and active participant in industry, Mazen is a frequent speaker at national and regional industry conferences. He is a past member of the ACPM National Policy Committee, the CIA Pension Practice Committee, and the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC). He has also participated in CAPSA Industry Working Groups. He is currently a member of the Canadian Corporate Committee of the IFEBP.

Mazen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

• Defined benefit pension consulting
• Pension de-risking
• Pension / benefits benchmarking
• Investment research / consulting
• Defined contribution consulting
• OCIO
• Decumulation

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics – University of Toronto

Professional Activities

• Board Member, Investment Committee Member, and Audit and Finance Committee Member, National Theatre School of Canada
• Member, Canadian Corporate Committee, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP)
• Instructor, Total Rewards Certificate (Pension and Retirement Savings Module), IFEBP
• Instructor, Advanced Pensions Certificate (Defined Benefit Plans and Defined Contribution Plans Modules), IFEBP

Mazen has been an active speaker on a wide range of pension and investment issues facing defined benefit and defined contribution plan sponsors. Here’s a sampling:

• Delivering Income for Life from a DC Plan Moderator: IFEBP Annual Canadian Employee Benefits Conference, 2021
• Decumulation—A New Dawn Presenter: IFEBP Annual Canadian Employee Benefits Conference, 2019
• Transforming Risk: What You Need to Know Co-Presenter: ACPM BC Regional Council, 2018
• The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be: Plan Design and Longevity Risk Presenter: ACPM National Session, 2018
• Changes and Choices: The New Economy and Plan Design Considerations Panelist: ACPM National Conference, 2017
• Income in Retirement: The Only Objective Moderator: CIA Annual Meeting, 2017
• Global Trends in Decumulation Presenter: CPBI Forum, 2017
• From Retirement Wealth to Retirement Health: Changing the Conversation Presenter: Conference Board of Canada
• Operational Aspects of Adding Alternative Investments to DC Plans Presenter: PIAC

A Principal in the Group Benefits practice, Mike joined Eckler in 2011. He has more than 40 years of experience in the employee benefits field and has worked with a large cross-section of clients and insurance companies in all aspects of their employee benefit programs.

Mike specializes in new business development and customer retention as well as insurance company and supplier relationships. He has worked with a variety of clients ranging from large, multi-national organizations to national, provincial, and local union groups and associations.

Before joining Eckler, Mike held senior executive roles with two Canadian insurers and most recently was Vice President for an Ontario based consulting firm. He was a member of the CEBS advisory board, as well as the CLHIA Marketing Committee and the 2001 United Way Council of Peel. He has been a featured speaker at several industry events focusing on topics ranging as far as International Pooling and “How to Value your Benefit plan.” Mike attended York University and is a graduate of the Queen’s University Executive Program.

• Client Relationship Management
• Insurer Relationships
• Trusteed Business

• Queen’s Executive Program, 1992

A Senior Director and consulting actuary at Eckler’s pension practice in Vancouver, Murray has almost 20 years of experience advising pension plans in Canada and the UK.

Murray has expertise in long-term strategy, risk management, asset-liability modelling, liability driven investing, funding and benefit policies, demographic risk modelling and accounting for employee benefits. His focus is on making sure that these complicated issues can be turned into understandable and actionable advice.

Murray is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the United Kingdom.

• Long-term strategy for pension plans
• Risk management
• Funding and benefit policies
• Target benefit plans
• Longevity analysis
• Demographic risk
• Asset-liability modelling
• Liability driven investment
• Funding strategy
• Accounting for employee benefits
• Plan de-risking
• De-risking glidepaths
• Single employer-defined benefit plans
• Contingent indexation
• Yield curve construction

• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics – Edinburgh University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (FFA)

A Principal in Eckler’s property and casualty consulting practice, Mylène has over 30 years of experience providing a broad range of pricing, financial reporting, predictive modelling, and other actuarial services to a variety of clients, including insurers, industry associations, and provincial rate regulators.

A highly experienced valuation and pricing actuary, Mylène is the appointed actuary for two Canadian insurers. She has extensive experience in the defence of rate filings, including responding to regulators’ information requests and testifying at hearings. She is currently one of the actuaries consulting to the New Brunswick Insurance Board on actuarial matters, including the review of rate filings. Since 2013, she has led Eckler’s review of the IBC CLEAR rate group tables that are used by insurers across Canada.

Mylène has volunteered on committees of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society. She regularly attends industry conferences and seminars to keep up to date with the latest regulatory requirements and developments in the actuarial field.

A graduate of Université de Montréal, Mylène is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society.

• Appointed actuary
• Personal and commercial automobile insurance
• General liability insurance
• Boiler & machinery insurance
• Personal property insurance
• Personal lines pricing
• Predictive modelling
• Financial reporting
• Expert testimony for provincial automobile insurance regulators

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society
• Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree, Université de Montréal

• Served as a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society’s Committee on Professional Education from 2015 to 2017.
• Served on the CIA Practice Education Course Sub-Committee from 2018 to 2021.
• Served as a member of the CIA P&C Insurance Pricing Committee contributing to the development of CIA standards of practice for P&C pricing.

Nancy has almost 25 years’ experience in the pensions, group benefits and professional services industries.  Her expertise includes project management, information management, and marketing within professional services firms.

Serving as project manager on signature client accounts, Nancy is responsible for working with project teams to define scope, develop the project plan, and ensures the services are delivered according to agreed upon timelines and in accordance with the Services Agreement.  In addition to client projects, Nancy partners with colleagues and leaders across the organization to develop and execute initiatives that support the firm’s overall business goals.

A graduate of Algonquin College’s library and information management program, Nancy continued her professional development at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information in the areas of enterprise content management.  She is a Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM) and a member of the Project Management Institute.

• Project management
• Marketing strategy
• Enterprise content management

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Enterprise Content Management (Certificate)
• Project management institute (PMI)

Nancy manages the development of Eckler’s pension and benefits thought leadership content featured in the News and Insights section of this site.

A Principal in our Vancouver office and a member of the Board of Directors, Naomi leads Eckler’s largest investment consulting practice. She brings over 35 years of investment consulting experience with a wide range of clients – including pension plans, government funds, endowments/foundations, Indigenous trusts, employee life and health trusts, family offices, insurance companies and other reserve funds.  Naomi works primarily with clients in BC and Western Canada. She also chairs Eckler’s Responsible Investment Committee covering ESG practice.

Her specific areas of expertise include governance, investment policy and risk management, asset allocation, manager selection and monitoring. In addition to consulting responsibilities, Naomi is a member of the Investment Research Steering Committee, which oversees investment manager and strategy research. Naomi has a particular passion for helping boards improve their governance and decision-making. She has also participated extensively on board and advisory committees. She has completed numerous governance projects with investment boards to assess their structure, processes, focus and time allocation, and decision-making effectiveness.

Naomi is a global citizen having lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong before coming to Canada. Prior to Eckler, Naomi was Head of Investment, Asia Pacific, for a global consulting firm for over 20 years. She began her career in the UK and qualified with the UK Society of Investment Professionals.

• Asset liability modelling
• Custody
• Governance
• Investment beliefs, manager monitoring, manager research, manager reviews, manager selection, mandate design, performance monitoring, and policy
• Portfolio construction

• Loughborough University of Science & Technology, UK – Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Sports Science
• HKUST/Kellogg Northwestern – Executive MBA
• Associate of the Society of Investment Professionals (ASIP) – UK
• Naomi completed her Diploma for a Non-Executive Director with the Financial Times in 2016.
• Member of the CFA Society UK and CFA Vancouver

• Served as a member of the FTSE Asia Pacific Regional Index Committee for over 15 years
• Served as a member of the Hang Seng Index – Advisory Committee for more than 10 years

Naomi was recognized by Asian Investor Magazine as one of the top 25 most influential people in Asset Management in Asia.

When not delivering expert investment advice, she’s an active volunteer with various organizations. She currently volunteers with the West Vancouver Foundation as the Board Chair and an Investment Committee member.

Naomi’s previous volunteer positions include:

• The Chinese University of HK – Advisory Board Member and Mentor
• The Women’s Foundation, HK – Mentor and HR Advisory Council Member
• Volunteer with Room to Read sponsoring girl’s literacy in developing countries

A sports enthusiast, Naomi enjoys skiing, squash, gymnastics and walking the dog.

Naomi has a great passion for Asian food and culture, especially Thailand, where she was married, and the nearby Mekong Delta region, where she has travelled extensively.

A consulting actuary and Principal in Eckler’s Group Benefits practice, Nick is based in the Vancouver office. He joined the firm in 2015 after 12 years with a large consulting firm, where he was a Partner and Chief Actuary of its health and benefits business in Canada. Before that, he worked for 13 years in the benefits consulting field and life insurance industries in South Africa.

Nick has led consulting and actuarial relationships for numerous large public- and private-sector plan sponsors across Western Canada, including trusteed, multi-employer benefit plans. His experience in consulting to benefit plan sponsors is varied and includes: benchmarking studies; plan design and pricing; support for vendor searches and implementation; renewal negotiations; valuation of liabilities associated with non-pension post-employment and post-retirement benefits; financial modelling; and broader strategic and governance advice.

A Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, Nick is also an Instructor for the Advanced Trust Management Standards (ATMS) program offered by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP).

• Employee life and health trusts (ELHTs)
• Financial reporting
• Governance
• Group benefits consulting
• Group benefits modelling
• Group benefits plan design
• Group benefits renewals
• Health & welfare trusts
• Post-employment benefits valuations
• Post-retirement benefits valuations
• Risk management
• Trustee education

• University of Cape Town – Bachelor of Business Science (Hons)
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (FFA)

• Instructor for the Advanced Trust Management Standards (ATMS) program offered by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP)
• Served as a member of the designated group responsible for re-writing the CIA Standard of Practice for Post-Employment Benefit Valuations

As a member of the Editorial Board, Nick helps provide direction for Eckler’s monthly GroupNews publication that provides commentary on the issues affecting Canadian group benefit plans. The most recent issues can be accessed below.

Nick also shares his insights on group benefits plans with the media. Here’s a sampling:

Some insurers are reducing premiums after COVID-19 shut down physiotheraphy, dental offices The Globe and Mail – June 2020

Canadian plan sponsors seeing sharp declines in health, dental claims Benefits Canada – May 2020

A Principal with Eckler’s life insurance consulting practice, Paul has been with the firm since 1992. He is a fully qualified actuary (FSA, FCIA) with over 25 years of consulting experience. He specializes in financial reporting, dynamic capital adequacy testing, actuarial appraisals and actuarial software development for the life and health insurance industry in Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

Paul has acquired significant expertise in the development and implementation of actuarial software, covering all aspects of valuation, projections and pricing for life, health and disability products, individual and group, asset liability management, and embedded value calculations. Through continuous involvement in all aspects of financial reporting, with a connection to software development and system review, he can quickly identify clients’ needs and offer practical solutions.

• Actuarial appraisals
• Actuarial software development
• Dynamic capital adequacy testing
• Financial reporting

• University of Waterloo – Bachelor of Mathematics, Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

A Director in Eckler’s investment consulting practice, Paul has over 18 years of experience working with clients of all sizes with defined contribution (DC) or defined benefit (DB) pension plans. He works with clients in a variety of areas, ranging from governance to investments, to record keeper selection and plan design.

Having focussed primarily on DC over his career, Paul has extensive knowledge of investment managers and record keepers, leading various research efforts on both fronts over his tenure at Eckler. He brings a detailed approach to all his clients and specializes in helping manage their DC plans effectively. Along with his client work, Paul co-leads the university co-op hiring program for Eckler’s investment practice.

Paul contributes to the industry through conference speaking engagements.

A graduate of Ryerson University, Paul holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree. He’s also completed level one of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

• Defined contribution pension plans
• Performance monitoring
• Statement of investment policies and procedures (SIP&P)
• Record keeper search
• Fee benchmarking
• Plan design
• Governance
• Regulatory filings
• Decumulation
• Fund line-up selection
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Investment manager search
• Group registered retirement savings plan
• Deferred profit-sharing plans

• Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree – Ryerson University

A senior consulting actuary and Principal, Philip joined our Halifax office in 2013.  He has consulted to a wide range of private and public sector clients on plan design, funding, administration and accounting for their registered pension programs, supplemental programs and post-retirement/employment benefit programs.

Philip graduated from Dalhousie University with a degree in mathematics. He is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. Philip currently serves on the Atlantic Council of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM).

Before Eckler, Philip spent 15 years with another major international consulting firm in Halifax.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation, administration, design and financial reporting
• IFRS, PSAB and CICA financial reporting
• Risk management
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)

• Dalhousie University – Bachelor of Science (Mathematics)
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Atlantic Council of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM)

Philippe is a Principal, responsible for the group benefits practice in Eckler’s Montreal office. He has 20+ years of consulting experience in group benefits, pension plans and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

His expertise in group benefits and pension consulting centers on strategic issues, plan design at the national level, communication to plan sponsors and participants. He also provides clients with technical actuarial analysis for cost projections, group benefits negotiation at renewal/market search, pension actuarial funding valuation and accounting disclosures.

Before joining Eckler, Philippe worked in New York for a global consulting firm in their M&A department. In this role, he led the due diligence technical work regarding employee benefits in deals involving Canadian companies.

Philippe is passionate about his profession and his commitment to his clients. He is known for his strong technical expertise and his ability to make the complex simple for plan members and clients.

In 2019, Philippe was selected by Avantages magazine as one of 30 exceptional personalities in the Quebec employee benefits industry. Heavily involved in the industry, Philippe is frequently asked to participate in events across Canada, whether as a presenter or speaker.

• Annuity purchase
• Benefit plan design and harmonization
• Change management
• Employee life and health trusts
• Employee training sessions
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Project management
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)
• Total rewards

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Founding member of l’Association de la Retraite et des Avantages Sociaux du Québec (ARASQ)

As a member of the Editorial Board, Philippe helps provide direction for Eckler’s monthly GroupNews publication that provides commentary on the issues affecting Canadian group benefit plans. The most recent issues can be accessed below.

Philippe also contributes his insights to a variety of publications and conferences. Here’s just a sampling:

How plan sponsors, insurers should approach Wegovy rollout in Canada Benefits Canada – June 2024

Quebec biosimilars policy could cut drug costs for plan sponsors: expert Benefits Canada – April 2022

How Rolls Royce Canada is reducing drug plan costs while maintaining benefits offering Benefits Canada – October 2021

What’s the solution to increasing drug-plan costs for plan sponsors? Benefits Canada – April 2021

Assurance médicaments : les coûts de mutualisation toujours en hausse Avantages – Janvier 2021

Quebec drug pooling corp.’s cost increases mean premium hikes for plan sponsors Benefits Canada – January 2020

30 personnalités exceptionnelles du secteur des avantages sociaux au Québec Avantages – September 2019

Assurance médicaments : cesser de tout mutualiser Avantages – October 2018

Phillip joined Eckler in 2013 and since then has played a pivotal role helping to develop and manage the deployment of Eckler’s proprietary cloud applications: ingenius™, espace™, and foreward®. He also works collaboratively across the firm to develop and deploy specialized services for clients in other practice groups.

Some of Phillip’s key specialties are web and application development, database development and administration, deployments of high availability solutions for Web applications and services, developing tools for Business Intelligence (reporting) and automated management and monitoring of applications.

Phillip graduated from Sheridan College with a diploma in Computer Systems Technology – Systems Analyst Program. He is also an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.

• Cloud-based platform solutions
• Continuous integration and deployment
• Database design and development
• High availability solutions for software
• Life insurance systems
• Pension member portal systems
• Project management
• Software automation
• Software as a Service
• Software security and best practices

• AWS Certified Cloud Practioner
• Sheridan College – Computer Systems Technology – Systems Analyst Program

Ping-Teng serves as the trusted advisor to his clients’ insurance business, whether on the valuation of the insurance liabilities, allocation of investment assets or the efficient management of capital. A Principal in Eckler’s Toronto Life Insurance practice, Ping joined the firm in 2019 after a decade of insurance sector experience at two major Canadian financial institutions.

He has an extensive background in life insurance valuation, financial modelling, asset-liability management and insurance regulatory capital. He also serves as the appointed actuary and the independent peer reviewer for several Canadian life insurance companies.

Ping is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA).

• Appointed Actuary Services
• Financial Condition Testing
• IFRS 17
• LICAT / LIMAT
• Asset Liability Management
• Financial Reporting
• AXIS Modeling
• RiskIntegrity IFRS 17

• Simon Fraser University, B. Sc. Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Research Host for the CIA Seeing Beyond Risk Podcast

Ping is a regular host of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Seeing Beyond Risk podcast series. Here are a few episodes:

Alternative Mortality Table Construction Methods Seeing Beyond Risk – May 2022

An Emerging Actuarial Application – Condominium Reserve Funds Part 1 Seeing Beyond Risk – February 2022

An Emerging Actuarial Application – Condominium Reserve Funds Part 2 Seeing Beyond Risk – February 2022

Considerations of Going Concern Discount Rates Seeing Beyond Risk – January 2022

Richard was appointed as Eckler’s Managing Principal in May 2023. As Managing Principal, Richard has direct responsibility for continuing the firm’s almost 100-year legacy of providing best-in-class advice and services to our clients, while also helping to drive innovation and uphold our award-winning culture. He became Chair of the Board of Directors in April 2024.

With over 20 years of experience in the pension industry, Richard is a risk management expert. Richard joined Eckler in 2013 as a pension actuary and has a wealth of experience analyzing and advising pension plan sponsors regarding the management of a wide range of risks. In 2015, Richard immersed himself into the world of longevity risk management through Eckler’s launch of Club Vita, a longevity analytics business, in Canada. During his time with Club Vita, Richard worked with many of the largest defined benefit pension plans in Canada to better understand, measure and manage their longevity risk, as well as provide longevity analytics and expertise to insurers and reinsurers active in the Canadian pension risk transfer market. In his most recent capacity as the leader of Club Vita’s Canadian operations, Richard oversaw the successful integration of Club Vita’s Canadian business internationally following the consolidation of Club Vita’s Canadian, UK and US businesses at the end of 2021.

Before joining Eckler, Richard spent ten years at another consulting firm providing investment strategy and broader risk management consulting services. His previous experience centred around the analysis, design and implementation of pension risk management strategies, with a primary focus on investment and risk transfer strategies. He has extensive experience with asset-liability and capital market modelling, including the use, development and calibration of stochastic models.

• Climate change risk
• Longevity analysis and risk management
• Asset liability and capital market modelling
• Data analytics and predictive modelling
• Pension risk transfer
• Demographics

• University of Waterloo, B.Math
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

• Member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ (CIA’s) Climate Change & Sustainability Practice Committee (2023 – present)
• Past Member of the CIA’s Mortality Improvements Research Project Oversight Group (2020 – 2023)
• Past member of the CIA’s Longevity Project Oversight Group, tasked with representing the CIA’s interests in a significant longevity research project (2016 – 2019)
• Past member of the Actuarial Standards Board’s Designated Group for the development of Standards of Practice for the Use of Models (2014 – 2017)

Richard contributes his insights to a variety of publications and conferences. Here’s just a sampling:

How Has COVID-19 Impacted Canadian Defined Benefit Pensioner Longevity? The Observer – Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) – 2021, Issue 2

The Increasing Uncertainty of Longevity – And What Plan Sponsors Can Do About It Plans & Trusts – International Foundation –May/June 2021

Key Factors for Explaining Differences in Canadian Pensioner Baseline Mortality Members’ Paper – Canadian Institute of Actuaries – May 2018

Personal

With Eckler since 2007, Rohan is a Principal and senior actuarial consultant in our Jamaica office.  He has over 15 years of experience in the Pensions industry.

At Eckler, Rohan’s work is focussed on retirement plans, employee health and welfare benefits, and general insurance.  He excels at managing the relationships with his clients which covers all business sectors in the private and public sectors. He has deep expertise in the valuation of pensions and other post-retirement liabilities and leads many engagements for a variety of clients with defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

Rohan is an active member of the actuarial profession as he currently serves as treasurer of the Caribbean Actuarial Association and chairs its Climate Change committee.  He also sits as an observer on the International Actuarial Association (IAA) Resource and Environment Virtual Forum.

An Associate of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Rohan graduated from The University of the West Indies, Mona, with a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science with First Class Honours.  He also holds a Master’s degree in Actuarial Science with Distinction from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh.

• Valuations for pensions and other post-retirement benefit plans – Funding, Accounting, plan terminations
• Government procurement – assessment of proposals from brokers and insurers for placement of property and casualty insurance
• Benefits administration and compliance (benefit calculations and regulatory reporting)
• Preparation of pension plan documents – Trust Deed, Rules, Members’ Handbook and Statements of investment policies
• Presentations – trustees, boards of directors and other interested parties
• Investment manager/administrator search and performance appraisals

Professional Qualifications

• Associate of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (AIA)
• Master of Science in Actuarial Science with Distinction – Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
• Commonwealth Scholar
• Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science with First Class Honours –The University of the West Indies, Mona

Professional Activities

• Treasurer, Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)
• Chair – Climate Change committee, Caribbean Actuarial Association
• Membership committee, Pension Industry Association of Jamaica
• CAA Observer – Resource and Environment Virtual Forum, International Actuarial Association

As a Financial Wellness Consultant Roland develops and delivers customized, employee-focused education programs to corporate clients in a range of private and public sectors. Through interactive presentations, Roland increases financial literacy empowering employees to personalize their pensions and benefit plans to help them achieve their objectives. This approach, in turn, helps employers manage governance risks.

Roland is a compelling presenter, engaging his clients through seminars, webinars, and one-on-one discussions. He creates education programs that generate a greater sense of individual accountability among employees who may not otherwise understand or value the full extent of their pension and benefit plans.

Having begun his career in 2005, Roland worked in financial planning at both an insurance company and a bank in Calgary. Roland holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and earned a B.Com. degree from the University of Calgary.

• Pensions
• Retirement
• Tax
• Retirement
• Retirement Planning
• Estate Planning
• Financial Education
• Investments
• Financial Planning

• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Bachelor of Commerce (BComm), University of Calgary

2024 Top 100 Pension Funds report: Employees’ financial wellness moving up the agenda for pension plan sponsors Benefits Canada – June 2024

An actuary and Principal in Eckler’s Halifax office, Scott has over 15 years of consulting experience. He joined the firm in 2013.

Scott’s background covers all aspects of the design, funding, and administration of registered pension plans in both the public and private sectors. He has provided advice and services to a broad range of plan sponsors, including private and publicly-traded companies, not-for-profits, governments and multiple employer jointly trusteed arrangements. Scott also has significant experience in assisting plan sponsors with financial reporting regarding their pension and non-pension post-retirement/post-employment benefit programs under various accounting standards.

A graduate from Acadia University (Bachelor of Science degree in physics and mathematics), Scott is also a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

He currently serves on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Post-Employment Benefits Committee.

• Non-pension post-retirement/post-employment benefits
• Workers’ compensation benefits

• Bachelor of Science (Physics and Mathematics) – Acadia University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Society of Actuaries

• Serves on the Post-Employment Benefits Committee for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries

Eckler’s first actuary in Alberta, Scott joined the firm in 2023 to support a growing roster of clients in the province. He brings over 16 years of experience in the pension consulting field and is a fully qualified actuary. His professional background includes all aspects of defined benefit pension consulting as well as experience with defined contribution plan design and implementation.

Scott has worked with a variety of pension clients across the western Canadian provinces during his career, from very small executive supplemental plans to very large single-employer plans. Before Eckler, he worked for a large global consulting firm, allowing him to also work in Tokyo and São Paulo.

A pension expert with a diverse and broad background, Scott’s consulting assignments range from technical valuation work and programming to plan design for defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. He also has experience preparing regulatory evidence for rate-regulated utilities, SERP funding and design, employee education, asset transfers, mergers and acquisitions, plan wind-up and annuity purchase, executive disclosures and pension governance. Scott has an in-depth knowledge of pension legislation and regulatory requirements in many jurisdictions along with expertise in various pension accounting standards.

• Pension plan funding
• Pension plan accounting
• US GAAP, IFRS and PSAB
• Risk management and strategy
• Multi-jurisdictional pension plans
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)
• Pension plan design
• Rate-regulated utility forecasts
• Pension administration
• Employee training sessions
• Pension plan wind-up
• Asset liability management
• Union negotiations
• Executive disclosure
• Project management

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Actuarial Science – University of Calgary

• Member of the Alberta Actuarial Advisory Committee for the Superintendent of Pensions

While in university, Scott was a student-athlete, playing for the football team and training with the track club. After graduating, he competed on the Canadian national bobsled team for one season. When not at work, Scott’s favourite place to be is in the mountains; skiing in the winter (resort and backcountry), hiking and camping in the summer.

Joining Eckler in December 2023, Sean brings with him over 15 years of industry experience in pension plan and investment consulting. Based out of St. John’s, Sean complements Eckler’s East Coast team in the delivery of investment consulting services to clients.

Sean’s expertise covers the advisory of clients with respect to policy development and implementation, performance monitoring and evaluation, and manager selection.

His formal education includes an undergraduate degree in Commerce from Memorial University, along with earning the CPA, CMA designation and Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation.  Sean has also completed the level 1 exam for the CIPM program.

• Defined Benefit Pension Plans
• Defined Contribution Pension Plans
• Investment Policy Design & Review
• Investment Manager Searches
• Investment Monitoring & Evaluation
• CAP Plan Provider Search
• Trustee Education
• Governance
• Investment Manager Due Diligence

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op), Memorial University
• Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified Management Accountant (CPA, CMA)
• Chartered Investment Manager (CIM)

With Eckler since 2013, Shannon is an actuary and Principal in Eckler’s Winnipeg office. She currently leads the national Pension Administration practice, coaching and mentoring the team through many new and exciting initiatives. Having also worked at a major benefits consulting firm, Shannon has 16 years of industry experience.

A pension consultant, Shannon has extensive expertise in pension plan evaluation, plan design, plan funding and cost accounting, pension plan administration across all jurisdictions in Canada, preparation of plan documents and plan amendments, and pension plan governance. Shannon works alongside the Eckler team of benefit professionals to deliver holistic plan solutions for a wide range of clients.

Shannon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Winnipeg majoring in Mathematics, and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba with a major in Actuarial Mathematics. Shannon received her Fellowship with the Society of Actuaries in 2012 and with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 2013.

• Pension plan administration
• Pension consulting
• Actuarial valuations
• Plan funding
• Pension plan financial reporting
• Regulatory compliance
• Pension plan governance

Professional Qualifications

• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Bachelor of Science – University of Winnipeg
• Bachelor of Science (Honours) – Actuarial Mathematics – University of Manitoba

Shawn has over 25 years of pension consulting experience, with more than 20 of those years at Eckler. Shawn has deep expertise in pension plan design, legislative compliance, funding and financial reporting, plan administration and governance.

Known for his exceptional attention to detail and outstanding technical competence, his advice is frequently sought after by clients and colleagues alike when new legislation or regulations are released. Shawn also provides oversight and support to Eckler’s research team.

Shawn graduated with honours in actuarial science from the University of Western Ontario and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

• Actuarial valuations
• Annuity purchase
• Corporate-sponsored plans
• Financial reporting
• Governance
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• Pension administration
• Pension plan design
• Pension plan mergers
• Research
• Regulatory compliance
• Regulatory compliance
• Risk management
• Regulatory filings
• Single employer pension plans (SEPPs)
• Supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs)

• University of Western Ontario – Honours BSc Actuarial Science and Statistics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

A Principal in Eckler’s Winnipeg office, Simon joined Eckler in 2016. He is a seasoned actuary and investment consultant, with extensive experience consulting on registered and executive pension plans in both the public and private sectors across multiple jurisdictions. Simon also leads Eckler’s Mergers and Acquisitions Support practice.

Simon’s consulting services include pension plan risk management, financial reporting, funding, design, and sustainability for clients.  He has considerable experience coordinating large and diverse teams across several offices to deliver high-quality work on behalf of clients.

A member of Council for CPBI Manitoba, Simon is a regular presenter at CPBI sessions. He is the Public Awareness Chair for the CFA Winnipeg Society and an advisory member of the investment committee for Red River College endowment fund. Simon is also a member of the Advisory Board to the Warren Chair and the University of Manitoba’s actuarial program.

Simon holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Science degree from Laval University and is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Before Eckler, Simon spent 14 years at a major international consulting firm where he led both the Manitoba office and the retirement line of business in the province.

• Annuity purchase
• Defined benefit pension plan valuation, financial reporting, risk management, design
• Investment consulting
• Longevity
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Pension administration
• Pension governance
• Retirement issues
• Supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs)
• Sustainability in pension plans

• Bachelor of Actuarial Science degree from Laval University
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• CFA Charterholder

• Currently serving on Council for CPBI Manitoba
• Currently serving as Public Awareness Chair for the CFA Winnipeg Society
• Advisory member of the investment committee for Red River College endowment fund
• Advisory member to the Warren Chair and the University of Manitoba’s actuarial program

Simon is a regular speaker and contributor to industry events and publications. Here’s a sampling

Finance and Stress: Can Plan Sponsors and Administrators ease the pain? Scheduled speaker: Special ACPM National Session – November  14, 2019

Sounding Board: How will Canadians stretch their retirement savings to age 100? Benefits Canada – May 2019

Millennials need to boost their savings discipline Save with SPP – June 2019

Are defined benefit type pension plan surpluses back? ACPM | ACARR – March, 2024

A consulting actuary and Principal with 25 years of consulting experience, Simon joined Eckler in 2013 and currently co-leads our pension actuarial practice.  He’s an expert on complex pension issues, advising clients on regulatory matters, restructuring activities, union negotiations, plan design projects, funding and accounting matters.

Before joining Eckler, Simon worked for 15 years at another major consulting firm. Simon’s clients have included a broad array of plan sponsors, including large corporations, public-sector organizations, multi-employer pension plans and not-for-profit organizations.

Simon has been heavily involved in the actuarial profession and has been a regular speaker at actuarial conferences. He is a past Chair of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Committee on Pension Plan Financial Reporting, a member of several Canadian Institute of Actuaries Task Forces and Designated Groups, current Chair of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Pension Practice Committee, and recently completed a term as a member of the Actuarial Standards Board. He is also a member of FSRA’s Stakeholder Advisory Group for Single Employer Pension Plans and of the National Policy Committee of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM). He is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries and holds an H.B.Sc. in Mathematical Statistics and Probability from the University of Toronto.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuations, administration, financial reporting
• Risk management
• Pension plan governance
• Supplemental employee/executive retirement plans (SERPs)
• Actuarial standards
• Social security
• IFRS/IAS 19
• Expert witness

• Bachelor of Science (Hons.), Mathematical Statistics, University of Toronto
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

• Serves as Chair of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) Pension Practice Committee
• Served as a member of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB)
• Serves as a member of the Association of Canadian Pension Management’s (ACPM) National Policy Committee
• Served as a member of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s (FSRA) Pension Plan Stakeholders Industry Advisory Group
• Serves as a member of FSRA’s Stakeholder Advisory Group for Single Employer Pension Plans
• Served in various capacities (Chair, Vice-Chair, Member) on CIA’s Pension Plan Financial Reporting Committee (PPFRC)
• Serves a member of CIA’s Task Force, Gender Identity
• Served as a member of CIA’s Designated Group, Mortality improvement scale for commuted value purposes
• Served as a member of CIA’s Task Force, Modelling

Simon frequently contributes his insights to industry publications and conferences. Here’s just a sampling:

Articles

Pension solvency measures helping plan sponsors through pandemic and beyond Benefits Canada – May 2021

Budget 2019: Proposed changes to pension legislation, annuities, CPP Benefits Canada – March 2019

Considerations for employers around the incoming CPP enhancements Benefits Canada – November 2018

Disclosable event regime, Sears measures among pension changes in Ontario budget Benefits Canada – March 2018

OECD countries lack adequate frameworks for flexible retirement Benefits Canada – December 2017

Seminars

Canadian Legal & Legislative Update – Ottawa, May 2022

CIA Pension Seminar – Montreal, November 2016

CIA Annual Meeting 2016 – St. John’s, June 2016

CIA Pension Seminar – Toronto, November 2015

Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute Forum 2015

When Simon is not solving his clients’ complex actuarial challenges, he keeps himself busy with volunteer work and sports. He is a

• Financial Committee Member, Algonquin Park Residents Association
• President, East York Curling Club
• 5-star Abbott World marathon major finisher
• Baseball Ontario 15U Rep level baseball coach
• Club level curling instructor

With more than 40 years of experience, Sylvain is an expert in most facets of life and health insurance actuarial consulting and his expertise crosses international borders. A Principal in the firm, Sylvain joined Eckler in 1992.

Sylvain specializes in start-ups, strategic planning, enterprise risk management, financial reporting, dynamic capital adequacy testing, and product design and pricing. Throughout his career, Sylvain has acted as Appointed Actuary with many life and health insurers in Canada, the US, and the Caribbean. Since 2005, he has gained extensive experience in the international high net worth individuals (HNWIs) market for life insurance products. More recently, he has broadened his expertise to include Takaful insurance. His clients span the globe from Canada to the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and the United States.

A technology innovator, Sylvain developed Eckler’s business for web-based illustration and administration systems for life insurance and is responsible for EASy™, the firm’s proprietary financial services software. Our web-based solutions include ingenius™ (illustration and administration system for HNWIs life insurance), elegant™ (modern pension administration system), espace™ (cloud-based collaboration tool), among others.

Sylvain graduated from Laval University in Québec City. His professional qualifications include FCIA, FSA, MAAA. He is also an Affiliate Member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, as well as a Full Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association. Sylvain provides actuarial consulting services in both English and French.

• Actuarial appraisals
• Asset liability management
• Dynamic capital adequacy testing
• Embedded values
• Enterprise risk management
• External peer review
• Financial reporting
• Insurance company de-mutalization
• Traditional and non-traditional life insurance product design and pricing
• Health, annuity and disability product design and pricing
• Reinsurance negotiations
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Derivative insurance products
• High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) life insurance market
• Family Takaful (Shari’ah-compliant life insurance)
• Longevity risk
• Actuarial software development
• Web-based life insurance illustration and administration systems

• Université Laval – Bachelor in Actuarial Science
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
• Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA)

• Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)
• Affiliate Member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the UK

Based out of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Thane joined Eckler’s Atlantic consulting team in November 2022 to help build on our strong East Coast market presence.

Thane has 25 years of experience in actuarial consulting, with expertise in workers’ compensation programs. He has worked with most territorial/provincial WCBs in Canada along with various provincial governments over his career. Recognized within the workers’ compensation industry for his expertise, Thane has been the lead on several funding sustainability reviews, pricing re-designs, and an advisor to various Cabinets, Review Panels and Boards of Directors on WCB legislative changes.

Prior to joining Eckler, Thane was the Managing Partner in Atlantic Canada for another large consulting firm. In this role, he managed approximately 90 employees spanning various service offerings such as pension and investment consulting, pension administration and workers’ compensation consulting.

Thane holds a Mathematics degree from Dalhousie University, along with a diploma in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo. He is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA).

• Employee benefits
• Long term disability
• Workers’ compensation
• Funding sustainability
• Rate setting

Professional Qualifications

• University of Waterloo, Diploma, Actuarial Science
• Dalhousie University, Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc), Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)

Professional Activities

• Serves as a Council Member for the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute (CPBI) Atlantic Region
• Serves as a Member of the Ontario WSIB’s Actuarial Advisory Committee
• Former member of the Workers’ Compensation Committee of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries

A proud father of three kids, Thane and his wife Sara are active members of the local Fredericton community. In his spare time, Thane is involved with coaching youth sports in the area. Over the years, he has been involved in coaching youth teams for minor hockey, football, and volleyball.

Based in our Toronto office, Theresa joined Eckler’s Health and Group Benefits consulting practice in 2018. She has over 20 years of industry experience and supports plan sponsors across all geographies – both in the public and private sector.

Her expertise includes benefit design and strategy, benchmarking, administration, marketings, renewals, flex pricing and financing/ funding solutions. Theresa has also worked with other large global consulting firms during her tenure in the industry and has been involved in global benefits strategies and harmonization of programs in mergers and acquisitions.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario. She is also a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and licensed life insurance agent.

• Benefits administration
• Benchmarking
• Collective bargaining
• Financial management
• Flexible design and pricing
• Health and wellness program design and plan management
• Managing change and plan implementations
• Marketing of group benefits programs
• Vendor management and renewals

• University of Western Ontario – Bachelor of Science
• Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS)
• Licensed Life Insurance Agent and Accident and Sickness Insurance Agent – Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia

A Principal and Consulting Actuary in our Barbados office, Tricia joined Eckler in 2007. She provides pension and benefits consulting to a wide portfolio of clients ranging from larger employers and trustee banks throughout Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana and the Eastern Caribbean.

Tricia is primarily responsible for providing funding advice, both in the form of initial actuarial costings and triennial actuarial valuations of pension plans as well as calculating members’ routine benefits in pension plans on retirement, withdrawal, and death.  Her other areas of expertise include calculating the pension costs and pension plans’ disclosure in corporate financial statements according to a variety of standards (IAS, FAS, IFRS for SMEs).

An open island scholarship winner (Awarded the Government of Trinidad and Tobago Open National Scholarship for Modern Studies), Tricia is a graduate of the University of Waterloo with an honours degree in actuarial science with a minor in economics. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Before joining Eckler, Tricia worked for two actuarial consulting firms in Trinidad.

• Financial accounting (IAS, FAS, IFRS for SMEs)
• Review of prepared financial statements for pension plans
• Peer review and review of actuarial valuations
• Benefit calculations
• Plan design
• Strategic investment advice (setting and drafting statement of investment policy)

• Graduate from Waterloo with an honours degree in actuarial science with a minor in economics
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries

• Member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA)

• Serves as a member of the Caribbean Actuarial Association’s Pension Committee

When not working hard for clients, Tricia balances her busy professional career with her other favourite job, being a mother to two very active young boys.

Tulio is a consulting actuary and Principal with over 20 years of consulting experience. Since joining Eckler in 2006, Tulio has provided advice to clients across various industries and jurisdictions. Tulio has vast experience in funding and financial reporting, pension plan design, de-risking strategies and longevity risk management.

Tulio has been involved in the actuarial profession, having served as a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Education and Examination Committee, the Continuing Education Committee and the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Tulio holds a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from the Universidad de las Américas in Mexico and a Master’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo. He is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

• Defined benefit pension plan valuation and financial reporting
• Administration
• Longevity risk management
• Risk management
• Pension risk transfer
• Single employer pension plans (SEPPs)
• Pension plan design

• Actuarial Science, Universidad de las Américas, Mexico
• MMath in Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Socitey of Actuaries (FSA)

• Current chair of CIA’s Pension Sub-Committee on Continuing Education (ending June 2022)
• Current member of Project Advisory Group on Canadian Pensioners’ Mortality Update Project
• Past member of CIA’s Education and Examination Committee
• Past member of CIA’s Climate Change and Sustainability Committee

Currently head of Eckler’s property and casualty insurance practice, Xavier has over 30 years of experience in the actuarial consulting industry.

As Appointed Actuary for several property & casualty insurance companies in Canada and the Caribbean, he is extensively involved in valuation and financial reporting and dynamic capital adequacy testing.

Over the years, Xavier has also gained significant expertise in the fields of professional liability insurance, stochastic loss modelling and reserve variability modelling.

Xavier graduated from University of Montréal with a B. Math in 1989. He became a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 1993. He also qualified as a Chartered Financial Analyst in 2001 and as a Financial Risk Manager in 2003.

• Credit union guarantee funds
• Dynamic Capital Adequacy Testing
• Professional liability insurance
• Stochastic simulations
• Self-insurance funds
• Risk management
• Valuation of policy liabilities

Professional Qualifications 

• University of Montréal – Bachelor of Mathematics
• Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)
• Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS)
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Financial Risk Manager (FRM)

Professional Activities

• Served as a member of the Property & Casualty Financial Reporting Committee of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Served as a member of the Continuing Education Committee of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Served as a member of the Bilingualism Committee of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries