Industry moves: Jamie Coulter’s new gig and Wellington-Altus adds advisor team

Jamie Coulter has joined MacKay CEO Forums, a CEO peer-learning organization, as a forum chair. The former Raymond James Ltd. CEO, who stepped down in September after 30 years with the firm, said the role involves putting together and facilitating two peer-learning groups for CEOs, one in Toronto and one in London.

Each group will consist of 12 to 14 CEOs from companies of roughly the same size but from different industries, who gather six to seven times a year to hear from experts on common business or leadership challenges, “kick ideas around” and get feedback from peers on how to handle different issues.

The role is part-time by design, he said. “I was not looking for a full-time role post-Raymond James, I was looking to build out what some would call a portfolio life — so a mix of paying opportunities and then a couple of volunteer ones as well.”

Coulter said he decided to leave Raymond James after he found himself at an “inflection point” last summer, when he was reflecting on whether to recommit to the role for another five years as CEO, or “take the opportunity reinvent myself?”

He hasn’t ruled out a potential return to wealth management in the future, however.

“I feel very optimistic about the wealth business. I think it has a tremendous opportunity in an AI world. I don’t see advisors being disintermediated by technology,” he said. “If there was some opportunity for me to contribute in some way to a particular firm in due course, I might look at it.”

Other recent moves across the financial industry include:

• Colin Duncanson, Ian Morris, Tom Derkach, Shawn Heidema and Aislinn Bissenden have joined Wellington-Altus Private Wealth as senior wealth advisors. The team was previously with Aviso Wealth, Morris, Derkach and Duncanson for more than 20 years.
• Ahmad Bakhshai has joined Wealthsimple as a lead advisor, where he’ll be working with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. He leaves Wellington-Altus after more than two years as associate vice-president, advanced wealth planning, for the new role. Bakhshai was also previously a wealth advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns, and is an adjunct professor at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business.
• Sarah Widmeyer has been appointed senior vice-president (SVP) of wealth management at Canaccord Genuity. She was previously SVP of wealth strategies and chief marketing offer at Richardson Wealth for more than eight years. Widmeyer has also served in senior positions at CIBC for five years, including as head of wealth strategies, and 15 years with BMO Nesbitt Burns.
• Brent Swatuk has been promoted to VP of independent sales and distribution at Desjardins Insurance. He joined the firm as regional VP in mid-2024 from The Gryphin Advantage Inc., where he was VP for a year. He previously spent five years with Equitable Life of Canada, as a case consultant and sales manager.
• Anthony Guarnieri and Simon Lafrenière have been appointed directors of ETFs and alternatives for Eastern Canada with Manulife Investment Management. Guarnieri rejoined the firm as VP of sales in 2024 after six years as a SVP with Group RMC’s private partnership group. He had previously been a business development manager with Manulife and has served in roles at Desjardins and TD Canada Trust.  Lafrenière was previously VP, business development with Global X Investments Canada Inc. for a year, following 17 years with Russell Investments as a regional director.
• Nefis Sebai has joined Manulife as director of ETFs and alternatives for Western Canada. He was previously with Global X Canada for six years, including more than a year as VP of business development. Earlier in his career, he spent close to a decade with Tunisie Valeurs, an asset manager and financial advisory firm in Tunisia.
• Daniel Stephen Goddard has been named VP, national accounts, at CI Global Asset Management. He joins the firm from Invesco Canada, where he spent nearly five years as VP of investment due diligence. Goddard previously worked at CIBC Private Wealth Management and Sentry Investment in investment fund manger and business analyst roles.
• Gemma Gillis has joined Canada Infrastructure Bank as director, investment operations and resources. She previously served as VP, business management and public markets, at Fiera Capital for more than two years, ending in mid-2025. Gillis also served in director-level roles at Investment Management Corp. of Ontario and Ontario Pension Board.
• Michael Kaumeyer has joined Richter as a partner, leading the firm’s expansion in Western Canada. Kaumeyer was previously vice-chair, Nicola family, at Nicola Wealth for close to two years, focused on ultra-high-net-worth clients. Prior to that, he was a founder and co-CEO at Grayhawk Wealth before leaving the firm in 2024. Errol Kuszner has also been named a partner and portfolio, leaving Nicola Wealth, where he spent a year as a wealth advisor, portfolio manager and VP, institutional. Kuszner has more than 20 years of industry experience, including with BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and then, following its acquisition of the business, Guardian Partners Inc., where he held investment counsellor and VP roles.
• Timothy McWhinney has been promoted to VP of business development for Ontario and the Atlantic regions at PPI, which he joined in July 2024 as a regional VP. McWhinney has previously held senior roles with Canada Life and Freedom 55 Financial.
• Faizal Mitha has been promoted to VP of AI sales innovation with Hub International Ltd., starting July 1. In this new role, Mitha will be overseeing AI investment in Hub’s commercial, personal, private client, retirement and private wealth, and employee benefits businesses in the U.S. and Canada. He’s currently chief sales officer and chief innovation officer for Canada employee benefits and retirement, and previously spent more than 13 years with Hub’s ES3 Advisory business.
• Martin Cheung has been promoted to VP of digital wealth at CI Financial, with responsibility for CI Direct Investing and CI Direct Trading. Cheung has served in senior roles with CI Global Asset Management for more than 20 years, most recently as VP, digital transformation and automation.
• Stephanie Shark has been appointed inaugural executive director of Women in ETFs. She previously led the Reprographic Services Association in the same role, and has also served as the Colorado Mining Association’s director of marketing, membership, events and operations, as well as director of marketing and membership at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
• Kelley McKinnon, Steven Wolff, and Patricia Olasker have been reappointed to the Ontario Securities Commission board of directors, following their initial appointments in April 2024. 
• Andrew Fung will be retiring from Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Ontario, where’s he’s currently executive VP of pensions, in October. Fung has spent eight years with FSRA, joining Financial Services Commission of Ontario (which later became part of FSRA) in 2018 as chief actuary, pensions. During his 40 years of experience in the pensions industry, he was also a partner at Morneau Shepell and SVP, pension advisory and chief actuary at OMERS.

If you know of other people moves in the financial industry and/or would like us to consider your announcement, email Alisha Hiyate at alisha.h@newcom.ca.
Sarah Widmeyer’s current title has been corrected to senior vice-president.

Alisha Hiyate

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Alisha Hiyate is managing editor with Investment Executive and Advisor.ca. She has 19 years of journalism experience covering mining and markets. Email her at alisha.h@newcom.ca.