Aimee joined NEI Investments in 2020 as Vice President, Sales. She brings more than 12 years of experience in business ownership, senior leadership and marketing in different sectors. Her strengths include building successful teams with a focus on client acquisition, holistic planning and business growth strategies. Aimee held a corporate role developing recruiting systems and collaborating on regional events geared towards attracting more women to the advisor role. Since joining WCM, she has received invaluable professional development and hopes to bring the same opportunities to the women in the WCM Prairies Chapter. As a founding Co-Chair, she will assist in local and national initiatives that engage and support the development of female advisors and managers in the finance industry. 

June has been a long-time leader and advocate for women in our industry. She is a passionate advocate for women in the industry and works hard to facilitate opportunities for women to gain access, opportunity and ongoing success in the industry. In her current role as Regional President with BMO Private Wealth, June supports women in a variety of roles across Canada. She has been recognized as a national leader for her professional work and advocacy both and the firm and industry levels. As a mentor to many, she is acutely aware of the challenges and obstacles that exist, and recognizes that allyship and sponsorship are key to opening doors along the way. Through her involvement with WCM across Canada, she has seen first-hand the benefit of WCM connections, relationships and programming. She is passionate to expand the reach of WCM, and is the founding Co-Chair of the Canadian Prairies chapter, working to empower women across Canada with the opportunities to excel in their respective careers in finance and capital markets.

Esther Bast was appointed Senior Vice-President, Financial Services for IG Wealth Management on October 18, 2004 and was appointed President and UDP for IG Securities on January 1, 2016. In this role, Esther works closely with all aspects of IG Wealth Management’s distribution network, national distribution issues and provides guidance to head office areas from a field perspective.

She also oversees the national Planning Specialist Network of Insurance and Estate Planning Specialists, Mortgage Planning Specialists, Wealth Planning Specialists and Portfolio Strategists. 

Esther joined IG Wealth Management in 1990 working in administration and market research before she went to the Winnipeg West region office as a Consultant and later as a Division Director. She was promoted to Regional Director of the Winnipeg Regent office in the fall of 1999 and moved to the Southern Saskatchewan region office in 2001, winning the prestigious Master Director award.

Prior to joining IG Wealth Management, Esther earned her Business Administration diploma. She also holds the Chartered Financial Planner, Personal Financial Planner (PFP) and Registered Retirement Consultant (RRC) designations.

Andrea currently holds the position of Director & Program Lead, The Scotiabank Women Initiative, Canadian Banking. Andrea is responsible nationally for the program throughout the retail, small business and commercial streams as well as supports the wealth and global markets teams. The Scotiabank Women Initiative is a comprehensive program to help advance women-owned and women-led businesses across Canada through three key pillars: Access to Capital, Advisory and Education. Andrea’s most recent position with Scotiabank prior to this was as District Vice President, where she was responsible for the Retail and Small Business Branch Banking across Eastern Winnipeg/Manitoba as well as North Western Ontario.

Andrea Lochhead has been in the financial services industry for the past 19 years and her career spans progressive executive level tenures with three of Canada’s top 5 banks, one of the top credit unions and the fastest growing Canadian Group Benefits Third Party Administration Company in Canada.

Andrea has a wealth of leadership and team development experience attained throughout her career in financial services. Andrea’s passion for business was forged while achieving her formal education at Queen’s University, University of Ottawa and the University of Phoenix. Andrea continued to work with financial institutions while pursuing her academic goals, obtaining her MBA in 2007. Andrea is from Winnipeg and has two wonderful children, 14 and 12 years old, that she enjoys spending time with and watching them grow and learn through their school and extra-curricular activities.

Throughout Andrea’s career she has been a passionate advocate for women in all areas of business and is excited to be apart of WCM to continue this support and enhance awareness of the strength women bring to the Canadian market.

Amanda Reich received her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and is a CFA charter holder.  She has worked at Greystone Managed Investments - now TD Asset Management since 2004.  Her career in capital markets has been in equity trading and portfolio construction. 

Amanda was a board member for the YWCA of Regina for six years and also volunteers with the school division and minor sports teams in her community.

Adriana is currently a District Director for Sun Life covering North Saskatchewan. In this role she works to develop and execute plans to grow sustainable business for her District, aligning activities with organizational objectives while ensuring the use of compliant business practices to deliver best in class client experiences. She achieves this through  leading, coaching, and developing  Management partners and Advisors to exceed business and personal development objectives as well as  oversight to continually improve the overall client experience within the District and supporting Advisors to deepen their relationships with their clients.

Adriana has over 18 years of experience in financial services as an advisor and in management. She is especially passionate about helping other women succeed in the industry through mutual mentorship,  and facilitating and participating in several women’s initiatives such as the Annual Sun Life Women’s Leadership Symposium, SHINE Women’s Collective, and the Western Canada Women’s Summit.

Tayler has been with Aviso Wealth/NEI Investments since 2019, where she currently holds a Regional Sales Manager position within the firm. Tayler works nationally with investment advisors and their clients to aid in the development and implementation of financial plans, advice and suitable product recommendations for advisor and client goals. She is passionate about the ESG advisory and investing space, where she works directly with member advisors to further integrate Responsible Investment funds and practices into their book of business. Previously, Tayler was focused on Private Wealth, where she worked in educating advisors on the importance of strategic planning when it comes to business management, HNW clients and succession.

Skilled in advisor business growth and development, investments, insurance, financial planning, sales, and marketing, she has held many different roles within the investment industry. Tayler joined WCM and the Prairie Steering Committee in 2021. She has long been an advocate for women in the investment community through mutual mentorship and facilitating and participating in several women’s initiatives such as Seeds for Dreams and Saskatoon Women’s Network in Saskatchewan.

Victoria has been serving in the financial services sector for eight years. Her professional designation is Chartered Investment Manager, but her role is to work directly with individuals and families who need help planning for their future.

Her passion for advocacy and empowerment of women is not new. She serves as a Board Chair for a non-profit called SHADE Winnipeg supporting immigrant women experiencing domestic violence, leads support groups for young women fighting eating disorders, and mentors female university students interested in capital markets.

Victoria has witnessed the lack of diversity and representation in finance, both in professional roles and their clients. Victoria looks forward to utilizing her experience and expertise as a Facilitator within WCM's Prairies Chapter to accelerate change.

I am excited to support the team at Women in Capital Markets (WCM) as an ally and advocate, and support WCM’s important work accelerating equity, diversity and inclusion in the finance industry. I enjoy the opportunity to connect with finance industry professionals as well as students considering a career in finance, and look forward to sharing the great work that WCM is doing in those respective areas.

Dana comes from rural roots as she is born and raised in Saskatchewan and understands the importance of giving back to her community.  From starting as a university student with the credit union system, she currently works for Thrive Wealth Management, a subsidiary company of Conexus Credit Union, as a Wealth Specialist connecting with members to understand what matters most to them, applying her financial planning knowledge towards developing strategies to achieve these goals, and provides ongoing advice for their personal, holistic financial plans to become reality. 

With over nine years in the financial industry (along with additional years in business ownership),  Dana realizes the importance of increasing the awareness towards the development of professional women in the industry. 

Volunteering and making a difference in her community has always been a passion of Dana’s.  From working with students in rural high school communities to further their understanding of financial literacy, completing presentations for international students at SaskPolytech, as well as volunteering time to feed students at Regina local high schools and supporting other female-driven organizations through volunteer hours, Dana understands the importance of giving back to others and is excited to continue to do so through Women in Capital Markets.

Adam has been working in banking and wealth management for the past 15 years and is currently a Senior Wealth Advisor with ACU Wealth Management. He earned his undergraduate degree from York University and currently holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Responsible Investment Specialist (RIS) designation.

Born and raised in Toronto, Adam moved to Winnipeg in 2013 with the expectation that he would only be there for 5 years. 10 years on, Winnipeg is now home and he is a father to three cool kids with wildly different personalities.

Why I'm Involved with WCM:

I am thrilled at the opportunity to participate and grow as an ally with Women in Capital Markets (WCM). By supporting WCM’s efforts to enhance the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within capital markets and beyond I also benefit from the opportunity to learn. The future ahead for my 16-year-old daughter – regardless of her aspirations – should be filled with opportunity, mentorship, and sponsorship. It’s incredibly important for me that she has a seat at the table and that her voice is heard.