Leadership Team

William (Bill) Packham
William (Bill) Packham
President and CEO

Bill is Aviso Wealth’s founding CEO, since his appointment by the Board in 2018. His commitment to strengthening Canada’s cooperative financial sector and his experience building market leaders make him a natural fit to lead the organization. Bill provides strategic insight into the challenges and opportunities for credit unions and for other independent financial organizations, along with a clear vision for how Aviso Wealth can help its partners thrive in a fast-changing business environment.

Prior to his current role, Bill was CEO of Qtrade Financial Group and Executive Managing Director, Wealth Management and Life and Health Insurance, Desjardins Group. Bill has also served as President and CEO and on the board of a number of publicly and privately held independent investment dealers and asset management companies. Throughout his career, Bill has established a strong record of delivering sustained revenue and earnings growth for shareholders.

Bill is a board member of The Investment Funds Institute of Canada, and has previously held director roles with other industry bodies, including The Canadian Securities Institute, Canadian Investment Protection Fund, The Investment Industry Association of Canada, and Investment Dealers Association of Canada (now IIROC), where he was Chair from 2001 to 2002.

A Chartered Accountant, Bill earned a Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo.

Wanda Frisk
Wanda Frisk
SVP, Head of Credit Union Wealth Management

Wanda is responsible for the development and delivery of Aviso’s comprehensive wealth management programs. She is focused on enabling credit unions and other partners to grow their wealth management business through a supportive advisor experience—one that ensures clients’ financial well-being is at the centre of all decisions. She is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

Wanda draws on 25 years of leadership experience in retail distribution, most recently with Aviso Wealth and Qtrade Financial Group, working with credit unions. Previously, she held executive roles with one of the big-five banks, focusing on asset management, wealth management and retail leadership.

Wanda holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) and the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. She earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Economics from the University of Saskatchewan. Wanda has been a long-time volunteer supporting organizations devoted to children and health, including the foundations of BC Children’s, Surrey Memorial and Peace Arch hospitals, as well as BC Cancer Agency, The Centre for Child Development and Semiahmoo Family Place.

Frederick Pinto
Frederick Pinto
SVP, Head of Asset Management

Fred leads NEI Investments, Aviso Wealth’s asset management division, and is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee. Fred is focused on driving the investment and product strategy across all business lines to support the growth of Aviso Wealth. This includes leveraging NEI’s industry-leading Responsible Investment expertise and managing the ongoing development of solutions that meet the needs of all clients across credit union, intermediary and institutional distribution channels.

Fred previously led the asset management business of Qtrade Financial Group. His 25-plus years of experience in the industry includes progressively senior sales and management roles in retail and institutional business lines with the Canadian subsidiary of a leading global asset manager.

Fred is a CFA Charterholder, a Past President of CFA Society Toronto, and currently sits on the Society’s Governance and Nominations Committee. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Oakville Community Foundation and is a member of the Investment Committee for the Appleby College Foundation. Fred holds a BA (Honours) from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University.

Christine Zalzal
Christine Zalzal
SVP, Head of Online Brokerage & Digital Wealth

Christine oversees Aviso Wealth’s online brokerage and robo-advice businesses, with a focus on empowering Canadians with best-in-class wealth management choices. She is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee. Under Christine’s leadership, Qtrade Investor has solidified its reputation as Canada’s best and most reliable online broker. First-place rankings in 2020 from The Globe and Mail, MoneySense and Surviscor add to Qtrade Investor’s unmatched total of 15 major industry awards over the past 14 years.

Before joining Aviso Wealth, Christine held executive roles with several financial institutions where she led product-line strategy, digital strategy, marketing, and sales distribution for a wide range of products, including the online brokerage business of a big-five Canadian bank.

Christine earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University. Among recent volunteer roles, she has been a mentor with Women in Leadership Foundation, and a Cabinet member for Women Against Multiple Sclerosis.

Kevin Vanderheyden
Kevin Vanderheyden
SVP, Head of Correspondent & Institutional

Kevin is responsible for the Correspondent and Institutional business line and serves on Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee. Aviso Correspondent Partners provides custody, trading, clearing, and settlement services to help portfolio managers and investment dealers meet their clients’ needs and grow their business. Under Kevin’s leadership, Aviso Correspondent Partners has doubled its assets under administration since April 2018, becoming Canada’s second largest correspondent and institutional provider.

With over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Kevin brings significant trading, correspondent, wealth management and executive experience to Aviso Wealth. He held key senior positions at Credential Financial and other major financial institutions.

Kevin holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.

Rod Ancrum
Rod Ancrum
SVP, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer

Rod is responsible for the overarching financial management of Aviso Wealth, supporting strategic decision-making with data-driven, forward-thinking planning and analysis. The corporate services teams within his mandate support Aviso Wealth’s growth evolution through sound risk management, a comprehensive IT roadmap, and efficient capital markets trading. A member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee, Rod also provides guidance and leadership of major initiatives to drive business growth.

Rod served as Senior Vice President and CFO of Credential Financial, and his background includes 20 years with one of the big-five banks in progressively senior roles across several divisions.

He is a CPA (CA) and has completed the Partners, Directors and Senior Officers (PDO) and CFO Qualifying Exam courses from the Canadian Securities Institute.

David Bullock
David Bullock
SVP, Wealth Distribution

David is responsible for wealth management distribution across Canada. He oversees Aviso Wealth’s credit union Relationship Management team and the Private Wealth and NEI sales teams. These highly experienced experts consult on Aviso Wealth’s comprehensive services and solutions, coaching advisors on building productive long-term client relationships and supporting credit union leaders to grow their wealth management business. David is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

David’s career in asset management and investments has included responsibility for client service and product strategies, partnerships, marketing, and sales. Prior to joining Aviso Wealth, he was CEO of a credit union-owned wealth management firm and held senior positions with one of the big-five banks and with two leading global asset management firms.

David earned a B.A. from the University of Toronto and has completed the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.

Sherri Evans
Sherri Evans
SVP, Head of People & Client Experience

Sherri ensures Aviso Wealth provides employees, partners, advisors, and clients with an exceptional experience that is a source of competitive advantage. Her strategic oversight of human resources and marketing facilitates cultural alignment, internal and external brand-building, and effective communication across Aviso Wealth and with external audiences. Sherri is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

Previously, Sherri served as VP People & Strategy at NEI Investments, which was nationally recognized as a “Great Place to Work” (Top 50 Employer) two years in a row. Her prior experience includes progressively senior roles with a major Canadian retailer and with leading technology and financial services firms.

Sherri holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and a Diploma in HR Management from George Brown College. She is a board member of Gambling Research Exchange Ontario and is a past member of the Great Place to Work Executive Forum Steering Committee.

Ray Hori
Ray Hori
SVP, Chief Information Officer

With responsibility for IT strategy, architecture, development, infrastructure, and data management, Ray ensures that Aviso Wealth’s investments in technology align with the organization’s long-term strategy and business objectives. In the area of IT governance, he oversees business continuity planning in addition to IT risk and security. Ray serves on Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

Ray has developed expertise with front-, middle- and back-office technology solutions, and has led organizations through complex enterprise system conversions, migrations and implementations. He previously served as VP, Information Technology with Credential Financial. His 30-year industry background includes senior roles with providers of wealth management, back-office services, market data and trading systems.

Ray has completed the Partners, Directors and Senior Officers Course from the Canadian Securities Institute.

Yasmin Lalani
Yasmin Lalani
SVP, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Governance Officer

Yasmin oversees Aviso Wealth’s cross-enterprise legal activities and policies, corporate and board governance, and privacy and ethics matters. She is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

With over 20 years’ experience in the wealth management industry, Yasmin has a deep background as a business advisor, working with boards to harness their strategic potential. Previously, she was SVP, Chief Counsel and Head of Risk for Credential Financial, where she served as Corporate Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer.

Yasmin holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Victoria. She is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Governance Professionals of Canada.

Brian McOstrich
Brian McOstrich
SVP, Chief Marketing Officer

Brian is responsible for leading brand, marketing, and corporate communications as well as digital marketing and user experience for all of Aviso Wealth’s lines of business, including online brokerage and digital wealth, asset management, correspondent and institutional, and dealer services. He serves on Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

Brian has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Aviso Wealth, he held executive and senior management roles with some of Canada’s leading wealth management firms.

Brian is a recipient of the Chartered Marketer professional designation granted by the Canadian Marketing Association and holds a BA from the University of Toronto.

Kim Thompson
Kim Thompson
SVP, Strategy and Chief Transformation Officer

Kim leads strategic planning and business enablement for Aviso Wealth. This includes developing exceptional capabilities in enterprise change management, project enablement for major initiatives, business enablement to identify opportunities, and innovation to accelerate the adoption of valuable new ideas. She is a member of Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

Before assuming her current role, Kim was SVP and Head of Credit Union Wealth Management at Aviso Wealth and served as SVP of Advisory Services with Credential Financial. Previously, in senior roles with a big-five Canadian bank and two leading investment management firms, Kim gained expertise in client relationship strategies, distribution channels, mutual fund manufacturing, full-service brokerage, and trust services.

Kim has completed the Partners, Directors, and Senior Officers (PDO) course from the Canadian Securities Institute, and formerly practiced as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). She was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2013.

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
SVP, Head of Service, Operations and Compliance

With oversight of Aviso Wealth’s Service Centre, Operations and Compliance teams, Alex drives business results by pursuing operational and customer-service excellence through analysis, process re-design and automation. An expert in matters related to financial regulatory compliance, Alex is also accountable for the integrity of Aviso’s regulatory model. She serves on Aviso Wealth’s Executive Committee.

Previously, Alex was Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer with Qtrade Financial Group and draws on more than 25 years of experience in the investment industry.

Alex holds an MBA from Queen’s University and has the Institute of Corporate Directors designation. She sits on senior advisory committees in the securities industry, including serving as Chair of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) Pacific District Counsel, and she is past Chair of IIROC’s Conduct, Compliance and Legal Advisory Section Executive Committee.