Our Leadership - Canada

Chad has more than 20 years of experience advising on sensitive and complex executive compensation and related governance issues. Working at both the senior executive and Board levels, he has broad experience in engaging all stakeholders, including external advisors and shareholder advisory groups. Equally, Chad’s expertise includes program design and implementation across the full spectrum of total rewards, communications and employee engagement. Chad earned a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Business from the University of Waterloo, and completed the advanced human resources executive program at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Jean-Robert has over 25 years of consulting experience managing some of the largest and most complex clients in Montreal. Jean-Robert has a proven track record of success as an entrepreneur and business leader helping organizations achieve their goals through innovative solutions, particularly in the field of non-traditional employee benefit funding vehicles, such as employee benefit captives.

Jean-Robert graduated from the Université de Montréal, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in actuarial sciences. He also holds the designations of Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Stephen brings more than 20 years of management and consulting experience to his Market Leader role, with a focus on collaboration, teamwork, and client success. A recognized compensation expert within the GTA, he is a Senior Director in WTW’s Work & Rewards practice and a member of our global Sales Effectiveness & Rewards team. Stephen has broad experience managing both compensation and benefits programs, and in particular the design of new and innovative reward programs to drive business results. Stephen earned a BA in Economics from York University and an MSc in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics. Stephen is also a Group Benefits Associate, a Compensation Management Specialist, and a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS).

As Market Leader, Kristy focuses on building WTW culture, creating an engaging work environment and bringing diverse teams together in the service of our clients. Passionate about helping organizations realize the potential of their people, Kristy is a Director in WTW’s Work, Rewards & Careers practice, with more than 20 years’ expertise advising on all aspects of talent management including employee experience, HR strategy, leadership assessment and development, DEI, organizational design, recruiting, performance management, competencies and change management. Kristy holds a BSc in actuarial science from Pennsylvania State University, and is certified in Hogan, Facet5 and Saville Assessments.

Erica is a senior consulting actuary with 19 years of experience assisting clients in the management of the people and financial risks associated with their retirement arrangements. She has led many complex and challenging consulting assignments, including a significant number of plan design projects, plan mergers, corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, large retirement change management projects and partial and full plan settlements.

Erica has a B.Sc. in actuarial science from Western University and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

Ross has more than 30 years of experience working with some of the largest and most complex employers in Canada. His areas of expertise cover a broad range of topics including benefits design and financial risk management, with a passion for developing innovative solutions to address business issues and support employee wellbeing. In this role, Ross leads a team of multi-disciplinary professionals across Canada.

Ross earned a Bachelor's degree in Actuarial Science from Concordia University. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

Demetri brings more than 25 years of experience working with a broad spectrum of organizations across multiple industries. He provides strategic advice in all areas of retirement plan management and has led numerous large and complex change management and financial risk management projects. Demetri has a B.Sc. in actuarial science and economics from the University of Toronto. He is a fellow for the Society of Actuaries and a fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Luiz Farias is the Senior Director, Investments – Head of Canada at WTW. He is an investment professional with over 20 years of experience in investment management and consulting. Luiz has held several key positions within the financial industry in Latin America and North America. Most recently, Luiz was the leader of WTW’s investment practice in Brazil. His areas of expertise include investment strategy and portfolio construction, investment governance, and developing policy on investment compensation.

Luiz holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Business Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Chad has more than 20 years of experience advising on sensitive and complex executive compensation and related governance issues. Working at both the senior executive and Board levels, he has broad experience in engaging all stakeholders, including external advisors and shareholder advisory groups. Equally, Chad’s expertise includes program design and implementation across the full spectrum of total rewards, communications and employee engagement. Chad earned a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Business from the University of Waterloo, and completed the advanced human resources executive program at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Martin Laframboise is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of global experience in the reinsurance and insurance industry. His career spans multiple jurisdictions including Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, the U.S., EU/UK, and Asia. Martin’s expertise covers Life, Annuity, Group, and Health insurance, with a focus on reinsurance structuring, risk management, capital optimization, pricing, underwriting, valuation, and regulatory reporting. He has helped insurers navigate OSFI guidelines and international solvency frameworks.

Before joining WTW in 2023, Martin worked as an independent consultant, advising on senior mandates and serving as an expert witness in re/insurance litigation and arbitration. His earlier leadership roles include Chief Risk Officer and Head of Reinsurance for a global Canadian insurer, where he oversaw risk and capital strategy for offshore entities.

He also held a senior position at Munich Re Canada, supporting life insurers across Canada with reinsurance and capital solutions.

Martin is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and the Society of Actuaries (FSA). He currently contributes to the profession as a member of the CIA’s Enterprise Risk Management Practice Committee (ERMPC).

Nicola leads the EX business in Canada and is also the EX leader for the Toronto market. Nicola and her team help organizations to understand the needs of their workforce and improve their employee experience through listening, change leadership, communication and engagement solutions, strategically combined to make a real difference in the working lives of employees in a way that delivers business value and ROI. 

Nicola has a significant track record leading large-scale transformation projects and providing strategic advice to leaders on a variety of HR topics. She has coordinated numerous global campaigns and carried out assignments on location in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Originally from Ireland, she was the Communication & Change Management practice leader at WTW in Dublin before moving to Canada.

Nicola is a PROSCI certified change management practitioner, holds a BA (hons) in Sociology from University College Dublin and a higher Diploma in Public Relations from the Fitzwilliam Institute in Ireland.

Jean-Francois (JF) leads the Insurance Consulting and Technology Canada Property Casualty team. His experience has been mainly in Pricing, Underwriting, Product Management, Product Development, and Advanced Analytics. Before joining WTW, JF spent 25 years with large and medium Canadian insurers where he held several progressive leadership roles and leading multiple projects related to business transformation, process improvements and how to improve customer experience.

Jean-Francois holds a degree in Actuarial Sciences from Laval University in Quebec, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA). JF is also a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society translation project responsible to provide CAS exams in French. He is fluent in both French and English.

Grant leads Willis Canada’s Risk and Broking team. Grant brings more than 23 years of experience as both a risk manager and a broker, he has worked closely with clients on national and global programs, developing comprehensive risk management strategies and identifying solutions to complex problems. Grant has extensive experience in reporting and presenting to various boards and senior leadership teams on various insurance and risk management topics. He enjoys collaborating with clients in the pursuit of growth and continued improvement, drawing on his considerable experience as a client advocate, risk manager, insurance broker, and claims adjuster.

He has served on the board of the Ontario Chapter of RIMS (Risk and Insurance Management Society), the Toronto Insurance Council (TIC) and the annual organizing committee for both the US and Canadian RIMS Conferences.

Grant is a graduate of the University of Guelph, where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Management Economics in Industry and Finance. He furthered his education through the Aviva Canada Executive Education Program at The Ivey Academy, Ivey Business School. Additionally, Grant holds a Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation from the Global Risk Management Institute.