Meet Our Team

Peter Nicholson
Founder and President
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Peter Nicholson started his financial services business in 1987 at the age of 22. Since 1995, Peter has been a recognized leader in Canadian tax assisted investments, with a specialized focus on philanthropic tax planning and tax reduction.

Through his work with countless donors, foundations, institutions, and boards, he has helped generate in excess of $250 million for client donations. Nicholson is also a generous philanthropist in his own right and a tireless supporter of community initiatives.

Over the years, Nicholson has served as a dedicated champion and board member for many foundations all across Canada, such as Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation and founder of the Exuma Foundation of Canada. He is also a member of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP), Association of Fundraising Professionals of Canada (AFP), the Clinton Global Initiative, and a ten-year veteran of the investment club Tiger 21. Since 1993, he has qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table (annual qualification is limited to the top 1 % of finance professionals in the world).

In 2004, Nicholson started investing in Exuma, The Bahamas. In 2012, he purchased 31 villas (40%) at Grand Isle Resort & Residences, a former Four-Season Residence, making him the property’s largest shareholder.  It continues to be a luxurious resort and second-home community in Exuma. He also has property and hospitality interests on Farmer’s Cay, part of an exclusive 365-island chain in the Exumas.

He spends his time between Ottawa, Nova Scotia and Exuma with Anabel and their six children, ranging in age from 23 to 5 years old.

Allen Wong
Senior Associate

Allen’s financial planning experience dates back to 1992. He specializes in life and disability insurance and estate planning. Allen has been affiliated with WCPD since 1999 and he has been a member of the Million Dollar Round Table since 2005. He works with Michelle Claude to provide insurance advice for WCPD clients.

Bita Cattelan, CIM®, CAP®
VP Investor Relations & Philanthropy
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Bita has been a fixture of the philanthropic world for decades, with extensive experience in fundraising, sponsorship and high-net-worth donor relations.

Through her decades of experience, she is a member of UNICEF Canada’s Honorary Advisory Council,  a Trustee of the McCord Museum Foundation and a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF)-Montreal Chapter, an invitation-only network of accomplished women committed to advancing women’s leadership and championing equality worldwide. Bita also serves on the Board of Directors for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) and the Concours musical international de Montreal (CMIM) Foundation.

Bita is the founder and co-chair of Gala de la Terre, an annual benefit concert in Montreal that raises funds and awareness for projects protecting marine life and habitats. In 2022, Gala de la Terre received the prestigious Opus Award for Quebec’s best musical event of 2022.

Bita holds a B. Eng. in Civil Engineering from McGill University. In addition, she has earned CIM®, Canadian Investment Manager and the CAP®, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designations from the Canadian Securities Institute and the American College of Financial Services, respectively.

Jeff Todd
VP of Marketing & Communications
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Jeff manages marketing and communications for WCPD Inc. His duties include marketing, business development, media relations, event planning and brand building.

He is President-Elect and VP of Partnerships for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Ottawa, Chairman of the Board for the Canadian National Institute of the Blind (CNIB) in Eastern Ontario, an advisor to Beneath the Waves and Co-Founder of the Exuma Foundation of Canada.

Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Jeff was an international journalist with experience in Canada, The Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates. His work appeared in newspapers across North America, including the New York Times, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

He is also an award-winning author.

Christopher Richards
Manager - Financial Services, Tax Planning & Philanthropy
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Chris is responsible for the management of WCPD’s flow-through investments, presenting investment opportunities to clients & their representatives, overseeing investment accounting & compliance, acting as liaison with our legal counsel, and managing the flow-through team.  He is also a Director of WCPD Foundation, managing Board activities and all aspects of donations issued through WCPD Foundation.  Chris joined WCPD in 2015 after graduating from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management with a Bachelors of Commerce degree.

Paolo Cattelan, ing., MBA
VP Business Development
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Paolo leads WCPD’s business development efforts focused on fostering relationships with mining companies, brokers, and investors to ultimately connect investors and issuers to structured flow-through and charity flow-through financing offerings in the Canadian mining industry.

Prior to joing WCPD, Paolo enjoyed an impressive national and international 30 year engineering career occupying a number of senior executive roles and leadership positions with world renown companies including SNC-Lavalin, Bantrel/Bechtel and AECOM in charge of important P&Ls for businesses involved in feasibility studies, engineering, project management and construction of Mining, O&G, Power Generation, and Infrastructure projects.

Mr. Cattelan holds a Bachelor of Engineering (1990) and an MBA in International Business (2009) from McGill University, and has successfully completed CFA 1 (2003).

Geoff Bennett
Senior Advisor

With a diverse business career built over the past thirty years, Geoff is the Founder and President of Bennett Brown, a boutique advisory and business development firm focused on the ultra high-net-worth space in Canada.

Throughout his career, Geoff has gained considerable experience in wealth management, investment banking, private equity and equity raising.  With philanthropy becoming an ever important part of his mindset and mission in life, it was a natural fit for Geoff to become involved with WCPD where he is able to provide awareness to high-net-worth families, and their advisors, about more strategic and tax efficient ways to donate to charity.

After over twenty years in Western Canada, Geoff moved back to Halifax in 2021 with his wife, Monique, where he continues to enjoy connect those in his business network and enjoying time with his two adult children and grandson.  Holding a Business Degree from the University of North Carolina – Pembroke, Geoff is also the holder of the CIM designation and a member of the Association of Corporate Growth, where he sits as a Committee Member of ACG Atlantic.

Bianca Joubert
Financial Assistant – Financial Services, Tax Planning & Philanthropy

Bianca is based from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Michelle Claude
Manager, Insurance

Michelle joined WCPD in 1998. She has worked in the insurance industry since 1991. Michelle works with Allen to provide advice to our insurance clients.

Patrícia M.
Online, Social Media, Multimedia & Office Manager
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Patricia has been in the online industry for over 12 years, specializing in social media, multimedia and Internet marketing strategies. She currently manages various websites and social media accounts, including services for The Foundation (WCPD).
Patricia is responsible for The Foundation’s multimedia database and general office administration. She is the company’s photographer and videographer as well.

 

Anabel Bane
Managing Director of Brand and Charitable Events

Anabel joined the WCPD team in 2005. She represents WCPD and builds the philanthropic brand with her involvement in the company’s many charity client events and sponsorships.

Adam Doswell
Financial Analyst – Financial Services, Tax Planning & Philanthropy

Adam provides pivotal analysis for all of WCPD’s potential flow-through investments, in additional to customized analysis for corporate & individual clients in consideration of their unique tax scenarios.  A regular fixture at the annual PDAC mining conference, Adam represents WCPD’s financial service offerings to mining companies, stakeholder groups & clients across Canada.  Adam graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce with a major in finance from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management in 2017 and joined WCPD soon thereafter.

Amanda Frangione
Financial Assistant – Financial Services, Tax Planning & Philanthropy

Amanda joined our team in May 2021 and provides administrative & compliance support to clients as part of WCPD’s flow-through investment process.  Additionally, she assists with client donation facilitation and tax documentation.  Amanda graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with speciality in Criminology & Justice.

Isaac Keiwan
Financial Assistant – Financial Services, Tax Planning & Philanthropy

Isaac provides integral support to clients in the end-to-end administration of their flow-through investments, and assists the flow-through team with investment analysis, financial compliance & tax documentation.  Isaac joined WCPD in 2020 following graduation from Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business Bachelor of Commerce Honours program, with a concentration in finance.

Lori Beal
Executive Assistant & Project Manager

Lori has an extensive background in customer service as well as business and project management.

Her schooling was in Business Administration. Lori redirected and spent many years working in the aviation industry. 

Lori later returned to customer service and supply chain. Over the years, Lori has been a business owner, a project manager and a multi-unit manager. She also owns and operates a boutique travel agency and has considerable experience working with VIP clients.

In her spare time, Lori is involved in a variety of community initiatives.

Lori recently joined WCPD as an Executive Assistant to Peter Nicholson.  She is also working with the team on a variety of projects.

Kurt Alexander
Associate – Marketing & Business Development

Kurt supports the business development & marketing team throughout Canada to provide awareness of our charity flow-through structure to high-net-worth individuals and corporations. Other duties include database management, event coordination, and the creation of presentations and other marketing responsibilities.

Kurt joined the team full-time in June 2023 after interning for two summers and working part-time throughout university. He graduated with honours from Bishops University with a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in Finance, minoring in Business Technology & Analytics.

Barret Walker
Financial Assistant

Barret assists the flow-through team with financial compliance & tax documentation and provides support in the administration of clients’ flow-through investments.

Barret joined WCPD in May 2022 upon graduation of uOttawa’s Telfer School of Management Bachelor of Commerce Honours Program, with a concentration in Finance.

Nisa Dela Cruz
Executive Assistant to Peter Nicholson

Nisa joined WCPD in 2023 as an Executive Assistant to Peter Nicholson providing support to any administrative and flow-through related tasks.

Additionally, she is working along side team members providing assistance for events, presentations, and other projects. With her degree in Business Administration in Finance, she worked for global investment banking industry and spent some time working as a team leader before joining WCPD.