Halifax Mortgage Symposium

Presented by: Kelly Wyer, Service NS  
Regulatory Update

Presented by: Lee-Ann McEllister  
The Science of Human Connection

In the dynamic realm of mortgage brokering, achieving professional success extends beyond financial acuity to the mastery of interpersonal skills. The talk, "The Science of Human Connection: Mastering Networking, First Impressions, and Deep Conversations for Mortgage Brokers," unveils the strategic elements crucial for establishing meaningful connections within the industry. Delving into the science behind effective networking, the presentation offers practical insights on identifying key opportunities, crafting lasting first impressions, and navigating conversations to build deep, trust-based relationships. Mortgage brokers will gain valuable tools and strategies to enhance their networking prowess, create compelling introductions, and engage in conversations that transcend the transactional, ultimately propelling their careers to new heights in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Mom, Wife, Loving Friend and Director of Sales at MCAP. Lee-Ann's passion has always been empowering people by asking better questions of themselves and the world around them. Being in service of others is important to her and she currently serves as Chair of BCLGA – BC Lenders Group Association and Director on the board for Habitat for Humanity Okanagan. She has an International Coaching Federation Accredited Certificate in Organizational Coaching from the University of British Columbia.

Presented by: Eric Poblete and Cherolle Prince  
Mortgage Compliance Essentials

Equifax will assist all mortgage professionals in understanding the importance, and how to comply with the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations, established by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).

Eric Poblete is a sales professional with over 30+ years experience working with all vertical markets. In the last 12 years Eric has worked with Equifax Canada with a focus on the mortgage, rental and housing industries. As the Equifax ambassador for the mortgage broker market, he has provided extensive support and education to all the varied stakeholders including brokers, lenders, underwriters, real estate agents, and insurers helping them to understand credit, compliance, financial trends and fraud directly and indirectly related to the mortgage market.

Cherolle is a financial crime professional with over 20+ years of experience in the Canadian financial industry. She has extensive experience in retail, small business and commercial banking fraud and was responsible for the development and execution of fraud strategy (Canadian and U.S.) at two major Canadian financial institutions. At Equifax, Cherolle leads a team of analytic consultants that provide data and analytics expertise to help customers solve complex business problems related to fraud.

Remarks by Honourable Rob Lantz

Honourable Rob Lantz was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Charlottetown-Brighton on April 3rd, 2023. He was sworn in as Minister of Housing, Land and Communities on April 14, 2023.

Mr. Lantz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Prince Edward Island. He pursued post-graduate studies in Business Information Systems Design and worked for more than two decades as a consultant in the Information Technology sector as a senior functional and technical analyst. He has been an advisor, partner and investor in new business start-ups in the bioscience, sports technology and renewable energy sectors.

Mr. Lantz has previously served two terms on Charlottetown city council from 2006-2014, chairing several municipal committees, including the planning and heritage, police services and human resources committees.

Mr. Lantz has been an active volunteer with community groups like the United Way, the Colonel Gray Education Foundation and the Fathers of Confederation Buildings Trust. He and his wife Kelly have two children: Brodie and Ronan.

Presented by: Brenna Charles, FCT  
Riding the Renewal and Refinance Wave

With over 3 million Canadians having a mortgage up for renewal in the next year, we’ll take a deep dive into those renewals cycles and best practices to ensuring your client’s switches and refinances go smoothly. In this session we’ll review best practices in approach common challenges, new tools to facilitate better closing, and how to support your clients through to close.

Brenna Charles is the Vice President of Broker Channel Sales at FCT, responsible for the strategic management of FCT's national lender head office relationships with specific focus on deploying FCT's growing suite of products and services to generate net new revenue opportunities.  Having been with FCT since 2016, she has helped grow FCT’s market share by working with both brokers and lenders to promote the value of the services FCT supports.  Prior to her work with the title insurance provider, Brenna worked at Scotiabank and First National in progressive roles from servicing to ensuring strong quality credit decisions are being made by the adjudication staff.  Outside of work Brenna enjoys hiking, skiing, scuba diving, while balancing life as a new mom to her son Archer. 

Presented by: Brian Hutton  
AI-Driven Technology in the Mortgage Brokerage Industry

Join us for an informative and thought-provoking presentation on the intersection of Marketing & Artificial Intelligence in the Mortgage Brokerage Industry in Canada. Learn about the latest developments in AI and how it is changing the marketing landscape and impacting the industry. Discover the potential benefits and challenges of using Artificial Intelligence and get knowledge on the tools that are reshaping how small business operates.

Brian Hutton oversees all the digital marketing efforts for the M3 Financial Group and is also the marketing head for INVIS & MI. As the digital marketing lead for the biggest brokerage network in Canada, he is a passionate believer in applying new age technology to his brokers marketing efforts. His in-depth knowledge of SEO, website optimization, AI applications, social media engagement and marketing strategy have helped brokers enhance and streamline their online presence. Brian’s experience and hands on approach with brokers have made him a fan favorite across the country.

Brian has over 20 years of marketing experience; notably having previously worked at HBC for 10 years before joining M3 in 2017.

Presented by: Ivan Ruiz  
BCC: Break Creative Convince

In this interactive keynote seminar participants will learn an actionable strategy to help them break the ice with new clients, create a unique value proposition and a tactic to become more convincing.

About Ivan:

Bio's are boring. Instead here are some fun facts about Ivan:

* He is a top-rated instructor on Coursera with over 100,000 learners
* He is a top-rated instructor on Udemy with over 50,000 students
* He was the official host for FIFA 2022, Invictus Games 2017 & PanAm Games 2015
* The largest crowd he ever spoke in front of was 50,000
* He wrote a book called "End Boring"
* He can teach you how to salsa dance