AGORA DEALER SERVICES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer
Cristina has worked in financial services for 17 years. Before joining Agora, she held senior management positions at CI Investments and Assante Wealth and specialized in back-office dealer operations. She is an active member in industry working groups, including Fundserv Standards and ATON.
Today, Cristina leads the operations team at Agora overseeing all day-to-day back-office processes, maintaining Agora's policies, procedures, and regulatory reporting for the CRA, MFDA and others. She ensures Agora's adherence to rapidly changing industry requirements, implementing the best practices for the management of clients' investments. Cristina specializes in the digitization and automation of Dealer Operations including paperless solutions to make advisors life simpler while offering client conveniences.
Cristina and her team are well respected for their "white glove" service ensuring that day-to-day transactions are processed efficiently. When issues arise, Cristina empowers her team to be responsive and provide one-on-one support for efficient resolution.
Cristina holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics & Computer Science and a Business Analyst Programming Diploma.
Job Titles:
- Region Head
- Region Head - Ontario and Western Canada
Originally from the United Kingdom, Mark Probyn earned his degree in Business Administration and pursued graduate studies in economics before relocating to Canada.
Mark spent over a decade in senior leadership roles at one of Canada's largest financial services firms. With responsibility for the Managed Asset Program, he worked closely with advisors, providing technical expertise on complex products. He has presented at national conferences teaching advisors to successfully incorporate managed asset products into their practices.
He is excited to help advisors to add value to their practice by utilizing Agora's sophisticated range of investment solutions and high-tech platform to deliver better client outcomes while maximizing productivity within their practice.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer / Merici Financiers Inc.
"After using Agora's platform for over a year, I'm confident saying it has been beneficial to building a successful transition plan. My business partner and I can now provide our clients with nominee accounts at an extremely low cost."
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Co - Founder
- CEO, Founder, Agora Wealth Corp. & Chair, Agora Dealer Services Corp.
Paul's extensive background in financial services spans more than 30 years. He has worked with senior executives in all departments and led the overhaul of organizations in all areas, from administration to compliance, education, risk management and estate planning and national growth. Through his vast experience as an owner, member of senior management and consultant, he has worked closely with executive teams and advisors to transform regional firms into national organizations.
Before founding Agora in 2018, Paul was Co-CEO and Co-founder, of a Toronto-based company that deployed industry-leading technology including a suite of back-office and front-office systems in a dealership it owned. This firm specialized in bridging the gaps in the mutual fund supply chain to modernize the way in which financial services are delivered to the mass affluent market in Canada.
Today, Paul's experience in leading innovation, strategic planning and operations has positioned Agora to be the firm of choice for independent dealers and advisors. Agora empowers advisors to effectively compete with large firms and meet the ever-changing regulatory requirements while acting in their clients' best interests.
Paul is a graduate of the University of Victoria Law School. He clerked at the British Columbia Supreme Court and was called to the bar in 1990. He was a guest lecturer at the University of British Columbia in Sport & Negligence law for several years.
Job Titles:
- Region Head
- Region Head - Quebec and Maritimes
Xavier has spent over 10 years in the financial services industry, in banking and mutual fund business development. He previously worked as an internal wholesaler at Manulife Investment Management where he helped advisors to find the best solution for their clients.
Today, Xavier can take his experience and adopt a new approach to his business development efforts by concentrating on helping advisors find a better practice management approach through the Agora Dealer Services Corp platform.
Xavier's efforts are focused on Quebec, to educate advisors on how Agora's intermediary platform and technology can support them - spending less time doing administrative work and more time building relationships with current and new clients. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal in Business Administration and Information Technology.