2026 Banff School Emcee. CHS, CFP, CLU, CHFC Mutual Funds Representative, Manulife Wealth. Life Insurance Advisor, Benefit Planners Inc.

Robert began his career in the financial services industry more than 35 years ago, starting at a career agency. In 1999, he became an independent advisor and joined Benefit Planners Inc., where he built a successful practice serving individuals, families, business owners, and entrepreneurs.

Robert’s areas of expertise include risk management, group benefits, and wealth management, with a strong focus on wills and estate planning, powers of attorney, trusts, tax-planning strategies, and business succession planning. In 2011, he further expanded his practice by investing in and acquiring his partner’s firm.

From 1997 to 2015, Robert taught the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) program and other financial planning courses at Mount Royal University and the University of Calgary, reflecting his long-standing commitment to education and professional development within the industry.

Industry involvement has been a cornerstone of Robert’s career. He has held numerous leadership roles with Advocis, beginning in 1992, including serving as President of the Calgary Chapter in 2004. He has also been an active member of the TFAAC Board of Directors, serving as Chair in 2011. Robert is a past Chair of the Advocis Banff School and a member and past Chair (2023) of CALU (Conference for Advanced Life Underwriters). He is also a Top of the Table (TOT) as well as a Life and qualifying member of MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table).

Robert and his wife, Carla, are the proud parents of three adult children: Jordyn, Sam, and Sara.

Alvin Law

Alvin Law is an international keynote speaker, 2-time Hall of Fame recipient, Emmy Award winner, world-class musician, and best-selling author. In his 40+ years of public speaking, Alvin has entertained more than 2 million people across 5 different continents. His incredible true story inspires audiences to explore their lives with greater imagination and transform their obstacles into amazing opportunities. When he’s not on stage, Alvin loves mastering sports video games and prides himself on being the best driver in his family. He shares his life with his wife and business partner, Darlene; his adult son, Vance; and assorted pets. They all live in beautiful Calgary, Canada.

(pronounced PHRASE) 

Froese has coached over 1000 families helping decrease their anxiety over the uncertainty of their future. She has authored 5 books, and written a column for 30 years in Grainews,

She’s a Wilson Loree Excellence in Farm Management award winner, who provides practical tools and roadmaps to find fairness in farm transition and navigate conflict with positive behaviour.

Froese Family Farms near Boissevain in Southwestern Manitoba is her home base, where she farms with her husband, son, and daughter in law.  Their certified seed farm of 5000 acres is also home to Boissevain Select Seeds, a certified seed company now owned and run by son Ian.

Elaine runs Farm Family Coach Inc. with her business partner Lydia Carpenter who manages the coaching practice while Elaine focuses on speaking and the membership site which is a subscription to group coaching for over 40 families across North America and the UK.

Elaine understands the culture of agriculture and is gifted at helping folks see great outcomes and workable paths for their family farms.  Visit www.elainefroese.com and the podcast www.farmfamilyharmonypodcast.com

Elaine and her team refer many farm families to financial planners and wealth advisors. She is delighted to share insights with Advocis in Banff!

Her mission is to help families find harmony through understanding.

If you need a higher resolution photo, please reach out to Brenda Funk, copied above. Thanks

Hope that is all you need for now,

Elaine

Brad Hyde is a 37-year veteran of the Canadian life insurance and advisory profession and a trusted voice in tax strategy, estate, and business-owner planning. He is widely known for helping advisors bridge the gap between technical strategy and real-world client conversations—especially where complexity, emotion, and legacy intersect.

With deep expertise in corporate-owned life insurance, CCPC planning, estate equalization, charitable strategies, and inter-generational wealth transfer.   Brad works alongside advisors, accountants, and lawyers to design and implement sophisticated solutions for business owners and high-net-worth families. His approach emphasizes collaboration, clarity, and planning that gets implemented—not just illustrated.

Brad holds an Honours BBA in Finance and Marketing, and the designations Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Certified Health Insurance Specialist (CHS).   He is actively involved in the profession, including long-standing engagement with CALU and leadership roles within the estate-planning community.

A frequent speaker and mentor, Brad is especially valued for his ability to make advanced planning concepts understandable, relevant, and immediately usable. His sessions blend technical insight, case-based learning, and storytelling drawn from decades of advisory experience.

Outside the profession, Brad is a lifelong learner, avid golfer, and committed family man who believes that great planning—like great advice—is ultimately about relationships with people, not products.

BBA, CLU, CHS, SVP, Tax and Estate Planning Westgroup Financial Management

Matthew King

Matthew King is Head of Group Distribution at RBC Insurance, where he leads the National Sales and Service teams across their group insurance business. 

With a foundation in Management Economics from the University of Guelph, he began his career in air traffic control before transitioning to the insurance industry.

Matt started in the group benefits space as an account executive before moving into various leadership roles.  Known for his people-first leadership and enterprise mindset, Matt has consistently driven high performance and growth throughout his career. 

Outside of work, he’s a proud husband, father and youth sports coach, bringing the same energy and collaboration to his personal life as he does to his professional one.

Managing partner and Senior Financial Planner

LTCI Consulting Inc

Since entering financial services in 1999, I have been deeply aware of the profound impact that financial security, or the lack thereof, can have on individuals and families, especially when facing life's unforeseen challenges.

​This understanding ignited a passion within me for proactive financial planning. For over a decade, I focused specifically on the complexities of long-term care planning, recognizing the vital role it plays in protecting loved ones. This foundational experience continues to shape my approach to comprehensive financial guidance today.

​My inherent love for numbers and meticulous planning combined with a desire to make a tangible difference in people's lives. I passionately believe that financial well-being significantly influences so many aspects of life, and I strive to help change complex financial concepts into manageable and understandable strategies for my clients.

Randy Scritchfield established his retirement planning firm to reflect his personal philosophies about the delivery of financial services to the public. The primary philosophy is that the client must be represented to the marketplace -- rather than a product or one company represented to the client. Randy’s team is able to pursue this goal because of their independence from any one company, product or discipline. This philosophy is the cornerstone to working with both businesses and individuals.

Randy L. Scritchfield is a Certified Financial Planner™. He is a Registered Representative with a FINRA Series 7 General Securities Representative registration. He is also licensed for life, health, variable life and annuity and other investment products. Beginning his life insurance career in 1980, Randy has been in the financial services industry since 1985.

Randy continues to build his business as an evolving collaboration of independent advisors with specific expertise and experiences to help individuals and businesses address their financial needs.

An active leader in the industry, Randy served as President of Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) in 2022. Founded in 1927, the MDRT is a global, independent association of more than 90,000 of the world’s leading financial services professionals. He is a 40-year MDRT member with 3 Court of the Table and 23 Top of the Table honors. An MDRT Foundation Excalibur Knight, Randy is also a member of its Inner Circle Society and has served on its Board of Trustees. Randy has spoken extensively at industry events worldwide, including numerous MDRT Annual Meetings and Top of the Table Annual Meetings as well as MDRT Days internationally. Other industry volunteer work includes serving on the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Finance Committee beginning in 2002 and as National Treasurer from 2009-2011. He also served on the Insurance Marketing Standards Association (IMSA) Board of Directors and as President of the NAIFA-Suburban Maryland (1990-91).

He balances industry leadership with community involvement, currently serving as Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union and Chair Emeritus of the Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce. Past involvement has included Board Member of the Boys & Girls Clubs Germantown, Past Chairman of the BlackRock Center for the Arts, Member of the Charter Review Commission of Montgomery County, and Chairman of the Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board. In our local community, he was the founding Chairman of the Damascus Community Alliance and the founding President of the Damascus Heritage Society, which worked to successfully establish a community museum. He also served as President of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce and Commissioner of the Damascus Area Baseball League.

Randy and his wife, Kathy, reside in Urbana, Maryland. They have 6 children and 10 grandchildren.

Amina Deiab

Amina Deiab is the CEO of the Alberta Insurance Council (AIC) and a transformational leader with over twenty years of experience in the public and private sectors.

Amina has both served on and worked with boards of directors for a decade. Most recently as Founder of QED Inc, Amina advised boards, chairs and executive teams to build effective corporate governance practices as a bedrock of organizational success.

She also previously served as President & CEO of the Safety Codes Council; in that role, Amina led a significant organizational transformation with a focus on transforming the organization to become a risk and outcomes-based regulator.

Prior to her role at the Safety Codes Council, Amina worked at the intersection of large scale economic development, strategy, energy policy and governance in a number of leadership roles in the Government of Alberta.

Amina spent the first 15 years of her career in the private sector focused on business development across Canada and the U.S. She has also founded her own companies involved in the residential construction sector.

Amina holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute for Corporate Directors and has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, specializing in Innovation, Science, and Energy Policy from Carleton University.

Dane ZoBell

Dane specializes in corporate and personal tax planning, along with estate planning and some administration. Dane is a regular presenter at the Canadian Bar Association, STEP, Canadian Tax Foundation and the Legal Education Society of Alberta. He is a current and past board member of STEP, CBA-Wills and Trusts, and the Edmonton Estate Planning Council. Dane has been ranked as a featured Leading Lawyer in both Corporate Tax and Estate & Personal Tax Planning – Estate & Tax Planning by Canadian Lexpert®. When not at work, Dane enjoys spending time at his farm or on the water kite boarding.