THE ECHELON TEAM

Our executive team is led by independent investment industry veterans who provide Echelon with strong vision and leadership.

Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan

Chairman

Kevin Sullivan was appointed as the Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Echelon Wealth Partners in 2022. Kevin is the President of KMS Capital Ltd., a Toronto-based advisory firm. Previously, he was at GMP Capital Inc. since its inception, serving as President from 1996 – 1999 and as CEO of GMP Capital from 1999-2010. He also co-founded Richardson GMP. Kevin has over 30 years of experience and relationships in the capital market industry. As CEO of GMP, he oversaw the creation and growth of GMP Securities LP, GMP Securities Europe LLP and Richardson GMP. He also helped facilitate GMP’s IPO in 2003.

David Cusson
David Cusson

Chief Executive Officer

David is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Echelon Wealth Partners (formerly Euro Pacific Canada). He has more than 23 years of experience in the investment industry, with a specialization in wealth management and capital markets. Prior to founding Euro Pacific in 2010 David held senior roles at a number of independent investment dealers including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, Director of Research and Co-Director of Capital Markets. Throughout his career, David has always taken an active role in the investment industry. In 2012, he was elected as a member of the Ontario District Council for the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada for a two-year term.

Rob Furse
Rob Furse

President

Rob is co-founder and President of Echelon Wealth Partners (formerly Euro Pacific Canada). He is a serial entrepreneur, with more than 15 years of corporate finance, capital markets technology and project management experience. Prior to co-founding Euro Pacific in 2010, Rob founded and successfully exited an online furniture importing business and managed a successful information technology consulting practice. Rob brings a unique approach to capital markets services, based on his varied business background. He has an honours degree from Queen’s University.

Doug Glover
Doug Glover

COO & CFO

Doug joined Echelon in April 2016 as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. He is responsible for oversight of the finance division and general operations. Doug’s career spans more than 35 years, including more than 25 years in senior management roles at large and small independent firms. Prior to joining Echelon, Doug was Head of Operations at Dundee Securities where he served on a team responsible for multiple acquisitions and operational integrations. Earlier in his career, Doug spent 12 years with the full-service independent firm Deacon Capital Corporation working his way up to the role of Chief Financial Officer.

Louis Cavalaris
Louis Cavalaris

Chief Compliance Officer

Louis was appointed Chief Compliance Officer at Echelon Wealth Partners in March 2016, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry to the company. He has worked in Canada and the U.S. in a variety of roles, most recently as Chief Compliance Officer at Dundee Securities Corporation. Louis previously held senior compliance positions at National Bank Financial and First Marathon Securities. Earlier in his career, he worked at TD Bank in New York City and in the trading department at Pitfield Mackay Ross. Louis has a bachelor’s degree in economics from The University of Western Ontario and an MBA in international business from Dalhousie University.

Dominic Chow
Dominic Chow

Chief Strategy Officer

Dominic leads with purpose as Echelon’s Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for aligning the firm on what success looks like as well as what matters most during the journey in getting there. He serves also as the Head of Talent and Head of Marketing, given the strategic nature of people and client experience to our business. Prior to Echelon, Dominic invested 20 years in operating and consulting across the financial services sector, with investment dealers, banks, and insurance companies in the area of strategy implementation. His philosophy is that ideas are great, but getting it done is what matters. In his personal time Dominic focuses on family, music, instructing students on high-performance driving at racetracks, sim racing, and road cycling. 

Karanjit Bhugra
Karanjit Bhugra

Managing Director and Co-Head Capital Markets

Karanjit is Managing Director and Co-Head of Echelon Capital Markets. He is a seasoned finance professional who has enjoyed a broad array of experiences spanning mergers & acquisitions, structured finance, and corporate finance. His previous roles have included Managing Director at Deloitte Corporate Finance, where he co-led its Capital Advisory and Financial Services coverage groups, and Director & Team Lead, Structured Finance at Roynat Capital (subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia). Karanjit possesses specific expertise in leveraged buy-out / management buy-out transactions, equity take-out transactions, cash flow lending, subordinated debt / mezzanine financing, and ABL growth facilities. Karanjit holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business (Western University) and a BCom from the Sauder School of Business (University of British Columbia). 

Asad Said
Asad Said

Managing Director and Co-Head Capital Markets

Asad is Managing Director and Co-Head of Echelon Capital Markets. He is a member of the firm’s Senior Leadership Committee. Asad has over 18 years of investment banking, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate development experience gained at leading Canadian banks (Scotia Capital and National Bank Financial), as well as Deloitte Corporate Finance. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, HBA from Ivey Business School, and is a CFA Charterholder. He serves on the Board of Directors of St. Jude Community Homes (SJCH) and Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR).

James Hunter
James Hunter

Head of Wealth Management

James is Head of Wealth Management at Echelon Wealth Partners. He has worked in the industry for over 25 years. Prior to joining Echelon, James held roles as an Investment Advisor, Branch Manager, and Regional Director at bank-owned firms in both Calgary and Toronto. James is actively involved in the investment industry and is a member of the Investment Industry Association of Canada’s Private Client Committee. He is a graduate of both Bishop’s University (BA) and Boston University (MSc).

Simon Akit
Simon Akit

Head of Institutional Sales & Trading

Simon is Managing Director and Head of Institutional Sales & Trading at Echelon. He has 20 years of experience in Canadian and US capital markets coupled with five years of resource industry experience. Most recently, Simon spent over 12 years with Canada’s largest independent broker as Managing Director, where he held a variety of roles, including Global Head of Energy Sales. His deep experience in institutional equity sales and research includes past roles at BMO Capital Markets (New York), Raymond James, and UBS. Prior to his capital markets career, Simon spent five years as a petroleum engineer in a variety of technical and operational roles in Alberta, British Colombia, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland. Simon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He is a Professional Engineer (APEGA) in Alberta.     

Nicole Erlbeck
Nicole Erlbeck

Manager, National Branch Administrator

Nicole is the Manager, National Branch Administrator for Echelon Wealth Partners. She has over 26 years of experience in the investment industry. Her strengths include branch administration, back office functions, compliance and branch management supervision. As the National Branch Administrator, Nicole is responsible for communicating and coordinating the implementation of new products, systems and tools as they are introduced to the sales force. Nicole is fully licensed as a Supervisor and Assistant Branch Manager and she holds the Canadian Securities Course (2003), Conduct & Practices Handbook (2004) and Branch Manger Course (2004).

Isaac Marquez Santillan
Isaac Marquez Santillan

Senior Director, Information Technology

Isaac is Senior Director, Information Technology for Echelon Wealth Partners. He has over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology domain and project management. He has held several junior and senior IT roles with technology firms, including Electronic & Communications S.A and (EDS) Electronic Data Systems in Mexico City. After moving to Canada in 2002, Isaac joined (CSC) Computer Science Corporation. Isaac transitioned to the financial service industry in 2007. He has held roles at companies such as Dynamic Mutual Funds, Scotiabank and Dundee Corporation. Isaac spent 15 years throughout his time at Dundee Corporation and Echelon Wealth Partners in several different IT positions. As Senior Director, Information Technology, he is responsible for the oversight of the Information Technology department, as well as Infrastructure and Security Technologies.

Rob Goff
Rob Goff

Managing Director and Head of Research

Rob is Managing Director and Head of Research for Echelon. He has 30+ years of experience in the investment industry. Rob’s previous roles include Director at a Tier 1 Global Brokerage Firm and one of Canada’s Lead Banks, as well as Head of Research at three Canadian independent boutiques. His rankings exiting 2020/21 were in the top 1% across North American Analysts, maintaining 5-Star Rating with 823 investors following his stock recommendations as well as a 4th place Ranking across Canadian Analysts. He has been ranked amongst the top 3 communications and media analysts within the Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards in Canada from 2017-2020. Rob has also garnered 6 Brendan Woods rankings at either 1st or 2nd for the quality of his research, earned numerous top 3 rankings in telecom, media stock picking, forecasts according to Thomson Reuters, Starmine and Brendan Woods and, consistently ranks among top analysts in the Bloomberg Absolute Return Rank.

Crissa Pakkidis
Crissa Pakkidis

Vice President of Corporate Initiatives

Crissa is Vice President of Corporate Initiatives for Echelon Wealth Partners. She has more than 27 years experience in the investment industry. Crissa was one of the early hires in 2010 when Euro Pacific/Echelon was founded, and her background includes senior roles in Operations and Compliance as well as management of ECM and Private Wealth teams. Using her extensive experience with various business lines, Crissa has been responsible for setting up the firm’s Project Management office to ensure the completion of key initiatives to help fulfill its strategic objectives. 

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