Meet the Team

Joanne obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Victoria, Canada. She was called to the Ontario Bar and is a member of good standing with the Law Society of Ontario.

Prior to joining RBC Wealth Management, Joanne has had a rich and varied career working in both large and small firms in private practice as well as working for a number of years as in-house counsel for a large international technology company. In the last few years in private practice, Joanne specialized in the areas of will and estate planning, estate administration, trust planning, and family business succession planning.

As a Wills and Estate Consultant, Joanne provides comprehensive estate planning services to clients.

As a Premier Banking Advisor, Gia provides personal service and tailored advice to help clients save time and effectively manage their day to day banking needs. Gia works as a single point of contact and partners with Investment Advisors in Barrie, Collingwood, Midland, Orillia, Owen Sound and Bracebridge.

Gia has 12 years of experience in the financial industry with RBC. She was recently a Private Banking Associate with our Vaughan Office for over 5 years and prior to that she was an Account Manager for 7 years at a branch. Gia is greatly respected by her clients, peers and the industry, and has enjoyed success in assisting clients achieving their goals. She has been recognized as a Top Performer with RBC over the past few years.

She graduated with a Diploma in Journalism at Humber College and is deeply committed to giving back to her community. She participates annually in RBC's Race for the Kids as well as RBC's Bed Race for the Sunshine Foundation.

Gia was born in Toronto and now lives in Barrie with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she is an avid reader and enjoys practicing yoga.

You’re the biggest beneficiary.

Colin Ardill stays humble. Even so, he’s not shy about being a man on a mission: to overturn 150 years of misunderstanding about life insurance, one day at a time.

Most Canadians see only one dimension to life insurance: that it’s of no use to the living. But Colin sees it in three dimensions. There is the death benefit that everyone can see – but life insurance also provides tax-exempt growth, and it allows the holder to spend more money in retirement than they otherwise could. Says Colin: “The person buying the policy is going to be the biggest beneficiary.”

Colin has been in the estate planning business for over 15 years. His core purpose – the heart of everything he does – is to leave everyone he meets better off.

Penny is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Penny completed her Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Wilfrid Laurier University (major in Accounting) and has completed Part I & II of the CICA In-Depth Tax Course.

Prior to joining RBC in 2015, Penny was a tax manager at one of the world’s leading accounting firms. She specialized in providing tax compliance and tax planning services to high net worth individuals and private businesses. She was also a member of the firm’s learning committee and trained colleagues on personal and corporate tax matters.

Penny’s role is to work with and support your advisor in preparing and presenting comprehensive Compass Financial Plans.