RBC partners

Susannah is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and Certified Financial Planner. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo, specializing in Chartered Accountancy.

Prior to joining RBC, Susannah provided comprehensive financial planning guidance and advice to executives, business owners, professionals and high net worth families. Susannah uses a holistic approach to helping clients address all areas of their financial planning.

Susannah’s role is to work with and support your Investment Advisor in preparing and presenting comprehensive Compass Financial Plans.

As a Senior Will and Estate Advisor for the Greater Toronto Area, Lesley Donsky brings an approach to estate planning that centers on understanding and addressing the unique needs of each client, working collaboratively with both the client and their trusted advisors to develop a comprehensive and effective estate plan.

Whether clients hope to protect a disabled heir, incorporate succession planning for their business, address the unique concerns arising from second spouses and blended families, minimize family conflicts, or deal with beneficiaries or assets that are situated outside of Canada, Lesley can help craft a tailored estate plan that meets their individual needs.

Lesley is a graduate of the University of Windsor Faculty of Law with a Juris Doctor degree and holds a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation. She is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Ontario Bar Association (OBA), the Estate Planning Council of Canada and the Junior Trust and Estate Practitioners Group (JTEP), as well as a full member of STEP Canada.

In 2022, Lesley was nominated and shortlisted for the Young Practitioner of the Year Award through the STEP Client Awards, which recognizes excellence among practitioners who demonstrate great promise in the industry.

Before joining RBC Royal Trust, Lesley worked at two of Toronto’s top will and estate planners and estate litigation firms. In addition to her law degree, she earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Criminology from Western University, where she was awarded the Gold Medal in Criminology for her academic achievement.

The combination of Lesley’s professional experience and commitment to providing practical solutions make her an invaluable resource for both clients and their financial advisors.

As a trusted partner of your advisor's team, Peter champions the integration of insurance solutions as an essential part of holistic wealth management planning.

Peter joined RBC in 2017. He has spent over 25 years in the financial services industry primarily focused on helping clients fulfill their financial dreams. Believing that it is never too early to plan, Peter is there to help discuss and provide solutions to protect yourself, your loved ones and your business in the event of the unexpected.

Peter received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Toronto and holds the Personal Financial Planner (PFP) designation. He is passionate about spending time with his two younger daughters and faithfully cheering on his hometown team, the Toronto Raptors.

Andrew loves the insurance business. It’s not the products, it’s the opportunity to learn about you, your family and your life as a whole and how insurance may help you to reach your most cherished goals. That accounts for Andrew’s core purpose: to focus on people and provide the optimal solution for their unique circumstances.

Fundamentally, Andrew is an educator. He says, “If I hadn’t chosen the insurance business I would probably be a teacher. As an Estate Planning Specialist, my role is to educate clients on which situations these products are for, and how you make them work.” It is not about the sale. It’s about helping people discover an insurance solution that works for them, if any. It’s always about people, not product.

Andrew has been an Estate Planning Specialist since 1993. He lives in Toronto with his wife, daughter and their dog. An amateur boxer until 1992, he was the Ontario middleweight champion. Now he’s an avid squash player and fisherman.

Alleen earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from York University and her law degree from the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law in 2008. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2009.

Prior to joining RBC, Alleen practiced in the areas of Estate Planning and Administration, Corporate/Commercial law and Real Estate law in a mid-sized law firm. Alleen advised her clients on a breadth of legal issues, including key considerations in setting up legal business structures, succession planning and estate planning.

Alleen fosters a multidisciplinary approach to each client’s unique needs, drawing on various advisors’ expertise and offering her own to identify issues for further consideration and review, together with information and guidance which are both sensible and practical.

Connie obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1994.

Prior to joining RBC in 2012, Connie practised law for 18 years. As a partner in a mid-sized full-service law firm, her practice was varied and covered the areas of corporate/commercial law, real estate, and Wills, trusts and estates law. In that role, Connie advised her owner-manager clients on a broad range of business and personal needs, from purchases and sales of businesses, to shareholder agreements and corporate reorganizations, to Will and estate planning.

For many years Connie taught the Business Law section of the Bar Admissions Course and was involved with preparing the licensing exams for Ontario lawyers. Throughout her career, Connie has been involved in her broader community, serving on many non-profit boards as well as providing pro bono legal services.

Mara brings 20+ years of group savings experience to RBC. Harnessing her expertise in client relationship management and business development, Mara provides expert consulting to organizations with the design and implementation of their workplace savings plans. With a deep understanding of retirement savings vehicles, Mara’s clients feel secure they are being supported in their role as plan sponsor by an accomplished practice leader. Mara effectively uses her extensive network to gain meetings with prospects and engages her DS partners at every opportunity, facilitating introductions to business-owners, key executives and high-net-worth plan members. Most recently Mara introduced DS to a high-profile retailer with a national presence and over 650 employees.

As a Premier Banking Advisor for the greater Toronto area, Claudia Diaz works as a single point of contact providing banking and credit solutions for select clients of Dominion Securities and their families. Partnering with Investment Advisors across the region, she provides personalized service and tailored advice to help clients save time and effectively manage their day-to-day banking and credit solutions.

With 15 years of experience in the financial industry with Royal Bank of Canada, Claudia is well respected by both her clients and peers alike. Prior to her current role Claudia was a Financial Advisor, Banking Advisor, as well as an Operational support role at RBC. Clients appreciate Claudia’s extensive experience as a banking and advisory professional and her commitment to efficiently meeting their needs and simplifying their financial affairs.

Committed to giving back to her community, as part of RBC’s community events Claudia has volunteer for the Aga Khan Museum, Evergreen Brickworks and the Daily Bread Food Bank. In addition, she is very passionate in helping the less fortunate here at home as well as in other countries.

Born in El Salvador, Claudia moved to Canada in 1993 and lives in Toronto with her husband, three children and grandson. In her spare time, Claudia loves spending time with her family and friends who inspire and motivate her life.

Jennifer Wood brings over 17 years of RBC experience to her role serving high-net-worth clients in Toronto and the surrounding area.

As Private Banker in the downtown Toronto office, she draws on her extensive experience to advise on a number of issues that affect her business owner and professional clients, including banking, lending and wealth management. As needed, she partners with specialists from across RBC to provide a complete range of complementary services, including estate and tax planning, investment management and trust services.

Prior to joining Private Banking, Ms. Wood was a senior counsel in RBC's Law Group in the Mergers and Acquisitions department. There, she managed in-house and external counsel teams and worked with business partners on acquisitions and dispositions on behalf of RBC. In 2011, she was a recipient of the ILO Global Counsel Award for best in-house M&A law practice.

Ms. Wood is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and holds a bachelor of laws degree and a bachelor of science degree from the University of Toronto. She also has her personal financial planning designation. She is an active member of her Toronto community and ran for City Counsellor for Ward 29 Toronto-Danforth in 2010. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Greater Toronto Scouts Foundation and for Crow's Theatre.

Ms. Wood was born in Regina and raised in Burlington before she made Toronto her home in 1981. She keeps active outside the office with yoga, travelling, reading, following the Toronto Blue Jays and raising her two teenaged children.