About Us
We specialize in helping clients align their business plans with intelligence-based integrated solutions and advice.
Our experts boast a wealth of knowledge and experience and are passionate about turning challenging business problems into creative and effective solutions to enhance the bottom line.
For each project, we assemble the best combination of people to provide a truly customized solution. Experience has taught us that we can deliver better work in a cost-effective manner with a small team supported by an elite group of specialists.
Our clients include global financial institutions, SME’s, family businesses, sole practitioners and cultural and sports enterprises. We have worked with a variety of industries including Financial Services, Sports & Entertainment, Retail, Packaged Goods, Health, Publishing and Communications.
GEORGE HARTMAN
MBA, President & CEO
George has a 40-year+ career in financial services as an advisor, manager, executive, educator, coach and author . He is an insightful industry observer and prolific writer, having published three best-selling books for financial advisors and currently working on his fourth. For more than 10 years, George has written the monthly column The Coach’s Forum for the trade journal Investment Executive and is a regular guest on Building Your Business television broadcast on IE:TV.
George has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences in Canada, the US, Germany, the Caribbean, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand, including the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) and Top of the Table annual meetings. As one of the financial services industry’s best-known advisor strategists, practice management mentors and practice valuation experts, he presently coaches a number of top-producing advisors in Canada and the US and consults with several financial services firms on their business strategy and succession plans.
George also serves on the Board of Directors of PlanPlus Inc., creators and distributors of the world’s only truly multi-lingual, multi-jurisdictional and multi-currency wealth management software.
JULIE BREDIN
BA (Econ), Managing Partner
Julie’s 30+ years of experience in marketing and helping businesses and advisors elevate their brands has always focused on the goal of driving sales. She loves her work to “tell stories” and she uncovered her favorite ‘story’ while working in Vancouver with C.M. Oliver (now Canaccord), where she met an advisor who had a104-year old client, who’d had his account with the firm for 73 years!
Julie immediately reached out to this client and within a few days of meeting, he was profiled on the cover of C.M. Oliver’s new RRSP brochure with him saying, ’At 104 years old, I never thought my retirement would last this long”. The story was picked up by the Globe & Mail newspaper and made its way to the cover of the Report on Business section.
A close second favorite experience was the valuable lessons learned by being part of a small marketing team that helped launch one of the financial services industry’s most powerful brands and seeing firsthand how a company could go from an average firm to the strongest and largest independent advisory business in the industry. In less than two years, Midland Walwyn, powered by it’s “Blue Chip Thinking” brand was the place where everyone on the street wanted to work.
Later on, Julie joined TD Bank to head up marketing for their high net worth channels (Evergreen & Private Client Group) before the entrepreneurial urge led her set up her own company that served both large and small organizations, as well as top-producing advisors on various research and marketing communication projects to energize and elevate brands, drive sales and improve client experiences. Some clients include CIBC, Royal Bank, TD Bank, Great-West Life, Mackenzie Financial, Franklin Templeton Investments, Canadian Securities Institute, Pal Insurance, Russell Investments, Raymond James, GP Wealth Management, Tennis Canada, Stratford Festival of Canada and the international Woman’s Tennis Association.
Julie’s reputation for delivering high quality results and outstanding service has drawn many repeat clients to her work.
Education:
• Honors in the Essentials MBA program – London School of Economics (2020)
• Marketing and Communication courses and seminars – Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) and International Association of Business Communicators (IBAC)
• Conduct and Practices Handbook Course
• Honours in the Canadian Securities Course
• BA, Economics – Huron College, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
