Our Leadership Team

As Chairman and CEO of People Corporation, Mr. Laurie Goldberg is responsible for providing leadership and overall strategic direction to the corporation and its subsidiaries. Under his guidance and leadership, the organization began its transformation from a regional firm to one with a national presence. Today, People Corporation is the fastest growing firm in the group benefits, group retirement and HR industry in Canada. Recently, Mr. Goldberg was recognized as the EY Entrepreneur Of the YearTM 2014 Prairies Division in the Professional and Financial Services category.

Mr. Goldberg’s experience includes the position of Chief Operating Officer and Office of the President of Assante Corporation, formerly a TSX listed company. During his tenure with Assante, he led the organization from approximately 100 employees to become one of the largest non-bank owned financial institutions in Canada, with some 2,500 employees and advisors, managing approximately $22 billion in client assets. Assante’s portfolio also included a leading sports and entertainment services organization in the United States. In 2003, the Canadian Operations of Assante were sold for almost $1 billion. Prior to joining Assante, Mr. Goldberg was Managing Partner with Arthur Andersen (now Deloitte). Mr. Goldberg graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba and is a Chartered Accountant.

Brevan Canning is the President of People Corporation. In this position Brevan oversees the Company’s operations, policies, procedures and other strategic initiatives set out by the CEO and the Board of Directors. Brevan has held senior leadership roles within People Corporation since the organization’s inception in 2007. Before being promoted to President, he held the position of Executive Vice President and Group Head, Group Solutions where he led the Company’s consulting and third party administration divisions.

Prior to joining People Corporation, Brevan held Corporate Development roles at both CanWest Global Communications and prior to that, at Band-X Ltd., both of which provided him significant international financial and accounting experience. He’s a graduate of the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Business Science degree, a graduate of Oxford Brookes University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and a Certified General Accountant.

Mr. Dennis Stewner is Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer of People Corporation and is responsible for the overall finance & operating functions of the corporate office including financial reporting, audit, tax, treasury, corporate governance, investor relations, IT, legal and compliance.

Mr. Stewner has over 20 years of financial and operational experience primarily in the financial services industry. Prior to joining People Corporation, he was the Senior Vice-President for National Bank Financial where he was responsible for the bank’s Canadian full service brokerage business outside of Quebec. Prior to that, he held a number of senior leadership roles including CFO and COO for Wellington West Holdings Inc. Dennis is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba.

Mr. Paul Asmundson is Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Development Officer for People Corporation. In this role Mr. Asmundson leads the Corporate Development function and is responsible for overseeing all initiatives and activities aimed at the origination and execution of mergers, acquisitions and investments aligned with the company’s overall strategic growth plan.

Paul has nearly 20 years of investment banking and corporate development experience. Immediately prior to joining People Corporation, Mr. Asmundson was Senior Managing Director in Deloitte LLP’s Corporate Finance business based in Winnipeg, where his primary focus was mergers and acquisitions, financing and board advisory mandates. In addition to his most recent role with Deloitte, Paul has over 14 years’ experience in the Canadian investment banking sector in progressively senior roles (primarily with TD Securities and Scotia Capital), providing advice on a range of strategic transactions and financing activities. Paul holds a Bachelor Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.