Our Team

Lawrie Savage - President of LS&A

Lawrie has been involved with the Canadian insurance industry for over 40 years.  He served as Superintendent of Insurance for the province of Ontario from 1991 to 1995 and worked in senior positions with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI), from 1966 to 1985.  For the last 8 years with OSFI he was in charge of property/casualty insurance supervision for Canada.  He was CEO of a Canadian life company for 3 years and also served as Vice Chair of a general insurer.  He was Director, Insurance Consulting Services for Coopers & Lybrand Consulting in Toronto, Canada prior to establishing LS&A  in 1997.  He is author of "Re-engineering Insurance Supervision", a comprehensive paper jointly commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank and The World Bank.  He is also author of the IAIS/World Bank Core Curriculum modules for the areas of "Preventive and Corrective Measures" and "Supervisory Reporting".  Lawrie has carried out many assignments in Canada and has also specialized in working with emerging market countries to modernize their financial supervisory infrastructures and to provide staff training.  Risk based supervision has been a focus of many recent assignments. Lawrie is a Program Leader and member of the Insurance Advisory Committee of the Toronto International Centre for Leadership in Financial Supervision.  He is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Risk Studies Centre at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.  He is a director of the Property and Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation, Canada's insurance consumer compensation plan.  Lawrie has a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Calgary and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business (Dean's List).

Fred Gorbet - Project Counsel

Fred Gorbet has had a long and distinguished career in the Canadian financial sector. As a former Deputy Minister of Finance for Canada, he was responsible for management of the Department of Finance and provision of policy advice to Minister of Finance and Prime Minister. During his tenure he oversaw reform of the Canada Pension Plan and the development and implementation of modern financial supervisory legislation for Canada. He served as a Member of Panel of Experts on Federal Equalization Program and Territorial Finance, appointed by Minister of Finance for Canada (2005-06), and as Chair of Market Surveillance Panel for deregulated Ontario electricity market (2000-06), served on the Advisory Board to the Consortium for Economic Policy, Research and Advice (Russia), and was Executive Director of the Task Force on the Future of the Canadian Financial Services Sector from February 1997 to September 1998..  He was Executive Director Joint Committee on Corporate Governance (appointed by TSE, CDNX and CICA) during 2000-01 and authored the Joint Committee's interim and final reports.  He was Commissioner on the Federal Judicial Compensation Commission (1999-2003).

Ian Webb - Director of Consulting Services
Ian holds a PhD in Risk Management and Insurance from Georgia State University, consistently ranked as a world leader in areas of risk management and insurance. From 1999 until 2008 Ian was Director of Research for the International Insurance Foundation, where he continued to develop his expertise in supervisory and insurance consulting in emerging market countries. Prior to that, he was with the World Bank for 2 years as a consultant and financial sector specialist. He has many publications to his credit, including for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID and other organizations and agencies. At Georgia State University he assisted Professor Harold Skipper, C.V. Starr Chair of International Insurance at Georgia State University, with revisions of the internationally recognized textbooks on Life Insurance and International Insurance. Fluent in English and Spanish, semi-fluent in French, Ian is a citizen of the United States, the European Union and Peru
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LS&A CONSULTING RESOURCES

Yoseph Aseffa - Specialist in Capacity Building in Insurance and Pension Supervision
Yoseph is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and has extensive knowledge and experience with regard to the insurance and pension industries in African countries as well as the supervisory systems. For 14 years, Yoseph served as Secretary General/CEO of the African Insurance Organization (AIO). He is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (USA) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He has designed specific capacity building programs in a number of countries, tailored both at national and regional levels. He has also been active in identifying national and regional development programs in the insurance sector aimed at making the insurance industry responsive to national insurance needs as a means for social and economic development. Such programs include natural catastrophe risks, agricultural insurance programs, life and pensions, insurance schemes for micro finance institutions and the informal sector, etc.
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Mark Fowler - Pension and Insurance Specialist
Mark is a professional actuary who, prior to entering the consulting field, has held senior positions with the government of Canada in respect of the supervision of life insurers and pension funds.  As Director General of the Pension Benefits Division of OSFI from 1987 to 1996 he was head of pension supervision for the Canadian government.  He has also held senior positions with the federal government in the supervision of the life insurance industry in Canada.  He has been consulting since 1996.  In the international field Mark is particularly interested in the development of public policy and modernization of supervisory techniques in the pension and life insurance fields.  He has carried out a number of assignments with Lawrie Savage & Associates in the field of life insurance and pension reform.  Mark is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
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Michelle Li - Project Officer
Michelle joined LS&A in February of 2006 where she initially worked with the LS&A team carrying out the Enterprise Annuity pension project for the People's Republic of China.  As Project Officer she now has experience in pension and insurance supervisory work as well as training in risk based supervisory techniques.  She graduated with a Master's degree in Management from Massey University in New Zealand in 2004.  In Canada, she has completed a program in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) through the University of Toronto, and has obtained a designation of Canadian Risk Management (CRM) from Global Risk Management Institute Inc. (GRMI), New York.  Michelle is fluent in Mandarin and English.
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Robert Hobart BCom, MBA - Specialist in Long Term On-Site Assignments for Financial Supervision
Robert has more than 25 years of government policy and supervisory experience in Canada and has been a senior manager within the Canadian public sector for over 20 years.  Prior to joining LS&A in 2000, Robert was Superintendent of Financial Institutions and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Institutions Commission in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.  British Columbia is the country's third most populous province and is a highly regarded financial supervisor, at least in part because of its modern financial legislation and the quality of its supervisory processes.  He played an important role in our Trinidad and Tobago Project involving the integration of insurance and banking supervision in the country.  Robert has also carried out several assignments in Kazakhstan and has completed long term assignments in financial supervision in Jamaica, Tanzania and other countries.  He has an MBA from the University of Alberta.

Catherine MacLellan - Specialist in Financial Reporting to Supervisors
Catherine has many years of Canadian experience both as an insurance supervisor and also as a consultant.  Catherine is an accountant by training and has served as a Senior Bank Inspector and as Director of Special Services with OSFI.  She has been consulting since 1987.  Over the last few years, as a joint venture with the firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, she has focused on the development and design of computer software for use by insurance companies in completing their required federal financial filings, which are extensive.  In the international field she is interested in the design and specification of financial statement reporting and the electronic capture and filing of financial information with supervisors.  Catherine holds an Honours BCom degree from the University of British Columbia and is a Certified Management Accountant.
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Mark McKenzie - Specialist in Insurance and Financial Supervision
Mark is a leading financial sector technical expert in the field of regulatory governance and compliance, with hands-on supervisory experience in developing countries and emerging markets. He is a specialist in the development of regulatory policies and procedures, compliance audits and compliance training, and AML/CFT, BCP and Insurance Core Principle assessments.  Broad cross sector experience in an integrated supervisory environment, along with significant experience in supervisory consulting, perfectly position Mark to assist financial supervisors in moving their jurisdictions toward international standards and best practices.  Mark holds a MBA in Banking and Finance from the University of Wales and Manchester Business School and a B.Sc. in Economics and Accounting from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston Jamaica.
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Colin McNairn - Legal and Drafting Specialist

Colin is a former Partner of one of Canada's leading law firms, Fraser Milner, where he specialized in insurance law. He is well known as an expert in the practice and theory of insurance legislation and for a number of years has been editor of the Carswell "Consolidated Insurance Companies Act of Canada, Regulations and Guidelines", the definitive publication on federal insurance legislation.  From 1989 to 1991 Colin headed up the Insurance Legislation Review Project, which was a wide ranging review of insurance legislation for the Government of Ontario, with recommendations for change in all areas of the legislation.  In the international sphere, Colin is interested in assisting with the development of modern insurance legislation.  He has provided extensive input to the development of new financial legislation in Trinidad and Tobago where LS&A completed a major project in 2001 and has drafted the Model Law for Lebanon, in a project sponsored by the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank and the Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative (FIRST).  Colin was Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, from 1967 to 1975, and in the 1960's was a tutor in law at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.  Colin has a Master of Laws degree from Harvard University.

Shelley L. Miller - Specialist in Insurance Law
Shelley Miller is a partner with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP one of Canada's most prestigious law firms.  Shelley has a special arrangement with LS&A whereby she is able to make her services available to LS&A international clients subject to certain constraints related to her Canadian law practice.  Shelley has also pioneered a more efficient and effective way to reform legislation, regulation and legal processes, known as negotiated reform, which builds consensus among competing multilateral stakeholders and arrives at solutions more quickly and economically. She is recognized as an international expert in automobile insurance tort reform,  and brings global experience to the team. [BACK TO TOP]

Javier Montero - Specialist in Latin American Insurance
Based in Lima, Peru, Javier has many years of senior experience in the insurance industry in both Canada and Peru. He has served as President and CEO of one of the largest Peruvian insurance companies and also as a Director and Senior Vice President of Great Lakes Reinsurance Company, a Canadian subsidiary of Munich Re.  All in all, Javier has more than 20 years experience in top management positions in the insurance, reinsurance and managed care sectors, with leading international companies.  Javier has excellent knowledge of the cultural and business environments in most Latin American countries and is fluent in four languages.  He is the Founder and President of the Canada-Peru Business Council (Chamber of Commerce).  With more than 100 members, the CPBC has become one of the most active bi-national institutions in Peru and has cooperated in the significant growth of Canadian investment in Peru.  To ensure the best possible service to our Latin American clients, Javier has also completed specific training with regard to the supervisory modernization techniques practiced by LS&A.
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Louise Pelly - Legal and Drafting Specialist
Louise Pelly is a former partner of one of Canada's leading law firms, Stikeman Elliott, where she specialized in the law relating to banking, insurance and the regulation of other financial services.  She is well known in Canada as an expert in the practice and theory of Canadian financial regulatory legislation.  She was Special Counsel to the Department of Finance Canada, advising on the major revision of the laws governing Canadian banks, trust, loan and insurance companies and cooperative credit associations, which came into force in June 1992, including development of underlying policy and drafting legislation.  This landmark legislation marked Canada's adoption of a new supervisory framework incorporating a risk based approach to financial supervision, significantly higher standards of corporate governance for institutions, and increased responsibilities for professional auditors and actuaries within the supervisory framework.  In February 1997 she was appointed Advisor to the Task Force on the Future of the Canadian Financial Services Sector, which reported to the Minister of Finance in September 1998.  She is co-author of the definitive work on the revised banking legislation, The Annotated Bank Act, now in its fifth edition.  She is also author of Canada: Business and Finance, published in the Fall of 1997, with a Preface by the Honourable Paul Martin, Minister of Finance.  For the last several years she has been providing legal assistance in emerging market countries on assignments having to do with the modernization of financial legislation.  Louise has a Master of Laws degree from Harvard University.
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Anne Riley - Specialist in Marketplace Issues, Government Policy on Financial Institutions
Anne Riley is well known in the Canadian financial services community.  She has extensive experience with Canadian financial institutions and over the last several years has worked in financial policy consulting and project management on a contract basis with such organizations as Bank Works Trading, the Canadian Bankers Association, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services and the Bank of Montreal.  Prior to that Anne was Director, Financial Institutions at the Canadian Bankers Association, where she was responsible for policy research, including preparation of submissions and testimony before the House of Commons and Senate Committees, with regard to bank regulation, insurance and deposit insurance reform.  She served as industry spokesperson on matters related to insurance and legislative reform, appearing on national media and frequently speaking at industry conferences.  With LS&A, Anne works closely with Lawrie Savage to provide increased capacity for our work on the Insurance Regulatory Newsletter and other matters related to government policy and supervision.  She holds an MBA degree from the University of Manitoba.
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Bernard Rodrigues - Specialist in Insurance and Financial Supervision
Bernard has more than 38 years of insurance experience, 24 years as a senior insurance regulator in Canada and prior to that, 14 years industry experience in Georgetown, Guyana.  Before joining LS&A Bernard was Superintendent of Insurance for the Province of Alberta, Canada, a position he held for 14 years.  He has played a significant role in insurance supervision in Canada through his involvement with the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators.  Bernard was on-site with LS&A in Trinidad for over a year working on the banking and insurance supervisory modernization project in that country.  In that role he was involved in all project work, provided input and advice on all aspects of the modernization process and played an especially important role in the development of the draft Insurance Law.  Bernard also played a key role in our project related to supervisory integration in Barbados as well as a number of projects in Canada.
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Harry Ruthnum - Banking and Related Sectors Financial Specialist
Over a working career of more than 25 years, Harry has gained wide experience in the regulation and supervision of financial institutions in Canada, Africa, Guyana (South America) and Jamaica, especially in the area of banking and bank related financial activities. Working with the Canadian International Development Agency, Harry has prepared reports with regard to the analysis and performance of a number of international agencies, including the Inter American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank. He acted as an IMF advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of Rwanda, providing technical assistance in such areas as the supervisory framework for banks, regulations on credit, foreign exchange and reporting to the central bank, audit issues, assessment of AML/CFT issues, gap analysis using the Basel Core Principles of banking supervision and other bank related assignments. He has experience as a bank supervisor with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in Canada. Harry is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a Chartered Accountant in Canada and also holds an MBA degree in managerial economics and finance.
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Gordon Smith - Specialist in Insurance and Financial Supervision
Gordon is a Chartered Financial Analyst who had a 27 year career with OSFI.  Gordon specialized in life insurance, and particularly the area of life insurance company inspections.  For 10 years Gordon was Director of Life Insurance Examinations at OSFI.  Consulting with Lawrie Savage & Associates Inc. since 1997, Gordon has experience in working with emerging market countries in the insurance supervisory area.  He also specializes in utilizing his CFA skills in the analysis and identification of systemic problems in the overall health of financial institutions and financial markets in developing countries.   Gordon is especially interested in staff training and the design of supervisory mechanisms related to the identification, quantification and management of the various risks involved with the insurance business in developing countries. He has a BA, an MBA and is also a Fellow of the Life Management Institute.
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Wayne Steele - Specialist in Banking Supervision
Wayne Steele is a highly experienced, former Canadian financial supervisor who has specialized in deposit taking institutions. He had a 26 year career with OSFI, the Canadian financial sector supervisor and for the last 4 years of his work with OSFI he was Director, Supervision Sector. From 1996 to 1998 he was Manager, Examinations and prior to that he was Senior Examiner. In addition to directing risk based on-site examinations, Wayne's experience in Canada has included the supervision of problem institutions and employee training. In emerging market countries Wayne was a key member of the LS&A project team in Trinidad and Tobago, where he worked on risk based supervision and examination in the banking area. [BACK TO TOP]

Andre Swanepoel - Specialist in Insurance and Pension Supervision, Corporate Governance
Andre's career spans a 38 year period and covers the insurance and banking industries as well as government supervision of financial institutions.  He started his career with 12 years in the actuarial and investment departments of a large life insurer in South Africa, thereafter a stint of 13 years in merchant and hire purchase banking and the last 13 years as the deputy at the Financial Services Board (FSB) in South Africa, responsible for the supervision of life and general insurers and occupational pension plans. Andre was a member of the executive team at the FSB and, apart from the normal strategic and budgetary planning and controls for the supervisory office, also interacted with government on long range regulatory planning. Andre chaired various industry and ad hoc committees, was an ex officio member of several others and was a member of the King Committee that revised the corporate governance Code for South Africa. Andre was also a member of the executive committee of the IAIS and chaired the Emerging Markets and Educational sub-committee of the IAIS for several years. Andre was a speaker at many meetings and conferences in and outside South Africa and was involved as reviewer and writer of IAIS training curriculums under the supervision of the World Bank.
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