Felice Bontempo, MBA, CIM

Senior Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager

Felice joined BMO Nesbitt Burns in 1994 and has been helping clients attain their financial goals ever since. Although Felice is very interested in the analyitical side of the business, his true value is in building a strategy for his clients so they can navigate the important elements of financial planning. He believes that all great Client/Advisor relationships are partnerships with common goals and it all begins with a solid plan.

Maxwell Bontempo, CIM

Investment Advisor

After earning his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Guelph's Lang School of Business, and attaining his Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation, Max gained invaluable experience across leading Canadian financial institutions. He's worked alongside more than 1,000 Investment Advisors throughout the Golden Horseshoe, developing sharp market insights and a deep understanding of what truly matters in client relationships. In 2025, Max joined BMO Private Wealth as part of Bontempo Wealth Management, working alongside his father and mentor, Felice Bontempo. While learning from his father's 30+ years of experience serving business owners and affluent families, Max is carving his own path forward—providing clients with the perfect blend of established wisdom and contemporary perspective.

 

A proud Niagara resident, Max embodies the region's warmth and character. When not helping clients, you'll find him on the golf course, on the ice, or staying active. He's an enthusiastic explorer of Niagara's renowned restaurants and wineries, and cherishes time spent with his close-knit family who call the region home.

Sarah Galoni

Senior Administration Associate

Sarah joined BMO Nesbitt Burns in 2007 after 7 years with BMO. As a valued member of the team, Sarah provides an instrumental service in assisting and navigating client requests. Sarah has an outstanding reputation for attention to detail, professionalism, and dedication to our clients. Sarah graduated from York University with a bachelor of Fine Arts. She spends her spare time with her daughter Kyall.

Our Partners

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John Paniccia, CPA, CA, CBV, FEA

Vice President, National Director of Business Advisory & Succession Planning

John is an experienced business advisor and brings a broad base of technical and business planning experience to BMO Wealth Management. John offers individuals and business owners expertise in business succession, transition, sale, M&A, insurance and valuations for the purposes of wealth planning and transfer.

John has over 15 years of experience primarily in the Big 4 professional services firms, as well as experience in a family owned private business. Within professional practice, John has lead a significant number of complex business valuations and business advisory engagements for private and public companies involved in a variety of industries in connection with M&A, corporate reorganizations & income tax planning, shareholder disputes, corporate finance activities, as well as succession, tax & estate planning for private business owners.

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Chris Markou, LL.B, BA (Hons)

Director, Estate Planning

Chris advises high net worth individuals and families on specialized Estate & Trust solutions as part of an integrated wealth planning team.

Chris draws on his prior experience as an estates lawyer in private practice to assist BMO clients with complex estate and trust planning solutions in a variety of contexts. He provides support and direction on matters related to estate, gift and tax planning, succession planning for business owners, charitable giving and planning for family members with special needs.

Prior to joining BMO Wealth Management, Chris operated his own law firm, worked as in-house counsel with an insurance company, and worked in the estates and real estate groups in one of the largest and oldest law firms in Brampton, Ontario. Chris has been actively involved in the community as a member of numerous boards and committees, and has chaired and presented at several programs for the Ontario Bar Association.

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Piero Mazza, CFP, CFA, CIM, TEP

Director, Wealth Planning

​As a member of the Wealth Management Consulting team, Piero brings together the knowledge and experience of our in-house tax and estate professionals and works with Investment Advisors and their clients to develop sound wealth management plans.

He provides support and direction about complex issues such as retirement and distribution planning, tax planning, cash management, estate and gift planning, transition planning and charitable giving.

Piero has 15 years of experience in the financial services industry having worked for a large, Canadian brokerage firm and Insurance company as a financial planner providing comprehensive planning for their high net worth clients in the area of tax, estate, insurance and retirement planning. Piero has a Business Degree, is a member of the Financial Planning Standards Council, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the CFA Society of Toronto.

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Noel Perera

Director, Tax Planning

With almost 25 years of experience, Noel understands the broad issues that wealthy families face. By taking the time to understand each client’s specific goals and objectives, he brings his extensive subject matter expertise to help guide families through the unique opportunities and challenges that they may be facing in the areas of tax and estate planning, corporate structuring, business succession planning, trust planning and family governance.
Noel can skillfully take complex tax and estate planning issues and considerations, and speak to clients in a way that they can easily understand these issues.
Noel joined BMO Wealth Management in 2017. In addition to his tax/accounting background of almost 18 years at Deloitte & Touche  LLP, he has extensive experience in the investment industry as well, including working at a large fund management company. Most recently, Noel worked as a Tax Planning & Consulting Specialist where he focused on tax planning and wealth transfer strategies for high net worth clients and business owners.