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Dante Rossi, CPA, CA, CFP®

Director, Tax Planning

Dante advises high net worth business owners and families on specialized Tax & Estate solutions aimed at maximizing their wealth, as part of an integrated wealth planning team. Drawing on a decade of tax accounting experience, his clients benefit from a depth of informed insight and the ability to distill complex concepts into actionable strategies. Specializing in Canadian corporations and entrepreneurs, Dante offers guidance on tax structuring, estate planning, exit strategies and tax-efficient wealth transfer, creating tailored solutions for a diverse group of clients.

Dante joined BMO Wealth Management in 2015 from global professional services firm Deloitte LLP, where he worked for 10 years in progressively senior roles, managing and executing detailed reviews of complex corporate, personal, partnership and trust tax compliance and planning engagements.

John Michael Durrant

John Michael Durrant

Senior Estate & Insurance Advisor

John Michael Durrant specializes in helping high-net-worth individuals and families integrate insurance solutions into their broader wealth management plans. With more than 20 years of experience, he works with clients to structure insurance as both a risk management tool and a unique asset class, supporting wealth preservation, tax efficiency, philanthropic objectives, and legacy planning.

Working closely with our team, specialists across BMO Wealth Management, and clients' trusted tax and legal advisors, John Michael develops tax-efficient insurance strategies using personal and corporate assets. He helps clients understand the unique role insurance can play within a comprehensive wealth plan and how it can complement and enhance their overall financial strategy.

John Michael is committed to helping clients make informed decisions by providing clear, customized solutions that align with their goals and priorities. Through a collaborative approach, he helps create wealth planning strategies that provide confidence, flexibility, and peace of mind for the future.

Outside of work, John Michael enjoys spending time with his family at the cottage, on the ski slopes, and at countless hockey rinks.

Rhonda Blanch

Rhonda Blanch

Senior Estate & Insurance Advisor

Rhonda began her career in the financial services industry in 2001 and joined BMO Private Wealth in 2013. A CFP professional, Rhonda employs a comprehensive process to understand and assess your wealth management needs. Her objective is to ensure you meet your specific goals for building, preserving, and passing on your wealth. Where appropriate, personal and/or corporate insurance-based strategies are implemented to provide tax sheltered investment accumulation, mitigate financial risk, create tax-efficient income, and reduce investment and estate taxes.

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David Tremblett, CFP®, TEP

BMO Trust Company, Vice President, Personal Trust

David brings over 20 years of experience as a Trust and Estate Planner. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

David has worked extensively with our clients in the area of Estate, Will and Trust Planning, and is committed to providing his expertise by ensuring our clients have a capable executor that can fulfill their duties. When considering who to appoint as executor, he suggests looking for the following qualities: Knowledge, Accessibility, Fairness, Integrity, and Emotional stability.

If you have been appointed as executor or trustee and find the responsibility too onerous or time consuming, we can simplify your life by helping you fulfill your duties, and act as your Agent.

If you are considering a corporate executor, you can choose to appoint BMO Trust Company to help you with estate planning and administration.

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Karen Sparks, MBA, CFP®, TEP

National Director, Philanthropic Advisory Services

Karen advises high net worth families and business owners on comprehensive wealth planning solutions, as part of an integrated team of Wealth Consultants and in-house technical specialists. Drawing on extensive financial product expertise and planning acumen, Karen helps clients articulate and understand their unique objectives for accumulated wealth. A skilled listener, she acts as a value-add resource for Investment Advisors and their clients, ultimately providing a blueprint from which to execute a customized – and optimized – wealth plan.

Karen joined BMO Wealth Management in 2011, following progressively senior roles in the financial services industry, specializing in wealth planning, marketing and communications, and business development. In her previous role, she worked as a Vice President for a private investment counsel firm where she provided high net worth clients with comprehensive wealth planning and investment counselling services.

Elizabeth Creates

Elizabeth Creates, LL.B

Director, Estate Planning

Elizabeth provides estate planning guidance to high and ultra high net worth individuals, families and business owners in the context of their personal wealth and business succession planning.  Her background as an estates lawyer and over 20 years of experience in the wealth management industry allow Elizabeth to facilitate wealth transfer decision-making for clients and assist them with action planning regarding their legacy goals (financial and non-financial).  Her modern approach focuses on the well-being and personal empowerment of clients by bringing them peace of mind and encouraging the pursuit of personal fulfillment.

She works collaboratively with internal and external advisors in order to ensure that all aspects of a client’s wealth plan support their estate planning, succession and legacy goals. She has LL.B. and B.Comm. degrees from McGill University and is a member of both the Law Society of Ontario and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).