Exciting news: The Humphrey Group has been acquired by Humance!
In this special episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal speaks with Bernard Letendre, Managing Partner, Ontario and Western Canada at Humance, about the story behind this decision and the journey that led him there.
Bernard shares his remarkable career path from practicing law to leading major divisions in Canada’s financial services industry, to joining Humance and becoming the architect behind its acquisition of The Humphrey Group. Along the way, he reflects on lessons learned about taking risks, creating opportunities rather than waiting for them, and pursuing growth with purpose.
He also draws powerful parallels between leadership and his lifelong practice of judo, where discipline, humility, and mutual benefit are essential to success.
Bart and Bernard close with an inside look at how the merger came to be after a year of conversation and a shared vision for growth, and how it will set both organizations up to continue serving their clients in existing and new ways.
Whether you’re navigating your own career transitions or leading through change, this conversation offers powerful insights on creating your own opportunities, embracing non-linear growth, and finding strength in partnership.
Show Notes:
00:14 Show intro
00:48 Welcoming Bernard
01:14 Special announcement
02:05 "Humance" meaning
02:29 Judo and its importance
04:40 How Bernard began his career
05:01 Law and the law of electronic surveillance
05:34 Wife: "law made you less fun to be around"
06:47 Joined IG
07:06 Taking a 100% commission job
07:53 Making cold-calls to the bar phonebook
08:35 Finding opportunities in the new job
08:40 Officer training in the military
09:05 Good at management
10:19 Changing career paths regularly
10:36 Switching to Standard Life
11:21 Standard life
12:05 2009 Financial crisis - lost job
12:14 Landing at Manulife
12:36 Should you take a step down in your career?
13:01 Building a biz plan for private wealth at Manulife
13:44 Manulife tapped him to run his business plan
14:54 Advice for people who are ambitious with their careers
15:08 Don't wait for opportunity, come up with ways of creating value
15:36 Congrats, you have employment now figure out your job
16:50 How the Pandemic transformed his life
17:53 cert in organizational coaching
20:59 Why he made the leap to Humance
22:38 Long-term thinking
22:45 Doing is big "act" before it was too late
24:16 Advice: A career does not have to be linear
25:13 Not having a rigid mind
25:36 The final act: Humance
27:05 His Biz plan for expanding Humance outside the Quebec market
28:48 How Bernard reached out to Bart
31:17 Mutual benefit in Judo
33:41 Thank yous and wrap up
34:02 Outro
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Exciting news: The Humphrey Group has been acquired by Humance!
In this special episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal speaks with Bernard Letendre, Managing Partner, Ontario and Western Canada at Humance, about the story behind this decision and the journey that led him there.
Bernard shares his remarkable career path from practicing law to leading major divisions in Canada’s financial services industry, to joining Humance and becoming the architect behind its acquisition of The Humphrey Group. Along the way, he reflects on lessons learned about taking risks, creating opportunities rather than waiting for them, and pursuing growth with purpose.
He also draws powerful parallels between leadership and his lifelong practice of judo, where discipline, humility, and mutual benefit are essential to success.
Bart and Bernard close with an inside look at how the merger came to be after a year of conversation and a shared vision for growth, and how it will set both organizations up to continue serving their clients in existing and new ways.
Whether you’re navigating your own career transitions or leading through change, this conversation offers powerful insights on creating your own opportunities, embracing non-linear growth, and finding strength in partnership.
Show Notes:
00:14 Show intro
00:48 Welcoming Bernard
01:14 Special announcement
02:05 "Humance" meaning
02:29 Judo and its importance
04:40 How Bernard began his career
05:01 Law and the law of electronic surveillance
05:34 Wife: "law made you less fun to be around"
06:47 Joined IG
07:06 Taking a 100% commission job
07:53 Making cold-calls to the bar phonebook
08:35 Finding opportunities in the new job
08:40 Officer training in the military
09:05 Good at management
10:19 Changing career paths regularly
10:36 Switching to Standard Life
11:21 Standard life
12:05 2009 Financial crisis - lost job
12:14 Landing at Manulife
12:36 Should you take a step down in your career?
13:01 Building a biz plan for private wealth at Manulife
13:44 Manulife tapped him to run his business plan
14:54 Advice for people who are ambitious with their careers
15:08 Don't wait for opportunity, come up with ways of creating value
15:36 Congrats, you have employment now figure out your job
16:50 How the Pandemic transformed his life
17:53 cert in organizational coaching
20:59 Why he made the leap to Humance
22:38 Long-term thinking
22:45 Doing is big "act" before it was too late
24:16 Advice: A career does not have to be linear
25:13 Not having a rigid mind
25:36 The final act: Humance
27:05 His Biz plan for expanding Humance outside the Quebec market
28:48 How Bernard reached out to Bart
31:17 Mutual benefit in Judo
33:41 Thank yous and wrap up
34:02 Outro
S7 E5: Building the Women of Burgundy with Anne Maggisano
The Inspire Podcast
41 minutes 43 seconds
5 months ago
S7 E5: Building the Women of Burgundy with Anne Maggisano
In this episode, Bart is joined by Anne Maggisano, Vice President, Investment Counsellor at Burgundy Asset Management. Anne shares the story behind founding The Women of Burgundy—an initiative that has reached over 1,000 individuals and is dedicated to building a community that inspires women to make investing a priority and take a leadership role over their wealth.
She reflects on the early spark that inspired the initiative, how she garnered support within the firm, and the ways it has grown over more than a decade into the impactful community it is today. More than just an initiative, The Women of Burgundy also became the place where Anne found her own authentic voice as a leader. Throughout the conversation, she offers candid insights on her journey and how tapping into her values became the foundation of her leadership.
Anne’s journey is rich with lessons for anyone wanting to create meaningful, lasting impact: from navigating the inevitable ebs and flows of support, to staying personally energized, to evolving your work to meet people where they are. The Women of Burgundy is a true inspiration and so is Anne’s story.
Learn more about The Women of Burgundy here: https://www.burgundyasset.com/women/
And find Anne's Sharing Our Stories speech here: https://www.burgundyasset.com/views-insights/sharing-our-stories/
Show Notes:
00:58 Welcoming Anne
02:06 What is the Women of Burgundy?
02:41 Her personal experience that kicked it off
03:59 The investment business doesn't speak to women very well
04:36 The reason why women have been less involved, historically
05:06 Over time, women have built wealth
05:55 Realization her women clients were not being as well served
06:14 When women lose their husband and have to take over wealth management
06:58 Story of her mother's experience
08:20 She brought this to Burgundy
08:34 What was the reaction like?
09:16 Wanted to ensure it was empowering and educational
09:49 Her manifesto that she pitched
11:21 Finding her own voice as a leader
11:47 It was hard!
12:40 It takes time for others to "get" what you're doing
13:41 The story of the very first event
14:34 Changing women’s and men’s roles around wealth
14:54 Not data, but lots of anecdotal experience
15:40 The milestones of The Women of Burgundy
16:22 Moving online with COVID
17:08 Launching the magazine to widen outreach
17:41 The summit
18:46 CIBC report: women will control $4 trillion by 2028
21:15 Longer lives, but not health spans
21:35 Families will have to care for the elderly
23:05 Talking about setbacks and challenges
23:21 When you're leading, take a long time
25:23 Leadership requires self-conviction
27:48 Advice for those starting a leadership journey
28:00 Make sure you're surrounded by supportive people
28:34 Having agency in your environment
29:58 The "How" evolves, but the "Why" stays consistent
31:07 You have to cultivate the support!
31:26 Examples of people coming around to support
34:07 The long game
34:33 The rocking chair test
35:57 Who do you want to be in that rocking chair?
37:01 Always stay true to your values
38:10 How to learn more about Anne & Burgundy
39:02 Last piece of advice
39:07 You're responsible for your own vision and future
40:05 Thank yous
The Inspire Podcast
Exciting news: The Humphrey Group has been acquired by Humance!
In this special episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal speaks with Bernard Letendre, Managing Partner, Ontario and Western Canada at Humance, about the story behind this decision and the journey that led him there.
Bernard shares his remarkable career path from practicing law to leading major divisions in Canada’s financial services industry, to joining Humance and becoming the architect behind its acquisition of The Humphrey Group. Along the way, he reflects on lessons learned about taking risks, creating opportunities rather than waiting for them, and pursuing growth with purpose.
He also draws powerful parallels between leadership and his lifelong practice of judo, where discipline, humility, and mutual benefit are essential to success.
Bart and Bernard close with an inside look at how the merger came to be after a year of conversation and a shared vision for growth, and how it will set both organizations up to continue serving their clients in existing and new ways.
Whether you’re navigating your own career transitions or leading through change, this conversation offers powerful insights on creating your own opportunities, embracing non-linear growth, and finding strength in partnership.
Show Notes:
00:14 Show intro
00:48 Welcoming Bernard
01:14 Special announcement
02:05 "Humance" meaning
02:29 Judo and its importance
04:40 How Bernard began his career
05:01 Law and the law of electronic surveillance
05:34 Wife: "law made you less fun to be around"
06:47 Joined IG
07:06 Taking a 100% commission job
07:53 Making cold-calls to the bar phonebook
08:35 Finding opportunities in the new job
08:40 Officer training in the military
09:05 Good at management
10:19 Changing career paths regularly
10:36 Switching to Standard Life
11:21 Standard life
12:05 2009 Financial crisis - lost job
12:14 Landing at Manulife
12:36 Should you take a step down in your career?
13:01 Building a biz plan for private wealth at Manulife
13:44 Manulife tapped him to run his business plan
14:54 Advice for people who are ambitious with their careers
15:08 Don't wait for opportunity, come up with ways of creating value
15:36 Congrats, you have employment now figure out your job
16:50 How the Pandemic transformed his life
17:53 cert in organizational coaching
20:59 Why he made the leap to Humance
22:38 Long-term thinking
22:45 Doing is big "act" before it was too late
24:16 Advice: A career does not have to be linear
25:13 Not having a rigid mind
25:36 The final act: Humance
27:05 His Biz plan for expanding Humance outside the Quebec market
28:48 How Bernard reached out to Bart
31:17 Mutual benefit in Judo
33:41 Thank yous and wrap up
34:02 Outro
