DLC Co-Founders & Corporate Leaders
Gary Mauris
ChairmanMr. Mauris is the co-founder and President & CEO of Dominion Lending Centres; CEO of Mortgage Centre Canada; and Chairman of Mortgage Architects. Together, these companies account for almost 40% of all broker originated mortgages in Canada. Mr. Mauris is a serial entrepreneur, having sold two prior companies to the public market. Mr. Mauris has been recognized as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 and earned the 2016 Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year. His companies have also won multiple industry awards and have been recognized by Profit Magazine as among Canada’s fastest growing companies. As a business leader, Mr. Mauris is called upon to share his views with media throughout Canada; as part of the 2011 Pre-budget Consultation process with the Federal Minister of Finance at the time, Mr. Jim Flaherty; and selected to be part of CBC’s “Face the Nation” in 2016 and have an open and frank discussion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a variety of economic topics. Mr. Mauris has led multiple socially conscious initiatives as the co-founder and President of the I AM SOMEONE Ending Bullying Society and recently co-founded “Bikes for Kids”, a National program that collects new bicycles for underprivileged children across Canada.
Chris Kayat
Co-Founder, Executive Vice ChairMr. Kayat is the co-founder and Executive VP of Dominion Lending Centres (DLC). Prior to co-founding DLC, he was the largest Royal LePage owner in Western Canada by market share and overall agent count before selling such franchises to Royal LePage Corporate in 2014 to focus on growing DLC. Before acquiring his real estate companies in 1997, Mr. Kayat was one of the most productive realtors in British Columbia. While owning his real estate business, he owned and operated a productive mortgage brokerage which became DLC’s first franchise.
Mr. Kayat has also undertaken many community and social initiatives, such as co-founding “Bikes for Kids” and serving as the President of the North Coquitlam United Soccer Club.
Management Team
Eddy Cocciollo
President - DLC Inc.Eddy began his mortgage and lending career over 25 years ago at Canada Trust before becoming a Mortgage Specialist at CIBC in 1997. In 1999 Eddy joined CMHC in Business Development, learning the ins and outs of the insurance side of the industry. Eddy became a mortgage broker with Assured Mortgages in 2004 where he quickly grew a successful book of business before being presented with an opportunity to help GE Money enter the Canadian market in 2005 Eddy was instrumental in growing the GE Money business, as his role was heavily focused on both sales and product development. Further, as VP of Sales, Eddy effectually represented the Canadian business at GE Money’s International Mortgage Conferences held in London England, Florence Italy and Burbank California, alongside over 22 other countries. Eddy’s career then moved back to CIBC as VP of Sales, Firstline Access before accepting the Presidents role at The Mortgage Centre in 2008. With his exceptional leadership of MCC for more than 10 years, Eddy proved he can lead a high-caliber network and moved into his current role as President of Dominion Lending Centres. His focus is on the growth of DLC and implementing the tools, products, services and technology that the over 3,000 mortgage professionals count on to help grow their businesses.
James Bell
President - CorporateMr. Bell has been a Director of the Corporation since February, 2016. He transitioned to Executive Vice President, Corporate and Chief Legal Officer in December, 2023 after being President and Chief Executive Officer since January 30, 2019. Prior thereto he served as Interim Chief Financial Officer (from October 1, 2018 to January 30, 2019), General Counsel and Corporate Secretary (from April, 2016 to January 30, 2019) and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation (from November, 2016 to January 30, 2019). Mr. Bell is a corporate and securities lawyer with over 19 years of experience. Mr. Bell has served as General Counsel for Olympia Financial Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Olympia Trust Company (a non-deposit taking trust company) for six years prior to joining the Corporation and was a partner of an international law firm prior thereto. In addition, Mr. Bell serves as a director, audit committee member and chair of the compensation committee of Paramount Resources Ltd. (a publicly traded energy company). Mr. Bell graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1999.
Geoff Willis
President - Newton Connectivity SystemsGeoff Willis was appointed President of CEO of Newton in January 2017 after being immersed in the acquisition of Marlborough Stirling in the Fall of the previous year, and its subsequent renaming and transition to becoming a DLC Group enterprise. Geoff has over a 32 year career in the mortgage origination and technology business held progressively expansive roles with TD Canada Trust and his Vancouver based brokerage Origin Mortgages.
One of Newton’s key IP assets, Velocity, was conceived and built by Origin contracted developers. Geoff has served on many industry committees, and is a previous board member with the Mortgage Brokers Association of BC (MBABC) now referred to as CMBA – BC. Geoff completed a Bachelors of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University, a Marketing Management Diploma from the BC Institute of Technology and an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Queen’s University.
Rich Spence
President - Mortgage Centre CanadaRich Spence has been the President of Mortgage Centre Canada (MCC) since September of 2018. Prior to MCC, Rich has 22 years of experience in the Canadian Financial sector starting as the Founder and Chief Operating Office of inContact Inc, for 12 years. inContact was the first and leading CRM productivity suite for Mortgage Brokers and Bankers from its inception to today. After an acquisition of inContact by Benesure, Mr. Spence become the Vice of Mortgage Protection Plan (currently a division of Manulife). Mortgage Protection Plan is the number one offered mortgage creditor insurance in the Canadian Financial Industry.
Mike De Eyre
President - Mortgage Architect'sMike is a mortgage industry veteran with expertise in sales, marketing, operations, and credit risk. In progressively senior roles at Maple Trust and Scotiabank, Mike has worked closely with mortgage brokers throughout his career and was instrumental in running the top-ranked broker channel lender by market share. His experience includes overseeing $13 Billion in annual mortgage originations for a region, managing large underwriting and sales teams, leading the marketing group for Scotiabank’s mortgage channels, and running several large projects and initiatives for the broker space. Known as an approachable and people-focused leader, Mike is passionate about seeking out strategic opportunities and helping others succeed and grow. Mike lives with his wife and 2 children in the Toronto area.
Geoff Hague
CFO - DLCGMr. Hague has been a Chartered Professional Accountant since 2008, and has over 17 years of professional accounting experience. He’s been the accounting and finance lead for the DLC Group for approximately 10 years, and had worked with Chris Kayat for several prior years in other businesses. He has experience in a wide variety of areas including ‘nuts-and-bolts’ accounting, ERP (and other) software systems, taxation, public-company reporting, and acquisitions. Mr. Hague graduated from Simon Fraser University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.
Board of Directors
Gary Mauris
ChairmanMr. Mauris is the co-founder and President & CEO of Dominion Lending Centres; CEO of Mortgage Centre Canada; and Chairman of Mortgage Architects. Together, these companies account for almost 40% of all broker originated mortgages in Canada. Mr. Mauris is a serial entrepreneur, having sold two prior companies to the public market. Mr. Mauris has been recognized as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 and earned the 2016 Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year. His companies have also won multiple industry awards and have been recognized by Profit Magazine as among Canada’s fastest growing companies. As a business leader, Mr. Mauris is called upon to share his views with media throughout Canada; as part of the 2011 Pre-budget Consultation process with the Federal Minister of Finance at the time, Mr. Jim Flaherty; and selected to be part of CBC’s “Face the Nation” in 2016 and have an open and frank discussion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a variety of economic topics. Mr. Mauris has led multiple socially conscious initiatives as the co-founder and President of the I AM SOMEONE Ending Bullying Society and recently co-founded “Bikes for Kids”, a National program that collects new bicycles for underprivileged children across Canada.
Chris Kayat
Co-Founder, Executive Vice ChairMr. Kayat is the co-founder and Executive VP of Dominion Lending Centres (DLC). Prior to co-founding DLC, he was the largest Royal LePage owner in Western Canada by market share and overall agent count before selling such franchises to Royal LePage Corporate in 2014 to focus on growing DLC. Before acquiring his real estate companies in 1997, Mr. Kayat was one of the most productive realtors in British Columbia. While owning his real estate business, he owned and operated a productive mortgage brokerage which became DLC’s first franchise.
Mr. Kayat has also undertaken many community and social initiatives, such as co-founding “Bikes for Kids” and serving as the President of the North Coquitlam United Soccer Club.
James Bell
President - CorporateMr. Bell has been a Director of the Corporation since February, 2016. He transitioned to Executive Vice President, Corporate and Chief Legal Officer in December, 2023 after being President and Chief Executive Officer since January 30, 2019. Prior thereto he served as Interim Chief Financial Officer (from October 1, 2018 to January 30, 2019), General Counsel and Corporate Secretary (from April, 2016 to January 30, 2019) and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation (from November, 2016 to January 30, 2019). Mr. Bell is a corporate and securities lawyer with over 19 years of experience. Mr. Bell has served as General Counsel for Olympia Financial Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Olympia Trust Company (a non-deposit taking trust company) for six years prior to joining the Corporation and was a partner of an international law firm prior thereto. In addition, Mr. Bell serves as a director, audit committee member and chair of the compensation committee of Paramount Resources Ltd. (a publicly traded energy company). Mr. Bell graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1999.
Ron Gratton
Lead Independant DirectorMr. Gratton is the President of Strathdale Investment Management Ltd., a private investment firm. He is also a director of the McCaig family office, which administers the McCaig family’s investment in the Trimac group of companies. From 2000 until 2010, Mr. Gratton was a Senior Tax Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Prior thereto, he held senior roles with Coopers & Lybrand as well as various public and private companies. Mr. Gratton is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary.
Trevor Bruno
Chair of the CommitteeMr. Bruno is Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for the Belkorp Group of Companies. He is involved in all aspects of operational, investment, divestiture and management decisions and provides legal support for all business operations at Belkorp. Mr. Bruno is a corporate lawyer with over 19 years of experience. Prior to joining Belkorp in 2016, Mr. Bruno spent 10 years at Intrawest where he served in numerous of roles, including President of Intrawest’s hospitality and timeshare division (2012-2016), Vice President of Corporate Development (2009-2012) and legal counsel (2007-2009). Prior thereto, Mr. Bruno also spent more than 5 years practicing at Sidley Austin LLP in New York. Mr. Bruno was named on of Business in Vancouver’s Forty under 40 in 2015. Mr. Bruno obtained a Bachelor of Law and B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and is called to the bar in New York and British Columbia.
Dennis Sykora
Mr. Sykora is a lawyer, Chartered Professional Accountant and experienced executive who brings a focus of corporate governance and financial discipline. Mr. Sykora currently serves as a director of Questerre Energy Corporation, an energy company listed on the TSX and Norway Stock Exchange. Mr. Sykora served as a senior executive with High Arctic Energy Services (an energy services company listed on the TSX) from April 2007 to July 2014 in various roles including as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President and General Counsel and served on the Board of Directors until November 2016. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as a senior corporate executive and 15 years as a lawyer and Chartered Accountant with Felesky Flynn LLP and Ernst & Young LLP, specializing in tax planning. Mr. Sykora is a member of both the Law Society of Alberta and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta
J.R. Kingsley Ward
Kingsley has over 30 years of experience initiating, structuring, and monetizing private equity investments. He began his career in 1991 at the head office of his family’s group of companies, The Vimy Ridge Group Ltd. (TVRG), a Toronto-based family office with a portfolio of investments primarily in the healthcare industry. In 1992, VRG Capital, a division of TVRG, was formed to develop merchant banking initiatives for the Group. From 1992 to 2011, Kingsley was President of VRG Capital. In 2011, VRG Capital Corp. was formed to expand these merchant banking activities in partnership with other family offices. Currently, Kingsley is Chairman of TVRG and is a Managing Partner at VRG Capital Corp.
Kingsley also currently serves as Chairman of Clarus Securities Inc. – an institutional investment dealer and research firm, DATA Communications Management Corp. (TSE:DCM) – one of Canada’s largest marketing and brand management businesses, Nucro-Technics Inc. – a pharmaceutical contract research organization, and Globalive Technology Inc. (TSXV:LIVE) – a strategic fintech, communications, and telecom services investment firm.
Kingsley’s other engagements include being Lead Director of MCI Onehealth Technologies Inc. (TSE:DRDR) – a leading technology-enabled primary care network and one of Canada’s largest medical clinic groups, as well as a Director and former Chairman of Dominion Lending Centers Group – Canada’s largest mortgage broker. Kingsley currently serves on, and has served as Director of numerous other private and public companies.
Prior to his current commitments, Kingsley served as founder and former Director of IPEC Ltd., founder and former Chairman of Pareto Corporation (TSE:PTO) – a leading marketing services company, until its sale to Riverside Capital in 2011, former Director of PLM Group Ltd. (TSX:PGL) – a commercial printing and direct marketing company, former Director of Wheels Group Inc. (TSXV:WGI) – a third-party logistics company, and former Chairman of Jones Brown Holdings, the parent company of Jones Brown Inc. – a mid-market property and casualty insurance broker, sold in 2019 to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG).
Kingsley has been actively involved in the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) since 1999, and has held several positions, including Chairman of the Ontario Chapter, member of the Canadian Regional Council, member of the Canadian Regional Executive Committee, and has proudly served as the Canadian Regional Educational Officer.
As a passionate supporter of healthcare-related charities, Kingsley is a current Director and a former founding Co-Chair of Capitalize for Kids (C4K) – Canada’s leading investor conference in support of children’s mental health. Kingsley has served for over 25 years on the executive of Polo for Heart – a Heart & Stroke Foundation fundraising initiative, as well as being a former Director of the Special Olympics Canada Foundation.
Kingsley is also a Director of Polo Canada, a national sports organization committed to the promotion of the sport of polo. He is a member and Director of the Toronto Polo Club. And he is also a member of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, in addition to holding membership at the Toronto Club.