ANNE - Key Persons


Anne Desgagnés

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Rotary Club of Kingston - Frontenac
  • Senior Investment Advisor & Portfolio Manager
Anne has excelled in the investment industry for 25 years ever since graduating from university. For nearly a decade in Toronto and Montreal, she was engaged in the field of active portfolio management for pension funds and affluent families. The investment focus was based on a hands-on stock selection process and portfolio construction. It is during those experience-rich years that she honed her investment skills and developed the fundamental approach to investment management that she employs today in service of her clients. After relocating to Kingston, she has pursued her career at BMO Nesbitt Burns as an Investment Advisor. Her approach is to construct customized portfolios of individual securities for her clients based on an analytical and research-driven methodology. Since 2015, Anne has been offering discretionary investment management services to her clients. Anne is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Kingston-Frontenac and has been an active Rotarian since 2010. Her involvement with Rotary spans many volunteering aspects of the organization. She has been particularly involved with youth activities as a host parent and counselor to international students participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange program and in various club fundraising efforts. She was honored to be named Rotarian of Year twice and is a Paul Harris Fellow.

Barb Hickey

Job Titles:
  • Senior Administration Associate
Barb co-ordinates all administrative matters concerning the operation of client accounts. She worked in the legal industry for 10 years before joining the Kingston branch of BMO Nesbitt Burns in 1995. She has completed the following professional designations: Canadian Securities Course (CSC), Conduct and Practices Handbook (CPH) and Professional Financial Planning (PFP). Barb is a graduate of St. Lawrence College with a diploma of Law Clerk & Business Administration.

Carol Willes

Job Titles:
  • Director, Estate Planning
Carol brings over 30 years of legal experience with 14 years of dedicated wealth and estate planning expertise to her role. Carol came from a combination of private practice in law and consulting for clients from Asia to Europe in the areas of business structuring, succession planning and financing. She has taught both undergraduates and executives at the Queen's University School of Business and Faculty of Law, in the fields of international business, law and ethics and most recently taught Wills and the Law of Succession to upper year law students at the University of Ottawa. Now as Director, Estate Planning at BMO Private Wealth, Carol strives to provide meaningful, client-centered advice and solutions. She helps individuals and their families build a secure and purposeful legacy and find peace of mind in the context of their entire wealth story. Carol assists clients from many backgrounds to comprehend their present circumstances and to develop that future legacy. By helping people focus on what is most important to them - their family, their community, financial security and more - she develops distinctive estate planning options for clients as part of an integrated team of wealth planning specialists that supports those clients through their entire life journey.