Our Team

Dustin has been providing clients with wealth management solutions for over 27 years. He holds a Certified Financial Planner professional designation and continues to enhance his knowledge through various educational events.

Dustin's goal is to simplify and enhance the lives of his clients by providing integrated wealth management solutions that are unique to each client's goals and objectives.

Dustin and his wife Sandy have three children, Adam, Connor and Reid. They are very active in the Sherwood Park community, having both lived there throughout their childhoods. Dustin has spent many years coaching his boys in both hockey and lacrosse. A big priority for Dustin is to have a good balance between his professional life and his family life.

Carolyn Norris graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Co-op degree from the University of Alberta in 2012.

Following the completion of her degree, Carolyn embarked on her professional journey by articling with MNP in Edmonton from 2012 to 2015. It was here that she earned her Chartered Accountant designation and honed her skills in various domains, including personal and corporate tax, audit, reviews, bookkeeping, and crafting financial statements for small business owners. From 2016 to 2022, Carolyn held the position of Controller at Arrow Engineering, where she was responsible for overseeing financial reporting and full-cycle accounting.

Beyond her career, Carolyn places a significant emphasis on her family life. She shares her life with her husband and takes pride in being a mother to two wonderful daughters and her golden doodle, Duke. Alongside her financial pursuits, Carolyn harbors a passion for fitness and travel, finding joy and fulfillment in both the physical and mental rewards of an active lifestyle.

As a Wealth Advisor at Assante, Carolyn is committed to providing tailored financial solutions. She believes that each person's financial journey is distinct and deserves personalized attention. Carolyn's dedication lies in guiding her clients towards financial security and prosperity.

With almost 30 years experience in the financial services industry, Shirley works closely with Dustin and Carolyn by providing support for seamless operations and efficient workflow. She specializes in the day to day client account processing, but also provides exceptional customer service and is the point of contact for all client administrative responsibilities. When not hard at work, Shirley spends quality time traveling with her husband or spoiling her furbaby.

As Regional Vice-President, Wealth Planning, Vanito Pobran works closely with our high net worth clients to identify issues and provide complex, tactical wealth planning support that complements their wealth plans. Vanito has a particular focus on tax and financial planning strategies for business owners, professionals and other affluent individuals and families.

Vanito joined CI Assante Private Client in 2015 after holding a tax manager position in the Calgary office of KPMG LLP. At KPMG, he worked in their tax group providing tax compliance and planning solutions to individuals and owner-managed businesses. Prior to this he was a Senior Accountant, Assurance and Business Advisory at Grant Thornton LLP in their Independent Business Group. Vanito has delivered his services across numerous sectors including manufacturing and processing, aviation, engineering, hospitality, real estate and construction. His overall professional experience in wealth planning exceeds 12 years.

Vanito is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan and he holds the Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designation. He is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and has completed both the CICA In-depth tax course and the CICA In-depth tax issues for the owner-managed business course.

As an Investment Counsellor, John Shypitka provides portfolio management services to our high-net-worth clients in the CI Assante Private Client program. In consultation with our team, he determines the appropriate asset allocation to best meet the objectives of every client. He also provides ongoing reviews of client portfolios and works closely with our Wealth Planning team to ensure that our clients’ investment plans continue to meet their needs.
John brings over 25 years of portfolio management, advisory, and client service experience to his role. Prior to joining our team in 2022, John was a Director and Senior Investment Counsellor with the Private Banking division at one of Canada’s Big Six banks. In addition to working with a diverse client base that included high-net-worth, corporate, and institutional clients, John helped establish the Alberta division and many of its main processes and documents. Previously, John was a Director and Investment Counsellor with ATB Investment Management, and both a Senior Financial Advisor and Investment Advisor with two of Canada’s largest banks.