PAUL LANDRY, CPA, CA, MBA, Vice President, Business Acquisition at Richardson Wealth, Calgary, Alberta
- NATALIE NOBLE
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
PAUL LANDRY
“I’ve built superb relationships with incredible wealth management teams; that’s the most rewarding chapter of my career.”
When people come together around aligned values and goals, careers don’t just grow, they transform. Paul Landry, CPA, CA, MBA, Vice President, Business Acquisition at Richardson Wealth knows this well because he sees it every time an Advisor team joins the exclusive independent firm.
“I’m fortunate to have one of the best jobs in the industry,” Paul says. “What drew me to Richardson Wealth six years ago was the timing. I joined at a pivotal point in the firm’s business strategy and life cycle. I was the first member of our Corporate Development and Business Acquisition team, focusing purely on Advisor recruitment and attraction. But, more than strategy, it came down to the people I met at Richardson Wealth and the high bar they set for the types of Advisors they attract.”
In his role, and in partnership with team members in Branch or Regional Management, Paul covers western Canada from Victoria to Winnipeg, maintaining close relationships with the teams he’s brought on board. “Each team is a little bit different, but I have an appreciation for all of them because of where I grew up and the exposure I’ve had to different communities,” he says.
A self-described “prairie boy,” Paul was born in northern Alberta and spent his early years there before moving to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting, with distinction, at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Over the years, Paul has lived in Calgary twice for a total of 17 years, with a decade in between spent living and working in Montreal. During that time, he completed his MBA at Queen’s University – now the Smith School of Business – graduating as co-Valedictorian.
His background gives him a unique perspective. “With all my experience in Alberta and Saskatchewan, I understand the motivations of Advisors across the Prairies and the needs of their clients, including farmers, small business owners, or oil and gas professionals,” says Paul. “I also cover Winnipeg, where there are some similarities to Saskatchewan in terms of the business community. And then there’s B.C.; I’ve always enjoyed traveling to Vancouver and Victoria. It’s a great mix of diverse personalities I am fortunate to work with.”
Before joining Richardson Wealth, Paul was responsible for Advisor business acquisition at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Western Canada for four years. His experience in business development and executive sales, combined with a technical foundation in accounting and finance as a CPA/CA with an MBA, sets him apart and offers valuable insight into advisor team needs throughout the business acquisition and recruiting process.
It’s that differentiator in expertise and leadership that led Paul to business acquisition prior to his move to Richardson in 2020. “Richardson Wealth has always attracted top-notch businesses”, says Paul. “Since I joined, we’ve continued to recruit and attract some of the largest and most sophisticated businesses from bank-owned firms. These Advisors serve clients who require complex tax and estate planning expertise. We’re industry leaders in financial planning and doing the right thing for clients.”
Paul describes his past six years’ work of attracting and recruiting Advisors to Richardson Wealth as the most successful period of his career. “I’ve built superb relationships with incredible wealth management teams; that’s the most rewarding chapter of my career.” he says. “Here, Advisors truly get to know our team, and our management and leadership teams know each of the Advisor teams personally. The Advisors know each other, too. When we get together for our partner summits, it’s like a reunion. People from Victoria are happy to see colleagues in Toronto, and the people from Halifax are happy to catch up with Edmonton. Everybody is rooting for each other to win.”
An entrepreneurial mindset
Richardson Wealth Advisors are among some of the finest in the industry, and Paul believes the firm is the only independent that has the track record of attracting top-performing teams from the banks. “Because we recruit Advisors who have cut their teeth at other firms before they land here, our average book size is really high – north of $300 million on average. That’s the second or third largest in the Canadian industry,” says Paul. “Our pipeline at Richardson Wealth is particularly bank-heavy, and there’s a reason for that. I believe that the most sophisticated bank businesses were grown organically by Advisors who hustle and do amazing work for clients.”
Yet it’s more than just dollar signs that matter. Over 75 percent of Richardson Wealth Advisors are Portfolio Managers who run discretionary businesses. “This is notably high for the industry,” says Paul. “If you’re a licensed Portfolio Manager, you have a fiduciary responsibility to do what is right for the client first. That high number of portfolio managers speaks to the values here. Enabling Advisors to make decisions that put clients first, like delivering unbiased wealth management advice, is a priority for our firm.”
Setting that high bar for excellence means the ideal Richardson Wealth Advisor is looking for continuous growth. “If they feel hamstrung or boxed in even slightly, and they decide to come to our firm, they do shockingly well,” says Paul. “They bring over the assets they want, and we support them in their growth. Their feedback is heard by our management. We’ve got a support model from a tax and estate planning perspective, and also from a funding perspective, that’s second-to-none and allows Advisors to grow their businesses as they see fit.”
To see that philosophy come to life, Paul shares an example of an Advisor who was frustrated at the firm he’d been with for over 25 years and was seeking a change. “He’s been with us two years now, and whenever I see him, he is outgoing, gregarious, happy, and joking around,” says Paul. “Even his clients have mentioned how happy he is. When I’m able to attract people to our firm who are good, decent humans, and the transition makes them happy, that’s a pretty great feeling.”
Attracting the best in the West
There are several success stories that showcase Paul’s ongoing close relationships with the teams he brings on to Richardson Wealth across western Canada. He’s proud to share a few, starting with a significant team he brought on in Calgary in his second year with the firm.
“My first day at Richardson Wealth was three days before COVID officially shut everything down,” he says. “As it went on, I reached out to a previous colleague, Tim Conlin. While he was a Branch Manager and part of the Investment Advisor Advisory Committee with BMO, we recruited several teams into his branch together.”
Knowing Tim had been loyal to BMO for 27 years, this was not a sales call but merely a catch-up call about Paul’s role and a check-in on how Tim, his family, and his business were keeping through the pandemic. “But I caught him on a day when he was interested in learning more and curious about a new direction to benefit clients,” says Paul. “Long story short, he chose to join Richardson Wealth, and he is an unbelievable advocate for our firm. In four years here, he and his team have grown the business by 60 percent. He’s an amazing individual – a moral and kind guy. I appreciate his leadership and approach to business.”
Another huge success for Paul and Richardson Wealth is the opening of an office in Victoria that recently celebrated their two-year anniversary. “It was high on our list to attract businesses there, but it’s a tough place to recruit because people settle in and there’s not a lot of movement in the industry,” says Paul. “We were able to attract five Advisors on three teams and open new office space, which they were involved in selecting, all within a couple weeks’ span. The stars aligned when we attracted these amazing people who run incredible businesses. We’ve since recruited two more talented teams into that same office.”
Paul’s most recent milestone occurred in October 2025 in Saskatoon, a city notoriously difficult to convince Advisors to leave their current dealer. Paul had been trying for over decade, both at Richardson Wealth and formerly with BMO, to recruit an Advisor team of significance. “It’s challenging – again, a small community where everybody knows each other, and there is not a lot of movement between firms,” he says. Finally in October, success: “We recruited two Advisors who had recently joined together. Combined, they were the largest team in the province at their former firm.”
To illustrate the support and care Paul and Richardson Wealth put into recruiting and onboarding Advisor teams, Paul describes how he and Richardson Wealth’s onboarding team flew out to Saskatoon to provide key transition guidance. “In our detailed meetings with the whole team, we cover topics like process for clients, marketing, compliance, relicensing, re-registration, and Outside Business Activities,” he says. “We provide continued support after onboarding too. It’s a well-oiled machine; we’ve been doing this a long time. We provide an in-depth approach with concierge-level attention to detail.”
With that careful attention to detail, Faisal Khorshid and Paul Bourgeault, their teams, and families were deemed an ideal fit for Richardson Wealth and vice versa. “They’re just good people,” says Paul. “Faisal is deliberate about the clients he brings on. They must be committed to working collaboratively with him in ongoing planning and investing, but they must also have a plan for philanthropy and giving back to the community. He’s someone whose values align with mine. I’m so proud to be affiliated with him and Paul, and how they’ve settled in with the transition.”
That successful acquisition is a full-circle moment. “It’s just such a nice marrying of my career today and my undergraduate work in Saskatoon at the University of Saskatchewan. There’s a soft spot in my heart there,” says Paul.
Natalie Noble’s love of writing stems from her passion for hearing and sharing people’s stories. Over the years, she has written for various business, real estate, and agriculture publications. At the heart of her work is a desire to continuously learn and connect.
Paul Landry CPA, CA, MBA
Vice President, Business Acquisition
Richardson Wealth
M: (403) 462-5569