Partners in Excellence

As Interim CEO, RBC Insurance, Maria Winslow has global responsibility for RBC’s insurance businesses, including life and health, home and auto, travel, group annuities, as well as global reinsurance. In partnership with members of the Insurance Operating Committee, Maria is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction of RBC Insurance.

In her role as Senior Vice President, Individual & Group, Products and Pricing, Maria leads the strategic direction and execution of RBC Insurance’s product and pricing portfolio. She is responsible for the overall product strategy, ensuring alignment with both client needs and overall business objectives.

With over 25 years of insurance industry experience across product management, creditor, sales, operations, marketing and actuarial roles, Maria is recognized for her ability to drive efficiencies and differentiated service, inspiring her team to embrace an innovative, empowering, customer-focused mindset throughout the product lifecycle. She guides her team to create solutions that are adaptable to market needs, fosters seamless cross-collaboration to ensure alignment on goals, and prioritizes innovation based on customer feedback and market insights.

In addition to leading high-performing teams, Maria also plays a critical role in shaping the culture at RBC Insurance as the current Executive Sponsor to the Insurance Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council and as a past chair for the RBC Insurance Employee Giving Campaign for several years. She is also an Executive Sponsor for the RBC Stronger Together Employee Resource Group which empowers women across the organization.  

Driven by her passion to help others, Maria is committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders, volunteering in her local community, and advocating for improved access to women’s healthcare and financial wellness. Maria holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Concordia University.

As Vice President, Group Sales, and Creditor Distribution, Matthew leads more than 125 sales and service professionals in our group brokerage channel and our creditor distribution team.

Our group brokerage channel delivers best-in-class advice in the third-party marketplace through the distribution of group benefit plans to advisors and their clients. Our national creditor distribution team supports our RBC mortgage specialists, banking advisors and leaders across Canada with licensed creditor insurance products, driving profitable growth and increased market share.

With proven expertise in the group benefits space, particularly in building and nurturing relationships with advisors, Matthew seamlessly aligns with his mandate to foster strong partnerships with banking partners, driving collaboration and growth across these critical areas. Known for his people-first approach and enterprise mindset, he has consistently driven high performance and growth.

A graduate of the University of Guelph with a degree in Management Economics, Matthew brings 16 years of insurance industry expertise to his role. He spent eight years at Desjardins Insurance as an account executive before joining RBC Insurance in 2018, where he has progressed through increasingly senior leadership positions.

Matthew currently serves as co-chair of the RBC Insurance giving campaign. Outside of work, he is an active community volunteer, coaching youth sports and spending time with his family.

As Head, Individual Brokerage for RBC Insurance, Sheena leads over 120 sales and service professionals, delivering specialized advice on life, living benefits and wealth solutions to the third-party marketplace.

Sheena’s career began as a product analyst at a prominent Managing General Agency before joining RBC Insurance in 2010. Over her 16-year tenure, she has held progressively senior roles, consistently delivering exceptional client service while identifying, mentoring and developing talent across the organization.

In her previous role as Head, Field Sales & High Net Worth for RBC Insurance, Sheena led the retail insurance channel and a dedicated team serving high net worth Canadians across more than 30 locations with over 400 insurance advisors. Prior to that, as Regional Vice President, Individual Brokerage for the Eastern Region, she was instrumental in expanding market share and fostering resilient partnerships with Managing General Agencies and national accounts.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics from Concordia University. A strong advocate for lifelong learning, Sheena actively promotes a culture of continuous growth and development within her team. Outside of work, Sheena volunteers at La rue des Femmes, a non-profit organization supporting women experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Sheena and her husband, Massimo, have two sons and enjoy spending time on the ski slopes or soccer fields.

Abid Dobani is SVP & Chief Investment Officer at RBC Insurance, where he leads investment strategy, asset allocation and capital markets activities for the organization’s insurance portfolios. With more than two decades of global buy-side and sell-side experience, he has held senior roles spanning Equity Research, Investment Banking, Institutional Fixed Income/Foreign Exchange Sales and Trading, and Corporate Treasury Portfolio Management.

Abid has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo. Based in the Greater Toronto Area, he and his family are passionate advocates for accessible children’s mental health services and inclusive opportunities for future Canadians. He currently sits on the Board of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. He enjoys travelling with his wife and three children (when he’s not shuttling them to various extracurricular activities).

Carol is a registered nurse with over 25 years of clinical practice expertise in Home & Auto and Life & Health insurance claims management.

In her current role as Vice President, Claims, Carol is responsible for shaping RBC Insurance’s claims experience. Delivering on Realize 2026 – Win in Client Experience and Achieve Operational Excellence, Carol is focused on continuing to reimagine how our clients can quickly and efficiently receive our advice and support services through unique, personalized, and empathetic interactions.

As a leader in mental health clinical and claims practices, Carol chairs the Life & Health Claims Healthcare Innovation Council. She is known for her ingenuity in collaborating with leading healthcare and treatment providers to creatively solve for gaps in the healthcare system that can be provided by insurance companies. Under Carol’s leadership, almost half of our clients with mental health disability claims are returning to work, on average, 10 months earlier.

Carol is a 2023 RBC Performance Conference recipient and Leo Award Recipient for leadership. She is a passionate mentor and has coached children and youth in the community, as well as career mentoring within RBC.

Caitlin Curran-Blaney is a seasoned leader in customer experience and digital strategy, with a career grounded in creativity and driven by purpose. She began her professional journey in physical product design (designing sneakers!), an early chapter that sparked her passion for user-centered thinking and led her to pursue an MBA to bridge design and business.

Over the years, Caitlin has built a strong track record of designing human-centered, digital experiences that drive business growth. Her focus has always been on putting the customer at the core – creating experiences that are not only functional, but delightful.

Since joining RBC in 2018, Caitlin has brought this mindset to life across a range of innovation initiatives. She joined RBC Insurance just over two years ago, where she’s energized by the opportunity to disrupt and raise the bar on experience design.

Caitlin is passionate about transforming complex industries through thoughtful, impactful design – and believes the best experiences are the ones that truly understand and serve the people they are built for.

Mike is the Senior Director of Digital Sales & Distribution Experience at RBC Insurance, bringing 17+ years of experience in the life and health insurance industry with a focus on operations, reporting, analytics, and independent distribution. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to bridging the gap between business needs and digital, data-driven solutions that enhance advisor experiences and drive measurable results.

In his current role, Mike serves as the voice of MGA and National Account partners, guiding the strategy and management of key digital initiatives aimed at transforming the distribution experience while driving sales growth. His efforts focus on delivering innovative solutions that simplify advisor workflows and foster stronger partnerships across the industry. With a passion for data and technology, Mike champions the design, development, and support of data exchange practices that improve outcomes for advisors and clients alike.

As Vice-President of the Canadian Life Insurance Standards Association (CLIEDIS), Mike is recognized as a thought leader in advancing industry standards. He also serves on the Advisory Committee of APEXA and the Technology Sub-Committee of the Canadian Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (CAILBA)—collaborative forums where distributors and carriers work together to advance data sharing innovation and advisor experience excellence.

Kathryn Bennett is a Director, Tax and Estate Planning with RBC Insurance. Kit applies her expertise as a tax and estate planning lawyer, in collaboration with advisors, to craft sophisticated insurance solutions for high-net-worth individuals and business owners, focusing on wealth creation and preservation, business continuity and succession, and legacy planning. She has a particular interest in the strategic application of insurance products for charitable giving, farm estate planning, retirement strategies, and cross-border considerations.

An experienced presenter and author, Kit covers topics such as estate planning with life insurance, segregated funds, annuities, beneficiary designations, and the role of insurance in wills, trusts, and retirement planning.

Her professional memberships include the Law Society of Ontario, the Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners (STEP), Advocis, the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU), the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP).