Jessica Asano (pictured, left) has become president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC). She takes over from Brett McGregor (pictured, right), who moves up to chair for 2026-2027.
The appointments were confirmed at IBAC’s annual general meeting in Whitecap, Saskatchewan, on September 24.
Brandon McGee becomes president-elect and Jaycee Turtle joins the executive committee as vice president. Turtle previously represented the Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan on IBAC’s board. Mathieu Brunet, chair for 2025-2026, steps off the executive.
The changes follow IBAC’s usual rotation. Asano, who represents British Columbia, has worked her way up the executive committee: vice president in 2024-2025, president-elect last year, and now president. She is vice president of Thunderbird Insurance in Victoria.
McGregor, president of Manitoba’s Guild/HMS Insurance Group, has followed the same path one year ahead of her.
The board has one representative from each of IBAC’s 11 member associations. Four are new this year: Rosy Manhas for British Columbia, Joanna Reece for Saskatchewan, Ren de Moissac for Manitoba, and Warren Griffiths for the Toronto Insurance Council.
The rest of the board is Jody Lohr (Alberta), Shara Bierman (Ontario), Lucie Fréchette (Quebec’s RCCAQ), James Higgins (New Brunswick), Mark Townsend (Nova Scotia), Tabetha Carr (Prince Edward Island) and Bill Buckingham (Newfoundland and Labrador).
“As a united front representing over 50,000 insurance brokers across Canada, this Board stands ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing insurance landscape,” said IBAC CEO Peter Braid.
The new leadership takes over at a busy time for the association. Its Broker Identity Program has drawn renewed sponsorship from at least a dozen carriers this year. IBAC is also continuing its federal lobbying to keep banks out of insurance distribution, an issue that has shaped the association since the late 1980s.
IBAC’s membership claim has also grown. In 2021, it said it represented more than 38,000 brokers. It now cites more than 50,000. The executive will face questions about how the association speaks for a broker channel that is increasingly consolidated, with large and insurer-backed brokerages accounting for a rising share of the market.
