Steve was raised in Mississauga, Ontario. In 1986, he graduated from The Royal Military College with a degree in Economics and Commerce. Through his military career, he has had the privilege to live in five different provinces. Since 1990, he has lived in Waterloo with his family. He has been a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) since 2009.
After graduating from RMC, he proudly served as a Canadian Naval Officer until 1990 when he returned to Waterloo to start a career in financial services. He joined the Canadian Revenue Agency as an Auditor in 1991. In 1996, he became a Tax Manager at the Kitchener office of Ernst & Young and then Director of Tax for a Deloitte-affiliated consulting firm in Mississauga. In 2003, he left the corporate consulting world to establish his own business.
Having a military background, being an entrepreneur with an established family business, and having expertise in financial planning, accounting, tax, and consulting, Steve followed his passion in becoming an independent financial advisor. He created his first firm, Bentley Financial, in 2003. In 2015, Steve established a new independent brokerage for his clients focused on Financial Life Planning and led to the creation of Northern River Financial Solutions Inc. Successive growth led Steve to acquire and integrate RPR Financial into Northern River Financial in 2018.
Steve’s a social media advocate, networker, and a recognized author and speaker on financial life and business planning, branding and content marketing. He was recently the Chairman of the Board and President of Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region and is actively involved in other charities including 100 Men Kitchener Waterloo, the Friends of Algonquin Park and is a mentor for the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre. He has been interviewed by the CBC, CTV, the Globe & Mail, the Huffington Post, and the National Post. Steve was the co-host/producer of The Small Business Show, a recurring panelist on Get To The Point, and was a regular guest on Daytime for Rogers TV. Currently, he is a regular Panelist on The Mike Farwell Show Friday Four Panel on CityNews Kitchener 570. When time permits, Steve drives injured wildlife for the Ontario Wildlife Network and Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre.