Get to know our Advisor Member Alex Castillo-Snook, Client Experience Leader at PPF Benefits & Retirement.
1. Where in Canada are you based?
Peterborough, Ontario
2. Please introduce yourself in a few sentences.
I am the Client Experience Leader with PPF B&R, working closely with our advisors and carriers to ensure our clients and their employees get excellent support regarding their Group Benefits. I have been working in Group Benefits for about 25 years in and out of the HR capacity as well.
3. What is your favourite part of your role?
I really enjoy presenting at Employee meetings, where I am lucky to meet the individual employees that make up the workforce and members of the different group plans.
4. What motivated you to join the Smart Health Benefits Association?
I attended the conference in the Spring of 2026 and I am interested in being a voice for the employees that I support.
5. What advocacy or policy issue impacting plan sponsors or plan members matters most to you right now?
Education is a big issue that I face day in day out. Employees under group plans do not have the right education about what is covered, not only through their group plan, but also their provincial plans.
6. From your perspective, why is it important that plan sponsors and plan members have a direct voice in policy and industry discussions?
I feel that they are the ones that are the heart of group plans. It allows them to express their challenges as everyday users.
7. How do you define success?
To me, success is finding joy in both your work and your personal life. It’s loving what you do, cherishing the people around you, and feeling at peace with how you’ve spent your day.
8. Tell us how you manage work/life balance.
We have a disconnect policy and I strive to live by disconnecting at the end of my day. I strive to do my best in the 8 hours for my work.
9. If your friends/family/colleagues were to give you an award… What would it be for?
The Patience and Empathy Award! I have always been told that I have a lot of patience and am empathetic to others needs.
10. If someone were to make a documentary about you… What would be the title?
“The Quiet Influence – Not every leader is the loudest voice in the room!”
SHBA Member Spotlights are a Get-to-Know Profile that features the passionate industry advisors that are contributing their expertise, shaping priorities, and playing a direct role in advancing meaningful change.