Our story.

45+ years in pension administration technology, backed by long-term client partnerships.

At JEA, our story is one of innovation and partnership. Founded in 1979 by James Evans, we’ve grown from a small pension administration consultancy into a trusted team of pension and technology experts. Today, JEA’s solutions support plans that administer pensions for 1 in 30 Canadians, as well as some of the largest defined benefit plans in the United States.

James Evans & Associates - James Evans - 1986

James Evans, JEA - 1986

James Evans, JEA - Victoria, BC - 2026

How we got here.

Since 1979, we have spent more than four decades supporting pension plans with solutions designed around their unique needs. No two clients are the same, and our evolution reflects this: continually enhancing our expertise and technology to meet the diverse practices of the organizations we serve.

1979

James Evans & Associates (JEA) is founded by Jim Evans

1984

JEA releases PENFAX V1 and a demo pension administration system

2007

JEA expands to serve clients in the U.S.

2017

JEA completes implementation for 3 major plans for Government of Canada Pensions (GCPENS)

2020

JEA partners with large global integrator to implement PENFAX for one of the largest pension plans in North America

2024

JEA’s Member Portal reaches a major milestone, now serving over 1,000,000 members

Today

Today, JEA serves over 1.5 million members across North America through the PENFAX Member Portal.

Discover how our story continues.

Explore our solutions

Meet our leadership team.

James Evans & Associates - James Evans

  • Jim Evans
    Executive Chair of the Board

    Jim, the founding partner of JEA, serves as the Executive Chair of the Board for JEA. A visionary leader, Jim has spent over forty years shaping the company's strategic direction and fostering innovation as President and CEO up until 2024. His deep commitment to providing the highest standard of service to clients has always driven JEA's success, coupled with his extensive knowledge of complex pension-related legislation and regulations. As the architect of JEA’s flagship product, PENFAX, Jim built a solution that continues to form the core of JEA’s offerings. In his current role, Jim focuses on guiding the company's long-term vision, advising the leadership team, and ensuring JEA remains adaptable and innovative in the face of industry changes, while continuing to thrive as a specialized technology business.

  • Peter Winters
    CEO

    Peter is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JEA, responsible for overseeing all areas of the company's daily operations and long-term strategic vision. He works directly with the leadership team to ensure the company's values and strategic goals are fully implemented, driving business performance and ensuring client satisfaction. Before assuming the role of CEO, Peter served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of JEA, where he played a pivotal role in optimizing operations and aligning the company's strategies for growth. With over 20 years of experience, Peter has been instrumental in the design, implementation, and oversight of strategic agendas and operating systems across a variety of industries. His extensive leadership background spans operations, corporate finance, private equity, and management consulting. Prior to JEA, Peter held key leadership roles, including Chief Financial Officer of Viking Air, Interim Chief Financial Officer for de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Managing Director for Westerkirk Capital, and roles at TD Capital and Andersen Consulting.

James Evans & Associates - Sheree Johnson

  • Sheree Johnson
    Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)

    Sheree drives JEA’s long-term vision and strategic plan by working closely with leadership to set the direction for the company's continuing evolution. With over 35 years in the industry, Sheree excels at matching clients with the right solution for their operation as well as leading the development and execution of client training strategies for their rollout of PENFAX. Her vast knowledge of pension administration practices and market trends inform and guide much of JEA’s strategic direction and growth. This extensive experience in the pension market translates to inspired strategic partner relationships, making Sheree a key executive and shareholder in the organization.

James Evans & Associates - Robert Day

  • Robert Day
    Senior VP Project Governance

    Robert brings 30 years of practical, hands-on pension experience to JEA, where he leads a team of project management professionals in the pursuit of excellence. Robert emphasizes the importance of process and compliance while acknowledging that flexibility is essential – especially in an agile world. He ensures that projects are executed responsibly, respectfully, fairly, and honestly, and does so with an enthusiasm that elevates client engagement and trust. Robert consistently delivers on his ability to lead clients to the enthusiastic adoption of system solutions that are embraced fully by the end user.

 
James Evans & Associates - Nigel Evans

  • Nigel Evans
    VP Product Management and Business Development

    Nigel identifies and explores new opportunities to continually offer greater value to JEA’s clients in addition to establishing and managing initiatives related to business development in the company. His business philosophy is to lead JEA’s product and business strategies with a relentless client-centric focus. With over twenty years in the technology sector including over a decade with JEA, Nigel’s focus is on innovation, modernization and looking ahead to what’s next in the industry. Past achievements within JEA have included modernization of the Employer Portal as well as a digital and cloud strategy. Nigel holds a Diploma of Computer Engineering, with Honours, from Toronto's Humber College.

  • Christine Gyles
    Senior Advisor

    With over 30 years in the pension and benefits administration industry, Christine understands our business, and more importantly, client needs. Having spent over 20 years at JEA, including leading the Winnipeg office and as a shareholder, Christine is deeply invested in the success of our clients, our team, and the organization.

    In her role as Senior Advisor, Christine remains closely connected to JEA in a consulting capacity, lending her experience and judgment to select initiatives and supporting key transitions. Leveraging her concrete foundational knowledge of JEA products, partners, and the industry, she brings the same genuine and thoughtful approach to client relationships that has defined her career, helping to preserve the JEA way of client partnership and service as we move forward.

James Evans & Associates - Brandon Meagher

  • Brendan Meagher
    VP Finance

    With a wealth of financial and business expertise, Brendan leads the finance and administration team at JEA while contributing to the development and execution of JEA’s strategic initiatives. Prior to joining JEA in 2019, Brendan was director of financial planning and analysis at UrtheCast, a publicly traded satellite imaging company. He has held increasingly senior roles in corporate finance over the past 15 years, primarily in the technology sector in New York and Vancouver. Brendan holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MILR from Cornell University, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

James Evans & Associates - Andrew Preston

  • Andrew Preston
    VP Engineering

    As leader of JEA's product development and test teams, Andrew emphasizes agile principles, employee development, openness to technological change, and pushing for continuous improvement. He encourages this with the mindset that all of these pieces come together to deliver the highest value and best quality to JEA's clients. Andrew began his career as a firmware developer with PMC-Sierra and joined JEA in 2019 following his prior work in engineering management and Agile Product Owner roles at Intel and Teradici. With extensive experience in prior positions as a Product Owner, Andrew brings expertise, strong methodology, and big-thinking leadership to the team. He holds a Master of Applied Science (Electrical Engineering) from Carleton University.

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors offer earnest guidance and wisdom to drive JEA forward. As a group of passionate industry professionals working with our strong management team, they combine their expertise to provide counsel on JEA’s business strategy, management, and development.

  • B-COM, JURIS DOCTOR
    External Director

    An expert in technology law, Richard has been a trusted legal advisor to JEA for many years and joined the Board in 2017. He founded the technology law practice at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and retired in 2015 after 34 years with the firm. He has been consistently ranked as one of Canada’s leading technology lawyers and has been awarded the prestigious Toronto Technology Lawyer of the Year designation by Best Lawyers on several occasions.

  • BA (HONS), CA, MMPA
    External Director

    Michael has over 15 years of experience in financial services and corporate finance. As Vice President, Finance at OPTrust, he oversees the investment accounting, treasury, corporate financial planning and budgeting process, financial statements and annual external audit for the organization. During his time as Vice President, Finance, at Deutsche Bank Canada Branch, Michael prepared complex disclosures for regulatory reporting and year-end financial statements. He also assisted undertaking new business, new products and new trading initiatives.

  • BA (ECON), CFA
    External Director

    As an investment professional with a 20+ year career in Canadian capital markets, Allen offers great insight on the board owing to his rich experience in public equity investments and portfolio management. He’s held senior positions with BCI, HSBC, and CIBC and most recently Allen established Camrose Investments Ltd, an independent investment company that provides portfolio management, customized strategic wealth management, and advisory services. He serves as an Advisory Committee member at BCI Wear Limited Partnership, Director at ALACS Foundation, and is a volunteer mentor for the Applied Investment Management Course at the University of Victoria.

Land Acknowledgment

We humbly acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples who shared use of the traditional lands where JEA operates today.

 

JEA recognizes that territorial acknowledgement includes a responsibility to educate ourselves while encouraging open dialogue about decolonization and reconciliation. We respectfully understand that our office is located on lands that were traditionally shared between the lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) and W̱SÁNEĆ (Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum and Pauquachin and Malahat) peoples. 

We thank and acknowledge the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples for having cared for the land on which we work today. It is our hope that this land acknowledgment will serve as a first step in our effort towards further education, reconciliation, and working to build a positive relationship with the Indigenous community.