Wealthsimple names Diana McLachlan Chief People Officer

Diana McLachlan has been appointed to Chief People Officer. Previously she served as VP of people operations, and VP of communications and public affairs at the company. In her new role, Diana will continue to drive employee and operational excellence for Wealthsimple.

"People are at the heart of everything we do. Over the years Diana has been instrumental in making Wealthsimple a place where employees can grow and do the best work of their lives. Her leadership will help us continue building strong teams that feel supported and do great work for our clients,” says Michael Katchen, CEO.

Wealthsimple has also recently welcomed Yagnik Khanna as VP of platform engineering, and promoted Polly D’Arcy to VP of product design.

You’ve been with Wealthsimple for four years in various roles - Chief of Staff to the CMO, VP of communications and public affairs, and more recently, VP of people operations. What excites you most about stepping into the Chief People Officer role?

What a journey. When I joined Wealthsimple in 2021 the company had 400 employees. Today, we’re at more than a thousand employees coast to coast. I’ve experienced many different phases of Wealthsimple in a lot of different roles, and it’s always been clear to me that our greatest differentiator is our people. The quality of what we build and how we build it is because of the exceptional people behind the business. The proof is in the velocity of our product expansion and the scale at which we’ve grown. It’s a unique opportunity to create a workplace where every single Wealthsimpler can do the best work of their careers and be proud of the impact they deliver for Canadians.

I’m excited to step into this next role and build on the foundation we’ve established as a market leader in Canada. I believe we have an incredible opportunity to further deepen our people-first culture—and I’ve been totally blown away by the calibre of the people ops team. They're smart, caring and true maker-owners. ​ ​ 

What are you focusing on first in this new role? 

The company has seen massive growth, especially in the last two years. We aim to be the most human financial company in the world and that work begins with our team – how we find, develop and support great talent and ensure we retain the best of the best. I’m especially excited about three opportunities:

What makes someone a Wealthsimpler?

Wealthsimplers care deeply about our mission of helping Canadians achieve financial freedom. They live our values in their lives and in their work. They operate at a high level, raise the bar for themselves and others, and take ownership over what they do. It’s an ambitious environment where you can shape your career path. I’ve experienced it myself and it’s given me a deep appreciation for the learning and growth mindset that’s core to our culture.

You mention growth — what’s that look like for Wealthsimple? How many roles are you hiring for in 2025?

We’re focused on making strategic, thoughtful decisions that drive impact for our clients. While we’re growing headcount in areas like product, engineering, data science and customer success, we’re also being intentional about how and where we scale. Last fall we announced plans to triple our headcount in Alberta. And we continue exploring opportunities to grow regionally in Canada as we search for the best talent in the world. 

I would encourage anyone interested in joining Wealthsimple to check out our careers page for open roles.