2017 Speaking Faculty
Rolf Agather
Rolf Agather is managing director of North America research for global index provider FTSE Russell, part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Rolf joined LSEG in 2014 when it acquired Russell Investments. In his new role with FTSE Russell, Rolf is responsible for leading the team that creates new index concepts and publishes compelling research on capital markets, indexation and investment management.
Previously, Rolf was the managing director of research and innovation for the Russell Indexes division of Russell Investments. Rolf was instrumental in the creation of the Russell Global Indexes in 2007 and he continues to lead research and innovation in the growing field of index investing, including the development of the Russell Stability Index family and the Russell High Efficiency Factor Indexes. Rolf has been involved with the Russell Indexes in a number of roles during his career at Russell. He served as product manager from 1993 to 1995 and was the manager of the Russell index operations group from 1989 to 1991.
Prior to joining Russell, Rolf was vice president and director of the portfolio products business at FactSet Research systems in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was responsible for the development of FactSet’s entire suite of portfolio management products, including the portfolio analysis and SPAR (style, performance, and risk) application.
ROLF AGATHER
Managing Director, North America Research, CFA
FTSE Russell
JOHN C. S. ANDERSON
JOHN C. S. ANDERSON is Head of Corporate Finance at Manulife. He is responsible for Canadian and overseas teams that invest in private equity, private debt, and public bonds in a $130 billion portfolio supporting Canadian, US, and Asian life insurance businesses. John is the principal approving officer for investments in several private equity strategies, and is a member of Manulife’s global investment committee. Prior to his current role, John spent 20 years financing the infrastructure sector, 10 years as a member of Manulife’s Boston Power & Infrastructure Team, and 10 years in the New York and London offices of JP Morgan Chase. John holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a BA in Economics from The University of Chicago. He speaks French, Serbo-Croatian, German, Spanish, and Russian at an intermediate level, and would not be mistaken for a native speaker in any of these languages.
JOHN C.S. ANDERSON
SVP Senior Managing Director, Head of Corporate Finance
Manulife Financial
CLAUDE BERGERON
CLAUDE BERGERON
Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
Tom Coleman
Tom Coleman is a Senior Investment Specialist for Standard Life Investments. He is responsible for advancing the growth of global fixed income investment solutions in North America. Tom directly supports clients and works closely with the asset class management teams and with the consultant relations, sales and client relationships teams. Tom also oversees and manages the North American Investment Specialist team.
Prior to joining Standard Life Investments in 2015, Tom was a Fixed Income Investment Director and Managing Director at Wellington Management Company, LLP, with a focus on US Fixed Income Product Management. Tom is an accomplished investment professional with more than 27 years of investment management experience.
Tom graduated with a BS in Finance from Syracuse University and also obtained an MBA in Finance and International Business from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
TOM COLEMAN
Senior Investment Specialist
Standard Life Investments
Stuart Davies
STUART DAVIES
Co-Head, Custom Alternative Solutions
AB
Martin Day
Prior to OPE, Martin previously worked in corporate development and general counsel positions with Edgestone Capital, a Toronto based private equity fund, and PC DOCS Group International, a TSX and NASDAQ listed company. Martin began his career working in the Toronto and Hong Kong offices of Goodmans LLP. Mr. Day holds a BA from York University, an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a MBA from the Schulich School of Business (York University).
MARTIN DAY
Partner
Caledon Capital Corporation
Jeff DeBlock
Jeff DeBlock (Vice-President): Jeff joined Caledon in 2012 and is focused exclusively on the infrastructure investment program. Jeff brings with him over 15 years of diverse infrastructure experience with direct principal investment experience in North America, Europe, Australia, and South America.
Prior to joining Caledon, Jeff worked in the Private Investments – Infrastructure group at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) where he was directly involved with investing in excess of $4 billion of equity. During Jeff’s tenure, CPPIB’s infrastructure AUM grew from a few hundred million to nearly $10 billion.
Previously, Jeff worked at BMO Capital Markets in the Investment Banking – Power & Utilities Group.
Jeff received his Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of the Western Ontario.
JEFF DEBLOCK
Partner
Caledon Capital Management
John Denham
John is the Chief Investment Officer for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. In his role as the Chief Investment Officer, John is responsible for the development, management and implementation of the Strategic Investment Plan for the WSIB Insurance Fund, Loss of Retirement Income Fund and WSIB Employee’s Pension Fund. John Denham has been employed with the WSIB since January, 2005. Previously John worked for the IBM Retirement Funds team managing total fund governance and investments for the Canadian fund and Domestic Equities for the US Retirement Fund. Prior to IBM, John managed the Xerox Canada Retirement Fund and Treasury Operations group for 9 years. Prior to Xerox, John worked for Manulife and in public practice with Deloitte & Touche. John holds Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst designations as well as a Bachelor of Mathematics from University of Waterloo.
JOHN DENHAM
Chief Investment Officer
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)
Derek W. Dobson
Derek is a tireless advocate for modern defined benefit (DB) pension plans and is dedicated to providing pension benefit security to the college sector in Ontario, Canada.
Created at the same time as the Ontario college system in 1967, the CAAT Pension Plan assumed its current jointly sponsored governance structure in 1995. The CAAT Plan is a modern DB pension plan with cost and risk sharing. Decisions about benefits, contributions, and investment risk are also shared equally by members and employers.
The CAAT Plan is securing benefits by employing prudent and realistic actuarial assumptions, and is guided by a balanced funding policy.
The CAAT Plan has assets of $9 billion and serves 45,000 members from the college system. The Plan is well funded (over 110% funded on a going-concern basis) with dedicated funding reserves. The CAAT Plan’s well-diversified investment portfolio has earned a 5-year average annual rate of return of 10%, net of investment management fees.
During the past few years, the CAAT Plan has been in discussions with DB, defined contribution (DC) and hybrid single employer pension plans in Ontario interested in joining with the CAAT Plan. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) pension plan recently merged with the CAAT Plan. Such mergers would benefit all stakeholders concerned by creating predictable costs and more secure benefits at a lower risk.
Derek joined the CAAT Plan as CEO & Plan Manager in 2009 and has used his broad and varied pension experience to build an organization that is today fully funded and recognized for its good governance, risk management practices, highly engaged stakeholders and solid investment performance.
He has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo, and is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries. Derek is Co-Chair of the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council (CPPLC) and a member on the ACPM (Association of Canadian Pension Management) Board of Directors and serves on several pension industry advisory committees.
DEREK DOBSON
Chief Executive Officer
CAAT Pension Plan
Luc Dumontier
LUC DUMONTIER
Head of Factor Investing and Senior Portfolio Manager
La Française Investment Solutions
Peter Fitzgerald
Joined investment industry: 1995
Joined Aviva Investors: 2011
Main responsibilities
Peter manages our suite of outcome-focused multi-strategy funds targeting specific client outcomes such as achieving reliable capital growth and securing a steady stream of income. He also leads our global multi-assets investment team and is responsible for the strategic direction of our global multi-asset and multi-strategy offering.
Experience and qualifications
Peter began his career at Old Mutual in 1995 before joining BNP Wealth Management’s multi-asset team. He has extensive international experience having worked in Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Peter holds a postgraduate diploma in Education from Trinity College Dublin and a degree in European studies from the University of Cork. He is also a CFA® charterholder.
*Investment professionals listed are members of AICs participating affiliate, Aviva Investors Global Services (“AIGSL”).
PETER FITZERALD
Global Head of Mutli-Asset
Aviva Investors
Graeme Hay
Graeme began his investment career as a senior analyst in the asset-liability management unit of Great-West Life where he was involved in managing risk for the company’s pension annuity line of business. Graeme is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), having earned the Robert Syme Memorial Silver Medal and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. He is the Past President of the CFA Society of Winnipeg and is the Chair of the Manitoba Regional Council of the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC). He also serves on the Investment Committee of the CPA Manitoba Foundation.
GRAEME HAY
Director, Strategy & Implementation
Teachers’ Retirement Allowances Fund (TRAF)
Dominic Helmsley
Dominic heads up the Infrastructure team at SL Capital. He has over 20 years’ experience in the infrastructure sector combining extensive mergers and acquisitions experience with asset management expertise. Dominic spent 12 years with BAA plc where he headed their international acquisitions group and oversaw the acquisition and management of a number of overseas investments. Dominic then spent eight years in the fund management industry, initially with Babcock and Brown, as part of the European Infrastructure team that raised a €2.2bn infrastructure fund, and then as a Partner with Arcus Infrastructure Partners, which completed an MBO from Babcock and Brown in 2009.
DOMINIC HELMSLEY
Head of Infrastructure Equity
SL Capital Partners LLP
Russell Hiscock
Russell Hiscock is President and Chief Executive Officer of the CN Investment Division, which manages one of the largest corporate pension funds in Canada.
Mr. Hiscock joined CN Investment Division in 1987 as a Manager Investments. He was subsequently appointed Manager – Common Stocks and General Manager. He has many years of equity portfolio management experience, in both the Canadian and International stock Markets, with particular emphasis on the oil and gas sector. Mr. Hiscock is past Chairman of the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC).
Mr. Hiscock holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from University of Waterloo, a Master of Arts degree in Economics from University of Western Ontario and an MBA from University of Toronto. He is a Certified Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Management Accountant.
RUSSELL HISCOCK
President & CEO
CN Investment Division
Brett House
Prior to joining Scotiabank in October 2016, Brett was Chief Economist at Alignvest Investment Management in Toronto and Global Strategist at Woodbine Capital Advisors, a New York-based global macro fund. Earlier in his career, Brett served as Principal Advisor in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General and as an Economist at the International Monetary Fund. He cut his teeth in financial markets at Goldman Sachs International in London and at the World Bank in Washington, DC.
Brett is a Rhodes Scholar with degrees in economics from the University of Oxford and Queen’s University at Kingston. In addition, he has taught at Oxford University, McGill University, and the University of Cape Town, and has held research roles at Columbia University and Massey College at the University of Toronto.
Brett sits on the investment committees of Pearson College and the Canadian Rhodes Scholars’ Foundation. He received the 2014 Québec Notable Award in Finance and the 2015 Good Citizen Award from his hometown of Lincoln, Ontario.
BRETT HOUSE
Deputy Chief Economist
Scotiabank
Susan Kasser
Susan Kasser, CFA is a Managing Director of Neuberger Berman and Co-Head of the Private Credit business for Neuberger Berman Private Equity. She is a member of the Private Debt and Credit Opportunities Investment Committees. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman, she was a founding member of Carlyle Mezzanine Partners, the corporate mezzanine business of The Carlyle Group. At Carlyle, Ms. Kasser originated, executed and realized privately negotiated junior debt and equity securities of middle market and large cap leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and growth financings across multiple industries. Ms. Kasser has been a member of the board of directors of several private companies. Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Kasser worked at Goldman Sachs in several roles, including investment banker in the Leveraged Finance group, fund investor and direct co-investor in the Private Equity Group and as a financial analyst in Global Investment Research. Ms. Kasser received an M.A. in International Economics and Finance and a B.A. in Philosophy from Brandeis University, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst.
SUSAN KASSER
Managing Director, Co-Head of Private Credit
Neuberger Berman Alternatives
Ken Kencel
KEN KENCEL
President & CEO
Churchill Asset Management
LLOYD KOMORI
Lloyd Komori assumed the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Risk Management in January 2015 after serving as a member of the OMERS Board of Directors. In this new role, he is responsible for leading the design and implementation of all major initiatives that relate to risk management across the entire OMERS enterprise. This includes building out the organization’s investment, pension, operational and emerging risk management capabilities and deliverables with a vision to establish OMERS as an industry leader in this field.
His risk management / corporate governance expertise and experience is based on his thirty years of experience working with risk and return. He started managing risk as an investment banker and head of a derivatives trading desk, moved to build the risk management consulting practice of a global professional services firm and then put to work this experience as the Chief Risk Officer of Canada’s largest integrated power utility.
Since 2003 he has taught both pension plan governance and risk management oversight at The Directors College, Canada’s only university accredited degree designed for board directors. In addition to being awarded all three of the board director degrees offered by the College he is a highly recognized expert and published author in risk management and corporate governance.
He currently serves on a number of boards of directors in the education and health care industry and renovates homes and teaches golf in his spare time.
LLOYD KOMORI
SVP, Risk Management
OMERS
ROBERT M. KOWIT
ROBERT M. KOWIT
Senior Vice President
Federated Investors
KEVIN LEON
Kevin is the President and Founder of Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. Prior to Crestpoint, Kevin was Managing Director of the Real Estate investment Banking Group at CIBC World Markets Inc. from 2000 to 2009. Over this period, Kevin was involved in over $10 billion of real estate transactions including property sales, mortgage financing and mergers & acquisitions. Kevin worked with several REITs and pension funds providing strategic advice and raising debt and equity. Kevin started his professional career at CB Richard Ellis Limited in 1989 as an investment sales specialist, ascending to Vice President of the firm.
KEVIN LEON
President
Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd.
Hamish Mair
Hamish has 29 years of investment experience, over a quarter of a century of which is in private equity. He has been Head of the BMO Private Equity team since its original inception, when it was part of Martin Currie Investment Management, and throughout its ownership by F&C and now BMO. BMO Private Equity manages seven private equity fund programs and has over $1bn of assets under management. Hamish oversees all the fund vehicles that BMO Private Equity manages and, specifically, is lead manager of the London Stock Exchange listed F&C Private Equity Trust plc. Hamish was a Director of Martin Currie Investment Management between 1996 and 2005, where his responsibilities included small companies and Far Eastern equities. He was also an investment analyst with Robert Fleming Asset Management between 1988 and 1990. Hamish is a graduate of Aberdeen University and Edinburgh University.
HAMISH MAIR
Director and Head of Private Equity
BMO Global Asset Management (EMEA)
ANTOINE BISSON MCLERNON
Prior to Fiera Comox, Antoine spent seven years with PSP Investments where he last was Managing Director and head of Private Equity for the Americas and Asia. He ran both direct and fund investments, oversaw an $11B portfolio and a team of 25 people. Prior to this, he started PSP’s global Natural Resources investment group and led the group for five years building a $3 billion portfolio of direct investments. Under his leadership, the group acquired over 2 million acres of timberland and farmland and generated a 16.8% IRR. Antoine was a member of PSP’s firm-wide Investment Committee from 2011 until he left PSP in 2016.
Before joining PSP, Antoine worked in private equity at CPPIB and Investment Banking at National Bank of Canada.
He has sat on the Boards of Telesat Canada, AmWins Group Inc. (US), Haymarket Financial LLP (UK), TimberWest Forest Corp. (Canada), Kaingaroa Timberlands (New Zealand), YBY Agro (Brazil) and X2 Resources (UK).
Antoine received an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Bcom from McGill University and is a CFA charterholder
ANTOINE BISSON MCLERNON
Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Fiera Comox Partners
Bernie McNamara
Bernie McNamara, managing director, is the head of Global Real Assets Omni Solutions and Client Strategy at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Bernie has overall responsibility for delivery of GRA’s investment capabilities to institutional investors, through both holistic “GRA Omni” solutions and individual real asset strategies. He leads the GRA Omni team’s efforts to design, implement, and manage real asset portfolio solutions that are tailored to investor objectives and preferences. Bernie also heads the GRA Client Strategy team responsible for business development and client relationships across a global platform of real estate, infrastructure and maritime/transport strategies. Bernie is a member of the GRA Management Committee and has served on the Global Investment Management Advisory Council at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Previously, he was co-founder of Upromise Investments, Inc., the largest provider of college investing plans in the industry. Prior to Upromise Investments, Bernie helped develop investment business lines at Fidelity Investments and Merrill Lynch. He began his career in financial market research at Greenwich Associates. He holds Series 7, 63, and 3 licenses, and has a B.A. from Harvard University and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
BERNIE MCNAMARA
Head of Global Real Assets Omni Solutions and Client Strategy
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Don Morrison
Don Morrison is an Independent Director and was most recently Senior Managing Director and Executive Vice President, Asset Management and Operations for OMERS Private Markets, which consists of OMERS Private Equity and Borealis Infrastructure. Prior to OMERS, he was Senior Vice President, and member of the Senior Management / Investment Committees at Working Ventures Canadian Fund, where he also led the Portfolio Management Group. As well, Don spent several years at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Corporate Finance focusing on restructurings and turnarounds. Don’s board experience includes current membership on the Boards of BCR Environmental Corporation and Mount Pleasant Group as well as past service on over 20 boards, ranging from early stage technology companies to large retailer/manufacturers. Don has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and holds Chartered Accountant, Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Practitioner and Professional Director (ICD.D [Institute of Corporate Directors]) designations.
DON MORRISON
Former Senior Managing Director & EVP, Asset Management and Operations
OMERS Private Markets
Stefan A. Mühlemann
Stefan A. Mühlemann is a Managing Partner at LGT Investment Partners Ltd, chair of the Executive Management Team and the Alpha Generix Investment Committee. He is a member of LGT Capital Partners‘ Alternative Investment Committee and the GIM Investment Committee of LGT Group. Until 2010, he served as the Head of Hedge Fund Portfolio Management and chaired the Hedge Fund Asset Allocation Committee of LGT Capital Partners Ltd. He was the responsible portfolio manager of various hedge fund investment programs from February 2002 to October 2010.
Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mr Mühlemann was a member of the Non-Traditional Fund Investment Committee and the Non-Traditional Fund Selection Committee at Bank Julius Baer & Co Ltd, New York. As an analyst he was originally involved in establishing a dedicated advisory service on hedge fund investments. Previously, he served as a fund relationship manager managing offshore fund projects and conducting credit analysis on portfolios of hedge funds since 1997. Mr Mühlemann began his career in 1993 as the assistant to the Secretary General and the CEO of Bank Julius Baer & Co Ltd at the firm‘s headquarters in Zürich, where he was involved in senior management support and banking association research projects.
Mr Mühlemann served as a Major in the Swiss Army and received his Masters degree in Economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in 1993.
STEFAN MUEHLEMANN
CEO
LGT Investment Partners
Vis Nayar
Vis Nayar is Deputy CIO, Equities. He has been working in the industry since 1988, joining HSBC Markets in 1996, and has been with HSBC Global Asset Management since 1999. Vis is responsible for investment research and the development of the firm’s products. Prior to this, he worked as a Senior Fund Manager in the Alternative Investments business running market-neutral equity strategies. Vis holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, University of London and a Masters in Finance from London Business School. He is a CFA charterholder, and also qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK.
VIS NAYAR
Deputy CIO, Equities
HSBC Global Asset Management
Pranav Pandya
Since joining Fengate, Pranav has participated in raising over C$550 million in investor commitments for infrastructure funds, and has overseen the development of our in-house Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) management platform. Pranav also oversees all financial reporting and investor relations for Fengate’s real estate and seniors housing platforms.
Prior to joining Fengate, Pranav was a Senior Associate in KPMG LLP’s audit group, where he led the audits of several multi-national public companies.
Pranav holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.
PRANAV PANDYA
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Fengate Real Asset Investments
Marko Papic
Prior to joining BCA he was a Senior Analyst for STRATFOR, a premier global intelligence agency where he contributed to the firm’s global geopolitical strategy as well as its analyst recruitment and training program. Marko is a sought after geopolitical strategist, having been interviewed by numerous media organizations – including The New York Times, CNN, BBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, etc. Before joining BCA, he also helped create the Center for European Union Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Marko holds graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of British Columbia, and has lived in 8 countries on 3 continents.
MARKO PAPIC
Chief Strategist, Geopolitical Strategy
BCA Research
comDAVID PAPPIN
David joined Schroders in 2000 as part of the QEP Investment Team. In 2004, he became Head of Investment Risk where he was responsible for a team that provided risk management and portfolio construction capabilities to investment desks across the company.
David subsequently moved to Multi-Asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions as Head of Quantitative Research where he headed a team that was responsible for building portfolio construction tools, performing quantitative research and designing systematic investment strategies.
Prior to joining Schroders, David held positions at Henderson Investors, Baring Asset Management and WorldInvest holding roles that covered the areas of portfolio management, risk management and quantitative research.
David’s investment career commenced in 1989 and he re-joined QEP in 2015. David acts as a Senior Advisor to the Multi Asset Team.
Education
David holds a BSc (First Class) and an MSc (Distinction) in Mathematics from the University of Warwick.
Associations & licensing
Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
DAVID PAPPIN
Chief Operating Officer
IAM Real Estate Group
Remi Olu-Pitan
Remi Olu-Pitan is a Fund Manager at Schroders. She is responsible for investments on behalf of Multi-Asset clients globally and is a co-portfolio manager of the Schroder Life Diversified Growth Fund. She heads the Equity risk premia research team of the Strategic Investment Group Multi-Asset (SIGMA). She is a member of the Global Asset Allocation Committee. She joined Schroders in 2006 and is based in London.
Qualifications: CFA Charterholder; MSc in Statistics from The London School of Economics; BA in Business Finance from Durham University
REMI OLU-PITAN
Fund Manager, Multi-Asset
Schroders
Douglas Porter
Douglas Porter has over 30 years of experience analyzing global economies and financial markets. As Chief Economist at BMO Financial Group, he oversees the macroeconomic and financial market forecasts and co-authors the firm’s weekly flagship publication, Focus. Mr. Porter manages the team that has won numerous awards including Best Forecaster for Canada by Focus Economics in 2016, top Canadian forecaster by Bloomberg and the prestigious Lawrence Klein award for forecast accuracy of the U.S. economy.
As a respected commentator on economic and financial trends, he is regularly quoted in the national press and often interviewed on radio and television.
Before joining BMO, Mr. Porter held the positions of Economist and Country Risk Analyst with other Canadian financial institutions, and also worked at the Bank of Canada.
Mr. Porter has been a member of C.D. Howe’s Monetary Policy Council since 2008 and serves on the Investment Management Committees of the Bank of Montreal’s Canada Pension Plan and Western’s Endowment Fund. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance.
Mr. Porter, CFA, earned a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.
DOUGLAS PORTER
Chief Economist
BMO Financial Group
HUGH O’REILLY
Hugh O’Reilly is President and CEO of OPTrust with responsibility for all of the organization’s operations, overseeing management of the pension fund’s $18.4 billion in assets and pension plan administration.
Hugh is one of Canada’s foremost pension experts with extensive expertise in the operation and governance of jointly-sponsored pension plans. Before joining OPTrust, Hugh led the Pension Benefits and Insolvency Practice at Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP.
During his career, Hugh also served as senior policy advisor and Chief of Staff to a cabinet minister in the Ontario government, held the role of Senior Counsel at Canada Trust and practiced law as an associate lawyer at Oslers and a partner at Torys in Toronto.
He is a member of the TMX Advancing Innovation Roundtable and the editorial advisory board of Benefits and Pensions Monitor.
In 2016, he was the recipient of the Industry Leadership Award from the Benefits Canada Workplace Benefits Awards and was also named to the Wealth Professional Magazine 2016 Hot List.
HUGH O’REILLY
President and CEO
OPTrust
BLAIR RICHARDS
Blair Richards is the Chief Executive Officer of the Halifax Port ILA/HEA. He is a previous Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the port’s pension, health and wellness plans where his duties also involved chairing the Board’s numerous subcommittees. Specializing in industrial relations, Mr. Richards holds several human resource certifications, including membership in the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (CEBS). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dalhousie University, Halifax, and his Masters of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University, Halifax. He is also involved in various industry associations and has served on a number of Boards, Councils and Committees.
BLAIR RICHARDS
CEO
Halifax Port ILA/HEA Pension Plan and Trust Funds
MICHAEL RIZZELLO
Michael is a CFA Charterholder and holds both an MBA and BBA from the Schulich School of Business.
MICHAEL RIZZELLO
Senior Portfolio Manager
Canada Post
Theresa Shutt
Theresa Shutt is Chief Investment Officer of IAM Private Debt Group with responsibility for portfolio management and investor relations for all IPD Private Debt Funds with a leadership role in investment approval and fund strategy. Prior to joining IAM, she was a Managing Director at BMO Corporate Finance where she originated and managed loans for mid-market Canadian borrowers and previously held a variety of roles at RBC and Scotiabank structuring fixed income and equity derivatives for corporations and asset managers. Theresa holds a Masters of Economics degree from McMaster University, an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and is a CFA charterholder.
THERESA SHUTT
Chief Investment Officer
IAM Private Debt Group
Charles Sirois
Born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Charles Sirois is a leading figure in the Canadian communications industry.
He is the founder, controlling shareholder and chair of Telesystem, a company that has been the driving force behind some of the country’s most compelling entrepreneurship success stories.
Mr. Sirois founded Telesystem International Wireless Corporation N.V. in 1994 and was the Chairman of the Board until the beginning of 1997, when the company became Telesystem International Wireless Inc. (TIW).
He chaired TIW until 2004. In 1995, he founded Microcell Telecommunications Inc. During his eight years as Chairman of the Board, Microcell launched Fido, the first carrier in Canada to operate a GSM-based network.
Mr. Sirois is the founder of Tandem Expansion Fund, a private investment fund focused on growth capital, as well as founding partner and Chairman of the Board of Enablis Entrepreneurial Network, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs in developing countries. He is the Founding President of the QG100 Network, a private group of CEOs from Quebec-based global growth companies. He is also co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Pangea Agriculture Group.
In addition, Mr. Sirois chairs the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship, and he sits on the board of Rogers Communications and Triotech.
Charles Sirois received the Order of Canada in 1994 and was appointed knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 1998. In 2010, he was inducted into Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame.
He is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
CHARLES SIROIS
Co-founder & Chairman
Pangea Agriculture
Joseph Steccato
JOSEPH STECCATO
Head of the Americas Defined Benefit Business
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
George Theodoropoulos
George possesses more than 20 years of experience in project finance and infrastructure investing. Prior to joining Fengate, he was a Director at RBC Capital Markets and the head of its Canadian Infrastructure Advisory Group, where he played a lead role in advising RBC’s clients on structuring and arranging financing for major infrastructure projects.
George holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting from McGill University. George is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.
GEORGE THEODOROPOULOS
Managing Partner
Fengate Real Asset Investments
Stephen J. Thompson
Steve is the Executive Director of Capital Markets for the Government of Alberta. Steve heads up the Capital Markets team responsible for the development and execution of the Province of Alberta’s borrowing and debt management strategy, alternative finance projects and the development of investment strategy and investment policy for the Province’s $18 billion Heritage Fund and other provincial endowments. He advises government on the use of the Provincial credit and relationships with the global capital markets and investor communities. Prior to joining the Alberta team in 2013, Steve worked for 15 years at the Province of Nova Scotia where he was responsible for the Province’s extensive derivative portfolio, debt issuance and fixed income asset management. Prior to joining government, Steve spent 10 years with the Bank of Nova Scotia in operations and commercial banking. Steve is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds degrees in Finance and Economics from Saint Mary’s University.
STEPHEN J. THOMPSON
Executive Director, Capital Markets
Department of Treasury Board and Finance
Government of Alberta
JAY VYAS
Jay leads the Quantitative Investing group within the Public Market Investments department at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. He has over 25 years experience in the field of quantitative investments. Prior to joining CPPIB in 2010, Jay was a co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at Vyas Capital Management. Before that, he was a Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Portfolio Management Process in Barclays Global Investors’ Alpha Strategies Group, a portfolio manager at Martingale Asset Management, and he worked at Barra, Inc. where he began his career. Jay holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a CFA Charterholder.
JAY VYAS
Managing Director, Head of Quantitative Investing
CPP Investment Board (CPPIB)
Lori L. Whiting
Lori is an investment director in Wellington Alternative Investments (WAI). WAI oversees certain Wellington-managed fund vehicles that pursue alternative investment strategies. The WAI team serves as fund sponsor for several alternative funds, overseeing fund governance, product development, marketing, and operations, and servicing fund investors. Lori works closely with investment teams to help ensure the integrity of their investment approaches and represents the funds both internally and externally.
Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2010, Lori worked as a product manager at PIMCO, where she was responsible for the firm’s emerging markets and diversified income businesses globally and across distribution channels (2003 – 2008). Before that, she held positions in structured products and fixed income sales at Goldman Sachs (1999 – 2000) and Merrill Lynch (1996 – 1999).
Lori earned her MBA from UCLA (Anderson School of Management, 2003) and her bachelor of commerce from the University of British Columbia (1996). Additionally, she holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Boston.
LORI L. WHITING
Managing Director and Investment Director
Wellington Alternative Investments (WAI)
ERICK ZANKER
Erick Zanker: CFA (1999); MBA (1994), EUMD Toulouse; BComm (1990), University of Alberta. Erick is a PH&N IM institutional portfolio manager specialized in alternative investments. As Managing Director of Alternative Investments for RBC GAM, he is also responsible for driving the overall development of RBC GAM’s Alternative Investment platform and solutions. Prior to joining the organization in 2011, Erick worked in Canada and abroad, including at a diversified investment management firm and at a hedge fund. Most recently, he was the head of investment management and sales for a private bank in Canada.
ERICK ZANKER
Managing Director, Alternative Investments
Phillips, Hager & North, RBC Global Asset Management