Innovation and Resilience Forum 2026

Innovation and Resilience Forum 2026

September 16 - 18,
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, QC

Set against a backdrop of shifting global power dynamics and heightened market volatility, the Institutional Connect Innovation and Resilience Forum returns to the iconic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac this September. This exclusive two-day summit brings together top-tier investors to discuss and exchange on future of institutional investing in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.
Centered on the evolving world of institutional investment, the program delivers timely insights to help investors navigate uncertainty. Hear from leading asset owners and portfolio managers as they share actionable strategies for managing challenges and leveraging opportunities being presented to investors.
Discover how innovation, from advanced data analytics to evolving investment frameworks, is transforming decision-making and driving performance. Join a select group of forward-thinking professionals for an immersive experience that will sharpen your perspective, build your network and position you ahead in today’s rapidly evolving market landscape.

Advisory Board

Steven Asprey

Steven Asprey

PhD

Managing Director, Global Diversified Program

OMERS

View Bio
Marc Gauthier 1

Marc Gauthier

CPA, CMA

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer

Université Concordia

View Bio
Pierre Gillbert

Pierre Gilbert


Vice-President, Head of Public Markets

BIMCOR

View Bio
Roman Kosarenko

Roman Kosarenko

CFA

Senior Director Pension Investments

Loblaws

View Bio
Christophe LAhelec

Christophe L'Ahlec

CFA, MBA

Managing Director, Head of Active Public Markets

University Pension Plan

View Bio
Yelena Stepanyan

Yelena Stepanyan

CFA, MBA

Head of Investments

Embark

View Bio

The Event Experience

Participate in peer-to-peer discussions addressing forward-looking topics facing institutional investors

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Network with institutional investors and your peers through a series of breaks and roundtable exchange discussions

Hear from a vast array of industry experts through interactive discussions

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Extend connections at the offsite reception and dinner

Interact with speakers and make connections through use of an event app

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Ways to Participate

Speak

Propose a speaker for a topic aligned with the conference theme

Attend

Complimentary passes available for qualified institutional investors

Sponsor

Limited sponsorship opportunities available for provider firms

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Steven Asprey

PhD

Managing Director, Global Diversified Program

OMERS

Steven joined OMERS Capital Markets in October 2019. His expertise lies in systematic investment and portfolio management, as well as alternative data and investment data science. Steven is helping to lead the Quant Strategies team to improve and optimize their data-driven decision-making processes and portfolio management.

Steven was previously in the Capital Markets division of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, working within the Quantitative Strategies and Research team. Prior to that, he was Head of Portfolio Analytics within OMERS Capital Markets. Steven spent over 15 years in London, UK where he held various investment and portfolio management positions in the fund management and investment banking industries.

Steven holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and has completed two Post-Doctorates at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Imperial College, London, UK.

Marc Gauthier

CPA, CMA

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer

Université Concordia

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer – Concordia University

Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ financial position, which are segregated through five distinct portfolios; Benefits (Pension Plan, Group Insurance Plans, Supplementary Retirement Plans and Post Retirement/Employment Benefits), Investments (Pension Fund and Foundations), Corporate Risks (Insurance, self-insurance and ERM programs), Capital Budget (Capital investments and Fixed Assets) and Financing. He has been employed by Concordia University for 31 years; his responsibilities have also included such roles as Executive Director, Finance and Business Operations, Director of Finance and Restricted Funds and prior as a senior financial analyst and accountant. Mr. Gauthier obtained his CMA and graduated from Finance and Accounting at Concordia University as well as from Queen’s Executive Program in General Management.

Trésorier et Chef de Placement – Université Concordia

M. Gauthier a comme mandat la surveillance de la situation financière de l’Université et de ses entités affiliées, répartis en cinq portefeuilles distincts; avantages sociaux (régime de retraite, régimes d’assurances collectives, régimes de retraite supplémentaires et avantages post-retraite/emploi), placements (caisse de retraite et ces fondations), risques corporatifs (programme d’assurance, auto-assurance et GRE), budget des immobilisations (investissements en capitaux et immobilisations) et financement. M. Gauthier est employé à l’Université depuis 31 ans; il a occupé des rôles tels que Directeur exécutif, finances et gestion des affaires, Directeur des finances et fonds avec restrictions, analyste senior et comptable. Il a obtenu son CMA et est diplômé en Finance et Comptabilité de l’Université Concordia.

Pierre Gilbert

Vice-President, Head of Public Markets

BIMCOR

As Vice President – Head of Public Markets at Bimcor, Pierre leads the team overseeing investments across fixed income, public equities, absolute return and credit for the Bell Canada pension plans. He also supports the chief investment officer on a broad range of investment and portfolio management related issues, including liability-driven investing, asset allocation and portfolio construction.

Prior to joining Bimcor in 2005, Pierre worked at the Department of Finance Canada, most recently as senior project leader in the Financial Markets Division where he assumed responsibilities for the development of federal debt management strategy.

Pierre earned his Masters of Arts in Economics from Laval University, holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation and is a CFA charterholder.

Roman Kosarenko

CFA

Member of the Management Board, Head of Convertibles & Credit

Ellipsis AM

Graduated of EDHEC Business School, CFA, he began his career in 2008 at JP Morgan AM. He then spent 6 years at Edmond de Rothschild AM managing global convertible funds and also invested in emerging zones and Japan. In 2015, he joined Aviva Investors as co-manager of their global convertible funds. He joined Ellipsis AM in 2017 as a convertible manager. In 2021, he became Co-Head of the Convertible & Credit division and member of the Executive Board. From 2023, he becomes Head of the Convertibles & Credit division.

Christophe L’Ahelec

CFA, MBA

Managing Director, Head of Active Public Markets

University Pension Plan

Christophe L’Ahelec is an investment professional with more than twenty years of global experience in France, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Canada.

As Managing Director, Head of Active Public Markets, he is responsible for UPP’s global investment strategy with a particular focus on Active Public Market activities, including Public Equity, Public Credit and Absolute Return Strategies.

Prior to that, Christophe was a Senior Principal in the Capital Markets (CM) department, at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board where he was accountable for the top-down management of the external managers portfolio and was part of the investment committee allocating to hedge fund, private credit and long only equity managers. During his 11 years tenure at OTPP, he originated, conducted due-diligence, and on-boarded systematic alpha managers in the equity and futures space, along with leading the group’s work in the alternative risk premia space.

Before coming to Canada, Christophe was a quantitative analyst and assistant portfolio manager at Mignon Genève SA/Alpstar Asset Management, in Switzerland, where he took part in the creation and portfolio management of a European systematic market neutral fund.

Christophe spent the first two years of his career working for BNP Paribas in Hong Kong where he provided real-time quantitative support to the fixed-income trading desk.

Christophe is a graduate engineer in Finance and Applied Mathematics from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Informatique et de Mathématiques Appliquées de Grenoble, France and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. He has been invited to speak globally on advanced portfolio and risk management topics and is also known for his work as an academic writer. His papers have been published in the Journal of Asset Management and the Journal of Alternative assets. 

Yelena Stepanyan

CFA, MBA

Head of Investments

Embark

Yelena is the Head of Investments at Embark where she oversees more than $6 billion of assets under management. Yelena’s main responsibilities include developing and overseeing investment strategy, monitoring external investment managers, new product design and launch, risk management, and regulatory reporting.

Yelena has an MBA from University of Western Ontario. She is a CFA Charterholder and currently serves as the Chair of the Institutional Asset Management Committee at the CFA Society
Toronto.

Criteria

Green Key certified establishments meet a set of high standard environmental requirements. The Green Key criteria and their explanatory notes are available to all interested parties and can be downloaded below. We have developed criteria and explanatory notes for six Green Key categories (hotels and hostels, campsites and holiday parks, small accommodations, conference centres, restaurants, and attractions) covering the same 13 criteria areas.

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