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Richard Anton


Chief Client Officer

CIBC Mellon

Richard Anton is Chief Client Officer at CIBC Mellon, with overall responsibility for the company’s relationship management, product development, strategic client solutions, corporate communications and marketing activities. He is also a member of the company’s leadership team.

Richard has more than 30 years of asset servicing and investment operations experience. He previously served as Chief Operations Officer, where he was responsible for investment operations, client service delivery and operational transformation. As Chief Client Officer, Richard’s primary focus is on helping clients achieve operational transformation built on the powerful foundation of solutions available from CIBC Mellon, its parent companies and a growing array of allied technology providers. Canadian market expertise and focus on advancing investment operations innovation has helped clients understand and undertake their toughest transformation challenges. Prior to joining CIBC Mellon in 2014, he was COO of State Street Cayman.

Richard holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, formerly Ryerson University). He is a proud advocate for inclusive and accessible youth sports, and he serves on the Boards of Directors for Bay Street Hoops. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Young People’s Theatre. He is a member of the advisory board for TMU’s School of Accounting and Finance. In 2019, Richard was awarded the G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer Award by TMU. 

Alex Bellefleur

M.A., CFA

Senior Vice President, Head of Research, Asset Allocation

Industrial Alliance Global Asset Management

Alex has 17 years of industry experience, spanning global macro research, asset allocation and portfolio construction. He joined iA in 2024 from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, where he led the Dynamic Asset Allocation team within Total Fund Management. Previously, he was Chief Economist & Strategist in the Multi-Asset Strategies team at Mackenzie Investments. Alex is a CFA charterholder and is based in Montreal.

Greg Bond

Head of the Americas

Man Group

Greg Bond is CEO of Man Numeric, Head of the Americas for Man Group, and lead portfolio manager for Man Group’s flagship multi-strategy fund. He also serves on the Man Group Executive Committee and the Man Numeric Investment Committee. Previously, Greg was director of research at Man Numeric, responsible for research initiatives, including the day-to-day management of Man Numeric’s strategic alpha research team. Before becoming director of research, he was a portfolio manager for various hedge fund strategies at Numeric as well as being co-head of its hedge fund group, having joined in 2003. Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and in biology from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Edward Blain

CFA

Co-lead of London-based Global Investment team

Orbis Investments

Master of Arts (Honours) in History (University of Cambridge), Chartered Financial Analyst. Edward joined Orbis in 2010. He co-leads the London-based Global Investment team, researching companies globally across all sectors and directing the team’s research in selected sectors. He previously worked as a political adviser.

Peter Bremberg

MBA

Founder and Chief Investment Officer

The Quarry

Peter Bremberg is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of The Quarry. In his role as CIO, Peter is responsible for portfolio construction and capital allocations to The Quarry’s portfolio managers. Peter was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Boothbay Fund Management LLC, a global multi-manager hedge fund with over $5 billion of capital allocations to 100+ portfolio managers.

Prior to Boothbay, he was a Director in the Global Prime Solutions & Financing division of BNP Paribas from 2010-2016. Before BNP, Peter was the 8th employee and Treasury Manager at Northern Arc Capital in India, a structured credit and specialty finance company that has enabled financing for over 50 million underserved households and businesses in India. Peter began his career at Bear, Stearns & Co. in the Equities Division.

Peter has an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville

Philippe Goulet Coulombe

PhD

Professor of Economics

Université du Québec à Montréal

Philippe Goulet Coulombe is a professor of economics at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and an associate researcher at the Chair in Macroeconomics and Forecasting. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree from Queen’s University, and a bachelor’s degree from Université Laval. A recognized researcher in the development of advanced techniques in macroeconomic modeling, he leads several projects at the intersection of artificial intelligence and econometrics. He also conducts work in finance and on the statistical modeling of climate change.

Prof. Goulet Coulombe has delivered over 60 presentations in 15 countries, notably at academic conferences and central banks. He has produced around twenty research papers, including 10 articles published in leading scientific journals. He regularly comments on and explains various economic issues in the media, appearing on television, in print, and on the radio. 

Jacky Chen

CFA

Director, Total Fund Completion Portfolio Strategies

OPTrust

Jacky Chen is the Director of Total Fund Completion Portfolio Strategies at OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest pension funds, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

At OPTrust, Jacky is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and day-to-day portfolio management of cross-asset systematic investment strategies, utilizing both traditional and machine learning approaches. Additionally, he is an active participant in various total fund investment initiatives.

At the University of Toronto, Jacky teaches a financial innovation course at the Rotman School of Management. He is also involved with the Rotman Financial Innovation Hub, where his research centers on the application of machine learning techniques for portfolio hedging, derivatives pricing and risk management. His work has been published in major academic journals.

Jacky holds a B.Sc. in Financial Economics and Statistics and a Master’s degree in Financial Risk Management, both from the University of Toronto, and is a CFA Charterholder. 

Robert Chen

CFA, PhD

Managing Director, Factor Investing

IMCO

Robert Chen is Managing Director, Factor Investing. He is responsible for leading the design and implementation of the Public Equity Factor Investing program, including developing new portfolio management tools, leading factor research and managing external and internal factor mandates across Canadian, Emerging and Global markets.

Robert has over 18 years of experience across multiple asset classes and global markets. Before joining IMCO in 2019, Robert was Head of Asset Allocation and Passive Investments at Harvest Global Investments, based in Hong Kong. In that role, Robert led his team to build domestic and global multi-asset solutions and manage offshore exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking China A-shares for foreign investors.

Robert was also Head of Asset Allocation Investment and Research Centre, Harvest Fund Management, based in Beijing, focused on the integration of innovative research in big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) with investments in a practical manner. Previously, Robert held senior Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA) roles at Mellon Capital Management and CPP Investments.

Robert holds a PhD in Finance from The University of Toronto, a Master’s degree in Economics from Simon Fraser University and is a CFA Institute Charterholder. 

Tamara Close

CFA

Founder and Managing Director

Close Group Consulting

Tamara is Senior Director, ESG Advisory for the Petra Funds Group. Prior to Petra she founded Close Group Consulting, a global boutique ESG strategy and due diligence advisory firm for financial and capital markets. She has over 25 years of combined experience in capital markets, risk management, and ESG strategy, and previously spent 10 years in senior leadership roles at PSP Investments as well as various investment management positions for global investment firms. 

Tamara is an experienced board director, investment committee member and strategic advisor for various firms and foundations and was recently nominated to the ESG Technical Committee for the CFA Institute.

Pierre Drolet

CFA

Portfolio Manager, Private Assets

Canadian Medical Protective Association

Pierre is Portfolio Manager, Private Assets at The Canadian Medical Protective Association where, together with the team, he oversees and directs investments and co-investments in Private Equity, Private Debt and Real assets. He is also a member of the Total Portfolio Investment Committee where he participates in the overall risk allocation of the CMPA portfolio.

Prior to this assignment in 2018, Pierre managed pension fund assets for more than 20 years at National Bank of Canada and Domtar. Before joining Domtar in 1996 where he was also involve in financial risk management, Pierre worked in Treasury Operations for the Montréal Transit Corporation and in various analyst role for Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec where, among other things, he participated in the development and implementation of VAR models.

Early in his career, Pierre gave lectures at HEC Montréal and for the CFA examination prep courses. Pierre has been on the University of Sherbrooke Pension plan Investment Committee for more than 14 years. He was on Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC) Board for many years and was also involved in their various committees over time.

Pierre graduated from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Montréal with a Master degree in Finance and he is a CFA Charterholder.

Shafiq Ebrahim

ASA, CFA, CIM, FRM, PhD

Managing Director, Systematic Strategies Group

CPP Investments

Shafiq leads the team responsible for research and management of quantitative equity mandates in the Systematic Strategies Group within Capital Markets and Factor Investing (CMF).

Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2022, Shafiq was the Managing Director, Head of Quantitative Equity at British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (BCI) where he led the team that built BCI’s quantitative equity program and managed Global, Global ESG, and Canadian mandates. Previously, from 2009 to 2015, he was a partner and head of research at AJO, a quantitative institutional investment manager based in Philadelphia with over USD 25B in AUM. He also worked as a senior researcher at State Street Associates and Financial Engines. Shafiq began his career in 1999 as a researcher at the Bank of Canada.

Shafiq holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of British Columbia, and MA and PhD degrees in Economics from Queen’s University. He also earned an MS degree in Computer Science from Columbia University, specializing in Natural Language Processing. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds the Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), and Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designations.

Andy Gardner

CFA

Portfolio Manager, Fiera Atlas Global Companies Team

Fiera Capital

Andy Gardner is a Portfolio Manager for the Fiera Atlas Global Companies. Andy joined Fiera Capital in March of 2021 as part of Fiera’s acquisition of AMP Capital’s Global Equities capability.

Andy has more than 17 years’ experience as a portfolio manager and equity analyst. Andy started with AMP Capital in 2012 within the Fundamental Equities team before helping lead the development of AMP Capital’s Global Equity capability. Prior to AMP Capital, Andy spent time working at MF Global where he co-led the build out of their Asia Pacific equity research and principal strategies teams. He began his career in London at Man Group, covering European and US equities.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics from King’s College London. He is a CFA Charterholder. 

Frédéric Gauvin

CFA, M.Sc

President and Chief Investment Officer

Université de Sherbrook Pension Fund

Frédéric Gauvin is the President of the Retirement Committee and the Investment Committee of the University of Sherbrooke Retirement Plan. Mr. Gauvin has over 20 years of experience in financial management, including portfolio management, risk management, treasury, and investment and derivative product evaluation. He is currently the President of the Retirement Committee of the University of Sherbrooke and a financial risk management consultant, collaborating on several asset management projects with several institutional investors. He has also worked for CDCC Groupe TMX, Ernst & Young, Société Générale, and State Street Global Advisors. In addition, he is a member of the Investment Committees of the Quebec Notaries Chamber, the Quebec Notaries Professional Liability Fund, the Quebec Architect Liability Fund and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary of Quebec foundation and investment fund.

Holding the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) title, he graduated from the University of Sherbrooke with a Master’s degree in finance in 1998. His skills and experience in risk management align well with best practices for managing a retirement plan.

Jeffrey C. Galloway

Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager, Senior Credit Analyst

Amundi US

Jeff Galloway is a Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Senior Credit Analyst at Amundi US. Jeff is a Portfolio Manager for Multi-Asset Credit strategies that invest in a broad spectrum of domestic and global credit related sectors with a focus on corporate credit (Investment Grade, High Yield and Leveraged Loans) and securitized credit. Jeff is a senior member of Amundi US’s Corporate Credit Research team and leads the firm’s internal distressed research credit team, which is responsible for analysis and management of stressed and distressed credits. Prior to joining Amundi US, Jeff held roles of increasing responsibility in credit research at two leading global banks as well as at a multi-strategy hedge fund. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.B.A. from the University of Iowa Henry B. Tippie College of Business, where he graduated with distinction and honors and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies. He earned his CFA® designation in 2003.

Marc Gauthier

CPA, CMA

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer

Concordia University

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. 

Matt Gertken

PhD

Chief Strategist, Geopolitical Strategy and US Political Strategy

BCA Research

Matt is BCA Research’s Chief Strategist, Geopolitical Strategy and US Political Strategy. He oversees the firm’s coverage of market-relevant policy developments across the world. Prior to joining BCA in 2015, Matt worked as a Senior Analyst at Strategic Forecasting, Inc (Stratfor) and in various academic and publishing roles. Matt holds an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Graham

CFA

Vice President, Québec and OCIO Segment Head, Client Management

CIBC Mellon

Michael is responsible for leading the relationship management team in Quebec, overseeing the existing client relationships and partnering with our business development team to grow CIBC Mellon’s regional footprint. He also develops and manages initiatives that enhance client partnerships.

Prior to joining CIBC Mellon in 2013, Michael worked in progressively senior roles at a large, diversified financial institution in Canada, most recently as a relationship manager for domestic and international institutional investors.

In addition to his 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry, Michael is a CFA charter holder and earned his bachelor of commerce degree from Concordia University, with a major in finance at the John Molson School of Business. 

Toby Goodworth

PhD

Managing Director, Head of Liquid Markets

bfinance

Toby Goodworth is Head of Liquid Markets at bfinance and a member of the firm’s Senior Management Team. Previously, he was Head of Risk Management and a member of the Investment Committee at Key Asset Management, one of Europe’s oldest fund of hedge funds. He has over 20 years of industry experience, including 18 years as an allocator within the hedge fund industry. Toby holds a PhD in Physics from University College London and a First Class honours degree in Physics, also from UCL.

Vova Golubin

Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer

Sibli

Vova has the privilege of helping some of the largest Canadian asset managers improve their investment research processes, boost productivity, and mitigate risk using the latest advances in AI. As a founder, he combines his engineering, sales, and operations backgrounds to help Sibli become a prominent technology player in the investment management vertical. Before Sibli, Vova managed complex sales processes and group P&L in the infrastructure field with a focus on electrification.

Ju Hui Lee

CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, FRM

Head of Investment Risk and Performance

United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)

Ju Hui Lee is Head of Market Risk of UNJSPF (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund), responsible for market risk oversight and asset-lability management. The fund manages assets of US$91.5 billion as of 31 December 2021.
Before joining UNJSPF, Ju Hui worked on the asset-liability analysis of the Canada Pension Plan and the factor studies at Canada Pension Investments (CPP Investments). In addition, she led modelling groups in the Global Risk Management at Scotiabank and ALM consulting, pension investment strategy development and risk management activities for financial institutions, model vetting, and actuarial valuation reporting for clients at KPMG and Mercer and developed the LDI methodology and was responsible for the strategic asset allocation at Manulife Financial.
Ju Hui holds a BSc. Mathematics, an MBA from the Yonsei University in Korea, and an MSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago. Ju Hui holds the CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, and FRM designations.

Matthew Leatherman

Managing Director, Research Strategist

FCLTGlobal

Matt Leatherman is Managing Director and Head of Programs at FCLTGlobal, a nonprofit research institution whose mission is to focus capital on the long term to support a sustainable and prosperous economy. Together with our members, a community of leading companies and investors worldwide, we develop actionable research and tools to drive long-term value creation for savers and communities. As Head of Programs, Matt leads FCLTGlobal’s efforts to grow problem-solving communities of member institutions, executives, and staff and to organize them for action. The programming function both informs and implements FCLTGlobal’s research in this way. Previously, Matt served as Policy Director for the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, an institutional investor responsible for providing retirement security for the state’s educators, civil servants, and first responders. Matt also chairs the board of the John Rex Endowment, a grant-maker whose mission is to strengthen organizations that center racial equity and justice to improve the social emotional health of children living in Wake County (NC), and is an advisor to Ethical Systems, a behavioral economics think tank within NYU Stern’s Business and Society Program.

Tanya Lai

MBA, CFA

Managing Director, Public Equities

Investment Management Corporation of Ontario

Tanya Lai is Managing Director, Public Markets at Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO). She is responsible for IMCO’s public equities assets, focusing on strategy research, implementation, and portfolio construction.

She is the Chair of the IMCO Portfolio Construction Committee that ensures the IMCO Public Equity investments are aligned with long-term investment goals.

Before joining IMCO at its inception in 2017, Tanya was the Managing Director of Public Markets at the Ontario Pension Board, leading its entry into emerging markets. She has worked with Canadian-based pensions (defined benefit and contributions plans) and endowments. She oversaw investment research on traditional/alternative asset classes and multi-manager structure design while leading risk management initiatives.

Tanya has an MBA from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Toronto. She is a CFA charter holder and a member of the Toronto CFA Society.

Tanya currently serves on the Investment Advisory Committee of the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee (“OPGT” ), and she serves on the Investment Committee of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation (“CAMH Foundation”). Previously, she was a board member of the Toronto Investment Board.

Carl Robert

Ph.D, CFA, FRM

Managing Director, Dynamic Asset Allocation and Currency Management

PSP Investments

Carl Robert, Ph.D., CFA, FRM, is Managing Director, Dynamic Asset Allocation and Currency Management within the CIO group at PSP Investments (more than $264B AUM). In his role, Carl leads the rebalancing of the fund, manages its Dynamic Asset Allocation, Total Fund Currency Management, the Quantitative Research, and leads the team advising the Total Fund Management Committee of the firm.

Prior to joining PSP, Carl was Director and Portfolio Manager, Asset Allocation, at Intact Investment Management. He was leading the Asset Allocation team, managing different active and passive portfolios in equity and fixed income, and built and managed an external managers program (Private debt, Infrastructure).

Carl has more than 20 years of experience in the capital markets working for institutional asset management firms (e.g., PSP, CDPQ) and hedge funds in Canada and the United States. He is combining a background in physics (Ph.D. University of Maryland, M.Sc., and B.Sc. Laval University), experience as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer (University of California Santa Barbara, and Reims University) as well as training in finance (Financial Risk Manager 2007, he is a CFA Charterholder since 2010 and volunteers at CFA Montreal since 2011.).

Carl has been on the board of CFA Montreal since 2013 and was its President (2019-2021). He currently is the Honorary President of the association and is on its executive committee. Finally, Carl is on the board and also on the executive committee of CFA Societies Canada since 2021.

Antonio Loureiro

CFA, FRM

Principal, Total Fund Management

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Antonio Loureiro is a Principal at OTPP’s Total Fund Management, Economics Research Group since 2018, with responsibility for enabling informed investment decisions through a combination of macro, asset allocation, and quantitative methods. Antonio has led a number of initiatives related to the Inflation risk factor and its implications for long-term investors, with particular attention to inflation’s cyclical and secular drivers in both DM and EM. Prior to joining OTPP, Antonio worked for 12+ years in Brazil, where he was Deputy Head of Strategy and Senior Portfolio Manager at the Central Bank of Brazil’s International Reserves department, as well as Deputy Manager of Research at the National Treasury’s Public Debt Management office. Antonio has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy since 2019. Antonio holds a MSc in Economics from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and he has earned both the CFA and FRM designations. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and German (intermediate).

Aymeric Martin

Executive Director - Private Debt

Tikehau Capital

Aymeric Martin started his career in 2007 at Macquarie Capital in London within the European private equity team and was involved in both the review of deal opportunities and extensive monitoring of two portfolio companies. He pursued his investment experience in Paris within real estate investments at LaSalle Investment Management. In 2011, he joined the Transaction Services Department of Deloitte where he participated in several buy-side and sell-side due diligence projects for both private equity and corporate clients in various sectors. He joined the private debt team of Tikehau Capital in February 2016 where he was involved in 30+ transactions. Aymeric is based in Paris.

Cécile Mayer-Lévi

Managing Director, Head of Private Debt

Tikehau Capital

Cécile Mayer Lévi joined Tikehau Capital in 2013 as Head of Private Debt activity. She has built a talented team to become one of the leading players in Europe in private debt, in particular in direct lending and is actively involved with a very hands-on role in closing transactions, chasing opportunities and monitoring investments. To date, she has arranged over 150 financing transactions and was one of the pioneers of the private debt strategy.
Cécile previously worked at Ardian (formerly AXA Private Equity) where she notably broadened the investment scope to include unitranche debt, with a strong focus on forming partnerships with portfolio companies and Private Equity shareholders. She began her career in 1988 at Merrill Lynch (Corporate Finance and M&A) in Paris and then in New York. In 1991, she joined Elig, one of the pioneering private equity funds in France. In 2001, Cécile’s focus pivoted to mezzanine debt investments, and she was appointed Investment Director at Omnes (formerly CAPE – Mezzanis).
Cécile sits as observer on the board of over 20 companies, where she contributes her 360° view to their management teams across a diversified range of industries. She is also board member and chair of the audit committee of the listed company FL Entertaiment.

She is also chair of the Private Debt Commission of the trade association France Invest and is leading the initiative to implement ESG ratchets and an impact margin grid in deal documentation. In addition she has been appointed as a board member of France Invest since
July 2023.

Cecile is a member of the investment committee of the endowment Alma Mater HEC, a leading European business school, and also Board member of the ACC- Alternative Credit Council in connection with AIMA to cover Private Debt related regulatory and legal evolutions in Europe and worldwide.

Steve Mahoney

CFA, FSA, CAIA, PRM

Chief Investment Officer

Nova Scotia Pension Services Corporation

Steve Mahoney was appointed NS Pension’s Chief Investment Officer on April 1, 2022.
Steve was born and raised in Nova Scotia. His career started with the Maritime Life Assurance Company as an Investment and Actuarial Analyst. He then moved on to Keel Capital as a Risk Manager and then to the Halifax Regional Municipality Pension Plan also as a Risk Manager. Steve worked for six years at Morneau Shepell (now LifeWorks) as a Partner in their investment consulting division. He was then with Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group in Toronto as Vice President of Institutional Sales prior to joining NSPSC in 2022 as Chief Investment Officer.
Steve’s education includes a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) degree from Mount Allison University and a Bachelor of Education degree from St. Francis Xavier University. He also holds several professional designations including Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), and Professional Risk Manager (PRM). 

Dominic Poulin

CFA, CPA

Head of Real Assets

Desjardins Group Pension Plan

Dominic Poulin is Head of Real Assets at Desjardins Group Pension Plan (DGPP). He leads a team that invests domestically and globally in a variety of investment structures including commingled funds, co-investments, joint ventures and direct investments with a focus on delivering strong risk adjusted income and capital returns for DGPP’s beneficiaries. In his position, Mr. Poulin also oversees DGPP’s key operator/partner relationship network.

Dominic joined DGPP in 2018. He was previously at PriceWaterhouseCoopers Montreal where he worked on the assurance group. In his functions at DGPP, he helped to develop and grow the alternative investment program, which reached $6,5 billion and delivered strong outperformance over the last few years.

Dominic holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University where he graduated with distinction. He is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) as well as a CFA Chaterholder (CFA).

Erwan Pirou

CFA

Canadian Chief Investment Officer

AON

Bio

Emerson Savage

CFA, CAIA, CPA

Head of Public Markets Sales

Fiera Capital

Head of Public Markets Sales

Emerson Savage is a member of the Institutional Markets team and is responsible for business development efforts for Fiera Capital’s public markets platform, working with insurers, pensions, family offices, and nonprofits across Canada.

Emerson has been with the firm since 2021. Previously, he worked for a Canadian investment management firm leading institutional client service and business development activities across Canada. 

Emerson has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of New Brunswick, with honors in Finance and Accounting. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designations.  

Yelena Stepanyan

CFA, MBA

Head of Investments

Embark Student Corp

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. 

Zarqaa Shaikh

CFA

Managing Director, Completion Portfolio Strategies and Research

OPTrust

Zarqaa Shaikh is the Managing Director of Completion Portfolio Strategies in the Total Portfolio Management group. Zarqaa joined OPTrust in 2017 and is responsible for co-managing the liquid public markets portfolio to complete the Total Fund’s risk factor exposure and enhance the Fund’s risk and return profile. Zarqaa provides strategic direction on the Plan’s externally managed public-market investments. In addition, Zarqaa manages the team’s overall Hedge Funds strategy and portfolio construction. Zarqaa also manages several venture capital relationships within the Technology & Innovation Portfolio.

Before joining OPTrust in September 2017, Zarqaa spent close to four years working in private equity at Starling Group, a family office in Dubai, and allocating capital across North America, Europe and Asia.

Zarqaa holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. She is also a CFA Charterholder.

With net assets of $25 billion, OPTrust invests and manages the OPSEU Pension Plan, a defined benefit plan with over 110,000 active members and retirees.

Teresa Troy

CFA, ICD.D

CEO

Placemore Capital Inc

Terri Troy, CFA, ICD.D is Co-Founder of Placemore Capital Inc., an advisory firm that works closely with investment managers/GPs and accredited investors to match the right solutions with the right partners. In 2018 Terri retired as CEO of the Halifax Regional Municipality Pension Plan. She has more than 25 years of experience in investment management, pensions, corporate strategy, and mergers and acquisitions. As CEO of the Halifax Regional Municipality Pension Plan, she transformed the governance structure, investment strategy, and customer service function. Innovative investment strategies implemented included factor investing, portable alpha, and a significant emphasis on private investments including co-investments, syndications/club deals with other large institutional investors, and direct investments, etc.

While CEO, Terri was a Board member of a UK based energy company and a Board member of a Canadian financial services corporation. She was a member of Investor Advisory Committees for various global private investments including UK, European and US private equity; UK, Australian and Canadian infrastructure; European, UK, Asian, US and Canadian real estate; and European, UK, and US private debt.

Prior to the CEO role, Terri was responsible for the investment strategy for RBC’s 33 global pension plans between 2000-2006. Prior to RBC, Terri held various roles at CIBC including corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, and wealth management.

Terri has held various leadership roles in the pension industry including being a Board Member of the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC), Chair of PIAC, Chair of PIAC’s Investment Practices Committee and Chair of PIAC’s Government Relations Committee.

Terri was a member of the International Limited Partnership’s Association’s Education Committee 2016-2018 and is currently on ILPA’s Teaching Faculty.

Over the course of her career, Terri has received many awards including the Leading Pension Plan Sponsor Award and the Top 25 Most Influential Plan Sponsors.

Terri has an MBA from York University and an HBBA from Wilfrid Laurier. She also holds the CFA charter and completed the ICD Rotman, Directors Education Program 

Derek Walker

CFA, MBA

Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Design and Construction

CPP Investments

Derek leads the Portfolio Design & Construction (PD&C) group. PD&C is responsible for recommending the Fund’s risk appetite, and for strategic and tactical allocations Prior to his current role, he held the roles of Managing Director, Head of Active Investment Management and Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Engineering – both within Total Fund Management (TFM). Prior to joining TFM, Derek was a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Tactical Asset Allocation group within Public Market Investments.

Before joining CPP Investments, Derek held a variety of positions related to quantitative investing and indexing at Barclays Global Investors and Morgan Stanley Capital International SA.

Derek holds an MS in Computing and Information Science from Queen’s University and an MBA from INSEAD. He is a CFA charterholder.

Malcolm White

CFA

Portfolio Manager (Technology and Communications), Global Equity

BMO Global Asset Management

Malcolm specializes in the technology sector and is responsible for equity portfolio management and research. Most recently, he served as Senior Portfolio Manager at CI Global Asset Management. He has been recognized for four consecutive years as a TopGun Investment Mind in Canada, attaining Platinum Status (TopGun Investment Minds and Buy-Side Traders of Canadian Stocks 2021/2022 | Brendan Wood International | TopGun Press). Malcolm holds a Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He has lectured internationally on the applications of AI in finance and is currently completing his Master of Science, Data Science from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Parnaz Tabrizian

MBA

Director of Innovation Labs

Alberta Investment management Corporation (AIMCo)

Parnaz is the Director of Innovation labs at AIMCo. In her role, she is researching the applications of advanced analytics and emerging technologies that can enhance the investment outcomes for their clients and the millions of Albertans they serve.

Before joining AIMCO, she was part of CPP Investment’s Alpha Generation Lab and Investment Research team. With over a decade of experience in technology consulting, Parnaz has been instrumental in the lifecycle management of transformative AI projects across diverse sectors.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Parnaz is a university lecturer at Concordia University and a passionate advocate for diversity in tech. She actively participates in initiatives that support women in STEM and provides mentorship to emerging fintech and AI enterprises. Parnaz holds a Bachelor of Engineering from McGill University, a Master of Science from Concordia University, and an MBA from HEC.

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