Innovation and Resilience Forum

September 24 - 26, 2025
Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax NS

This year’s Innovation and Resilience Forum will convene institutional investors, asset managers, and industry leaders to examine the structural and macroeconomic forces reshaping long-term portfolio strategies. In an environment marked by persistent market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty, the forum will explore the increasing relevance of AI, quant investments, and alternative strategies as tools for enhancing diversification and risk-adjusted returns.

Key discussions will centre on evolvement of sustainable investments, the evolution of portfolio structuring, and advanced approaches to risk management. Particular attention will be paid to the implications of global policy shifts, tariffs and geopolitical fragmentation—factors that continue to influence institutions everyday decisions.

Join us on September 24–26 at the Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax, to hear keynote addresses, expert panels, and in-depth case studies, and gain forward-looking perspectives and actionable strategies to navigate today’s dynamic investment landscape while safeguarding portfolio resilience in the face of structural change.

Advisory Board

Steven Asprey

Steven Asprey

PhD

Managing Director, Global Multi-asset Strategies

OMERS

View Bio
Jacky Chen

Jacky Chen

CFA

Managing Director, Portfolio Completion Strategies

OPTrust

View Bio
Antonio Loureiro 1

Antonio Loureiro

CFA, FRM

Principal, Total Fund Management

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

View Bio
Christophe LAhelec

Christophe L’Ahelec

CFA, MBA

Managing Director, Public Markets

University Pension Plan

View Bio
Ju Hui Lee 1

Ju Hui Lee

CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, FRM

Head of Market Risk

United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)

View Bio
Tanya Lai

Tanya Lai

MBA, CFA

Former Managing Director, Public Markets

IMCO

View Bio
Steve Mahoney 1

Steve Mahoney

CFA, FSA, CAIA, PRM

Chief Investment Officer

Nova Scotia Pension Plan

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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Innovation and Resilience Forum 2024 Event Highlight

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 Multi-asset Strategies

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.

Jacky Chen

CFA

Managing Director, Portfolio Completion 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.

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).

Christophe L’Ahelec

CFA, MBA

Managing Director, 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.

Ju Hui Lee

CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, FRM

Head of Market Risk

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.

Tanya Lai

MBA, CFA

Former Managing Director, Public Markets

IMCO

Tanya Lai is an investment leader with 25+ years of experience driving strategic investment transitions. As the former Managing Director, Head of Public Markets at Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”), Tanya led high-performing teams in managing and transforming multi-billion-dollar public pension and insurance plan assets. She was the Chair of the IMCO Public Equity Portfolio Construction Committee, which ensures the investments are aligned with long-term investment goals.

Previously, Tanya held senior leadership roles at the Ontario Pension Board (“OPB”), where she spearheaded the evolution of the pension plan’s investment strategies, expanding from a limited set of balanced funds to a diverse array of specialty investments. She has shaped foundational investment policies and governance frameworks, ensuring alignment with clients’ long-term investment objectives.

Tanya currently serves as Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee for Ontario Public Guardian & Trustee (“OPGT”), a committee member of the Investment Advisory Committee for CAMH Foundation, and was the inaugural board member of the Toronto Investment Board.

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.

Steve Mahoney

CFA, FSA, CAIA, PRM

Chief Investment Officer

Nova Scotia Pension Plan

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). 

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