Institutional Connect West Forum 2025

June 11 - 13, 2025
Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver BC

2025 is embracing new administrations and policies around the globe, as well as increasing geopolitical changes. With significant structural change, comes volatility; in recent months we have seen increases in interest rates and AI investments, but foremost in the industries minds are the potential policy changes in the pipeline. How will institutional investors not only manage these risks, but capitalize on the opportunities they present?

In this new and evolving landscape, institutional investors have risen to the challenge, generating new strategies and rethinking practices. This June, the Institutional Connect West Forum will bring together thought-leaders and experts from the institutional community to discuss, and reflect on the ever-developing investment world.
Join us at the Fairmont Pacific Rim on the Vancouver Waterfront, to create conversations worth having.

For more information, please visit our website at 
https://institutionalconnect.com/events/west-forum-2025/

Advisory Board

Jacky Shen

Jacky Shen

CFA, MBA

Director, Treasury and Investments

Simon Fraser University

Eugene Lee

Eugene Lee

CFA

Vice president, Investments

Vancouver Foundation

Lauren Frosst

Lauren Frosst

CFA, MBA

Director, Investments

Calgary Foundation

Ryan Wright 1

Ryan Wright

MBA, CFA

Director, Treasury and Investments

University of Calgary

Kimberly Enge 1

Kimberly Enge


Trustee

Saskatchewan Pension Plan

Graham Sheppard

Graham Sheppard

CFA

Director, Total Portfolio Management

UBC Investment Management

Samir Ben Tekaya 1 1

Samir Ben Tekaya


Senior Vice President and Head of Investment Risk

BCI

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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West 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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Jacky Shen

CFA, MBA

Director, Treasury and Investments

Simon Fraser University

Jacky Shen is the Director of Treasury at Simon Fraser University, where he provides the treasury, investment and responsible investing leadership by supporting the university’s investment governance
duties, implementing investment decisions and responsible investing initiatives, as well as managing debt and operating cash flows.
Jacky has managed SFU’s endowment portfolio to consistently outperformed its benchmarks for all annualized period on a rolling 10-year basis, and to consistently ranked in the top decile for the ten-year
annualized return within the balanced manager universe, as well to consistently ranked among the top performing Canadian universities in the Canadian University Investment Survey. He also successfully
implemented the university’s investment decarbonization plan and guided the investment portfolios toward the university’s 2025 divestment commitment.
Jacky is a trustee of both SFU Academic Staff Pension Plan and SFU Administrative/Union Staff Pension Plan. He is also a Treasury and Investment Committee member of Canadian Association of University
Business Officers (CAUBO).
Jacky has accumulated more than 30 years of experience of investment management, corporate finance, credit analysis, marketing and product development for various organizations including
managerial roles in leading global firms such as HSBC and AIG. Jacky joined Simon Fraser University in 2007.
Jacky earned an MBA degree from University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Global Assets and Wealth Management from Simon Fraser University, and he is a CFA Charter holder.

Eugene Lee

CFA

Vice president, Investments

Vancouver Foundation

Eugene is the Vice President of Investments at Vancouver Foundation and has over 25 years of experience working with pensions, endowments, foundations and Indigenous settlement trusts.
Prior to joining Vancouver Foundation in 2016, Eugene spent three years at PBI Actuarial Consultants as an Investment Consultant and 14 years at SEI and RBC Investor and Treasury Services; working closely with various plan sponsors in developing investment policies and governance guidelines as well as manager research, performance monitoring and strategic asset mix analysis.
Eugene volunteers his time serving on various boards and committee including the Law Foundation of BC, the Real Estate Foundation of BC, Public Guardian and Trustee of BC, BC Unclaimed and the Foundation for Black Communities.  Eugene is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business and received his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2002.

Lauren Frosst

CFA, MBA

Director, Investments

Calgary Foundation

Lauren Frosst is Director, Investments for Calgary Foundation. Lauren supports the Vice President, Chief Investment Officer with effective oversight of the Primary Endowment Portfolio and management of other financial assets. She conducts investment research, aids in asset allocation and risk management strategies, and supervises investment manager due diligence and monitoring processes. Lauren also developed the Calgary Foundation’s strategy for impact investing as well as processes for deal origination, underwriting, and monitoring of investments. Lauren has a BFA, Printmaking and MBA, Finance from the University of Calgary. She also studied international commerce at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Ryan Wright

MBA, CFA

Director, Treasury and Investments

University of Calgary

Ryan is City Treasurer for the City of Medicine Hat. He manages the $750 million investment portfolio of Canadian and Global Fixed Income & Equities, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Private Credit, Commercial Mortgages, and Currency. Ryan manages a team responsible for cash management, banking & borrowing, loans & loan guarantees, insurance & claims, grants, and reserves. Before joining the City of Medicine Hat, Ryan was a Portfolio Manager for the City of Calgary. In that role he managed a $4.2 billion portfolio of Canadian & Global Fixed Income, Infrastructure, Private Credit, Commercial Mortgages, and Currency. Ryan has an MBA from Queen’s University and is a CFA charterholder.

Graham Sheppard

CFA

Director, Total Portfolio Management

UBC Investment Management

Graham holds several key responsibilities at UBC Investment Management, chief among them being a primary relationship contact for our internal partners to ensure their priorities are well understood and being supported as well as leading our responsible investing priorities. Within the investment team, Graham oversees total portfolio asset allocation, including rebalancing and cash management activities, total portfolio strategy research and investment policy development, and leads oversight of public fixed income investments. Prior to joining UBC Investment Management, Graham was a Portfolio Manager within the Investments Division of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), managing the group’s macroeconomic, financial market, and fixed income research efforts for the company’s $20 billion insurance fund and $1.2 billion pension plan for management employees. Prior to joining ICBC, Graham was an Analyst at ERA Research, a boutique investment research firm specializing in equity and high yield investment opportunities in the global Forest Products sector. Graham is a CFA charterholder and a proud alumnus of the UBC Thunderbirds.

Samir Ben Tekaya

Senior Vice President and Head of Investment Risk

BCI

Samir Ben Tekaya joined British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) in June 2016. As the Head of Investment Risk at BCI, Samir was instrumental in building the investment risk function from the ground up. He oversees the development of multiple frameworks to measure and manage BCI’s investment risks and to enable multiple investment initiatives.

Samir has more than 21 years of experience in investment risk management in both the banking and pension management industries. Prior to joining BCI, Samir was Director, Portfolio Valuations; and before that, Director, Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Risk Management at Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ). He also serves as a Director on the Board of Mount St. Mary Hospital in Victoria.

Samir holds a master’s degree in Financial Engineering, and a master’s degree in Applied Economics from HEC Montréal, as well as an engineering degree in Statistics from INSEA Morocco.

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