Speaker Spotlight
Jason Howard on DEI in Private Market Investing

VEENA RAMANI and YASIR MALLICK
Developing a Decarbonizing Roadmap in an Effort to Achieve Net Zero

Josée Mondoux
CFA, CAIA, FMA, FCSI
Chief Investment Officer
Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA)
Josée Mondoux on advancements of women in the world of finance, private market investments and building a sustainable DEI culture
Koblavi Fiagbedzi on real estate assets and sustainable DEI workplace

Christine Tessier
CFA, CAIA
Deputy Chief Investment Officer
Foresters Financial
Christine Tessier
Deputy Chief Investment Officer
Foresters Financial
Mrs. Christine Tessier is currently Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Foresters Financial, where she contributes to the oversight of the company’s general account and pension assets. Prior to joining Foresters, Mrs. Tessier was head of Investments at CAA Club Group, where she oversaw the company’s corporate, pension and P&C insurance assets. Prior to working in the insurance industry, Mrs. Tessier worked in institutional product development at Invesco Ltd. She was a Principal at Mercer Investments, where she focused on Manager Research. Mrs. Tessier is a CFA charterholder and a CAIA charterholder.
Yield vs. Risk and How Females Pursue Leadership Roles
Christine Tessier, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Financial, contributes to the oversight of the company’s general account and pension assets. Building on a successful career in institutional investing industry, Christine shares her suggestions to aspiring female leaders and her views on yield vs. risk in today’s environment.

Matthew Leatherman
Head of Programs
FCLTGlobal
Matthew Leatherman
Head of Programs
FCLTGlobal
Matthew Leatherman joined FCLT Global from North Carolina Department of State Treasurer where he served as Policy Director. Matthew contributed to the Department adopting a policy on long-term stewardship for approximately $100 billion of assets under its management and to updating practices for how staff incorporate longer-term factors into the evaluation of debt issued by local governments. He also was staff director of the Department’s Corporate Governance Committee, a body responsible for conducting the Department’s engagement with regulators, dialogue with corporate issuers, and voting of proxy ballots.
Matthew Leatherman on managing risks across time horizons and approaches to climate change
Institutional investors are challenged with risks and priorities across time horizons. Meanwhile climate change is impacting on how investors approach their investments and risks. Institutional Connect recently interviews Matt Leatherman, FCLTGlobal’s Head of Programs and co-author of Balancing Act: Managing Investment Risk across Multiple Time Horizons, who provides comments on how to manage risks and achieve climate change goals.

Kevin Zhu
Managing Director,
Head of Portfolio Construction Group
OPTrust
Kevin Zhu
Managing Director,
Head of Portfolio Construction Group
OPTrust
Kevin Zhu is Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Construction Group at OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension funds with net assets of over C$23 billion.
Kevin has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including both central banking and total portfolio investment framework and strategy design for large Canadian defined benefit pension plans.
Kevin joined OPTrust in 2016 where he currently leads Total Fund portfolio management functions, including portfolio construction research and innovation, capital and risk allocation across asset classes and strategies, and dynamic total portfolio management.
Prior to joining OPTrust, Kevin held the position of Director, Strategy & Asset Mix at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Prior to this appointment, Kevin was Senior Economist at the Bank of Canada focusing on monetary policy research and model development. He holds a MA in Economics from Carleton University and is a CFA Charterholder. In 2017, Kevin was named to Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s Public Investor 100.
OPTrust's innovation journey, asset mix strategies and approach to address climate risk
OPTrust, with net assets of over C$23 billion, has been on the innovation journey to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Plan, and subsequently, its members’ retirement security. In advance of Portfolio Innovation and Resilience Forum this November, Institutional Connect interviews speaker Kevin Zhu, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Construction Group, OPTrust, who comments on the Plan’s approach to innovation, how it responds to inflation, manages risks and addresses climate risks in its total portfolio.

Marc Gauthier
Treasurer
& Chief Investment OfficerConcordia University
Marc GauthierTreasurer & Chief Investment Officer at Concordia University
Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ balance sheet, 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 30+ 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.
Concordia University’s Impact Investing, Governance and Innovation
Concordia University Foundation is a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment since 2018, which has made Concordia among the first universities to incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance factors into its investment decision-making. The University was also the first, among Canadian universities, to issue a sustainable bond to the capital market…

Jeanett Bergan
Head of Responsible InvestmentsKLP
JEANETT BERGAN - HEAD OF RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS AT KLP
Jeanett Bergan (43) is head for responsible investments in KLP. She has more than 20 years of experience working with corporate social responsibility, sustainability and investments. For a number of years, she has helped KLP develop its work as one of the leaders in responsible investment practices on a Norwegian and international scale. Previous employers include KPMG, PwC and Storebrand. Jeanett holds an Executive Master of Management from BI, is married and has three children aged 20, 17 and 13. She has combined a career in finance with part-time education and being the mother of three active children. She is also a training instructor and an active athlete with both Ironman and Norseman on the track record.
Jeanett Bergan on KLP’s Responsible Investing
KLP, Norway’s largest pension company, with over US$81 billion in AuM, has conducted ethical filtering of its investments in securities since 2002. In 2019 KLP funds has gone coal free, oil sands-free, as well as divested from almost 90 alcohol & gambling companies. Jeanett Bergan, Head of Responsible Investments, KLP, answers questions on the fund’s approach towards its responsible investing goals…

DEIRDRE COOPER
Co-Portfolio Manager, Global Environment StrategyNinety One
DEIRDRE COOPER - CO-PORTFOLIO MANAGER, GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY AT NINETY ONE
Deirdre Cooper is co-portfolio manager for Ninety One’s Global Environment Strategy in the Natural Resources team. The Global Environment Strategy aims to achieve long-term returns by investing in the equities of companies expected to benefit from the transition to a lower-carbon global economy, including renewable energy, resource efficiency and electrification.
Prior to joining Ninety One in 2018, Deirdre was a Partner, Portfolio Manager and Head of Research at Ecofin. Before that, Deirdre was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley where she headed their European Renewable Energy coverage effort and built an investment banking and principal investing franchise.
Deirdre earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar, and her BA with honors from University College Dublin in Actuarial and Financial Studies. She is a busy mother of three children, aged 10, 8 and 6.
Deirdre Cooper on Ninety One’s Approach to Sustainable Investing and Decarbonization

Marc Gauthier
Treasurer & Chief Investment OfficerConcordia University
Marc GauthierTreasurer & Chief Investment Officer at Concordia University
Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ balance sheet, 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 30 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.
Concordia University’s Journey to Impact Investing

Andy Greene
Director, InvestmentsTTC Pension Fund Society
Andy GreeneDirector, Investments at TTC Pension Fund Society
Andy has over 25 years of experience in the investment industry in Canada and US. He serves as Director, Investments, overseeing the investment program for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Pension Fund Society, a $7.4 bln defined benefit plan. Prior to this Andy was at OPTrust as Director, Public Markets. Previously he was at Northern Trust, the University of Wisconsin Foundation and Willis Towers Watson. He holds an Master’s degree in Applied Economics from Binghamton University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ithaca College. Andy is also on the Investment Committees for the United Church of Canada and York University.
Q&A with Andy Greene

Winston Ma
CFA & Esq., NYU School of Law Adjunct Professor; former Managing Director of CIC
WINSTON WENYAN MA - CFA & ESQ. NYU SCHOOL OF LAW ADJUNCT PROFESSOR; FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CIC
Winston Ma is an investor, attorney, author, and adjunct professor in the global digital economy. He is one of a small number of native Chinese who have worked as investment professionals and practicing capital markets attorneys in both the United States and China. Most recently for 10 years, he was Managing Director and Head of North America Office for China Investment Corporation (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund.
At CIC’s inception in 2007, he was among the first group of overseas hires by CIC, where he was a founding member of both CIC’s Private Equity Department and later the Special Investment Department for direct investing (Head of CIC North America office 2014-2015). He had leadership roles in global investments involving financial services, technology (TMT), energy and natural resources sectors, including the setup of West Summit (Huashan) Capital, a cross-border growth capital fund in Silicon Valley, which was CIC’s first overseas tech investment.
Prior to that, Mr. Ma served as the deputy head of equity capital markets at Barclays Capital, a vice president at J.P. Morgan investment banking, and a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. Nationally certified Software Programmer as early as 1994, Mr. Ma is the book author of China's Mobile Economy (Wiley 2016, among “best 2016 business books for CIOs”), Digital Economy 2.0 (2017 Chinese), The Digital Silk Road (2018 German), China’s AI Big Bang (2019 Japanese), and Investing in China (Risk Books, 2006). His latest book “The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds Are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy” (Wiley publishing) will be released in October 2020 and the new book “China’s Digital Economy” is forthcoming December 2020.
Mr. Ma has served on the boards of multinational listed and private companies. He was selected a 2013 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and has been a member of the Council for Long-Term Investing and Council for Digital Economy and Society. He is a member of New York University (NYU) President’s Global Council since inception, and in 2014 he received the NYU Distinguished Alumni Award.
Mr. Ma earned his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross Business School (Beta Gamma Sigma) and his master of comparative jurisprudence from the New York University School of Law (Hauser Global Scholar). He earned bachelor of science and bachelor of law degrees from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. He has served as adjunct professor at NYU School of Law (current course “Sovereign Investments & Regulations”), NYU Stern Business School and Tsinghua School of Economics and Management.
Q&A with Winston Ma

Eoin Ó hÓgáin
CEO / CIOPower Corporation Investment Management
Eoin Ó hÓgáin - CEO / CIO, Power Corporation Investment Management
Mr. Ó hÓgáin is acting CEO/CIO of Power Pacific Investment Management since its inception in 2018. Prior to that, he held senior management positions at Power Corporation, Power Financial and State Street Global Advisors. He serves on the Boards of the Ireland-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation.
Mr. Ó hÓgáin is a CFA charter holder and has a Master of Business Administration degree with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School.
Eoin Ó hÓgáin on Investing in China

Aaron Peck
Managing Director and Portfolio Manager,
Monroe Capital,
Sub-advisor to Ninepoint-Monroe U.S. Private Debt Fund
AARON PECK, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, MONROE CAPITAL, SUB-ADVISOR TO NINEPOINT- MONROE U.S. PRIVATE DEBT FUND
Mr. Peck is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Monroe Capital, sub-advisor to the Ninepoint-Monroe U.S Private Debt Fund. He joined the firm in 2012 and is a member of Monroe’s Investment Committee. Mr. Peck has over 25 years of experience in credit, lending, high yield, distressed credit and public company operations and investor relations. Prior to Monroe, Mr. Peck was Chief Investment Officer at Deerfield Capital Management and was responsible for the investment teams at Deerfield including syndicated and middle market loan teams which managed over $5 billion in assets. Mr. Peck was also chief portfolio manager for Deerfield’s publicly traded specialty finance mortgage REIT and in that capacity, was the key point of contact for all institutional and retail investors, investment banking research analysts, lenders, and investment bankers. Prior to Deerfield, he worked in leveraged credit at several investment firms including AEG Investors, Black Diamond Capital, Salomon Smith Barney, and ESL Investments. Mr. Peck earned his M.B.A. with Honors from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and his B.S. in Commerce from The University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce.
Q&A with Aaron Peck

Robert Patzelt
Chair, Investment CommitteeWorkers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
ROBERT PATZELT - CHAIR, INVESTMENT COMMITTEE, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD OF NOVA SCOTIA
ROBERT PATZELT, QC, ICD.D is an executive and business lawyer with over 30 years of experience in organizational leadership, operations, mergers and acquisitions and business development. He is also a respected Board Director for multiple organizations and the leader of a number of major initiatives in corporate, not-for-profit and non-governmental agencies including some undergoing major transformational change. He is an award-winning business leader who has levered his degrees in business, economics and his Masters’ of law to serve many organizations including most recently as CEO of a publicly traded resource company leading it through the latest severe commodity cycle downturn and a proxy battle.
He is Chair of the Northwood Foundation and he is also Chair of the Friends of Hope Cottage. He has been awarded both the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals for his tremendous service to Canada. In 2010, he was named co-chair of the Premier’s Council on the Economy. Most recently he was appointed Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors for Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and he is also the Chair of the Board’s Investment Committee and oversees its $1.9 billion portfolio.
Q&A with Robert Patzelt

Kate Roscoe
Managing Director, Infrastructure EquityManulife
KATE ROSCOE - MANAGING DIRECTOR, INFRASTRUCTURE EQUITY, MANULIFE
Kate Roscoe is a Managing Director on the infrastructure team at Manulife responsible for investing in infrastructure assets consisting of transportation, renewable power and other infrastructure. The portfolio is comprised of funds, co-investments and direct minority equity positions to support the general account. Kate joined Manulife in 2006 and has 15 years of experience in private investments. Kate graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and is a CFA Charterholder.
Q&A with Kate Roscoe

Christophe L’Ahelec
Senior Principal, Alternative Investments, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board
Christophe L’Ahelec - Senior Principal, Alternative Investments, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board
Christophe L'Ahelec is a Senior Principal in the Capital Markets department, at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board where he is responsible for portfolio analytics, portfolio construction and risk management of the external manager portfolio. On top of these responsibilities, Christophe is also in charge of the risk reporting for the whole Capital Markets department.
Prior to that he 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 the Alpstar Equity Quantitative Strategies Fund, a European systematic equity market neutral fund.
Christophe started his career in the Fixed Income trading room of BNP Paribas in Hong Kong where he was responsible for the support and development of front office applications. 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.
Christophe L’Ahelec on Risk Mitigation Strategies
The market volatility in recent months, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, will have profound impacts on pension funds’ portfolios. How do pension funds protect their assets from rapid market downturn? What should institutional investors consider when incorporating risk mitigation into their portfolios? Christophe L’Ahelec, Senior Principal, Alternative Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, answers questions related to risk mitigation strategies.

Ray Tanveer
Vice President, Interest Rates & InflationHOOPP
RAY TANVEER – VICE PRESIDENT, INTEREST RATES & INFLATION AT HOOPP
Ray joined HOOPP in 2007 and has been responsible for the active management of the Plan’s $55 Billion fixed income and inflation-linked bond portfolios ever since. He began his HOOPP career as Portfolio Manager, Derivatives & Fixed Income and progressed to his current position as Vice President, Interest Rates & Inflation. He helped expand the Fund’s trading capabilities into international fixed income, interest rate derivatives and inflation bond markets and has been a consistent generator of Alpha over the years.
Ray is also a member of the Asset Mix Committee and has been actively involved in all market-related transitions which successfully evolved the Plan into incorporating a dynamic Liability Driven Investing (LDI) approach for its total portfolio.
Prior to joining HOOPP, Ray was a bond and interest rate derivatives trader in the Capital Markets divisions of BMO Nesbitt Burns, TD Bank and National Bank Financial. He received his MBA and BA (Economics) from York University in Toronto.
A Conversation with Ray Tanveer on Interest Rates and Inflation

Marco Fontana
Director
OMERS Infrastructure
Marco Fontana
DirectorOMERS Infrastructure
Marco Fontana is currently Director with the OMERS Infrastructure team in London, which he joined in January 2014. Marco is active in both origination and execution of transactions, as well as asset management. He served on the team that successfully completed the acquisition of a stake in Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH). He has been actively involved in the asset management of Associated British Ports and OMERS investment in HS1. Prior to joining OMERS Infrastructure, Marco worked as Investment Manager at EISER Infrastructure Partners, where he was responsible for the asset management of the fund's energy and waste sector assets in Italy, as well as energy and transport assets in the U.K. and Australia. Before that, Marco worked at Société Générale, both in Paris and London, as a member of the acquisition financing and principal investment teams. Marco holds M.Sc. degrees from Università Bocconi Milan and HEC Paris.
Marco Fontana on Emerging Trends in Energy Transition

Tina Varughese
Diversity And Inclusion Expert
Tina Varughese
Diversity And Inclusion Expert
An Indo-Canadian daughter of first generation East Indian parents, Tina Varughese says her cultural background allows her to find “the best of both worlds” and shed light, knowledge, and, most importantly, universal humour into the changing workplace. Her highly entertaining, interactive, and practical keynotes leave attendees inspired to think, behave, act, and communicate with intention. For fifteen years Varughese worked with immigrants in her roles with the Province of Alberta’s immigration office. She also ran her own successful relocation and settlement firm. Varughese draws from her experiences as an entrepreneur, mother, daughter, wife, sister, and friend when delivering keynotes on diversity andinclusion — topics that resonate with her both professionally and personally. Varughese has been named one of “Canada’s Top 10 Notable Speakers” by Ignite Magazine for her ability to break down barriers and create a comfortable, inclusive, and fun space for attendees. She was the face of diversity, literally, having been chosen to participate in Dove’s campaign for Real Beauty, representing beauty in diversity. The past-president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (Calgary), Varughese is a contributing writer for the Human Resource Institute of Alberta’s Network magazine, Calgary Real Estate News, and Home to Home magazine. She was also profiled in Alberta’s Venture Magazine.
Q&A with Tina Varughese on Unconscious Bias

Christine Campney And Lorelei Graye
Private Markets Cost Transparency

Bernice Miedzinski, Jay A. Yoder and Andrea Gruza
Farmland As A Diversifying And Sustainable Asset Class

Haakon Blakstad
Chief Commercial Officer
Validus
Haakon Blakstad
Chief Commercial Officer
Validus
Haakon is the Chief Commercial Officer at Validus, a leading independent financial services firm advising and providing solutions to LPs and GPs globally. Haakon held various capital markets and banking roles prior to joining Validus in 2014 and has since then been responsible for the continuing expansion of the firm, across geographies, services, and client sectors. He also works closely with clients, industry participants and academic institutions on thought leadership in the private capital space, with a specific focus on risk management.
“Hidden” Risk of FX Exposure in Private Capital Portfolios

JESSICA ZARZYCKI
Co-Portfolio Manager
Nuveen
JESSICA ZARZYCKI
Co-Portfolio Manager
Nuveen
Jessica is a co-portfolio manager and research analyst for Nuveen’s global fixed income team and member of the international and emerging markets debt sector team. She is an integral part of the fixed income responsible investing portfolio management team and co-portfolio manager on the Green Bond and Short Duration Impact strategies. Jessica is also responsible for covering sovereigns and local markets throughout Western Europe and Central Eastern Europe.
Prior to joining the firm in 2008, she worked at Citi Global Wealth Management (GWM) where she helped to manage the liquidity and risk of the GWM balance sheet. Most recently, she covered developed market sovereigns, agencies and agency MBS at TIAA Investments. Jessica graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from The Ohio State University. She holds the CFA® designation and is a member of the CFA Society New York and the CFA® Institute.
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