Josh Roach

Managing Director

Meritage Group LP

Josh Roach is a trusted peer and long-time member of the SFO (single-family-office) community where, over the last fifteen years, he has created significant social capital through his efforts to build like-minded networks and collaborative models to: (a) merge common interests and objectives, (b) pool and leverage specialized industry knowledge and skill sets, and (c) optimize alignment between asset owners in co-investment vehicles.

He is Managing Director of Meritage Group, a private investment firm and family office vehicle for the Jim and Nat Simons Family – the founder of Renaissance Technologies and the renowned Medallion Fund. Meritage Group is a fundamentally oriented investment firm investing across all asset classes, including control stakes in direct private operating platforms.   Prior to Meritage Group, Josh was co-manager and family principal of LCP (Lloyd Capital Partners LLC), an investment company vehicle for the Henry Demarest Lloyd Family, whose wealth creation originated from its shared ownership in The Chicago Tribune starting in 1873 through to its public listing on the NYSE in 1983.

Josh is a frequent speaker on the topics of collaborative networks and co-investing at trusted SFO forums and has chaired events such as Campden Wealth’s North American Family Investment Conference, Institutional Investor’s Family Office Wealth Forum, and Stanford University’s Global Projects Center’s Stanford Investor Forum.

Prior to joining the SFO community, Josh spent ten years in the software industry in corporate development roles where he worked with the various company’s venture partners on strategic initiatives, acquisitions, and exits.

Josh graduated from the University of Vermont in 1993. Prior to that he was a nationally ranked alpine ski racer and attended Killington Mountain School and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall.

Evelyne Massa

Investor Relations

Group RMC

Evelyne heads Investor Relations at Group RMC, a family-held private real estate co-investment group headquartered in New York City. Group RMC is focused on acquiring and holding large, undervalued office portfolios in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast and presently oversees 19.4 million sq. ft. of commercial office real estate, representing over $2BN in asset value. Its principals co-invest to a significant degree in each acquisition alongside co-investors from across North America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Evelyne has previously worked in Canadian politics and completed a BA in sociology from McGill University, as well as graduate studies in the UK at the University of Cambridge and Oxford University.

Michael Danov

President & Chief Investment Officer

SBP Management

Michael Danov is president and CIO of SBP Management, a family office specializing in direct and alternative investments. With more than a decade of investment and financial analysis experience, Michael specializes in executing investments focused on public equity opportunities in the alternative, healthcare, metals & mining, cryptocurrency, oil & gas, luxury consumer goods, and technology. He is responsible for advising the operational business on financial matters, growth strategy, and M&A opportunities.

Michael received his BSc in Finance from the College of Staten Island CUNY. Before his presidency at SBP Management, Michael was a senior vice president at the New York City-based Kingston Advisors. He was responsible for increasing several public companies’ visibility with the investor community, strategic consulting, and M&A.

He utilizes his experience as president, CIO, and senior advisor to bring strategic and growth-oriented value to his current portfolio companies. Michael is also a Venture Partner for CerraCapVentures and a Board Member of Bidease. Previously Senior Advisor at Premium Choice, Halcyon Global Opportunities, Asset Management. He has strong relationships with hedge funds, mutual funds, operators, pension funds, family offices, analysts, and bankers, giving him unique access to high-quality deal flow.

Michael provides mentorship to people with career advice, enjoys traveling and visiting new cities, likes to run, and was previously part of the NY marathon in 2017. Currently a member at Edmond J. Safra Synagogue in NY.

Brian Cyr

Vice President – Fund Investments

Claridge

Brian Cyr is Vice President at Claridge, Stephen Bronfman’s family office. In this role, Brian oversees the selection and monitoring of external asset managers for Claridge and affiliated entities. This coverage includes a variety of asset categories, notably private equity, public securities, fixed income, liquid alternatives, private credit and real assets funds.
Prior to joining Claridge in June 2022, Brian was Managing Director – Private Markets for a newly established multi-family office. Previously, he led for over nine years the Canadian representation of bfinance – a global independent institutional investment consultancy. In this role and for most of his career, he has been working with institutional investors in public/private pensions, endowments and foundations as well as investment platforms. Early on in his career, he stepped up to oversee the investment platform of a major Canadian insurance company. His employments included other well-known global organizations like Fidelity Investments and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
Brian earned a BA in Public Communications and a BBA in International Business from Université Laval in Quebec City. He also attended Lunds universitet in Sweden. He is a CFA charterholder.

Oded Levi

President

Epstein Enterprises Inc

Oded is the President of Epstein Enterprises Inc., a single-family office based in Toronto. EEI is a multi-faceted investment company with direct and indirect investments in private and public corporations as well as commercial and residential real estate. EEI invests with various investment managers on a passive basis as well as providing support for technology companies that span pre-revenue through growth stage, with a preference towards late seed and early growth rounds. EEI prefers to support its companies in a non-operational way and by investing in multiple rounds.

Prior to coming to EEI in 2006, Oded worked in the international tax practice of a large accounting firm and at a boutique investment research firm. Oded is a CPA, CA and has a BBA in Accounting and MBA in Finance from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He has served on the boards of public, private and not for profit organizations.

Thomas Kalafatis

Managing Partner

KalNes Capital Partners

Past Managing Partner, Independent Trading Group (ITG) Inc.;
Past Managing Director & Head, Global Equity Execution & Prime Services Group, CIBC World Markets Inc.,
Past Vice-President, Toronto Stock Exchange

Dan Riverso

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer

Jesselton Capital Management

Dan Riverso is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Jesselton Capital Management Inc., which provides a customized, private and confidential platform for the investing needs of high-net-worth individuals and families.  Jesselton, based in Toronto, is registered with the Ontario Securities Commission as an Investment Fund Manager and Exempt Market Dealer. Dan has 20 years of experience working with Canada’s wealthiest families. Previously, he was Chief Investment Officer of a boutique Toronto-based, multi-family office, Continuum Private Wealth Partners Inc. He began his career at I₃ Advisors Inc. (subsequently BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Advisory Services, Inc.), where he was Vice President, Director of Research. Dan is a CFA Charterholder.

Trevor Maunder

President & Chief Executive Officer

Peerage Capital

Trevor is President and Chief Executive Officer at Peerage Capital. With a Commerce degree from Queen’s University, Trevor began his professional career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a CPA. There, he focused on transaction support for the telecom and media sectors before moving to MDC Partners Inc. At MDC, Trevor worked in the corporate development group where he led two restructurings, acted as a partner company CFO, oversaw the successful bidding and implementation of the Multi-Print III stamp contract awarded by the United States Postal Service, and assisted with acquisitions and due diligence. As CEO, Trevor oversees development and execution of the broad corporate strategy for Peerage, including the ongoing growth of all operating platforms including real estate services, asset management and self-storage.

Robert Montgomery

CEO

First Maximilian Associates Inc.

Robert Montgomery is an investor and entrepreneur focused on the digital media, entertainment, gaming and technology industries. For many years, Mr. Montgomery has been an executive and advisor for media, communications and technology companies and the investment community. He currently serves as the CEO of First Maximilian Associates Inc., his own family investment and advisory firm. He also serves as Chairman of GameCo Inc., an innovative company serving and gaming industry. Mr. Montgomery was previously owner and CEO of Achilles Media, an events and transaction facilitation company focused on the entertainment, technology and investment industries.

Mr. Montgomery’s prior positions include: Co-Founder and Partner in Achilles Partners, an investment and advisory firm; President, Americas at the Fantastic Corporation, a broadband software company; Co-Founder and Chairman of Media Content plc in London, a media rights company; Managing Director for Europe and Asia Pacific at communications research and consulting firm Kagan World Media; co-founder of Digital Media International; Managing Director at Euromoney plc, and Managing Director at IBC plc. Mr. Montgomery has served as a Director of several public and private companies and is an active investor in emerging companies. Mr. Montgomery is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, Canada. Active in the community, Mr. Montgomery is Past Chair of the Board of Governors of the OCAD University.

Tim Cestnick

Co-Founder & CEO

Our Family Office Inc.

Tim Cestnick enjoys a reputation as one of Canada’s most respected experts and public speakers in the areas of tax and personal finance. Tim is Co-Founder & CEO of Our Family Office Inc., one of Canada’s leading wealth advisory firms to affluent families.

Tim consults and speaks in all areas of personal finance. In addition to his CA designation, he is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified Public Accountant (Illinois), a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP).

Tim’s national speaking profile is confirmed by his position as a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business, Canada’s national newspaper. He has authored 18 best-selling books, and is a regular contributor and on-air personality on radio and television. He appears regularly on CTV, CBC Newsworld, BNN, and the best-known money programs in the country.

Tim and his wife Carolyn have three children and two dogs. All are hockey fanatics – especially the dogs.

Constance Everson

Managing Director

Capital Markets Outlook Group, Inc.

Constance M Everson, CFA, Managing Director Capital Markets Outlook Group, Inc.

Connie Everson is Managing Director of the economic & investment strategy consulting firm, Capital Markets Outlook Group (CMOG) in Boston, which she founded with a colleague in 1992. The firm has managed to identify every major turning point for major asset classes since its founding. Connie is represented on the CFA Institute Speakers Bureau, and is a past- president of the Boston Economic Club. She serves on the investment committee of Mass PRIM, the pension fund for public employees in Massachusetts, and investment and audit committees of the Weredale Foundation in her native Montreal.

Adam Edris

Partner, Research Analyst

Albourne Partners Limited

Adam Edris, CFA is a Partner, Research Analyst with alternatives investment consultant Albourne Partners Limited focused credit-based investments. He joined the firm in 2010. He began his career as a credit analyst at credit hedge fund SGS Asset Management in 2007.

Ranjan Bhaduri

Founder & CEO

Bodhi Research Group

Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri is the Founder & CEO of Bodhi Research Group. Bodhi Research Group is focused on research and education in the alternative investments industry.

Dr. Bhaduri has extensive experience in manager research, portfolio management, and due diligence (investment, operational, and structural). Dr. Bhaduri has designed and implemented an institutional due diligence and research program. Dr. Bhaduri’s experience includes being on an Investment Committee at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management where he conducted due diligence and helped design customized portfolios of Alternatives. Earlier, he was at a Canadian Fund of Funds, and at a multi-billion dollar capital management firm where he was involved in all aspects of its fund of hedge funds and structured finance business. He has also worked with two major Canadian investment banks in the Financial Strategy Consulting Group and in Global Risk Management &Control, respectively. He has collaborated closely with many pensions and sovereign wealth funds on a variety of portfolio matters.

Dr. Bhaduri has a winning track record of leadership and training. Several of his former analysts and interns have gone on to have successful careers and have held positions at prestigious organizations, including the following firms: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Goldman Sachs, J.P Morgan, Exelon Corporate Pension, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Crabel Capital Management.

Dr. Bhaduri has held an advisory role at the East-West Center, a leading think tank on the Asia-Pacific region. He has taught finance and mathematics at several universities and lectured on Derivatives for the Montreal Exchange. Dr. Bhaduri has taught parts of the CFA Curriculum for Allen Resources. Dr. Bhaduri has published papers on, and been invited to speak worldwide regarding hedge fund issues, and advanced portfolio and risk management techniques. Dr. Bhaduri was invited by the CME to be part of a special delegation that met with regulators in Beijing and Taipei to discuss hedge fund issues.

Dr. Bhaduri holds both the CFA and CAIA charters. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Toronto CFA Society. Dr. Bhaduri previously served as a member of the All About Alpha Editorial Board, the CAIA Chicago Chapter Executive, on the Board of Directors of AIMA Canada, co-chair of AIMA Canada Managed Futures Committee, and on the AIMA Global Research Committee. Dr. Bhaduri is an avid ice hockey fan and ACBL Silver Life Master in Bridge.

Isaac Lemprière

Associate Deputy Head of Investments

Prime Quadrant

Isaac is the Associate Deputy Head of Investments at Prime Quadrant and a longstanding member of the team having joined in 2014. Prior to joining Prime Quadrant, Isaac worked as an Investment Analyst in the Quantitative Equities Team at TD Asset Management and co-authored a research paper on the low volatility anomaly that was published by Canadian Investment Review.

Isaac graduated from the John Molson School of Business with a Bachelor in Commerce, Finance and is a CFA Charterholder. At John Molson, Isaac participated in Concordia’s co-op program where he gained experience in asset management and corporate finance before joining TD Asset Management.

Jason Campbell

Principal

Eckler

A Principal within Eckler’s Investment Consulting practice, Jason joined the firm in 2006. He provides investment strategy advice to a wide range of institutional clients, including DB and DC pension plans, endowment/foundations, single family offices, corporations and non-profit organizations.

In addition to consulting responsibilities, Jason is a member of the Investment Research Steering Committee which oversees investment manager and strategy research.

Jason’s specific area of expertise is alternative investments including infrastructure, real estate and private equity/debt strategies.

An active volunteer within the pension and investment community, Jason has authored several articles and presented on investment strategy at numerous conferences. He is currently a member of the Canadian Investment Review Advisory Board, a volunteer on the CNIB’s National Investment & Pension Committee and a director with the National Ballet School Foundation.

Jason graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1999 with an Economics degree. He has also earned the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Ash Lawrence

Senior Vice-President and Head of AGF Private Capital

AGF Investments Inc.

Ash Lawrence joined AGF as Head of AGF Private Capital, the firm’s private markets business, in February 2022. He is a seasoned private markets leader with a wide breadth of expertise in investments and portfolio management across sectors. Ash brings the right combination of strategic thinking, deep experience and strong relationships to drive the growth of AGF Private Capital, a key pillar of the firm’s growth strategy.

Ash has approximately 20 years of private markets experience, including 16 years with Brookfield Asset Management working on real estate investments and portfolio management in North America and Brazil. He most recently led the firm’s Canadian real estate business. Prior to that, he worked at a real estate company managing development strategies and the financing of municipal infrastructure projects. He also worked as an engineering consultant, developing infrastructure and transportation solutions for private and public sector clients.

Ash earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management and a Bachelor of Applied Science, Civil Engineering, from the University of Waterloo.

Kunjal Shah

Chief Investment Officer

Lyxor Asset Management Inc.

Kunjal Shah joined Lyxor Asset Management Inc. (“Lyxor Americas”) in August 2014 as the Global Head of Hedge Fund Research. He was appointed as Chief Investment Officer in May 2020. Mr. Shah is responsible for supervising the Portfolio Management and Hedge Fund Research teams, as well as developing advisory investment offerings and customized hedge fund solutions. Mr. Shah brings more than 20 years of experience in hedge fund manager selection, due diligence, and monitoring to his position. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Shah was employed by Arden Asset Management, where he was a Partner and Managing Director. Prior to that, he was a Director and Co-Head of Hedge Fund Credit Risk Management for the Americas at Deutsche Bank AG. He was also an integral member of the Hedge Fund Credit Risk Management team at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York, where he led due diligence and monitoring of hedge funds. Mr. Shah holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Manchester, and an M.B.A. in Finance, Management and Strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Tristan Thomas

Managing Director

50 South Capital

Tristan Thomas is the Managing Director of Portfolio Strategy for 50 South Capital’s Hedge Fund Investment Team, responsible for portfolio construction and monitoring. He is a member of the Senior Investment Committee, and is a voting member of Northern Trust’s Investment Policy Committee.

Prior to joining 50 South Capital, Tristan was a Strategy Head at Mesirow Advanced Strategies and a member of the Senior Investment Group. He was responsible for the monitoring and sourcing of all strategies that fell outside of credit and equity including macro, commodities, relative value, multi-strategy, volatility, convertible arbitrage, and reinsurance. Prior to his role as a Strategy Head, he was a Senior Analyst covering all hedge fund strategies in Asia. He began his career at Lehman Brothers where he was on the emerging markets fixed income desk focused on sovereign debt and derivatives.

Jared Kalish

Partner, Private Capital

FirePower Capital

Jared Kalish is a co-founder of FirePower Asset Management, which houses FirePower’s Private Debt and Private Equity businesses.

Passionate about building companies, Jared brings creative thinking and leadership to FirePower’s portfolio of businesses, always with the goal of optimizing strategic business direction, providing hands on operational support, and assisting with financial structuring, underwriting and M&A activities. Jared is a member of FirePower’s credit and investment committees, and is responsible for managing Firepower’s limited partnerships.

Prior to FirePower, Jared was responsible for Structured Finance and Strategic Equity for Investec in Canada. He was appointed as a division head for Investec Bank in South Africa at the age of 27, where he led the Equity Structuring team to realize substantial growth in profitability, providing derivative and structuring solutions for clients.

Jared holds a BSc in Actuarial Science and an MSc in Risk and Stochastics from the London School of Economics where he was ranked first overall in his class.

Michael Steepe

President & CCO

Steepe & Co. Ltd.

Michael Steepe is the founder, President and Chief Compliance Officer of Steepe & Co. Ltd., a registered exempt market dealer and investment fund manager based in Toronto. The firm is focused on allocating to U.S. private credit managers through various Canadian trust and GP/LP structures. Since 2007, Steepe & Co. has specialized in offering private and public, short-term, Canadian and U.S. mortgage/credit/direct lending funds to the Canadian retail and institutional marketplaces.

Prior to Steepe & Co., beginning in 1990, Michael worked for two large Toronto-based real estate developers as a commercial leasing agent and condominium sales representative for Tridel. Working in financial services as a manager in 1995, Michael underwrote mortgages and provided credit financing facilities to high-net-worth investors for private real estate structured investments. As Senior Manager at Laurentian Bank, Michael managed the distribution of various credit-based products and trust services sold to advisors in Ontario and Atlantic provinces through the B2B Trust division. With the creation of BLC-Edmond de Rothschild in 2000, Michael helped launch the Canadian version of the Rothschild mutual funds and hedge fund Leveraged Capital Holdings. The assets of BLC-Edmond de Rothschild were sold to Industrial Alliance in 2005, where Michael remained as vice-president and aided in the transition until his departure and launch of Steepe & Co. Ltd. the following year.

Sandy Poklar

Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director

Firm Capital Corporation

Sandy Poklar is currently the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Capital Markets & Strategic Developments for Firm Capital Corporation, EVP Finance for Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (FC : TSX), Chief Financial Officer and a Trustee for Firm Capital Property Trust (FCD.UN : TSX) and President & CEO of Firm Capital Apartment REIT (FCA.U/FCA.UN : TSXV). Sandy is also a Trustee and Chairman of the Audit Committee for True North Commercial REIT (TNT.UN : TSX). Prior to joining Firm Capital, Sandy was employed at Macquarie Capital and TD Securities where he was a Vice President in their Real Estate Investment Banking Groups. Sandy is a CPA, CA in Canada, a CPA(US) licensed in the State of Illinois and has his ICD.D designation.

Matthew O’Hara

Chief Investment Officer

Unison Investment Management

Matt is responsible for all investments and research at Unison Investment Management. In addition to investment responsibility, Matt works on product development and innovation related to home equity. Prior to Unison, he spent 18 years at Barclays Global Investors and BlackRock in the fixed income and multi-asset groups. Previous to that he worked as an engineer.

Matt completed a PhD in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley and an MFE degree from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. He has consulted in the single family residential FinTech space over his career as well.

Sudharshan Sathiyamoorthy

Vice President & Head of Manager Research

Richter Family Office

Sudharshan Sathiyamoorthy is a seasoned investment professional with deep experience in the search, approval and monitoring process for alternative investment managers. He is Vice President and Head of Manager Research at Richter Family Office. He is also the Chair of the Investment Committee.

Sudharshan has previously worked at some of Canada’s most respected institutions, including RBC Capital Markets, Diversified Global Asset Management, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Alignvest Investment Management. Sudharshan holds a Ph.D. in Physics, and was a Post-Doctoral Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He has published in leading journals and has presented his research at conferences world-wide.

Richter Family Office (RFO) is a multi-billion dollar multi-family office that provides independent and objective wealth management services to high net worth families and individuals. Established in 1999, and as one of the largest and oldest multi-family offices in Canada, RFO has gained an exceptional reputation for providing holistic advice to clients without the bias of affiliations with other financial institutions or wealth managers. RFO has offices in Toronto and Montreal.

Scott Morrison

Chief Investment Officer

Wealhouse Capital Management

Scott Morrison is the Chief Investment Officer of Wealhouse Capital Management, a privately-owned investment firm and family office. As the firm’s founder, Scott is responsible for overseeing Wealhouse’s various strategies across asset classes, as well as the firm’s private equity portfolio and real estate holdings.

Outside of Wealhouse, Scott serves on the investment committee of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), where he advises on investment decisions for CIGI’s endowment fund. Scott has over 25 years of asset management experience. Prior to Wealhouse, Scott spearheaded the portfolio management for notable firms such as Mackenzie Investments, CI Funds, and Investors Group. Scott holds a Bachelor of Finance from Concordia University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Jordan Villarreal

Associate VP, Private Capital Research

Preqin

Jordan oversees the Canadian fund manager dataset for Preqin. Preqin is a leader in industry data and insights within the alternative assets space. Jordan’s experience includes working with Canada’s market leaders to gather key data and intelligence. He joined Preqin in 2020 and helped spearhead the creation of the dedicated Canadian research team. Jordan studied at the University of Western Ontario and holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Indiana University.

Steven D’Mello

Partner, Operational Due Diligence

Albourne Partners

Steve joined Albourne Partners (Canada) Ltd as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst in 2014 to focus on the credit and fixed income sector before expanding into private markets ODD. Steven has played an important role in developing Albourne’s framework for assessing operational risk pertaining to digital assets, and is a contributor to the SBAI Crypto Assets Toolkit, the AIMA Digital Assets Custody Guide, the AIMA Digital Assets Trading Guide and the AIMA Digital Assets DDQ.

Steven joined Albourne from RBC Capital Markets where he worked in Corporate Treasury and Product Control and previously worked for Citco Fund Services in pricing and fund accounting. Steven holds a Bachelor of Administrative and Commercial Studies degree from Western University and has earned both the CFA and FRM designations.

Ruairi Hanafin

Chief Investment Officer

Firinne Capital

Ruairi Hanafin is the Chief Investment Officer at Firinne Capital. He is an entrepreneur, investor, and early proponent of blockchain technology. He also co-founded Canadian agricultural technology startup Grain Discovery. He has held positions in research and portfolio engineering in the quantitative portfolio management teams at CPP Investments, where he also founded the blockchain research group, and at the Vancouver derivatives analytics company FINCAD.

He holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Trinity College, University of Dublin.

Shaun Martinak

Portfolio Manager

Coinbase Asset Management

Shaun Martinak leads Project Diamond, a platform bringing digitally native assets to fully regulated institutional users. He is also a Portfolio Manager at Coinbase Asset Management. He joined Coinbase AM in July 2021 and has contributed to the creation of the firm’s Ethereum staking fund, digital indices, token classification system and credit strategy. Prior to joining, Mr. Martinak built and led BCI’s $1B global direct and co-investment strategy team as Managing Director. Prior to BCI, Mr. Martinak was a Senior Principal at OTPP where he ran a global, $3B portfolio of hedge fund strategies. He began his career in finance at D.E. Shaw in New York.

Pascal St-Jean

President & CEO

3iQ Corp.

Throughout his career, Pascal has focused on the transformation and disruption of industries via rapid scaling of businesses under his leadership. Having successfully created and grown multiple business ventures, Pascal was recognized as one of the youngest recipients of the Forty Under 40 award.
Before joining 3iQ, Pascal was an active angel investor and served as Strategic Advisor and Fractional Executive to over 5% of the Globe and Mail’s 500 fastest growing companies in Canada.
Pascal’s experience in open-source technologies and distributed systems led him to invest in cryptocurrency in 2016, and act as an educational resource on digital asset investments to several organizations. As President & CEO of 3iQ, Pascal is focused on overseeing the growth and global expansion of the company as it continued to pave the way as a global leader in Digital Asset Management.

Rahul Mehta

Investor

Rahul Mehta is a full-time investor. His main area of focus is Digital Assets/ Web3 and has invested in many startups in this space since he began in 2017 and has early stage investments in most top crypto projects today, like Sol, Near, Link, Avax etc. Few things he is involved in currently, apart from being an investor –
– Advisory roles – He is advising Web3 companies and hedge funds.
– Angel Investor – Web2 and AI space (Anthropic, OpenAI, RainAI, Solarcore etc)
– Speaker/Panelist – Crypto and Family Offices conferences/events.
– Movie production in India to begin in Q3-2024.
– Crypto TenX Digital Assets Fund to be launched in Q3-2025

Ben Fox

Chief Investment Officer

Members Capital Management

Ben is Chief Investment Officer at Members Capital Management, a newly incorporated investment manager at the intersection of reinsurance, digital assets and the capital markets.  With over 16 years’ experience in reinsurance, insurance-linked securities, investment management, and alternative risk transfer, Ben is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s investment activities, and has previously held senior positions at Hiscox, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and the World Bank.  Ben holds a Doctorate degree in Seismology, and a Master of Science degree in Earth Sciences, both from the University of Oxford.

Esther Zurba

Director

Castle Hall – The Due Diligence Company

Esther Zurba is a Director with Castle Hall, responsible for lending subject matter expertise across Castle Hall Diligence’s ongoing product development and client engagements. Esther has more than 20 years of professional experience including over 15 years conducting operational due diligence on global investment managers across all asset classes. Esther joined Castle Hall Diligence in 2012 from Scotia Capital’s Trade Operations and Risk Control group, where she conducted ODD on external asset managers supporting multiple business lines. Prior to joining Scotia Capital, Esther worked with Mapleridge Capital, a Toronto based short-term systematic CTA.

Esther holds an MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and BA (Hons) from University of Toronto. Esther is also a CAIA charterholder and has been actively involved with the CAIA Association since 2007 in various capacities, including as current co-head of the CAIA Toronto Chapter. Esther is also a member of AIMA Canada’s Legal, Finance & Compliance Committee.

Michael Nicks

Deputy CIO

Pepperdine University Endowment

Mr. Nicks is a leader and innovator in the institutional investor community. In over two decades at Pepperdine’s endowment, Mr. Nicks has managed multiple alternative investment portfolios and pioneered new technology and strategies for the investment team. He has run a successful portable alpha strategy for over a decade, and has incorporated machine learning into both the information management and asset allocation processes. He also leads research into new strategies, manager analysis, and portfolio construction. As a former Scuba instructor and dive master, he has a deep appreciation for risk management and a great love of the sea.

Mr. Nicks is a CFA charter holder (2006) and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (2006). He has a Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Pepperdine University and an MBA with an Emphasis in Finance from Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management (2002).

Lois Tullo

Executive in Residence, The Global Risk Institute

Instructor of Financial Services and Risk Management, Schulich School of Business

Lois Tullo is an expert in the area of risk, technology, finance, compliance and corporate governance.She has over 30 years of business experience spanning financial services, technology, cryptocurrency, telecommunications, strategy consulting, raising venture capital, M&A, and natural resources. In 2024 she was awarded Top 10 Women CFOs in Canada. She is a UN CEFACT Expert, and Global Blockchain Business Council Ambassador.

As CFRO/CCO she is responsible for financial oversight for KuberMIC a Mortgage Investment Corporation and Advisor for YAMS LLP a Crypto system company. She has over 20 years of Board experience as Chair, Treasurer, and Risk and HR Committee Chair, for a tier 1 bank, private sector and not-for-profit organizations. As an Executive-in-Residence for the Global Risk Institute she spoken on and published the Global Risks and Trends Framework (GRAFT), the linkage of risk management and business strategy, Polycrisis, and the Future of Digital Assets. She has publications for the Banking, Government, and Pension/Asset Management sectors. She is an conference speaker at the United Nations, IACPM, Risk.net, etc, author, and faculty of risk mgt; cyber security, data and IT risk; and financial services at the Schulich School of Business, York University. She teaches in the Master of Risk Management Certificate program, executive programs, MBA, and undergraduate program. She is the author of the whitepaper Enterprise Risk Management – Canadian Best Practices, and Nonfinancial Risk Best Practices in Canada.

She was previously CFO for CIBC Finance Inc. where she was responsible for a $6 Billion credit portfolio, Human Resources, and $1.5 securitization. She held senior positions with a large telecommunication company in the area of Finance, HR, and Business Process Redesign. She provided strategy and technology advice for a Boston consulting firm in the financial, oil and gas,

Nick Rhodes

Nick is a Digital Asset enthusiast and active investor in the space. He previously spent time as an institutional allocator to Digital Asset strategies and other asset classes. Prior to that, Nick spent a decade with Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Fixed Income Sales & Trading Division in New York focused on Asset Backed Securities.

Nick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Toronto with his family.

Shaun Cumby

Chief Executive Officer

Virgo Digital Asset Management

Previously CEO at Arxnovum Investments, CIO at 3iQ Digital Asset Management, Managing Director at TD Securities. Won the landmark case with the OSC that allowed the launch of the first bitcoin and ether funds on Toronto Stock Exchange. Over 20 years in trading and portfolio management across many asset classes, including asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, bank loans and equities and related derivatives.  Current investment strategy has returned 53% per annum since inception of April 2022.

Ana De Sousa

Chief Executive Officer

Agio Ratings

Ana De Sousa is CEO of Agio Ratings, a VC-backed credit rating agency focused on the digital asset sector. She was previously the VP of Fintech at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. There she was responsible for leading a team of technology and policy experts in assessing the risks of integrating crypto into the US banking system. Prior to joining the Fed, Ana launched and scaled operations at FalconX, a global crypto prime brokerage. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s in economics from Harvard College.

Sean Stapley

Senior Partner and Co-Founder

Penrose Partners

ean is a Senior Partner and Co-Founder at Penrose Partners, an emerging technology consulting firm that advises institutions, governments and startups on the blockchain and digital asset industries. With a focus on security, custody and institutional adoption, Sean provides strategic and business development support for family offices, asset managers and enterprises looking to enter the digital asset space. He is additionally an Advisor to Outlier Ventures, a premier web3 accelerator based in London, and the Holt XChange, a FinTech-focused incubator based in Montreal.