Sue Ennis

VP Corporate Development

Hut 8

Sue Ennis is an award-winning emerging technology and innovation champion, passionate about bringing global investor awareness and capital into opportunities in Canada’s thriving technology, natural resources and small cap sector. She is currently VP of Corporate Development at Hut 8 – one of North America’s largest and most exciting Enterprise Data Infrastructure as a Service providers and Bitcoin miners. Sue also sits on the board of Valour, a publicly traded technology company focused on bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance.

Over the past 15 years, Sue Ennis has been instrumental in raising over a billion dollars for Canadian structured product and small cap companies. She has helped drive retail and institutional investor interest and awareness into hidden and under loved publicly traded or pre-ipo Canadian company gems and steered under-appreciated Canadian companies in the fintech and digital asset sector into multi-billion market cap opportunities. Before joining Hut 8, she was VP of global partnerships at Shyft Networks, a public protocol designed to validate identity and compliance directly into open source blockchain data. Prior to that role, Sue was one of the first wealth directors at Coinsquare in 2017, where she helped launch commercial operations for the wealth division. Prior to this role she held leadership positions with Voyager and Invesco.

A certified blockchain expert, seasoned capital markets advisor and storyteller, Sue is a sought-after industry voice who has championed technological innovation as a media spokesperson and keynote speaker across the globe for her ability to simplify complex concepts into digestible, actionable, and investible ones.

When Sue isn’t running ultra-marathons in Greenland or the Middle East, working on a shark research boat in South Africa, or completing a jungle survival course in the Amazon, you can find her in Toronto and skiing in Collingwood with her family. Sue is a designated Chartered Investment Manager and holds a Certificate of Specialization in Corporate Finance and ESG Investing from Columbia Business School.

Charlie Morris

Co-founder

CMCC Global

Charlie is the co-founder of CMCC Global, a blockchain asset management company that manages three digital asset funds as well as the Liberty Bitcoin Fund. CMCC Global was founded in Hong Kong in 2016 and today has offices in Asia and North America. It has a particular focus on Fintech innovation in Asia. Charlie’s background as both a software engineer and management consultant allows him to combine a deep technical understanding of blockchain technology with the ability to evaluate its business implications.

Charlie’s involvement in the blockchain space has included advising financial institutions, developing blockchain applications and investing in companies and protocols. He has given keynote addresses at the CLSA Investor Conference, Franklin Templeton annual offsite and the Global Investment Forum. He has also presented to senior management at many large institutions including Fidelity, Putnam Investments and Wellington Management.

Vincent Molino

Head of Operational Due Diligence

Bitwise Asset Management

Vincent is Head of Operational Due Diligence at Bitwise Asset Management, and has worked in the investment industry for over 19 years. Prior to Bitwise, he was Head of Risk within Northern Trust’s fintech products and held leadership positions at Mercer, Permal Group, Barclays and J.P.Morgan.

Vincent has authored thought leadership pieces on crypto, fintech, risk management, operations and industry trends. He has also spoken at conferences hosted by Bloomberg, the CFA Society, the Managed Funds Association (MFA) and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).

Vincent graduated from St. John’s University with a B.S. in Political Science.

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.

Kerem Kolcuoglu

Managing Partner

Penrose Partners

Kerem is an MBA and the Managing Partner of Penrose Partners, a blockchain-focused consulting firm advising startups, enterprises, governments and investors on navigating the blockchain and digital assets space.

Kerem is an advisor to the Canadian Technology Accelerators and to the Premier’s Office of FinTech for the Bermuda Government. He is also a Founding Board Member of the Bermuda Innovation & Technology Association (BITA) and a Founding Partner of the i3 Innovation Incubator in Bermuda.

Previously at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at MLG Blockchain, he has consulted multinational enterprises, governments and educational institutions on understanding and adopting blockchain technology. Bridging his experience in multiple industries, he has foreseen change and advised clients on navigating digital transformation in an age of disruption.

Jillian Friedman

Chief Operating Officer

Ether Capital

Jillian is the COO of Ether Capital (NEO: ETHC), a public technology company focused on staking and developing infrastructure to support crypto investors. As a lawyer and banking expert who has been active in the cryptocurrency space since 2014, she oversees Ether Capital’s long-term business strategy to become a central business and investment hub for the Ethereum ecosystem. She previously worked for National Bank of Canada where she led the bank’s blockchain and digital asset efforts with a focus on the wealth management, capital markets and risk sectors. Her legal experience includes digital assets, commercial finance and fintech.

Didier Lavallee

Chief Executive Officer

Tetra Trust Company

Didier brings over 16 years of capital markets and asset servicing experience with in depth knowledge of equities and foreign exchange to Tetra. Prior to becoming CEO of Tetra, Didier held various leadership positions at the Royal Bank of Canada including Head of Canadian Custody Product for RBC Investor and Treasury Services. Before that, Didier also ran RBC I&TS North American FX Sales Trading team, FX Product and held various roles in capital markets with RBC, UBS and Genuity. Didier holds a B.A. in Finance and Administrative Studies from Western University.

Eric Richmond

President

Coinsquare

Eric Richmond is the President at Coinsquare, a leading Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. He is also a founder of Tetra Trust Company – Canada’s first digital asset trust company and custodian. Eric has played a key leadership role in Coinsquare and Tetra’s strategic direction and led the execution and negotiation of multiple financings, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. He has in-depth knowledge of the principles, applications and current developments relating to blockchain technologies, and the regulators’ approaches to these technologies across multiple jurisdictions. Prior to Coinsquare, Eric was a lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he advised clients on a variety of corporate and capital markets transactions, as well as corporate governance and securities regulatory matters.

Louis LaValle

Managing Director

3iQ Digital Assets (US)

Louis LaValle is Manager Director of 3iQ Digital Assets (US) Inc. Louis joined 3iQ in 2021 and is responsible for the development, execution, and investment management of the firm’s institutional investment platform. Louis brings over 20 years of investment management experience advising global institutions on hedge fund, private equity, and digital asset investing. Prior to 3iQ, Louis held senior leadership positions at several alternative investment management firms including Neuberger Berman, EACM Advisors, Permal Group and SkyBridge Capital. He previously served as strategic advisor to Crescent Crypto Asset Management, a digital asset investment firm that created one of the industry’s first suite of investable crypto index solutions. He began his investment management career at Morgan Stanley, managing over $1 billion of capital on behalf of family offices and institutional investors. Louis holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from New York University (NYU).

Sebastien Davies

VP, Research

Aquanow

As VP, Research at Aquanow and Market Strategist at AQN Digital, Sebastien Davies focuses on industry analysis, investment management, and growth initiatives. He joined from CIBC Capital Markets, where he held roles in Institutional Equity & Derivatives Sales. Prior thereto, Sebastien conducted research and risk management at a long/short hedge fund.

Vince Kadar

CEO

Polymath

Vincent guides the growth of Polymath, delivering an innovative and evolutionary software platform for a new generation of capital markets, leaning on his successful 25 years of start-up and scale up experience in financial software and services, as well as telecom software.

Prior to Polymath, Vincent was the CEO of Telepin Software Systems Inc, a fintech software company providing a disruptive digital wallet and payments platform for developed and emerging markets globally (acquired by Constellation Software Inc. (TSX:CSU).

He has also held CTO and founding positions at Airwide Solutions, a software provider in mobile messaging and security software for the telecoms industry (acquired by Mavenir). Vincent is also a member of the Governing Council of the Polymesh Association, an institutional–grade permissioned blockchain built specifically for regulated assets.

Shaun Cumby

President

Virgo Asset Management

Shaun Cumby is a 28-year veteran of the professional financial markets, spanning both employment in Toronto and New York. His experience includes trading bonds, credit derivatives, equity, options, futures and crypto. As a managing director at TD Bank he managed a $26 billion corporate loan portfolio, complemented by $5 billion in hedges. At Dundee Bank of Canada, he worked with a dynamic team that impressively expanded the deposit assets from $100 million to $1.5 billion in under two years. The bank was acquired by The Bank of Nova Scotia. Subsequently, Mr. Cumby ventured into systematically oriented hedge funds, where he adeptly managed a range of portfolios, from long-short equities, an income-oriented equity fund and then an adaptive allocation futures strategy. In February 2018, he transitioned to 3iQ Corp. where he was instrumental in establishing and overseeing the 3iQ Global Cryptoasset Fund, The Bitcoin Fund, and The Ether Fund. Currently, Mr. Cumby is CEO/CIO at the helm Arxnovum Investments Inc. which was recently acquired by Virgo. A staunch advocate for bitcoin, he eagerly anticipates guiding investors to access and profit from this revolutionary technology.

Erina Penkovsky

Director, Corporate Strategy

Allnodes

Erina Penkovsky has made a few pivots in her career, most recently transitioning to the world of web3 and specifically focusing on staking so far. Erina is currently the Director of Corporate Strategy at Allnodes, one of the largest staking providers in the industry working with retail and institutional clients. Her focus is on expanding the company’s institutional presence and building their long term strategy while also promoting education around staking in the cryoto and traditional finance spaces.

James Burron

President and Co-Founder

CAASA

James co-founded CAASA in response to industry support for a Canadian alternatives association to serve all aspects including: hedge / alternative strategies; private lending; private real estate; private equity; plus emerging areas where Canada is a leader such as digital assets / blockchain and robo-advisors.

Prior to CAASA, James was the Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada where his team of three worked with 12 committees to produce 50-60 events per annum across Canada, organize 100+ committee meetings, and increase member numbers over his 7-year tenure from 66 to 164 corporate entities.

James also has experience in research and writing for the CAIA Association as well as serving on CAIA’s Exam Council and as a grader for the Level II portion of the exam.  He also had roles in institutional sales and FoHF structuring in Seoul, South Korea, as a Product Manager at ICICI Wealth Management, and an Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities.  He graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BBA (Finance).

Kerem Kolcuoglu

Managing Partner

Penrose Partners

Kerem is an MBA and the Managing Partner of Penrose Partners, a blockchain-focused consulting firm advising startups, enterprises, governments and investors on navigating the blockchain and digital assets space.

Kerem is an advisor to the Canadian Technology Accelerators and to the Premier’s Office of FinTech for the Bermuda Government. He is also a Founding Board Member of the Bermuda Innovation & Technology Association (BITA) and a Founding Partner of the i3 Innovation Incubator in Bermuda.

Previously at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at MLG Blockchain, he has consulted multinational enterprises, governments and educational institutions on understanding and adopting blockchain technology. Bridging his experience in multiple industries, he has foreseen change and advised clients on navigating digital transformation in an age of disruption.

Koleya Karringten

Executive Director

Canadian Blockchain Consortium

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate, and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent over a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Canada’s blockchain technology industry as the Executive Director of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium (CBC) and co-founder/board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW). In her leadership role at the CBC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and the government to build the country’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer, and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous nation. Koleya also shares her passion for supporting women in STEM through her volunteer role the Vice Chair of Elevate Aviation a Not for Profit organization dedicated to supporting the education and training of women to have technical careers in Aviation.

Kevin Blank

Analyst

State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB)

Kevin is an analyst for the Private Markets and Funds Alpha Division at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) located in Madison, Wisconsin. SWIB oversees approximately $150 billion in assets which includes the Wisconsin Retirement System Trust Funds. Kevin’s responsibilities include manager due diligence, portfolio construction, and oversight of hedge funds and long-only external manager relationships. Prior to joining SWIB, Kevin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance from Marquette University.

Keith Black

Managing Director of Education

RIA Channel

Keith Black is an award-winning author and course designer who specializes in making complex topics accessible to audiences of varying sophistication. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Education for RIA Channel. In his previous role as Managing Director of Content Strategy at the CAIA Association, he was a co-author of the second, third, and fourth editions of the level I and II CAIA curriculum on alternative investments.

Keith has also advised foundations, endowments and pension funds on their asset allocation and manager selection strategies in hedge funds, commodities, and managed futures. Prior experience includes commodities derivatives trading, stock options research and Cboe floor trading, and building quantitative stock selection models for mutual funds and hedge funds.

Dr. Black previously served on the faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology and currently teaches courses on investment consulting and investing in cryptocurrencies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

He has published sixteen refereed journal articles and contributed to eight books. Dr. Black was named to the Institutional Investor magazine’s list of “Rising Stars of
Hedge Funds”.

Dr. Black earned a BA from Whittier College, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a PhD from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and was a member of the inaugural class of both CAIA and FDP Charterholders.

Fred Pye

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

3iQ Digital Asset Management

Frederick Pye, Chairman and CEO: Fred kick-started his career as a precious metal and foreign exchange trader at Guardian Trust. In 1986, they were the first to list gold, silver, and platinum certificates on the Montreal Stock Exchange. Fred later joined Fidelity Investments, where he was part of a team that saw its assets rise from 85 million to over 7.5 billion. Through the launch of creative and exotic investment products, Fred started his own firm, which worked diligently with Canadian regulatory bodies to establish the first mutual fund in Canada that was allowed to take short positions. Finally, as founder and CEO of 3iQ, he and his team worked cooperatively with the Ontario Securities Commission for the last 4 and a half years to launch the first regulated Bitcoin fund in North America. In a landmark victory, 3iQ was given the green light by the regulator to file a prospectus and apply to list “The Bitcoin Fund” on a Canadian stock exchange. 3iQ is now Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager with more than C$3.5 billion in assets under management.

Mr. Pye obtained a master’s in business administration from Concordia University and is a member of the Board of the Anglican Funds and the West Island Youth Residence.

Victor Kuntzevitsky

Associate Portfolio Manager

Wellington-Altus Private Counsel

Victor is responsible for directing all external manager research focusing on the investment process including selection, due-diligence, benchmarking, and monitoring. He is intimately involved in every step of the investment cycle and an integral part of the team.

Prior to joining Wellington-Altus, Victor spent the first nine years of his career at a Markham-based Multi-Family Office where he worked to help create, monitor and maintain bespoke portfolios across a broad set of public and private investment strategies.

Victor graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University. Victor is a CFA charterholder and has also obtained the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation. He is a lifelong learner, intellectually curious, and has interest across many disciplines.

Giles Anderson

Director, Sales and Relationship Management

Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC

Joining FCC in 2018, Giles brings more than 20 years of experience in financial technology and operations across both the buy and sell sides of the industry. He began his career in the retail operations of a major Canadian bank-owned firm which provided him with a deep level of understanding of FCC’s clients’ needs and how best to service them. Prior to joining FCC, Giles was based in Toronto, London, and New York working for some of the industry’s most respected technology providers in sales leadership roles. He has a proven track record working with both small and large clients to deliver enterprise projects which enable clients to focus on their core differentiators and enjoy reduced risks and costs. He successfully completed the Canadian Securities Course and the Conduct and Practices Handbook courses with the Canadian Securities Institute.

Jillian Friedman

Chief Operating Officer

Ether Capital

Jillian is the COO of Ether Capital (NEO: ETHC), a public technology company focused on staking and developing infrastructure to support crypto investors. As a lawyer and banking expert who has been active in the cryptocurrency space since 2014, she oversees Ether Capital’s long-term business strategy to become a central business and investment hub for the Ethereum ecosystem. She previously worked for National Bank of Canada where she led the bank’s blockchain and digital asset efforts with a focus on the wealth management, capital markets and risk sectors. Her legal experience includes digital assets, commercial finance and fintech.

George Djuric

Senior Consultant, Blockchain & Cryptoassets

KPMG

George is a Senior Consultant at KPMG’s Technology Risk Consulting practice in Toronto, working directly with the cryptoasset and enterprise blockchain team. He has a background in and deep understanding of Metaverse trends, blockchain networks, digital assets, tokenization strategies and metaverse platforms.

• George has been directly involved in assignments related to the Metaverse, cryptocurrencies, digital securities, and enterprise blockchain solutions.
• He has delivered several education sessions on various subject matters such as, but not limited to: blockchain, digital securities, NFTs, metaverse trends, digital asset regulatory trends, decentralized finance, smart contracts and the Ethereum network.
• He has a deep passion and understanding of the web3 ecosystem and spends a lot of his spare time researching all the latest trends with respect to digital assets, decentralized finance and the metaverse.
• Prior to entering the web3 space, George advised institutional real estate firms on various portfolio strategies.

Lisa Durnford

Senior Manager of Regulatory R&D

Wealthsimple Crypto

Lisa is the Senior Manager of Regulatory R&D for Wealthsimple Crypto, working closely with our crypto product teams to ensure compliance is designed into new products early on. Prior to Wealthsimple, Lisa was the Regulatory Compliance Management Lead for BMO Capital Markets’ AML Office. She’s a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and University of Western Ontario, and a founding board member of Gradient Spaces, a non-profit advocating for 2SLGBTQA+ inclusion and representation in the tech sector. Lisa loves talking about startups, financial inclusion, and penguins.

Adam Buzanis

Director, Private Equity

CAAT Pension Plan

Adam is a Director at CAAT Pension Plan and oversees all aspects of the plan’s global private equity portfolio, with a focus on origination, execution and portfolio management. Adam has 15 years of investment management experience with a specialization in private asset classes and alternative investments. Adam serves on several corporate boards and the advisory committees of private equity partnerships globally. Prior to joining CAAT, Adam was most recently the Director of Research at a leading Toronto based multi-family office. In 2012, he joined CC&L Funds Inc., an affiliate company of the CC&L Financial Group responsible for launching and developing the firm’s alternative investment funds business. Adam began his career within risk management at CIBC, prior to transitioning to the bank’s asset management arm in 2009. Adam is a CFA charterholder and earned a Master of Finance degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

Russell Starr

Executive Chairman & CEO

Valour

As Executive Chairman & CEO of Valour, Russell Starr believes that all investors should have access to industry-leading digital assets and the future of finance. Russell is an entrepreneur, and financier with deep capital markets and industry expertise, and an advocate for decentralized finance and the use of cryptocurrencies. Russell leads Valour’s strategy to bridge the gap between traditional capital markets, digital assets and Web3 protocols, via regulated equity exchanges and innovative products. He is also a co-founder and part owner of Echelon Wealth Partners, a large Canadian investment dealer, and CEO of Trillium Gold. After spending many years in Toronto’s financial center of Bay Street, Russell has held executive positions and board roles with numerous TSX- and TSXV-listed companies.

Shaun Cumby

Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer

Arxnovum Investments Inc.

Shaun Cumby has worked in trading and portfolio management for over 25 years across many asset classes, including asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, bank loans and equities and related derivatives. Prior to forming the Arxnovum Investments Inc, Mr. Cumby was Chief Investment Officer of 3iQ Corp., where he was instrumental in the creation and launch of the first publicly-traded bitcoin investment fund in Canada. Prior thereto, Mr. Cumby served as the Director of Futures Trading for Resolve Asset Management, traded with GMP Investment Management, and was Chief Risk Officer of Dundee Bank of Canada. Previously he was co-head of the TD Securities corporate loan portfolio. Mr. Cumby earned a Masters’ in Business Administration from the University of Toronto.

Drew Colaiezzi

Private Investments

McPike Global Family Office

Drew Colaiezzi is a private equity/venture capital specialist & investment manager with a background in capital markets focused on securitizations, specialty credit products, fixed income asset-back warehouses, financing consultancy, investment strategies & management, investment relationship structures, and early-stage venture.

After working in NYC and Miami for various private equity firms, he moved internationally and currently sits on the investment committee for MGFO, a single-family office based out of the Bahamas with a large venture portfolio containing exposure to various industries with a strong focus on early stage opportunities in financials, tech, fintech, life sciences, the carbon economy, venture funds, co investment opportunities, and web3/crypto based assets.

Anthony Bassili

Head of Asset Allocators

Coinbase Institutional Americas

In this role, he is responsible for advising North America’s largest financial institutions on investment solutions related to digital assets, web3, and crypto strategies. His Clients include Government and Corporate Pension Plans, Consultants, Multi-Manager Platforms, Outsourced Chief Investment Officer platforms (“OCIO”), Foundation/Endowments, and Family Offices.

Prior to joining Coinbase, Mr. Bassili served as Head of Pension for iShares. There he led BlackRock iShares efforts in expanding the investor toolkit for allocators to include ETFs across public and private asset classes, including ESG and niche exposures. Prior to leading the iShares business, he spent more than a decade leading business development and investment strategy for the Global Trading and Transition Management platform at BlackRock.

From 2015 to 2020, Mr. Bassili also served as Chapter Head for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) San Francisco Bay Area chapter, leading more than 400 CAIA members in connecting and pursuing financial literacy across alternative investment strategies. Over this period, Mr. Bassili served, on behalf of BlackRock, on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Bay Area Council. He focused on Local Policy and Tax issues across the State of California. He holds the NASD series 3, series 7, series 63, and Series 24 licenses.

Tanya Woods

Chief Executive Officer

Futurity Partners

Tanya Woods is a dynamic, future-forward leader with entrepreneurial edge and a successful track record of advancing bold agendas that deliver strategic results at scale. She is sought out to provide C-suites and boards with strategic counsel, visionary foresight, navigation on complex legal and systemic challenges, thought leadership, and to deliver success with triple bottom line benefits.

Ms. Woods has held executive level roles advancing the commercial and regulatory agendas of global technology companies and government for nearly 20 years. Woods is the CEO of Futurity Partners, a strategic consulting firm advising on edge technology innovation, regulatory affairs, and ESG matters. She recently served as the founding Managing Director of Canada’s first Chamber of Digital Commerce, and as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and EVP Regulatory Affairs for Hut 8 Mining Corp where she supported the company through a period of rapid global growth, designed the first public ESG program for a crypto miner, and catalyzed the introduction of Bill C-249 (the first-ever federal Bill to advance government education and awareness of digital assets).

Woods is a global speaker, published author, and has served on corporate and non-profit boards for over a decade. She currently advises 4 global edge technology companies working on quantum security, carbon tokens, energy and metaverse projects. She is also an advisor on the UN SDGs to UNESCO and serves as Chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network in Canada.

As an entrepreneur, Woods has been recognized as IT World Top Women in FinTech and Blockchain, Obama Foundation Global Civic Leader, Government of Canada Leading TechWoman, CBC Trailblazer, Bootstrap Impact Award Winner, Toastmasters International Community Leadership Award Recipient, and as a Top 40 Under 40. She studied law and global trade at the London School of Economics, University of Ottawa and American University Washington College of Law.

Alex Dauria

Senior Portfolio Manager

Aksia

As a Senior Portfolio Advisor, Alex is a member of the Portfolio Advisory team in the Americas responsible for their alternative investment programs. Alex also focuses on business development efforts and marketing initiatives within North America.

Prior to joining Aksia in 2021, Alex was a Director in the Capital Formation group at Castlelake, and previously was a Vice President on the Investor Relations team at Bain Capital Credit. Prior to that, he was a Consultant Relations Analyst at Loomis, Sayles & Company. Alex started his career in 2010 at Cambridge Associates.

Alex graduated from the Wake Forest University with a BA in Economics.

Didier Lavallee

CEO

Tetra Trust Company

Didier brings over 16 years of capital markets and asset servicing experience with in depth knowledge of equities and foreign exchange to Tetra. Prior to becoming CEO of Tetra, Didier held various leadership positions at the Royal Bank of Canada including Head of Canadian Custody Product for RBC Investor and Treasury Services. Before that, Didier also ran RBC I&TS North American FX Sales Trading team, FX Product and held various roles in capital markets with RBC, UBS and Genuity. Didier holds a B.A. in Finance and Administrative Studies from Western University.

Mitch Nicholson

Founder

Garden City Advisory Inc

Mitchell founded Garden City Advisory in November 2021 to advise financial services, institutional investors and fintech startups on their cryptoasset adoption strategy. He actively invests in early stage cryptoasset projects with Kronos Ventures and provides expertise in education, research, strategy and investment due diligence for institutional investors.

Andrew Kiguel

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

Tokens

Andrew Kiguel is the co-founder and CEO of Tokens.com, a publicly listed company that invests in Metaverse real estate, DeFi and NFT related digital assets. Andrew also co-founded and is the former CEO of Hut 8 Mining, one of the largest publicly listed bitcoin miners in the world.

Prior to that, Andrew spent 20 years as an investment banker with a focus on technology and real estate. Andrew is an accomplished executive with leadership experience in capital markets, corporate governance and entrepreneurship.

Eric Richmond

Coinsquare

Chief Operating Officer

Eric Richmond is the Chief Operating Officer at Coinsquare, a leading Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. He is also a founder of Tetra Trust Company – Canada’s first digital asset trust company and custodian. Eric has played a key leadership role in Coinsquare and Tetra’s strategic direction and led the execution and negotiation of multiple financings, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. He has in-depth knowledge of the principles, applications and current developments relating to blockchain technologies, and the regulators’ approaches to these technologies across multiple jurisdictions. Prior to Coinsquare, Eric was a lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he advised clients on a variety of corporate and capital markets transactions, as well as corporate governance and securities regulatory matters.

Daniel Stow

Chief Investment Officer

Zen Capital & Mergers

Daniel Stow is the Chief Investment Officer at Zen Capital & Mergers. His primary job functions include looking for new investments and opportunities while managing the balance of the portfolio. Zen Capital & Merger’s mission is to seek investments that meet their return requirements in conjunction with looking for quality management and integrity. As the Chief Investment Officer, Daniel is responsible for monitoring, managing, and developing investments in alternative assets.

Daniel proactively keeps up to date with market developments and regulation changes. He has confidence in dealing with board members, committees, and external fund managers. As a consequence of his 7 years’ experience with the company, Daniel has a seasoned perspective on how to manage an international portfolio with investments in both public and private companies. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration Honours with Distinction in International Business and Finance. In addition, Daniel also holds the CSC accreditation from the Canadian Securities Institute. When he is not keeping busy at Zen Capital & Mergers he enjoys getting outside and enjoying the beautiful nature British Columbia has to offer.

Shubin Jha

Head of Research & Portfolio Manager

Menai Asset Management

Shubin Jha is the Head of Research & Portfolio Manager for Menai Asset Management. Shubin has led research efforts across various markets, industries and securities during his 17 years of experience in investing at three hedge funds. Most recently, he spent seven years at Southpaw Asset Management as Managing Director of Research. He has significant experience in studying macro variables, product and market analyses, as well as valuations driven by both fundamental and technical factors. Prior to Southpaw, Shubin worked with Zoe Cruz at Voras Capital Management, where he conducted macroeconomic and fixed income investment research. Shubin began his career in International Finance in India. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Delhi University and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University.

Kirk Emery

Executive Vice-President of Legal & Business Development

Figment

At Figment, Kirk collaborates with customers on staking solutions and leads corporate law initiatives. He has formed agreements with dozens of institutional customers, led legal aspects of Figment’s Series A-C financings, and created bespoke legal materials from scratch for matters involving novel technologies.

Before joining Figment, Kirk was a business lawyer at a national law firm in Toronto where his practice focused on private equity transactions (M&A and VC) of technology companies, technology supply transactions (e.g., SaaS), board governance, and commercial advisory.

Kirk has degrees in common law and civil law from McGill University and is a member of the bars of Ontario and New York. Kirk enjoys shredding gnarly trails on his mountain bike.

Jason Campbell

Principal

Eckler Investment Consulting

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.

Chris Perkins

Managing Partner and President

Coinfund

Christopher serves as Managing Partner and President of Coinfund.  In this capacity, Chris works to deliver enterprise scale by bridging the gap between crypto-currency native investing and traditional finance.

Prior to joining Coinfund, Chris served as Global Co-Head of Futures, Clearing and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage (FXPB) businesses at Citi. In this capacity, he was responsible for delivering leading listed derivative electronic and voice execution, comprehensive central clearing and #1 ranked OTC Clearing and FXPB services to top institutional clients.

During his tenure, Citi was widely recognized as the global leader in this space, clearing hundreds of trillions of dollars notional, and safeguarding approximately $40 billion in client assets. Appointed as the Global Head of FXPB in 2018, he worked closely with numerous global regulators to architect and execute a comprehensive restructuring and integration plan across multiple geographies.

Prior to joining Citi in 2008, Chris served as the U.S. Head of Derivatives Intermediation at Lehman Brothers managing a portfolio of over $100 billion in notional across credit and interest rate derivatives. An Iraq war veteran, Chris served in the U.S. Marine Corps for nine years achieving the rank of Captain. Chris is the co-founder of Veterans on Wall Street (www.veteransonwallstreet.com) a national initiative focused on veterans employment and empowerment. Mr. Perkins has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, with distinction, and a Master of Arts Degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.

Spencer Greene

General Partner

TSV Capital

TSVC is an early-stage venture firm that has seeded more than 150 companies over the last ten years, including notable successes like Zoom, Carta, Ginkgo Bioworks, and Lambda School.

Spencer Greene joined the firm in 2018 after more than 25 years as an entrepreneur, executive, advisor and investor in Silicon Valley technology companies. His investing interests include digital health and B2B SaaS companies.

Neal Gupta

Chief Investment Officer

KiwiTech

Profession
Investor – Neal and his siblings invest in startups where they have an inside track and informational edge. They then open their network to the startup’s management team for the business, management, and financial connections.

Entrepreneur – KiwiTech – Neal Gupta co-founded a unique investment platform KiwiTech, which holds a portfolio over 210 technology companies. These seed-stage startups are located coast to coast, from KiwiTech’s HQ in New York City to Los Angeles, and are in many different industries from healthcare to financial to sports tech. KiwiTech actively collaborates with other investors to share deal flow. Neal is Chief Investment Officer at KiwiTech. He is responsible for growing the company’s network of HNWI, family offices, and fund investors, while playing matchmaker between KiwiTech portfolio firms and investors.

Prior Venture – Aptara – The largest content services company in the world, the Gupta’s founded Aptara in 1988. The firm scaled to 5,000 employees. A couple of interesting projects were annual processing of 35% of the EDGAR financial filings in the US, populating the Medline medical database used by every doctor, and digitizing the Oscars Playbook which is still used in Hollywood today.

Education – MBA (Finance) from Columbia Business School & University of London, and Bachelor’s in Economics.

Harjit Singh

Managing Director

Rainshine Global

Harjit has been working on Wall Street for 15+ years. The last 10 years are helping wealthy families in launching new opportunities or acquiring companies to complement their existing portfolio.

Recently, Harjit joined Rainshine Global as Head of Corporate Partnerships. Rainshine is creating the ‘Shopify’ of entertainment content on a platform called RainBlox, built on a Polygon-Ethereum combo, and enabling creators to build massive fan communities monetized through both Web3 options like NFTs/Tokens and on-demand content consumption. This business started by the family office of Neeraj Bhargava and backed by several high profile families across the world to help premium creators and studios bring transparency in the media and entertainment industry. Previously, Harjit worked with Gupta Family to head corporate and m&a strategy for KiwiTech. KiwiTech is a portfolio of over 500+ tech startups across North America, committed to helping entrepreneurs build their dream tech startups.

Also, Harjit is a Strategic Advisor to TigerBridge capital, a broker-dealer based out of New York, focused on helping US issuers to raise capital via the EB5 program.  Harjit has invested in several startups including Caleste (CLST – institutional-only lending and borrowing venue for stablecoins and crypto assets), Mindwell Labs (Data Analytics) Noor (Energy), SpectraMedix (Data Analytics and Saka Ventures (Pre seed and seed fund focused on foreign entrepreneurs entering the North American Market).  Harjit is on a couple of non-profit boards including TIE New York (Board Member and President Elect). Harjit graduated from Baruch College with a BBA in Finance and Investments.

Wendy Diamond

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

LDP Ventures/ Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization

Wendy Diamond is the CEO / Founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) / #ChooseWOMEN, a non-governmental volunteer organization and global initiative celebrated in 144 countries, and universities/ colleges worldwide with the mission to economically empower WOMEN in business to alleviate poverty.

She is the founder of LDP Ventures (SFO) investing in social impact disruptive technologies and funds making a positive imprint on this world including: Perceptive Capital, Bidversity, OpenGrants, Light Line Medical, Sensorium, EFF Ventures, ASALP, Pocket Network, Producers Market, CoinFund, Basepaws, OP Crypto, Crescent Capital, Valt Fund, Gaingels, Waggit, QuantumRock Technologies, Tooth and Tailz, LOOK Lateral Art, IPWE, Trust Circle, Blocktower Capital, Infinigon Group, SAFE Health, Farma Trust, Breathometer, IGP Energy, Snakt and many more!

Wendy has authored ten widely celebrated books, garnered three Guinness World Records, and has appeared in media outlets including CNBC, Oprah, NBC’s Today Show, Bloomberg, The New York Times and Forbes. She has also been a featured keynote speaker at the United Nations, Davos, and Harvard University.

Wendy sits on the Boards of Ellis Island Honors Society, Global Alliance For a Sustainable Planet (GASP), Girls Club Capital, Global Women in Blockchain, Humane Society of New York, and Grey Muzzle Foundation.

Prior to WEDO, after learning 12 million animals were euthanized annually, Wendy founded Animal Fair Media, Inc the premiere pet lifestyle media platform bridging celebrity and pop culture to support animal rescue/welfare.

Clelia Zacharias

Principal

LGT Capital Partners (USA) Inc.

Clelia Zacharias is a Principal at LGT CP (USA) Inc.

Prior to joining the firm in 2013, she was an associate at AlpInvest Partners in New York, where she focused on secondary transactions.

Ms. Zacharias holds a BA in Economics and a Certificate in Finance from Princeton University.

Elliott Campbell

Vice-President

HarbourVest

Elliott Campbell joined HarbourVest in 2013 as a member of the secondary investment team, where he focused on analyzing, structuring, and monitoring secondary private equity opportunities, including traditional and complex transactions. He left HarbourVest to attend business school and rejoined the Firm in 2019. Elliott is a member of the direct co-investment team and focuses on sourcing, reviewing, executing, and monitoring direct co-investments.

Elliott rejoined the Firm from Johnson & Johnson, where he was a general manager on the Listerine brand with full P&L ownership. His responsibilities also included executing retail activations and developing creative and digital marketing content. Prior to that, Elliott spent two years with Wells Fargo Securities, where he was as an investment banking analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group focused on originating, structuring, underwriting, and executing debt financing to support mergers and recapitalizations.

Elliott received a BA in Political Science from Davidson College in 2011 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2017.

Charlie Morris

Co-founder

CMCC Global

Charlie is the co-founder of CMCC Global, a blockchain asset management company that manages three digital asset funds as well as the Liberty Bitcoin Fund. CMCC Global was founded in Hong Kong in 2016 and today has offices in Asia and North America. It has a particular focus on Fintech innovation in Asia. Charlie’s background as both a software engineer and management consultant allows him to combine a deep technical understanding of blockchain technology with the ability to evaluate its business implications.

Charlie’s involvement in the blockchain space has included advising financial institutions, developing blockchain applications and investing in companies and protocols. He has given keynote addresses at the CLSA Investor Conference, Franklin Templeton annual offsite and the Global Investment Forum. He has also presented to senior management at many large institutions including Fidelity, Putnam Investments and Wellington Management.

Freddie Allen

Institutional Sales, Trading, & Prime

Coinbase

Freddie Allen is an Institutional Sales Specialist at Coinbase. Freddie focuses on partnering with large financial institutions and institutional investors across Coinbase Cloud’s suite of web3 products, including staking and liquid staking.

Freddie joined Coinbase through the January 2021 acquisition of staking infrastructure platform, Bison Trails. Freddie began working in the crypto industry in early 2018 for Republic, a crypto focused investment platform and advisory business spun-off from AngelList. Previously, Freddie worked in traditional financial services across technology merchant banking, equity research, and asset management.

Jonathan Han

Managing Director

VirgoCX Wealth

Jonathan Han is the Managing Director at VirgoCX Wealth, one of the leading Crypto OTC service providers in Canada. Jonathan is also a founding member of VirgoCX and was responsible for the scaling of Virgo’s retail platform and then expanding its OTC services internationally. Prior to Virgo, Jonathan worked in commodity trading and helped to scale high-growth tech start-ups in North America, Asia, and Europe. Jonathan obtained a Dual Master’s Degree from Ivey Business School and Rotterdam School of Management.

John Fisher

Chief Investment Officer

Bridgeport Asset Management

John is President and Chief Investment Officer of Bridgeport Asset Management, a Toronto based investment management firm that offers alternative asset strategies focused on private credit, private equity, private real estate and infrastructure, and commercial litigation finance. Prior to starting Bridgeport in 2007, John was a Managing Director at Clairvest Group, a Toronto-based private equity firm, and worked in corporate finance, business valuation and audit at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mark Maybank

Co-founder and Managing Partner

Maverix Private Equity

Mark is a Co-founder and Managing Partner with Maverix Private Equity where he leads the collective team and firm operations. As an active investor, director, advisor and entrepreneur, he has a wealth of experience spanning across multiple industries and geographies. This includes financial services, technology, health and wellness, media, telecom, oil and gas, services, and advanced manufacturing. With a passion to drive growth with a focus on human elements, Mark strives to scale Canada’s strong and vibrant innovation-based ecosystem.

Prior to Maverix, Mark was the President and COO of Canaccord Genuity Corp, where he led the expansion of their wealth management and international capital markets businesses, positioning the firm as a global leader in commodity and technology financing.

In addition to being EVP, Corporate Development at Itemus Inc., a technology firm, he was also a Senior Technology Analyst with Yorkton Securities, and CFO of ECS Enhanced Cellular Communications, a US-based cellular services company. Mark earned his Chartered Accountant and Chartered Business Valuator designations at Deloitte in the audit, tax, and valuation advisory practices. Currently, Mark is the Chairman of Fleet Canada Inc. and serves on other boards including Forum Equity Partners and New Latitude Capital. Previously, he served on several boards including Executive Chairman (Advisory) of the Kirchner Group, Knix Wear, Entrec, Empire State Connector, Biologix, Moraine Capital, and Canaccord Genuity Financial.

Mark is an active philanthropist with former roles as Co-Chair of Gold Medal Plates, a Canadian Olympic Foundation program, Special Advisor to the Treasury Board of Canada, Ambassador for World Bicycle Relief, Advisor to SpiderTech cycling, member of the Corporate Advisory Board of the Art Gallery of Ontario and guest lecturer at the Director’s College.

Outside of the office, Mark and his family enjoy an active lifestyle which includes skiing, biking, running, and swimming. They enjoy travelling and spending time in Annecy, France and the Okanagan Valley, BC

Zachary Friedman

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

GDA Group

Zachary Friedman is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor building at the intersections of finance, blockchain, art, and technology.

Zachary currently sits as the COO of Global Digital Assets (GDA), a leading blockchain-focused investment bank, and CSO of Secure Digital Markets (SDM), a leading global digital asset brokerage.

Through these roles, Zachary has worked to advise and support world-leading institutions, family offices, governments, and Fortune 500 companies alike.

Zachary is also a founder of Metaverse Group, the world’s first virtual real estate company, NFT Bazl, a leading luxury NFT art gallery, and has worked on the world’s first listed blockchain-focused SPAC ($BMAQU).

Zachary, who is extremely passionate about entrepreneurship, is an active blockchain mentor at Founders Fund, previously launched his own tech accelerator (W5), and co-produced Elevate Toronto, Canada’s largest technology conference.

Peter Misek

Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Framework

Peter is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of FRAMEWORK with over 18 years of VC experience as an Advisor/Partner for DN Capital including direct involvement in multiple unicorns.

Prior to FRAMEWORK, Peter was a Partner at the BDC IT Venture Fund. Peter’s investments include GoViral Inc., TouchBistro, Wattpad, and Wave Financial. With an entrepreneurial background, Peter is Chairman and Founder of SoundPays Inc. and an original programmer of the technology. Before joining BDC, Peter spent almost 20 years in investment banking as Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Technology Research for Jefferies in New York, and as Director of Research and Global Technology Analyst for Canaccord.

Peter holds a CA, CPA, CPA from Illinois, and a CFA charter.

Bradley Mashinter

Partner & Head of Private Equity

Fiera Comox Partner

Bradley Mashinter is a Partner at Fiera Comox. In this role, he leads the Private Equity strategy. He is also a member of the firm’s Management Investment Committee overseeing Fiera Comox’s three strategies: Agriculture, Private Equity and Private Credit.

Prior to Fiera Comox, Brad was a Managing Director at CPP Investments where he was a member of the firm-wide Global Leadership Team and Investment Committee member of CPPIB’s $125 billion global private equity portfolio. His career spans both private equity and private credit. Brad was one of the early leaders in CPPIB’s private debt group and was instrumental in building the Fund’s high performing global private credit franchise and was a member of its Investment Committee. He managed CPPIB’s investment in Antares Capital, the largest North American senior lender to middle-market private equity sponsors with over $50 billion in AUM and was the Head of the Antares Holdings Credit Committee.

Prior to CPP Investments, Brad was in the Direct Private Equity group at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in Toronto and at Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners in New York. Brad holds a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a CFA charterholder.

Isaac Souweine

Pender

Pender Ventures

Based in Montreal, Isaac joined Pender in 2022 to help build the firm’s presence in Eastern Canada. Previously, he was a partner at Real Ventures, where he led a Quebec-focused, pre-seed investment strategy and also served as General Manager of FounderFuel, the firm’s accelerator. Prior to joining Real, Isaac spent more than a decade as a product leader, including stints at Sonder, Frank and Oak, Yahoo and Scholastic.

Isaac is also passionate about building communities, having co-founded Product Tank Montreal, a popular meetup and APM Montreal, a community-based training program. Isaac is on the board of APM Canada as well as Front Row Ventures, Canada’s only student-run venture capital firm. He is an active mentor and speaker with a deep belief in paying it forward. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Isaac has lived and worked in New York, Singapore, Hawai’i, and India. He has a BA from Columbia University in Religious Studies and an MBA from INSEAD.

Matt Boczkowski

Chief Executive Officer

Aquaporin

James Nguyen

Co-Founder & CEO

Quantropi

James, born and raised in Ottawa, is a Ottawa Top Forty under 40 recipient and is the Co-Founder and CEO of a quantum AI cybersecurity company – Quantropi, a NATO approved supplier, 2022 Deloitte Fast 50 company and 2023 Future In Review – FiRe Starters recipient. As an emerging leader in emerging industries, he has been privileged to have worked alongside some of the greatest minds in the industry when it comes to emerging deep-tech such as fin-tech, new material sciences, quantum and AI.

He has travelled extensively globally and has built a strong network in emerging markets. With his background in investments and banking he has been an active investor in early-stage companies while speaking at global events to help bring technologies to market that will make the world better.

Kapil Dev Ramgirwar

Co-Founder & CFO

Rosseau Immersion

Kapil is the co-founder and CFO of Rosseau Group, a company focused on reengineering immersion-cooled data centers. Rosseau’s solutions offer unrivaled efficiency and sustainability, expanding the potential of high-performance computing in areas such as artificial intelligence, edge computing, the Internet of Things, and Bitcoin mining. With 20 years of experience in big 4 professional services, Kapil has provided assurance services to public and private financial institutions, including central and commercial banks, multibillion-dollar hedge funds, and private equity funds. He also developed and led the crypto assurance services with a big 4 professional services firm. Kapil is a CPA, CA, and holds a CFA charter.

Bruce M. Hodges

CEO

Parachute

Bruce has had a progressive international career in all areas of financial services; Banking, Insurance, and Investments. Over the first 10 years of his career Bruce worked in retail banking for several of Canada’s top Banks working his way up from Teller to Personal Lender, Commercial Lender, and ultimately Product Manager with a $4B credit portfolio. During this time Bruce completed his MBA, published research for the Canadian Bankers Association, and taught E-commerce Strategy in Wilfrid Laurier University’s MBA program.

In 1998, Bruce left the corporate world and joined a 20-person start-up to take on-line credit adjudication to market. The start-up built credit solutions for the likes of National Bank, Fair Isaac, and Ford Credit globally. He facilitated a sale of the company to a publicly traded entity and continued the journey including raising $40M in equity.

On leaving the dot-com world, Bruce began a 20-year corporate stretch in Insurance, initially joining Manulife to build out their global e-commerce strategy and moving to several global roles with the likes of Generali, Sunlife and ING. This journey relocated he and his family to Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, The Netherlands, and Italy in roles spanning CIO, COO, CIDO and CEO overseeing more than 60 different countries at various stages of his career.

After his final stint in Europe as CIDO (Chief Information & Digital Officer) at Generali, overseeing IT, Operations and Digital for the $70B, 60 Country Insurer, Bruce returned to Canada mid-2018. After his return, Bruce was COO of Foresters Financial, and EVP Transformation at CIBC, one of Canada’s top 5 banks. Since leaving CIBC in April 2021, Bruce founded Parachute, a start-up set to disrupt the financial wellness space taking on payday, and high interest predatory lenders, with the intent to bring at risk Canadians back from the brink to good financial health.

Prathna Ramesh

VP Operations

FutureSight Ventures

Prathna is an early-stage investor and operator in B2B SaaS companies. She is currently a VP of Operations at FutureSight, a venture builder fund that backs entrepreneurs as an institutional cofounder with capital. She is the former Managing Director of Maple Leaf Angels in Toronto, one of Canada’s most active angel networks. She served as GP (General Partner) of the MLA48 pre-seed funds and is currently the Chief Compliance Officer. She is active in the founder community as a business advisor and is an advocate for women in venture.

Lakhveer Jajj

CEO & Founder

Moselle

Diving into the venture world and having helped co-found various startups, including a commerce development shop called Sunview Labs, he joined CareGuide as a foundational member of the team and led their nanny tax payroll product called HeartPayroll.

Following CareGuide, Lakhveer joined Highline Beta to help launch their venture studio and various ventures, including Relay, which was recently acquired.

Reza Khanahmadi

Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder

Rondeivu Inc.

Alik Sokolov

Co-Founder & CEO

Responsibli

Alik’s experience spans the fields of finance and AI in industry and academia. Alik spent 6 years in Deloitte consulting as an ML team lead, and a year at Mithril Capital as a venture capitalist investor.

He is also an accomplished researcher, having published works on applying deep learning to financial time series as well as for ESG investing. The latter set of algorithms is the backbone of Responsibli.

Ajay Rao

CFO

Chandaria Family Holdings, Inc.

Ajay is a seasoned family office and wealth management executive with a strong track record in managing and growing family wealth and investments. In a leadership role with a UHNW family business, he established their Family Office from scratch, implementing streamlined processes and risk management protocols. Previously, Ajay, a CPA from Ontario and India, held key Corporate Financial Leadership roles in India, Mauritius, and South Africa. Furthermore, Ajay serves as the Vice-Chair of FEI Canada’s Private Company Committee’s Family Business Thought Leadership Group.

Skip Cooper

Managing Director

Cooper Family Office

Skip Cooper is a first-generation member of the Cooper Family Office. Skip oversees risk management, portfolio allocation and back office operations. In addition to the office’s US-based alternative investing, his primary focus for the family office is investment internationally: in private equity, hedge funds, real estate and direct opportunities. Mr. Cooper is an honors graduate of Princeton University.

Skip Cooper is a member of the NYU Stern Family Office Council and the Stanford University Global Projects Center Global Investor’s Forum. Skip speaks regularly at family office and investment conferences around the world, often addressing the topic of global investing for US family offices.

Ian Garmaise

Chief Operating Officer

Virtual Film School

Ian Garmaise, COO of Virtual Film School, has a strong background in Edtech, and has worked in a variety of roles at various startups, and as an IT and Marketing Consultant.

Ryan Wallace

Co-Founder

Snowshoe.ai

Ryan Wallace is the CEO and co-founder of Snowshoe.ai. He is a Y-combinator alumnus with multiple successful exits. Ryanstudied electronic engineering and consults on applying artificial intelligence in the Enterprise.

Hudhaifah Zahid

Co-Founder & CEO

Econommi

Hudhaifah is a blockchain engineer turned co-founder & CEO of econommi. He is on a mission to transition the world away from debt, towards assets instead. Personally affected by a broken credit system, he believes we can all do better. His work brings a fresh, systemic perspective on money, society and incentives. His team has engineered a more equitable financial instrument for vehicle loans. They hope to expand this to all sorts of assets and contracts in the near future.

Tim Burgess

Co-Founder & CEO

WealthAgile

Senior financial executive, with 20 years of experience in institutional equity sales and portfolio management. Recently ran the Spartan onTREND Fund, where he built a fully systematic momentum strategy.

Mukul Pal

Founder & CEO

AlphaBlock

Mukul has spent over 20 years in global financial markets, in investment management capacities, working from 2000-2004 for the Bombay Stock Exchange, HDFC Securities, and various financial institutions in India, from 2005-2010 consulting European asset managers and securities divisions of financial institutions like Société Générale, Raiffeisen, Uniqua Insurance, Bucharest Stock Exchange, Bank of Transilvania and starting 2011 building Smart Beta Investing solutions for asset owners and asset managers in North America. He has published extensively, filed several patents, holds an MBA in Finance, a master’s in applied econometrics and statistics, the CMT and CAIA designations, and has been awarded a top fintech award from MIT in 2016. In his current role, he runs AlphaBlock, a Deep Tech company that in its first application builds Indexes and Exchange Traded Funds.

Yaron Vorona

Founder

Vorona Ventures

Yaron Vorona is a serial founder turned VC, Backing Innovators Building Abundance. Yaron has spent the past 15 Years working in finance and strategy for Deep-Tech ventures, raising over $55m. He co-founded companies in the cybersecurity, AI, blockchain, and defense sectors. His global network stems from his experience working in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. Yaron holds an MBA from the London Business School, and a BSc in Physics and Business from the University of Waterloo. He’s a Father, Explorer, Connector, and Personal Excellence Practitioner.

John Davitsky

Co-Founder

Golden Hawk Financial (GHF)

John is Co-Founder of Golden Hawk Financial (GHF) based in Toronto.  The company helps clients by connecting interesting ideas to interesting capital and vice versa. GHF focuses on alternative investments including AI, Tokenization, Sustainable Energy, Digital Assets, and Real Estate Development.

John started his career as a Financial Advisor at Caldwell Securities in Toronto in 2009. In this role he was responsible for managing investments for families, corporations and other high net-worth individuals. He progressed through the organization gaining experience in alternative investments, brokering private equity deals, placing shares in late stage pre-IPO companies and investing in digital assets.  In recent years John moved into trading, becoming Head Trader, and finally Vice President, where, as a high touch trader he traded $1B-$1.5B daily for the firm’s largest client.

In 2022, he joined Echelon Wealth Partners, where he worked with their Electronic Trading group to help lead a digital asset project with Fidelity Clearing Canada. This project developed a product to hold digital assets for clients on Fidelity’s balance sheet in a traditional finance model. 

Golden Hawk Financial was born out of a vision to create exciting and unique opportunities for its clients in the alternative investment space.

Robert Guo

President

Sixty Degree Capital

Mr. Robert Guo, President of “Sixty Degree Capital”-Venture Capital investment firm,  a seasoned insightful financial executive, and business leader with international market development skills with extensive experience in public and private companies as Board member, executive and advisor. Former:  Board Director of “China Wind Power” (TSX-V: CNW), and Board Director of “Environmental Waste International Inc. “(TSX-V: EWS). CEO of Goldenmount Capital International Inc. Investment Advisor at “BMO Nesbitt Burns” and Senior Associate at “TD”,  MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University.

Shael Soberano

Chief Investment Officer

Sharno Group

Ali Yahyaoui

CEO

LexiComply

Dedicated professional with a strong academic background and practical experience in launching successful startup ventures. Adept at leveraging innovation and technology to drive growth. Master’s degree in Applied Entrepreneurship and hands-on involvement in multiple startup initiatives showcase a solid foundation for transforming ideas into thriving businesses.

Matthew He

Investment Analyst

Brightspark Ventures

Matt is an Investment Analyst at Brightspark Ventures, Canada’s oldest VC firm backing exceptional entrepreneurs at the early stage. Brightspark is actively investing out of its $120M Fund IV, leading Seed and Series A rounds across Canada.

Prior to Brightspark, Matt served for two years as the Director of Investments for Front Row Ventures, investing at pre-seed in the very best young founders across the Canadian ecosystem. He has previously worked at White Star Capital in New York and FounderFuel in Montreal. 

Marcus Daniels

Founding Partner & CEO

Highline Beta

Marcus Daniels is a Founding Partner & CEO of Highline Beta where he leads visionary execution, strategic deals, corporate venture co-investment and startup funding. He has 21+ years as a serial tech entrepreneur & operating executive with a top decile pre-seed investing (34 startups) track record. 12+ years working with Fortune 1000 companies advising on corporate innovation models & building a pipeline of new corporate ventures beyond the core business. Formerly the Co-Founder & CEO of HIGHLINE.vc and Managing Director of Extreme Startups, Marcus continues to help evolve accelerator models to make corporate-startup collaboration work.

Jason Chertin

Partner

McMillan LLP

Jason Chertin is an accomplished corporate finance lawyer with a dynamic capital markets and securities law practice and extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions. Structuring and executing a variety of capital market transactions, Jason advises on public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions with emphasis on negotiated transactions, plans of arrangement and amalgamations, and stock exchange listings. He is a leader of the firm’s Investment Funds & Asset Management Group.

Jason acts for issuers, underwriters, investment funds and asset managers in addition to stakeholders in the cannabis and mining sectors. He advises on public and exempt securities offerings, takeover bids, business combinations, reverse takeovers, qualifying transactions, reorganizations, proxy contests and related party transactions.
A significant part of Jason’s practice involves advising investment fund managers and portfolio advisers on public and exempt offerings of securities by open-end mutual funds, closed-end investment funds, commodity pools and pooled funds. He also assists with dealer and adviser registration and compliance matters.

Jason’s experience in securities regulatory work encompasses proxy solicitation, corporate governance, continuous disclosure, preparation for annual and special meetings of shareholders, compliance with NI 81-102 and IRC requirements, prospectus renewals, and applications to regulatory authorities for exemptive relief.

Harris Lambouris

Board Member / Director

Laertes Health

Harris is the Founding Partner and CEO of Laertes Health LLP, a private investment company aiming to develop healthcare projects in the MENA region. Sets standards of excellence and alignment of the company’s vision and strategy. Collaborates with family offices to develop the business, creating opportunities and maintaining professional excellence.

He is also a partner with hhm-consult, an advisory practice. As a trusted partner of choice continuously looks for innovations and improvements. Builds senior level networks and relationships with clients and partners. Engages and advises startup companies and green field projects helping them achieve their goals and objectives during the business cycle.

He has many years of international experience in management consulting/strategy. He combines the financial rigor of a Big 4 firm with the analytical skills and people leadership experience. Led healthcare strategy and directed projects during their planning, design and development stage. Served as a member of Deloitte (LSHC) Team for almost 10 years in MENA region. During his tenure he led the operational and commercial advisory and led large scale pre & post transaction projects.

His education includes: Corporate Financial Strategy at INSEAD Business School, France; MSc in Management Research, Cardiff, UK; and MBA in Finance Adelphi University, New York.

Sebastien Davies

VP, Research

Aquanow

As VP, Research at Aquanow and Market Strategist at AQN Digital, Sebastien Davies focuses on industry analysis, investment management, and growth initiatives. He joined from CIBC Capital Markets, where he held roles in Institutional Equity & Derivatives Sales. Prior thereto, Sebastien conducted research and risk management at a long/short hedge fund.

Dan Ryan

Investor Relations

Creative Ventures

Guy Côté

Senior Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Manager

Guy Côté Integrated Wealth Management – National Bank Financial

Guy Côté, CFA has 30 years of experience in finance and asset management. He holds a BAA in Finance, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA),has taken courses on derivatives (options) and financial planning offered by the investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

Guy can count on the complete range of National Bank Financial products, services and specialists as well as on his extensive network of experienced professionals, in meeting all the specific needs of his clients.

He is a director of the Lise Watier Foundation and La Pietà musical ensemble. He is also actively involved with other foundations.

Cam Richards

Chief Investment Officer

Guardian Partners

As Chief Investment Officer at Guardian Partners, Cameron’s mission is to combine the investment strategies and disciplined portfolio construction and risk management utilized by pension funds and endowments, with the customization and client responsiveness required by private clients, to increase the robustness of investment solutions and to enhance the experience of Guardian Partners’ clients. Previously, he served as CIO of the Nova Scotia Health Employees’ Pension Plan, and was the Head of Real Assets at Albourne Partners in London, England. He also served as the Co-Chief Investment Officer of University of Toronto Asset Management (UTAM), and Chair of the Investment Committee for the entirety of the university’s investment assets. Before joining Guardian Partners, he founded Isengard Capital Management, which provided capital markets research to Albourne Partners and also designed a research platform which applied global macro, stock selection and quantitative strategies to generate long and short exposures in stocks.

Cameron is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Queen’s University, earned an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is a CFA® Charterholder. He has been called to the Bar in Ontario.

Theresa Shutt

Chief Investment Officer

Harbourfront Wealth Management

In her role as Chief Investment Officer with responsibility over the Portfolio Management Department and overall investment platform, Theresa Shutt is a key member of Harbourfront’s executive team, contributing to the leadership and strategic vision of the firm with a focus on increasing AUM and developing innovative investment strategies.

Theresa brings over 20 years of experience in private and public markets with demonstrated success in leading asset management teams. Prior to joining Harbourfront, Theresa was the Head of Corporate Debt for Fiera Capital, where she was responsible for the overall strategic direction of Fiera’s corporate private debt strategies. In this role, she provided leadership in support of business development, investment approval, fund strategy and portfolio management. Theresa joined Fiera from Integrated Asset Management where she was Chief Investment Officer with responsibility for private market strategies.  

Theresa began her career working as an economist for the Conference Board of Canada. She has held a variety of roles at large Canadian financial institutions marketing public fixed income to asset managers as well as structuring bond and equity derivative backed products for retail investors.

Theresa is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder and also holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics (Honours) from the University of Alberta, a Master of Arts (MA) in Economics from McMaster University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto.

Ida Khajadourian

Senior Portfolio Manager, Senior Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

For over 20 years, Ida has worked closely with Institutions, Family Offices, wealthy entrepreneurs, and high net worth families building trusted relationships and delivering a high level of holistic Wealth Management services.

Ida’s beliefs include the importance of estate planning, tax minimization, capital preservation and evolutionary portfolio construction using alternative strategies to achieve consistent absolute returns with a risk reward-oriented approach.

Ida obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto with specialization in Finance and major in Economics. Ida is a multi award winning Portfolio Manager and obtained her Chartered Alternative Investment Advisor (CAIA®) designation in 2005.

Martin Pelletier

Senior Portfolio Manager

Wellington-Altus Private Counsel

Martin has over 20 years of investment industry experience including senior-level positions in both institutional equity research and portfolio management.

Martin is currently a senior portfolio manager at Wellington-Altus Private Counsel (previously TriVest Wealth), an award-winning portfolio management firm (Wealth Professional 5-Star Asset Manager 2022), where he is the co-manager of the firm’s risk-managed balanced fund and helps oversee custom built, HNW and UHNW private client portfolios.

Prior to co-founding TriVest and its sale to Wellington-Altus in early 2020, Martin’s career was focused on institutional energy equity research and capital markets primarily at two top-ranked boutique investment banks. He provided investment recommendations on energy markets, commodities, and individual security selections to institutional fund managers located in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Martin is regularly featured in the media as a market strategist including his weekly column to the Financial Post’s Investment Pro section for the past decade. He was won numerous awards for his passion for financial education and quality of service provided for his clients.

Martin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a specialization in finance from the University of Alberta, studied international economics and finance at Örebro University in Sweden, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

Martin grew up in a small farming community in Northern Alberta and believes in the power of positive innovative change having lived in Canada’s first Eco-community. He and his family is also passionate about mental-health awareness initiatives focused on youth impacted by ADHD, OCD and Autism. On weekends, his family can be found on a mountain either freestyle/big mountain skiing or downhill mountain biking.

Rafa Silveira

Portfolio Manager

LGT Capital Partners

Rafa Silveira (American/Brazilian) is a Principal at LGT Capital Partners in New York, where he serves as a portfolio manager for the LGT Multi-Alternative Fund and is a member of the U.S. leadership team. Before joining LGT in 2019, he was a portfolio manager at AQR Capital Management. He has also held roles as a solutions strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and a senior quantitative analyst at Bank of America. Mr. Silveira earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Brasília.

Ash Lawrence

Head of AGF Capital Partners

AGF Capital Partners

Ash Lawrence is Head of AGF Capital Partners, AGF Management Limited’s diversified alternatives business with extensive capabilities across both private assets and alternative strategies. Ash is also a member of AGF’s Executive Management Team where he assists in the development and execution of AGF’s overall business strategy providing insight and vision that promotes AGF’s long-term growth.

Ash is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience and a wide breadth of expertise in alternative investments and portfolio management across sectors. As Head of AGF Capital Partners, Ash and his team identify tenured managers with demonstrated investment expertise in their fields, structuring partnerships to offer long-term strategic support, resources and capital to sustain and enhance the partners’ growth. Ash and his team are continually looking to diversify and expand the business’ capabilities and alternatives offerings to meet clients’ evolving needs.

Prior to joining AGF Investments, Ash spent 16 years with Brookfield Asset Management working in real estate investments and portfolio management in North America and Brazil, ultimately leading the Canadian real estate business. Ash also has experience in financing municipal infrastructure projects and 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 in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Ash sits on numerous Boards and is a member of the America’s Executive Committee and a Global Governing Trustee for the Urban Land Institute.

Brianne Gardner

Senior Wealth Manager

Velocity Investment Partners – Raymond James

As an Investment Advisor and co-founder of Velocity Investment Partners, Brianne uses her expertise to provide solutions to high-net-worth families who have complex financial needs, anddeliver first-class service to clients who expect the best. Her dedication to understanding and managing the unique financial challenges many families face gives our clients the peace of mind they need.

With the tools provided by the leading independent firm in Canada, Raymond James Ltd., she is continually raising the bar for customized and strategic investment solutions with a focus on risk management. Brianne works closely with successful individuals, medical professionals, corporate executives, business owners and wealthy families across Canada, who have built significant wealth through years of hard work. She takes pride in the opportunity to help them grow, protect, and diversify their wealth, and when the time comes, transfer it to future generations in the most efficient manner.

Brianne and her partner John manage money for families, developing customized wealth management plans and solutions to meet their personal circumstances and goals. Brianne oversees a highly qualified team who help ensure all the clients receive ‘Amazon-like’ efficiency and ‘Four Seasons-like’ service. A disciplined and active risk management strategy allows clients to sleep soundly knowing their money is under prudent stewardship.

Her unwavering passion for being a trusted financial partner and family advisor providing valuable guidance in overseeing their financial affairs is why she has built strong, long-term relationships. Brianne has authored many industry articles over the years and is an expert contributor for Neighbours of Edgemont magazine where she educates clients and investors on financial planning and investments to help them make informed decisions and understand how their money is working for them.

Brianne acts as a mentor to young women in business and has always been an active member of her community. She is a philanthropist through her membership in professional associations and charitable organizations such as Women in Capital Markets, Young Women in Business, SFU Beedie School of Business Mentorship program and ReThink Breast Cancer.

In her free time, Brianne leads an active lifestyle, and you’ll often find her playing golf, tennis, volleyball, skiing or hiking. She and her husband enjoy travelling and they love to spend time with family.

Ted Karon

Portfolio Manager

RBC Dominion Securities

Ted draws on his expert knowledge and more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry to provide access to a comprehensive range of services. For the past two decades, Ted has been working with high net worth individuals and families to help them meet their complex financial goals.

 His depth of experience includes investment banking, commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions, equity research and portfolio management. Over the years, Ted has also developed extensive expertise in the alternative investment sector.  Ted brings a holistic perspective on investing to his work, ensuring sound advice, expert execution and peace of mind for clients who need solutions for broad and multi-dimensional wealth management needs.

 A graduate of Queen’s University, he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in finance. A firm believer in ongoing education, he has acquired the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and licenses for insurance, derivatives fundamentals and options.

Aled ab Iorwerth

Deputy Chief Economist

CMHC – SCHL

Groundbreaking research by CMHC has revealed that inadequate supply is a key driver behind escalating house prices in cities like Vancouver and Toronto. The lead researcher for that project – Deputy Chief Economist Aled ab Iorwerth – now coordinates a diverse national team of researchers and analysts who are investigating impediments to housing supply and potential solutions.

“Housing markets are local. Broader challenges such as supply are often common, but the drivers and magnitude of these challenges may differ significantly across the country. My goal is to help understand and inform on market dynamics, how they support or hinder housing affordability goals and to provide thought leadership on housing economics across housing industry participants.”

Aled joined CMHC in 2016, bringing his strong analytical and research capabilities to bear on complex housing issues. He previously had a 15-year career at Finance Canada, in various research and analysis roles that included secondments to Environment Canada and the Council of Canadian Academies.

Aled holds a PhD in Economics from Western University and master’s degrees in European and International Relations (University of Amsterdam) and Economics (Carleton University). He speaks three languages: English, French and Welsh.

Colleen Redmond

Vice President, Investment Product Research

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada Inc.

As part of the product team at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada (MSWC), Colleen is responsible for conducting initial and ongoing due diligence on various investment products including mutual funds, ETFs, SMAs and alternatives. She works closely with internal and external partners to build out the MSWC product shelf. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2022, Colleen spent over seven years at CI Global Asset Management including four years as the product manager for CI’s suite of liquid alternative products. She also held roles in operations, client services and sales. Colleen holds a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Colleen is an avid runner. In her spare time, she enjoys training for her next marathon.

Robert Wilson

Senior Vice President, Head of Portfolio Construction Consultation Service

Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Robert Wilson, Senior Vice President, is the Head of Picton Mahoney’s Portfolio Construction Consultation Service (PCCS). He is responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary team of experts in asset allocation, risk management, quantitative research and portfolio management. Robert and his team partner with investment advisors and institutional investors to help them construct more resilient and efficient investment portfolios. Robert is often invited to share his insights on alternative investments, asset allocation and portfolio construction with industry groups and media outlets.

Prior to joining Picton Mahoney in 2019, Robert spent 10 years working in financial services in progressively senior roles. Most recently, Robert was vice president at BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited where he distributed iShares ETFs to Canadian investment advisors. Prior to that, Robert was an associate at PIMCO where he distributed PIMCO funds to Canadian investment advisors.

Robert holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He is a CFA charterholder, and he holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. He is also a member of the Responsible Investment Association of Canada and holds the Responsible Investment Professional Certification designation.

Josh Benchetrit

Principal and Portfolio Manager

Westcourt Capital

As Principal, Asset Management & Client Services, Josh’s responsibilities include the construction and management of diversified investment portfolios and reviewing investment products for Westcourt’s clients. Josh is registered as a Portfolio Manager (Advising Representative) and a Dealing Representative.

Prior to joining Westcourt, Josh was an executive at two of the country’s largest single-family offices, and a member of the Investment Committee. In this role, he was responsible for building the investment framework covering all major asset classes and geographies.

Paul Patterson

National Sales

Spartan Fund Management

Paul has been with Spartan Fund Management since 2015.  From 2008 to 2014, Paul was Vice-President, Private Investment at Integrated Asset Management (“IAM”), a $3B Toronto-based multi-strategy alternative asset manager.  Prior to that, he was Associate Vice-President, Institutional and Offshore at BluMont Capital, a hedge fund and structured products firm. Before joining BluMont, Paul practiced corporate and securities law with Lang Michener (now McMillan LLP) and served as legal and policy counsel with the Toronto Stock Exchange.  Paul has a B.A. from Carleton University, a J.D. from the University of Toronto and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s J. L. Kellogg School of Management. He is also CAIA charterholder and is the former Deputy Chair of the Canadian chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association.

James Burron

Founding Partner

CAASA

James co-founded CAASA in response to industry support for a Canadian alternatives association to serve all aspects including: hedge / alternative strategies; liquid alternatives; private lending; private real estate; private equity; plus emerging areas where Canada is a leader such as digital assets / blockchain and robo-advisors.

Prior to CAASA, James was the Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada where his team of three worked with 12 committees to produce 50-60 events per annum across Canada, organized 100+ committee meetings, and increase member numbers over his 7-year tenue from 66 to 164 corporate entities.

James currently sits on the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (CIFSC), which categorizes mutual funds and alternative mutual funds (aka liquid alternatives) for the retail space in Canada. He is also called upon by membership and industry groups to speak to risk ratings and portfolio placement of all types of alternative investments.

James also has experience in research and writing for the CAIA Association (holding the designation since 2006) as well as serving on CAIA’s exam council and as a well as other duties. He had roles in institutional sales and FoHF structuring in Seoul, South Korea, as a Product Manager at ICICI Wealth Management, and as an Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities. James graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BBA (Finance).

David Sheng

Managing Director – Portfolio Advisory

Aksia

David is a Managing Director on the Portfolio Advisory team and has over 18 years of experience in alternative investments. He is responsible for alternative investment programs in the Americas, including portfolio management and construction, as well as manager evaluation. David leads alternatives coverage for Aksia’s institutional Canadian clients.

Prior to joining Aksia in 2018, David was a Senior Manager Research Analyst at Man FRM focused on sourcing and evaluating alternatives strategies, as well as active portfolio management. Prior to Man FRM, David was a Vice President within the Institutional Sales and Trading business at HSBC, and before that he worked at Morgan Stanley, where he covered institutional clients across the hedge fund, asset management, and sovereign wealth fund universe, with a focus on fixed income and foreign exchange.

David graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Economics and holds an MBA from Columbia University. David was recognized as a 2023 Knowledge Broker by Chief Investment Officer and Institutional Investor’s 2024 Consultant of the Year.

Craig Machel

Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

Craig empowers his clients to think differently about investing in order to ensure a positive impact in his clients’ financial circumstances. He works beyond traditional portfolio management in the equity and bond markets alone to include conservative and predictable alternative assets, offering more effective diversification and a benchmark that offers protection and peace of mind regardless of market conditions. Craig is a frequent commentator on alternative asset allocations for various media outlets, and a panelist and speaker at industry events.

Mackenzie Shaw

Principal, Research and Analytics

Westcourt Capital

As Principal, Research and Analytics, Mackenzie works closely with the Research & Analytics team in the sourcing, evaluation, due diligence and on-going monitoring of Westcourt’s recommended private investments. Prior to joining Westcourt, Mackenzie was the Controller at a digital asset trading platform where she was key in building the platform’s accounting team and in developing policies and procedures to meet industry standards and regulatory compliance. Mackenzie’s past experience also includes working at a national accounting, tax and business consulting firm, in the firm’s Toronto public companies accounting practice. At this firm, Mackenzie gained experience in engagement planning, risk assessment, financial analysis, execution, and presentation, providing high-quality services to both regulated private and public clients. Mackenzie earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree with a Specialty in Accounting from McMaster University and obtained her Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) designation.

Nima Sanajian

Managing Director, Investments

Wealthsimple

Nima Sanajian, with 14+ years of investment experience, is Managing Director of Investments at Wealthsimple. He leads asset allocation, portfolio construction, and manager selection/analysis for Wealthsimple. Prior to Wealthsimple, Nima spent about 7 years at CPP Investments focusing on the fund’s strategic asset allocation and portfolio construction as well as designing/managing systematic macro strategies. Prior to that, he was a senior quantitative analyst at RBC. Nima holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto

Giovanni Fracchia

Executive Director

LGT Capital Partners

Giovanni Fracchia (Italian) is an Executive Director at LGT Capital Partners in New York. He focuses on origination, due diligence, execution and monitoring of secondary investments.

Prior to joining the firm in 2014, he was an investment analyst with Synergo, a private equity firm in Milan, where he focused on sourcing, carrying out due diligence on and monitoring private equity investments in Italy. Before that, Mr. Fracchia was ana nalyst with Crédit Agricole Private Equity in Paris and Maybrook Saint James, a private equity firm in London.

He holds an MA in Management from the ESCP EUROPE Business School and a BA in Business and Management from University of Turin. He is fluent in English, Italian and French.

Robb Nelson

Chief Executive Officer

Farm Lending Canada

With more than 35 years of successful business and entrepreneurial experience, including 25 years in the Private Lending space specializing in agriculture, residential development, and residential homes, Robb is a practicing mortgage professional, co-founder, and co-owner of AgriRoots Capital Management Inc., now operating as Farm Lending Canada – Canada’s first National Alternative Lender, specializing in the agricultural sector.

In addition, he is the founding Principal, Broker of Record, and CEO of the National Mortgage brokerage FamilyLending.ca Inc. – a mortgage brokerage providing residential, commercial, and agricultural mortgages – founded in 2001. A founding member with the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, Robb has grown a reputation for being a leading expert in agricultural lending, finance, investment, and mortgages. He offers deep insight and expertise to agricultural borrowers and investors alike, with the objective of keeping farming families on family farms across Canada.

A goal-driven, collaborative, and insightful professional, Robb focuses on identifying opportunities, building financial solutions, and providing high-quality client service.

John Butler

Managing Director

Cohen & Company

John Butler is Managing Director and Head of Cohen & Company’s U.S. Insurance Asset Management Platform and Global ILS Program. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Butler worked for Twelve Capital, a European asset manager specializing in investment in the insurance sector where he served in various senior roles including Managing Partner & Head of Investment Management. In this role, he oversaw investments principally in fixed income, insurance linked securities and equity.

Prior to this, Mr. Butler worked as Senior Underwriter managing the International Catastrophe and Terrorism reinsurance portfolios of Hannover Re Bermuda, where he was responsible for managing the company’s position as a lead reinsurer particularly in European and Asia-Pacific markets. Prior to this, Mr. Butler spent seven years with the White Mountains Insurance Group, both in Ireland and Bermuda, managing the underwriting of their international non-marine treaty portfolio. Earlier in his career, he worked for entities in the London reinsurance market, underwriting a broad range of business lines. Mr. Butler has served on a variety of advisory boards and non-executive leadership positions in the insurance industry.

Mr. Butler holds an honors degree in Law from the University of London.  He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of the UK, a member of the Insurance Institute of Ireland, is qualified as a Chartered Insurer and is appointed a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers, and a Freeman of the City of London.

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).

John Davitsky

Co-Founder

Golden Hawk Financial & Goldenhawk Real Estate Advisors

John is Co-Founder of Golden Hawk Financial (GHF) & Goldenhawk Real Estate Advisors (GREA) based in Toronto.  The companies help clients by connecting interesting ideas to interesting capital and vice versa. GHF focuses on raising capital for alternative investments in AI, Digital Assets, Battery Technologies, Longevity, Business Aircraft Acquisition as well as Pre-IPO private company shares while GREA focuses on Multi-Family Real Estate Development in Toronto.

John started his career as a Financial Advisor at Caldwell Securities in Toronto in 2009. In this role he was responsible for managing investments for families, corporations and other high net-worth individuals. He progressed through the organization gaining experience in alternative investments, brokering private equity deals, placing shares in late stage pre-IPO companies and investing in digital assets.  In recent years John moved into trading, becoming Head Trader, and finally Vice President, where, as a high touch trader he traded $1B-$1.5B daily for the firm’s largest client.

In  2022, he joined Echelon Wealth Partners, where he worked with their Electronic Trading group to help lead a digital asset project with Fidelity Clearing Canada.  This project developed a concept to hold digital assets for clients on Fidelity’s balance sheet in a traditional finance model. 

Golden Hawk Financial & Goldenhawk Real Estate Advisors were born out of a vision to create exciting and unique opportunities for its clients in the alternative investment & real estate development space.

David Burbach

Partner, CCO

YTM Capital Asset Management

David is a Partner of YTM Capital, a manager based in Oakville that provides better fixed income solutions. He is co-portfolio manager of YTM Capital Mortgage Income Fund, arguably the most defensive mortgage fund in Canada.

During the first 17 years of David’s career he practiced corporate and securities law.  Just before he joined YTM Capital 11 years ago, he led the Legal Department at Mackenzie Investments.

David holds a Honours Business Degree from the Ivey Business School, an LL.B from the University of Toronto, and he is an CAIA Charterholder.

Scott Dickenson

Principal

Northwood Family Office

Scott is a Principal in the family office advisory group at Northwood. In this role, he acts as a trusted advisor to a number of Northwood’s client families in Ontario and British Columbia on their integrated financial affairs.

In addition to his work with Northwood’s client families, Scott co-chairs Northwood’s Business Development and Marketing Committees alongside his colleague Brad Jesson. Scott writes frequently on the Northwood Perspective Blog, helped create the Northwood Quarterly Reading List, and has hosted several episodes of the Wealth of Wisdom podcast series.

Beyond his duties at Northwood, Scott is a guest lecturer at the Rotman School of Management. He is also the Vice Chair of CFA Society Toronto’s Private Wealth Management Committee, and on the Steering Committee of the Forum on Multi-Generational Family Wealth and Leadership.

Outside of work, Scott and his wife Ruth are the proud parents of their son Dean. Scott is also an avid traveler (and self-published writer), who has travelled to over 65 countries on five different continents.

Prior to joining Northwood, Scott worked at RBC Capital Markets in Equity Research and Fixed Income Sales and Trading.

Peter Pulkkinen

Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Private Credit, Lombard Odier Investment Managers

Lombard Odier Asset Management (USA) Corp

Peter Pulkkinen joined LOIM in February 2021. Before joining LOIM, Peter was Portfolio Manager for the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund. Peter has over 20 years of relevant industry experience having held senior roles at leading institutions with direct responsibility for sustainable private debt investments across renewable energy, infrastructure and project and asset backed finance at firms including BNP Paribas, Silverpeak, UBS AG, and Deutsche Bank AG. Peter began his career in private credit at Lehman Brothers. Peter earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire (1992) and a Masters in International Affairs from The Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, with a concentration in International Finance/Economics (2004).

Eugene Dimitriou

Founding Partner, Origination

Farsight Partners

A veteran finance professional with over 28 years experience across consulting, asset management and investment banking, Eugene Dimitriou focuses on the nexus of life insurer capital management, actuarial matters and investments. Eugene achieved his Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries, holds an MBA in Finance from New York University, and a Bachelors in Mathematics and Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo.

His firm, Farsight Partners is a life and insurance receivables specialist investment manager that invests in the many opportunities available within the global life insurance space, targeting actuarial risks such as mortality/longevity, accident and health and policy lapsation. Unlike peer funds, traditional US Life Settlements and catastrophe bonds fall out of scope. The strategy has provided long-term, stable and predictable cash-flow generating returns over time with very low correlation to other asset classes.

Ben Keen

Partner

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Ben’s practice encompasses all aspects of securities and corporate law, with a focus on public and private financings, investment fund formation and distribution, investment management, private equity and regulatory compliance.

He advises underwriters and public and private issuers, as well as investment fund managers, portfolio managers and investment dealers in connection with registration matters and the establishment, operation and administration of publicly offered and privately placed investment funds and private equity products. These include pooled funds, hedge funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds, other alternative investment vehicles and the placement of securities in Canada of foreign issuers.

He also advises Canadian and international private equity firms and private equity investors in connection with structuring, regulatory requirements and advising on the terms of offerings.

Ben also advises on domestic and cross-border M&A.

Ida Khajadourian

Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

For over 20 years, Ida has worked closely with Institutions, Family Offices, wealthy entrepreneurs, and high net worth families building trusted relationships and delivering a high level of holistic Wealth Management services.

Ida’s beliefs include the importance of estate planning, tax minimization, capital preservation and evolutionary portfolio construction using alternative strategies to achieve consistent absolute returns with a risk reward-oriented approach.

Ida obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto with specialization in Finance and major in Economics. Ida is a multi award winning Portfolio Manager and obtained her Chartered Alternative Investment Advisor (CAIA®) designation in 2005.

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.

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.

Kent Willmore

Founding Partner & President

AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada

Kent is a highly experienced leader in the agriculture industry with over 30 years of expertise. As the President and Founder of AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada Inc., he has established a successful farmland asset management firm in Chatham, Ontario. In 2018, Kent launched the AGinvest Farmland One Fund, providing investors unique access to Ontario’s fertile farmland. Under his leadership, AGinvest has established three more successful funds that have delivered exceptional results for investors and farm families. AGinvest is committed to creating mutually beneficial opportunities for investors and farm families while supporting food security and promoting sustainable farming practices. Kent holds a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Environmental Science from the University of Waterloo, where he was recognized as an all-Canadian academic athlete.

Kent is a member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, demonstrating his commitment to advancing the industry.

Greg Kalil

Managing Partner

Glengarry Farm Finance

Greg Kalil is the founder and Managing Partner of Stormont Partners, a Toronto based merchant bank with a strong focus on emerging alternatives in real assets.

One of Stormont’s first investments is Glengarry Farm Finance, an alternative lending business focused on providing transitional funding to Canadian farmers who are temporarily unable to access the mainstream banking system.  Greg serves as Glengarry’s CEO, and is a lead investor in the Glengarry Funding LP, an open-ended partnership that provides the capital for Glengarry’s lending activities.

Greg has over 30 years of experience in real estate, infrastructure and renewable power investment and investment banking.  Before founding Stormont, Greg spent 12 years as a Managing Partner at Brookfield Financial, the investment banking arm of Brookfield Asset Management. As head of their Canadian platform and a member of the global management committee, Greg created and led the firm’s Structured Transactions, Public Sector Advisory and Healthcare Real Estate practices.

Prior to Brookfield, Greg co-founded Cornerstone Commercial Realty, which was ultimately acquired by TD Securities where Greg subsequently worked in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group.

In the past, Greg has served on the boards of the Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario, Toronto Community Housing (Chair of Investment and Development Committees), Holy Trinity School, and Trellis Housing Initiatives (Chair), a non-for-profit developer of affordable housing for underhoused single parents.

Greg presently sits on the boards of the Innis College Expansion Capital Campaign and Noozhoo Nokiiyan Limited Partnership (Chair of Investment Committee), the economic development arm of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and Voyageur Services, a construction services company focused on the nuclear power sector in Ontario.

Aleks Karamarkovic

Vice President, Corporate Development

Graywood Developments

As the Vice President of Corporate Development at Graywood Developments, Aleks lead the company’s real estate private equity fundraising program and the origination of real estate partnership opportunities. With more than 12 years of experience in the real estate sector, he has a proven track record of raising capital, sourcing deals, and managing investor relations for a diverse portfolio of projects.

Aleks’ core competencies include financial accounting, audit and tax, financial reporting, and financial modeling, which he developed as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and a CFA Institute Charterholder (CFA). He also have a strong background in real estate development, fundraising and investments, having been involved in over $500 million in equity fundraising and multiple transactions involving land acquisition, dispositions, joint venture formation, and project financing. His mission is to create value for Graywood and its partners by delivering innovative and sustainable real estate solutions that meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Jordan Villarreal

Manager, Private Capital Research North America and LatAm

Preqin

Jordan manages the Canadian and Latin American research teams for Preqin across its Chicago and New York offices. 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.

Pascal St-Jean

President & CEO

3iQ

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.

Charlie Morris

Co-founder and Managing Partner

CMCC Global

Charlie is the co-founder of CMCC Global. CMCC Global was founded in 2016 and is one of Asia’s first venture capital companies focused solely on blockchain investments. The company now has offices in both Asia and North America and offers three different investment products: Digital Asset Fund (tokens), SyzCrest (fund of quant funds) and Titan Fund (equity VC).

Charlie was previously the CIO at a blockchain VC firm as well as a management consultant in London and software engineer in Hong Kong. He is an expert Blockchain Adviser for Chinese investment company, CLSA and was an Ethereum ICO investor in 2014. Charlie holds a PPE degree from Oxford 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.