CAASA Annual Conference 2020

Christophe L’Ahelec

CFA

Christophe L’Ahelec is an investment professional with twenty years of global experience in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Canada.

Christophe was most recently a Senior Principal in the Capital Markets (CM) department, at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board where he was responsible for the top-down management of the external managers portfolio and was part of the investment committee allocating to hedge fund, private credit and long only equity managers. In addition to these responsibilities in the External Managers Group, he was also responsible for risk reporting and a member of the Capital Markets Risk Forum that allocated risk and monitored CM risk exposures across CM business lines. During his tenure at OTPP, he originated, conducted due-diligence, and on-boarded systematic alpha managers in the equity and futures space, along with leading the group’s work in the alternative risk premia space.

Prior to that Christophe was a quantitative analyst and assistant portfolio manager at Mignon Genève SA/Alpstar Asset Management, in Switzerland, where he took part in the creation and portfolio management of a European systematic market neutral fund.

He spent the first two years of his career working for BNP Paribas in Hong Kong where he provided real-time quantitative support to the fixed-income trading desk.

Christophe is a graduate engineer in Finance and Applied Mathematics from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Informatique et de Mathématiques Appliquées de Grenoble, France and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. Christophe has been invited to speak globally on advanced portfolio and risk management topics and has published papers on topics regarding portfolio construction and managed futures.

Mohamed Farid

Principal Portfolio Manager – Managing the Absolute Return Portfolio, World Bank Pension Fund

Mohamed Farid is a Principal Portfolio Manager, managing $2.7 billion portfolio of the absolute return strategies at the World Bank Pension Fund in Washington D.C. He has extensive experience investing directly in hedge funds and he is an active member of the Investment Committee of the Pension Plan of the World Bank.

Prior to joining the World Bank Pension Plan in 2001, Mohamed has worked for Deloitte & Touche and KPMG financial consulting groups. Mohamed started his career in commercial banking and worked in several positions in Treasury and Trade finance functions. He holds a Master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University in International economics and political science as well as Master’s degree in Banking and Finance from Finafrica foundation in Milan, Italy.

Dave Finstad

CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

Dave Finstad is Senior Portfolio Manager, Partnership Portfolio within BCI’s Public Markets department, where he the leads the management of the firm’s external absolute return and long-only equity fund investments.

Mr. Finstad has over 25 years of investment industry experience. Previously, he built and led the external management team at the New York office of OMERS, a Canadian pension fund based in Toronto. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at AIMCo in Edmonton, Alberta in a similar position. He also worked for Frank Russell Canada (now Russell Investments) and for the Workers’ Compensation Board – Alberta.

Mr. Finstad has spoken at numerous industry conferences and has written a number of articles across a range of investment topics including manager selection and investment culture. He has a M.Sc. in Finance from the London School of Economics and is a CFA charterholder.  Dave is also an avid ice hockey fan.

Kalina Berova

CFA

Visiting Researcher, Bodhi Research Group

Ms. Kalina Berova has over 15 years of investment and risk management industry experience. Currently she is Visiting Researcher at Bodhi Research Group.

Most recently, Ms. Berova was part of the External Relationships Team at the New York office of OMERS, a Canadian pension fund, where she gained experience in a broad range of traditional and niche hedge fund strategies, custom alternative investment solutions, and private equity funds & co-investments.

James Burron

CAIA

President, Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies & Assets

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).

Tamara Greeman

Lead Counsel, Corporate Finance, World Bank Pension Plan

Tamara Greeman is Lead Counsel, Corporate Finance (LEGFI) in the Legal Department of the World Bank in Washington DC. She heads legal technical assistance to central banks and public sector asset managers participating in the World Bank Treasury’s Reserve Management and Advisory Partnership and is a lead counsel for the World Bank Pension Plan investments in range of asset classes from fixed income and public equities to alternatives, including hedge funds. She is a member of the Plan’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining the World Bank in 2004, Tamara practiced as a New York attorney in the law firm of Foley Hoag and before that opened and managed Ernst & Young Legal Services in Bratislava. She started her career at SJ Berwin solicitors in London. In private sector Tamara advised multinational corporations and financial institutions and held a number of non-executive Director and Supervisory Board positions in investment and corporate firms.

Tamara holds Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School, focused on finance and securities, and is member of New York and Slovak Bar Associations.

Owais Qureshi

CFA

Director & Senior Portfolio Manager, Canada Post Corporation Pension Fund

Owais Qureshi is a Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for the Canada Post Corporation Pension Fund. He manages and trades Canadian and a US enhanced equity index pordolios with a combined AUM of $3 billion. He is a CFA charter holder and holds a Master of Finance degree from the Rotman School of Management. Prior to this he worked as a Portfolio Manager for TD Asset Management, where he was responsible for the daily management of approximately $10 billion of discretionary Structured Investment Portfolios spread over 19,000 high net worth accounts which includes all aspects of portfolio modeling and analysis, trading and risk management. Owais is an active member of the Toronto CFA Society and S&P Dow Jones Indices Canadian Index Advisory Panel.

Brandon Gill New

CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager – Capital Markets Group, OPTrust

Brandon Gill New is a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Capital Markets Group at OPTrust.  In her role, she provides strategic direction and oversight over a number of strategies within the plan’s portfolio of C$6B externally-managed public-markets funds.

Prior to joining OPTrust in early 2018, Brandon was a Director at BMO Capital Partners, a proprietary private debt and equity fund at Bank of Montreal.  She also spent a decade at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.  There, she served as a Portfolio Manager in the Alternative Investments Division managing a portfolio of global hedge funds and esoteric investment funds, and as an Assistant Portfolio Manager in the Public Equities Division covering Emerging Markets equities.

Brandon holds an MBA from London Business School and a B.A. in International Economics from Middlebury College in Vermont.  She is also a CFA Charterholder.

Nicholas Dang

CFA, FRM, CAIA

Manager – Absolute Return, CN Investment Division

Nicolas is Manager of the Absolute Return Program at Canadian National Railway Pension Fund in Montreal, Canada. He was named by Chief Investment Officer (aiCIO) as top 25 NextGen CIO list in 2018 and one of the 2015 top Forty Under Forty. He previously worked at several alternative funds in the capacity of quant analyst and derivatives trader. Outside the realm of finance, he is co-founder of Junto Montreal Society for Useful Knowledge, a non-profit organization with the mission to compound its members intellectual capital.

Kathy Schmidlkofer

President & CEO, University of Minnesota Foundation

Kathy Schmidlkofer has been president and CEO of the University of Minnesota Foundation since March 2014. The Foundation is dedicated to raising and managing private gifts from individuals and organizations and to actively managing endowment assets and real estate holdings to build greatness at the University of Minnesota. Under Schmidlkofer’s leadership, the Foundation has achieved record levels of fundraising as part of Driven, the University’s $4 billion system-wide campaign.

Before joining the Foundation, Schmidlkofer was executive vice president and a founding leader of GREATER MSP, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to growing the economy of the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Prior to that, she held a variety of increasingly responsible finance roles over a 25-year career at General Mills.

Schmidlkofer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later completed her Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Schmidlkofer serves on the board of the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Community Foundations, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, and is a member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable.

Matthew Smagacz

CFA, FRM

Senior Investment Officer, Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office

Matthew Smagacz, CFA, FRM is the Senior Investment Officer of the Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office where he is integral in managing the $20 billion sovereign wealth portfolio. He has eighteen years of buy-side experience, specializing in alternatives and fixed income. He holds a BSBA in Finance from Washington University in Saint Louis and is a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals, the CFA Society of Colorado and the CFA Institute.

Ranjan Bhaduri

PhD, CAIA, CFA

President & CEO, Bodhi Research Group

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

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

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

Caroline Chow

CNE

Vice President, CAASA & Founder, Happy Health

Caroline is Vice President and co-founder of the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies & Assets (CAASA). She works closely with members to establish and grow the Association’s initiatives both within Canada and abroad. She serves a broad range of alternatives such as liquid alts, private lending, real estate and digital assets.

Previously, she spent 5 years at AIMA Canada and during this time, corporate membership, events and committee engagement were doubled.

Caroline is also a certified Culinary Nutrition Expert (CNE) and Les Mills RPM instructor. When she is not contributing to the Canadian Alternatives industry, she provides education, consulting and workshops through her brand, Happy Health.

She is an Honours graduate of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition as well as the University of Waterloo, holds a degree in Honours Economics with a Finance Specialization and has completed the Canadian Securities Course (CSC).

Michael Bernstein

CFA, ICD.D

President, Juno Advisors Ltd.

Michael is the president of Juno Advisors Ltd., his consulting company which focuses on strategic advisory and investment opportunities.  Over the last year, he has worked with one of Canada’s largest pension funds, an international sovereign wealth fund, and a provincial government.  He recently served as Special Advisor to Waterfront Toronto on its smart city initiative with Sidewalk Labs, the Google sister company.  Michael is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone Infrastructure Corporation. He was responsible for the company’s overall management of power infrastructure and utilities businesses in Canada and internationally.

As an executive with extensive experience in the Canadian power, infrastructure and utilities sector, Michael was previously the President of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets Canada Ltd. and a Senior Managing Director of Macquarie Group Limited. Prior to this, Michael served as the Senior Managing Director of Infrastructure and Utilities Advisory for Macquarie Capital Markets Canada, as well as a senior executive with CIBC World Markets’ Power & Utilities investment banking group. Michael has been involved in a wide range of IPOS, private and public debt and equity financings, M&A and significant P3 projects such as the $4.25 billion Bruce Power refurbishment, the development of the A-25 bridge in Quebec and the completion of the Sea-to-Sky highway project. At Capstone, Michael helped triple the size of its power portfolio to over 500 MW, primarily through acquiring and developing renewable projects in Canada.

Currently, Michael is the chair of CircuitMeter Inc., an early stage sub-metering and data analytics company, a director of BiomeRenewable, and a director of the Independent Electricity System Operator of Ontario.  Until January 2019, he was the Chairman of the Association of Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO). He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and works with both CDL and MARS to help start-ups.  From 2013 to 2017, Michael was a director of Build Toronto, the real estate development arm of the City of Toronto.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Ivey Business School at Western University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and ICD.D designations.

Hashmat Khan

PhD

Professor & Chair – Economics Department, Carleton University

Hashmat Khan is Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at Carleton University. He received his B.A. (Honours) in Economics from Delhi University, an M.A. from the Delhi School of Economics, and a PhD in Economics from the University of British Columbia in 1999.  Hashmat started his career as a Research Analyst at the Bank of Canada and in 2002 joined the Bank of England as a Senior Economist. In 2005, Hashmat returned to Canada and joined the Economics Department at Carleton University. He has held visiting positions at the University of California, Berkeley, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the Vancouver School of Economics. His main research interests include models of aggregate fluctuations, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models, investment dynamics, inflation dynamics, productivity dynamics, housing markets, and environmental macroeconomics. He has published in many leading peer-reviewed general interest and leading field journals. He is the Co-Director of the Centre for Monetary and Financial Economics at Carleton and currently a Guest Editor for the Canadian Journal of Economics on COVID-19 related research.

Cara Nakamura

Managing Director, Financial Assets Division of the Kamehameha Schools

Cara Nakamura serves as a Managing Director of the Financial Assets Division of the Kamehameha Schools, which represents a $12 billion globally diversified endowment. Prior to joining Kamehameha in 2016, Cara spent over a decade investing for Princeton University (the Princeton University Investment Company), focusing largely on the construction and growth of the endowment’s $6 billion+ private equity/venture capital porfolio. Earlier professional roles included economic research at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a Fulbright Scholarship in Kyoto, Japan. Born and raised on Oahu, Hawaii, Cara earned an A.B. with honors in Economics and Certificates in both East Asian Studies and Japanese Language from Princeton University, and an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Cara, her husband, and two children reside in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Kirk Sims

CFA

Head – Emerging Manager Program, Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Kirk Sims heads TRS’ Emerging Manager Program. Since being established in 2005, TRS has committed $3.7 billion to one of the largest programs of its kind. An additional $2 billion has been invested directly with EM Program graduates. Each graduate was selected as a result of consistent outperformance among a group of more than 160 EM managers. Recognizing the Program’s success, in early 2019, TRS rolled out a plan to invest another $3 billion over the next three to five years.

Sims joined the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on March 1, 2019. Before joining Texas Teachers, he was a Senior Investment Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Sims had oversight and management responsibility of TRS’s Emerging Manager Program, a $750 million evergreen pool of capital designed to identify and invest in emerging investment managers across all asset classes.

Prior, Sims worked at Prudential Retirement where he was responsible for a manager of manager’s retirement platform as well as an open architecture investment platform. He also has a background in asset management and has held various positions with both large and small asset managers.

Sims is a CFA charter holder and holds a Masters in Business Administra0on from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University in Washington, DC.

Puneet Kohli

CFA

AVP – Fixed Income & Derivatives, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

Puneet Kohli is an Assistant Vice President at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) in the Equities Derivatives & Collateral Management division.  At HOOPP, Mr. Kohli is responsible for the development of investment programs to maximize the Plan’s return-to-risk profile. His focus is on volatility and alternative strategies within capital markets.

Prior to HOOPP, Mr. Kohli was a Portfolio Manager with the National Bank of Canada, Alternative Investments. Over eight years, he managed two products – Lotus (a volatility arbitrage fund) and Red Stone (a tail-risk fund).

From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Kohli was the VP of Global Equity Derivatives at the Bank of Montreal, Nesbitt Burns (BMONB) where he was responsible for the volatility proprietary trading and advised on the use of volatility and credit based products at BMONB.

From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Kohli was at the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board where he had many roles including Research and Economics, Quantitative Analysis and Volatility Portfolio Management.  Mr. Kohli managed four market neutral accounts that were volatility and correlation based.

Mr. Kohli earned his Bachelor’s of Science, specializing in Mathematics, from the University of Toronto. Mr. Kohli also holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and has achieved his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Mee Warren

CFA, CAIA

Visiting Researcher, Bodhi Research Group

Mee Warren is a Visiting Researcher at Bodhi Research Group. Her duties include portfolio diagnostics, machine learning applications, due diligence, and risk management.

Mee Warren is a seasoned investment professional. She recently completed a non-compete clause with Two Sigma Investments while running in the NYC marathon, competing in bridge and pool tournaments, and traveling to more than 25 countries. During this time, she also organized the FWA 2018 International Business Conference in Tokyo and the FWA 2019 International Business Conference in Mumbai and New Delhi, India.

Mee Warren was a Global Equity Region Manager at Two Sigma Investments, LP., an investment management firm with a scientific approach towards investments. During her fifteen years at the firm, the firm grew from under $100 million to over $55 billion in AUM. She leveraged her expertise in investments, market structure, and trading to develop new strategies, increase capacity, and enhance returns. In her previous role, she managed the US & Americas Equities Trading desk. In addition to covering the Americas, she also traded European and Asia regions equities, hard & soft commodity futures, bonds, currencies, interest rate swaps, and derivatives. Her first role at the firm, and as the firm’s 30th hire, she worked directly with the Comptroller and CEO to develop and deliver financial reports and corporate functions.

In 2015, Mee received two industry awards: the “Women in Finance Outstanding Contributions” award from Markets Media and the “Women on Wall Street Trailblazer” award from Traders Magazine. Mee graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management with majors in Finance, International Business, and Risk Management and minors in Latin, Chinese, and East Asian Studies. She also completed the distinguished University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP). Mee is a member of the National Organization of Investment Professionals (NOIP), CFA Society of New York, 100 Women in Finance, and Women in ETFs. She is also on the Board of the Greater New York Bridge Association. Mee Warren earned ACBL Life Master status in May 2020.

Hazlitt Gill

SVP & Senior Research Director – Global Manager Research, Wells Fargo Investment Institute

Hazlitt Gill is a senior research director for Global Manager Research (GMR), adivision of Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The GMR team selects and overseesthe third-party money managers used throughout Wells Fargo’s brokerage, privatebanking, family wealth, and retirement businesses.

In his role, Mr. Gill oversees the investment manager research for alternative investments. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Mr. Gill was the chief investmentofficer for RLJ Select Investments LLC. He has more than 20 years of experience in the financial servicesindustry.

Mr. Gill earned both a Masters of Science in Operations Research and Statistics and a Bachelors of Science inMechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and holds Series 7, Series 63, and Series 3Exemption securities registrations with FINRA. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Darryl Orom

CIM

Head – Absolute Return Investments, Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF)

Akanksha Thakur

Project Coordinator – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Hub, Simon Fraser University (SFU)

Akanksha Thakur is the Project Coordinator for the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Hub at Simon Fraser University (SFU)’s Work Integrated Learning division where she has been engaged in programming that facilitates inclusivity and belonging for students on campus. She has helped curate inclusive curriculum for co-curricular courses at both, SFU and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF). She is a Youth Ambassador for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and is the most recent recipient of the John Gibbard Memorial Award from the United Nations Association of Canada. Her work around the topic of intercultural communication led her to further study topics of equity, diversity, racism, marginalization and inclusion. Currently, Akanksha pursuing her MEd in Equity Studies in Education.

Shaun Martinak

Senior Portfolio Manager – Partnership Portfolio, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

Mr. Martinak has over 14 years investment industry experience. Before joining BCI he served as Senior Principal, Alternative Investments at Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan. Prior to that he worked at D.E. Shaw & Co., a multi-strategy hedge fund based in New York, and for Mercer Consulting. Mr. Martinak holds a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics and a B.A. in Mathematics and English Literature from Columbia University, and an M.B.A from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Brian Broadway

President, Gryphon Capital Management

Mr. Broadway joined Gryphon in 2017 as the President.  Mr. Broadway’s duties include overseeing all of the daily operations of the family office as well providing strategic insight and direction in the areas of philanthropy and investment management for this multi-generation single family office.  Mr. Broadway received his Bachelor of Science degree, with an emphasis in Accounting, from the University of Virginia in 1991 and an M.B.A., with an emphasis in Finance, from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in 1999.

From August 1991 through July 1995, Mr. Broadway worked in the assurance practice at Coopers & Lybrand, LLC, as a member of the Financial Services Team and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Virginia in 2004.  From August 1995 through April 2014 Mr. Broadway was employed by Chesapeake Capital Corporation, an industry leading CTA, was a Principal, held various senior leadership positions and was the President of the family office of its’ founder.  From 2014 until earlier this year he was the COO and Principal of Aspen Partners, Ltd, a CTA based in Richmond Virginia.

Mr. Broadway, and his wife, Janet, live in Manakin-Sabot, just outside of Richmond.  Both he and his wife are involved in their church and in his spare time Mr. Broadway enjoys wing shooting, cycling, and international travel.

Robin Lundgren

PhD

Quantitative Analyst, The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4)

Dr. Robin Lundgren is a Quantitative Analyst working at the The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4). Robin has been working at AP4 for almost one year where he is responsible for the analytical tools as well as the quantitative models for the funds financial forecasting.

Prior to AP4 Robin has been responsible for developing and designing a risk system used by mutual funds. In that system Robin was responsible for all market and liquidity models in the system. He has also implementing support for fund regulations such as UCITS IV, AIFMD to make fund companies compliant.

Robin defended his PhD thesis in applied mathematics with title “Convergence of Option Rewards” in 2010.

Yan Kvitko

CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager – External Portfolio Management, CPP Investments

Yan Kvitko is a Senior Portfolio Manager with CPP Investments’ External Portfolio Management (EPM) team. He is responsible for the Emerging Manager program globally which pursues investments in early stage hedge fund managers. Prior to joining CPP, he worked at New Holland Capital, where he was a Senior Portfolio Manager responsible for investment research and portfolio management with a focus on quantitative strategies. Yan began his career at Ziff Brothers Investments.

Yan holds a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University and an MA in piano performance from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He is a CFA charterholder.

Confidy Kong

Creative Lead, Bodhi Research Group

Confidy Kong is the Creative Lead at Bodhi Research Group. Focused on the company’s branding and marketing, Ms. Kong brings an element of refinement, sophistication and strategy to Bodhi Research Group that runs deeper than digital. From ideation to execution, Ms. Kong conducts the design, strategy, and operations of Bodhi Research Group’s educational arm involving: seminars, webinars, and conferences. Ms. Kong excels in client relationships by curating exceptional experiences with her in-depth knowledge and previous network in the arts, entertainment, and culinary and wines sectors.

Education and experience ranging from creative direction, social art direction, brand identity, digital marketing, market research, and strategy development allows for the seemingly opposing worlds of “business and arts” to blend together seamlessly. Her penchant for inventiveness and an acute eye for accuracy delivers Bodhi Research Group a perspective both exciting and enlightening.

Beginning her career at Marques d’Elegance, an exotic automobile and luxury lifestyle events company, she was the C-Suite Executive Assistant eventually working towards Marketing Assistant and later, Marketing Manager. During her tenure, she developed an expertise and etiquette serving the clientele of primarily single family offices.

Ms. Kong’s artistic involvement within the fashion industry such as; direction, photography, styling, and copywriting were issued in multitudes of publications including Elléments Magazine, HUF Magazine, Destinations of The World, WEST, Forum Magazine, The Invidiata Collection and more. This recognition spearheaded her career in creative direction and digital marketing at companies such as Perk Naturals, U-Feast, and INK Entertainment and with offers from Huawei and ASTOUND.

After returning from living abroad in Austria, she received her Bachelor of Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University for Organizational Leadership and Psychology. Ms. Kong furthered her education in research by recently completing certifications in UX Design and Data Analytics at BrainStation. Ms. Kong also earned a Diploma in Business Marketing at Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology; she received a number of awards from provincial and national Marketing Case Competitions, and was on the Dean’s Honour List. Aside from the technical skill-set, Ms. Kong is expanding her interests in culinary and wine culture being currently enrolled in the Court of Master Sommelier.

Brian Gelfand

Previously Chief Commercial Officer – Post Trade Services, TMX Group

Brian Gelfand has 20 years of senior leadership experience in exchange-traded derivatives and securities. Brian served as Special Advisor to the Secretary General of IOSCO before joining the Montréal Exchange, where he occupied senior leadership roles in business development, market operations and microstructure, corporate relations, and ultimately market regulation, surveillance and enforcement. Most recently Brian was Chief Commercial Officer for Post Trade Services at the TMX Group, responsible for integrated business development, relationship management and product and service development for both the central securities depository (CDS) and the derivatives central counterparty (CDCC).

In his spare time Brian enjoys playing jazz piano, cycling, skiing, sailing and scuba diving. He also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA and the IRCM (Montréal Clinical Research Institute).

Brian is a member of the Bars of Quebec, New York and Massachusetts, and holds B.A., B.C.L. and LL.B degrees from McGill University and an M.A. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University (SAIS).

Mark K. Hannoush

CPA, (CA), CFA

Managing Director – Due Diligence & Advisory, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP)

As a Managing Director in the Finance department, Mark Hannoush leads a team that specializes in conducting due diligence at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in Toronto, Canada.  His role is to ensure that operational risk management is assessed and mitigated, as well as to provide direct support and assistance with deal implementation for the Plan’s External Manager Program which includes a variety of investment products from Hedge Funds to Private Equity Funds, Managed Accounts and Managed Account Platforms.  Mark also manages the Business Investigative Due Diligence process in support of the Investment Division.  The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has been a significant investor in the External Manager space for over two decades.  Mark was formerly in charge of the Finance function for the Equities group within the Finance department, where he managed the middle and back office functions and processes for all internally traded and externally managed public equity portfolios.  He began his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young LLP in Ottawa, Canada where he earned his CPA (CA) designation.  He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Elizabeth Burton

CAIA

Chief Investment Officer, Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii

Elizabeth Burton is the Chief Investment Officer of the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii (“HIERS”), where she oversees over $17 billion in pension fund assets. HIERS provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits for employees of the State of Hawai‘i (“State”) and its counties, including teachers, professors, police officers, firefighters, judiciary employees, judges and elected officials. The defined benefit plan has both contributory and noncontributory benefit structures.

Prior to joining HIERS, Ms. Burton served as Managing Director of the Quantitative Strategies Group at the Maryland State Retirement Agency. In this role, Ms. Burton was responsible for the $4.5B Absolute Return Portfolio and for risk management oversight of the $55B Plan. Ms. Burton joined the Agency in July 2016.

Previously, Ms. Burton owned William Street Advisory—a strategic advisory practice which she founded in 2013. Prior to that role, Ms. Burton was a Senior Economist and Expert Witness with Criterion Economics. Prior to that role, Ms. Burton was a Consultant at First Annapolis where she worked on M&A transactions and consulting the payments industry. Previous positions include: Co-Portfolio and Quantitative Risk Analyst with a South Africa-based fund of hedge funds, Trader (fixed income securities) for a risk management firm, and Portfolio Management Associate with a quant-focused fund of hedge funds.

Ms. Burton received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and French, cum laude, from Washington and Lee University, and her MBA in Finance, Econometrics & Statistics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is on the board of a private residential real estate investment trust and a Trustee of The Hill School, a private boarding school. She is also a CAIA charter holder. Ms. Burton was named one of Chief Investment Officer Magazine’s Top-40-Under-40 in June 2017. In 2019 Ms. Burton received the Industry Innovation Award for <$20B plan by Chief Investment Officer Magazine and was listed in the Power 100 in 2019.

Philippe Trahan

Director, Insurance-Linked Securities – Capital Markets Group, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP)

Philippe Trahan has been heading OTPP’s ILS group for thirteen years.  OTPP has been investing in ILS since 2005 across all life and P&C perils and through various asset types, from catastrophe bonds, derivative products, external managers, collateralized reinsurance and public and private equities.   Prior to joining OTPP, Philippe was a reinsurance broker for 5 years and also held various non-traditional actuarial positions.  Philippe is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors and an actuarial Fellow in Canada and in the US. He graduated from Laval University in Quebec City in 1994.

Bernard Van der Stichele

Portfolio Manager – ILS Investments, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

Bernard Van der Stichele is portfolio manager with the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), managing the Fund’s ILS investments.

Bernard has been involved in reinsurance and the ILS market since 2005 when he was involved in developing the ILS strategy at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). Following Ontario Teachers’, Bernard managed ILS investments for AQR Capital Management in the US and AlphaCat Management in Bermuda. Bernard has an MSc in Oceanography from the University of Miami.

Cédric Fontanille

Head of External Strategies – Cross Asset Solutions Team, Unigestion

Cédric Fontanille is Head of External Strategies within the Cross Asset Solutions Team. He joined Unigestion in March 2012. Cédric began his career in 2001 in the Quantitative and Risk Analysis team at Olympia Capital Management in Paris. Then, he became a Strategy Analyst focusing on European based Directional Trading and Relative Value Hedge Fund strategies in the London office. Later on, he was promoted to Deputy Head of Research and took over global research responsibilities for Directional trading and Quantitative trading strategies. In 2010, he became Head of Olympia’s US office in New York. Cédric holds a DEA in Economics & Financial Econometrics from the University of Paris II- Pantheon Sorbonne Assas. He also holds a Master in Applied Mathematics and Social Sciences from the University of Paris IX – Dauphine.

Jerry May

Senior Portfolio Manager, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS)

Jerry May is a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS). In his role, Jerry oversees $17 billion in cash investments for the plan’s cash and securities lending collateral. Jerry has oversight over the plans securities lending program and external agent and also manages the team of securities lending and cash traders for the $98 billion retirement fund.

Otto Miller

FRM

Vice President – Quantitative Research & Risk Management, PPM America, Inc.

Otto Miller is a dedicated investment professional with 22 years of experience in portfolio management.  He joined PPM America in 2013 as a member of the Quantitative Research & Risk Management team. He is responsible for oversight of risk processes as well as maintenance and enhancement of PPMA’s equity risk management platform and processes. He also assists in the modeling of new quantitative solutions and the evaluation of new performance analytics platforms. Prior to joining PPMA, Otto was responsible for quantitative risk management at Grosvenor Capital Management.  During his time with Grosvenor, Otto contributed to the development and enhancement of their risk management platform and his responsibilities also included advisory to clients as well as alternative investment product due diligence.  Prior to Grosvenor, Otto worked as a risk manager for IBM Retirement Funds and as a performance analyst for Northern Trust Global Advisors. Otto has over 15 years of experience in fixed income, equity and alternative investment portfolio management, and he is experienced in evaluating risk on a broad array of investment mandates.  Otto earned his B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Champaign, his M.A. in Quantitative Methods from Columbia University, and his M.S. in Predictive Analytics at the University of Chicago. Otto holds the designation of Financial Risk Manager (FRM).

Wagner Dada

PhD, CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager – Capital Markets & Factor Investing Department, CPPIB

Dada is responsible for researching and building systematic alpha and risk premia factors for multi-asset strategies. Before his current role, he was previously responsible for portfolio construction and research in the tactical asset allocation team within CPPIB. He joined CPPIB in August 2015 after spending seven years designing, building and implementing a global macro multi-asset systematic strategy at Tudor Investment Corporation. He holds a PhD degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge and is a CFA charterholder.

Adam Buzanis

CFA, FRM

Portfolio Manager, CAAT Pension Plan

Adam is a Portfolio Manager at the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) Pension Plan and has overall responsibility for the execution and portfolio management of the plan’s global private equity program, which consists of primary fund commitments, co-investments and secondaries.

Prior to joining CAAT, Adam was mostly 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 obtained his Master of Finance degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designations.

Rob Goobie

CPA, CMA

AVP – Collateral Management, Fixed Income & Derivatives, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

Robert is the Assistant Vice President Collateral Management, Fixed Income and Derivatives at Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) with a focus on the optimization of large portfolios of collateral in excess of $100b for both Equities and Fixed Income assets, utilizing global relationships -peer to peer, broker dealers, and custodian banks.  He also inspired HOOPP’s in-house collateral management software which integrate Fixed Income, Equities, Derivatives, Securities Lending and Borrowing, Repo and FX Trading into one cohesive platform. Robert joined the HOOPP in October of 2000 after working seven years in the financial industry including at Deutsche Bank, Bankers Trust, TD Securities and HSBC. He has a bachelor’s degree of Commerce, Accounting and Finance from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada and is a Certified Public Accountant.  Robert is very interested in the peer to peer community, utilizing blockchain technology for Capital Markets, focusing on: Fixed Income and Equity Repo, Securities Lending and Borrowing, Collateral Management and Financing. Robert was instrumental in founding the Global Peer Financing Association, where he serves as the Chair on the Board of the Directors.

Nina Fitzpatrick

Deputy General Counsel, Lighthouse Partners

Nina serves as in-house counsel to the Firm, advising on various legal matters, primarily related to Lighthouse’s managed account program. She is involved in the formation and operation of Lighthouse’s funds, as well as advising on structural and organizational matters and U.S. and international regulatory issues (including AIFMD). Before joining Lighthouse, Nina practiced with the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in its private equity practice group, specializing in representing institutional investors investing in managed accounts, hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and fund of hedge funds. Nina received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in English from Washington College. Nina is a member of the New York State Bar and is certified as an Authorized House Counsel in Florida.

Ryan Abrams

CFA, FRM

Senior Portfolio Manager, Exelon Corporation

Omeir Jilani

CAIA

Executive Director – Head of Alternative Investments & Member of the Asset Allocation Committee, First Abu Dhabi Bank

Omeir is currently the Head of Alternative Investments at the First Abu Dhabi Bank (Formerly known as the National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s), the largest Bank in the United Arab Emirates.  Managing the Alternative Investments portfolio of the bank; he has been an integral part in establishing the Alternative Investments desk since 2008.  Being a part of the team that manages Bank’s principal investments of over $30 billion; he has been an active member of the Global Markets Division, representing the Division at Group’s Asset Allocation Committee and the Investment Review Committee that outlines and discusses the Asset Allocation of the fiduciary capital.  Omeir is also the Member of the Board of OneShare plc – 100% owned by FAB – an open-ended investment company incorporated in Ireland.  Since Jan 2017; he was appointed as the Member of Investors Steering Committee for Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), an association that represents the global alternative investment industry.

Due to recognition of his knowledge and contribution; he has been the nominated host for the annual Global Financial Markets Forum, where he has hosted guests, such as Dr. Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers, Secretary James Baker, General Colin Powell, Dr. Mohamed El Erian, Jean-Claude Trichet, Tony Blair, David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy, Sir Paul Tucker, David Miliband, Niall Ferguson, Marc Faber, Paul Volcker, Axel Weber, Bob Diamond, to name a few.  Prior to joining the FAB; he was a Portfolio Manager for an another Abu Dhabi-Based Commercial bank; the Union National Bank where he was a part of the Investment Team responsible for the management of Banks proprietary investments of over $1 billion, with over $700 million Fixed Income (including US GSE & GCC credit) and Structured Products portfolio and $150 million of Hedge Funds.  Prior to UNB; he was the Investment and Development Analyst at The Private Office of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (aka SBK Holdings) from the United Arab Emirates.  During his tenor at the Private Office; in 2003, Omeir was selected as a local analyst for a high profile project for the Abu Dhabi Department of Economy, where he was actively involved with a UAE-based Investment boutique, Allied Investment House in the capacity of research and development for the group.  He was an active member in the Feasibility Study of the establishment of $10 billion Petrochemical City prepared for the Department of Economy.

Omeir regularly speaks at Alternative Investments conferences representing asset allocators’ perspective.  Omeir has earned his Honours Bachelors of Commerce (Accounting and Finance with minor in Economics) from Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton (Canada) in 2001.  He was awarded the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation in March 2010.

Derek Drummond

CAIA

Portfolio Manager – Funds Alpha Team, State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB)

Derek Drummond, CAIA, is the Portfolio Manager for the Funds Alpha team at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB).  The Funds Alpha team overseas approximately $25B in assets, and is responsible for the sourcing, evaluation and implementation of external investment managers across both traditional and alternative investment strategies.  Derek has over 19 years of experience developing and implementing investment structures for both asset owners and managers, including developing portfolio construction, analytics and risk management frameworks, and establishing manager due diligence and evaluation processes.  Derek has received numerous awards from Institutional Investor for his contribution to the alternatives asset industry.

Michael Johnson

Investment Officer – Securities Lending & Collateral Management, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)

Michael joined CalPERS in March 2006 and is currently responsible for the operation of the CalPERS Securities Lending Program.  The CalPERS Securities Lending Program is unique in that it utilizes a proprietary auction platform to capture value on an exclusive lending basis and does not rely on any agent lenders.  Michael is the main point of contact for every part of the Program.

In 1993, Michael earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI.

Chad Myhre

CFA, CAIA

Director of Investments, Heinz Family Office

Chad Myhre is a Director of Investments for the Heinz Family Office, where he manages the global equity, hedge fund, and fixed income allocations, while co-managing the opportunistic allocation. Prior to joining the Family Office, Chad worked at the Public Schools Retirement System of Missouri where he was solely responsible for a $1.5 billion externally managed equity portfolio. He previously managed a $2 billion externally managed hedge fund portfolio at the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS). Chad holds a B.A. in Finance from the University of North Dakota and is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder.

Camilla Sutton

CFA, CMT

President & CEO, Women in Capital Markets (WCM)

Camilla Sutton is the President and CEO of Women in Capital Markets (WCM), a national not-for-profit that aims to accelerate diversity across financial services and is the largest network of professional women in Canada’s financial sector. 

Camilla’s career spans more than two decades in capital markets, most recently as Scotiabank’s Global Head of Foreign Exchange, responsible for the firm’s FX trading desks, electronic trading and distribution, sales teams, and the global strategy. Prior to this role, she was Scotiabank’s Chief FX Strategist, providing global macro commentary and advisory services across the firm’s client base. Earlier in her career, she was part of Portfolio Management at OMERS and Equity Research at BMO Capital Markets.

Camilla holds a BA from Dalhousie University and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. In addition, she is a CMT and CFA charterholder. She is an active member of the global investment community. She is a member of the 30% Club’s Advisory Committee, a member of the CFA Society Toronto’s Advisory Council, a past member of the CFA Society Toronto’s Board of Directors and a past member of the Bank of Canada’s Foreign Exchange Committee. She is also a member of several committees within the United Way and has been a long-term community volunteer.