Ranjan Bhaduri

PhD, CFA, CAIA

Founder & CEO – Bodhi Research Group

Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri (he/him) is the Founder & CEO of Bodhi Research Group, an advisory and consulting firm dedicated to research and education in the investments industry. Under Dr. Bhaduri’s leadership, Bodhi Research Group has served clients on five continents and worked with over a dozen pension funds.

Dr. Bhaduri is a leading voice and recognized authority in shaping best practices of the alternative investments industry. Dr. Bhaduri has 25 years of experience in manager research, portfolio construction, due diligence, structuring, and implementing managed account solutions. At Morgan Stanley, Dr. Bhaduri performed due diligence and played a crucial role in developing customized portfolios of alternative investments. He also served in an advisory capacity at the East-West Center, an American think tank focused on U.S.-Asia-Pacific relations.

Dr. Bhaduri has been a featured speaker at both industry conferences and prestigious educational institutions, educating both entrants and seasoned professionals in the field. He has addressed diverse topics ranging from entrepreneurship strategies to advanced portfolio and risk management techniques. Dr. Bhaduri’s academic contributions extend to publishing papers on a variety of topics including liquidity, portfolio construction, managed account platforms, hedge fund strategies, and risk management in esteemed publications.

Dr. Bhaduri holds both the CFA and CAIA charters. Previously, he served on the All About Alpha Editorial Board and held roles such as Executive of the CAIA Chicago Chapter and currently serves as Executive of the CAIA Toronto Chapter. He has also contributed to AIMA Canada as a Board Member, co-chair of the Managed Futures Committee, and member of the Global Research Committee.

Dr. Bhaduri has demonstrated a strong track record of leadership and mentorship. Several of his former analysts and interns have achieved notable success, securing positions at renowned organizations.

Pierre‐Philippe Ste‐Marie

Managing Director Investment Research – Bodhi Research Group

Pierre‐Philippe Ste‐Marie has 25 years of experience in the financial industry working with fixed income and cross asset absolute returns teams. He has initiated and unwound absolute returns and indexed portfolios and managed Canadian, US and European cross asset exposure levered and unlevered as a team leader (CEO, CIO) as well as a portfolio manager. Pierre-Philippe joined the Bodhi Research Group in 2022.

James Burron

CAIA

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; 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).

Cordell W. Thomas II

Director of Operations – New York State Nurses Association Pension Plan and Benefits Fund

Cordell is the Director of Operations at the New York State Nurses Association (“NYSNA”) Pension Plan and Benefits Fund. He is responsible for leading operational due diligence reviews and broader investment operations functions within NYSNA.

Prior to NYSNA, Cordell served within General Motors Asset Management’s (“GMAM”) Enterprise Risk Management team; and was responsible for leading operational due diligence reviews on both alternative and traditional asset managers within GM’s Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution plans across the US, Canada, Belgium, and the UK.

Prior to GMAM, Cordell worked at Mercer Sentinel, Mercer Investments’ operational due diligence consulting group. While at Mercer Sentinel, Cordell performed operational due diligence on alternative and traditional asset managers for both external and internal clients.

During his over 20 years’ experience in the asset management industry, Cordell has served in various roles within reputable firms including Citco Fund Services, Société Générale and BNY Mellon Wealth Management. He has worked with both alternative and traditional asset managers of various sizes and geographic locations including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Bill Bobey

Ph.D.

Managing Director, Head of Total Portfolio Risk and Analytics, Risk – CPP Investments

Bill oversees Total Portfolio Risk and Analytics for CPP Investments, with oversight spanning strategic portfolio design through total portfolio implementation. Prior to his current role, he held senior roles at CPP Investments in portfolio construction, quantitative investing, and external fund management. Before joining CPP Investments in 2011, he was an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Sobey School of Business and a Senior Quantitative Analyst at Capula Investment Management. He holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Toronto, an MSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Warwick, an MSc in Structural Engineering from the University of Manchester (UMIST), and a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Calgary.

Lauretta Chame

CFA

Senior Associate – IMCO

Lauretta is a Francophone financial professional who began her career in Paris at BNP Paribas, where she held various roles across public and private markets. She is currently a Senior Associate at IMCO in Toronto, supporting the infrastructure investment team. She holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Leonard de Vinci, a French management school, and is a CFA charterholder.

As an impact-driven professional, she is a member of CFA Society Toronto’s Asset Management Committee, which organizes high-profile industry events. She is also a writer and interviewer for the Analyst, CFA Society Toronto’s Journal, where she explores current and emerging topics in the investment industry and creates space for thoughtful conversations with local and global leaders.

Having lived across three continents from childhood through adulthood, Lauretta is passionate about global and intercultural connections, languages, and philosophy. Known for her quiet influence, she naturally bridges languages, cultures, countries, and organizations.

Hazlitt Gill

Managing Director, Partnership Portfolios – BCI

Hazlitt Gill joined BCI’s Partnership Portfolio team in 2022 and leads the group’s absolute return fund program. Prior to joining BCI, Hazlitt spent over 13 years at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, most recently as Senior Vice President and Head of Alternatives Manager Research. Hazlitt also worked as CIO of RLJ Select Investments and Vice President of Alternative Investments at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Hazlitt has more than 25 years of capital markets experience primarily in alternative investments.

Mark Shore

Director and Economist – CME Group

Dr. Mark Shore, Director, and Economist at the CME Group. He is responsible for generating economic analysis on global financial markets by identifying emerging trends and evaluating economic factors. He is a well-known alternative investment expert with over 30 years of experience in capital markets.

Dr. Shore is also:
• An adjunct professor at DePaul University in Chicago.

• He is a contributing writer for the Commodity Insights Digest (CID) at Bayes Business School—City University of London, UK.

• On the advisory board for the National Public Pension Fund Association (NPPFA)

He is frequently invited to speak at industry and academic conferences. Mark has contributed macroeconomic research to several global organizations.

Mark received his Doctorate from DePaul University with his dissertation on alternative investments. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago.

Adam Solan

Investment Director – Institute of Advanced Study

Adam Solan is an Investment Director at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), an endowment supporting a community of scholars in Princeton, NJ. Before joining IAS, Adam held roles at State Street Global Advisors and Ocean Road Advisors. He started his investment career at Tulane University’s investment office. Adam has a BSM in Finance and Economics from Tulane University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Niall Whelan

PhD

Risk Executive – Bodhi Research Group

Niall Whelan is a risk executive with over twenty years experience implementing new and emerging industry practices and regulations. He is a trusted change agent, experienced at leading complex cross-functional initiatives. Areas of specialisation include climate scenario modelling, enterprise risk, enterprise stress testing, credit modelling for IFRS 9 and CECL, and models for market and counterparty credit risk. Niall is a thought leader who has presented in industry forums, has led training sessions, has published peer-reviewed papers, and teaches the next generation of risk leaders.

He has been a trusted mentor and coach for numerous individuals throughout his career, many of whom are now in senior roles across the industry. Niall coordinates the risk course at the Master’s of Mathematical Finance at the University of Toronto as well as serving on the academic advisory board of the Masters of Quantitative Finance at the University of Waterloo.

Prior to joining forces with Bodhi Research Group, Niall spent over 20 years at the Bank of Nova Scotia leading teams involved in various aspects of risk. Previously he was an academic researcher, investigating the boundary between classical and quantum physics. He is the author of dozens of research papers which have garnered thousands of citations. His research took him to leading research institutes in Copenhagen and Paris.

He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from Yale University.

David Dong

CAIA, FRM

Senior Analyst, Active Public Markets – University Pension Plan (UPP)

David Dong is a Senior Analyst in the Active Public Markets team at University Pension Plan (UPP), where he focuses on external manager allocation for credit and multi-asset strategies. His responsibilities include investment due diligence, portfolio construction, and portfolio management across a range of hedge fund strategies, including managed futures, systematic macro, quantitative and discretionary multi-strategy, and long-biased credit.

Before his current position, David held several roles at UPP, starting as an intern in Active Public Markets and advancing through various positions focused on both hedge fund and long-biased equity investing. Prior to joining UPP, he completed internships with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), OMERS, and BMO Capital Markets, where he developed experience in research, trading, and analytics.

David holds a Master of Financial Economics (MFE) from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, with a double major in Actuarial Science and Statistics. He is a CAIA Charterholder and an FRM Certified Professional.

Bandhna Mamak

MBA, CFA, CAIA

Senior Managing Director, Operations, Capital Markets & Credit Investments – BCI

Bandhna Mamak is Senior Managing Director, Operations, Capital Markets & Credit Investments at British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), where she leads the financial, operational, and business functions of a major institutional investment group. With over two decades in capital markets, she has built a reputation as a transformation leader — driving large-scale operating model changes, modernizing trading and investment operations, and partnering closely with investment teams to translate strategy into execution. Her background spans trading, investment operations, risk, and compliance.

Bandhna holds an MBA in Finance from McGill University and is both a CFA and CAIA Charterholder.

Aiman El‑Nahas

MBA

Director, Private Debt Lead – University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP)

Aiman El-Nahas currently serves as Director, Private Debt at University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) where he leads all aspects of investment strategy development, new investment execution, and management of portfolio investments. Prior to UPP, Aiman was a senior investment team member within Ontario Power Generation’s Fund Management Group. Aiman directly supported the build out of OPG’s multi-billion credit portfolio, focused predominantly on asset-based and infrastructure fund partnerships, platform investments, co-investments, and direct investments. Before his tenure at Ontario Power Generation, Aiman held various roles at CST Savings Inc. and BNY Wealth, focused on fixed income and multi-asset investments. Aiman holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Han Yik

Senior Advisor to the ED/CIO – New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS)

Han Yik is Senior Advisor to the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS), one of the largest public pension funds in the United States with approximately $160 billion in assets. A member of NYSTRS’ Executive Leadership Team, he oversees strategic asset allocation, investment governance and the integration of responsible investment across the portfolio.

Previously, Han served as Head of Institutional Investors at the World Economic Forum, where he engaged the leadership of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and endowments and led the WEF’s Retirement Investment Systems Reform initiative, whose recommendations influenced public pension legislation globally.

Earlier in his career, Han managed outsourced-CIO mandates at Bank of America with full investment discretion for foundations, endowments, and pension funds, growing discretionary AUM from $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion. He began his career as an actuarial consultant at Towers Perrin and Mercer.

Han holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Yale University, where he won the Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Excellence in Mathematics. He is a member of the Milken Institute Global Capital Markets Advisory Council, and is an active participant in the PPI, ICPM and AAAIM communities.

Louis-Philippe Roy

Director of Investments – Joddes

Louis-Philippe Roy joined Joddes in August 2021 as Director of Investments. He has spent over 15 years in various roles that span private markets due diligence, portfolio management, risk management and sell-side trading at various Canadian institutions. In his current role, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the investment portfolio, including asset allocation as well as manager sourcing in both public and private markets.

Prior to joining Joddes, Louis-Philippe worked at TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM). As part of the Quantitative Equity team, he co-managed TDAM’s quantitative equity portfolios, with a focus on the systematic alpha mandates.

Before joining TDAM, Louis-Philippe worked as an Associate Director of Proprietary Risk & Investments for a large Canadian financial institution, where he was responsible for trading, hedging, and risk management.

Louis-Philippe holds a Master of Financial Economics from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. He also holds the Chartered Investment Manager designation.

Nicolas Lefevre-Laumonier

Managing Director, External management – Alternative Investments – La Caisse

Nicolas Lefevre-Laumonier is Managing Director of Liquid Alternative Investments within the External Portfolio Management group at La Caisse, where he oversees a CAD 12.5 billion hedge fund overlay program across all alternative strategies. He has been with La Caisse for almost 15 years, following a career in financial markets in Europe with NYSE Euronext, Société Générale, and AXA Re. Nicolas holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from France, as well as a Master of Science in Financial Markets from HEC Montréal, where he has been teaching courses on Finance and Alternative Strategies for the past four years.

Jean David Tremblay-Frenette

Chief Economist and Head of Economics & Investment Research – AIMCo

Jean David joined AIMCo (Alberta Investment Management Corporation) in December 2010 to lead the Global Tactical Asset Allocation investment activity. He has since then transitioned internally to a senior role, working on investment strategy research, asset allocation, quantitative research, and macroeconomic analysis. He is currently Chief Economist and Head of Economics & Investment Research. In addition, he represents AIMCo as a speaker at external events, conferences, and in the media, and as a member of the Bank of Canada’s Market Participant Survey.

Prior experience includes macroeconomic analysis, tactical asset allocation, and systematic global macro portfolio management at Caisse dépôt et placement du Québec (La Caisse). He also worked in strategic investments for the National Bank of Canada. Jean David began his career working in mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse in Toronto.

He is a board member of the AIMCo Foundation for Financial Education, L’Observatoire des erreurs (a Montreal-based think tank known as the “Library of Mistakes”), the Afrodescendant Leadership Alliance’s Black Wealth Club, and L’Hybride, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting internationally-adopted adults.

He holds an M.Sc. degree in finance from the Henley Business School – ICMA Centre at the University of Reading, United Kingdom and a BCom. – finance major, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada.

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Jean David a joint AIMCo en décembre 2010 afin de créer le portefeuille de répartition tactique globale de l’actif. Depuis, il a évolué vers un rôle de membre principal de l’équipe responsable de la répartition stratégique de l’actif et des stratégies d’investissement, et agit présentement à titre d’économiste en chef et leader du groupe Économie et recherche en investissement.

Auparavant, il cumulait une expérience en analyse macroéconomique, en gestion tactique de l’actif et en gestion de portefeuilles de type « global macro » systématique au sein de la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Il a aussi travaillé au sein de l’équipe des investissements stratégiques à la Banque Nationale du Canada. Jean David a débuté sa carrière à Toronto, à la banque d’investissement Credit Suisse, au sein de l’équipe de fusions et acquisitions.

Il siège aux conseils d’administration de la AIMCo Foundation for Financial Education, de l’Observatoire des erreurs (l’équivalent montréalais de la « Library of Mistakes »), le Black Wealth Club de l’Afrodescendant Leadership Alliance ainsi que de L’Hybride (un OBNL pour les adultes adoptés à l’international).

Il détient une maîtrise ès sciences (M. Sc.) en finance de la Henley Business School – ICMA Centre de l’Université de Reading, au Royaume-Uni, ainsi qu’un baccalauréat en administration, option finance, de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada).

Caroline Bergeron

CAIA

Head of Business Development, Canada and Global Head, Sustainability and Impact Solutions – Innocap

As Head of Business Development, Canada and Global Head of Sustainability & Impact Solutions, Caroline is responsible for Innocap’s business development activities in Canada as well as its ESG and impact business offering. She leads and develops strategic initiatives targeted to assist Innocap’s clients to invest constructive capital in order to generate growth while contributing to a more sustainable world. Caroline strives to have a meaningful impact on asset owners and asset managers as well as on all stakeholders of the ecosystem.

Caroline was previously Managing Director, Investor Relations and Business Development at Innocap. In that role, she developed powerful partnerships with Innocap’s institutional clients, lead for two years Innocap’s business development efforts in Europe and in the US and was the instigator for our ESG and Impact Solutions product offering. Caroline has over 13 years of experience working in the finance industry. Caroline began her career at Innocap as legal counsel where she helped design and build Dedicated Managed Account Platforms for sophisticated investors around the world. She received her

Bachelor of Laws from the Sherbrooke University, she holds a Master’s degree in International Trade Law (LL.M.) from Cape Town University (South Africa) as well as the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and Sustainable Investment Professional Certification from Concordia University.