Neil Nisker

Co-Founder, Executive Chairman, and CIO

Our Family Office

With investment management and wealth advisory experience dating back to 1972, Our Family Office’s Co-Founder, Executive Chairman and CIO enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a trusted and respected figure in the Canadian financial services industry. His keen intellect and deep expertise make him particularly well-qualified to revolutionize the shared family office segment in Canada and grow Our Family Office into the market-leading service provider and partner to the nation’s wealthiest families. Highlights of Neil’s career to date include:

• Fiera Capital Corporation: Neil was active with Fiera Capital Corporation, one of Canada’s largest investment managers, from 2006 to 2014, serving as the President of Fiera Private Wealth and as the company’s Executive Vice Chairman and a member of the company’s board of directors and governance committee.
• YMG Capital Management Inc.: Neil served as President of the YMG Private Wealth Management division from 2000 to 2006. Fiera Capital Corporation purchased YMG Capital Management in 2006.
• Nisker Associates, Strategic Wealth Management: From 1997 to 2000, Neil was the Chairman of Nisker Associates, Strategic Wealth Management, a Canadian registered investment counselling firm. It was acquired by YMG Capital Management in 2000.
• Best Investments International Inc.: In 1990, Sir John Templeton selected Neil to be one of the three managers of Best Investments International Inc., a global equity mutual fund he owned. Neil held this position until the fund was closed in 2000.
• Brown Baldwin Nisker Ltd.: For more than 25 years, Neil was a driving force behind Brown Baldwin Nisker. Through his diligence, the firm grew into one of the premier institutional brokerages in Canada. It was sold to HSBC Securities in 1988.

In addition, Neil has been the President of Privatech Investments Inc., an investment company headquartered in Toronto, Canada since 1994.

Volunteerism and Philanthropy Neil has been extensively involved in philanthropy and a range of activities, including acting as:

• Co-Chair of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Annual Campaign  Co-Chair of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Campaign
• Vice-Chair of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation and Chair of the Investment Committee  Chairman of The Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto and Chair of the Investment Committee
• Co-Chair of the 2011 JFNA Investment Institute in Palm Beach, Florida
• Frequent speaker at Investment Conferences for family offices, and foundations and endowments

Mindy Mayman

Partner, Portfolio Manager

Richter

As you create significant wealth, having independent, objective advisors to help you manage said wealth is crucial. Mindy assists her clients through the challenges inherent to wealthy families and helps them secure peace of mind for today, and comfort and clarity for the future.

Mindy joined Richter in 2006, as its unique family office business model was beginning to take shape as a completely independent entity. This division has since grown, and focuses on wealth management, philanthropy, insurance needs and family governance. Mindy advises clients on the design and implementation of plans to help them achieve their financial objectives, quantifying goals and then determining the most appropriate asset allocation and financial solutions. Acting with complete independence and objectivity, Mindy recommends the proven third-party managers to optimize her clients’ investment strategies.

A skilled financial advisor, Mindy is able to craft and deliver advice that is practical, understandable and relevant to the goals and objectives of ultra-high-net-worth families. Her insights and well-rounded expertise make her a trusted resource for many prominent business leaders and their families.

Cameron 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.

Michael Branco

Founder & Chairman

Celeste Ventures

Michael specializes in bootstrap start-ups with the ability to take organizations and ideas from scratch and bring them to reality. Michael now works closely with venture partners to capitalize new organizations and deliver value to the key stakeholders.

Michael’s first self-created startup is Fireminds, a technology solutions company, headquartered in Bermuda with staff in US, Canada, Caribbean, South America and Europe, serving international clients in Bermuda, North America and the Caribbean. In 2017, Fireminds received a major investment from ATN International (Nasdaq:ATNI), Inc. to expand its operations and join the group of telco companies.

In addition, Michael founded Premier Tickets in 2009 which is now a leading ecommerce company serving Bermuda based and global clients such as America’s Cup 35, SailGP and the PGA. In 2019, PTIX merged with AAC Saatchi Saatchi a full services ad-agency based in Bermuda; Michael led the strategic acquisition of the marketing company. Furthermore, Michael secured the airport advertising contract for Bermuda Skyport under AAC Media and placed the new CEO of AAC-PTIX.

Michael also started Innovation House, a seven-story commercial property; converting it from a distressed property to a fully occupied office hub with tenants ranging from legal, insurance, tech start-ups, retail to a doctor’s office.

Michael has 20+ years’ experience in technology consulting and an extensive background in start-up businesses and initiatives. Michael has the ability to create innovative technology solutions, build people centric organizations and solve problems; fueled by coffee and hands on technology skills.

Michael earned his Computer Science degree from Western University and pursued graduate studies in Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Databases at Stanford University. Michael earned his MBA from the Richard Ivey Business School and completed Board of Directors College training at Stanford Law School.

Michael is a Justice of the Peace / Commissioner of Oaths in Bermuda, District Grand Officer of the Freemasons UGLE Bermuda, Past President of the Freemasons Charitable Fund Bermuda, Incoming Chair of YPO Bermuda, Board member / advisory of Fireminds, Premier Tickets, Innovation Ltd, Treefrog Consulting, AAC Saatchi Saatchi, AG Research, Bermuda First Advisory Group, Bermuda College Task Force and the Corporation of Hamilton Infrastructure Committee.

In Michael’s “spare” time he loves spending time with his wife and two daughters in their home in Bermuda. Michael is an avid golfer currently playing off a 12 handicap.

Desmond Kingsford

Founder

Highwood Value Partners

 Desmond Kingsford is Highwood Value Partner’s founder and is registered as The Firm’s Portfolio Manager.  He holds an MA in Philosophy from Cambridge University, a B.Commfrom McGill University in Finance and Math and is a CFA Charterholder. 

Prior to founding Highwood Value Partners, Mr. Kingsford was a Senior Analyst and Partner of MSD Partners (Europe) LLP, the European office of MSD Capital LP, the exclusive manager of Michael Dell’s personal capital.  Mr. Kingsford spent 11 years at MSD as part of the European team, which grew from three people managing $200mn of capital to a five personinvestment team managing the $1.2bn European Opportunities Fund(“EOF”), an opportunistic, fundamental value fund across equities and credit in Europe. Prior to MSD, Des was a Vice President on the Consumer team for Putnam Investments from 2002 to 2007, also based in London. 

Mr. Kingsford now resides in British Columbia, Canada with his wife and three children.

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.

Paul Stapleton

Chief Technology Officer

Fidelity Clearing Canada

A 23-year veteran of the Canadian financial industry, Paul Stapleton joined FCC in May 2017. He manages evolving technology strategy and continuous platform development, implementation and delivery of new services and solutions, and technical alignment to help clients service their businesses.

Paul was part of the executive team that built DundeeWealth from independent IIROC and MFDA dealers in the early 2000s, before the firm’s sale to ScotiaBank in 2010.

Recently, Paul served as SVP, Information Technology, for investment dealer Dundee Securities, and as VP, Information Technology, for merchant banking firm Dundee Corporation. He graduated from Trinity College in the University of Toronto and has completed the Partners, Directors and Senior Officers (PDO) course.

Mike Quinn

Principal, Chief Investment Officer

RPIA

Mike co-founded RPIA in 2009 and, as its current Chief Investment Officer, is responsible for formulating and implementing the firm’s investment strategy across the funds. Mike chairs both the Investment Committee and ESG Committee and sits on the Risk Committee.

Mike is a former Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets, and during his 15 years at the bank, he held increasingly senior roles, including managing the global credit trading business and the global structured credit business. Mike brings to RPIA an expert knowledge of the global credit markets and extensive experience managing credit risk exposures across multi-billion dollar portfolios. Prior to joining RBC Capital Markets, Mike worked for a leading Toronto-based real estate developer as a Leasing Manager.

Mike holds a BComm from Queen’s University and an MBA from the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Smith School of Business and is involved with several charitable organizations, including being a Board Member for Beat the Streets Toronto and sitting on the Quinn Family Future Foundation Board.

Lorne Sugarman

CEO and Director

Metaverse Group

Lorne Sugarman is a seasoned senior executive with diverse experience across direct C-level operating experience, investment banking and principal investing.

Lorne is CEO and Director of the Metaverse Group where he has developed an eight figure virtual real estate portfolio. Prior to the Metaverse Group, Lorne was previously the CEO of Wellpoint Health Services for 9 years where he grew the business to over 250 employees, completed and integrated seven acquisitions and ultimately was sold to CloudMD (TSX: CMD).

Lorne spent over 20 years in advisory services with over 15+ years at GMP Securities, most recently as MD / Head of Technology Group, and spent almost 4 years as Principal at KES7 Capital Inc. Lorne started his career with Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte & Touche providing advice to clients in North America.

Lorne holds a BA from Western University and a MBA from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto.

Nancy Hoi Bertrand

Private Banker

Citi Private Bank

Nancy joined Citi Private Bank in 2006 and has over 20 years of capital markets experience. She advises ultra high net-worth families, foundations and single family offices on wealth preservation and creation, with a particular focus on alternative and international investments.

Previously, Nancy practiced U.S. securities law at the global law firm, Shearman & Sterling LLP specializing in cross-border corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.

Nancy sits on the board of the Golf Association of Ontario. She is a Past President of the Toronto CFA Society and the former Chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee. She was a member of the CFA Institute’s Capital Markets Policy Committee and a member of CFA Institute’s Global Corporate Governance Task Force. She received her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2002.

Nancy sat on the cabinet of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Young Patrons’ Circle. Nancy graduated with an Honours in Business Administration (Dean’s List) from the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Laws (great distinction) from McGill University. She has been called to the Bars of the State of New York, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Province of Ontario.

She speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and French. She is married and raising a teenage daughter.

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

Jason Moore

Client Portfolio Management

Man Numeric

Jason Moore is the Head of Client Portfolio Management at Man Numeric.

Prior to joining Man Numeric in 2015, Jason was a product specialist at BlackRock for the Small and Mid-Cap Growth equity team. He began his career at State Street Research.

Jason graduated from Connecticut College with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He is a member of the CFA Society Boston and is a CFA charterholder.

Kamal Hassan

Managing Partner

Loyal VC

Kamal Hassan is a Managing Partner of Loyal VC. Loyal is an open-ended, globally diverse fund with investments in 200+ companies in 50+ countries designed to minimize systemic bias inherent in the investment process to unlock greater returns. Loyal also benefits from its network of 600+ expert advisors who work closely with the company founders. 

Loyal is the fund Kamal wished he had available during his 20-year career as an entrepreneurial CEO and 15 years as an angel investor. The fund was created by drawing upon his professional and philanthropic experiences: including the networks that stem from his time as a Global Director with the Founder Institute accelerator, former INSEAD Alumni Association President, as a consultant at Bain & Co, and as an engineer at IMAX. Kamal has an INSEAD MBA and a degree in engineering physics from Queen’s University. He has traveled to over 100 countries and speaks five languages.

Jason Campbell

Principal

Eckler

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

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

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

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

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

Funke Okubadejo

Director

Actis

Funke is an experienced private equity and real estate investor, at Actis since 2007, with a strong track record in key sectors  including real estate projects with GAV of >$550m in office, retail and hospitality sectors across Africa. Funke is leading the Actis’s real estate income fund strategy for Africa.

Prior to joining Actis, Funke gained six years private equity experience spanning origination, investment structuring and asset management at African Capital Alliance, a leading Nigerian private equity firm where she also helped to establish its real estate fund.

Funke started her career at Arthur Andersen (Now KPMG Professional Services), is a qualified chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos and a Masters in Finance from the London Business School.

With prior her experience in assurance and business advisory, she brings rounded skills to add value at both strategic and operational levels to management and project teams to attain set business objectives.  She is also an experienced board director having served on various boards over the past two decades.  Funke is also a member of the Actis Macro Forum which is a global grouping that reviews macro trends in emerging economies.

Erik Dmytruk

Portfolio Manager & Managing Director

Slate Securities

Erik heads up Portfolio Management at Slate Securities, employing a wealth of real estate investment experience. Previously Erik was Director and Portfolio Manager of real estate at AIMCo. Experience in virtually all real estate asset types and geographies.

• Was integral in growing AIMCo’s real estate investments from a $2 billion domestic portfolio to more than $21 billion globally.
• Gained extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate investment process including acquisitions, development, tactical asset planning, leasing initiatives, JV arrangements, portfolio construction and risk management.
• Managed a public markets portfolio with a value in excess of $650 million which was successfully implemented in order to complement the global real estate portfolio by taking advantage of dislocations that occur in public markets and to diversify with strategic long-term investments.
• Property development in excess of $1 Billion in all stages, including land acquisition, entitlements, design, horizontal and vertical development
  • Office properties, Residential lots, industrial, multi-family and condominium, Retail, UK entitlement/densification.
• Establishment of partnerships, and fund investment in various geographies including the UK, Europe, USA, and Mexico
  • Diligence of local management teams, direct acquisition of local properties and a full understanding of partnership agreements and cross border tax structures.
• Prior to joining AIMCo, he competed briefly on the professional tennis circuit after earning ITA NCAA All America team status as a collegiate athlete.
• Erik graduated with Honors from the University of California – Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, and he is a CFA Charterholder.

Athas Kouvaras

Client Relationship and Development Manager

Richter Family Office

working with UHNW families. He brings 20 years of experience in the investment industry with an emphasis on alternative investments. Before joining Richter, he was a Partner at Alignvest Investment Management with a focus on business development. Prior roles included being a Regional Director for Russell Investments, where he was responsible for mid-market institutional business development and a Regional Sales Manager role at Man Investments Canada. He began his career at BluMont Capital, where he was a research analyst.

Athas is a CAIA Charterholder and a member of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.

Daniel Leger

Managing Director

MGG Investment Group

Mr. Leger is responsible for managing all of MGG’s sales and marketing related efforts.

Prior to joining MGG, Mr. Leger was Head of Strategic Planning and Client Services at Akre Capital Management in Virginia where he helped grow the then 24 year old firm’s private partnership and mutual fund assets from $2 billion in 2013 to approximately $14 billion in 2019. Previously, he worked as Managing Director, Head of Marketing at Geosphere Capital, a $1.4 billion hedge fund based in New York City. Prior to that, he worked in a similar capacity at Steel Partners, a $5 billion global activist manager. Mr. Leger began his career in asset management at BRI Partners, a venture capital firm and joint venture with Mesirow Financial, that seeded hedge funds, helping grow their collective assets to in excess of $5 billion.

Mr. Leger received his doctorate in political philosophy and international relations from The University of Notre Dame in Indiana and his BA from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Dev Gopalan

Partner & Portfolio Manager

Sagard

Dev Gopalan is a Partner & Portfolio Manager, Sagard Senior Lending Partners and joined the firm in 2021. Dev is responsible for overseeing the Senior Lending strategy at Sagard. He is based in New York, US.

Prior to Sagard, Dev served as the CEO of Angel Island Capital, Head of US Private Credit at KKR where he was a member of the Global Private Investment and Portfolio Management Committees, and a Principal at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) in the Credit business. Dev also worked at Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan in various roles in Leverage Finance.

Dev holds a M.A. from Brandeis University and BS from Georgetown University. In addition, he is currently on the board of Finding Ferdinand, Nobordist, inKind Cards, and Rebounds Hounds, a NYC dog rescue.

Theresa Shutt

Senior Vice President

Fiera Private Debt

Theresa Shutt is Senior Vice President for Corporate Private Debt at Fiera Private Debt. Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in July 2019, she was the Chief Investment Officer of Private Debt with Integrated Asset Management.

Ms. Shutt is responsible for the overall strategic direction and operation of the Corporate Debt Financing Team. In this role, she provides leadership in support of business development, investment approval, fund strategy and portfolio management. With over 20 years of experience in corporate lending and capital markets, she contributes to the success of the business by growing AUM through strategic capital deployment and the development of innovative private debt strategies.

Prior to Fiera Private Debt, Ms. Shutt was a Managing Director with BMO Corporate Finance where she developed customized financing solutions for mid-market Canadian Companies. Previous to this role, she held a variety of roles at RBC and Scotiabank structuring fixed income and equity derivatives for corporations and asset managers. She began her career working as an economist for the Conference Board of Canada.

Theresa Shutt 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. Ms. Shutt is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Joseph Bakish

Portfolio Manager, Wealth Advisor, Investment Advisor

Bakish Wealth, Richardson Wealth Limited.

Joseph Bakish is a Portfolio Manager, Wealth Advisor, Investment Advisor at Bakish Wealth, at the firm Richardson Wealth Limited.

Named Canada’s Top Under 40 Investment Advisors in 2020 by Wealth Professional Magazine, Joseph Bakish has built his career by putting the best interests of his clients at the forefront of his objectives.

After initially building a solid practice at Investors Group, Joseph realized that as business and the industry was evolving, they needed a change. Bakish Wealth joined Richardson Wealth six years ago, which has opened the door to a wider universe of alternative assets that can add value and enhance portfolio diversification – from private equity and real estate to private debt. Clients have responded well to their unbiased access to investment solutions, which has led to a growing referral base and the expansion into their third client segment of high-net-worth investors. Bakish Wealth’s book boasts $242 million in assets under management (AUM) across 490 households, as well as a large insurance component.

Most of their clients are between 40 and 60 years old, and many are research-oriented physicians, medical researchers, and university professors. Their clients also include high-net-worth business owners and high-potential young professionals. For prospects with established careers, their minimum

investment is $1 million.

Atul Tiwari

Chief Executive Officer, Americas

Cult Wines

As Chief Executive Officer, Atul Tiwari leads the team and is responsible for the overall strategy and development of Cult Wines Americas. Hailed by Investment Executive as ‘having a knack for knowing what’s next’, Atul is thrilled to have successfully married his extensive investment experience with a passion for wine to introduce this unique asset class to the Americas market. Atul leads with investment rigor, excellent client relationships and unparalleled knowledge of the asset class.
Atul’s background speaks for itself, before building Cult Wines Americas, he was employee number one at Vanguard Canada. As CEO for the company, together with his team, he helped pioneer ETF investing in Canada and grew the company from $3 to $30 billion in assets over 7.5 years. Prior to Vanguard, he held progressively senior positions at BMO Financial including senior vice president of BMO Asset Management, heading up the BMO US mutual fund business in Chicago before going on to lead the charge for BMO to enter the ETF business as the founding President of BMO Exchange Traded Funds. In 2018 he received the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce award for Corporate Executive of the Year and has twice been named to Wealth Professional’s annual list of People to Watch in the industry. Atul is a member of the Independent Review Committee for Mackenzie Funds, a Director of the D.D. Foundation, which provides free medical care and education to the disadvantaged in India, a member of the Advisory Council for the CFA Society of Toronto and an Honorary Trustee of the Royal Ontario Museum.
In addition to his personal interest in wine, Atul has also managed a 4000-bottle cellar of fine Burgundy for the Toronto Chapter of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin over a five-year period. After earning his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School (Canada), he began his career in law, practicing in London (UK) and Toronto before transitioning to finance.

Mitchell Nicholson

Manager

KPMG

Mitchell is a Manager in KPMG’s Cryptoasset practice and has spearheaded its recent treasury and NFT initiatives. Additionally, Mitchell helps deliver KPMG’s educational workshops, strategy development, and vendor assessments for institutional investors and financial services firms seeking to adopt cryptoassets. Prior to joining the firm, Mitchell spent 2 years as an Economist at the Bank of Canada and in his personal time he actively researches and invests in the cryptoasset space.

Jean Courcelles

Portfolio Manager

Mirabaud Canada

As a portfolio manager, I help individuals and institutions make the most of their capital. To serve them optimally, I decided to join Mirabaud, a Swiss banking and financial group of international scope which employs more than 700 people, spread over four continents. The group’s assets under management now stand at more than $54 billion CAD, making it the third-largest private banking group in Geneva.

In addition to my own expertise, my clients can also benefit from the network and experience of the 200-year history of this family company. In Montreal as in Geneva, we are guided by our values: independence, responsibility, and integrity. These dictate a measured business policy and strict risk management aligned exclusively with the interests of our customers.

When I am not advising clients, I like to escape the city and stay connected to the great outdoors by cycling, hiking, and running.

Ajay Gopal

Partner

Framework Venture Partners

Ajay Gopal is a Partner of Framework Venture Partners. Based in Toronto, Ajay has over a decade of combined VC and alternative investments investing and capital markets experience. With an entrepreneurial background, Ajay is a partner of a healthcare services company currently in operation in Toronto. Ajay currently serves on multiple Boards of Framework portfolio companies including Paper, Countingup, FlipGive and Daisy Intelligence. As a student of engineering with prior operational technology experience, Ajay is keenly interested in meeting with technology companies across all verticals and focused on helping entrepreneurs with the scaling journey.

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

Jay Barrett

Managing Director, National Sales

SmartBe Investments

Jay Barrett is Managing Director, SmartBe Investments.  He has held positions with some of Canada’s premier firms including RBC, BMO and more recently with CIBC Asset Management as Executive Director.  Jay completed his undergraduate degree at St. Francis Xavier University in 2001 and graduated in Financial Management at Cornell University in 2018.  His background includes extensive experience in public and private markets as well as alternative and quant-based strategies.  Jay lives in Montreal and is board member at Mile End Community Mission and the Trinity Center Foundation.

Matt Piselli

Portfolio Manager

FORT LP

At FORT, Matt heads the development of fully systematic strategies in commodity markets as well as assisting in the management of FORT’s Mean Reversion Strategies across all markets. Before joining FORT, Matt ran a commodity hedge fund, Buttonwood Merchants LLC, from 2015-2018. His fund was initially launched on Tudor’s incubation platform, Launchpad Trading, before transitioning to a standalone entity in 2017. Prior to this, he was with Gresham Investment Management as Head Trader in charge of all discretionary alpha generation for their flagship TSM Strategy, which peaked at $7 billion AUM. Matt began his career at UBS in the Commodity Structuring Group before moving on to manage all of UBS’s physical US Natural Gas assets in 2006.

Matt graduated with a BSE from Princeton University in Operations Research and Financial Engineering.

Nicolas Mirjolet

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Head of Research

Quantica Capital

Nicolas joined Quantica Capital from RAM Active Investments, a multi-billion systematic asset management company based in Geneva, where he served as senior quantitative investment manager, developing and managing systematic short-term equity long/short strategies. Until 2018, Mirjolet was CIO and lead portfolio manager of Tolomeo Capital, a Zurich based systematic asset manager specialized in long/short equities and futures strategies. He co-founded Tolomeo Capital in 2011, after doing a spin-out with the quant & risk-management team of a multi-billion family office in Zurich. Nicolas started his career in 2006 as a quant analyst for ETH Zurich spin-off swissQuant

Nicolas Mirjolet graduated from CentraleSupélec in Paris (France) and holds a MSc in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich).

Bob Williamson

Vice President, Sales

Battea Class Action Services

For over 10 years Bob has been at Battea as Vice President of Sales whose firm’s sole focus is to recover monies due to institution investors from securities class action settlements.  Each year, hundreds of cases are settled globally, resulting in billions of dollars being available to damaged investors.  Through technology, years of experience and expertise, Battea has automated this time consuming, complex and error prone process uncovering and exhausting every opportunity while maximizing the investor’s recovery potential.   Prior to Battea, Bob has spent 20+ years in the financial services sector holding various roles and responsibilities.  Bob was Vice President of sales at Lava a subsidiary of CITI who provided, at the time, a suite of cutting edge products which included algorithmic trading, soft dollar services and order management systems. Bob was one of the original employees at NYFIX whose firm revolutionized the way wall street traded securities by implementing the first straight through processing electronic trading platform, utilizing the industry’s co-developed/shared user protocol called FIX.  Bob spent over 10+ years at Battea, eventually becoming Senior Vice President of Sales heading NYFIX’s order management division.  In his early years, he was the Regional Sales Manager for VBand, the world leader of a highly specialized telephony system used by institution trading operations worldwide. Bob earned a bachelor’s degree at Oneonta State University and spent a semester in Denmark attending the Denmark International Business Program.

Brad Crombie

Chief Executive Officer

Alquity Investment Management

Brad Crombie is Chief Executive Officer of Alquity, a specialist ESG and Impact investment manager. Previously Mr. Crombie was responsible for all Fixed Income and LDI investing as Global Head at Aberdeen Asset Management, now a part of Standard Life Aberdeen PLC, a FTSE 100-listed asset management company. In this role, he served on the company’s executive committee as well as a director of its principal UK operating subsidiaries. Prior to joining Aberdeen, Mr. Crombie was Managing Director and Head of EMEA Non-Financials Credit Research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He started his investing career in European High Yield.

In addition to the GRI, Mr. Crombie also serves on the Advisory Group on McGill University in the UK and Europe. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Crombie was a founding member of the Advisory Council of the FICC Market Standards Board (FMSB), the body created following the UK’s Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR), and served on its Conduct & Ethics Sub-Committee.

He graduated from McGill University with a BA Degree in History and Political Science and an MA Degree in History and went on to read History in the PhD. programme at the University of Cambridge.

Sasha Polishchuk

Head of Business Development and Investors Relations

Carlisle Management Company S.C.A.

Oleksandra is one of the principles in charge of the Business Development and Investor Relations at Carlisle Management Company, a leading Life Settlements investment manager headquartered in Luxembourg with close to 2.5B USD in AUM. Carlisle is unusual among life settlement companies as it has been in the business since its early inception. Collectively, its principles boast a remarkable range and depth of ‘know–how’ in longevity – contingent assets, based on active participation in the secondary and tertiary life insurance markets. This background provides it with a strong network of global contacts, and allows it to build on an unrivalled expertise among life settlement providers, brokerages and capital market participants.

Oleksandra has served at Carlisle for more than 4 years, most recently, as one of Carlisle’s marketing directors, covering a diverse range of private and institutional investors across Europe and Middle East. She plays an integral role for the Company in further evaluating and leading a growing number of business development opportunities. Mrs Polishchuk brings close to a decade of international marketing and sales experience across FMCG, telco and financial services segments. She holds an EMBA from ESCP Business School.

David Vankka

President & Chief Financial Officer

ICM Asset Management

Mr. Vankka is the President & Chief Financial Officer of ICM Asset Management and the Chief Executive Officer of ICM Investment Management Inc. He is the Portfolio Manager on the ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund and the ICM Advantage Venture Capital Corporation.

Mr. Vankka joined ICM as a partner in 2017 and leads ICM’s diversified private equity platform. Mr. Vankka has 30 years of experience in investment banking, trading, and capital markets. He has been a Managing Director at several investment banks with extensive advisory experience in domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions, equity and debt origination, due diligence, structured product management, strategic planning, risk management, and proprietary trading. Mr. Vankka was a founder of global energy investment bank Tristone Capital which was ultimately sold to Macquarie Group and before that co-head and principal at Peters & Co. Limited. Mr. Vankka also was Vice President, Risk Management at Gluskin Sheff + Associates.

Mr. Vankka holds Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Professional Accountant, and Chartered Accountant designations. He is registered as Portfolio Manager with the Alberta Securities Commissions and holds a Bachelor of Commerce with distinction from the University of Calgary.

Carol Bezaire

Vice President, Tax, Estate & Strategic Philanthropy

Mackenzie Investments

Carol Bezaire is Vice President of Tax, Estate and Strategic Philanthropy at Mackenzie Investments, and one of Canada’s leading authorities on matters of tax and estate and charitable giving. She leads a team of six Tax and Estate Planning professionals and three Business Development experts, who all support and offer opportunities to help financial advisors stay well informed in an ever-changing marketplace. The Tax and Estate Planning team also provides support to Mackenzie’s new product initiatives in the area of tax efficiency and strategic philanthropy.

Prior to joining Mackenzie in 2004, Carol spent six years in a similar capacity at another Canadian mutual fund company. Carol also worked for a number of years as an advisor, providing financial and estate planning advice to high net worth individuals. In partnership with Sales, Carol and her team conduct numerous tax and estate planning seminars across the country with both advisors and investors.

Carol has designations as a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Life Underwriter. She is also a member of the Society of Tax and Estate Practitioners and the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Ian Whytock

Co-founder and Managing Partner

Tidal Venture Partners

Ian is Tidal’s Managing Partner and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Tidal is a pre-seed to seed venture fund that focuses on investing in the emerging ecosystem of Atlantic Canada. Prior to co-founding Tidal, Ian was a strategy consultant at a boutique management consultancy. His practice focus was on advising early-stage companies on their go-to-market, scale-up and business development strategies. He is a graduate of the VC Lab programme, the world’s leading VC fund manager accelerator, and the first graduate from Canada. Ian completed his BA in Philosophy at the University of King’s College, and went to do his graduate work at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where his research focused on emerging market economy transitions.

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.

Ralph Awrey

Director, Family Office, Canada

Stonehage Fleming

We are valued advisors to the world’s leading families and wealth creators. We manage and protect their wealth, often across multiple geographies and generations.  We work with families to help determine a purpose and strategy for their wealth, providing the platform to protect and manage their assets, across generations. This support can vary from a single standalone service to operating as a fully outsourced Family Office.  With a sixth generation family at our core, we bring the families we support the benefit of shared experience; the challenges and opportunities they face will often be unique to them, but not to us.  We give them the peace of mind and the time to focus on what’s most important to them.

Ralph is Director for Stonehage Fleming, based in Toronto. He has more than 20 years’ experience specialising in working with families and their advisors across the Americas providing strategic counsel, management and implementation covering the full spectrum of a family’s wealth requirements His experience in both living and working internationally allows him to bring the right resources and practical wisdom to help international families manage their wealth and protect their legacy for this generation and those to come.

Prior to joining Stonehage Fleming, Ralph held a variety of senior leadership roles in wealth management across the Americas with Canadian banks and a Single Family Office. This included a 20-year career with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) through postings in Canada, Barbados, and the Cayman Islands where he also served on the Boards of RBC’s Delaware and Caribbean Trust companies. Ralph is a Chartered Accountant (Canada), and has a Masters in Business Administration from The Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and Honours Bachelor of Arts from Western University.