Session PC1

Innovation in Healthcare

Speakers: Alexandra Greenhill, Physician and Founder, Careteam Technologies Inc.
                Steve Schlesak, General Manager, Dialogue
                Speaker 3, TBC

Moderator : Dimitra Tsourpis, Associate Vice President, Aon

Session PC2

Cybersecurity

Speaker: Sandy Treleaven, Vice President, Financial Institutions & Cyber-risk Practice, AON

Cyber risk is no longer considered an emerging risk; trustees and administrators of all pension and benefit plans should assess the potential impact of information security and privacy risk exposures, and consider the following questions:

• Can we identify and quantify the damages from a successful cyber attack, privacy breach incident or cyber-extortion attempt?
• Are we exposed to potential liability or reputational harm arising out of the actions or inactions of our employees, business partners and outside service providers?
• Beyond I.T. infrastructure and contractual risk-transfer solutions, how do we protect ourselves from cyber-risk?
• Having considered the potential financial and reputational cost of cyber-risk, are we comfortable with retaining that risk in-house or do we wish to consider transferring that risk to an insurance company?

The goal of this interactive session is to provide trustees and administrators with an overview of cyber-risk exposures they might be exposed to, and to describe the risk-management and risk-transfer solutions that are available to them.

Session PC3: 

The Rise of AI

Speaker: Pierre Bouchard, Portfolio Manager, Cidel Asset Management Inc. 

Machines are taking on a bigger role in making investment decisions. From analyzing data and learning from it, to choosing long-term stock holdings, A.I. will potentially be taking the place of the people we use to interact with. Time will tell whether A.I. remains a tool, staying subordinate to its human masters or whether it takes control of the investment process and makes final decisions. Anyone with an interest in asset management should pay attention as we need to figure what is a little gimmicky at this point and what will change the market forever.

•  Better understanding what AI is and can do
•  Roles AI play now and in the future

Session PC4

Demystifying Blockchain

Speaker: Kaushik Venkatadri, Sr. Director, Blockchain COE, RBC

Blockchain technology and its possibilities have captured the imagination of professionals across industries. Often mentioned as a technology that may one day transform our economic and social foundations, it is one of the most discussed technologies today. The Demystifying Blockchain presentation is intended to provide attendees with a basic understanding of this technology, why it is considered revolutionary by practitioners, and how it may evolve.

What you will learn:

• A basic understanding of what blockchain is
• A model for how blockchain technology may evolve in the future

S13 - Pension

Mind the gap – breaking down silos and re-imagining the member experience

Speaker: Matt Gaudry, Director, Product Support & Management, GWL

Helping people improve their financial, physical and mental well-being means going beyond the traditional approach. Benefits delivery used to be tactical and transactional. Today, it’s critical that organizations get strategic and support members throughout their lives, with an understanding that well-being is a complete experience. It’s time to break out of the silos, get proactive and deliver targeted, customized service where and when customers expect it. Attendees will come away from this session with an understanding of:

• Harnessing the power of data for customers

• Delivering personalized member care

• Tearing down benefits barriers

S14 - Benefits 

Pursuing Partnership: How consultants are evolving (and innovating) to hit the moving target of client needs

Speakers: Jason Billard, Senior Vice President, West Region Leader, Morneau Shepell
                Kelly Cardwell, Vice President, Human Resources, Bosa Properties

Jason Billard of Morneau Shepell and Kelly Cardwell of Bosa Properties will provide a look from both sides of the table at the evolving expectations and relationships between consultants/insurers and their clients and how these dynamics have changed over the past 10-to-20 years.

Jason and Kelly will conduct in-depth interviews with HR leaders at a variety of major employers along with senior consulting and insurance providers and provide an exclusive overview of their findings to the attendees of the 2019 CPBI Forum. The focus of this research will be on how innovation and technology have changed the way HR professionals do their jobs and their expectations of how their providers/external partners can support their organizations’ ever-evolving business environment.

Delivered in a lively and engaging style, Jason and Kelly will go beyond their research findings and share several real-world examples of how innovation is driving incredible change within the HR industry.

Learning Objectives

1. How HR professionals can best utilize the expertise of resources outside their organization to deliver added value to their employees and their ROI.
2. Valuable insight into what today’s HR leaders expect and need from their consulting and insurance carrier providers.
3. How technology advances (e.g., AI) and economic trends (e.g., gig economy) are transforming how HR services are being delivered and also impacting expectations among today’s employees.
4. A discussion of what constitutes “value added” vs. a “commodity” in the eyes of HR executives today.

Target Audience:

Human resources professionals from employers in all industries (public sector, private sector and multi-employer plans), insurance industry professionals and consultants.

S15 - Investment 

Brexit and Beyond

Speaker: TBC

S16 - Pension  

OCI "Omg" : Establishing Best Practices 

Speaker: Bradley N. Rowe, MBA, CFA, Principal, Eckler

As the Outsourced CIO (OCIO) service model continues to gain popularity in Canada, it is important for Plan Stakeholders to avoid blindly jumping on the bandwagon and evaluate the model with an eye on how the model can fit within a good governance model. By considering markets where the OCIO has a longer track-record, and more established "best-practices", we may be able to avoid some pitfalls, escort the conflict of interest elephant out ofthe room, and move forward with a stronger governance model for OCIO mandates.

This session will focus on what investment outsourcing is and what it is not. Address and perhaps clarify the idea of the OCIO's conflicted interests and provide some guidance to a Plan sponsor for the selection and ongoing evaluation of an OCIO provider.

What you will learn:

1. What is the difference between traditional consulting and outsourcing?
2. What is the OCIO Conflict of Interest, how can it be managed?
3. What should be considered as industry best practices?
4. Is there a role for the regulator?

Who should attend

Plan Sponsors, OCIO Providers, Regulators

S17 - Benefits 

Maximizing Organizational Resilience: Breaking down the barriers to success

Speaker: Jesse Adams, Head of Operations & Strategy, Howatt HR

Jesse Adams (MSc), Former National Lead for Morneau Shepell’s Total Health Index tool and Head of Operation and Strategy at Howatt HR consulting will discuss the key principles and interaction of mental health, stress, and resilience in the workplace. A focus will be placed on considerations for organizations when building their health strategy, how to anchor health as a key priority in your organization, as well as practical steps in helping to support the resilience of employees.

What you will learn
1. Mental health and the impact of stress at work.
2. How to support the resilience of others.
3. Where to start with your strategy.
4. Six organizational barriers to success.

S18 - Investment

Innovations in Equity Risk Management

Speaker: Bradley Hough, FIA, ACIA, CAIA, Consultant, PBI

Plan sponsors are looking at innovative ways to protect pensions against falls in the equity market. Although the use of alternatives is increasing, public equities remain a key return driver for many pension plans. Plan sponsors need ways to mitigate the impact of drops in the equity market volatility while preserving exposure to the asset class. Some European and, more recently, North American, plan sponsors have been purchasing contractual, insurance-type protection against a drop in equities. Investors have then designed strategies to manage or offset the protection costs. These strategies are known as structured equity.

In this session, we will discuss structured equity strategies, review their impact and considerations, and describe how pension plans are using them to manage risk.

Participants will learn:

• The key risks tied to equity investments
• What structured equity is
• How to design structured equity strategies around the unique needs of a pension plan
• What plan sponsors should consider before implementing a structured equity strategy

Who should attend this session:

Defined Benefit plan sponsors, investment committee members, pension trustees, group benefits trustees, administrators involved in setting the asset mix for defined benefit pension plans.