Roy Saunderson

MONDAY KEYNOTE 

Roy Saunderson, MA, CRP, is an author and recognition strategist who works at helping people better use recognition and rewards for maximum impact. He is the Chief Learning Officer at Engage2Excel with over 25 years in the recognition field. Roy teaches everyone how to get recognition right through his engaging leadership and management presentations, online webinars, and as a writer answering people’s recognition questions.

Adrian Gostick
& Chester Elton

FRIDAY KEYNOTE 

Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton have spent more than two decades helping clients engage their employees on strategy, vision and values. In their provocative, inspiring and always entertaining talks, they provide real solutions for leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead multi-generational workforces. Their work is supported by research with more than a million working adults across the globe, revealing the proven secrets behind high performance cultures and teams.

They are founders of The Culture Works, a global training company and authors of multiple award winning, #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times, bestsellers, All In, The Carrot Principle and Leading with Gratitude. Their books have been translated into 30 languages and have sold more than 1.5 million copies. They have been called “fascinating” by Fortune and “creative and refreshing” by The New York Times. Gostick & Elton have appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS 60 Minutes, and are often quoted in Fast Company, Newsweek and Wall Street Journal.

Gostick & Elton are members of Marshall Goldsmith’s #MG100 Global Coaches. In 2020, both ranked in the top 10 Global Gurus in Leadership and Organizational Culture.

Nicole Ardiel
Benefits Consultant

Nicole graduated from the University of Victoria in 1996, with a double-major in English & Creative Writing. She then inadvertently and auspiciously found herself in the insurance industry in 1997, as an Employee Benefits Specialist with one of the major insurance carriers. Five years later, she started her own insurance practice and began to specialize in employee benefits.

Nicole’s goal is to provide meaningful, sustainable and fairly priced plans to local business owners. She believes strongly in employee education and engagement.  She also has a passion for the mental health and wellbeing of not only herself, but for everyone around her. She knows that you must walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk, in order to achieve authenticity. Throughout her 25-year career, Nicole has supported hundreds of Vancouver Island business owners and thousands of local employees. Nicole is also a proud member of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Think Local Victoria, Advocis and the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB) association.

When she is not happily serving her clients, Nicole fills her calendar with many other activities.  “Work hard, play hard” is one of her mottos.  She is a spirited soccer enthusiast, a disciplined gym-attendee and a devoted but hopeless golfer.  She also loves to snowboard, hike local hills with her pup, and travel the BC Ale Trail with her sweetie. Her family and friends are very important to her, especially her two nephews and niece. In addition to this, she also finds time to read a poem a day and a novel a week.  

Dan Berty
Executive Director
Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation (CDIPC)

Mr. Berty has over 30 of senior management experience in the Canadian health and dental benefits market and been CDIPC’s Executive Director since January 2015. During his time in the industry he has provided executive leadership on a wide range of operational and strategic initiatives. He has also provided expert advice on the Canadian group benefits business to software companies, claims companies, insurers, and medical provider associations

Ravipal Bains
Senior Associate
McMillan LLP

Ravipal (Ravi) Bains is a trusted advisor in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and corporate finance. Ravi acts for issuers and private equity funds in a variety of sectors, including mining, forestry, and technology. He has advised parties on both sides of negotiations, including shareholders, boards of directors and special committees. In 2019, the M&A Advisor recognized Ravi as one of the “Emerging Leaders” (formerly, the 40 Under 40).

A frequent author, Ravi’s commentary has been featured in national and international publications, including the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, The Globe and Mail, Policy Options, Oxford Business Law Blog, Lexpert, Private Equity International, Business in Vancouver, and The Vancouver Sun. He speaks extensively on a wide range of legal and policy issues and has been invited to present his research at the University of California Davis, European Banking Institute, and University of British Columbia.

Ravi is a leader of McMillan’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Initiative, a cross sectoral practice that advises clients on various legal, governance, and capital markets aspects of a low carbon economy. In 2019, the Canada Climate Law Initiative recognized Ravi as a climate governance expert and included him in the inaugural group of experts. He is also a David Rockefeller Fellow with The Trilateral Commission and a Carnegie New Leader with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Prior to joining McMillan, Ravi was a legal advisor at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Born and raised in rural Punjab, he also clerked at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and worked at one of India’s premier business law firms.

Robert Bowness
Director – Employer Operations
BC Pension Corp

Robert has been working for the British Columbia Pension Corporation for over seven years and is now the Director of Employer Operations. He is a results driven leader with expertise in strategy development, operation execution and team leadership; he builds motivated teams to develop and implement strategic priorities while establishing effective objectives and key results to drive high levels of service to clients.

Highlights of his expertise include the following:

• Developing and implementing organizational strategies while supporting staff through open communication and transparent goal setting resulting in efficiency increases and strong employee engagement results across all key indicators
• Developing performance management frameworks based on transparent and measurable objectives and key results
• Building and fostering relationships with senior leaders, peers and clients to drive successful strategy implementation

Dr. Vivien Brown, MDCM, CCFP, FCFP, NCMP
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
VP North America, Medical Women’s International Association

Dr. Vivien Brown is a family physician and author in Toronto. Educated at McGill University, she currently is appointed to the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, holding the rank of Assistant Professor. An award winner for teaching on many levels, her major interests are in the area of health promotion and prevention for women, and continuing medical education. She is Vice President of Medisys Health Group, a business dedicated to preventative health. The College of Family Physicians of Ontario has named Dr Brown “Physician of the Year for the Region of Toronto”, awarded November 2012. Representing Family Medicine in Canada, she has been on the board of the Canadian Immunization Conference and currently is on the Board of “Immunize Canada”, an educational component of Public Health Canada. She has lectured locally, nationally and internationally on preventative medicine and implementation issues around vaccination. She was the past President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada, linking female physicians, students and residents throughout the country. Recently she has been the Chair of the in augural HPV Prevention Week 2017 in Canada. 

Donna Carbell
Head of Group Benefits
Manulife 

Donna Carbell is Manulife’s Head of Group Benefits, which provides health benefits to over 23,000 employers across Canada and more than three million Canadians. Donna also oversees the International Group Program (IGP), a network of global insurers who collaborate to support some of the largest multinational companies pool benefit costs globally to better manage their employee benefits programs.

Donna has been with Manulife since 2000, working in progressively senior roles across the organization over the last 20+ years. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Laurier in Waterloo and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa. Donna is a proud member of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Canada.

Pierre-Luc Chénier
Assistant Director Policy
BCPC

Pierre-Luc Chénier is assistant director of Policy at the BC Pension Corporation. Pierre-Luc leads a team of senior analysts charged with advising the British Columbia public sector pension plans and corporate clients on legislative, regulatory and policy matters.

Wayne Critchley
Former Executive Director of the PMPRB and Senior Associate
Global Public Affairs 

Wayne Critchley is Senior Associate with Global Public Affairs’ Health & Life Sciences practice, providing counsel to leading biopharmaceutical and medical device corporations and associations along with other health policy stakeholders. Wayne has a long track record of success as a senior executive with over twenty years of experience in government departments, boards and agencies dealing primarily with issues that impact the pharmaceutical sector.

He served as Executive Director of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board from 1990 to 2005 and as a Vice President of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health in 2009. From 2007-2009, he was a partner in one of Canada’s leading law firms. Wayne is widely recognized as an expert in pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and market access and is regularly called upon to write and present on Canadian pharmaceutical issues.

Wayne served as Chair of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders from 2015-2019 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He is also active with the Canadian Club of Ottawa and served as President from 2012-2013.

Nick DeLisi
Associate Partner, Head of DC Investments - Canada
Aon

Nick DeLisi is an Associate Partner within the Investment Consulting practice of Aon. Nick joined the firm in 2014 and supports clients across several sectors, notably corporations, universities and not-for-profit organizations. He leads Aon’s DC investment strategy in Canada and is part of Aon’s Canadian DC leadership group.

Nick specializes in DC strategy, investment and portfolio structure/manager review, the development of investment policies and plan governance. He has worked with many of his DB clients through asset/liability studies and implementing de-risking and LDI strategies. He also leads Aon’s Canadian DC strategy and research on target date funds and recordkeepers.

Nick has over nine years of experience in both investment consulting and investment manager research. Prior to joining Aon, Nick was a part of the global investment consulting group within Sun Life Financial. He was responsible for manager research and selection, overseeing investment managers on Sun Life’s DC platform and reporting to several investment committee’s within the firm. Nick holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University.

Carlo DiLalla
Managing Director and Head, Institutional Asset Management
CIBC Asset Management

Carlo DiLalla is responsible for managing the firm’s institutional asset management business, providing strategic direction on all aspects of business development, client service, consultant relations, and client portfolio management.

Mr. DiLalla has over 25 years of experience in both Canadian and global markets. Prior to joining CIBC in 2012, he was a Principal at Mercer Investments, working closely with a variety of institutional investors, including pension and insurance clients, to construct investment solutions. He also held roles at Willis Towers Watson, Mackenzie Investments, and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.

Mr. DiLalla holds an MBA degree from Niagara University and a BComm degree from Concordia University. He has published a number of research papers on investment-related themes and is a frequent speaker at Canadian investment forums. He is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Toronto.

Derek W. Dobson
CEO
CAAT Pension Plan 

He has more than 25 years of experience in the pension industry. In addition to being the CEO of one of Canada’s most sustainable pension plans, he serves as Co-Chair of the Canadian Public Pension Leadership Council (CPPLC), sits on the Board of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM), he is a contributor to the International Centre for Pension Management and is a founding faculty member of the Masters of Trust Management Standards (MTMS) of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits and Pensions (IFEBP), and Member of the Legal & Legislative and Public Sector Conference Committee of IFEBP, and is a member of the Pension Committee of the C.D. Howe Institute.

Derek is a featured speaker at pension conferences, and you’ll see his articles in Plans and Trusts, Benefits Canada, HR Professional, HR Reporter and the ACPM Observer.

Derek received the 2019 ACPM Industry Award. This was given in recognition of his leadership and creativity in addressing the challenges facing the Canadian retirement income system through his advocacy for, and development of, solutions to expand Canadians’ access to sustainable and efficient pension plans.

Derek is an Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) with a degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo.

Jordan Fremont 
Partner
Bennett Jones LLP

Jordan advises on pension, benefits and compensation plan design, compliance, governance, administration, regulatory investigations, disputes and business transactions, including downsizings, spin-offs, mergers and acquisitions and wind-ups. He is also regularly engaged to advise on executive employment matters and employment-related tax issues.

The pension, benefits and executive compensation community have benefited from Jordan's support. Jordan frequently speaks at and contributes to professional and industry conferences and events, and he is a long-time industry volunteer, having held several leadership positions with the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute (CPBI), both with CPBI’s Ontario Regional Council and as a member of the CPBI's National Board of Directors. Jordan is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Pension Office of the Anglican Church of Canada, a trustee for the Anglican Church's pension and benefits plans, a member of the Benefits Canada Pension & Investment Advisory Board, and a member of the Executive of the Pension and Benefits Section of the Ontario Bar Association.

Jordan has been recognized for his work in the area of pensions & employee benefits by The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Chambers Canada, and Best Lawyers in Canada. He is a member of CPBI, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, the Canadian Bar Association and the Pension and Benefits, and Taxation Sections of the Ontario Bar Association.

Dr. Jonathan Gabor
Consultant Physician, Cardiometabolic and Cardiovascular Disease

Dr. Jonathan Gabor is a specialist in general internal medicine with post-graduate subspecialty training and expertise in several areas of cardiometabolic disease including heart failure, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, obesity pharmacotherapy, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and obstructive sleep apnea. He is board-certified in obesity from the American Board of Obesity Medicine, a Specialist in Clinical Hypertension from the American Society of Hypertension, and a Specialist in Heart Failure from the European Society of Cardiology. He continues to participate in knowledge dissemination and guideline development, serving on subcommittees of the Canadian Heart Failure Society and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, the U.S. National Lipid Association, the European Society of Cardiology, the advisory board of the U.S. Cardiometabolic Health Congress, and the guidelines development committee of Hypertension Canada. He is one of the authors of the national hypertension 2020 guidelines update, including the chapter on the diagnosis and management of resistant hypertension. He is member of the national scientific committee of Obesity Canada and the Chair of its Winnipeg chapter. Dr. Gabor is a representative of the Canadian NASH network, a national collaboration of health care professionals with an interest in advocacy, education, and clinical research in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Lastly, he is also a member of the scientific committee of the 2022 Canadian Cardiovascular Harmonized Guidelines Endeavour, with the mandate to harmonize and combine the numerous national guidelines including those pertaining to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and heart failure.

Graeme Hay
CIO
TRAF (Teacher’s Retirement Allowance Fund) – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Graeme leads all aspects of TRAF's investment program, including investment strategy, manager selection and monitoring. Prior to TRAF, he was a member of the investment team of Wellington West Asset Management, the internal portfolio management unit of one of Canada's largest independent brokerages. In this role, he carried out fundamental research for the firm's equity portfolios and led the firm's research effort on external investment managers employed across the firm.

Graeme is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), having earned the Robert Syme Memorial Silver Medal, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. He is a past president of the CFA Society of Winnipeg and serves on the Board of the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC). He also serves on the Investment Committee of the Manitoba Museum Pension Trust Fund.

Vincent Houle
Senior Consultant
Linea Solutions

Vincent compte plus de 15 années d’expériences dans le domaine de l’administration de régimes de retraite.  Il a passé les 10 premières années de sa carrière chez AonHewitt où il s’est occupé de l’administration des régimes de retraite de plusieurs clients en plus d’être chargé de projet pour l’implantation de systèmes d’administration et de participer à plusieurs initiatives d’amélioration continue.
Depuis qu’il s’est joint à Linea Solution en 2016, Vincent a travaillé en tant que chargé de projet et analyste d’affaire pour l’implantation de système d’administration de régime de retraite au Canada et au États Unis.  De plus, Vincent a effectué plusieurs études stratégiques aux Canada dans le but d’aider divers régimes de retraite dans la modernisation de leurs pratiques et systèmes d’administration.

Chris Jansen
AVP, Plan Member Guidance & Solutions
Canada Life

Chris has extensive experience in the insurance industry and has been with Canada Life for over 25 years. He has spent the last 18 years in various roles within Group Customer, including new business underwriting and implementation, marketing, pricing, valuation, and technology initiatives. He has an actuarial background with fellowships in the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Currently, Chris leads a team that provides personalized health and wealth guidance to plan members in alignment with Canada Life's Group Customer strategy and objectives.

Stephen James
Vice-President
Linea Solutions

Stephen James, Vice President Business Development / Senior Principal Consultant

Stephen is a senior operations, account management, and business development executive who has successfully delivered complex pension solutions to clients across North America. One of his chief strengths is his ability to work both on management and delivery on projects. He has consulted in the pension industry for over 25 years, first as an actuary, then as a software solution provider and now with Linea. Stephen has worked with pension plans in the US and Canada, providing consulting services ranging from strategic planning through to procurement and implementation. Between 1998 and 2021 Stephen has overseen the delivery of pension administration solutions to Canadian pension plans across the country, including British Columbia Pension Corporation (BCPC). Stephen currently lives just outside of Ottawa in Stittsville, Ontario, Canada.

Stephen’s role at Linea is split between providing leadership on client accounts and business development, especially for Linea’s growing Canadian presence.

Stephen has a BSc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from McGill University. He is fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and the the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA)

Jennifer Katzsch
Regional Vice-President, Western Canada, Group Retirement
Desjardins Insurance

Jennifer leads the Business Development and Client Relationships teams in Western Canada along with the national Education and Transition team.

Jennifer is responsible for the overall client satisfaction and new business opportunities in Western Canada. She also leads the National Education and Transition team, which offers flexible solutions to ensure plan members understand and value the benefits their employers’ programs are offering them.

Jennifer works closely with her teams to develop innovative solutions and strategies that enhance the client experience and ensures our clients, as well as their plan members, are getting the most out of their group savings plan.

For over 20 years, Jennifer has worked with a wide variety of clients, including large multinational corporations and clients with defined contribution, defined benefit plans and savings plans.

Olga Kosters
Head Private Debt Secondaries
Tikehau Capital

Olga joined Tikehau Capital in 2019 to head the Private Debt Secondaries investment strategy. Olga has twenty years of investment and structuring experience in private and public capital markets. Prior to joining Tikehau Capital, she advised large institutional investors on US private credit strategies while at StepStone Global and led the execution of corporate private debt strategy at Zurich Insurance Group. Prior to this Olga has held several positions at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

Education: Hofstra University, Kahabarovsk State University

Catherine Laberge   
Directrice de section, développements des affaires, assurance groupes et entreprises
Desjardins Assurance

Catherine a obtenu un baccalauréat en administration des affaires en 2009 et une maîtrise en gestion des affaires (MBA) en 2018.

Elle œuvre dans le domaine de l’assurance collective depuis maintenant 12 ans et chez Desjardins depuis 2013.

Elle a débuté sa carrière en tant que conseillère en assurance collective et elle occupe un poste de directrice de section pour la région de Montréal depuis 3 ans, toujours au sein de l’assurance collective chez Desjardins Assurances.

Lancelot Lambert 
Director Business Development, Group Insurance, Toronto
Desjardins Insurance

Lancelot Lambert joined Desjardins Insurance in 2020 and is a Director of Business Development for the large group segment. He has over 18 years of group benefits experience in underwriting, sales and service. In his current role he is responsible for helping the Desjardins team in Toronto meet their collective goal of doing what’s right for client and members. His work over the years and dedication to seeking out answers has made him a valuable resource to, colleagues, advisors, plan sponsors and their employees.

Carole Lemay, BBA
Group Insurance and group annuity plans advisor
Canada Life

Carole has more than 10 years of experience in the financial field. She has held several positions within Canada Life in both sales and management. As Member Guide Leader, her role is to provide leadership and management to the team of Member Guide while working closely with various partners to maximize results.

Prior to joining Canada Life, she held a position with a mutual fund company where she honed her investment knowledge. Carole is a numbers girl, resourceful and proactive. She is always in solution mode and brings well-considered opinions to the table.

Karen Lockridge
Director, ESG Investing
Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan

Karen Lockridge is the Director, ESG Investing at Canada Post Corporation (CPC) Pension Plan.  Karen is responsible for developing and implementing the CPC Pension Plan’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment strategy and risk management framework.

Prior to joining Canada Post in December, 2019, Karen was a member of Mercer’s global Responsible Investment team.  Karen was a member of the core team that developed Mercer's Investing in a Time of Climate Change - The Sequel (2019) research report. During her 25 year career at Mercer, Karen has held a variety of leadership roles in defined benefit risk management, strategy execution, knowledge management, and operations. In addition to her time at Mercer, Karen spent 18 months in 2010/11 as Director, Pension and Benefits at BMO Financial Group.

Karen was named one of Canada's 2019 Clean 50 leaders in the field of sustainable capitalism. Karen is on the board of directors at QUEST Canada, which is accelerating smart energy communities across Canada and is a member of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Asset Owner Technical Advisory Committee.

Karen graduated from the University of Alberta with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics in 1990. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Michel Malo
CIO of Provident 10 (Newfoundland, Labrador)

Michel hails from Montreal, but has worked in various Canadian and international cities, where he has earned a reputation for his cutting-edge investment strategy and success building and motivating investment teams. Most recently, Michel was a senior leader in investment strategy as Vice-President, Investments for Canadian National Investment Division. In 1994, Michel landed at State Street Global Advisors where he was responsible for both operations and investments—but it was his talent for building teams and his innovative approach to investment planning that began to define his professional reputation and career path. In 2004, he was brought in to lead a review and reorganization of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec Hedged Fund portfolio where he created a unique and motivated investment teams, transitioning to Executive Vice President, Hedged Funds and Commodities. In 2009, Michel was enlisted by the University of Toronto. As Co-Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Asset Management. There he recognized an opportunity to strengthen his direct management experience while exploring innovative investment solutions for the institution’s$5 billion CAD endowment-type fund, including alternative investments, hedge funds, private equities, and real estate In 2012, he joined the team at the Qatar Foundation Endowment as Head of Investment Strategy, Market Risk and later shifted into the role of Chief Operating Officer. Michel returned to his hometown of Montreal in 2015 to pursue a new challenge at Canadian National Investment Division as Vice President, Investments. In 2019, Michel accepted the position as Chief Investment Officer at Provident10

Catherine Marshall
Principal, R4 Advisors

Lezlie Mintz
Vice President - Business Development
ACM Advisors

Lezlie has over 10 years of experience working in the Canadian commercial real estate market. As Vice President - Business Development, she is responsible for developing new relationships and raising capital for ACM Advisors Ltd. ACM is an investment fund manager (est. 1993) that specializes in the creation, structuring and management of pooled Canadian commercial mortgage funds.

Lezlie began at ACM as a senior real estate analyst where she was involved in the financial analysis of commercial mortgage transactions ranging in loan size from $5MM to $125MM. Her previous work experience included underwriting commercial mortgages for a national trust company, managing investor relations for a private lender, and she developed a corporate branding strategy for a prominent Vancouver developer.

Today, Lezlie is passionate about education and the prosperity of the Canadian pension community. She has enjoyed sharing her knowledge with audiences of CPBI Pacific, CFA Society Vancouver, the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta (Finance major) and a Master of Business Administration from the University of British Columbia.

Joris Nathanson
Investment Manager
GuardCap Asset Management Limited

Joris Nathanson is Investment Manager for GuardCap Asset Management Limited (GuardCap). He joined GuardCap in 2016.
Prior to joining GuardCap, Joris spent ten years working for Nevsky Capital LLP, a multi-billion dollar Global and Emerging Markets specialist investment firm offering both long only and long/short strategies, where he was Partner and Senior Analyst.
Joris graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte LLP.

Perry Offut
Managing Director
Head of UBS Infrastructure for the Americas

Perry is Head of Infrastructure Americas at UBS Asset Management. Based in New York, Perry has more than 20 years of infrastructure investment and industry experience having worked on upwards of USD 100 billion of transactions.

Perry joined UBS from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets where he served as a Managing Director on the North American investment team.  Prior to that, he was at Morgan Stanley as Head of Infrastructure Banking for the Americas.

Perry serves on the boards of Northern Star Generation and Ports America.  He served on the boards of Aquarion Water Company and GFL Environmental prior to joining UBS and Western Generation Partners before it was sold in February 2021.  

Vice-President, Asset Allocation
Trans Canada Capital inc.

As Vice-President, Asset Allocation, Jean-François is responsible for TCC’s strategic and tactical asset allocation. He is also a longstanding member of the Investment Committee (IC).

Prior to joining the team in 2015, Jean-François was senior investment strategist for one of the largest public pension plans in Canada where he was involved in asset allocation decisions and assessing the macroeconomic outlook. Previously, he also worked as asset allocation advisor for institutional clients of a large para-public organization. He brings close to 20 years of experience in the asset/liability management and macroeconomic analysis.

Jean-François holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Science from Laval University and a Master of Applied Finance from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) as well as a CFA charterholder.

Brad Proctor
Office Lead Partner
McIness Cooper LLP

Brad Proctor is an Office Lead Partner based out of the Halifax, Nova Scotia office.

Brad practices management labour and employment law with an emphasis on the following core areas:
- Occupational Health and Safety;
- Workers’ Compensation;
- Human Rights and Workplace Accommodations;
- Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining;
- Wrongful Dismissal and other Employment-related claims;
- Workplace Privacy Issues

Brad advises clients to take a proactive approach to management labour and employment relations through the formulation and implementation of employment contracts, workplace policies as well as the creation of training programs for managers and supervisors with respect to performance management, workplace accommodations, harassment prevention and health and safety.

Brad appears regularly before labour arbitrators, human rights tribunals, Labour Boards, Workers’ Compensation Tribunals as well as various levels of court throughout the Atlantic Canadian provinces.

Brad’s dedication to his clients and his practice has earned a number of accomplishments. In 2015, he was named one of Lexpert® Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers under 40. Having gained a national reputation for his experience in occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation counsel, Brad has also been listed in the Best Lawyers® in Canada directory since 2016. Brad also actively volunteers for various community groups, is a Director of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and a past Director of Safety Services Nova Scotia.

Ruth Promislow
Partner
Bennett Jones LLP

Ruth Promislow practices in the areas of privacy, data protection and management, cybersecurity and fraud.

Ruth has over 20 years of experience in litigating complex commercial disputes in a wide variety of areas (including privacy, cybersecurity, fraud, reinsurance and professional negligence), with an impressive track record of success. Ruth has extensive experience with data protection, privacy and cybersecurity matters including regulatory compliance, cyber preparedness, breach response and related litigation.

Ruth is regularly retained to provide opinions on novel issues of law involving matters relating to the management of data.

Ruth works with clients to assess their risks and vulnerabilities, as well as their legal obligations with respect to management of personal or confidential information. Ruth assists clients in developing comprehensive policies, guidelines and procedures to minimize exposure from potential attacks, and to ensure compliance with regulatory and contractual obligations. Ruth also works with clients to develop and implement effective incident response plans enabling clients to respond quickly to a data breach or other event without creating further liability from incident mismanagement.

Following a cyber-attack or privacy incident, Ruth oversees forensic investigations, and assists clients with regulatory investigations, reporting to regulators and providing notification to impacted individuals. Ruth is also involved in all aspects of litigation which may arise as a result of a cyber-attack or privacy incident.

Ruth’s clients in the data protection, privacy and cybersecurity space include organizations from a wide variety of industries including finance, technology, hospitality, insurance and reinsurance, retail and manufacturing, gaming, charity, auto, cannabis, mining and health.

Ruth regularly appears before the Courts of a number of Provinces, including the Ontario Court of Appeal, the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Appeal.

Ruth is widely considered to be a thought leader in the data protection and privacy space. She is frequently asked to speak at Canadian and International conferences and seminars on issues relating to data protection, privacy and cybersecurity. Ruth is an active member of The Sedona Conference, participating in the drafting of highly influential legal papers on privacy matters. She was recently appointed to the Steering Committee of the Privacy Working Group of Sedona. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Cyber Security Forum.

Peter Ricci
Senior Pharmacy Consultant
The Co-operators Life Insurance Company

Peter has been a Senior Pharmacy Consultant with The Co-operators since September 2019. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy University of Saskatchewan in 1999 and completed his Accredited Canadian Pharmacy Residency 2002.

Peter has 21 years of experience in pharmacy and during that time he has been a preceptor for pharmacy students and residents and has also spent time teaching nursing and medical students about drugs. Peter started his career as a compounding pharmacist in Saskatoon SK and Moncton NB while in school and then for 3 years after graduating. In 2002, he completed a one year Residency in Hospital Pharmacy in Regina and then worked for the Saskatchewan Health Authority for a total of 10 years as a pharmacist specializing in anemia management in Chronic Kidney Disease and Gastroenterology Disease while also working in Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant Clinic, Adult and Neonatal Intensive Care, Cardiac Care, and other areas of the hospital. In 2012, Peter became a partner in Rubicon Pharmacies where he operated Pioneer Village Pharmacy and created Rubicon Health Solutions. Eight years later upon the sale of Rubicon Pharmacies, Peter joined Cooperators as Senior Pharmacy Consultant.

Dr. Marc Robin MD
Medical Director
Dialogue

Dr. Marc Robin is the Medical Director at Dialogue where he works as a telemedicine physician and leads a multidisciplinary team of physicians across Canada as they develop a patient-centered approach to virtual health care. Dr. Robin also sees patients in a clinic in Montreal and has an interest in genetics and hereditary cancer screening.

Dr. Robin obtained a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from Laval University in 1989 and carried research in pharmacology and in experimental medicine. After completing his medical studies in 1997 at Université de Montréal he completed a residency in family medicine at McGill University in 1999, as Chief Resident.

Dr. Robin worked at The Stamford Hospital in Connecticut from 1999 to 2012, a major teaching affiliate of the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Planetree Designated®, Stamford Hospital is one of only 17 acute care hospitals in the US with this focus on patient-centered care. Dr. Robin was Vice-Chair of the department of family medicine at Stamford Hospital, member of Stamford Hospital’s Medical Board as well as Medical Director of a center for acute and long-term care

A keen sailor, he was a member of the Canadian Sailing Team and is still actively involved in the sport and with youth athletes.

Jaycee Roth
Associate Managing Director
Cyber Risk

Jaycee Roth is an associate managing director in the Cyber Risk practice, based in the Toronto office. Jaycee specializes in digital forensics and incident response, leading complex cybercrime investigations such as ransomware, business email compromise and supply chain attacks. Since November 2018, Jaycee has conducted and/or supervised over 600 ransomware and incident response cases. She has expertise in dealing with extortion events, including communication with threat actors, acquisition of decryption tools, and post-incident mitigation and remediation. She has received industry recognition for her work and is a highly sought-after presenter and public speaker for cyber-related topics.

Prior to joining Kroll, Jaycee was Director of Digital Forensics and Incident Response at Arete Advisors (“Arete”) in Toronto. As the engagement lead, she assisted companies by rapidly addressing security incidents and mitigating threats. She led and managed a team of incident responders and digital forensic analysts responsible for the entire lifecycle of cyber incidents, from analysis to containment, eradication and remediation. In this role, she participated in large-scope high-impact cyber security compromises and managed incident response workflow and activities to support response and remediation. Jaycee utilized industry-leading and open-source technology to execute large-scale investigations and examine endpoint, network-based and cloud evidence sources. Before becoming a director at Arete, Jaycee worked with Kivu Consulting and Herjavec Group.

In her previous roles, she has handled cyber investigations involving ransomware, business email compromise, employee misconduct, spoliation and more. She also specialized in host-based and network-centric analysis utilizing a variety of tools and techniques such as deadbox forensic analysis, log analysis and active threat monitoring. In one of her previous positions, Jaycee spearheaded the onboarding, training and mentoring of 30 security analysts in Canada, the U.S. and India.

Jaycee has a B.Com. in business technology management from Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto.

Dominique Savard
Directeur principal, développement des affaires
Desjardins Assurances

Dominique est reconnu pour sa capacité à cerner ce qui importe le plus aux clients potentiels et à élaborer minutieusement un régime qui remplit leurs critères. Il a complété le cours sur les fonds d’investissements au Canada. Il détient la désignation de conseiller en rentes collectives de l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) au Québec, ainsi que le titre de Professional Customer Service (P.C.S.) de LOMA. Il est également titulaire d’un baccalauréat avec une majeure en sciences politiques et d’un certificat en droit de l’Université Laval. Dominique est aussi membre du Comité de la Vigie réglementaire et de la conformité des pratiques de la Chambre de la sécurité financière du Québec.

Priti Shokeen, CFA
Vice President & Director,  
ESG Research & Engagement
TD Asset Management

Joined TDAM: 2020
Began Career: 2002

Career Experience
- As the Head of the ESG Research and Engagement Team, she works to promote sustainable investments within TDAM and throughout the industry

- Her Team serves to coalesce TDAM's ESG approach to inform internal and external stakeholders on ESG issues across TDAM mandates, including producing ESG research, leading TDAM's active ownership efforts, and advancing ESG integration

- Extensive experience in ESG research, having previously worked at a major global finance company as part of the ESG research, ratings and investment solutions team

- Began her career in sustainability at a United Nations agency in Geneva, Switzerland, and gained work experience within the Indian chambers of commerce

- Completed her PhD with a focus on ESG Integration in London, UK  

Education
BCom, with Honours, University of Delhi
MA in sociology, University of Warwick
PhD in accounting and finance, Kingston Business School

Of Note
Board member, Women in ETFs – Canada Chapter

Christie Stephenson
Executive Director, Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics
UBC Sauder School of Business

Christie Stephenson is the Executive Director of the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at UBC Sauder School of Business.
Before joining UBC Sauder in 2016, Christie spent 15 years at socially responsible and impact investing firms Sustainalytics (Jantzi Research Associates), NEI Investments (Ethical Funds) and Rally Assets (Purpose Capital).
Christie has more than two decades of diverse board experience. She is currently a director of Vancity financial cooperative, where she chairs the governance committee and serves on the audit committee. She also serves on the board, and environmental, social and governance committee, of the University of British Columbia Staff Pension Plan, as well as the board, governance and risk committees, of Central 1, one of Canada’s domestic systemically important financial institutions.
She is a frequent speaker to industry and academic audiences and a regular media commentator on topics related to responsible business, governance and investing.

Kevin Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
Shareholder Association for Research and Education

Kevin Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer of the Shareholder Association for Research & Education (SHARE). SHARE is a leader in responsible investment services, providing shareholder engagement, research, leadership development, and policy advocacy to a growing network of Canadian pension plans, universities, foundations, Indigenous trusts, religious institutions and asset managers with more than $75 billion in assets under management. SHARE is the secretariat for the Committee on Workers Capital, the Canadian Capital Stewardship Network, and the new University Network for Investor Engagement. Prior to joining SHARE, Kevin advised companies, governments, and public institutions on the development and implementation of policies and practices to improve respect for worker rights in global supply chains. From 1998 to 2009 Kevin served as a political advisor and Chief Negotiator for Treaty negotiations, land use, environmental protection and economic benefit agreements for a First Nation in Alberta. He holds an LLM in international business law. www.share.ca 

Associate Vice President, Benefits & Health
Gallagher Canada

Everything Sandie does is a testament to the fact that details are important and relationships matter – from her strategic questions, to her appreciation of the nuances of a company’s culture, to her understanding of each client’s individual goals. She has made a career out of fostering close relationships with her clients, and going above and beyond. She has been delivering multi-faceted results for Gallagher clients since 1999. Prior to her role here, she had experience in similar roles at a large insurance company and in HR at one of Canada’s largest banks.

Sandie continues to provide benefits solutions for many multi-national, fortune 500 companies as well as mid-sized, independently owned Canadian companies. Sandie represents Gallagher by frequently speaking at industry events and is an advisory member to several pharmaceutical partners.

Sandie has a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, and holds both a CHRP designation from Humber College, and Life Insurance Agent’s License (FSCO).

Tammy Vigue
Retirement Coach & Consultant

Tammy Vigue is a Retirement Coach and Consultant located in Vancouver, BC. She has over 20 years of experience working in the pension and investment industry, as well as a background in Psychology and Coaching.

Her proprietary program, Retirement Reimagined addresses the often-overlooked non-financial aspects of retirement planning; helping individuals define what they are retiring TO.

Tammy graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BA in Psychology and has completed coaching programs through Authentic Leadership Global, the Coaches Training Institute, New Ventures West, Rhodes Wellness College and Retirement Options.

Ed Wallace
Investment Manager
GuardCap Asset Management Limited

Ed Wallace is Investment Manager for GuardCap Asset Management Limited. He joined GuardCap in 2015.
His career in the investment industry began in 2001 when he joined Gartmore Investment Management on their global equity team as a graduate trainee, subsequently becoming an analyst and portfolio manager. In 2011 Henderson Group acquired Gartmore and Ed moved with the team to Henderson Global Investors managing global and international equity funds for institutional and retail clients. Over an 18-month period (2003-05), he also participated in developing UK government policy on institutional investment at HM Treasury.

Ed graduated with a first-class honours degree in Modern History & Economics from Oxford University (1999). He is a CFA® charterholder.

Michael Whitt 
Partner
Bennett Jones LLP

Michael Whitt is both a Patent Agent (2001) and a Trademark Agent (1986) in addition to being a lawyer. Michael advises technology-based businesses on commercialization and compliance matters, and on the structure, negotiation and documentation of novel business models, strategies and transactions, particularly regarding intellectual property and information and other technologies. Michael has been involved with computer and information technologies for over three decades and advises small, medium and large clients with technology or intellectual property assets and operations. Clients include manufacturers, vendors, technology acquirers, ISPs, ASPs, outsource and cloud operators, e-Commerce and web-enabled transaction providers, fin-tech innovators, and infrastructure providers, agricultural and biotechnology operations, health informatics providers and users, geospatial and location-based service providers and professional self-governing bodies. Michael's recent focus is on data governance and cyber security, ISO 27000 and NIST compliance, lean sigma and agile, and the repatriation of outsourced core IT functionality.

Michael also assists clients with the protection of personal information and privacy law compliance, policy review and advice, contract terms in IT and other information-handling and information-flow transactions and operations, breach mitigation and notification, and response to regulatory inquiries and demands in private sector and health information matters both provincially and federally. Michael also has experience with transition services arrangements, and IP and technology transfers in very large M&A and EPC transactions.

Michael became Queen's Counsel in 2008. He is ranked BV, for very high ethical standards and legal ability, in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review. Michael has been recommended by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Chambers Global. 

Michael is a member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 7 (Sedona Canada), and Data Security and Privacy Liability - Working Group 11, both of which work to create forward-looking principles and best practices recommendations for lawyers, courts, businesses and others who regularly confront e-discovery issues in Canada, or Cyber-security and Data Protection issues globally. Of note, Michael has been appointed a member of WG11's Drafting Team to prepare a model Cyber Incident Response Guide. Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of Calgary Technologies Inc., an innovation centre and technology incubator jointly held by the City of Calgary, the University of Calgary, and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. He is a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and a Director of ITAC Health.