2025 Challenge of Change Forum

Pierre is the Regional Chairperson for ATCO Latin America. He served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United Mexican States from 2015 to 2019. He resides in Mexico City.

Pierre Alarie joined the Department of External Affairs in 1982. While in Ottawa, Mr. Alarie served as a trade desk officer with the European bureau. He served abroad as second secretary in Lagos and as first secretary in Santiago.

After his assignment in Chile, Mr. Alarie joined the private sector. Between 1991 and 1993, Mr. Alarie was vice-president, business development of Bombardier’s transportation group, and in 1994 he became vice-president, business development, for SNC-Lavalin International in Mexico City. Subsequently, Mr. Alarie was the managing director, Latin America, for the real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec. In 1998, he joined the Bank of Nova Scotia as Country representative in Mexico City, a position he held until 2004.  Between 2004 and 2009 he acted as adviser for several Canadian companies.

In 2009, Mr. Alarie became vice president, business development and sales, of the Canadian Commercial Corporation in Ottawa.

Mr. Alarie obtained a master’s degree in Public Administration at the College of Europe, Bruges, 1982, and is a certified corporate director and a certified administrator.

Michael Buhr is the Executive Director of C100, a 350+ member association of Canadian tech veteran leaders dedicated to supporting tech entrepreneurs in Canada in building and scaling globally impactful companies. Under Michael’s leadership, C100 has been infused with a revitalized mission, increasing its impact through expanded programming and deeper member engagement. A seasoned technology executive with over 30 years of experience in Silicon Valley, Michael has served in various roles, including founder, CEO, and executive, at major companies like Apple, Adobe, and eBay. He has built, bought, invested in, and sold companies, demonstrating expertise in strategic leadership, product innovation, and a deep understanding of building businesses.

Michael is deeply committed to the organization's mission as a C100 Board Member and Charter Member for over 12 years. Originally from Ottawa, he holds a degree in Computer Engineering from Queen’s University and currently resides in Silicon Valley. He regularly speaks with media and at conferences on the challenges and opportunities of building and scaling tech companies in Canada, highlighting how C100 is helping Canadian entrepreneurs succeed on the global stage.

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, private equity and private 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 Pension and Governance Committees 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.

Federico brings over three decades of industry experience across Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. He joined Aon in 2018 and is a member of the Canadian Investment Consulting Leadership Group, the Delegated Portfolio Oversight Committee, and the Aon Canada ESG Committee. In addition to leading the Toronto investment team, Federico consults regularly with Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution pension funds, First Nation Trusts, Insurance, endowment, and foundation clients. The focused areas are governance framework, strategic investment objectives, asset allocation, investment manager structure and selection, alternative investments, and delegated investment solutions.

Federico holds an MBA from the Universidad Anáhuac and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City.

Jeff Chan is Director, ESG Investing at Canada Post Corporate Pension Plan. In this role, Jeff leads a team responsible for ESG efforts across all asset classes, in line with the plan’s 4 ESG pillars of integration, engagement, advocacy and investment. Additionally, he is responsible for overseeing the decarbonization of the fund in line with the pension plan’s net-zero commitment.  Prior to this role, Jeff was Director, ESG at a large Canadian asset management firm where he developed and led the implementation of the firm’s ESG strategy and roadmap, including policy and process creation. Jeff also played an integral role in ESG product development and ESG-related client servicing.

 Jeff is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has completed a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science (Life Sciences) from McMaster University. Jeff also holds the FSA Credential from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) Certificate from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

Christy Clark is the longest-serving female Premier in Canadian history and the only woman in Canada ever to be re-elected as Premier. She has made an indelible mark on the Canadian political landscape.

She led British Columbia through a period of remarkable economic growth, fiscal responsibility, and job creation.

Under Ms. Clark's leadership, British Columbia was Canada's economic leader for three consecutive years, a feat not accomplished since the 1960s.

BC was first in job creation among the Canadian provinces. She pulled her province out of a massive deficit to deliver five consecutive balanced budgets. When she retired from office, British Columbia was triple AAA rated and on track to eliminate its operating debt by 2020, a milestone not achieved since 1976.

She championed oil and gas, securing the largest private sector investment in Canadian history, the Shell Canada LNG Plant, which will ship its first gas to Asia in 2024. She is also responsible for turning Site C, a massive hydro project that had been on the books for 50 years, into reality.

Her legacy is marked by a deep commitment to planning for future generations, leaving behind a province with a diversified economy, expanded market opportunities, a visionary clean energy plan, billions of dollars invested in infrastructure, and a significant reduction in the public debt burden to be carried by future generations of British Columbians.

Jonathan Curtis is executive vice president and chief investment officer of Franklin Equity Group (FEG). Mr. Curtis has oversight of San Mateo and New York-based investment teams who manage equity and convertibles strategies, along with Franklin Equity Group's research and venture capital teams and other supporting functions. Franklin Equity Group offers in-depth expertise in managing global, U.S. and sector specific equity strategies across the style and market-capitalization spectrum. With its center of gravity residing in the innovation capital of the world, the team's strategies can offer unique insights into growth and innovation, in all its forms, across all sectors. Mr. Curtis is also the lead portfolio manager of Franklin Technology Fund.

Mr. Curtis has been active in the tech sector for more than 30 years, first as a software development and integration test engineer and now as an investor. Mr. Curtis joined the Franklin Equity Group in 2008 as an equity analyst covering the IT hardware and communications equipment sectors. He served as FEG's Director of Portfolio Management in 2022. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Mr. Curtis spent four years on the sell side researching the communications equipment sector. Before transitioning to the financial services industry, he was a software and systems engineer in the communications equipment sector.

Mr. Curtis holds an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.

Serra Erdogmus is the Chief Investment Officer for the Canadian Medical Protective Association, overseeing a $7 billion reserve for claims. As a member of senior management, she provides investment-related tactical support and strategic guidance to senior management, the investment committee, and council. Her responsibilities include asset class selection, asset-liability modeling, financial risk identification and management, portfolio design and implementation, and investment performance monitoring and reporting. She provides strategic leadership and management to public assets, private assets, and the performance and risk functions. In her prior position, Serra was the Senior Portfolio Manager, Private Assets, managing the private equity, private debt, and real asset portfolios. Serra is a CFA charter holder and has an MBA from University of Ottawa.

With over 30 years of capital markets experience, Loren, VP & Principal, and Portfolio Manager, with HighView Financial Group, works closely with families and foundations, and collaborates with their trusted advisors, in all aspects of investment counselling, portfolio design and allocation, financial and tax planning, philanthropy and wealth stewardship. She is a member of the HighView Portfolio Strategy Committee, responsible for analysis, due diligence, selection, and ongoing monitoring of investment managers, and researching new investment ideas. Loren also has a keen interest in ESG and Impact investing.

Loren also has over 20 years of experience as a board director in the not-for-profit sector including time with the Canadian Advisory Board of Right to Play, The Oakville Hospital Foundation, and Sheena’s Place.

Loren completed her MBA at the University of Toronto, and holds the FCPA, CPA and CIM designations.

Known as CryptoDad™ for his celebrated call on the U.S. Congress to respect a new generation’s interest in cryptocurrency, the Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo served as 13th Chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Considered one of the most influential individuals in the field of financial regulation, Chris Giancarlo has been a member of the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Committee, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, and the Executive Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Giancarlo’s 2021 book, CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money (Wiley), is an account of his oversight of the world’s first regulated market for Bitcoin derivatives and the coming transformation of financial services. As Senior Counsel to the international law firm Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, Giancarlo is a director, advisor, and angel investor in numerous technology and financial services companies. He is a co-founder and Chairman of the Digital Dollar Project, a not-for-profit initiative to advance exploration of a US Central Bank Digital Currency.

Since CryptoDad's release, Giancarlo has been the featured speaker at numerous events dealing with crypto, banking, the financial industry, and the digital economy. He has been interviewed on radio, TV, and podcasts in the U.S. and internationally. In June 2022, Giancarlo was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the National Order of Merit by French President Macron in recognition of his expertise in cryptofinance.

Steven B. Kamin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies international macroeconomic and financial issues.

Before joining AEI, Dr. Kamin was the director of the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board, where he guided the direction of economic research and the formulation of the staff’s global economic forecast, which he presented to the Federal Open Market Committee. Dr. Kamin was a principal adviser on international economic and financial policy matters to the Federal Reserve’s chair and other board members. He represented the Fed before international groups such as the G7, the G20, and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Committee on the Global Financial System.

In addition to holding a range of other positions during his 32 years at the Fed, Dr. Kamin served as a visiting economist at the BIS, a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and a consultant for the World Bank. His writings on international macroeconomics and finance have been published widely, including in International Finance, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Policy Modeling, and Review of International Economics.

Dr. Kamin has a BA in economics and history from the University of California, Berkeley, and a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ryan has been a key member of the Proteus investment consulting practice since 2001, became a shareholder in Proteus in 2012 and a shareholder in HUB International Inc. in 2018. He is also the Chair of the Capital Markets & Asset Mix Committee, and Chair of the Business Development Task Force. Ryan was a member of the Proteus Advisory Board from its inception.

Ryan is the primary consultant for many of HUB Proteus’ largest and complex clients including: the majority of Proteus’ endowment and foundation clients; Canadian Universities; all types of pension plans and Canada’s first and largest Employee Life and Health Trust.

Ryan provides clients with expertise in: asset allocation strategy and implementation; investment manager research, due diligence, evaluation, reporting and search; governance evaluation and implementation; and fiduciary education.

Ryan has spoken at industry conferences, has been published in numerous industry publications and has contributed regular investment articles as a member of the Benefits Canada Expert Panel.

Ryan is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and a member of CFA® Society Toronto. He has earned the Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designation and has completed the requirements for the Retirement Plans Associate (RPA) designation offered by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans and Dalhousie University. Ryan graduated from Brock University with a First Class Honours Degree in Computing and Business (BCB), specializing in finance.

Justin joined AIMCo as a portfolio manager in 2012, with progressive responsibilities most recently as Senior Executive Managing Director, Global Head of Public Markets. Justin has over nineteen years of public investment experience with expertise in equity and absolute return portfolio management as well capital allocation and international public markets.

Justin holds a BBA with a major in finance from the University of New Brunswick and is a CFA Charterholder. He is on the AIMCo Foundation for Financial Education’s Board of Directors, as well is an avid volunteer in the Edmonton community.

Millan joined Ontario Teachers' in 2016 as Chief Economist, following nearly a decade at TD Securities, where he most recently served as Deputy Chief U.S. Economist in New York. In that role, he directed U.S. economic research and rates strategy. At Ontario Teachers’, Millan leads the Global Macro Insights Group, overseeing analytical macroeconomic research to provide thought leadership on global economic, policy, financial market, and geopolitical issues. His work supports key Total Fund decisions by identifying major investment themes and risks. 

As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the finance industry, Millan has played a pivotal role in fostering a culture of inclusivity at Ontario Teachers’. He led the Multicultural@Teachers’ Employee Resource Group, focusing on cultivating a diverse and equitable workplace and building external partnerships to advance DEI across the broader finance community. 

Millan also contributes to the broader professional and educational landscape. He serves as a Board Governor at George Brown College in Toronto, a Board Director at VersaFi (formerly Women in Capital Markets), and a Board Director at SeaCube in New Jersey.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Statistics from the University of the West Indies (Mona), Jamaica, an MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick, England, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Toronto. Additionally, Millan has earned an ICD.D certification and an Executive MBA from the Rotman School of Business.

Mr. Orcheson is the Director of Total Fund Management at PNYX Group. He has extensive experience in corporate development, asset valuations, and institutional investment management. He held senior roles at Enbridge Inc. as the CIO to $9 billion in pension plan assets, achieving top decile performance. He also managed several direct private transactions in traditional Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy, and Energy Transition while serving as Technical Manager, Corporate Development. Before Enbridge, he worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager at AIMCo, where he executed structured transactions as part of a $3 billion global thematic activist mandate. Mr. Orcheson began his career as a Senior Analyst/Economist at the Bank of Canada, leading economic research and overseeing the Government of Canada's liability and Reserve Management Programs. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Queen’s University and an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Western University. Mr. Orcheson has significant governance experience serving on Advisory Boards to the Bentall Kennedy Property Fund, Global Infrastructure Partners Equity Fund, and the IFM Infrastructure Debt Fund. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

With an investments career spanning research, product design, investment consulting and client advisory, Kathleen brings over 25 years of experience to the CAAT Pension Plan. As a Portfolio Manager, Kathleen plays a key role in the management of the public markets program at CAAT, including investment in public equities, fixed-income, hedge funds and overlay mandates. Prior to joining CAAT, Kathleen held senior investment roles at Segal Marco Advisors, Manulife Financial and CIBC Asset Management, Inc. She has a BA from the University of Alberta and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Marlene has a wealth of experience in traditional and alternative investments, capital markets, and pension governance. She has held CEO, board positions and senior roles at major Canadian pension funds and other financial institutions. Most recently, she was the Chief Investment Officer for AIMCo. She was responsible for all global investment activity on behalf of AIMCo’s 17 clients, including investment strategy and Total Portfolio Management. Prior to this role, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer at CN Investment Division and Vice-Chair of the Board of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).

She is the Vice-Chair of the Pacific Pension and Investment Institute. She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and is co-founder of NeuroInclusion Works and a past president of Women in Capital Markets.

Marlene is a CFA charterholder and holds the ICD.D designation. She received her Ph.D. in Finance and Statistics from the Simon Business School, University of Rochester and economics degrees from the University of Toronto.

David Ross, Senior Managing Director of the Total Portfolio Management (TPM) group at OPTrust, is responsible for overseeing OPTrust’s public market investment strategies, executed both internally and externally. TPM’s total portfolio approach includes the deployment of strategies in equities, credit, rates, commodities, FX, hedge funds and internally managed systematic strategies. David’s responsibilities also include oversight of the Plan’s internal trading, funding and liquidity management, public markets data science analytics and incubation investments in novel and transformative technologies.

Before joining OPTrust in October 2016, David spent 10 years at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in Toronto. He served 8 of those years as a Portfolio Manager, pursuing discretionary Global Macro value-added strategies on the Global Opportunities desk before serving as co-head of the Emerging Markets Fixed Income & FX desk within the FICC group. Prior to OTPP, David focused on developing Emerging Markets investment strategies in roles based in London, New York and Toronto.  David has a B.A., Economics from the University of Western Ontario and an M.A., Economics from the University of Toronto. David has been a CFA charterholder since 2006.  

With net assets of $27 billion, OPTrust invests and manages one of Canada’s largest defined benefit plans with over 114,000 members and retirees.      

Jane Segal is Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Management at Wittington Asset Management Limited.  Prior to Wittington, Jane built and led the External Managers program at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).  Before joining HOOPP, she helped oversee the External Managers portfolio at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP).  Jane started her career at the Royal Bank of Canada where she held a number of roles across Capital Markets in Toronto, London and New York.  Jane has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto.  She is a CFA Charterholder.

Alex Side is a Managing Director on the direct infrastructure investment team at the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), an investment manager serving public-sector clients in Ontario with C$86bn in AUM. He helps lead the investment team, actively oversees its infrastructure investment portfolio and covers the power sector. Alex is also a board observer for Pulse Clean Energy, a UK utility-scale battery storage platform, and is a director of NeXtWind, a German onshore wind repowering platform.

Before joining IMCO in 2020, he was a Principal with Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure, where he executed and managed a portfolio of infrastructure investments in renewable energy and transportation.

Candy Wong is the Portfolio Manager for International Strategies, ESG, and Risk Management at Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board where she works on a team that oversees more than $10 billion in assets. Candy graduated from the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. Candy has completed the Canadian Securities Course, the Personal Financial Planner Course and is a CFA Charterholder. Candy completed the CFA Environmental-Social -Governance certification in 2022. She is a volunteer with the CFA Winnipeg Society and Winnipeg Harvest. Candy is on the Board of Directors with CFCS (Community Financial Counselling Services) and is the co-chair for their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. She also sits on the Board for Manitoba Public Insurance and is the Chair of their investment committee.

Tracey Wong serves as the Vice President of Sales and Consultant Relations at Fidelity Canada Institutional. In this role, she leads a team dedicated to fostering and expanding relationships with plan sponsors, institutional investment consultants and outsourced CIO providers in Canada. Tracey also oversees the RFP and database team, positioning Fidelity’s products and capabilities within the Canadian institutional marketplace.

 Bringing over 25 years of institutional investment expertise, Tracey has held diverse leadership roles within Fidelity since 2006. Notably, she chaired the Women at Work committee and was an active member of Fidelity's ESG Corporate Sustainability and Investments committees. Tracey holds a BSc from Carleton University and an MBA from Warwick University.

As Head of CIBC Asset Management’s Client Portfolio Management team, Aaron Young is responsible for providing strategic leadership on all aspects of the firm’s client portfolio management platform, which covers all asset classes managed by the firm. The client portfolio management team consists of portfolio strategists who help evolve our investment capabilities and represent our clients’ needs in all aspects of the firm’s initiatives.

Prior to rejoining CIBC Asset Management in 2023, Mr. Young was a Portfolio Manager at RPIA on the credit research team. He began his career in the investment industry at CIBC Asset Management in 2010 in institutional client servicing, and as an Associate Client Portfolio Manager with the Fixed Income team.

Mr. Young has published numerous research papers on fixed income, and credit, and has been a featured speaker at many Canadian and global investment forums.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. Mr. Young is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Toronto.