2024 Annual Canadian Institutional Investor Forum

Martin Bernier

Senior Director, Data Science, CDPQ

Martin Bernier is Senior Director, Data Science. In this role, he manages a team whose responsibilities include the production of quantitative signals, the implementation of predictive models and the application of generative artificial intelligence to investment activities.

Before joining CDPQ in 2018, Mr. Bernier was Head of Data Science at JDA Labs, where he led an international team. Prior to that, he played a strategic role at PSP Investments, where he helped implement portfolio management tools and harmonize investment teams and support functions. Mr. Bernier began his career at CAE as a military systems specialist, before working in risk analysis and portfolio management at Innocap.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree with a joint major in Mathematics and Computer Science from McGill University and a Master’s in Computational Finance from Université de Montréal.

Drew Conway

Head of Data Science, Private Investments, Two Sigma

Drew Conway joined Two Sigma in April 2019 and is currently Head of Data Science for Two Sigma’s private investment businesses, where his responsibilities include oversight of all private investment data science initiatives including those related to Two Sigma Real Estate, where he manages strategy and resourcing.

Prior to joining Two Sigma, Mr. Conway founded Alluvium to bridge the gap between industrial machine data and the businesses and consumers who use this data to make better decisions. He served as CEO and was the driving force behind the company's vision and growth, until its acquisition in 2019 (acquired by Augury). Mr. Conway is a former senior advisor to the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics for the City of New York, and he previously served as an advisor to Mortar Data (acquired by Datadog in 2015) and YHat (acquired by Alteryx in 2017). Mr. Conway started his career as a computational social scientist in the U.S. intelligence community, supporting the U.S. counter-terrorism mission.

Mr. Conway is also the co-founder of DataKind, a global non-profit of pro bono data scientists, and sits on its advisory board. He also sits on the advisory boards of multiple other startups, academic institutions, and government agencies. Mr. Conway is also the author of “Machine Learning for Hackers,” an introductory text on machine learning techniques.

Mr. Conway is a graduate of Hamilton College and holds a Ph.D. from New York University.

Michael Ide

Senior Hedge Fund IDD Analyst & Partner, Albourne Partners

Michael Ide is a Senior Hedge Fund IDD Analyst and Partner at Albourne Partners covering quantitative strategies, volatility arbitrage, and tail hedge. Before joining Albourne in 2015, Michael worked as a freelance writer and as a Peace Corps volunteer.

He has an MBA from the University of Cyprus, an MA in Physics from UC San Diego and is a CFA charterholder.

Christopher Reeve

Director of Risk, Aspect Capital

Christopher Reeve is Aspect Capital’s Director of Risk. In this role, he takes responsibility for all investment-related risks associated with Aspect’s portfolios, including the review of all new research and strategies and post-trade risk monitoring. He is a member of the Investment Committee, which provides oversight of the performance and risks of all strategies and approval for any change to any Aspect investment programme. He also coordinates the company’s product design processes, ensuring that Aspect’s investment strategy capabilities are assembled into coherent investment products which fit investor needs. This includes working closely with Aspect’s research team to customise products and mandates, as well as working with Aspect’s global client base to understand their requirements and ensure they have full transparency into Aspect’s strategies.

Christopher joined Aspect in January 2005 as a member of the Research Team, focusing on the risk reviews of new investment strategy research. He then became a member of what is now the Investment Solutions Team in 2006, Head of Investment Solutions in February 2014 and Director of Investment Solutions in May 2015. He was appointed to his current role in September 2018.

Christopher holds a first-class master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford. Christopher previously served in the British Army as a second lieutenant in the Welsh Guards, commanding an infantry platoon on training and ceremonial duties.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Derek Drummond

Portfolio Manager, Funds Alpha, State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB)

Derek Drummond, CAIA, is the Portfolio Manager for the Funds Alpha team at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), overseeing approximately $30B in assets.

Derek and his team are responsible for the sourcing, evaluation and implementation of external investment managers across both traditional and alternative investment strategies.

Derek has over 20 years of experience developing and implementing investment structures for both asset owners and managers, including developing portfolio construction, analytics and risk management frameworks, and establishing manager due diligence and evaluation processes.

Jennifer Ancker Whelen

Chief Client Officer, Member of Executive, Investment & Risk Committees, Graham Capital Management

Jennifer Ancker Whelen is the Chief Client Officer of Graham Capital Management, L.P. ("Graham"), an alternative investment manager with approximately $19.5B AUM as of September 1, 2024. Mrs. Ancker Whelen is also a member of the firm's Executive, Investment, and Risk committees. She became an Associated Person of Graham effective June 6, 2007 and a Principal January 15, 2021. Mrs. Ancker Whelen is responsible for the development of strategic relationships with Graham's global client base, including consultants and institutional investors.

Prior to joining Graham in April 2007, Mrs. Ancker Whelen was Principal and Director of Marketing & Investor Relations at Stadia Capital, LLC, a long/short equity hedge fund.

Mrs. Ancker Whelen graduated cum laude from Colby College in 1995 with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Sociology.

Derek Walker

MD, Head of Portfolio Design & Construction , CPP Investments

Derek leads the Portfolio Design & Construction (PD&C) group. PD&C is responsible for recommending the Fund’s risk appetite, and for strategic and tactical allocations. Prior to his current role, he held the roles of Managing Director, Head of Active Investment Management and Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Engineering – both within Total Fund Management (TFM). Prior to joining TFM, Derek was a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Tactical Asset Allocation group within Public Market Investments.

Before joining CPP Investments, Derek held a variety of positions related to quantitative investing and indexing at Barclays Global Investors and Morgan Stanley Capital International SA.

Derek holds an MS in Computing and Information Science from Queen’s University and an MBA from INSEAD. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Carlo Perri

Portfolio Manager, Structured Credit, Polar Asset Management Partners

Carlo Perri is Portfolio Manager, Structured Credit at Polar Asset Management Partners. Prior to joining Polar in 2010, Mr. Perri was Vice-President, Hedge Fund Investments at Northwater Capital Management Inc. from 2008-2010, where he was responsible for credit hedge fund investments.

Prior to Northwater, he was at Coventree Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Inc., where he successfully arranged and funded over $15 billion of transactions and developed innovative financial structures involving multi-seller conduits, extendible note programs, synthetic liquidity, collateralized debt structures, and derivatives technology. Mr. Perri has over twenty years of experience focused on structured credit, asset-backed securities, and mortgage-backed securities strategies.

Mr. Perri graduated with a BBA and MBA in Finance from York University, Schulich School of Business in 1995, and earned a Juris Doctor from York University, Osgoode Hall Law School in 1998 and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

David Turcotte

Senior Director, Private Market Funds, CDPQ

David Turcotte has held the position of Senior Director, Private Market Funds, Credit since October 2021. In that role, he leads a professional team responsible for externally managed investments in the private markets sector.

Before joining CDPQ, Mr. Turcotte was involved in portfolio construction while working for PSP Investments. He also held different roles with TD Securities and RBC Capital Markets relating to derivatives origination and structuring as well as financing transactions.

Mr. Turcotte holds a Master’s degree in Management – Financial Engineering from HEC Montréal, and has obtained his CAIA and FRM designations. In addition, he is actively involved in the community as a member of the Fondation du Grand Montréal’s investment committee.

François Rivard

Chief Executive Officer, Innocap Investment Management Inc.

As Chief Executive Officer, François is responsible for establishing and delivering the overall vision, mission and growth strategy of Innocap. Francois drives Innocap’s vision of enhancing the way value is created for the communities represented by our clients while maintaining Innocap’s position as the industry-leading technology-enabled Dedicated Managed Account platform.

During his 25 years in the investment industry, François has held various senior functions in capital markets, wealth and asset management in Toronto, Montreal and London. Notably, in his role as Head of the Financial Products Group at National Bank of Canada, he was responsible for engineering and distribution of structured derivative-based investments globally. François is the recipient of Bishop’s University Top 10 Under 10 award, a standing YPO member (and past chapter board member), and has contributed or been featured in Bloomberg, the Globe and Mail, Derivatives Week, Structured Products Magazine as well as a featured speaker at various conferences in North America, London, Paris, Zurich, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Since 2014 François has been a board member and active contributor to the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation, one of the largest sick kids hospitals and research centers in North America.

François received a BBA from Bishop’s University and an MBA from HULT Business School in London.

Mario Therrien

SBAI Chair, Head of Investment Funds and External Management, CDPQ

Mario Therrien leads CDPQ’s investment funds activities. The teams he oversees invest in private investment funds and credit in private markets, as well as in venture capital in Québec and internationally. They are also responsible for external management in equity markets, as well as developing and managing strategic and institutional relationships. His mandate consists of adding value by building portfolios with the best external managers, while improving in-house management through the sharing of knowledge and expertise. He sits on the Investment-Risk Committee.

Prior to this role, Mr. Therrien was Senior Vice-President and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Developed Markets. He joined CDPQ in 1993 as an Analyst before taking on the role of Portfolio Manager in the group responsible for absolute return activities. Subsequently, he was mandated to develop external management activities in liquid-asset classes.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance from Université de Sherbrooke. He has also completed the Canadian Securities Course given by the Canadian Securities Institute, and is a CFA charter holder.

Jane Buchan

CEO, Martlet Asset Management

Jane is Chief Executive Officer of Martlet Asset Management responsible for firm strategy, organization and performance. Martlet is based in Newport Beach, CA and was founded in July 2018. The firm’s strategies include alternative risk premia and developing liquid strategies with a focus on fixed income.

Prior to this, Ms. Buchan co-founded and led Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO), a Fund of Hedge Funds focused on institutional investors for 18 years. Under her leadership first as CEO of PAAMCO and then co-CEO of PAAMCO Prisma, the firm grew to $32 billion AUM placing it third globally in the league tables by the time of her retirement in July 2018 (HFM InvestHedge Billion Dollar Club).

Jane began her career at J.P. Morgan Investment Management in the Capital Markets Group where she was trained in quantitative fixed income portfolio management. She has been an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She recently served as chairwoman of the board for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA) and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Master of Financial Engineering Program at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Jane holds both a PhD and an MA in Business Economics (Finance) from Harvard University. She earned a BA in Economics from Yale University. Jane has thirty-three years of experience in investment management and portfolio construction with institutional investors.

Afroditi Ladovrechis

Chief People Officer, Innocap Investment Management

As Chief People Officer, Afroditi is responsible for the talent, culture and compensation structures of Innocap. She leads all initiatives focused on talent acquisition and management, compensation as well as organizational culture, equity, diversity and inclusion. As CPO, Afroditi strives to build an inclusive work environment that will offer employees fulfilling careers and will allow our workforce to be renowned as the best in the industry. Afroditi was previously Innocap’s Chief Compliance Officer. In that role, she built a robust compliance environment that met the strict and complex requirements of the multiple jurisdictions in which Innocap is operates. She developed an in-depth understanding of Innocap’s business and its people, which is a crucial asset in her role as CPO.

Afroditi has over 20 years of experience working in the finance industry, having served as senior legal advisor for National Bank of Canada and its internal portfolio manager. She advised on fund and corporate structuring, private and public investment fund regulatory matters, mergers and acquisitions as well as the integration of acquired businesses. She also acted as Senior Compliance Officer and was registered with FINRA as a Supervisor for a New-York based broker-dealer.Before entering the finance industry, Afroditi was a lawyer at Ogilvy Renault (now, Norton Rose Fulbright), working in Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Law.

She received her Bachelor of Laws with distinction from the Université de Montréal.

DeWayne Louis

Founding Partner, Versor Investments

DeWayne Louis joined Versor Investments as a Founding Partner and is based in New York. DeWayne has over 20 years of experience in quantitative investment strategies, investment banking, private equity and hedge funds. Prior to Versor Investments, DeWayne joined Investcorp’s Hedge Fund Group at the inception of the North America and Europe branches. He remained there for nearly a decade. Prior to Investcorp, DeWayne was an Associate Director in UBS’ Private Equity Secondary Group, focusing on buying and selling private equity interests in the secondary market. Earlier in his career, DeWayne was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse where he focused on mergers, acquisitions and project finance transactions.

DeWayne serves on the board of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”). NYCEDC is the City’s primary vehicle for promoting economic growth in each of the five boroughs. DeWayne also serves on the Board of the Brooklyn Public Library (“BPL”), one of the nation’s largest public library systems. BPL is a recognized leader in cultural offerings, literacy, out-of-school-time services, workforce development programs, and digital literacy.

DeWayne holds a BS in Finance and International Business with a French minor from Georgetown University. There, he was a four-year varsity letterman on the football team.

Andrew McCulloch

Partner and Regional Head of the US, Albourne Partners

Andrew McCulloch joined Albourne in 2007 and is a Senior Portfolio Analyst, Partner and Head of the US Region leading the Connecticut office. Andrew provides portfolio construction, manager selection, and risk management advice to a wide range of sophisticated family offices, foundations, endowments, insurance companies, and public/private pension plans across liquid and illiquid alternative strategies. He has played a key role in a number of Albourne initiatives including the development of the group's total portfolio-wide risk aggregation services, Albourne's macro outlook, and strategy forecasts.

Prior to moving to the Connecticut office, Andrew spent two years in Albourne’s San Francisco office as part of the Client Services Group managing client relationships.

Andrew gained a BA in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and is a CAIA charterholder.

Bill Young

Co-Chief Investment Officer, New Holland Capital

Bill Young is Co-Chief Investment Officer at New Holland Capital (NHC). As Co-CIO, Bill is responsible for portfolio management, investment research, and portfolio risk alongside Scott Radke, and David Wadler with a special focus on liquid strategies. Bill is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee which opines on investment and portfolio decisions across NHC’s business lines. He is also a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Prior to joining NHC in 2008, Bill oversaw a small LA-based record label and before that was an Analyst within the fixed income division of Goldman Sachs.

Bill graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.

Mario Therrien

SBAI Chair, Head of Investment Funds and External Management, CDPQ

Mario Therrien leads CDPQ’s investment funds activities. The teams he oversees invest in private investment funds and credit in private markets, as well as in venture capital in Québec and internationally. They are also responsible for external management in equity markets, as well as developing and managing strategic and institutional relationships. His mandate consists of adding value by building portfolios with the best external managers, while improving in-house management through the sharing of knowledge and expertise. He sits on the Investment-Risk Committee.

Prior to this role, Mr. Therrien was Senior Vice-President and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Developed Markets. He joined CDPQ in 1993 as an Analyst before taking on the role of Portfolio Manager in the group responsible for absolute return activities. Subsequently, he was mandated to develop external management activities in liquid-asset classes.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance from Université de Sherbrooke. He has also completed the Canadian Securities Course given by the Canadian Securities Institute, and is a CFA charter holder.

Poul Winslow

Consultant , Leaf Creek Advisors

Poul Winslow serves on several boards and investment committees, including Enstar Group, International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM) and University of Toronto Asset Management. Poul is also an advisor to the investment industry through Leaf Creek Advisors.

Poul retired from CPP Investments in May 2022 as Senior MD and Global Head of Capital Markets & Factor Investing; he worked at CPP Investments since 2009 as Head of Thematic Investing and Head of External Portfolio Management. Before CPP Investments, he was Chief Investment Officer of Swedish AP2 (Andra AP-fonden) and also held several senior leadership roles at Nordea Investment Management in Denmark, Sweden and the US. Poul served as a Trustee of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI/HFSB).

Poul has undergraduate and Masters degrees in Economics and Management from Aarhus University in Denmark. 

François Bourdon

Managing Partner, Nordis Capital

François is an investor ans investment team leader with a vast experience in multiple asset classes ranging from fixed income and equities to absolute return and hedge fund strategies. 

As the former CIO of a global asset management firm, he developed private and public alternative strategies in real estate, infrastructure, agriculture, commodities and impact investing. He is an actuary by training and still loves numbers but instead of measuring life expectancy, he wants to improve the world through financial markets. 

Damien Courvalin

Chief Commodities Strategist, Balyasny Asset Management

Damien Courvalin is BAM’s Chief Commodities Strategist, based in New York. He joined in January 2023 from Goldman Sachs where he was Managing Director, Global Head of Energy Research and Senior Commodity Strategist, previously responsible for Agriculture markets, Gold and Commodity Asset Allocation. Before focusing on commodities, Damien was a Strategist in Options Research and Portfolio Strategy at Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas.

Damien earned an MSc in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California, Berkeley, and an ME in Industrial Engineering and Economic Systems from the Ecole Centrale Paris, both in 2004.

Mario Therrien

SBAI Chair, Head of Investment Funds and External Management, CDPQ

Mario Therrien leads CDPQ’s investment funds activities. The teams he oversees invest in private investment funds and credit in private markets, as well as in venture capital in Québec and internationally. They are also responsible for external management in equity markets, as well as developing and managing strategic and institutional relationships. His mandate consists of adding value by building portfolios with the best external managers, while improving in-house management through the sharing of knowledge and expertise. He sits on the Investment-Risk Committee.

Prior to this role, Mr. Therrien was Senior Vice-President and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Developed Markets. He joined CDPQ in 1993 as an Analyst before taking on the role of Portfolio Manager in the group responsible for absolute return activities. Subsequently, he was mandated to develop external management activities in liquid-asset classes.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance from Université de Sherbrooke. He has also completed the Canadian Securities Course given by the Canadian Securities Institute, and is a CFA charter holder.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.