The Canadian Investment Review Editorial Advisory Board members are listed below:
Ryan Bradley
Investment Officer, Province of Prince Edward Island
Ryan Bradley is responsible for the oversight of the Province of Prince Edward Island Master trust pension investments. He oversees defined benefit pension assets of three pension plans under the master trust. The $3 billion trust assets are actively managed through outside investment managers over a wide span of asset classes.
Bradley is also responsible for the debt issuance of the province along with the sinking fund investments. He holds an MBA from the University of Prince Edward.
Christopher A. Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer, LAPP Corporation
Christopher Brown is the President and Chief Executive Officer of LAPP Corporation, the administrator, and trustee of the pension fund, of the Local Authorities Pension Plan LAPP. The Corporation also supports the LAPP Sponsor Board. LAPP serves the health, municipal and education sectors in Alberta and is the largest pension plan in the province, with approximately 260,000 members and assets in excess of C$44 billion.
Prior to joining LAPP in 2015, Brown practiced law for over 20 years with leading national law firms and was a founder and managing partner of a boutique human resources law firm. Brown served as Co-Chair of the Alberta-British Columbia Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards in 2007-2008, and as the President of the Association of Canadian Pension Management from 2010 to 2013. Brown holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and is an active member of the Law Society of Alberta.
Chuck Bruce
Chief Executive Officer, Provident10
Chuck Bruce is a senior executive with broad based experience in finance, operations, and corporate governance.
In December 2015, Bruce returned to Newfoundland as the inaugural CEO of Provident10. Provident10 is a private sector non‐profit corporation responsible for overseeing the assets and administration of the Public Service Pension Plan for 57,000 current and former public‐sector workers in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was previously the CEO of the Nova Scotia Public Service Long Term Disability Plan Trust Fund.
Bruce holds the Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Director and Certified Financial Planner professional designations.
Anish Chopra
Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Portfolio Management Corporation
Anish Chopra is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager covering global equities and fixed income at Portfolio Management Corporation, a boutique investment management firm that provides professional discretionary portfolio management services to individuals, families, corporations and institutions.
Prior to this, Chopra led the Innovative Solutions Group at TD Asset Management where he held the position of Managing Director and Lead Portfolio Manager. In this key strategic role, he led a team of 30 investment professionals with $100 billion in assets under management. The investment areas included synthetics, derivatives, quantitative, passive, fundamental and asset allocation mandates. Chopra also held numerous other roles at TD Asset Management, including leading investment teams and serving as Lead Portfolio Manager of a number of successful TD mutual funds, including the TD Canadian Value Fund, and high net worth and institutional mandates.
Chopra is a sought-after media commentator regularly providing his views on business trends and developments on BNN Bloomberg, to The Canadian Press and other media.
He holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Accounting (Gold Medalist) from the University of Waterloo. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant as well as a CFA charterholder. He also holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation, is a Chartered Business Valuator (Canadian Gold Medalist) and holds FCBV honours as a Fellow of the CICBV.
Chopra is actively involved in the community, including as a member of the Investment Committee of the Lawson Foundation and a past member of the Ontario Judicial Council. Anish also served as Chair of CFA Society Toronto and was a member of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board.
Jason Campbell
Principal, Eckler
Jason Campbell joined Eckler’s Investment Consulting practice in 2006. As a principal within its investment consulting practice, Campbell provides investment strategy advice to a wide range of clients including defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, endowment/foundations and non-profit organizations. In addition to consulting responsibilities, Campbell is a member of the Investment Research Committee which oversees investment manager and strategy research. Campbell’s specific area of expertise is alternative investments including infrastructure, real estate, private equity/debt strategies and hedge funds.
Campbell is an active volunteer within the pension and investment community. He has authored a number of articles and presented on pension investment strategy at numerous conferences. Campbell is currently a volunteer on the CNIB’s National Investment and Pension Committee and is a past committee member on the Toronto CFA Society’s External Relations and Advocacy Committee, the CAIA Canada Education and Events Committee and has participated in the semi-annual exam grading of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association.
Campbell 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.
James C. Davis
Chief Investment Officer, OPTrust
James C. Davis is Chief Investment Officer of OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest pension funds with net assets over $20 billion and investment professionals in Toronto, London and Sydney.
Davis joined OPTrust in 2015. He leads the organization’s investment strategy and oversees its diversified portfolio spanning the globe with public market, private market, infrastructure, and real estate assets in North America, Europe, Developed Asia and emerging markets.
Davis has over 25 years of strategic investment planning and leadership experience, including proven results in liability driven investing and portfolio design. Most recently, he held the role of Vice President, Strategy and Asset Mix and Chief Economist at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’).
Before joining Teachers’, Davis was President of FuturesTrend Capital Corporation in Prince Edward Island and Vice President & Head, Global Fixed Income & Currencies at RBC Global Investment Management in Toronto.
Davis is widely recognized as an engaging speaker in a broad range of forums within the pension industry, and is known for his insights on global economics, portfolio construction and investment strategy.
In addition to degrees in Mathematics and Meteorology, Davis holds an MBA in Finance from Dalhousie University and is a CFA charterholder.
Michael Dodd
Director, Pensions Treasury and Shareholder Services, The Co-operators Group Limited
Michael Dodd joined the Co-operators Group in 2003. He is currently Director of Pensions, Treasury, and Shareholder Services at the Co-operators Group. In his role, he oversees the management of the Co-operators group defined contribution pension plan with assets under management of over one billion dollars. Dodd also sits on the Pension Committee of a defined benefit plan for Co-operators subsidiary The Cumis Group.
Dodd is also a long-standing member of the Association of Canadian Pension Management Ontario Regional Council. He has also participated in many industry conferences including as a speaker or panelist from time-to-time.
Simon Fréchet
Chief Investment Officer, Retirement Programs, Bruce Power
Simon Fréchet is Chief Investment Officer, Retirement Programs at Bruce Power, overseeing the investment and risk management of Bruce Power’s defined benefit pension plan and funds associated with Bruce Power’s end of life obligations. He has over 30 years of experience in the pension and investment industry.
Fréchet is a CFA charterholder and is both an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He holds a degree in quantitative economics from the Université de Paris X. Simon sits on the Board of Directors of the Pension Investment Association of Canada and participates on PIAC’s Risk Management Committee.
Alison Gould
Chief Investment Officer, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation
Alison Gould holds the position of Chief Investment Officer with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. She is responsible for overseeing investments for multiple pension and benefit plans and is currently focused on building out the investment team and investment strategy. Gould also serves as a Board member for UBC Investment Management Trust (IMANT).
Prior to joining the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, Gould was Chief Investment Officer for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia where she provided strategic oversight of the investment function including all internally and externally managed investment portfolios and served as a member of the corporate executive committee.
Paul Halpern
Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Paul Halpern is Director, Client Portfolio Services – Canada of LSV. In his position at LSV, Halpern is responsible for managing a number of the firm’s client relationships as part of the Research and Investment Team.
Halpern received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago in Finance and has published research and applied papers for both academic and practitioner journals. He has also published a corporate finance textbook, Canadian Managerial Finance and is the editor of Financing Growth in Canada, an examination of Canadian capital markets. In addition he, along with co-authors, wrote ‘Back From the Brink’, a discussion and analysis of the financial crisis in Canada.
Halpern has also served as a consultant to governments, regulatory authorities and corporations in the corporate finance, capital markets, and securities areas.
Lynn Healey
Chief Investment Officer, Teachers’ Pension Plan Corporation
Lynn Healey is the Chief Investment Officer with the Teachers’ Pension Plan Corporation, the trustee and administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Plan in Newfoundland and Labrador, with approximately 6,000 active members and 9,000 pensioners.
In this role, Healey is responsible for all facets of the investment and treasury function for the corporation, and for the development and execution of a sustainable, long-term investment strategy for the plan. The plan’s investment strategy is actively managed and Healey and her team oversee the activities of approximately 20 investment managers across each of the plan’s strategic asset classes, with a diversified mix of investment philosophies and approaches.
Prior to joining the corporation in September 2017, Healey practiced in public accounting for more than 20 years, was a partner with Ernst & Young, providing transaction advisory and audit services to her clients and practiced in Toronto and St. John’s.
Healey is active in her community as a volunteer. She is a director and treasurer with the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador and the Royal St. John’s Regatta Committee, and a director with CPA Newfoundland and Labrador. Healeyalso volunteers with the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation and Choices for Youth. Healey resides in St. John’s with her husband, son and step-son.
Brenda King
Treasurer, SickKids
Brenda King is the Treasurer at the Hospital for Sick Children. In this role, King works with the SickKids Executive team, the Investment Committee of the Board for both the SickKids and SickKids Foundation. Brenda works with the pension fiduciaries, actuaries and external investment managers to manage the investments relating to SickKids Pension Plan, SickKids Foundation and hospital Investments with assets over $3.6 billion. In addition to managing the investments, King is responsible for the treasury management of the hospital including banking and credit rating agency relations, debt and financial reporting for the hospital and the pension plan.
King has over 25 years of experience in the selection and monitoring of investments, performance evaluation, pension governance and risk management and has worked collaboratively with Boards, Investment Committees and Audit and Finance Committees.
King holds CPA, CA and CFA designations and successfully completed the NFP Governance Essentials Program (ICD and the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto). Brenda is the Chair of the Board of the Pension Investment Association of Canada and a member and ex-Chair of its Member Services Committee. She sat on PIAC’s Finance and Audit Committee prior to becoming Chair of PIAC. King is also Secretary-Treasurer of the CFA Society Toronto Board and is Chair of its Finance Committee and a former member of its Audit Committee.
Wendy Mizuno
Group Head, Pensions and Benefits, George Weston Limited
Wendy Mizuno is Group Head, Pensions and Benefits for George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited. The group, which now includes Shopper’s Drug Mart, is the largest non-government employer in Canada with more than 200,000 employees. Mizuno joined Weston this year with more than 25 years of client management and retirement and investment consulting experience.
Prior to joining George Weston Limited, Mizuno was a Partner and senior consultant in the Wealth business in Mercer’s Toronto office and the managing partner of the Retirement Practice at Morneau Sobeco (now Morneau Shepell).
Mizuno is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. She earned an honours bachelor of science in actuarial mathematics and management science from the University of Manitoba. Mizuno is also a member of the Actuarial Standards Oversight Council.
Theva Naidoo
Director, Pension Fund, Hydro One Pension Plan
Theva Naidoo has been in the investment industry for more than 25 years. Naidoo has notably worked at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation as a Senior Portfolio Manager (External Funds) and was Principal and Investment Consultant at Mercer (Toronto).
Naidoo presently holds the position of Director, Pension Fund at Hydro One, a position he has held for just over seven years. Naidoo is actively involved in the pension industry and serves on not-for-profit investment committees and several Canadian pension industry bodies.
Naidoo spent the formative years of his career in South Africa, primarily as a portfolio manager with several large investment management firms. Earlier in his career he served as Divisional Investment Manager with Anglo American plc in Johannesburg. Naidoo was also involved in investment education in South Africa.
Naidoo’s academic background is in International Relations and Commerce.
Arti Sharma
President and Chief Executive Officer, The Northern Trust Company Canada
Arti Sharma is President and CEO of The Northern Trust Company Canada and serves as a member of the corporation’s Canadian Management Committee and Canadian Board. Northern Trust is a provider of asset servicing, investment management, banking and related services to institutional clients worldwide.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Sharma was a principal within the Mercer Sentinel® Group and head of the Custody practice, Americas. Prior to joining Mercer, Sharma was senior vice-president at, Thomas Murray North America, a specialist custody consulting group.
Sharma has eight years custodial consulting experience and over 20 years of asset servicing industry experience. She has been the lead consultant on custodian searches, custodian benchmarking and client operating model reviews. Prior to Thomas Murray, Arti was with CIBC and CIBC Mellon for 18 years, where she held various roles within the asset servicing business including Product Management, Relationship Management and Business Development. She was also a member of the Executive team at CIBC that created the CIBC Mellon joint venture.
Prior to CIBC Mellon, Sharma was Assistant Treasurer at Engelhard Corporation in the UK where she was responsible for cash management, foreign exchange and integration of the Treasury Departments within the European region.
Pamela Steer
Chief Financial Officer, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
Pamela Steer, FCPA, FCA, CFA, CBV is the Chief Financial Officer and Head of Finance and Employer Services at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, one of the largest insurance organizations in North America.
Steer has more than 15 years of management experience with global organizations, which have experienced high growth and transformation. She has held senior roles in both operations and finance, predominantly in the high-tech sector where her last role was as Chief Operating Officer.
Steer is also Past Chair of the CFA Society Toronto, a member of the City of Toronto’s Investment Board and sits on the Advisory Board of the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. As well, Steer was appointed to the global Advisory Council for the Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) under The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation and is a founding member of the Canadian chapter of the A4S CFO Leadership Network.
Steer is a CPA Fellow, a designation which honours CPAs who have brought distinction to the profession with outstanding achievements in their careers and community leadership and service to the profession. Steer has also been honoured with a fellowship in her name at the University of Waterloo where the ‘Pamela Steer Fellow’ is pursuing studies in the Accounting and Financial Management program.
Steer holds a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo, is accredited as a Chartered Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Business Valuator designations.