Awards

Judge Committee
A judge committee consisting of senior level executives from pension fund and investment industries will review nominations and determine category finalists and winners. The judge committee members are committed to selecting finalists and winners in an unbiased manner.

Tamara Close

MSc, CFA

Founder and Managing Director

Close Group Consulting


View Bio

Jean-David Tremblay Frenette

M.Sc.

Chief Economist and Director, Investment Strategy Research

Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)

View Bio

Christian Hensley


Managing Partner, Planier Capital

Planier Capital


View Bio

Ju Hui Lee

CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, FRM

Head of Market Risk


United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)

View Bio

Les Marton


Managing Director

bfinance Canada Inc.

View Bio

Jordan Ostapchuk


Principal

Capital Design, Inc.

View Bio

Michael Thom

CFA

Managing Director

CFA Societies Canada

View Bio
Scroll to Top

Tamara Close

MSC, CFA

Founder and Managing Director

Close Group Consulting

Tamara has over 25 years of combined experience in capital markets and ESG strategy. She is based in Montreal and works with investment management firms and asset owners to advance their ESG integration practices across both risk and value frameworks. She was previously the Head of ESG Integration for KKS Advisors, a global ESG Advisory firm. Tamara has held various front office investment management positions for the Bank of Montreal and Credit Lyonnais in the global derivatives and foreign exchange markets and was previously the head of research and risk for a start-up fixed income asset management firm in Montreal. Before founding Close Group Consulting, she spent 10 years in senior leadership roles within the risk and public markets investment groups of PSP Investments. She is also the founder and creator of the Sustainable Risk Assessment Framework

Tamara holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification and is a member of the ESG Examination Subcommittee for CFA Institute, a council member of the Canadian Advocacy Council for CFA Societies Canada. She is a Board director for Evovest, an investment management firm using artificial intelligence and evolutive learning techniques to manage investment portfolios. She is also a Board director for CFA Montreal and was previously the Chair of the ESG Committee. Tamara is also a member of the Investment Committee for the JGH Foundation. Tamara is a Strategic Advisor to the Veristell Institute, a globally focused think-tank on ESG and Corporate Purpose, and an Advisor and Contributor to PracticalESG, a source for ESG thought leadership. Tamara is a regular contributor to industry journals and author of thought leadership on ESG, risk management and sustainable investing and is a sought after speaker. She earned a Bachelor in Economics from McGill University and a Master of Science degree in Finance from the John Molson School of Business. She is based in Montreal and is fluent in English and French. 

Jean-David Tremblay Frenette

M.Sc.

Chief Economist and Director, Investment Strategy Research

Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)

Jean David joined AIMCo in December 2010 to lead the Global Tactical Asset Allocation investment activity. He has, since then, transitioned internally in a senior capacity to work on investment strategy research, asset allocation, quantitative research and macroeconomic analysis. He is currently Chief Economist and Director, Investment Strategy Research.

Prior experience includes macroeconomic analysis, tactical asset allocation and global macro portfolio management at Caisse dépôt et placement du Québec – CDPQ. He also worked in strategic investments for National Bank of Canada. Jean David began his career working in mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse in Toronto.

He holds an M.Sc. degree in finance from the Henley Business School – ICMA Centre at the University of Reading, United Kingdom and a BCom. – finance major, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada.

Christian Hensley

Managing Partner, Planier Capital

Planier Capital

Christian is a seasoned investor, with deep experience developing and leading investment programs. Most recently he was Senior Managing Director of Equities & Credit at the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), an Ontario fund manager with over $70 billion in assets under management. Christian oversaw a $35 billion portfolio that included IMCO’s private equity, public equity, global credit and hedge fund strategies. His direct investing experience and relationships with leading global alternatives platforms contributed to IMCO’s rapid growth and strong financial performance.

Before joining IMCO Christian was Managing Director and Head of Relationship Investments, a global $10+ billion direct equity investment strategy at CPP Investments. Prior to this, he spent 11 years in the private equity and growth capital industry at Charterhouse Group and Planier Capital. Christian has served on the boards of public and private companies in the US and Europe spanning the Industrial, Healthcare, Business Services, Communications and Technology sectors.

Christian began his career in the Investment Banking division of Salomon Brothers in New York City. He graduated from the MBA program at Harvard Business School and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Christian is an active supporter of the United Way, and most recently served as the co-chair of IMCO’s corporate giving effort.

Ju Hui Lee

CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, FRM

Head of Market Risk

United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)

Ju Hui Lee is Head of Market Risk of UNJSPF (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund), responsible for market risk oversight and asset-lability management. The fund manages assets of US$91.5 billion as of 31 December 2021.

Before joining UNJSPF, Ju Hui worked on the asset-liability analysis of the Canada Pension Plan and the factor studies at Canada Pension Investments (CPP Investments). In addition, she led modelling groups in the Global Risk Management at Scotiabank and ALM consulting, pension investment strategy development and risk management activities for financial institutions, model vetting, and actuarial valuation reporting for clients at KPMG and Mercer and developed the LDI methodology and was responsible for the strategic asset allocation at Manulife Financial.

Ju Hui holds a BSc. Mathematics, an MBA from the Yonsei University in Korea, and an MSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago. Ju Hui holds the CFA, CAIA, FSA, FCIA, CERA, and FRM designations.

Les Marton

Managing Director

bfinance Canada Inc.

Les is the Managing Director and Lead Client Consultant in bfinance’s Canadian institutional investment consultancy practice.

He has worked in financial services for more than 35 years, with more than two decades of experience in asset management. He has extensive experience on the buy-side, having managed the Scotia Alternative Asset Fund from 2001-2003, launched the Scotiabank Canadian Hedge Fund Index and was Head of Operational Due Diligence for Scotia Capital’s alternative assets business. Les has worked extensively with institutional allocators in a range of advisory roles throughout his long and varied career. Prior to joining bfinance in 2017 he held senior roles at Scotiabank including Managing Director, Head of Hedge Fund Consulting & Capital Introduction and Head of the Global Alternative Asset Group. He began his career at Royal Bank of Canada and RBC Capital Markets.

Les has been a frequent speaker at pension investment conferences on a wide range of topics. He has eclectic tastes in literature and music, is an avid sports enthusiast as well as a keen (though unaccomplished) golfer. In the dim mists of time he received an MBA from York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English from the University of Toronto, Trinity College. 

Jordan Ostapchuk

Principal

Capital Design, Inc.

Jordan advises institutional investors and capital allocators on strategic choice-making through the lens of Capital Design, with over 15 years of experience in working with some of the world’s leading funds.
Prior to founding Capital Design, he spent a decade at OMERS where he led strategy, innovation, and communication functions across Infrastructure, Pensions, and Real Estate, most recently leading OMERS Infrastructure’s investment strategy function. He started his career as a Consultant at Deloitte.
Jordan is defending his PhD from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in early 2024, on strategic choice-creation and decision-making in institutional capital allocation via the new field of Capital Design. Jordan also has an M.A. from the University of Southern California, and an M.Des. in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from OCAD University. 

Michael Thom

CFA

Managing Director

CFA Societies Canada

Michael Thom, CFA is the Managing Director for CFA Societies Canada. He leads the strategic direction of CFA Societies Canada and advances the highest professional standards of integrity and ethics for the ultimate benefit of Canadian society. Michael joined CFA Societies Canada with over many years of leadership in capital markets and investment management roles. Michael holds an undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia, and is both a CFA charterholder and CAIA charterholder.