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Tanya is committed to creating catalytic impact pathways through a systems thinking approach. With more than 20 years of investment experience, Tanya carved out an executive pathway in private equity on the back of one key differentiator discovered early in her career: a passion for ESG injection into investment strategy and leadership. She went on to manage a $12B fund portfolio and global investment team as Managing Director and Head of Global Funds, Private Capital for Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. A firm believer in the power of global collaboration, Tanya served as Chair of ILPA and was also a member of the UN PRI Private Equity Steering Committee.
Tanya holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from Western University and earned her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and Rotman (University of Toronto). With a non-traditional background in the world of private equity and corporate finance, she brings a progressive perspective and vision for a reimagined infrastructure of finance to support people, profit and purpose in equal balance.
Tanya serves as a speaker and advisor partnering with pension fund leaders, Boards, and institutional investors to re-imagine ESG, culture, and DE&I initiatives as part of their broader investment strategy. She believes the next frontier of sustainable, future-proofed investment can be achieved by leveraging holistic systems thinking, interconnectedness of investor and society, purpose loops and operational pathways for change.
Redouane Elkamhi is a Professor of Finance at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Elkamhi’s expertise includes strategic & tactical asset allocation, total fund management, private asset classes, factor frameworks and investment risk management. He has published extensively in top finance and economics journals, contributing to the understanding of financial markets with important implications for investment practice. Elkamhi has received various awards and fellowships, including the Shimomura fellowship from the Development Bank of Japan, Excellence in research awards from the University of Toronto and the University of Iowa, and Best Research Paper Awards from leading organizations and journals such as ICPM, PCAM, AFFI, GARP, IFM2, the Review of Financial Studies, and the Review of Asset Pricing Studies. In addition, he has been recognized for his teaching excellence, having received nine MBA teaching awards and supervising fifteen PhD students. Prior to his career in finance, Elkamhi worked as an electrical engineer for five years.
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.
Catherine leads RealAlts Inc., an ESG consulting firm working in real estate, infrastructure and farmland investment. RealAlts supports asset owners and investment managers through the ESG cycle of research, investment strategy, program development, implementation, and reporting using PRI, TCFD and other frameworks. Her clients range from large US pension plans to Canadian developers and industry organizations. She speaks and writes frequently about the rapid evolution in Responsible Investing and integrating Climate Change into investment and risk management. In addition to her ESG education as a Sustainability and Climate Risk credential holder and TCFD reporting specialist, she has more than a decade of experience in real asset ESG through her work in green real estate. She brings industry leadership as a former Board and Executive Committee member of the Canada Green Building Council GTA chapter and advisor to the Town of Oakville through participation in its sustainability plan committee.
CFA
Kevin Zhu is Senior Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Construction at OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension funds with net assets of almost C$25 billion.
Kevin has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including both central banking and total portfolio investment
framework and strategy design for large Canadian defined benefit pension plans.
Kevin joined OPTrust in 2016 where he has been leading Total Fund portfolio management functions, including portfolio construction research and innovation, capital and risk allocation across asset classes and strategies, total portfolio management framework design, and dynamic total portfolio management.
Prior to joining OPTrust, Kevin held the position of Director, Strategy & Asset Mix at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Prior to this appointment, Kevin was Senior Economist at the Bank of Canada focusing on monetary policy research and model development. He holds a MA in Economics from Carleton University and is a CFA Charterholder. In 2017, Kevin was named to Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s Public Investor 100.