2025 AIF Canadian Investors' Forum
May 20 | Hotel Omni Mont-Royal | Montreal
On behalf of AIF Global, we hope you will join us for the 2025 AIF Canadian Investors’ Forum to be held May 20 at the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal in Montreal.
The forum will bring together leading institutional investors, board members, and investment consultants to discuss important themes and trends in alternative investments.
Agenda to be released soon
Agenda at a Glance
Tuesday, May 20
8:15 a.m.
Registration begins
8:50–9:00 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Brant Maller, Founder and CEO, AIF Global and the AIF Institute
- Jonathan Tetrault, Managing Partner, Sagard and CEO of Sagard Private Equity Solutions, Sagard Holdings
9:00–9:50 a.m.
Portfolio Construction: Building a Resilient Portfolio in a Time of Uncertainty
Session Leader:
- Ranjan Bhaduri, CEO, Bodhi Research Group
Session Participants:
- Lawrence Cinamon, Managing Director, Aksia
- Christophe Truong, Senior Director, Trans-Canada Capital
10:00–10:45 a.m.
Private Equity Roundtable
Session Leader:
- Pierre-Luc Gariepy, Co-Leader Alternative Investments, Mercer
Session Participants:
- Marie-Claude Boisvert, Partner, Head of Sagard Equity Canada, Sagard Holdings
- Eric Lees, Senior Associate, Private Markets, HEB Manitoba
- Maxime Pelletier, Partner, Private Equity, Fiera Comox
11:00–11:50 a.m.
AIF Institute Deep Dive: War Games: Game Theory Applied to Tariffs, Trump and Trade
- Randolph Cohen, P.h.D., Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School
11:50 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Luncheon Fireside Chats
Trump 2.0: Geopolitical Perspective
- Ambassador Lew Lukens, Senior Partner, Signum
- Interviewed by Brant Maller, Founder and CEO, AIF Global
Ambassador Lukens served as US Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, Deputy Executive Secretary for Secretary Hillary Clinton, Senior Director at the National Security Council working for Dr. Condoleezza Rice and President Bush, and US Consul General in Vancouver. Most recently, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London.
Trump 2.0: Macroeconomic Perspective
- Justin Muzinich, Former US Deputy Secretary, US Department of the Treasury and CEO, Muzinich & Co.
- Interviewed by Brant Maller, Founder and CEO, AIF Global
Justin Muzinich served as the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 2018-2021, with broad responsibility for US economic policy. From 2017-2018 Justin served as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury and helped lead the effort to reform the US tax code. From 2015-2016, he was Policy Director for Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign.
1:20–2:00 p.m.
Private Credit Roundtable: Direct Lending
Session Leader:
- Tod Trabocco, Managing Director, StepStone
Session Participants:
- Jay Ramakrishnan, Senior MD, Head of Originations, AB Private Credit Investors
- John Jadach, Managing Director, Head of US Direct Lending Portfolio Management, CIFC Asset Management
- Walter Owens, CEO, Man Varagon
2:10–3:00 p.m.
Private Credit Roundtable: Opportunistic & Specialized Strategies
Session Leader:
- Tod Trabocco, Managing Director, StepStone
Session Participants:
- Robert Bittencourt, Partner, Apollo Global Management
- Yves Caron, Senior Director, External Portfolio Management, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
- Nora Granville, Director, Private Capital, 400 Capital Management
- Gianpaolo Pellegrini, Managing Director, Private Markets and Co-Head of Parallel Lending, Muzinich & Co.
- John Simitzis, Vice President, Pension Fund Investment, Kruger Inc. Master Trust
3:10–4:00 p.m.
Real Estate Investing Roundtable
Session Leader:
- William Maher, Director, Strategy & Research, RCLCO Fund Advisors (RFA)
Session Participants:
- Mike Payton, Director, ACORE Capital Management
- Mit Shah, CEO, Noble Investment Group
- Richard Stone, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sagard Real Estate
- Glenn Way, President, GWL Realty Advisors
4:10–5:00 p.m.
Infrastructure Roundtable
Session Leader:
- Mark White, Partner and Head of Real Assets, Albourne
Session Participants:
- Dan Barbosa, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners
- Orhan Sarayli, Managing Director, Barings
- David Smilow, Co-Founder, Partner, ITE Management
- David Son, Head of Infrastructure Client Solutions, CBRE Investment Management
5:00–6:00 p.m.
Closing Reception
2025 AIF Canadian Investors' Forum Participant List
Investor, Consultant and Finance Academic Participants
AIMCo
Edouard Charles Gaudry, Principal, Private Equity
Aksia
Lawrence Cinamon, Managing Director
Albourne
Mark White, Partner and Head of Real Assets
American Family
Yoshiko Inoue, Managing Director, Asset Allocation
Bimcor Inc.
Pierre Gilbert, Vice President – Head of Public Markets
Ana Maria Movila, Senior Manager, Private Markets
Sandra Saad, Private Markets Analyst
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
Yves Caron, Senior Director, Private Markets
Simon Proulx, External Funds
CN Investment Division
Jason Campbell, Associate Portfolio Manager
Export Development Canada
Greg McElheran, VP Market Development
Fonds de Solidarité FTQ
Saloua Benkhouya, Vice President, Private Equity
GWL Realty Advisors
Glenn Way, President
Harvard Business School
Randolph Cohen, P.h.D., Senior Lecturer
Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
Timothy Li, Principal, Total Portfolio, Investment Management
HEB Manitoba
Eric Lees, Senior Associate, Private Markets
Joddes
Tomas Comber, Portfolio Manager
Philippe Roy, Director
Kruger Inc.
Rune Johnskareng, Senior Financial Analyst
Kourosch Akhbari, Analyst
Mercer
Pierre-Luc Gariepy, Co-Leader Alternatives
National Bank of Canada
Philippe Daoust, Managing Director
Placements Italcan Inc.
Patricia Saputo, CEO/CIO
Quailco Investments Inc.
Vanessa Thibault, Director of Investments
RCLCO Fund Advisors
William Maher, Director, Strategy & Research
Roynat Capital
Alex Beliaev, Director, Roynat Equity Partners
Disha Bhargav, Associate Director
Signum Global
Ambassador Lew Lukens, Senior Partner
StepStone Group
Tod Trabocco, Managing DIrector
Trans-Canada Capital
Remi Tetreault, Associate Vice-President, Client Solutions
Christophe Truong, Senior Director
