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An actuary by training, Claude was the inaugural President & CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. From 1990 to his retirement in 2007, he oversaw Teachers’ development into one of the world’s leading pension plans with more than $100 billion in net assets, an innovative investment program, and outstanding services to more than 250,000 plan members. Before 1990, Claude spent 25 years as a senior financial executive with Metropolitan Life in Canada and the US, heading the Company’s operations in Canada from 1986 to 1990. He co-founded the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance in 2002. Claude has served on many Boards. He holds a BA from the U of Montreal, a B.Comm. from Laval University, and honorary doctorates from York University and HEC-Montreal. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Institute of Corporate Directors. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the National Order of Québec.

Elena Manola-Bonthond, PhD, MBA, is Chief Investment Officer of the Pension Fund of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Fund manages approximately 5 billion Swiss francs in assets, both internally and externally. Elena has played an instrumental role in defining and implementing an investment governance framework optimised for dynamic risk management. Before joining the CERN Pension Fund, Elena worked in CERN’s science sector where she was in charge of safety and risk management systems of CERN’s flagship installation, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Before that, she worked as a research physicist at CERN. Elena holds a PhD in particle physics from the University of Savoie, France and an MBA in international management from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. She is a CAIA charterholder.

Blair Richards has served the Halifax Port International Longshoremen’s Association /Halifax Employers Association since 1984. Currently the Chief Investment Officer, his tenure included seven years as Board Chair and twenty years as Chief Executive Officer. He is also a Director for the Workers Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and Chair of their Investment Committee. Over his long career Mr. Richards has enjoyed appointments/elections to Boards, councils, committees, and special projects touching the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. He is a frequent presenter and volunteer member of numerous industry groups. He holds a BA (DAL’91) and an MBA (SMU’97) and multiple certifications, the most prominent being an eighteen-year Fellowship with the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists. Mr. Richards is an avid and enthusiastic life-long learner. He practices kaizen these days, which involves a concerted effort by him at reverse mentorship.

Aleksander is a senior investor with deep experience building and running investment teams internationally which consistently deliver value across all hedge fund trading styles in public markets both on an allocation and direct basis. His current focus involves macro investing, strategic asset allocation and natural event reinsurance. Aleks's past businesses included hedge fund manger selection, seeding and acceleration, special situations and co-investments plus private equity funds and secondaries, fixed income trading and equity research. Culture carrier and builder with focus on mental health initiatives.