When it comes to Ontario’s public sector investing there is a wide spectrum of size, capability and performance. Does size impact performance? Is there enough value for stakeholders? Amongst the billions of dollars in investments is money being left on the table due to size and purpose?
Join Canadian Club Toronto on February 9, when we host Bert Clark, CEO of the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, and Rashay Jethalal, CEO of CEM Benchmarking for a conversation with Jim Leech, Chair, Advisory Board, Institute for Sustainable Finance about the challenges that smaller funds face in delivering on their financial obligations to Ontarians, and the paths to overcome them.
**A link to the live stream will be provided closer to the event date.**
Bert Clark
President & CEO of IMCO
Bert oversees IMCO’s strategic direction and global growth so that the organization can meet the long-term financial objectives of its clients. Prior to IMCO, Bert was the President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario (IO), which is responsible for managing the province of Ontario’s real estate portfolio, lending to municipalities and other public-sector organizations and the delivery of large, complex public infrastructure projects. Before joining IO, Bert was the Managing Director responsible for the North American infrastructure advisory business at Scotiabank.
Bert has an LLM from Duke University School of Law, an LLB from Queen’s Law School, and a BA (Honours) from McGill University. Bert is also on the Board of Directors at C.D. Howe Institute and a member of the Board of Governors at North York General Hospital.
Rashay Jethalal
CEO of CEM Benchmarking
Rashay joined CEM in 2021 and is responsible overall strategy and performance of the business. He is deeply passionate about improving the lives of retirees, insisting on a client-first approach to our growth. He brings more than 20 years of experience in financial services, spanning asset management, capital markets and transaction banking. Rashay has held leadership roles at Purpose Investments, RBC and CIBC, after being a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. He holds an MBA from Insead and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of British Columbia. He is also a CFA Charterholder.
Jim Leech
Chancellor Emeritus, Queen’s University Chair, Advisory Board, Institute for Sustainable Finance
After a 45-year military and business career, Jim Leech retired as President and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the world’s largest and most innovative pension funds. During his tenure as CEO, Teachers’ was ranked first in the world for investment returns and service to members. In addition, the plan eliminated its funding deficit and is currently in surplus.
Since retirement, Mr Leech has dedicated himself to philanthropic leadership and non-partisan public service. He has served as Chancellor of Queen’s University, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Sustainable Finance, Chair of the Mastercard Foundation (the world’s second largest foundation, focused on youth livelihood in Africa), Chair of the UHN Foundation, board member of Historica Canada and an Honorary Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces.
In 2013, Mr. Leech co-authored The Third Rail, Confronting our Pension Failures, a best-selling book that received the Best Canadian Business Book Award.
In 2017, Mr Leech was appointed Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada to assist the government in establishing the Canada Infrastructure Bank and is currently a member of the Ontario Government’s Planning for Prosperity Minister’s Advisory Group which provides advice on management practices to the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Leech was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2020 was named to the Order of Ontario.
Mr. Leech holds a B.Sc. (Hons. Math and Physics) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the Royal Military College of Canada and an MBA from Queen’s University. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
