Private Markets Forum 2023

April 24 - 26, 2023
Omni Hotel Mont-Royal, Montréal QC

Designing Private Market Portfolios in a Changing Economic Regime

Keynote Speaker

Patrick Samson

Senior Vice President and Global Head of Real Assets Investments

PSP Investments

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Advisory board

Koblavi A. Fiagbedzi 

MBA, CFA, CAIA

Portfolio Manager, Head of Real Assets

CBC Pension Plan


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Marc Gauthier

CPA, CMA

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer

Concordia University


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Christian Hensley


Senior Managing Director, Equities and Credit

Investment Management Corporation of Ontario

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Peter Martin Larsen


Senior Managing Director, Private Markets

University Pension Plan Ontario

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Natasha Trainor


Assistant Vice President, Pension Investments

NAV Canada


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The Event Experience

Participate in peer-to-peer discussions addressing forward-looking topics facing institutional investors

Network with institutional investors and your peers through a series of breaks and roundtable exchange discussions

Hear from a vast array of industry experts through interactive discussions

Extend connections at the off-site reception and dinner

Interact with speakers and make connections through use of an event app

Ways to Participate

Speak

Propose a speaker for a topic aligned with the conference theme

Attend

Complimentary passes available for qualified institutional investors

Sponsor

Limited sponsorship opportunities available for provider firms

Connect with us​

Patrick Samson

Senior Vice President and Global
Head of Real Assets Investments

PSP Investments

Patrick Samson is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Real Assets Investments for the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Real Assets Investments is comprised of three private Asset Classes: Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Real Estate, representing a combined net allocation of 28.7% of the $CAD 230.5 billion PSP Investments fund.

With close to three decades of leadership, investment, financing and advisory experiences, Patrick has demonstrated a successful track record of building private investment portfolios and teams from the ground up and delivering value-added performance across sectors and geographies. As a member of the executive team at PSP Investments, Patrick plays a lead role in contributing towards the strategic design and implementation of PSP’s strategy.

As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) by trade, he worked as a Financial Advisor with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the international scene for 12 years and has been with PSP Investments since 2006. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Laval.

About PSP Investments

 

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers with $230.5 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2022. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in public financial markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and credit investments. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong.

Koblavi A. Fiagbedzi 

MBA, CFA, CAIA

Portfolio Manager, Head of Real Assets

CBC Pension Plan

Koblavi Fiagbedzi joined the CBC Pension Plan in 2018 and is currently Portfolio Manager and Head of Real Assets. The Real Assets portfolio is 14.5% of Plan AUM. In his role, Koblavi leads strategy development, investment activity, ongoing monitoring, and risk management functions of the portfolio. Real asset investment activity is executed via direct, JV/co-investment, secondary and Fund structures globally. In addition, Koblavi provides support to the larger team for private equity and private debt investments.

Koblavi began his career at the Bank of Canada in 2004 where he worked on long term research and model development. Later, he joined Export Development Canada “EDC” as an Economist where he focused on current analysis and transactional guidance for political risk insurance, sovereign, and project finance loans in several key markets. When he joined the International Business Development Group at EDC in 2008, Koblavi led EDC’s corporate strategy for emerging markets and conducted due diligence and sourcing for project finance, corporate debt, political risk, and credit insurance. In 2012, Koblavi joined the CMPA Investment Fund where he focused on transaction and portfolio management for the private market portfolio in private debt, private equity, and real assets.

Koblavi earned his BBA (Honors) from Acadia University and MBA from the University of London. Koblavi is also a CAIA and CFA charter holder. 

Marc Gauthier

CPA, CMA

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer

Concordia University

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer – Concordia University

Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ financial position, which are segregated through five distinct portfolios; Benefits (Pension Plan, Group Insurance Plans, Supplementary Retirement Plans and Post Retirement/Employment Benefits), Investments (Pension Fund and Foundations), Corporate Risks (Insurance, self-insurance and ERM programs), Capital Budget (Capital investments and Fixed Assets) and Financing. He has been employed by Concordia University for 31 years; his responsibilities have also included such roles as Executive Director, Finance and Business Operations, Director of Finance and Restricted Funds and prior as a senior financial analyst and accountant. Mr. Gauthier obtained his CMA and graduated from Finance and Accounting at Concordia University as well as from Queen’s Executive Program in General Management.

Trésorier et Chef de Placement – Université Concordia

M. Gauthier a comme mandat la surveillance de la situation financière de l’Université et de ses entités affiliées, répartis en cinq portefeuilles distincts; avantages sociaux (régime de retraite, régimes d’assurances collectives, régimes de retraite supplémentaires et avantages post-retraite/emploi), placements (caisse de retraite et ces fondations), risques corporatifs (programme d’assurance, auto-assurance et GRE), budget des immobilisations (investissements en capitaux et immobilisations) et financement. M. Gauthier est employé à l’Université depuis 31 ans; il a occupé des rôles tels que Directeur exécutif, finances et gestion des affaires, Directeur des finances et fonds avec restrictions, analyste senior et comptable. Il a obtenu son CMA et est diplômé en Finance et Comptabilité de l’Université Concordia

Christian Hensley

Managing Partner

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.  

Peter Martin Larsen

Senior Managing Director, Private Markets

University Pension Plan Ontario

Peter Martin Larsen is UPP’s Senior Managing Director, Head of Private Markets, responsible for UPP’s Private Markets portfolio comprising the infrastructure, real estate, private equity, and private debt asset classes. Prior to joining UPP, Peter held senior investor roles at one of Europe’s largest institutional investors, PensionDanmark, and advisory firm and investment banking positions at PwC and Macquarie Capital. Peter has served on the Boards of Directors of multiple large infrastructure companies, and currently sits on the Investment Committee of the Danish Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Investment Fund, a DKK 5bn public-private partnership contributing to the realization of the 17 UN SDGs through investments in developing countries. Peter has Master’s Degrees in Finance and Economics from the London School of Economics and the University of Copenhagen.

Natasha Trainor

CFA, MBA

Assistant Vice President, Pension Investments

NAV CANADA

Natasha is the Assistant Vice President, Pension Investments for NAV CANADA where she is responsible for the overall investment strategy for $7 billion in defined benefit pension assets.
Prior to moving to Ottawa, Natasha was the Chief Investment Officer at Provident10, where she was responsible for the oversight and strategic direction of Newfoundland and Labrador’s public service pension plan. Originally from Toronto, Natasha began her financial career in investment management at RBC Asset Management with a focus on equity research and stock picking.
Natasha received her Master of Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and her Bachelor of Science (Chemical Engineering) from Queen’s University. Natasha is a CFA charterholder and a Professional Engineer of Ontario.