Canada Alpha-Generation Symposium 2026 - Speakers
April 16, 2026
Conference
The St. Regis Toronto
Toronto
Register
Gideon Adler
Senior Analyst and Partner
Boldhaven Management
Prior to joining the firm, Gideon was a Senior Analyst at Lansdowne Partners in London, where he worked between 2017 and 2022 as a generalist investment analyst focused on European equity opportunities on both the long and short side. Before joining Lansdowne, Gideon was a research analyst at Redburn in London between 2013 and 2017. He was the co-lead analyst within the Support Services sector, responsible for the production of in-depth, thematic industrial research across a diversified sector . Between 2010 and 2013, Gideon worked at Investec Investment Bank as an equity research analyst. He initially covered both the UK mid-cap and global large-cap consumer sectors as a junior analyst. Latterly, he moved to the Support Services team as a lead analyst. Gideon started his career at accountancy firm PwC, where he attained his ACA and was latterly a Senior Audit Associate in London. Gideon graduated from King’s College, The University of London with a First Class Honours Degree in History.
Todd Barker
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer
Freestone Grove Partners
Todd Barker is the CEO and CIO of Freestone Grove Partners, a fundamental equity investment firm. Prior to founding Freestone Grove in 2023, Todd spent 17 years at Citadel, most recently as a Partner and Head of Surveyor Capital. Previously at Citadel, Todd was a Regional Co-Head (San Francisco), Portfolio Manager and Head of Primary Strategies in its Global Equities business. Todd began his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in its investment banking and equity capital markets divisions. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Claremont McKenna College.
Ciana Becker
Group Head and Managing Director, Strategy, Risk & Operations, Capital Markets and Factor Investing
CPP Investments
Ciana Becker is a senior investment executive with over 22 years of global markets experience spanning portfolio strategy, portfolio construction and risk, hedge fund investing, and systematic strategies. She is currently Group Head and Managing Director, Strategy, Risk & Operations for the Capital Markets and Factor Investing (CMF) department at CPP Investments, where she oversees portfolio and business strategy for a $77 billion hedge fund and systematic strategies platform.
Prior to assuming her current strategy leadership role, Ciana spent nearly a decade in External Portfolio Management (EPM) at CPP Investments, most recently as Managing Director. In EPM, she was responsible for evaluating, allocating to, and overseeing a diverse set of discretionary and systematic investment strategies, including macro, alternative risk premia, volatility, quantitative equities, relative value, and multi-strategy portfolios across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She played a senior role in strategy research, manager selection, portfolio construction, and investment committee decision-making.
In her current role, Ciana leads the development of CMF’s portfolio strategy in close partnership with the CIO, Total Fund Management, and Risk, aligning long-term objectives, risk appetite, and implementation across the total fund. She is a senior member of CPP Investments’ Portfolio Strategy Committee and serves on multiple investment committees, contributing to enterprise-level decisions on portfolio design, risk, and capital allocation.
Ciana held prior hedge fund investment roles at Robeco-Sage Capital Management and Silver Creek Capital Management. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Washington with certificates in International Economics and Economic Theory & Quantitative Methods and is a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen.
Jun Bei
Founder and Lead Portfolio Manager
TenCap
Jun Bei Liu is the lead portfolio manager and Founder of Ten Cap. Prior to Ten Cap, Jun Bei Liu spent 20 years with Tribeca Investment Partners, starting as an equity analyst before spending 10 years a PM. In 2019 she took over the Alpha Plus Fund, one of Australia’s longest running and best performing equity long short funds. Jun Bei completed a commerce degree at the University of New South Wales, followed by a number of finance credentials including GAICD and CFA. She is fluent in Mandarin and English and is a prolific contributor to Australia’s financial services sector, and as a speaker at key industry events.
Kevin Blank
Senior Analyst
State of Wisconsin Investment Board
Kevin is a Senior Analyst for the Private Markets and Funds Alpha Division at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), which oversees approximately $156 billion in assets. Kevin’s responsibilities include manager due diligence, portfolio construction, and oversight of hedge funds and long-only external manager relationships. Kevin received a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and is currently pursuing his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Austin Camporin
Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Special Situations
Magnetar Capital
Austin Camporin joined Magnetar Capital in 2025. Currently, he serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Special Situations for the Firm. Prior to joining Magnetar, he spent 16 years at Elliott Management, most recently as a Portfolio Manager focusing on public credit and equity opportunities across industrials, REITs, and select other sub-sectors. Mr. Camporin began his career at JPMorgan in 2004, first as a member of an Institutional Investor ranked high-yield credit research team and later as part of the distressed debt proprietary trading group. Mr. Camporin has served on multiple public and private company boards of directors and is also co-president and founder of the Good Shepherd of Darien Foundation as well as co-founder of A Second Chance for Ziva Dog Rescue. Mr. Camporin graduated summa cum laude from the College of William & Mary in 2004 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and is a CFA charterholder
Sean Ho
Founder and Chief Investment Officer
Triata Capital
Sean Ho is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Triata Capital, an investment management firm based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China. He is a strong believer in a fundamentals-driven investment philosophy and has been investing in stocks for more than 20 years.
Triata Capital invests in the Greater China region with a focus on intensive fundamental research through a bottom-up approach to stock selection that is reinforced by proprietary alternative data analysis, as well as suite of in-house developed AI tools. The team’s strong technical capabilities, together with the large amount of proprietary data, provide a unique edge for understanding and capturing investment opportunities within the tech and consumer sectors.
Prior to founding Triata in 2019, Sean spent four years as Associate Director at Tybourne Capital Management where he researched companies and investment themes in the TMT and Consumer sectors in China. Sean was also responsible for setting up and leading the alternative data team within Tybourne.
Previously, Sean worked at Segantii Capital Management and Nomura International in Hong Kong. Sean started off his career at Susquehanna International Group in the US. Sean attended the Harvard Business School Senior Executive Leadership Program, received his Master in Math of Finance from Columbia University, and his Bachelor of Mathematics, with a double-major in Operational Research and Statistics, from Waterloo University.
Paul Griffin
Co-Chief Investment Officer and Chief Science Officer
WorldQuant
Paul serves as Co-CIO and Chief Science Officer at WorldQuant. Alongside Igor, he oversees all aspects of the investment process and manages the firm’s portfolio management organization. In addition, he leads WorldQuant’s AI (artificial intelligence) initiatives. He also guides multiple cross-functional programs involving portfolio management, research and technology. Prior to joining WorldQuant in 2011, Paul was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the FICC division and earlier Chief Technology Officer of Identix. He holds a BA from UC Berkeley and a PhD from Stanford University, with both degrees in physics.
Richard Macklem
Portfolio Manager
CPP Investments
Richard Macklem is a Portfolio Manager with CPP Investments’ External Portfolio Management team, which is responsible for managing a portfolio of investments in commingled hedge funds and separately managed accounts across public market strategies.
He has over 10 years of investment experience spanning portfolio construction and allocation roles across different strategies in the hedge fund space. He invests in hedge fund managers globally, with a current focus on emerging managers. Mr. Macklem joined CPP Investments in 2016.
Mr. Macklem holds a BA in Economics from the Queen’s University and a Master of Financial Economics from the University of Toronto. He is a CFA charterholder.
Alexis Maubourguet
Founder and Chief Investment Officer
ADAPT Investment Managers
Alexis Maubourguet is the Founder and CIO of ADAPT Investment Managers. Before establishing ADAPT IM, Alexis joined Lombard Odier Investment Managers in Geneva in November 2019, where he created the ADAPT strategy. Previously, Alexis served as a Volatility Portfolio Manager at Argentière Capital in Zug for over three years, where he launched and managed the firm’s Relative Value Opportunities fund. Prior to Argentière, he was a Portfolio Manager on the Global Emerging Markets and Macro Fund at BTG Pactual in London. Alexis also brings a decade of experience trading derivatives on the sell-side, having held key roles at JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank in New York and London
Alexis earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics and Applied Mathematics from the École Polytechnique in Paris. He also holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics in Finance from New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Alexis is a CFA Charterholder.
Ro Nagpal
Holocene Children’s Fund
Holocene Advisors
Rohit Nagpal is a member of the Holocene Investment team, with a primary focus on the firm’s long-only equity fund, the Holocene Children’s Fund. Mr. Nagpal joined Holocene in 2018 as an Investment Analyst focusing on the TMT Sector, before transitioning to focusing on the Holocene Children’s Fund in June 2025. Mr. Nagpal joined Holocene from Citadel LLC, where he was a TMT Analyst in Global Equities for close to a decade. Mr. Nagpal holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Applied Science and a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Zachary Peskin
Portfolio Manager
Taula Capital
Mr. Peskin is a Portfolio Manager at the Firm. Prior to joining Taula Capital, Mr. Peskin was a Portfolio Manager at Millennium focusing on US and Canadian interest rate and inflation products. Mr. Peskin started in Millennium’s London office in January 2019 before returning to the United States in 2021. Prior to joining Millennium, Mr. Peskin was a Portfolio Manager at Barclays in New York. Mr. Peskin is a CFA charter holder and received a BA in Economics (Magna Cum Laude) from Cornell University.
Giovanni Reggiani
Managing Director
Weiss Asset Management
Giovanni joined WAM full-time in 2018 and is based in our Boston headquarters. Prior to joining full-time, Giovanni interned at WAM in 2016. Giovanni leads the merger arbitrage strategy and is also focused on our macroeconomic investments. Prior to joining WAM, Giovanni worked at Boston Consulting Group focusing on financial services and asset management firms and interned at Goldman Sachs in the Global Investment Research team. He obtained both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Economics and Applied Math (DESS) from Bocconi University – both summa cum laude. He then obtained his Ph.D. in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Professors Abhijit Banerjee and Bengt Holmstrom, with generals in economic theory and macroeconomics.
Philip Seager
Head of Portfolio Strategy
Capital Fund Management (CFM)
Philip is the Head of Portfolio Strategy and advises on portfolio development across each CFM investment program. He chairs the monthly Investment Committee and participates in many steering committees within the firm. Philip originally joined CFM in 2000 to work on the Discus CTA program and to build its intraday component. He was named Head of Directional Strategies in 2004 and then subsequently took responsibility for the development of CFM’s efforts to diversify away from core offerings, including the launch of alternative risk premia, in 2015. Prior to his work at CFM, Philip obtained a two-year European Fellowship to work at the CEA, France, working on a search for the charged Higgs boson at CERN, Switzerland. Philip has a PhD in experimental particle physics from Lancaster University.
John Smallcomb
Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
Wellington Management
John is a portfolio manager on Wellington Solutions, a comprehensive investment solutions platform with mission to deliver outcome-oriented strategies to help solve clients’ investment challenges. He co-manages long/short extension approaches where he is responsible for manager selection and constructing the portfolios. He also advises clients on a variety of investment topics including manager evaluation, portfolio construction, and risk management. Previously, he served as an investment director in Investment Products and Strategies. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, John worked at The Hanover Insurance Group (2006 – 2008) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (2002 – 2006). John received his MBA from Boston College (Carroll, 2006) and his BS in human physiology from Boston University (2001). Additionally, he holds the chartered financial analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Boston.
Rob Swan
Chief Operating Officer, Co-Head of Platform Services
Lighthouse Partners
Rob has led the Lighthouse Group’s Operations Division as Chief Operating Officer since 2000 and serves as the Co-Head of Platform Services. In this role, Rob oversees the firm’s operational framework, technology infrastructure, and process optimization, as well as guides the strategic direction of the platform services business line in collaboration with Lighthouse’s other executive leaders. He is a member of the Lighthouse Group Management Committee and the chairman of both the Lighthouse Group Risk and Valuation Committee and the Lighthouse Group Pricing Committee. Previously, Rob was a senior treasury consultant at Computer Sciences Corporation, where he led treasury and risk management system implementations. Prior to that, he was a director of accounting at Trout Trading Management Company, Ltd. (Trout), based in Bermuda, where he was directly responsible for monitoring and reporting on all fund trading activities—including financial reporting, internal control, regulatory compliance, and general due diligence—as well as management of Trout’s many brokerage and external investment advisor relationships. Rob began his career in the audit practice at Ernst & Young. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Rob is also a former Certified Public Accountant
Ashwin Thapar
Head of Multi-Asset Class Investing
D. E. Shaw Investment Management
Ashwin Thapar is a senior vice president of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., Head of Multi-Asset Class Investing for D. E. Shaw Investment Management, L.L.C. (“DESIM”), and a member of DESIM’s Investment Committee. In that capacity, Mr. Thapar jointly oversees the research and portfolio management activities DESIM conducts for its benchmark-relative equity and multi-asset class investment strategies. Prior to joining DESIM in 2023, he spent over 14 years at AQR Capital Management, LLC, where he last served as a principal on its macro strategies team. Mr. Thapar’s co-authored research on currency hedging, tail risk hedging, and deep value and risk premia investing has been published in the Financial Analysts Journal, Journal of Investment Management, and Journal of Systematic Investing. He was a joint recipient of the Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award for Outstanding Article in 2022 and a Special Distinction Award as a finalist for the Harry M. Markowitz Award in 2021. Mr. Thapar is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in economics with a concentration in finance from The Wharton School and a B.A. in mathematics from the College of Arts & Sciences.
Xavier Urli
Head of Investments
Innocap Investment Management
As Head of Investment, Xavier Urli leads the Investment Solution & Portfolio Oversight Group at Innocap, where he oversees the development of customized investment solutions, advanced risk analytics, and institutional-grade oversight across managed account portfolios.
He previously served as CEO of Innocap Global Investment Management Ltd., where he supervised portfolio management, liquidity and hedging frameworks, and the firm’s regulatory and operational strategy. Earlier in his career, Xavier held portfolio management responsibilities at Desjardins Global Asset Management within the structured notes and fund-of-hedge-funds group.
With a master’s degree in physics from Université de Montréal, Xavier brings a strong quantitative foundation to the design of transparent, scalable, and innovative investment architectures. He regularly contributes to industry discussions on dedicated managed account platforms, risk transparency, and solution engineering.
Mark van der Zwan
Chief Investment Officer and Head of the AIP Hedge Fund Solutions
Morgan Stanley
Mark is the Chief Investment Officer and head of the AIP Hedge Fund Solutions team and a member of the Investment Committee. He joined Morgan Stanley Investment Management in 2004 and has over 27 years of industry experience. Prior to joining the firm, Mark was a senior consultant for Alan D. Biller & Associates, an institutional investment consulting firm, where he was responsible for hedge fund manager selection. Previously, he was a researcher at the National Research Council of Canada, where he performed advanced computational modeling. Mark received both a B.Sc. with honors in chemistry and an M.B.A. in finance from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. Mark holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Contact
Registration for this event is by invitation only. To request an invitation, please email conferences@managedfunds.org
