Toronto, ON – 18 November 2021 - CFA Society Toronto is pleased to announce that Brenda King, CFA has been appointed the Chair of the Society’s Board of Directors following the 17 November 2021 Annual Meeting.
The Board of Directors serves a critical leadership role in the Society by providing strategic direction to carry out its mission and vision by coordinating the needs of Society members with the rapidly changing environment of the investment industry, adopting a socially responsible role in the enhancement of the investment profession.
“It is a great honour to be given this opportunity to serve as the Chair of CFA Society Toronto’s Board of Directors for fiscal year 2021-2022. In the coming year, I look forward to working alongside my fellow board members in executing our new Three-year Strategic Plan (2022-2024). With the support of Society volunteers and staff members, we will continue to enhance our professional and career development opportunities for our members and elevate the professional and ethical standards in Toronto’s investment community”, Brenda King, CFA.
The Society would also like to express our gratitude to our departing board members, Grace Cleary-Yu, CFA, and Kathrin Forrest, CFA. We thank them for their support while serving on CFA Society Toronto’s Board of Directors.
New appointments to the 2021-2022 Board of Directors include:
- Brenda King, CFA, as Board Chair;
- Mari Jensen, CFA as Vice Chair; and
- Robert Cultraro, CFA as Past Chair.
We would also like to welcome three new members to our Board of Directors:
Heather Cooke, CFA
Board Member at Large
Heather Cooke is the Chief Investment Officer of The Audra Group - a single family office and affiliate of The Woodbridge Company Limited where she is responsible for the management and oversight of the investment program. Prior to joining The Audra Group, Heather worked at Fiera Capital Corporation where she was the Deputy Chief Investment Officer and SVP of Private Alternatives. She was also the Chair of the Global ESG Committee and expanded the Multi-Asset Class Solutions platform as SVP of Investment Solutions. Over her 30-year investment management career, she has held senior investment management and Canadian leadership roles at global asset management and consulting firms such as Unigestion Asset Management, Mercer Global Investments, Rogerscasey and Northern Trust Global Investments. Her positions predominantly focused on Outsourced CIO services and leading investment manager research and portfolio management teams.
Heather earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen's University and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She also volunteers at the CFA Society Toronto as the past Chair and current senior advisor to the Institutional Asset Management (IAM) committee and is a member of The Ticker Club of Toronto.
Karl Cheong, CFA
Member Services
Karl is an ETF pioneer who has been at the forefront of the industry's recent change. Karl is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the region and leading a team of First Trust investment professionals delivering ETF solutions to investment advisors and portfolio managers which has organically raised over $1.3 billion in AUM since inception.
Previous to First Trust, Karl was the Head of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Structured Product Development for Claymore Investments, one of the fastest growing asset management firms in Canada's history.
Karl provides insightful market commentary on a variety of topics including current events and industry trends as a guest on BNN Bloomberg and has also been featured in a variety of publications such as The Financial Post, Globe & Mail, Reuters, Morningstar, Investment Executive, CTV and was featured as an "Industry Icon" by Wealth Professional.”
Aaron Vale, CFA
Programming Vice Chair
Aaron has been focusing on private market, real asset investing since 2006. He has extensive experience evaluating infrastructure and energy investment opportunities. Since 2014, Aaron has been with CBRE Caledon Capital Management. As Co-head of Indirect Infrastructure at CBRE Investment Management, Aaron focuses on infrastructure investment strategy, execution, and portfolio construction for its institutional clients. Previously he was engaged to help structure and raise a Mexican infrastructure and energy fund. Aaron also worked at Macquarie Bank in a variety of roles including managing their North American toll road investments, such as Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road, and working out of their Mexico City and Calgary offices in various functions. Aaron received a Master of Finance with Distinction from INSEAD and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.
Media contact:
Jonathan Mai
Marketing and Communications Manager
CFA Society Toronto
Tel: 416.366.5755 X 235
media@cfatoronto.ca
About CFA Society Toronto
Founded in 1936, CFA Society Toronto is part of the worldwide network of CFA Institute member societies that lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society. CFA Society Toronto represents the interests of approximately 11,000 investment professionals in the Greater Toronto Area through advocacy, education, events, and professional development. For more information visit http://www.cfatoronto.ca or follow us on Twitter @cfatoronto and on LinkedIn CFA Society Toronto.
Chartered Financial Analyst® and CFA® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
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