2023 FSRA Exchange Event
We look forward to having you join us.
Please see below for the list of speakers.
Speaker Bios
Judy Pfeifer
Chief Public Affairs Officer
Judy Pfeifer is a dynamic and strategic senior leader with extensive expertise and experience in internal and external communications, communications strategy and planning, corporate reputation management, media relations, and stakeholder management. Recognized for her ability to inspire high performing teams, Judy will work with leaders and staff across FSRA to champion the organizational culture and vision and help manage FSRA’s relationships with multiple stakeholders in government, industry, and with consumers.
Throughout Judy’s career, she has held senior leadership positions across multiple sectors including the private, not-for-profit, public and municipal sectors, most recently as the Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer at Metrolinx. She was also a Professor in the School of Media, Faculty of Communication, Art and Design at Seneca College.
A published author, Judy is a highly sought after speaker on public engagement, stakeholder relations and communications. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Carleton University and a graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management from Seneca College.
Joanne De Laurentiis
Chair of the Board, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario
A seasoned financial services executive, Joanne De Laurentiis’ governance experience includes leading multi-stakeholder organizations that represent and advocate on behalf of industry sectors. Retired as President and CEO of The Investment Funds Institute of Canada 2016, Ms. De Laurentiis also served as President and CEO of Credit Union Central of Canada; Mondex Canada; and the Interac Association, Vice-President of the Canadian Bankers' Association, and Chief of Staff to an Ontario Cabinet Minister. Ms. De Laurentiis currently serves as Chair of the PIMCO Independent Review Committee; Vice-Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, Member of Canada Life Funds Independent Review Committee, BeWhere Holdings Board, the Board of The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute.
Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy
Minister of Finance, Ontario
Peter Bethlenfalvy has been serving as Ontario’s Minister of Finance since December 2020. Prior to his role at Finance, he served in Cabinet as President of the Treasury Board between 2018 and 2021. He was elected as MPP for Pickering—Uxbridge in 2018.
Minister Bethlenfalvy is responsible for ensuring Ontario’s long-term fiscal sustainability and providing the fiscal firepower needed to protect the health and wellbeing of Ontarians in the face of COVID-19.
During his time as President of the Treasury Board, he was responsible for the province’s expenditure management efforts, the government’s internal audit work, and was the official employer of the province’s public servants. Minister Bethlenfalvy led the creation of Ontario’s Office of the Comptroller General – the first of its kind in any Canadian province – and is Chair of the Future State Modernization Committee.
As Minister of Finance, he is responsible for the management of the province’s finances and building the environment for long-term economic prosperity. In the face of COVID-19, Minister Bethlenfalvy is focused on providing the supports Ontario families, workers, and businesses need through the pandemic. As the province charts its long-term recovery, he is working to ensure our health care system, communities and economy are positioned to emerge stronger than ever before.
Stephen Crawford
Parliamentary Assistant to the Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance
Stephen Crawford was elected as the MPP for Oakville in 2018, and again in 2022. He sits on both the Public Accounts, and the Finance and Economic Affairs Committees. He is also the Parliamentary Assistant to the Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. Prior to being elected to public office, Stephen was a senior executive in the investment industry for 20 years.
Stephen resides in Oakville with wife Najia and children (and is a proud dad to two sets of twin girls)
Mark White
CEO, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario
Mr. White is an accomplished and experienced leader and executive in the regulatory and financial sectors, with a passion for excellence and focused execution and a keen interest in understanding and meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders. With a strong background in regulation, risk management, governance, law, finance, change management and process improvement and oversight, Mr. White is uniquely positioned to drive the modernization and transformation of financial services regulation in Ontario, and to help ensure people in Ontario receive financial services which meet their needs, while balancing private and public sector objectives.
Before joining FSRA in May 2018, Mr. White held a number of senior executive positions at the Bank of Montreal. Most recently, as BMO’s Senior Vice President & Head Enterprise Risk, he had overall enterprise accountability for the design and implementation of the bank's risk management tools, methodologies and frameworks; for oversight of and reporting on the bank's risk management activities; and for governance and oversight of risk management functions, including the identification of top and emerging risks, the development and execution of qualitative and quantitative risk management techniques, the design and implementation of risk management systems and processes, and the provision of effective challenge over operational risks such as event, cyber, information and technology risk. He also served as BMO’s Senior Vice President responsible for strategic and technical leadership on capital adequacy, balance sheet efficiency, regulatory rules and capital issuances, frequently liaising with regulators and rating agencies.
Prior to BMO, Mark served as the Assistant Superintendent, Head of Regulation Sector at Canada’s bank and insurance regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). As a member of the four-person OSFI Executive, he was the leader of a team responsible for OSFI’s approvals, policy-making, policy interpretation, legal services, capital/risk/solvency, research, accounting, pension oversight and actuarial policy functions. He led OSFI’s policy development during the global financial crisis - domestically working with various industry associations and leading companies, and with the Bank of Canada, the federal Ministry of Finance, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation and securities regulators - and internationally, with various industry groups and regulatory and rule-making bodies. In particular, Mr. White was OSFI’s representative on the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision during the Basel III process and chaired the Basel Committee’s Risk Measurement Group, leading reforms dealing with counterparty credit risk from capital markets instruments and exposures.
After business and law school and gaining experience in accountancy, Mr. White began his career at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin in 1987 as a business law lawyer, primarily focused on financial services. In 1992, he became Senior Vice President, Legal Director and Chief Counsel at the AT&T Capital consumer and commercial technology finance business, initially in Canada and later in Europe based in London England, where he led legal teams focused on regulatory compliance and transaction support. In 1997, he moved to Ernst & Young LLP/Donahue Ernst & Young, Barristers and Solicitors, where his practice focused on domestic and international financial services and transactions, and he became an equity partner and a member of the legal practice management committee. In 2001 he joined RBC Capital Markets, where he was Managing Director and Global Head of the Strategic Transactions Group, a successful and innovative structured finance business active in international capital markets and transactions.
Professor Poonam Puri
Professor of Business Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
One of Canada’s leading experts in corporate governance, corporate law and securities law, Poonam Puri is a tenured professor of business law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. An Affiliated Scholar with Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Poonam also currently serves as a director of Colliers and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and as chair of the board of directors of the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto. Poonam is a former commissioner of the Ontario Securities Commission, and a former director of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and Women’s College Hospital. She is currently an instructor in the Rotman-Institute of Corporate Directors Directors Education Program. In addition to this, Poonam is Co-Founder and Director of the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic, a clinic that provides pro bono legal assistance to individuals who have suffered financial harm.
In 2020, Poonam was awarded the David Walter Mundell Medal by the Attorney General of Ontario and in 2021, Poonam was awarded the Law Society Medal and the Royal Society of Canada’s Yvan Allaire Medal for excellence in contributions to the governance of public and private organizations in Canada. Poonam has been previously recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women and one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 leaders. She is a proud graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (LL.B., 1995, Silver Medalist) and Harvard Law School (LL.M., 1997).
Laura Tamblyn Watts
CEO of CanAge
Laura Tamblyn Watts is the CEO of CanAge, Canada’s national seniors’ advocacy organization and a global expert on aging. Her work focuses on aging, inclusion, and justice. She has previously served as Chief Public Policy Officer at the Canadian Association of Retired Persons and at the Canadian Centre for Elder Law including as their long-time National Director. She is an Assistant Professor in the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work University of Toronto where she specializes in research on Law and Aging. She was called to the Bar in 1999. Her new book, the 3 am Guide to Your Aging Parents comes out next year.
(fun fact if you want it: Since April 2020 she’s done more than 3200 media interviews.)
Stephen Sargeant
Founder of Airdropd
Stephen is the founder of Airdropd, a content production house that helps blockchain companies, educational firms and startups create exciting and contextual content for their audience.
Stephen has spent the majority of his career as a cryptocurrency compliance and blockchain investigations specialist, who previously acted as the Deputy Manager of AML Investigations consulting for industry leading cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex. Previously, he acquired AML experience working for international bank HSBC as an AML Investigations Manager and acquired many AML and cryptocurrency designations and is also a Certified Trainer for Blockchain Analytics company, Chainalysis.
Stephen has been a contributor to several International Public Private Partnerships initiated by Interpol, FinCEN and FINTRAC to counter human and fentanyl trafficking, darknet marketplaces and financial crime in the cryptocurrency industry. He specializes in blockchain investigation training and providing consultancy to compliance programs at fintechs and crypto companies.
Juan Carlos Izaguirre
Senior Financial Sector Policy Specialist at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
Juan Carlos Izaguirre is Senior Financial Sector Policy Specialist at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) –a financial inclusion think-tank housed at the World Bank. He leads work on digital finance supervision and financial consumer protection focused on customer outcomes. Mr. Izaguirre has over 20 years of financial sector regulatory and supervisory experience, including on digital financial inclusion, consumer protection, and deposit insurance. He has also trained financial supervisors with Toronto Centre, Digital Frontiers Institute, Financial Stability Institute, and Boulder Institute of Microfinance. Prior to joining CGAP, he co-founded the World Bank’s Global Program on Financial Consumer Protection, where he assisted authorities in over 20 countries, and he was a prudential and conduct supervisor in the Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and Private Pensions of Peru. Mr. Izaguirre holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Public Administration from Syracuse University, and a master’s in Finance from Universidad del Pacífico of Peru.
Dr. Supriya Syal
Deputy Commissioner, Research, Policy and Education, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Dr. Supriya Syal is a leading expert in research and evidence-based policy innovation in Canada.
She is the Deputy Commissioner of Research, Policy, and Education at the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, where she recently led the renewal of the National Financial Literacy Strategy, and is now guiding its implementation.
She is the former Chief Science Advisor to the Treasury Board Secretariat Talent Cloud, and the former Chief Behavioural Scientist of the Privy Council Office Innovation Hub. Prior to joining the public sector, Dr. Syal was VP Research and Innovation at BEworks Inc. She is also the founder and former President of Dulcimer Labs, a purpose-driven company that creates social impact through evidence-based decision making.
She has won multiple awards, published in top academic and popular journals, and has coauthored a number of policy white papers. She is a regular invited speaker at research, tech and innovative government conferences, and has also appeared on crowdcast, radio and television, including National Public Radio (US) and on TVO’s flagship current affairs show in Canada, The Agenda.
Dr. Syal holds a PhD in psychology from Cornell University, as well as a master’s degree in neuroscience and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry.
Jordan Solway
Executive Vice President, Legal & Enforcement, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario
Jordan is strategic-minded lawyer and financial services executive with extensive expertise in financial services regulation, compliance, enterprise risk management, claim management, government affairs and corporate governance. He oversees legal services and regulatory enforcement and is responsible for ensuring that FSRA’s regulatory framework and policy objectives are effective and enforced to protect the public interest.
A lawyer and financial services executive, Jordan brings extensive legal and business experience to FSRA from the insurance/reinsurance industry where he specialized in financial services regulation, compliance, enterprise risk management, claims and litigation management, government affairs and corporate governance. Jordan joins us from his most recent position as Group General Counsel and Vice President, Claim with Travelers Canada. He is a thought leader on auto insurance and, before moving to practice business law, Jordan was a successful litigator in private practice and with the Department of Justice.
An instructor with Degroote Directors College, Jordan holds a Bachelor of Law and Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Dr. Cristie Ford
Professor, Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
Dr. Cristie Ford’s research focuses primarily on regulation and governance in Canadian, American, and international finance and securities regulation. Recently she has expanded her research to include access to justice and governance of the legal profession. Professor Ford has published extensively in leading academic journals and handbooks, and written two books.
Professor Ford co-edited the leading international journal Regulation & Governance from 2012 to 2015 and now sits on its Executive Board and the Board of the Journal of International Economic Law. She lectures nationally and internationally, and has held visiting research positions at institutions including the European University Institute, Hebrew University, Oxford University and Utrecht University. She has been retained on several occasions by the Canadian Department of Finance to advise on banking and securities regulation. Professor Ford has also been a Killam Faculty Research Fellow at UBC, a member of the BC Attorney General’s 2020 Advisory Committee on pandemic-related backlog in the courts, has received the Curtis Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence, and served as Associate Dean for the Research and the Legal Profession.
Professor Ford obtained her graduate degrees from Columbia Law School, where she also taught as a lecturer, clinic supervisor, and Associate-in-Law. Before joining academia, she practiced law in Vancouver and New York. Her practice as a senior associate in securities regulation and financial litigation at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP included many of the highest profile regulatory and white-collar criminal files of the dotcom bust and post-9/11 eras. She is a non-practising member of the BC and the New York state and federal bars.
Gale Rubenstien
Counsel at Goodmans LLP
Counsel at Goodmans LLP. Practice includes insolvency and restructuring, focusing on domestic/international financial institutions and on pension and employee issues in restructurings. Senior counsel to the investor committee who oversaw the restructuring of Canadian Third Party ABCP; to the Monitor on Nortel Canada and Target Canada’s insolvencies; to the Province of Ontario on the GM, Chrysler, Stelco, Essar Algoma and Laurentian University restructurings and FSCO and FSRA on numerous matters; to the liquidators of numerous financial institutions, to Superintendent of Financial Services and to Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation on bank resolution issues. Member of the Boards of Scarborough Health Network and Algoma Steel Group Inc., Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University Pension Plan Ontario and Chair of the Independent Expert Panel reviewing the Nova Scotia Teachers Pension Plan, and member of the CDIC Advisory Panel. Identified as a leading practitioner in publications such as Lexpert, Chambers, Euromoney, IFLR 1000, Who’s Who Legal: Canada, and Best Lawyers in Canada. Recipient of the OBA Award for Excellence in Insolvency Law and Fellow of the Insolvency Institute of Canada.
Tom Vandeloo
Chair
Tom Vandeloo is a trusted advisor to business executives across Canada. Now retired, Tom was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG where he worked with more than one hundred companies in nearly every sector of the Canadian economy. He has over thirty years of consulting experience in business integration & separation, cost optimization, business performance improvement, procurement & strategic sourcing, and supply chain services.
In addition to his role on DUCA’s Board, Tom is a Director at Central1 where he serves on the Audit & Finance Committee, the Risk Review and Investment & Loan Committee, and the Ontario Pension Sub-committee. He also works as a Volunteer Consultant with Management Advisory Services, providing pro bono consulting services to non-profit organizations in the GTA.
Tom holds and ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and a B.Math in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.
Peter Stephenson
Partner, Hugessen Consulting
Peter is an organizational psychologist and a leading consultant in helping Boards increase their effectiveness. Prior to joining Hugessen, Peter managed his own firm Meridien Consulting Services providing advice and support to Boards, CEOs and executive teams.
He has worked with a wide variety of Boards on a broad range of issues to support them in enhancing the value they bring to organizations. From Board evaluation and individual director feedback to Board culture, composition and dynamics to CEO performance management, Peter partners with clients to foster insights that will lead to strengthened performance.
Huston Loke
Executive Vice President, Market Conduct
Huston Loke is an outcomes-driven financial services senior leader with extensive expertise and experience in regulation, compliance, risk management, and evidence-based policy development. He oversees market and business conduct within the sectors regulated by FSRA, including sector licensing and conduct regulation, encompassing the appropriateness of conduct to protect the interests of consumers, pension beneficiaries and member depositors.
Embracing a deep passion for public service, Huston was most recently Director of the Corporate Finance Branch with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) where he oversaw securities-related conduct matters for all Ontario-based public companies and exempt market issuers. In that role, he had statutory authority to make key decisions in connection with prospectus receipting and exemptive relief. He also served as a member of the Nonbank Financial Intermediation Committee of the Financial Stability Board, the international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. Huston also served as an advisor to the CEO and the CRO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Prior to these roles, Huston was President of DBRS Limited where he oversaw the ratings business for corporates, financial institutions, government issuers, and structured products.
Huston holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science and a Master of Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Mehrdad Rastan
Executive Vice President, Credit Union and Insurance Prudential
Mehrdad Rastan is a passionate leader with over 25 years of experience executing strategic initiatives, establishing strong partnerships, building high performing teams and championing transformational organizational culture. He is responsible for FSRA’s credit union and prudential functions with a focus on promoting and contributing to sector stability and maintaining public trust and confidence in the sectors.
Mehrdad has extensive public sector experience as a senior regulator at FSRA and at the British Columbia Financial Services Authority. He built regulatory and supervisory teams and implemented modern systems and frameworks to promote operational resilience and financial stability. Mehrdad has overseen the re-build of FSRA’s recovery framework and the enhancement of the resolution regime and led the development of the integrated Risk Based Supervisory Framework.
Prior to his regulatory roles, Mehrdad held strategic and risk management positions in investment, hedge and pension funds and founded and developed start-ups in construction, entertainment and technology. Mehrdad has earned degrees in physics and finance and holds the professional Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations.
Caroline Blouin
Executive Vice President, Pensions
Caroline Blouin is a strategic and highly respected senior executive who is responsible for leading FSRA’s pensions function. Through sound decision-making and oversight, she will support FSRA to promote a strong and sustainable pension system and protect the interests of pension plan beneficiaries.
Known for developing high performing teams of pension experts, Caroline brings a wealth of global expertise and experience to this critical function having led several transformational initiatives within multi-stakeholder environments from advising multinationals on global pension plans to managing one of Canada’s largest private sector pension plans. She came to FSRA from RBC Insurance where she most recently held the position of Vice President, Pension and Longevity Solutions. Prior to joining RBC, she was a Principal with Mercer in New York City where she provided advice on non-US pensions and benefit arrangements.
Caroline holds an Honors degree in Actuarial Sciences and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
Tim Bzowey
Executive Vice President, Auto/insurance Products
Tim Bzowey is an innovative, strategic senior leader with extensive global expertise and experience in the insurance, wealth management and banking industries, who has an aptitude for consumer and industry engagement and collaboration. Widely recognized for his ability to unite and inspire high performing teams, Tim will provide thought leadership and oversight for the regulation and supervision of FSRA’s insurance industry products, including auto insurance rates and products, to protect the interests of consumers while supporting industry evolution and innovation.
Throughout his career, Tim has held senior leadership positions with significant weightings in Ontario auto insurance, and brings a business leader’s perspective on product cost drivers, rate making and approval processes. He joined FSRA from his most recent position as Senior Vice President, RBC Partnership, Aviva.
Highly attuned to customer perspectives and expectations, Tim has been invited to speak at industry conferences and events on a variety of topics including automated vehicles, customer centricity and data and analytics. Tim holds a Masters of Business Administration and was Vice Chair and Director with the Canadian Association of Direct Relationship Insurers (CADRI).