The Empire Club of Canada
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Canada has many advantages, from our rich natural resources to our highly educated workforce – so what are we not getting right? And how can we capitalize on our strengths to attract the kind of investment – from within our own borders, and outside – Canada will need to thrive?
This will be a far-reaching conversation on investment in Canada, with compelling experts. The Empire Club and TMX have combined forces to curate a new kind of ‘annual outlook event’. The new format will make for a dynamic discussion on important emerging economic topics – providing an opportunity for your organization to get ahead on the issues that will matter in 2024.
Join leaders from key sectors for a panel discussion moderated by John McKenzie, CEO, TMX Group, on how we can make Canada a great investment.
Earl Davis has over 25 years of experience in Fixed Income and FX. He is Head of Fixed Income and Money Markets at BMO where he has responsibility for actively managed fixed income mandates. Prior to joining BMO, Earl led Developed Markets Fixed Income and FX at a leading pension organization where he had oversight over the nominal, inflation and global bond market portfolios.
Earl Davis is a past member of the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) Foreign Exchange Committee. He currently sits on the Accounting Standards Oversight Council and is a member of FSRA’s Pension Sector Technical Advisory Committee. He is a CFA charter holder and has an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
As Chief Sustainability Officer & Executive Vice-President, Stakeholder Engagement, Rhona
works to ensure environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are embedded
in the company’s strategy and business plans. Rhona is also responsible for leading the
company’s communications efforts and building strong relationships with stakeholders.
This includes working with Indigenous community members, government officials and
community partners.
Rhona has been with Cenovus and its predecessor company since 2008, with roles in
media relations, external communications, strategy and stakeholder engagement. Before
joining Cenovus, Rhona spent several years as a journalist and senior leader in television
newsrooms across the country including CBC and Global.
She has a combined honours degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from
Carleton University and an MBA specializing in global energy from the University of
Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.
John McKenzie is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TMX Group.
Mr. McKenzie is a member of the TMX Group Board of Directors and also a member of the Board of Directors of several TMX Group subsidiaries.
Mr. McKenzie has worked for TMX for over 20 years; prior to his appointment as CEO on August 17, 2020, he served as Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for corporate strategy, corporate development, investor relations and the financial management of the company as well as for the administrative oversight of TMX Group’s Capital Formation business. He has led various TMX acquisitions, including the Maple transaction, and the acquisitions of Montréal Exchange and Trayport.
From July 2015 to August 2016, Mr. McKenzie served as President of CDS, Canada’s equity and fixed income clearing house and a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group. Prior to that he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CFO of CDS.
Mr. McKenzie is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and has an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and an Honours BA from Wilfrid Laurier University. He has served on a number of boards, and is currently the Working Committee Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges, and a Board Member and Treasurer for the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
Barbara Zvan is President and Chief Executive Officer of University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP). She is responsible for realizing UPP’s strategies to deliver valuable, lifelong pension security, and service excellence to UPP’s over 39,000 members while establishing UPP as the pension solution of choice for Ontario’s university community.
Formerly the Chief Risk and Strategy Officer for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Barb is globally recognized as a leading voice on sustainable investing and an ambassador for defined benefit pensions. She was named Canada’s CEO of the Year and Corporate Citizen of the Year 2022 by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine in honour of her contributions and leadership in both areas.
A sought-after responsible investing expert, Barb was appointed to the Government of Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance in 2018 and is an inaugural member of the Sustainable Finance Action Council, which launched in 2021. On the global stage, Barb played a significant role in creating the G7 Investor Leadership Network and was named one of 26 Climate Champions by British High Commission in Canada and the Canada Climate Law Initiative ahead of COP 26 in 2021.
Barb also serves on the board of the Responsible Investment Association and the advisory board of the Institute of Sustainable Finance at the Smith School of Business. She chairs the Steering Committee of Climate Engagement Canada, and co-chairs the C.D. Howe Institute’s Pension Policy Council.
She holds a master’s degree in Math and Statistics from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University. She is a a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA), and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).