Governance advisory that drives institutional resilience

Rick has over fifty years of experience in both not-for-profit and for-profit sectors. His career began in crisis intervention within the public sector. He later trained hostage negotiators, medical personnel, and public service workers in de-escalation techniques. He acted as a negotiator and facilitator in numerous stakeholder engagements, including working with the Canadian brewing industry during the NAFTA negotiations.

This evolved into consulting roles focused on strategy and operations, organizational leadership development, performance management, program evaluation, and survey research.

Between 1998-2010, he was the National Practice leader for Deloitte's Governance and Risk Oversight Services. In that capacity, he served many of Deloitte's largest domestic and global clients. In 2001, Rick created the concept of risk intelligence for value creation and protection.

He is a frequent public speaker and is the principal author of Surviving and Thriving in Uncertainty: Creating the Risk Intelligent Enterprise®, published by John Wiley & Sons in April 2010. This book specifically targeted the governance and risk oversight needs of boards and executives in both public and private sectors.

He served on the Board of Visitors for the Oakland University School of Business Administration from 2009-2011 and was an Adjunct Professor for the executive MBA program. Rick left Deloitte & Touche LLP in May 2010 and formed Funston Advisory Services LLC. Between 2011-2012, he served as special advisor to the Risk Institute of the Max Fisher School of Business at The Ohio State University.

Rick was the editor and a primary contributor to One of a Kind! A Practical Guide for 21st Century Public Pension Trustees published in 2017. Most recently, Rick is the principal author with Jon Lukomnik of Adapt or Fail! A 5x5 Governance Framework for Board of Directors published by De Gruyter, 2025. He is also the principal author of Transforming the Dialogue: Fiduciary Essentials published by Amazon, 2025.

He was awarded a B.A. from York University in Ontario and an M.S.W. from Tulane University.

Rick is based in Naples, Florida.

Evan specializes in framework design, governance analytics, and strategic advisory for institutional investors and public pension plans. He recently led the development of the Patient Capital Governance (PC GIQ™) Scorecard, transforming a previously qualitative framework into a deployable, data-informed tool that integrates quantitative metrics with institutional governance insights. This work enables evidence-based benchmarking, long-horizon investment oversight, and targeted recommendations to enhance strategic alignment and fiduciary effectiveness.

Evan brings a strong track record of leading enterprise change and operational transformation within a Fortune 250 environment, with deep expertise in designing systems that support continuous improvement, performance accountability, and scalable execution. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Urban and Economic Geography and a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Management Consulting. Outside of work, he is a dedicated husband, father and competitive sailor.

Matt Jacobs is an accomplished legal and strategic advisor with more than 35 years of experience guiding corporate, governmental, and nonprofit leaders through high-stakes litigation, internal and regulatory investigations, and enterprise risk management. He most recently served as General Counsel for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest U.S. public pension fund, where he was a member of the executive team, a strategic advisor and parliamentarian for the Board, and led the Legal, Compliance & Risk, and Information Security offices.

Before joining CalPERS in 2014, Matt was a litigation partner at the international law firm DLA Piper LLP (US) and at other leading firms, representing public agencies, corporations, and executives in complex civil and criminal matters. Earlier in his career, he served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division in the Eastern District of California, where he supervised the office’s most significant prosecutions.

Matt is widely respected for his ability to manage crisis situations and deliver practical solutions in matters involving governance, regulatory risk, ESG, healthcare, and financial services. He has successfully represented major pension funds, healthcare systems, and public agencies, and has extensive experience in internal investigations and complex litigation.

Matt is active in civic and professional organizations, serving on the boards of WEAVE and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, and has held leadership roles with the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Council of Institutional Investors, and the Federal Bar Association. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law and a Judge Pro Tem of the Sacramento Superior Court. Matt earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.S., cum laude, from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Steve is an institutional investment expert, having worked as an investment consultant, plan sponsor, and investment manager. He has provided investment advisory and solutions services to large plan sponsors, insurers, health care organizations, foundations, family offices, and other asset pools across the globe for over 40 years. He has a particular focus on evaluating the institutional constraints that exist within client governance structures to assure investment mandates are appropriately implemented.

Steve has experience advising on and implementing digital, advisory, and OCIO investment solutions with clients of all sizes and sophistication. He has wide-ranging experience working with large public retirement systems and sovereign wealth funds.

He began his investment career working with the AT&T pension fund and transitioned into a career that focused on advising institutional investors on all aspects of their investment process. Steve is recognized as a leading implementer of creative, forward-thinking solutions that blend what is possible in the marketplace with what is possible forhis clients. Until late 2020, Steve worked as a Partner for Mercer Investments and worked with many of their most prominent clients for over a decade. He held prior investment roles at Evaluation Associates, RogersCasey, AXA/Equitable, Rockefeller Foundation, and Putnam Investments.

Steve earned his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College and an AB from Occidental College in Los Angeles. He is a Certified Financial Analyst.

Mario Pardo has over 20 years of experience in risk management and quantitative finance. He was Risk Manager for a $3 billion European Family Office for two decades, focusing on portfolio construction and risk analytics. His work has been endorsed by Nobel Laureates Robert Merton and Myron Scholes.

Since 2019, he has collaborated with Columbia University’s Operations Research Department on research involving non-linear modeling, copula theory, and machine learning for multi-asset portfolio risk.

He is the founder and CEO of Ryse, Inc. (est. 2006), providing risk management consulting and solutions to pension funds, family offices, and hedge funds, where the overall sum of all assets advised by the company’s clients is north of $30 billion. Previously, he worked at Booz Allen & Hamilton advising on M&A transactions in agribusiness and consumer goods in Latin America.

Mr. Pardo holds degrees from Vanderbilt University and an MS from MIT’s Management of Technology program.

He has spoken at the Bloomberg Quant Seminar (2025), the Institutional Society of Risk Professionals (2024), and multiple GAIM hedge fund conferences globally.

Susan has been an institutional investor for over 25 years. Her experience includes asset allocation, investment selection and implementation, financial management, risk and operations for pension and defined contributions plans, and management of both public and private investment funds. This breadth of experience has given her a deep understanding of the institutional market ecosystem.

As Chief Investment Officer of the Montgomery County Public Schools Retirement Systems (MCPS), Susan was responsible for asset allocation, portfolio risk management, investment strategy, manager due diligence, and service provider oversight for both the multi-billion pension and defined contribution plans. For the pension plan, she deployed $500m of capital across a range of investment vehicles, created an ESG framework, and constructed a systematic performance review process. In addition, she managed the consolidation of the DC plan which resulted in reduced costs to plan participants and a simplified investment menu. She was also instrumental in overseeing the 2020 IRS audit of the 403(b)/457(b) plans.

In 2021, Susan was named by Institutional Investor as one of its Allocator Intel Top 50 Women in Investment Management.  In 2018, she was named one of the Top 30 Pension Institutional Investors by Trusted Insights.

Most recently, Susan was the Chief Financial Officer at Clarendon Capital, a mid-market transportation and logistics-focused private equity firm. Previously, Susan was a co-portfolio manager at Rothschild Asset Management for its 130/30 fund. Prior to that, she was a senior investment analyst at Ampere Capital and Intrepid Capital, both technology-focused hedge funds.

Susan graduated from Columbia University with a degree in industrial engineering. She began her career at Goldman Sachs as a telecommunication analyst before becoming a technology sector specialist on their sales and trading desk.

Michael has over 25 years of experience as an operations executive and management consultant to large asset management organizations. He has a consistent track record in applying innovative solutions to achieve best practices in operations, risk management, and investment compliance.

Michael is currently the Managing Member of New Heights Solutions, LLC., a management consulting firm in the asset management and asset owner space. From 2016 - 2019, he consulted to the Bureau of Asset Management of the five New York City Retirement Systems with combined assets of approximately $200b in AUM. Over his tenure, Michael successfully delivered a number of transformational initiatives, which include:

The establishment of an enterprise risk management monitoring program encapsulating investment, strategic, compliance, and operations risks and controls

The development of a middle office operating model, resulting in the effective remediation of fundamental risks and deficiencies

The creation of policies and practices for all major operational functions, establishing process ownership, end to end controls, and key metrics based on industry best practices

The proposed redesign of all periodic portfolio performance reports to the Trustees of the Retirement Systems and general public

The reengineering and documentation of key internal investment processes, including asset allocation rebalancing, transition management, and cash management, significantly reducing expenses, establishing high standards for performance, and remediating cash drag on the portfolio

The definition and implementation of key performance metrics for critical counterparties, including the program’s custodian and fund accountant, securities lending agent, and foreign exchange trading agent

In 2015, Michael retired from TIAA-CREF, an industry leader in the defined contribution marketplace, after 22 years of service. He held many senior management positions within asset management TIAA-CREF. As Senior Managing Director and Head of Asset Management Services, he managed all investment middle office operational functions for global equities, fixed income, commercial mortgages, real estate, private equity, and real assets. Concurrently, he led distribution operations for brokerage and mutual funds and directed the design and implementation of the division’s capabilities in CRM, sales reporting, and content delivery for institutional and intermediary distribution channels. During his tenure at TIAA-CREF, he also served as program manager of the corporation’s ten-year strategic planning initiative. Previous leadership assignments included managing the firm’s process excellence program, chairing the company’s Operational Risk Management Committee, and serving as a director on the company’s investment advisors’ boards. He also led many successful investment technology solutions implementation efforts.

Michael is currently serving as a Trustee on the Stamford, CT Firefighters Pension Fund Board, is Board President of the Stamford JCC, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the JCC Association. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he earned a BS and an MS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.

Accomplished strategic business and technology advisor with 25+ years of experience helping financial services and investment management organizations. Specializing in pension funds and endowments/sovereigns, he provides a pragmatic, collaborative approach to solving client business problems, working seamlessly with C-level executives and delivery teams. His expertise lies in translating long-term vision into actionable right-sized solutions across front middle, and back-office functions, encompassing business processes and controls, technology, and organizational governance.

Shankar led the Public Funds Practice of Cutter Associates providing strategic and tactical advice to investment divisions of pension funds, sovereign wealth /endowments, and other asset owners. Authored and published white papers, created managed benchmarking surveys, establishing thought leadership for transforming the operating models of public funds. Coordinated and led public fund roundtables to address common industry challenges and foster collaboration.

While at Cutter, Shankar led 50+ consulting engagements across front, middle, and back-office functions for investment management firms and . Provided strategic advice on clients’ business processes and technology, target operating models, solution architecture, vendor evaluation, implementation project management, and oversight.

Prior to Cutter, Shankar was at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (later part of IBM Business Consulting) for over 10 years, advising clients in financial services and pension funds

Shankar’s clients included AustralianSuper, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Capital Group, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Invesco, Morgan Stanley, New York State Teachers Retirement (NYSTRS), APG/ABP (Netherlands), PSP (Canada), Texas Teachers, and State of Wisconsin (SWIB), among others.

Shankar is currently Director of Client Solutions, for EasyAUM, Inc, providing strategic advice on product strategy, client acquisition, and growth for asset and wealth management firms, including pension funds.

Shankar is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, where he earned a BS in Engineering. He also has a master’s in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management

Steve is Executive Principal of Risk Masters International, which he founded in 2009. He holds certification as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional as well as a Master Business Continuity Professional, a Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor. Steve is a specialist in the field of information systems security and control, specializing in Information Security, Business Continuity Management, and IT Disaster Recovery Planning services. He has implemented Information Security and Business Continuity programs for numerous banks, government agencies, and industrial corporations. Prior to founding Risk Masters, Steve was a director and global practice leader with Deloitte.

In consulting engagements, Steve specializes in planning, policy development, implementation, and standardization of Information Security and Business Continuity processes. In recent years, his focus has been on reliability, prevention, detection, and recovery from the technical and business impact of cyberattacks, and other devastating circumstances. His recent clients have included pension funds, financial institutions, service companies, defense contractors, and government agencies.

He is editor of the multi-volume series, e-Commerce Security, and author of several of the books in the series, including e-Commerce Security: Business Continuity Management. He has recently published Creating a Culture of Security. Since 1998, Mr. Ross has regularly published the column, “Information Security Matters,” in the ISACA Journal.

Larry Jensen is known for his public pension fund expertise in audit, risk, and compliance. He brings over 25 years of practical experience working with two of the nation’s largest public pension funds in executive and senior management positions. He provided consulting services to the board and executive management and acted as primary staff liaison to both retirement boards.

As the first Chief Risk Officer for CalPERS, Larry was responsible for the establishment of an enterprise-wide risk management program with emphasis on pension funding, administration of benefits, and operations. Larry was also responsible for implementing and enhancing public pension compliance programs, including risk assessments, policy management, implementation of hotlines, and investigations. He also served as the Chief Auditor for both CalPERS and CalSTRS assessing risk management, governance, compliance, investment operations, administration of benefits, administrative operations, third-party administrators, master custodians, and employers of pension fund members.

As an Assistant Executive Officer of Administrative Services, he was responsible for the overall management of CalPERS Fiscal Services Division, Human Resources, Operations Support Service, and Strategic Management Services Division. His executive management responsibilities included preparation and implementation of CalPERS $300m operating budget, preparation of CalPERS financial reports and statements, executive direction for human resources, and oversight of strategic planning activities of the retirement system. Larry was also responsible for administrative and operational functions such as contract services, space planning, disaster recovery, facilities management, and all operations support functions.

Larry recently retired after 36 years of public service. Currently, Larry is the principal director of Audit and Risk Management Services LLC, providing consulting services to public pension systems.

Larry received his BA degree in accounting from National University and holds several designations. He is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Information Systems Auditor, Certified Risk Management Assurance, and Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional. He is a member and has served on the boards of the Institute of Internal Auditors and Association of Public Pension Funds. He is also a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. Larry has given numerous presentations on governance, risk management, compliance, and audit topics for the Institute of Internal Auditors, Association of Public Pension Fund Auditors, Public Agency Risk Management Association, and California Association of Public Retirement Systems.

Kelly Kenneally is a communications consultant with more than 20 years of public affairs & communications experience. She specializes in public policy issues and corporate communications, and she has led effective stakeholder outreach, message development, social and traditional news media campaigns.

In recent years, much of her work has revolved around retirement and workforce issues. Kelly’s work has helped organizations change the debate on policy issues, educate target audiences, and secure media coverage in top outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, ABC News, CNN, CNBC, NPR, FOX News, and CSPAN among others.

Prior to establishing a consulting practice, Kelly served in the White House as deputy director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, one of the nation’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. She has held public affairs positions at Micron Electronics, MCI WorldCom, Edelman Public Relations, Environmental Issues Management, Inc., and the American Nuclear Energy Council. She began her career as a legislative assistant with the Maryland General Assembly.

Kelly holds a B.A. in Government & Politics from the University of Maryland. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and two sons.

Meet Laurel Rutledge, CEO and Chief Navigation Officer™ at LKR Group LLC. Not your average coach – she’s your business and organizational strategy consultant and advisor with some super-deep coaching mixed in.

With a background in in accounting, consulting, internal audit, risk management, and HR, across multiple industries, Laurel is the secret sauce for corporate executives and entrepreneurs who are mission focused, and people centered. Ensuring these leaders can successfully navigate the business gauntlet while building their teams and developing the next group of leaders is her genius. Through workshops and strategy sessions she guides the executives and their teams in ensuring their words and actions are aligned and consistent, conversations are solution-oriented, and plans of action address root cause business challenges.

Her AlignmentVisionAction© Framework, based on her nearly 30 years of corporate experience, is the model for connecting strategies to intentional actions leading to expected outcomes. As her entrepreneur, individual and corporate clients can attest, whether you are building a business, a career or a life, AVA© is the key.

Laurel holds an MBA from Indiana University Kelley School of Business completed at ESADE in Barcelona, Spain, several certifications, is a graduate of The Center for Houston’s Future Business/Civic Leadership Forum and the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center’s Milestone Circles. She also hosted her own podcast and radio show, both titled The Rutledge Perspective™ for 5 years and 4 years, respectively. She is intent upon using her expertise to help her clients succeed.

When she's not serving business owners and corporate leaders through retained strategic services, intensives, or customized programs, Laurel is working on taking her own advice and staying on top of her physical, mental and emotional well-being. This includes listening to podcasts, working on her Spanish and French, and learning something new to share with her clients. And maybe throwing in some reading and working on her golf game in the mix.

Ross Cioffi has recently finished over five years experience as a macroeconomist at Moody’s in its Prague office. There, he was responsible for regular analysis of European economies and supporting the macro forecasts for Sweden and Norway. At Moody’s, Ross authored the daily briefing for the EMEA region along with other research and commentary pieces related to the latest macro data and current events. These have ranged from inflation, manufacturing and unemployment, to energy, trade, and geopolitics. Ross’s expertise lies in translating assorted data and current events into comprehensible and actionable narratives for clients who want to better understand macro risks and forecasts.

Ross holds degrees in international relations and political economy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and from the University of Bologna. Studies and work with colleagues and clients in multiple countries create an appreciation for clear communication, learning, and analysis. In his spare time, Ross pursues his interests in investing, history, and foreign language, having spent the past decade living abroad.

Dr. Barry Po is the Founder and CEO of Brilliant, an AI company that helps organizations navigate the path to successful AI transformation. An operator at heart, he advises leaders across AI strategy, governance, implementation, and adoption.

Barry has spent his career on the front lines of major technological change. He helped bring online and mobile banking to millions at HSBC, and was part of the team that put smartphones in people's hands at Nokia. He has been a public-company C-suite executive and has led the delivery of billion-dollar products and services across more than 80 countries for some of the world's most recognized brands. That work taught him that the hardest part of transformation is rarely the technology — it is the investment case, the skeptics, and the politics of real change.

He holds a PhD in Computer Science. His honors include an NSERC Industrial R&D Fellowship, two Communications Awards from the B.C. Advanced Systems Institute (now Innovate BC), and a nomination for the Governor General's Gold Medal. He has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Inc. Magazine, and the Forbes Technology Council, and he is a frequent speaker, mentor to entrepreneurs, and board contributor.

Bruce H. Cundick recently served as the Utah Retirement Systems Chief Investment Officer. He was responsible for directing the overall operations of the Investment Department. He managed all aspects of investment functions for all plans. The Utah Retirement Systems is a $50 billion state pension fund, with 40% invested in alternative assets, including private equity, real assets, private credit, and hedge funds.

Mr. Cundick graduated Magna cum laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration Degree. Bruce is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Bruce was an adjunct professor and associate instructor at the University of Utah, teaching finance, accounting, and investment classes for over 20 years. He also taught graduate courses in the Master of Science and Technology program at the University for another 10 years.

He had been with the Utah Retirement Systems for nearly 21 years. During the previous fourteen years, Bruce was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Beneficial Life Insurance Company, where he directed $2 billion portfolio of fixed income, mortgage-backed, and equity securities. Prior to that, he held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer at Deseret Federal Savings and Loan.

Bruce has held Board positions in trucking, mortgage banking, real estate development, savings & loan and property and casualty insurance companies. He currently sits on the Benefits Finance Committee of the Board of Directors for Intermountain Health Care and was formerly on the Investment Advisory Committee for the University of Utah Endowment. He was released after eight years of service as a Trustee of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments but is currently a trustee emeritus of that organization. Bruce has been appointed to the Board of the MVP Fund – a 1940 Act private equity/private credit fund. He is currently a senior advisor to PEO Partners, a hedge fund, and also serves as an advisor to CD Healthcare, a healthcare real estate infrastructure fund.

Shar Kassam is an investment industry executive who currently serves as a mutual fund director. Shar was most recently a Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Asset Owner Solutions and continues to work with technology companies supporting private market investment data and overall investment programs. She was the former Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the Employees’ Retirement System of Texas, managing a team and an endowment-style portfolio. Her prior roles were in the venture and technology industry working in financial, legal, operational, and management positions.

Shar is an AIF Institute Senior Fellow, Milken Fellow, and ILPA Institute Faculty Member. She holds a BBA in Accounting (with honors) and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and licensed to practice law in Texas. She serves on non-profit boards, including the YMCA Austin and Texas Housing Conservancy, a nonprofit organization investing in affordable housing and communities through an open-ended real estate fund.

Stefan is a finance professional with over 25 years of experience in investment management, quantitative analysis, risk management, risk modeling, capital adequacy, model development and research, equity portfolio management, portfolio optimization, equity trading, and compliance.

He has worked in several leading financial institutions/services, such as Bank of the West, City National Bank (CNB), Toyota Financial Services (TFS), Analytic Investors, and holding positions as Director of Equities Research, Portfolio Manager, Fund Manager, Financial Risk Management Consultant, Capital Risk Manager, and Financial Product/Instruments Analytics Consultant.

He is an expert in risk modeling and analysis, SAS data analysis and modeling, stock selection model development, quantitative equity selection, portfolio optimization, mutual fund management, and compliance.

He holds an MSc in Engineering Physics from Lund University in Sweden and an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California.  He also holds a CFA designation and an FRM certification.

Abdaal Mazhar Shafi is a technology leader with global experience across 25+ countries on four continents. He began his career working on emerging technologies in collaboration with governments and Fortune Global 500 companies. His early projects spanned autonomous vehicles, satellite imaging, artificial intelligence, and GPU-based data processing. Abdaal is the Founder and Partner of Quantum Lead, a creative technology consultancy with offices in New York, Montréal, and Toronto. The firm is known for helping designer brands and global retailers modernize their digital operations, while also delivering cross-functional innovation across sectors including manufacturing, consumer goods, nonprofits, and health and life sciences. Abdaal bridges cutting-edge technology with strategic execution for organizations navigating growth, complexity, and compliance. Beyond the private sector, Abdaal founded a national education nonprofit that empowered over 5,000 youth and educators across Canada to become change agents in a rapidly evolving world, in partnership with leading companies. He also actively mentors startups and advises local nonprofits and civic organizations, supporting their efforts to scale with purpose and impact. He holds a B.Eng. from McGill University and was a Venture Member at the Harvard Innovation Lab. He currently serves on the McGill University Alumni Board and represents Canada at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance.

Khadijeh Kamyab is the Founder and Managing Member of RPN Ventures LLC. She brings thirty years of experience in strategy development, management, and technology consulting, program management, business development, restructuring, IPO readiness, acquisition integration, business intelligence analytics, as well as department-level P&L responsibility.

She has established a demonstrable track record of improving bottom-line performance by identifying market opportunities, creating business solutions, and developing teams and processes.

Prior to launching RPN Ventures LLC, she held positions in large, multinational corporations such as Ericsson, American Management Systems, Infonet Services Corporation, British Telecom, and Grant Thornton LLP.

She holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and an MBA from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

She also studied International Business at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and completed the Leadership and Change Management program at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA.

Chantal Schutz is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with over 20 years of experience in public company leadership, board governance, and capital markets. She has held senior executive and director roles across technology, energy, industrial IoT, healthcare services, and agri-technology companies listed on NASDAQ and the TSX Venture Exchange.

Chantal currently serves as a Director of Open World Ltd., where she is a member of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Chair of the Governance, Compliance and Nominating Committee, providing oversight across financial reporting, risk management, executive compensation, and governance frameworks in a multi-jurisdictional, digital-asset environment.

Most recently, Chantal served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of mCloud Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: MCLD | TSX.V: MCLD), where she supported international expansion, capital raising, regulatory compliance, and dual-listed public company reporting.

She previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of NYCE Sensors, leading a strategic repositioning that drove more than 300% revenue growth and executed key financing initiatives. She has also served for over six years as a Board Director and Audit Committee Member of Clean Seed Capital Group (TSX.V: CSX), contributing deep expertise in audit oversight, internal controls, and public company governance.

Earlier in her career, Chantal articled at KPMG and PwC and later held senior audit and finance roles with responsibility for Canadian and U.S. GAAP reporting, PCAOB and CPAB compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley and Bill 198 internal control frameworks, and board-level financial reporting. She has led audit quality assurance reviews for publicly listed companies and designed firm-wide audit and risk-based methodologies.

Chantal holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management from Royal Roads University and has served as an instructor and facilitator for BCIT and the Chartered Accountant School of Business.

Her experience spans audit and risk oversight, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, governance, executive compensation, and scaling technology-enabled businesses.

Tiffany R. Reeves is a Partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Faegre Drinker). She is a trusted adviser to institutional investor clients in domestic and international private investments. She advises public pension fund clients on fiduciary, governance, legislative, and general fund administration matters. Tiffany has significant experience advising institutional asset owners on best practices. She regularly advises clients on private equity fund due diligence, U.S. Regulatory developments, custody and securities lending matters, secondary transactions, ESG, and corporate governance.

Tiffany is a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA) Fiduciary and Governance Steering Committee and the NAPPA Fiduciary Duties Working Group. Tiffany is a thought leader on fiduciary, governance, and ESG topics; frequently speaking and writing on such issues.

Tiffany has served as the chief legal officer and deputy executive director for a $12 billion defined benefit public employee retirement fund. While serving as the fund’s chief legal officer, she was responsible for a variety of investment matters including negotiation and review of private equity, private real estate, and public market investments. Tiffany has experience working with labor union clients in collective bargaining and arbitration. She has also represented individuals and classes in several employment-related matters arising under the FLSA, FMLA, IHRA, ADA, and Title VII.

Tiffany is licensed to practice law in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Texas. She received her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law; M.A. from Northwestern University; and B.A. from the University of Oregon.

Candice Jenkins is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Candice Jenkins Consulting LLC, a project management and operations consultancy that helps clients improve efficiency, reduce risk, and strengthen compliance. With over 15 years of experience across digital and creative industries—and more than five years leading large-scale project and operations initiatives—she has managed programs for organizations such as Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Operation Warp Speed & Monoclonal Antibodies), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and national nonprofits. Candice’s expertise spans schedule development, governance frameworks, KPI reporting, and SOP design to streamline delivery and ensure projects launch on time, within budget, and with clear accountability. She is certified in Scrum and Generative AI and registered in SAM.gov under NAICS 541611, with WOSB certification pending.

Beth is a Managing Member of Corporate Governance and Sustainable Strategies LLC (CGSS), an advisory firm that provides consulting services for the investor community on human capital management, sustainability, and stakeholder and public policy strategies, drawing on the extensive corporate governance experience of the CGSS team.  She has extensive experience leading investor coalitions, designing approaches to corporate governance and sustainability issues, analyzing the impact of corporate engagements, working with allies and stakeholder groups, drafting petitions for rule-making, commenting on regulatory proposals, drafting and updating proxy voting guidelines, and auditing proxy voting records.

Beth advises public and labor pension funds, foundations, religious organizations, and non-governmental organizations on shareholder initiatives, from initial concept through drafting, SEC no-action defense, and generating investor support.  She has played a key role in crafting innovative approaches, including say on pay, proxy access, human rights due diligence, access to medicines, corporate political activity, and racial equity audits.

Prior to CGSS, Beth was Senior Research Associate with The Corporate Library for ten years, where she:

Supervised data collection and analysis regarding shareholder rights and takeover defenses, training and managing a small team of analysts;

Assisted with categorization of data regarding shareholder proposals; wrote and contributed to reports on a variety of corporate governance topics; produced blog posts on current corporate governance topics;

Appeared on television and radio programs to promote reports and address current governance issues; and

Researched and drafted corporate governance reforms for settlements of securities class action and derivative litigation.

Prior to the Corporate Library, Beth was the Shareholder Initiatives Coordinator for the AFL-CIO Office of Investment for four years, where she:

Assisted member unions with shareholder initiatives;

Conducted consent solicitation advancing several governance reforms and a vote-no campaign against a private prison company REIT conversion, including extensive shareholder solicitation;

Drafted and defended proposals submitted by the AFL-CIO staff pension fund;

Updated AFL-CIO Proxy Voting Policies;

Evaluated public equity investment products marketed as worker-friendly; and

Drafted comments on SEC regulatory proposals.

Beth has co-taught (with Lucian Bebchuk) an upper-level seminar on Shareholder Activism for five years at the Harvard Law School.  She received a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she was magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, and editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Law Review.

Nick Zuiker is a shareholder with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (Reinhart Law) on the Institutional Investor Services (RIIS) Team.  Nick’s practice encompasses counsel on all aspects of the legal and economic issues related to institutional investors, including fiduciary responsibilities, plan governance, litigation, and tax legal services, including development of investment beliefs and investment policy statements and establishment of policies and programs concerning corporate engagement and exercise of shareholder rights intended to reduce investor risk and increase long-term returns.  Nick also represents institutional investors in negotiating favorable terms of investments in private equity funds and other alternative investment vehicles.

Nick has an extensive background and knowledge in fiduciary matters, including sustainable, long-term investments and environment/social governance (ESG) issues.  He is active in various institutional investor organizations, currently serving on the Markets Advisory Council for the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), where he leverages his expertise to advocate for the legal needs of global institutional investors, and as Secretariat for the Global Institutional Governance Network, a forum of approximately 22 global institutional investors that meets periodically to discuss investor concerns and ESG issues. He is also an active member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA).

Nick earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School (Order of the Coif) and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.  He is a licensed member of the Wisconsin bar.