Overview

David Clarke is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in government affairs, political strategy, and indigenous and community relations. 

Currently serving as the Head of Government and Community Affairs at TMX Group, David plays a pivotal role in advocating on behalf of Canada’s public company ecosystem.

Prior to joining TMX, David served in various roles in government and politics including as Executive Director of the Ontario Liberal Party, in the Office of the Ontario Minister of Finance, and with the Office of the Premier of Ontario. He has held senior roles in provincial and federal political campaigns across Canada. 

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David Lametti is currently Counsel at Fasken and an Adjunct Professor at McGill University, Faculty of Law. As the most recent former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada he has a unique blend of legal acumen and political insight following over 25 years of experience as a Professor and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill University, Parliamentary Secretary to both the Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Member of Parliament for LaSalle-Émard-Verdun and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

 Erin O’Toole is the President and Managing Director of ADIT North America and serves on the executive committee of ADIT Group in Paris. He assumed this role after leaving elected office and having served as the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Erin was elected to the Canadian Parliament four times serving in cabinet and as Leader of the Opposition. He had a particular policy focus on foreign policy, defence, trade and economic issues. Erin ran to become Prime Minister in the 2021 general election held amid the COVID-19 pandemic winning the popular vote 

A member of the firm’s Enterprise Risk Services team, Eugene identifies security technology, products and services that give clients a competitive advantage.

Eugene oversees research and development activities and formulates longterm vision and strategies at the executive management level to help the firm better serve clients. He provides a full range of cyber security services and solutions to medium-sized and large enterprises, delivering strong advice to help clients make business decisions relating to technology.

An experienced finance professional with strong financial analysis and credit structuring skills built over a 20+ year career in mid-market leveraged lending. Broad lending experience, having spent time in roles accountable for deal origination, relationship management, deal structuring and execution, portfolio management, credit risk management and workout functions. A proven team leader with a demonstrated ability to make complex, critical decisions 

Since leaving a Wall Street firm in 1989, Mr. Roustan has been very active in the investment industry. One of the many acquisitions that he led is the 2008 purchase of BAUER from NIKE for $200 million dollars followed by bolt-on acquisitions of Mission Itec, Cascade and Maverik prior to taking the company public in 20111 as its Chairman reaching a valuation of $1.4 billion dollars.

Since then Mr. Roustan has acquired Heritage Hockey, Christian Hockey, Northland Hockey, McKenney Hockey, McKenney Lacrosse as well as other entities. In 2018, he also acquired The Hockey News, which was founded in 1947. Being a lifelong enthusiast and avid reader of The Bible of Hockey as many in the industry refer to it as, he invested in the brand and today its website clocks over 150 million pageviews a year and the print magazine has never been better.

J.Paul Haynes was drawn to eSentire with a vision to create a disruptive cybersecurity company. He successfully partnered with growth capital firms to invest in and scale eSentire to become the world’s largest pure-play Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider and market leader. J.Paul is a professional engineer with a 25-year entrepreneurial track record of success. His business acumen, in-depth understanding of technology, and strong leadership have made him a respected and reliable voice on the topic of cybersecurity in North America and Europe. J. Paul holds both a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Engineering from the University of Guelph. 

Gordon Raman’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and capital markets. As part of his corporate governance portfolio, Gordon is Chair of Fasken’s ESG and Sustainability Practice, which brings together lawyers from interdisciplinary practices to provide comprehensive advice to clients on ESG related issues.  He works with clients in a broad range of industries, including automation and technology, private equity, financial services, real estate and engineering and construction.  

Jake Bullen is a partner in the Business Law Group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP where he serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group. Jake’s practice focuses on M&A, financings, corporate re-organizations, and complex commercial agreements, with a significant cross-border component. Jake also provides strategic advice on matters such as multi-jurisdictional structuring and corporate governance. His clients include PE sponsors, family offices, investment banks, and corporate leaders in retail, consumer goods, food & beverage, manufacturing & distribution, financial services, Tech, FinTech, AI, waste management, real estate, sports, entertainment, and cleantech/renewable energy. 

Joined BFL CANADA in 2014 after 9 years with Marsh working predominantly with large multinational companies headquartered in Canada. Established BFL`s M&A Practice in late 2014 with the original goal to grow the use of R&W Insurance in Canada and service [underserved] mid-market transactions in Canada. In 2015, John established BFL`s original Cyber Insurance Practice, although given the growth of BFL`s M&A Practice, focused efforts towards supporting the deal community. Transaction experience and reputation has allowed BFL’s M&A Practice to grow to the largest in Canada servicing the entire Canadian M&A market including large institutional investors and Pension Plans, Strategic Acquirers, Private Equity Funds, Family Offices, Search Funds, and Independent Sponsors . 

John is a Senior Partner and Director in Bain & Company’s Private Equity Practice.  He has over 25 years of experience at Bain working across a wide range of industries from Bain’s San Francisco, Chicago and now Toronto offices.  John has assessed hundreds of assets in diligence and has worked with the management teams of numerous Private Equity owned companies to help them define value creation plans. He has also helped investment funds define their investment strategies on where to focus and how to win. John advises global investors and clients on due diligence, corporate and business unit growth strategy, salesforce effectiveness, and operational and organizational improvements. John holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.  He also holds a B.Sc. from Queen’s University in Engineering where he received the Gold Medal for highest standing across all Engineering programs.

Kristine Robinson is a Director on the Private Capital Solutions team at PJT Park Hill and founder of Women in Private Capital Canada (“WPCC”). Prior to PJT, Kristine was an Investor Relations Manager at Coller Capital, focusing on secondaries fundraising. Before Coller, Kristine spent the majority of her career at Lazard, where she sat on both the Industrials M&A and Private Capital Advisory teams, ultimately specializing in secondary market transactions. Kristine holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and a Masters of Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Mistine Lauzon is a Managing Director of CIBC Capital Markets’ Private Capital  investment banking practice. Ms. Lauzon has over 20 years of investment banking experience, including 15 years with  a leading global investment bank. During this time, she developed significant experience  advising on numerous M&A and financing assignments for corporations in both Canada  and the U.S. Ms. Lauzon has advised companies in the consumer, technology, telecom,  industrial, metals and mining, agriculture and financial institutions sectors. Before her career in investment banking, 

Mustafa Humayun has served as Partner at Sagard and as Portfolio Manager of Sagard Credit since  2016. Mustafa is responsible for overseeing the private credit business to invest in non-sponsored  credit opportunities in the North American middle market. Alongside Adam Vigna, the firm’s Chief  Investment Officer, he leads the Sagard Credit team in their management of the investment  process, including origination, due diligence, execution, and portfolio management. Within the  investment portfolio, he serves as a board observer at Founders Advantage Capital. Mustafa is a  member of the Sagard Credit investment committee and is based in Toronto, Canada. He has  known Adam Vigna for over a decade and has worked with him across three different organizations 

Myron Mallia-Dare is a Partner at Miller Thomson LLP and a leader within the firm’s Private Equity and Venture Capital groups. He specializes in complex domestic and cross-border transactions, guiding private equity funds, venture capital firms, and high-growth companies through fund investments, leveraged buyouts, co-investments, and exits. 

Myron advises clients on all stages of the investment cycle, from seed financing to going public, offering deep expertise in navigating legal challenges across sectors like technology, media, and telecommunications Myron is a thought leader on ESG in private equity and M&A transactions and regularly speaks on industry trends. 

Ruby Williams is a partner and the Canadian national leader of the transaction, diligence, execution and reporting practice of Deloitte. Ruby has close to 25 years’ experience advising Canadian and Global companies on acquisitions and divestitures to optimize their business models and growth strategy. Ruby has extensive experience in assisting clients in both buy-side and sell-side M&A cycle, including pricing analysis and valuation, due diligence reviews, carve-out and synergy analysis, deal structuring, negotiation, and related advisory services. She has led hundreds of transactions over the years in Canada, US and globally and assisted many clients executing M&A strategies in the technology, healthcare, manufacturing, and industrials sectors. 

Scott is a First Nation executive business leader committed to creating opportunities focused on capacity  building and economic development of Indigenous communities. Over the course of his extensive career,  Scott has brokered many multi-million-dollar settlements, agreements, and contracts on behalf of Indigenous  communities and organizations across Canada. He has also assisted Indigenous communities and investors in  extensive M&A activities resulting in significant equity and revenue growth.  

Appointed President of Bell Media, Canada’s premier media company, in 2023, Cohan is responsible for Bell Media’s globally unique portfolio of video, audio, digital, and out-of-home advertising assets, brands, and content. These include Canada’s #1 broadcast network (CTV), its leading sports properties (TSN & RDS), #1 national and local news (CTV News), the largest-Canadian-owned video streaming service (Crave), industry-leading out-of-home advertising player (Astral) and audio platforms (iHeart Radio).

Stacey is a Director of the Nicola Private Debt Fund, having joined the Toronto office in July 2022 with more than 15 years of U.S. and Canadian leveraged finance experience. Nicola Private Debt manages a diversified portfolio with more than $1.5 billion in AUM today, primarily focused on direct lending to Canadian and U.S. middle-market businesses. Prior to joining Nicola Wealth, Stacey was Director, Debt Capital Markets at Scotiabank in Toronto, where she focused on high yield bond origination for Canadian corporate clients. Additionally, Stacey brings ten years of U.S-based leveraged finance experience across multiple lending platforms, including Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and Mizuho Bank, where she was involved in the origination, structuring, credit underwriting and marketing of large-cap LBOs, leveraged loans and high yield bonds. 

Teresa Resch is the inaugural President of the WNBA Toronto franchise, which will begin play in 2026 season. Resch has been a leader in basketball development at the global scale for nearly 20 years. For 11 seasons she was a senior leader at the Toronto Raptors, bringing basketball to the forefront of Canadian sport. From 2013-24 she played an instrumental role in numerous projects including the design and construction of Raptor’s OVO Athletic Centre, launching the Raptors 905 - Toronto’s NBA G-League affiliate and transitioning the Raptors to Tampa for 2020-21 season.