Canada’s Investment Moment: Positioning for Global Capital

Roundtable Luncheon with Barbara Zvan, Bert Clark and Michael Wissell. 

C.D. Howe Institute events and webinars are open to members and their guests.

Please follow this link or contact events@cdhowe.org to register.

 Bert Clark, President & CEO, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario

Bert oversees IMCO's strategic direction and global growth so that the organization can meet the long-term financial objectives of its clients.

Prior to IMCO, Bert was the President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario (IO), which is responsible for managing the province of Ontario’s real estate portfolio, lending to municipalities and other public-sector organizations and the delivery of large, complex public infrastructure projects.

Before joining IO, Bert was the Managing Director responsible for the North American infrastructure advisory business at Scotiabank.

Bert has an LLM from Duke University School of Law, an LLB from Queen’s Law School, and a BA (Honours) from McGill University. Bert is also on the Board of Directors at C.D. Howe Institute and a member of the Board of Governors at North York General Hospital.

Michael Wissell, Chief Investment Officer, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

Michael Wissell is the Chief Investment Officer at HOOPP and is responsible for the organization’s investment strategy, while also leading HOOPP’s investment management team.

Prior to that role, Michael served as Senior Vice President, Capital Markets & Total Portfolio at HOOPP, where he oversaw the Capital Markets investment teams and Total Portfolio initiatives.

Michael’s 30+ year career began at TD Bank in 1987 in the trading room and continued in various roles, until his departure in 2002 where he was the Managing Director of TD Securities.

He then moved to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan as Portfolio Manager and progressed to Senior Vice President leading the Tactical Asset Allocation, Portfolio Construction, and Public Equities departments. Over his career Michael has served on several Boards including the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance and the TMX Group.

Michael earned his BA with Honours from Carleton University and his MBA from McMaster University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designations.

Barbara Zvan, President & CEO, University Pension Plan

Barbara Zvan is the inaugural President and Chief Executive Officer of University Pension Plan
Ontario (UPP), where she leads the organization’s strategy to deliver lifelong pension security
and service excellence to more than 46,000 members while positioning UPP as a leading
pension partner for Ontario’s university sector since its creation 5 years ago. Recognized as
the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 CEO of the Year and as Canada’s 2022 CEO of
the Year and Corporate Citizen of the Year by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business
magazine, she is a prominent advocate for defined benefit pensions and responsible
investing.
Prior to joining UPP, Barbara was the Chief Risk and Strategy Officer at the Ontario Teachers’
Pension Plan (OTPP). During her 25-year tenure, she played a key role in the organization’s
investment evolution and the establishment of its responsible investing foundations.
Throughout her career, Barbara has advised governments, institutions, and industry
organizations in Canada and internationally on sustainable finance and pension policy. She
served on the Government of Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance, became a
member of the follow-on effort Sustainable Finance Action Council in 2021 where she led the
taxonomy workstream, and was appointed to the Taxonomy and Transition Planning Council
in 2026. She currently chairs the Financial Services Advisory Group at Business Future Pathways
Canada, co-chairs the C.D. Howe Institute’s Pension Policy Council, chairs the McConnell
Foundation’s Investment Advisory Committee and Climate Engagement Canada Steering
Committee (which brings together 64 investors representing over $16T that drives dialogue
between the financial community and corporate issuers), and serves as a member of the
advisory board of the Institute for Sustainable Finance at the Smith School of Business.
Barbara holds a Bachelor of Science from McMaster University and a Master of Mathematics
from the University of Waterloo, where she was recently recognized on the Statistics and
Actuarial Science Wall of Fame. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian
Institute of Actuaries, holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors,
and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute