Tashia Batstone is the President and CEO of FP Canada™, the leading certification and oversight body for the financial planning profession in Canada.  

Since joining FP Canada, some of her biggest priorities have included promoting financial wellness for all Canadians; improving access to financial planning services; and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the financial planning profession. 

Before joining FP Canada, Tashia held senior executive positions at the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada and also served 5 years as CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador. She played a significant role in the unification of the accounting profession in Canada and led the development of the CPA Certification Program.  

Tashia has been selected by Memorial University as the recipient of the 2023 Alumni of the Year Award. In 2020, Tashia was named in Practice Ignition’s top 50 women in accounting globally.  

Her belief in giving back led Tashia to volunteer roles at organizations such as the CPA Canada Martin Family Initiative, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and Girl Guides of Canada.  She currently serves on the Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). 

Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri is the Founder & CEO of Bodhi Research Group, which is an independent firm that conducts advisory and consulting to Family Offices, Pensions, and other allocators. Bodhi Research Group also is active in the education of alternative investments. Bodhi Research Group has served eleven Canadian pensions, and has had clients in five of the seven continents.

Dr. Bhaduri is recognized globally as an authority in alternative investments. He has over twenty years of experience including serving on an investment committee at Morgan Stanley where he conducted investment due diligence and helped construct customized portfolios of alternative investments. Dr. Bhaduri has held an Advisory position at the East-West Center, a leading think tank on the Asia-Pacific Region. He has lectured on derivatives for the Montreal Exchange, and been invited by the CME to be part of a special delegation that met with regulators in Beijing and Taipei to discuss hedge fund issues. Dr. Bhaduri has guest lectured on mathematics and finance at several universities, spoken in industry conferences globally, and published many papers. Dr. Bhaduri has previously served on the AIMA Canada Board of Directors, and is currently a CAIA Canada Executive. Dr. Bhaduri holds both the CFA and CAIA charters.

James co-founded CAASA in response to industry support for a Canadian alternatives association to serve all aspects including: hedge / alternative strategies; liquid alternatives; private lending; private real estate; private equity; plus emerging areas where Canada is a leader such as digital assets / blockchain and robo-advisors.  

Prior to CAASA, James was the Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada where his team of three worked with 12 committees to produce 50-60 events per annum across Canada, organized 100+ committee meetings, and increase member numbers over his 7-year tenue from 66 to 164 corporate entities.  CAASA currently has more than 350 members. 

James currently sits on the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (CIFSC), which categorizes mutual funds and alternative mutual funds (aka liquid alternatives) for the retail space in Canada. He is also called upon by membership and industry groups to speak to risk ratings and portfolio placement of all types of alternative investments.  

James also has experience in research and writing for the CAIA Association (holding the designation since 2006) as well as serving on CAIA’s exam council and as a well as other duties. He had roles in institutional sales and FoHF structuring in Seoul, South Korea, as a Product Manager at ICICI Wealth Management, and as an Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities. James graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BBA (Finance).  

Daniel Collison is the Managing Partner with financial education firm Advice2Advisors, which trains, mentors, and coach’s financial advisors of all tenures. Dan has over 35 years in the industry and spent the first 10 years of his career as a financial planner, ultimately, moving into increasingly senior managerial roles, before co-founding A2A. 

Dan has degrees in history and political science from York University, has the Certified Financial Planner designation (CFP) and is a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP).  

Dan regularly presents keynotes, seminars, webinars, and workshops – throughout North and South America – on all things growth-oriented for financial advisors, with specific focus on “the three confidences” of top-producers: a confident mindset, a confident business structure, and a confident growth plan. 

Dan is a Board Member of the FP Foundation and past Chair of its Research Committee. He taught Personal Financial Management, in the MBA Program, at Schulich School of Business, York University, from 1998 to 2020, and has been a judge for the WP Awards since 2019. 

Dan is the author of The Financial Advisor’s Guide to Excellence, Thomson Reuters (rated one of the “10 Books Financial Advisors Need to Read in 2020”, by ReminderMedia), and newly released Building Bigger & Better: Growth Strategies of Top-Producing Financial Advisors, FriesenPress, 2023. He is also a regular columnist with Nasdaq.com. 

Michael Cooke is a highly accomplished investment professional with a proven record of achievement and an extensive knowledge of Exchange Traded Funds, Derivative Solutions and Alternative Investments. Most recently, he created and led the sixth largest ETF provider in Canada with $13 billion in AUM and 47 Canadian-listed ETFs covering traditional index, strategic beta and active investment strategies for institutional and retail investors. Previously, Michael held leadership roles in asset management and capital markets at several global financial institutions including Invesco Canada, HSBC Bank USA and Fidelity Investments.

Michael also serves as Chair of the Canadian ETF Association (CETFA) which represents more than 90% of ETF assets under management in Canada. CETFA’s mandate is to support the growth, sustainability and integrity of the Canadian ETF industry via education, advocacy and leadership.

Michael earned an Honours Degree in Political Studies from Queen’s University and has received multiple credentials from the Canadian Securities Institute. He was born, raised and lives in Toronto with his family.

Pat has her own consulting business and is currently the Executive Director of the Canadian ETF Association, which was the first ETF Association in the world. 

She has spent over 35 years in the Financial Services industry as a client and relationship-focused executive with an in-depth background in all aspects of the industry. 

She has been and continues to be an active member on many industry committees including those at CCMA, IFIC and Fundserv and Women in ETFs. 

Pat is also actively involved in her community as the Immediate past Board Chair at Community Living Dufferin, Board Member at Prosper Canada and Board member at QCC. She is also advisor for Exemplar Companies and ConvergX. 

Gerry Fields is the President and General Counsel of CORNERSTONE GROUP FAMILY OFFICE. Gerry is a member of the Law Society of Ontario where he has contributed as a guest lecturer and a mentor. He was formerly appointed as General Counsel for Canada and the United States for the FIDINAM GROUP of Companies headquartered in Switzerland. Gerry received his Partners, Directors and Senior Officers Qualifying Certificate from the Canadian Securities Institute. He was the President and Chief Compliance Officer of a Securities Dealer on the Montreal Exchange and subsequently was the President and Chief Compliance Officer of a Canadian Exempt Market Dealer. Gerry formerly served as the Senior Securities Counsel for a downtown Toronto law firm. Gerry graduated with distinction from Concordia University and earned a Bachelor of Laws Degree and Juris Doctor Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. 

Gerry has chaired domestic and international programs on family offices, private equity, corporate finance, investment and wealth management topics. Gerry also serves as a Mediator and an Arbitrator. He has authored numerous publications and is active in many industry, trade and professional associations including the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA)(Life Member); American Bar Association (ABA); CFA Society Toronto (CFA Private Wealth Management Committee); Managed Funds Association (MFA); Hedge Fund Association (HFA) (New York) Family Office Subcommittee; Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association (ADISA)(Indianapolis); Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) – Legal, Finance and Compliance Committee, Institutional Investor Engagement Committee, Global Investment Peer Group (IPG), AIMA Global Customer Due Diligence Guide, U.S. SEC Private Fund Rules Peer Group; United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment Working Group for Private Credit ESG Due Diligence Questionnaire; Alternative Credit Council (ACC); Wealth Professional Judge, Key Media Annual Wealth Professional Awards; Co-Chair, U.S. Department of Commerce Certified Trade Missions for Alternative Investments; Deputy Chair and Strategic Counsel, International Family Office Association (IFOA) (Not-for-Profit); Director, Pro Bono Services, Canadian Family Office Association (CFOA) (Not-for-Profit); Pro Bono Advisor, NEURODIVERSITY CANADA™; Federal DEI Task Group on Neurodiversity for Neuroinclusive Corporate Workplaces; and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) where Gerry has served as a Judge and as a Lead Judge for twenty-two years. Gerry is currently an active Committee Member of a preeminent global investment management firm. Gerry’s continuing contributions to financial, investment and social responsibility programs exemplifies his dedication to the Power to Make a Difference™. 

Grant Hicks, CIM, is a practice management expert and is President of Advisor Practice Management a consulting firm for the financial industry. He is a judge on the Wealth Professional awards for the last 4 years, and has a unique view of the financial industry. Grant has over 33 years of experience in practice management for financial advisors including 20 years as a financial advisor managing over 120 Million. His “Guerrilla Marketing For Financial Advisors” books are part of the “Guerrilla Marketing” series, which has sold over 21 million copies worldwide. He has spoken for major financial institutions in Canada, United States and Asia. He coaches and consults to elite financial advisors and teams on practice management processes for ideal families. Grants combined financial advisor clients manage over 5 billion AUM , and earn over 50 million dollars combined! He helps financial professionals increase their capacity and their revenue through his” Financial Advisor Ideal Capacity Program“ . Grant played professional hockey in Europe before starting in the financial industry. 

Maryam joined AIMA in January 2020 and leads the event management and membership engagement needs in Canada. She has been instrumental in organizing engaging events for the alternative investment industry, fostering strong relationships with members and stakeholders, contributing to the growth and success of AIMA.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario where she majored in Law and Business. Prior to joining AIMA, she worked the frontlines of Fraud Management for Scotiabank and specialized in providing Investor Relations administration services to Hedge funds and Private Equity funds at Citco.

Julie Martini is Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada. With over two decades of experience in the financial services sector, Julie combines her professional background and education in cultural anthropology to form a unique understanding of the challenges, opportunities and human behaviours that are driving transitions in the industry. In her role as COO, Julie is responsible for day-to-day operations of the association and ensuring that all of the systems, resources, and people are in place to support its members, partners and clients. 

Julie is a graduate of McGill University, a Professional Certified Marketer (PCM®) and Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP®), and holds a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. 

When she isn’t passionately advocating on behalf of Advocis members and financial literacy, Julie is a proud mom of two, community volunteer, and veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces.