Leadership

Salman Ahmed, CFA
President

Mr. Ahmed is a Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager with Steadyhand Investment Management. He is also a Shareholder of the firm. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Concordia University in 2006 and is a CFA charterholder. Mr. Ahmed has been involved with CFA Society Vancouver since 2015, primarily on the programs committee which he chaired. He was a co-recipient of the Society's volunteer of the year award in 2017. 

Karim Allibhai, CFA
Vice President

Mr. Allibhai is a Portfolio Manager with the Robertson Investment Group at Odlum Brown Limited, an independent, full-service investment firm. His team offers personalized investment portfolios under a responsible investment mandate. The seamless integration of investment management and financial planning has helped their clients protect and grow their wealth for generations. Mr. Allibhai developed his multi-faceted business acumen over 16 years of tax experience from both a mid-sized accounting firm and a "big four" accounting firm, during which he achieved his Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) designation; completing his MBA (Dean's Honour List) at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario; and several years in the real estate sector. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and the Responsible Investment Professional Certification (RIPC). Mr. Allibhai is also a member of CFA Institute's Practice Analysis Working Group and was elected as a Director in 2021 on CFA Society Vancouver.  He was elected in 2022 as a Secretary, part of the Executive Committee on CFA Society Vancouver. He believes in giving back to his community and currently volunteers with SFU Beedie School of Business by conducting mock interviews for SFU students. 

Bryce Anderson, CFA
Secretary

Mr. Anderson is currently the Vice President of Investments at RE Royalties Ltd., a company that provides innovative financing solutions for the renewable energy industry. In his role, he is directly involved in sourcing, structuring, and presenting investment opportunities, raising capital for the firm, and various other duties. Prior to joining RE Royalties, he spent over 5 years in various technical roles in both Canada and Germany.  Mr. Anderson holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Victoria and is both a CFA and CAIA charterholder. He also holds the Responsible Investment Professional Certification (RIPC) from the RIA, Certificate in ESG Investing from CFA UK, and has been an active volunteer at CFA Society Vancouver since 2017.

Jessica Yang, CFA
Treasurer

Ms. Yang is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) with 10 years of accounting and finance experience across various industries including mining, healthcare, non-for-profit, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. She is currently working at TELUS Communications as a Controller, where she manages TELUS Business Solutions Commercial Mobile Phones and Internet of Things financials. Prior to this, she managed capital investments for TELUS Business Solutions. She also worked in Mergers and Acquisitions, closing transactions with a combined deal value over $50 million. Ms. Yang achieved her CPA, CGA designation in 2015 and CFA in 2022. She graduated from University of Manitoba with a B.Comm (Hons) in accounting and finance and is fluent in Mandarin.

Elvis Picardo, CFA
Past President

Elvis Picardo is a Portfolio Manager and Partner at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. Prior to joining Luft Financial, he was Vice President-Research and a Portfolio Manager at a leading independent investment dealer in Vancouver. Mr. Picardo has more than 25 years of international capital markets experience in diverse disciplines, including portfolio management, equity research, strategy, and currency trading. He received the CFA® charter in 1998 and holds the Canadian Investment Manager designation, as well as degrees in engineering and management studies. He has been a frequent contributor to several leading financial publications and is an active volunteer and mentor. Mr. Picardo has supported CFA Society Vancouver for several years, starting in 2014 where he co-chaired the University Outreach Committee, and subsequently led the development of the Mentorship Program.  He joined the Board of Directors in 2015, was appointed Secretary from fiscal 2019 to 2021, and is the society’s Past President.

Celene Chan, CFA
Director

Ms. Chan is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Alabaster Homes and its affiliate company, Pavilion Cowork. In her role, Celene oversees the corporate finance strategy and execution, business development, capital structure planning and analysis, financial reporting, treasury, risk management and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Alabaster, Ms. Chan was an institutional investment manager for a charitable foundation and its benefactor family, advising on a globally diversified portfolio of assets, including private equity, private debt, pooled funds and public securities. Ms. Chan has extensive investment experience in real estate, oil and gas, and marine transport sectors, and is a specialist in financial modeling and transaction due diligence. In addition to the CFA board, Ms. Chan is on the board of APEBC and a CFA instructor with the Sauder School of Business. She has been a CFA charterholder since 2016. 

Cindy Hu, CFA
Director

Ms. Hu is an Associate Portfolio Manager at RBC Dominion Securities. In this role, she supports investment decision-making in managing client portfolios through fundamental equity research and macroeconomic analysis. She also communicates with clients to address inquiries and give financial advice. Ms. Hu graduated from UBC Sauder School of Business, with specialization in Finance, and is also a Leslie Wong Fellow (LWF) of the Portfolio Management Foundation program (PMF). As part of the program, she had two internships: first as a Fixed Income Sales and Trading Analyst at CIBC World Markets, and secondly as an Equity Analyst at BCI. She is a CFA charterholder and has been actively giving back to the community as former Chair of the Candidates Committee at CFA Society Vancouver, a long-time mentor for the CFA Research Challenge, and a mentor for the Sauder Finance Mentorship Program. Ms. Hu was also the recipient of CFA Society Vancouver 2021 Volunteer of the Year.

Neville Joanes, CFA
Director

Mr. Joanes is a consultant focusing on investment operations, digital transformation and compliance. He brings over 15 years of portfolio management, asset management, investment operations and leadership experience from financial institutions and financial technology companies. Neville was WealthBar's Chief Investment Officer, one of Canada’s first robo-advisors, where he played a crucial role in their success and ultimate acquisition by CI Financial. Following the acquisition, he served as CI Direct Investing’s President until 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and Masters in Finance and Investment from Brunel University. 

Estelle L'Heureux, CFA
Director

Ms. L’Heureux is a consultant specialized in the financial technology and alternative lending space, with diverse background in strategic initiatives, corporate finance, fund management, business development, operations management and product development.  Ms. L’Heureux completed her Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting at Douglas College and the Mastering Fintech course at Ivey School of Business. She is a CFA charterholder and started volunteering with CFA Society Vancouver in 2013, primarily with the Candidates Committee which she currently co-chairs.

Andy Marshall, CFA
Director

Mr. Andy Marshall is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with over 15 years of public company accounting, finance and corporate governance experience. Andy is currently CFO at Pan Global Resources Inc since August 2022. Previously he was CFO at First Mining Gold Corp. joining in June 2015 where he assisted in building the company’s gold portfolio during its period of growth when it acquired eight companies in just over one year. Prior to this, Andy held roles at two Vancouver based TSX/NYSE MKT-listed silver mining companies with operations in Mexico and Canada. He began his career in public company auditing and assurance with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, training in the London technology, entertainment and mining practice before moving to Vancouver and joining their mining practice in 2008. Andy graduated from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England with a BA (Hons).

Kirsten Nelms, CFA
Director

Ms. Nelms joined Leith Wheeler in May of 2014. At the firm, she provides advice to individual investors and supports the management of Private Client, Foundation and Indigenous accounts. Ms. Nelms co-chairs the annual SheBiz conference, sits on the steering committee for Women in Capital Markets, and is a volunteer and member of CFA Society Vancouver. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. 

Lucy Schilling
Director

Ms. Schilling is a Member and the Vice Office Managing Partner of Cozen O'Connor's Vancouver office where she focuses her law practice on securities, corporate finance, and corporate/commercial law. She advises on general corporate and commercial matters, securities and stock exchange requirements, continuous disclosure, corporate governance, and various securities and stock exchange-related issues. She has represented numerous reporting issuers in the negotiation, structuring, and completion of a wide variety of transactions, including initial and secondary public offerings, private placement financing, plans of arrangement, amalgamations, spinout transactions, and stock exchange listings, takeover bids, reverse takeovers, and merger transactions. Ms. Schilling is a contributing author of the Continuing Legal Education Society British Columbia's Due Diligence Deskbook and has lectured on topics including corporate governance, securities, and corporate law. She is the current chair of the CLE's Securities Law Fundamentals Course and serves on the board of directors of Dress for Success Vancouver. Ms. Schilling earned her bachelor's and law degrees from the University of British Columbia and is fluent in Cantonese.

Sahar Sharafzadeh, CFA
Director

Ms. Sharafzadeh, CFA has been working for 8 years in the treasury department at Teck. She leads the investment management activities for Teck’s various retirement plans which total $3.3 billion and are comprised of defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, group RRSPs, and retirement compensation arrangements. The defined benefit plans’ assets are invested 50% in fixed income, 35% in public equities, and 15% in alternative assets comprised of real estate and infrastructure investments. She is responsible for manager selection and due diligence, asset allocation design, reporting to internal pension committees and a committee of Teck’s Board, among other activities.  Ms. Sharafzadeh is a CFA charterholder and holds a BBA from Simon Fraser University.

Jenny Yu, CFA
Director

Ms. Yu is currently an Associate Portfolio Manager with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), an investment manager to British Columbia's public sector. Ms. Yu has past institutional asset manager experience including working at Central 1 Credit Union focusing on fixed income, treasury, and portfolio management for B.C. and Ontario credit union clients. Ms. Yu spent six years volunteering with the Association of Women in Finance for their year-round Fireside Chat Series. She has been a CFA charterholder since 2019 and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Molly Zhao, CFA
Director

Ms. Zhao is an Investment Banking Vice President with Raymond James. She has over ten years of capital markets experience including M&A, capital raising and financial advisory. She earned her iBBA degree from Schulich School of Business, York University and is a CFA charterholder. Ms. Zhao has volunteered with CFA Society Vancouver since 2016, most recently serving as the Chair of the Programs Committee. In her free time, Ms. Zhao enjoys travelling and exploring the outdoors.