Tobin Ansong
Chairman of PAC
Tobin Ansong is a Senior Product Owner on the Transaction Management at Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies. He works with software engineers and software designers to launch software solutions for the real estate industry.
Mr. Ansong is the founder of the Professional Advisory Council to the Dalhousie Economics Department and serves as its chairman. The council aims to provide a channel that will keep alumni connected and engaged.
Mr. Ansong is the co-founder of the Canadian Institute of Human Capital and serves as its CEO. The CIHC provides innovative thinking from the perspective of young professionals by introducing high school students to various career options in technical fields. By exposing high school students to career paths in software engineering, product management, data science, etc., we can help them future-proof their careers.
Mr. Ansong earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Dalhousie University and a Master of Finance from Queen’s University. He also holds the following certifications: Charted Financial Analyst, Financial Risk Manager, Charted Alternative Investment Analyst, Derivatives Market Specialist, and Professional Scrum Master I
Pamela King
Chairman of WCM Committee
Pamela King is a financial economist working at Statistics Canada. Her role is to help design statistical processes, infrastructure and methodology to compile equity statistics by position, flow and income on a security-by-security basis. Her subject-matter focus is to analyze cross-border transactions and positions involving debt and equity securities included in portfolio investment from debtor-creditors.
Pamela was awarded the CFA Institute Women’s Scholarship in 2016 to pursue her CFA designation. She graduated from the University of King’s College in conjunction with Dalhousie University in 2013 where she earned an honours degree in economics.
She later attended York University in Toronto where she earned her MA in economics in 2014 and was able to study in additional financial engineering courses at Schulich’s prestigious MBA program. Pamela subsequently moved to Ottawa where she studied at the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs and earned an MA in International Affairs in 2016.
Pamela’s previous work experience includes work at the national headquarters at of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as an economist within the trade division of Statistics Canada. Pamela is a Canadian of Polish descent and is fluent in three languages including English, French and Polish. She was raised in Toronto and currently lives in the National Capital Region
Payton Liu
Chairman of Ascend Committee
Payton Liu is an analyst at the University of Toronto Asset Management Corp, where he is responsible for total portfolio risk and performance. In addition, he provides his analysis and views on global macroeconomic developments. Mr. Liu is an active member of the community. He was the President of the Dalhousie Graduate Economics Student Association. In addition, he was the MS Walks organizer of Western’s ESL students.
Mr. Liu was born in China. He graduated from UWO, now Western University with a BA in Economics. He also obtained his master’s degree in economics from Dalhousie University.
Sarah Burns
Committee Member
Sarah Burns is currently a Rhodes Scholar studying at the University of Oxford. There, she is pursuing a Masters in Economics for Development and her research focuses on the effectiveness of foreign direct investment in post-conflict areas. She also plays on the Oxford Blues Basketball team and is the president of welfare for the graduate community at her college.
Prior to moving to the United Kingdom, Sarah spent one year as a Research Assistant at the Bank of Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In her position, she worked with the Regional Analysis Division where she participated in industry visits across Atlantic Canada, conducted analysis for the quarterly Business Outlook Survey, and did research in a number of different areas including interprovincial migration, foreign direct investment flows in Canada, and firm participation rates in the Business Outlook Survey.
Sarah graduated from the University of King's College as a Loran Scholar in 2015 with a First Class Honours in Economics and a minor in Political Science. In the summer of 2014, she worked with a small grassroots NGO in Ahmedabad, India, where she produced a survey to better understand the reason for high drop out rates for the children who were sponsored to attend private school. In 2012, Sarah planned an international youth conference in Kigali, Rwanda that focused on how to use sport and play for community development. She is an avid sports lover, traveler, and hiker.
Brendan Bohn
Committee Member
Brendan Bohn is an economist and aspiring lawyer. Brendan will complete his JD at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2018. This summer he will be working at a major international law firm in New York City.
Before starting law school, Brendan worked for six years as an economist in the public and private sectors. From 2011 to 2014, Brendan was a consultant in the Economics & Policy team at PwC in London, England. He advised clients involved in regulatory investigation in a range of industries including healthcare, airlines and film. Brendan also worked at the Competition Bureau in Ottawa where he investigated breaches of competition law.
Brendan earned his BSc in Economics from Dalhousie University and his MA in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
Alex Boulos
Committee Member
Alex Boulos is a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group. He joined BCG's Toronto office in 2012.
Alex’s client work is focused on corporate development and strategy in financial services and insurance, and he also has experience in consumer goods, retail, and telecommunications.
His recent casework includes leading a market entry due diligence for a disruptive digital financial services company, evaluating the corporate portfolio strategy for a global insurance company, redesigning the lending processes of a North American commercial bank by leveraging big data, and planning and executing the restructuring of a North American food
company.
Prior to working for BCG, Alex worked for the Monitor Group for four years. Alex holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He also holds a combined degree in Economics and Early Modern Studies from Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College in Halifax, where he graduated with First Class Honours.
Outside of work, Alex enjoys barbecuing and is an avid tennis and soccer player.
Zac Chartier
Committee Member
Zac Chartier was born and raised grew up in Dundas, Ontario (near Toronto). He did a combined honours degree in economics and math with a minor in Chinese studies at Dalhousie University, where he also served as co-President of the Dalhousie Undergraduate Economics Students Association in his final year.
Following his undergraduate degree, he studied a pursued an MA in economics at University of Toronto. Once he graduated, he joined a boutique investment-banking firm based in Toronto, focusing on cross-border transactions between Canada and China. After about six months, he had the chance to move to Shanghai (working with the same firm), where he have has been since then (just less than one year as of November 2016). During this time, Zac has continued to study Mandarin, and have passed the first two levels of the CFA program.
Zac recently accepted an offer with a larger, global boutique investment-banking firm (based in New York, but with a large focus on Asia) for a position in their Shanghai office, which I he will join shortly.
Benjamin Evans
Committee Member
Benjamin Evans graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelors Combined Honours in Mathematics and Economics. He then worked at the Ottawa based economics think tank, The Centre for the Study of Living Standards. He then After this position, he worked as a research assistant at the Bank of Canada. Benjamin returned to school earnings a Masters of Mathematical Finance at the University of Toronto. Since then he has work as an research analyst as part of a quantitative investments team.
Nicholas Katsepontes
Committee Member
Nicholas is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia where he was born and raised and attended Dalhousie University where he finished studies in international economics at the undergraduate and graduate level. He graduated from Dalhousie Law School with two degrees: a Bachelor of Law (1988) and Master of Law (1993), the latter specializing in international trade and shipping law.
He moved to Ottawa in 1992 to serve as a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, working for three different Prime Minsters and four Foreign Ministers providing legal advise for UN maritime law treaties as well as trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
He is the founding partner of Katsepontes Moutsios LLP, an Ottawa and Montreal based law firm where he still practices part-time.
He is the founder, President and CEO of Axios Investments Corporation - a family owned investment firm working in the biotechnology and hi-tech sectors (www.axiosinvestments.ca).
He has founded or advised a number of successful start-ups including SWIX, Jaded Pixel Technologies Inc., Shopify, Semintha Nutraceuticals Ltd., and Anoixi Biotechnology Inc., and on an ongoing basis mentors business students from the Telfer School of Business, Ottawa University. He actively pursues and involves himself in biotechnology and high technology start-up opportunities involving innovative technologies.
Audri Mukhopadhyay
Committee Member
Audri Mukhopadhyay is a Canadian diplomat and economist. He was the Consul General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, serving as head of mission at the Consulate General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City. He has been featured in a number of Vietnamese publications promoting Canada-Vietnam bilateral ties, and in 2010, he was named one of Progress magazine's "People we love." He also filmed a television series for Ho Chi Minh City Television that began airing in the fall of 2010. The series is part of an English language teaching programme aiming to promote Canadian culture in Vietnam. Promoting education linkages was a large part of his work in Vietnam.
Mukhopadhyay joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2005. From 2002 to 2003, he was the Canadian government's representative to ICANN. He has also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and as an economist with the Canadian Department of Finance.
Mukhopadhyay is a Canadian of Indian descent. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island (USA), and grew up in Halifax (former city), Nova Scotia. He studied economics at Dalhousie University in Canada, and then as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he earned an MBA and an M.Phil in economics
Chenlu Shao
Committee Member
Chenlu Shao is currently working as Research Analyst at Nova Scotia Business Inc., providing research support for the Strategy and Research team to help the local economy and business grow. In the past, she has worked on several research projects such as health economics, international trade and finance at the Department of Economics at Dalhousie University, where she gained the an MA degree in Economics and achieved several awards for her outstanding academic performance.
Chenlu was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She has achieved 2nd black level in karate and finds her passion lying in Hiphop dancing and cooking as well.
Shivani Sood
Committee Member
Shivani Sood currently works as an Economist in the International Accounts and Trade division of Statistics Canada, primarily engaged in Globalization Measurement. Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, she holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Carleton University and a combined Honours degree in Economics and Statistics from Dalhousie University.
Leonie van Haeren
Committee Member
Leonie van Haeren holds a Master's degree in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and an Honours degree in Economics with a minor in Law and Society and a certificate in Intercultural Communication from Dalhousie University. As an International Development Officer at Global Affairs Canada, Leonie currently supports the work of Canadian civil society organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those living in poverty in developing countries by managing the grants and contribution agreements it has with the government.
Leonie is originally from the Netherlands and moved to Canada in 2008. After spending two years at an international boarding school in Lakefield, ON, she has since lived where university and work took her including periods overseas for an exchange semester in New Zealand in 2013 and a placement with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Canberra, Australia in 2015/16.
Gerard Walsh
Committee Member
Gerard Walsh holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours in economics from Dalhousie University and a Masters in financial economics from the University of Toronto. He has previously worked at the Bank of Canada, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Currently, he is an economist at RBC covering the Canadian macro and provincial outlook, small business, carbon pricing, and stress testing.
Andreas Weltzien
Committee Member
Andreas is an Analyst in the Canadian Economic Analysis Department at the Bank of Canada. He has worked in the Prices, Labour and Housing division, as well as the Macro-Financial division, primarily focusing on credit conditions in the Canadian economy. Andreas completed his undergraduate studies at Dalhousie University, where he received a Combined Honours degree in Economics and Political Sciences. While studying, he did internships at a Canadian bank in Group Risk Management and Retail Banking. He is currently a CFA level III candidate.
Andreas played Varsity soccer for the University of King's college, and currently plays squash. He has lived across Canada, and in Europe (Germany and England). He also likes to travel, ski, and watch Premier League soccer
Andreas Wismer
Committee Member
Andrew Wismer holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Ottawa and an Honours degree in Economics and Political Science from Dalhousie University where he earned a Maxwell Scholarship for performance in economics. Andrew has worked in academic settings, all three levels of government as well as for an international NGO. As a Senior Economist in the finance department of the Regional Municipality of Durham, he is currently engaged in leading economic and financial studies and guiding municipal financial planning and policies.