ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR PENSION COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Fiduciary duties
Caroline L. Helbronner

Who does what?
John T. Por

Legislation and pension plans
Nurez H. Jiwani

Pension funding and plan design
Ian Edelist

Understanding investment basics
Mark A. Doyle

Plan management and disclosure
Peter Gorham

Pension plan risks
Ian Edelist

Ongoing issues and special situations
Peter Gorham

Peter is a Partner with Morneau Sobeco in Toronto. His main area of practice is the design, funding, expensing and administration of pension and benefit plans within the context of total compensation and an organization's strategic focus.

Peter began his pension career while in primary school, performing pension administration services during the summer of 1968 for his father's firm. He earned $0.75 per hour. He obviously did not learn his lesson well, as he returned to provide child labour for his father during high school, eventually earning $1.50 per hour. It was enough to finance his first stereo. After a brief escape to Crown Life, his father lured him back in 1978 with some vague promises and a salary increase. (Who says money doesn't buy some loyalty). Thus began Peter's career as a consultant.

After 20 years as a pension and benefits consultant in Toronto and Hamilton, Peter returned to Toronto with Morneau Sobeco in 1998. He is a partner in the Toronto pension practice where he consults on both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Peter is recognised as a leader in Canada on issues with Pension Governance as well as with Defined Contribution plans.

Peter graduated from the University of Toronto in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial and Computer Sciences. He qualified as an actuary in 1980. Peter is a frequent speaker and author on pension and benefits topics, and is a regular presenter for the Humber College CEB program.

Nurez H. Jiwani is the Director of Regulatory Coordination at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). In this capacity, he has a dual role. He oversees and directs the work of the secretariats of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA), the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators (Joint Forum). He also leads and participates in a number of harmonization initiatives at the national level on behalf of FSCO. Mr. Jiwani is currently the Chair of the Joint Forum's Committee on Capital Accumulation Plans, Chair of the Pension Plan Governance Committee of CAPSA and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committees of CAPSA and CCIR. He is also a member of CAPSA's Model Law, Reciprocal Agreement and Investment Policy Committees. Previously, Mr. Jiwani directed the operational and policy areas of the former Pension Commission of Ontario. And prior to joining the public sector, he held positions in the private sector with two major employee benefits consulting firms. Mr. Jiwani is a regular speaker at industry conferences and educational programs of industry associations.

John Por is founder and President of Cortex, a consulting firm specializing in working with Boards, Trustees, Executive Directors, corporate executives and their teams on fiduciary risk management and decision-making.

John holds a PhD in Engineering Physics, has completed the Harvard Executive Program on Board Governance, and has obtained the Certified Investment Management Analyst designation from The Investment Management Consultants' Association in conjunction with The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

John advises institutional investors such as the CAATS Pension Plan, PSPIB Pension Plan, Ontario Pension Board, the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS), the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board of Massachusetts (PRIM), the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and the San Francisco Employees' Retirement System. He also advises corporate funds such as Air Canada, Bank of Montreal, BCE Inc, DuPont, EDS, Enbridge, Hudson's Bay Company, Presbyterian Homes, Shell, Siemens US, Telus, TransAlta, McGill University, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Guelph on fund governance, trustee education, strategic planning, asset/liability management, fiduciary risk management, and organizational issues. John is a regular speaker at industry conferences and seminars, including events sponsored by the California Association of Public Retirement Systems, the Council of Institutional Investors, the Harvard Business School, the Institute of International Research, the National Council on Teacher Retirement, and Plan Sponsor Magazine.

John has authored articles for various publications, including Benefits Canada, Benefits and Compensation International, Benefits and Pension Monitor, the Canadian Investment Review, Plan Sponsor, the Public Retirement Journal, and the Wall Street Journal.

Kathryn Bush, Partner, practices in the Income Tax Group in the Toronto office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and is involved in all aspects of income tax and pension and employee benefits law. In the Pension and Employee Benefits area, she is involved in the plan creation, drafting, amendment, governance and funding issues as well as dealing with corporate reorganizations and their effect on pension and benefits and providing opinions in relation to all aspects of pension and benefits law. In the Income Tax area, a substantial portion of her practice is devoted to executive and deferred compensation planning areas, including stock compensation, salary deferral arrangements, retirement compensation arrangements, supplemental pension plans, retiring allowances, profit sharing plans, cross border issues and corporate reorganizations. Kathryn is cited in LEXPERT The Canadian Legal Directory as a "leading practitioner" in pension and benefits law and is listed in Canadian Who's Who. Kathryn is the former Vice-Chair of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the Financial Services Tribunal and the Pension Commission of Ontario.

Mark Doyle is responsible for business development and client service for institutional investors at Barclays Global Investors Canada Limited. Mark began working in the investment industry in 1985. Prior to joining BGI in 2000, Mark worked for a large Canadian investment management firm, specializing in indexed and quantitative investment management services, where he was responsible for marketing and client service for institutional investors.

Mark received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Western Ontario in 1984. He also received his MBA from the University of Toronto in 1992. Mark holds the CFA charterholder designation.

Ian Edelist is a consulting actuary with Eckler Partners Ltd. He has been actively involved in several plan conversions and terminations as well as surplus distributions and union negotiations. Ian also has expertise in funding, solvency and accounting valuations. Ian has published material on changes in pension legislation and has conducted several internal educational workshops on pension related topics. While at Eckler Partners, Ian was on secondment to Milliman Global's U.K. firm for just over a year. He has experience with pension plans in both the U.S. and U.K., as well as international consulting.

Caroline Helbronner is a Partner in the Pensions & Employee Benefits and Taxation Groups of the Toronto office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Her practice relates primarily to pension, benefit and compensation issues and related investment arrangements. Caroline advises employers, financial institutions and consulting firms on pension and benefit issues arising in a wide range of circumstances, including surplus and contribution holiday disputes, cross-border situations and corporate transactions. She also advises extensively on matters related to ongoing compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements. As well, Caroline is involved with the design, drafting and implementation of a variety of pension, retirement and benefit plans, and related funding arrangements and investment vehicles. Caroline has written and spoken on a wide range of topics in the areas of pension and employee benefits. Caroline is a member of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario's Legal Advisory Committee on Pensions.