All Entrants must be members of the RIA for at least one year as of January 1, 2020. Entrants must be RIA members in good standing on the date they enter their submission and when the Awards are presented. Submissions are welcomed from all RIA Membership categories.
Award Categories
The RIA Leadership Awards are an opportunity to earn national recognition for your contributions to responsible investment in Canada. Each award will recognize the leadership and excellence of an RIA member for their work in one of the following three categories: Market Education, Integration or Advocacy. Drawn from the RIA’s Strategic Priorities, these categories represent the critical work being done to advance responsible investment in Canada. An award will be granted to an Organization and an Individual in each category, for a total of 6 Awards.
Market Education: Driving Awareness and Demand for RI
Recognizing RIA members who seek to bridge the gap between knowledge about and demand for RI by engaging and educating market participants, raising awareness of responsible investment and developing and promoting tools, resources and research related to RI.
Integration: Developing the RI Capacity of Investment Professionals
Recognizing RIA members who further the adoption and development of responsible investment practices among investment professionals by enabling the development of RI literacy and expertise, and implementing and enhancing RI policies, processes and principles.
Advocacy: Shifting Public Policy and Regulation to Support RI
Recognizing RIA members who seek to shift public policy and regulation through proactive engagement with regulators, responding to RI related policy consultations, and participating collaboratively with other market participants to advance the widespread implementation of policies that support RI.
Award Eligibility
To be eligible for an RIA Leadership
Award, submissions must meet the following criteria:
RIA Membership
Collaborative Projects
Collaborative Projects may be submitted, so long as at least 50% of the project’s participants are RIA members, or RIA members actively contributed at least 50% of the effort for the project.
- Simply sponsoring a project will not be eligible.
- All participants must agree to take part in the Awards
before sending in their submission. - Multiple submissions for one collaborative project will not
be permitted; if multiple submissions are received, the
RIA will encourage the participants to submit a single
Collaborative submission.
Project Time Frame
The activities described in the submission must have taken place or been implemented during the calendar year 2019. The Awards are open to both ongoing and completed projects. While activities might have been initiated prior to 2019, or may conclude after 2019, the submission will be evaluated on the basis of its reported results during calendar year 2019.
Submission Timeline
Enter a Submission or Nomination
To be considered for an Award, an RIA individual or organizational member must complete their own submission. An individual or organization can be nominated by someone else, however the nominee will still be required to complete the submission form. Award winners will be recognized on the main stage during the opening ceremony of the RIA conference.
The Submission and Nomination period will be open until April 6, 2020. Only online submissions will be accepted.
Meet the Judges
The Judges’ Panel is made up of 12 Volunteers with expertise in responsible investment in Canada. The Panel’s composition considers factors such as geography, gender, and racial diversity, consistent with the RIA Board’s Diversity Policy, and balances representation from the following sectors:
- Academics
- Advisors
- Asset Managers
- Asset Owners
- Business/Consulting/Service Provider
- Financial Institutions (Banks & Credit Unions)
- Media
- RI Organizations
Learn more about the individual Judges below.
Learn more about the judging process in the RIA Leadership Awards Guide.
Awards Guidelines
Amr Addas
Professor, John Molson School of Business and the Goodman Institute, Concordia University
Amr Addas is an Adjunct Professor and Director of the Van Berkom Investment Management Program and Van Berkom Small Cap Case Competition at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. He leads Concordia’s Sustainable Investing Practicum in collaboration with Manulife. Learn More.
Alexa Blain
Managing Partner, Deetken Impact
Alexa is co-Founder and Managing Partner of Deetken Impact, which manages and distributes impact investment products to Canadian and global investors. Prior to joining Deetken, Alexa was an executive with African Alliance, a pan-African financial services group and an associate with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Macquarie Group in Toronto. Learn More.
Adelaide Chiu
Portfolio Manager, OMERS
Adelaide Chiu is a global equities portfolio manager with the Capital Markets team at OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined pension plans. In addition to her portfolio management role, Adelaide is a key contributor to the pension’s sustainable investing strategy for Capital Markets. Learn More.
Denis Dion
ESG Product Manager, Desjardins Investments
Denis Dion is a responsible investment product manager at Desjardins and therefore leads the development of the SocieTerra funds and portfolios. In addition to monitoring the latest trends in responsible investment, he ensures the performance of the products offered. Learn More.
Pablo Fuchs
Globe Advisor Editor, The Globe and Mail
Pablo Fuchs is editor of Globe Advisor at The Globe and Mail, a position he has held since January 2019. He oversees the editorial direction and manages the production of daily content for the Globe’s direct-to-advisor offering. Learn More.
Tessa Hebb
Distinguished Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Sprott School of Business and School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University
Dr. Hebb led a ten-year research consortium on Responsible Investing funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Government of Canada. She is the past chair of the steering committee of the UN- backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Academic Network (2009-2014). Learn More.
Sucheta Rajagopal
Portfolio Manager, Mackie Research Capital Corp.
Sucheta Rajagopal has been involved in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) for over 20 years, advising clients on how to integrate environmental, social and corporate governance issues into their investment portfolios. Learn More.
Mark Sevestre
President, National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association
In 2006, Mark became one of three founding members of the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association. Serving in several roles, including Board Member, Committee Chairman and President, Mark is currently serving as Founder and Senior Advisor to NATOA. Learn More.
Melissa Shin
Editorial Director, Advisor’s Edge and Investment Executive
Melissa Shin is the Editorial Director at Advisor’s Edge and Investment Executive with Newcom Media Inc. As an award-winning journalist and the editorial director of four national financial services publications, Melissa turns technical subject matter into accessible content for sophisticated audiences. Learn More.
Mritunjay Sinha
Director of Finance & Investment, The Catherine Donnelly Foundation
A social entrepreneur-operator and an investor, MJ helped build a multi-million-dollar micro-loan portfolio in rural India and helped create a co-operative that served over 200 entrepreneurs. For the last few years MJ has been working in impact investing. He started with Grand Challenges Canada. Learn More.
Rosalie Vendette
Sustainable Finance Expert, Independent Consultant
Rosalie Vendette is a sustainable finance expert with more than 16 years of experience. She has developed a breath of knowledge from the various positions she held over the years at Desjardins Group and Groupe investissement responsable (GIR) and initiatives she managed for the responsible investment community. Learn More.
Stephen Whipp
Director of Responsible Asset Management, Leede Jones Gable Inc.
Stephen Whipp is an activist and a passionate guy. He believes that individuals working together really can change the world for the better. With a background in journalism and non-profit management that includes aboriginal governance, and more than 20 years as a successful investment advisor, Steve brings a potent combination of experience, knowledge and connections to the table. Learn More.