Our team is comprised of seasoned financial, strategic, and operational professionals.

Paul Desmarais III is the Chairman and CEO of Sagard Holdings, the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Portag3 Ventures, and the Chairman and co-founder of Diagram. Within the investment portfolios of Portag3 Ventures and Sagard Holdings, he is the Chairman of Wealthsimple and Peak Achievement Athletics and a director of Koho, Integrate AI, and IntegraMed.

Paul is also a Senior Vice President of Power Corporation of Canada and Power Financial of Canada. As a part of his responsibilities at the holdings, he sits on the boards of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, and Imerys.

Prior to his current role, Paul worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division, Investment Group, and Special Situations Group; Imerys in supply chain management and strategy; and Great West Lifeco in risk management. Paul is a recipient of a B.A. in economics from Harvard College and holds and an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Samuel Robinson is Managing Partner and President of Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. He also serves as Vice-President of Power Corporation of Canada and as a board member of various Sagard portfolio companies, including IntegraMed Fertility and GP Strategies (NYSE: GPX). Prior to joining Sagard, Samuel spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, starting as a financial institutions banker and later serving as chief administrative officer and head of strategy for the global Investment Banking Division, chief operating officer of the firm's emerging markets businesses and Asia-Pacific chief of staff, among other roles.

Samuel holds a M.A. and a M.Phil., both from Christ Church, Oxford, where he serves on the Development Board.

Adam Vigna is Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Sagard Holdings and Sagard Credit Partners, and is based in Toronto. He also serves as Vice-President of Power Corporation of Canada. Prior to this role, he was Managing Director at CPPIB. Adam was responsible for leading CPPIB's Global Principal Credit Investments Group (“PCI”) with approximately CAD 20 billion of AUM. Prior to joining CPPIB, Adam was Vice-President at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group (“SSG”) in New York and Toronto. In 2006, he moved to Toronto from New York to become one of the three founding members of the Canadian Special Situations Group (“CSSG”). Before joining SSG, Adam worked in Goldman's Investment Banking Division in New York where he was a part of their Financial Institutions Group (“FIG”). Adam currently serves on the board of Peak Achievement Athletics and previously served on the boards of Antares Holding (Chair), Antares Capital, Teine Energy, Laricina Energy, Long Point Energy, and Blackhawk Mining (Observer).

Adam has led the entire SCP team for a number of years at a different investing organization.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Adam Felesky is the Chief Executive Officer of Portag3 Ventures and is based in Toronto. He is the Founder and former CEO of Horizons Exchange Traded Funds, a director and founding investor of BetaShares Exchange Traded Funds in Australia and also led the launch of an ETF platform in Colombia.

Previously, Adam worked in JPMorgan Derivative's group in New York, where he co-led the coverage for many top tier corporate clients amongst the oil & gas and power & utility sectors. Adam began his career in investment banking at JPMorgan Canada and CIBC World Markets respectively.

Adam is a current member of the Fintech Advisory Committee for the Finance Minister of Ontario as well as the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). He also supports numerous charities and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Immigration Access Fund.

Adam is the recipient of a B.Eng. in Civil Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science from McMaster University.

Francois Lafortune is an entrepreneur and investor with fifteen years experience in building businesses in the financial technology sector. He is the co-founder and CEO of Diagram Ventures, a $85m venture builder that co-founds technology companies pursuing transformative innovation in the financial, insurance and healthcare sectors. Francois is also a Partner of Portag3 Ventures, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Hydro-Québec, he sits on Minister of Finance Bill Morneau’s advisory committee on Open Banking; and he is a member of the AMF’s Technological Innovation advisory committee.

Prior to founding Diagram, he co-led the Canadian Business Technology practice at McKinsey & Company. Francois holds an engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA from Stanford GSB.

Marc-Antoine Allen is a Principal at Sagard Holdings and is based in Toronto. Prior to this role, he was a Senior Associate at CPPIB where he was responsible for underwriting and monitoring credit and equity investments in multiple sectors, and was involved in several private equity transactions including the acquisitions of Associated British Ports and Pacific National. Marc-Antoine holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University, from which he graduated in 2012 as Valedictorian of the Desautels Faculty of Management.

Cristina Battaglini is an Executive Assistant at Sagard Holdings, and is based in Toronto. Prior to this role, Cristina worked for CPPIB and was responsible for managing investment committee protocols and organizing extensive travel and managing calendars for executives within “PCI”.

Cristina holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Paralegal Studies from Humber/Guelph in Ontario.

Josh Borys is a Senior Principal at Sagard Holdings, and a member of the Sagard Credit Partners team based in Toronto. Prior to this role, he was a Principal in the Principal Credit Investments group at CPPIB where he focused on investing in both primary and secondary opportunities across the capital structure, working closely with Adam, Mustafa and Bin. Josh has previously served on the Management Committee of LongPoint Minerals.

Josh holds an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated with Distinction and was an Ivey Scholar.

Josh Brandt is a Managing Director at Sagard Holdings, and a member of the Sagard Credit Partners team based in New York. Prior to joining Sagard, Josh was a Partner and Managing Director at Garrison Investment Group, where he most recently served as Head of Corporate Special Situations. He was responsible for all aspects of the investment process, including origination, due diligence, execution and portfolio management, in addition to corporate strategy across the firm. While at Garrison, Josh served on the boards of numerous firm portfolio companies and investment committees. Prior to joining Garrison in 2008, Josh worked at CastleHill Investment Management and Lehman Brothers. He is experienced in private credit, restructuring, special situation investing and private equity. Josh received a B.A. in English from Columbia University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Brianna Fogel is a Senior Associate at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Prior to this role, she worked as an Investment Banking Associate in the Leveraged Finance group at Goldman Sachs, where she underwrote high-yield bonds and leveraged loans for corporate and sponsor transactions. She began her career in the Financial Sponsors Group at Goldman Sachs.

Brianna earned a BA in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Mustafa Humayun is a Partner at Sagard Holdings, and the Portfolio Manager of Sagard’s Private Credit business. He is also a member of the firm's investment committee and is based in Toronto. Prior to this role, he was a Senior Principal at Canada Pension Plan Investment board, leading multiple sector teams across North and South America. Before that, Mustafa was an Investment Professional in the Special Situations Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co in New York, where he invested across the capital structure across a number of different sectors. Mustafa currently serves on the board of Founders Advantage (Observer) and has previously served on the corporate and non-profit boards of Laricina Energy, Queen's University Investment Council, New York Needs You, Youth Empowering Parents and LongPoint Minerals.

Mr. Humayun has known Mr. Vigna for over a decade and has worked with him across three different organizations.

Bin Li is a Senior Associate of Sagard Holdings, and a member of the Sagard Credit Partners team based in Toronto. Prior to this role, Bin was an Associate at Canada Pension Plan Investment board where he worked with Adam, Mustafa and Josh. At CPPIB he was responsible for making credit investments in the healthcare, industrial, and energy verticals. In addition, Bin closed two platform private equity transactions (Wilton Re and Antares Capital) during his time at Canada Pension Plan Investment board.

Bin holds a Bachelor of Mathematics (Honors) from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honors) from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Ali Alagheband is a Partner at Sagard Holdings, and a member of the Sagard Healthcare Royalty Partners team based in Toronto. Prior to this role, he was a Managing Director and a member of the investment committee at DRI Capital, a healthcare royalty monetization firm in Toronto. Ali has over 16 years of healthcare investing experience focused on public equities and royalty-based opportunities.

Ali holds a B.A. in Physics (Honors) from Reed College, a B.Sc. in Engineering and Applied Science (Honors) from the California Institute of Technology, a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MBA from the University of Western Ontario, Richard Ivey School of Business.

Ali has known Mr. MacNaughtan for over 15 years and worked with him at DRI Capital for 7 years. He has known Mr. Manchanda and worked with him at DRI Capital for over a decade.

David MacNaughtan is a Partner at Sagard Holdings, and Head of the Sagard Healthcare Royalty Partners team based in Toronto. Prior to this role, he was a Senior Principal with CPP Investment Board, leading their intellectual property investment strategy under the direction of Adam Vigna. David has over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with roles in operations, business development, and finance, including over 15 years of investment experience with royalty-based opportunities.

David holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Applied Science from Queen’s University and an MBA from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Business.

David has known Mr. Alagheband for over 15 years and worked with him at DRI Capital for 7 years. He has known Mr. Manchanda for over a decade, working with him at DRI Capital for two years.

Raja Manchanda is a Partner at Sagard Holdings, and a member of the Sagard Healthcare Royalty Partners team based in Toronto. Prior to this role, he was a Vice President at DRI Capital, focused on sourcing royalty monetization investment opportunities from the academic and corporate sectors. Raja has over 13 years of healthcare investing experience focused on investment banking, public equities and royalty-based opportunities.

Raja holds an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated with Distinction, and a Master of Finance from Queen’s University.

Raja has known Mr. MacNaughtan for over a decade and worked with him at DRI Capital for 2 years. He has known Mr. Alagheband and worked with him at DRI Capital for ten years.

William McIsaac is an Associate at Sagard Holdings and is based in Toronto. Prior to this role, William was an Analyst at DRI Capital where he was responsible for making royalty and structured credit investments in the biopharmaceutical industry.

William holds a B.Sc and M.Sc in Neuroscience from Queen’s University and an MBA from Queen’s University, Smith School of Business.

Savneet Uppal is an Associate at Sagard Holdings and a member of the Sagard Healthcare Royalty Partners team based in Toronto. Prior to joining Sagard in April 2020, Savneet was a Senior Equity Research Associate at RBC Capital Markets covering both the healthcare (pharma, biotech, and specialty pharma) and cannabis sectors.

Savneet holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours Life Science) and an MBA (Finance), both from McMaster University.

Jake is an Associate at Portag3 Ventures. Prior to joining Portag3, Jake worked in the Private Equity group at the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), where he worked on leveraged buyouts and structured investment transactions in the financial services, technology, and retail sectors. Jake is the recipient of a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business (Dean’s Honour List).

Stephanie Choo is a Partner, Head of Investments at Portag3 Ventures. She leads new fintech investments for the fund — in the wealth management, banking and insurance verticals. Prior to joining Portag3, she helped the world’s leading banks and insurance companies build and launch innovative fintech products from the ground-up, as a Fintech Lead at BCG Digital Ventures. Stephanie was also a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, focused on technology and digital strategies in the retail banking, wealth management and asset management spaces. Prior to that, she led operations for an early stage payments startup.

Stephanie is a graduate of Queen’s University (B.Comm) and the University of Toronto Schools.

Hélène Falchier is a Partner at Portag3 Ventures based in Paris, France. Hélène joined Portag3 from CNP Assurances (“CNP”) where she served as CEO of its corporate venture program, Open CNP. Prior to Open CNP, Hélène was CNP’s Head of Private Equity, managing a portfolio of €7.5bn AUM with investments in Europe and the US. Before joining CNP, she served as the Head of Investments in real estate, private equity and stocks for Ecureuil Vie. Hélène is also the Chairman of the AFIC LPs club (French Association for Investors for Growth). Hélène holds a master’s degree in economics and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris.

Robert ("Bob") Hamlin is a Principal at Portag3 Ventures and based in New York. Prior to joining Portag3 in 2019, Bob worked for the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank. At IFC, he was a member of the Young Professionals Program and an Associate with the Global Fintech Investment Group, one of the largest emerging market fintech investors globally with $450 million invested to date across 46 companies. Prior to joining IFC, he worked as an investment banker for Marlin & Associates, a boutique investment bank focused on the fintech sector, and began his career with the Investment Banking division of Goldman Sachs.

Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from Harvard (graduating cum laude) and a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Advisory Board of The Resolution Project, a New York-based non-profit that funds and mentors young people pursuing social impact ventures in 80 countries.

Ben Harrison is a Partner and the Head of Partnerships & Policy at Portag3 Ventures. Prior to joining in 2018, Ben spent over 15 years at Great-West Life/London Life/Canada Life in several strategy, product development and marketing roles across the organization, most recently as the Head of Innovation for Canada. He has been an active and valued participant in the Portag3 ecosystem since the fund’s inception helping to establish a number of portfolio partnerships with Great-West and acting as an advisor to several of the portfolio companies. Ben is a graduate of the Business Administration program (BBA) from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a past Chair of the GWL/LL/CL United Way campaign.

Nick Hungerford is a Partner at Portag3 Ventures and is based in Southeast Asia. He is also the founder of Nutmeg, Europe's leading online investment management service and led the company from an idea through development and $100M of funding. Nick is a digital ambassador for the UK Department of International Trade, a member of the European Power 50 and recipient of Spears Entrepreneur of the year award.

He previously worked at Barclays in areas of product, trading and wealth management and was a Divisional Director at Brewin Dolphin PLC. Nick is a non-executive Director of Innovate Finance, the association representing the UK’s global FinTech community and an advisor to and investor in a number of technology-led startups.

Nick obtained an Undergraduate degree from Exeter University in the UK and holds an MBA from Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the Securities Institute and a member of the Global Entrepreneur Program. Nick is a volunteer teacher at a number of UK universities in the subjects of behaviour finance and entrepreneurship.

Sinath Kim is a Principal on the Partnerships team at Portag3 Ventures. Prior to joining Portag3, she was responsible for identifying and facilitating fintech partnerships, delivering insights on fintech trends, and leading the implementation of the partnerships framework as Director, Innovation Engagement at CIBC. Sinath also has in-depth knowledge and experience in risk and compliance through her time at BMO Financial Group.

Sinath has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario.

Ivan is a Research Analyst at Portag3 Ventures. Prior to joining Portag3, Ivan interned at iGan Partners as an investment analyst, where he helped evaluate early-stage Canadian MedTech and B2B SaaS companies. Prior to that, he interned at the Ontario Ministry of Health where he worked with the Health Capital team assisting in the capital planning process for Hospitals in Ontario.

Ivan received his Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Waterloo, where he focused on applied economics. He also received his Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management from the University of Waterloo.

Ricky Lai is a Principal at Portag3 Ventures and is based in Toronto. Prior to joining Portag3, Ricky worked at a Canadian startup focused on simplifying responsible consumer lending in the US. Ricky also spent time as an Associate at Mithril360, the analytics and portfolio management affiliate of Mithril Capital Management. Prior to that, Ricky was a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions advisory practice for KPMG Canada, where he focused on strategic and financial investments in software and healthcare companies.

Ricky received a BSc and a MAcc from the University of Waterloo, specializing in Biotechnology and Accounting. Ricky is a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA).

Andre Masse is an Associate at Portag3 Ventures. Prior to joining Portag3, Andre worked as an Associate at the Boston Consulting Group in Montreal, where he helped develop digital strategy in the Retail sector and worked in the Technology and Telecommunications practice on pricing & promo analysis. Prior to that, he interned in Sales & Trading with National Bank of Canada’s Structured Products team and in Statistics at SOM Surveys & Studies.

Andre is the recipient of a B.B.A. in Finance from HEC Montreal (Honour Roll).

Chris O’Neill is a Partner at Portag3 Ventures, based in San Francisco. He is a purpose-driven technology leader with over 20 years of experience, including general management of some of the world’s most beloved brands, strategy, product development, go-to-market, marketing, and business operations.

O’Neill orchestrated the successful turnaround of Evernote as Chairman and CEO. Prior to Evernote, he served in several key leadership roles at Google, including business operations at Google [X] and leading Google Canada. He briefly worked in product marketing for HSBC, and began his career as a strategy management consultant at Oliver Wyman (formerly Mercer Management Consulting). O’Neill advises and invests in high-growth technology companies. As an angel investor, he focuses on exceptional Canadian entrepreneurs building enduring companies like: Ritual.co, Relay (Kik), Milq/Layer6 (TD Bank), Whirlscape, Helpful (Shopify).

He serves on the board member of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) and is a former board member of Tim Hortons (NYSE: THI), Shop.org, and the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA). He is currently a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), a Charter Member of the C100, and a former member of the Canadian Council for Chief Executives (CCCE).

O’Neill graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a B.A in Economics (with distinction) and holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He was born in Toronto, grew up in Acton and Goderich, Ontario, and currently lives in Northern California with his wife, Christina, two children, Jack, and Molly.

Nancy is the Office Manager at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining the Diagram team, Nancy worked as the Operations Coordinator for TAXI Montreal Advertising Agency. Her high standards for excellence and passion for customer service derive from over 15 years of sales, management and customer service experience in the retail industry.

Celine is the Executive Assistant to the CEO and partners at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, she was a Senior Administrative Assistant at BMO Capital Markets. She also has many years of management, sales and customer service experience from Laurentian Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Arthur Murray. Celine holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a Major in Finance from Concordia University's John Molson School of Business.

Ray Dagher is the Vice President of Operations at Diagram Ventures. Prior to Joining Diagram, Ray was an Associate Director at Pratt & Whitney where he managed Manufacturing, Supply Management and Business Development teams. Ray also worked in Corporate Strategy for several departments including Aftermarket Services, Partnerships and Operations. Before PW, he built engineering services teams in Canada and The Netherlands.

Ray has extensive experience in business model and business process optimization and holds a Six Sigma Green Belt certification from the American Society for Quality.

Prior to managing teams and departments, Ray worked as an Aerospace Engineer for Bombardier and Marshall Aerospace. He holds a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD. Ray volunteers with the INSEAD Alumni Association and facilitates mentoring and coaching within the association and his workplace.

Amélie Foz-Couture is the Vice President of Innovation at Diagram Ventures. Before joining Diagram, she was Senior Director of Product Management at SSENSE, a fast growing Montreal-based e-tailer, where she owned the eCommerce platform. Prior to this, Amélie was a Principal with Digital Ventures, a corporate investment and incubation firm based in Manhattan Beach, California.

At DV she led innovation, in-market testing, building and scaling of disruptive ventures in the fintech, healthcare, and consumer spaces. She managed multi-disciplinary teams across product, engineering, UX/UI, human-centered design, business, and growth marketing. Before working in the technology space, she spent four years with the Boston Consulting Group. Amélie holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.

Chantale is the Junior Controller at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, Chantale worked as a Composite Accounting Representative at CN. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Major in Accountancy from John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.

Hamnett Hill has spent much of his 25+ year career creating, growing, and investing in businesses that make consumers lives easier through technology. He has founded and grown businesses in telecom, consumer software, enterprise software, security, and other industries, many of which have resulted in successful exits for founders, shareholders, and employees.

Hamnett co-founded TotalNet, one of Canada’s largest early Internet Service Providers (ISP); Zero-Knowledge Systems a high-profile pioneer in online privacy and security; Radialpoint – North America and Europe’s largest Telco & Cableco consumer SaaS provider, and most recently Smooch.io the leading B2C omnichannel messaging software provider. He has also mentored many entrepreneurs, and invested in dozens of technology and food businesses – helping several of them achieve successful business outcomes.

He is an investor in Blockstream, AppDirect, and LandR, to name a few. Hamnett also invested in and is a Director of Goodfood Market (FOOD:TSX), and Xpertsea. Exits of companies he has invested in, founded, or run, now reach into the several hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition to his business and investing activities, he is also a Director of the Humanitarian University – a company the prepares first responders for humanitarian missions around the world.

Anis is a Senior Analyst at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, Anis interned in Corporate Development at Osisko Gold Royalties, where he worked on transactions in the mining sector. Prior to that, he interned at Magnum Capital, a search fund, where he focused on sourcing and due diligence. Anis earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the Desautels Faculty of Management.

Antoine is a Senior Associate at Diagram, where he develops investment theses for the launch of new ventures, creates proofs of concept, assembles founding teams, and advises portfolio companies on strategy. Prior to his current role, Antoine worked at RBC Capital Markets in investment banking, where he focused on M&A and capital raising mandates across the Technology, Infrastructure and Renewable Energy sectors. Prior to that, he founded an entrepreneurship summer program for high school students in Ghana and worked for an EdTech startup in Hong Kong. Antoine is the recipient of a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from Concordia University (Dean’s Honour List).

Guillaume is Partner, CFO at Diagram. Prior to Diagram, he was working in London, United Kingdom in the investment banking division of HSBC in its Financial Institutions Group. Prior to HSBC, Guillaume was based in Berlin, Germany as part of Rocket Internet, the world’s largest incubator of technology startups, where he was CFO of a fintech portfolio company. Previously, he spent five years at PSP Investments in Canada in its direct private equity group and in its internal hedge fund. He started his career at Genuity Capital Markets in its mergers and acquisitions team.

Guillaume sits on the Board of Directors of the Montreal Economic Institute, a leading Canadian think tank, where he is also a member of the Investment Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Opéra de Montréal. Guillaume is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from HEC Montreal and a Masters in Finance from London Business School.

Julien is an Associate, Special Projects at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, Julien worked in the Financial Services practice at Kaiser Associates in London, UK and Washington DC where he led strategic consulting engagements for Fortune 500 companies. Julien is the recipient of a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Middlebury College (Magna Cum Laude).

Dan is a serial entrepreneur and an angel investor. He sold his first company in 2006 to a Fortune 500 company. He then went on to start and exit five other technology companies.

His latest venture is PasswordBox, which was acquired by Intel Security in 2014. Dan is also an active investor in many promising technology start-ups.

Hemanth is an Associate at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, Hemanth led a research project at the World Economic Forum exploring the impact of emerging technologies on the global financial services industry. Hemanth also previously worked at Monitor Deloitte, focused on growth strategy projects for banking, insurance, and wealth management clients. Hemanth received his BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University (Dean's Honour List).

Alexandre is an Innovation Lead at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, Alexandre worked as a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group, focusing on Digital Transformation and Strategy for Telecommunications, Industrial goods and Retail clients. During his tenure at BCG he also spent time at BCG Gamma working as a Sr. Data Scientist, as well as Digital Ventures as a Sr. Venture Architect. Alex holds a B.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal, where he worked on several research projects, including nanotechnologies and prosthetics.

Hemanth is an Associate at Diagram Ventures. Prior to joining Diagram, Hemanth led a research project at the World Economic Forum exploring the impact of emerging technologies on the global financial services industry. Hemanth also previously worked at Monitor Deloitte, focused on growth strategy projects for banking, insurance, and wealth management clients. Hemanth received his BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University (Dean's Honour List).

Bérangère Barbe is a Partner at Sagard SAS. As a member of the investment team, she plays an active role in originating and executing deals, as well as in tracking investment performance. Prior to joining Sagard, Bérangère was a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she spent nine years, Bérangère began working in the Audit Department before moving on to the Transaction Services Department, where she performed buyer and seller due diligence, and was involved in various acquisition projects for large corporations in France and abroad. Bérangère is a chartered accountant with DECF and DESCF degrees and holds an MBA from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC).

Rik Battey is a Partner at Sagard SAS. He plays an active role in originating and executing deals, as well as in tracking investment performance. Rik is also responsible for investor relations in joint collaboration with Mariane Le Bourdiec, General Secretary of Sagard SAS. Prior to joining Sagard, Rik was a Director in the Transaction Services Department at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he spent 11 years. There, he worked on a long series of complex international transactions, many of them large LBO deals in Europe. He holds a BSc in European Business Studies from Swansea University (United Kingdom) and is a UK Chartered Accountant.

Maxime Baudry is a Partner at Sagard SAS. As a member of the investment team, he plays an active role in originating and executing deals, as well as in tracking investment performance. Maxime started his career at McKinsey & Company in 2008, first as an Analyst, then as an Associate and Engagement Manager at the Paris office. He primarily served clients in the consumer goods and telecommunications industries, dealing mainly with marketing and strategy issues. Prior to joining McKinsey, his first job experience was in private equity at Goldman Sachs in London. He holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School, Paris, under the Grande École programme.

Antoine Ernoult-Dairaine is a Partner at Sagard SAS where he is responsible for originating and executing a wide range of investments and tracking their performance. Antoine began his career at CCF’s M&A Department in Milan, then relocated to Paris. In 1997, he joined the Salomon Brothers M&A Department in London, before moving on in 2000 to Goldman Sachs’ M&A Department in London, then in Paris. He holds an MBA from École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP).

Agnès Huyghues Despointes is a Partner at Sagard SAS. As a member of the investment team, she plays an active role in originating and executing deals, as well as in tracking investment performance. Agnès began her career at KPMG in the Transaction Services division, then joined the M&A department of Deutsche Bank as an analyst. She was involved in a large number of deals on behalf of private equity funds and corporate clients. She holds an MBA from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) Paris.

Charlotte Kitabgi is an Investment Director at Sagard SAS. Prior to joining Sagard SAS, Charlotte was a Senior Associate at Bridgepoint where she worked primarily on the acquisition and performance monitoring of Médipôle Partenaires, Balt Extrusion and Calypso. She began as an Analyst in the Large Cap Mergers & Acquisitions team at Rothschild in 2011. She is a graduate of Columbia University (New York), Sciences Po (Paris) and the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Mariane Le Bourdiec is a Managing Director at Sagard SAS. She is in charge of the firm’s finances, risk management, administration and also manages investor relations in joint collaboration with Rik Battey, a Sagard Partner. Mariane began her career with Andersen in Paris, where over 15 years she held a variety of positions, including Audit Director and Deputy Corporate Secretary for Andersen France. During this period, she led a number of international projects to reorganise the group’s infrastructure, and was responsible for the operational management of the administrative and financial departments at Andersen France. She holds an MBA from École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP).

Jocelyn Lefebvre is the Founding Partner of Sagard SAS. He began his career in 1980 at Arthur Andersen in Montreal and later in Europe. In 1986, he joined the Canadian manufacturing group MIL, holding a number of senior executive positions while also serving as CEO of Vickers Inc., one of the group’s main subsidiaries. In 1992, he became the Power Corporation of Canada’s representative in Europe and took part in the financial and business restructuring of Pargesa, a holding company that currently owns interests in Imerys, Adidas, LafargeHolcim, SGS, Pernod Ricard, Umicore, GEA, Ontex and Parques Reunidos. Jocelyn sits on the boards of Pargesa (Switzerland), Groupe Bruxelles Lambert – GBL (Belgium), Parjointco N.V. (the Netherlands) and Stokomani (France).

Saïk Paugam is a Partner at Sagard SAS. He plays an active role in originating and executing deals, as well as in tracking investment performance and managing divestments. Saïk began his career at Morgan Stanley, working first as an Analyst and then as an Associate in the M&A Department. He participated in a number of divestments by large French companies, particularly as part of transactions involving private equity funds and manufacturing corporations. He holds an MBA from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Paris.

Augustin Perrin is an Associate at Sagard SAS. He started his career in 2017 at Morgan Stanley as an Investment Banking Analyst in Paris. He has been involved in several M&A and capital markets transactions for French corporates and private equity funds, notably in the telco, healthcare, real estate and business services sectors. He graduated from HEC Paris with an MSc. in Management (Programme Grande École).

Jérôme Triebel is an Investment Director at Sagard SAS. Jérôme started his career at McKinsey & Company in 2012, first as an Analyst, then as Associate and Junior Engagement Manager in the Paris office. He primarily served clients in the telecoms and manufacturing sectors, advising them on growth strategy and operational optimisation issues. He holds an MBA from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) Paris under the Grande École programme, a masters in history and an undergraduate degree in econometrics from the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne.

Eugene Dayanghirang is a Principal at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Prior to this role, Eugene was an Associate at Riverside Partners, where he focused on private equity investments in healthcare and technology. Previously, he was a Strategy Associate at American Securities' Resources Group, where he conducted business and market due diligence on platform investments, and helped portfolio companies develop and execute their strategies. Eugene started his career with McKinsey & Company, serving clients in the pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer goods industries.

Eugene holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Philosophy and Economics from Wesleyan University.

Melissa Gasser is a Principal at Sagard Holdings and also serves as a Principal at Portag3 Ventures based in Montreal. Prior to this role, she worked as a Senior Analyst in the Financial Services group at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), where she provided in-depth research and investment analysis to the Global and Canadian equity portfolio managers and additional support to the Private Equity and Fixed Income teams.

Melissa earned a BComm in Finance and Economics from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.

Jeff Johnson is a Partner at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Jeff is active across Sagard's public and private investments and is a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to this role, he was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Evercore Asset Management, where he invested across a range of sectors. Before that, Jeff was a Portfolio Manager and Analyst at Citigroup Asset Management where he was responsible for consumer and healthcare investments. He began his career at strategy consulting firm Braxton Associates.

Jeff serves on the board of Peak Achievement Athletics and previously served on the board of Vein Clinics of America.

Jeff holds an MBA in Finance, with Distinction, from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in History, Cum Laude, from Dartmouth College.

Marie-Eve is Head of Talent at Diagram since August 2016 and runs all recruiting, talent and culture at Diagram and its current portfolio companies and advises and supports selected Portag3 Ventures portfolio companies and Sagard Holdings. She has over 10 years of experience with high growth technology companies in financial, insurance, travel and retail sectors. Before Diagram she was Principal Recruitment Consultant at ACCEO Solutions, a leader in banking, accounting, and business software, SaaS solutions, and cloud computing. Previously she was at Kelly Services, a global leading staffing company where she leveraged her education background in technology to build up an information technology recruiting service in Quebec, servicing major insurance, banking and engineering organizations.

Marie-Eve is an expert in technology recruitment, in employer branding and recruiting tools. She has hosted conferences and given training to recruiters at both startups and some of the largest banks and companies in Canada. She is an advisor to the first recruiting school in Montreal and a talent mentor for NextCanada. She holds a bachelor in Computer Science.

Brendan Callaghan is a Senior Sales Principal at Portag3 Ventures, and is based in Toronto. There, he is responsible for helping our portfolio companies build their inside sales capabilities and be helping develop/coach sales teams to be more scalable.

Before joining Portag3, Brendan has had a career working with some of Toronto’s most notable start up’s Honeycomb Worldwide, Varicent Software, Field ID, and Leonardo. Brendan’s last role before joining Portag3 was as the Global Sales leader for OrangeHRM where he was responsible for all aspects of sales for the company.

Brendan is accustomed to starting a sales team from scratch or taking over an existing team and bringing in process and accountability within the sales organization. Brendan is also a former Co-President of the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals and an admitted Sales Geek.

Brendan graduated with a BA in Honours Business studies at the University of Huddersfield.

Kris Hansen has over 20 years of experience in providing technology solutions for the financial services industry. Throughout his career, he has led teams in architecture design, executed successful core banking transformation projects, and designed and developed commercial software. Recognized as a visionary in the industry, Kris has helped organizations develop innovative solutions that tackle today’s issues while strengthening them for the challenges ahead.

He is the former chief architect at ATB Financial and former head of solution architect at the Royal Bank of Canada. He began his career as a system administrator and software developer, started one of the first internet provider companies in Canada and built a successful software services company in the Hawaiian Islands.

Kris has received a Master of Business Administration and an undergraduate degree in applied studies from Athabasca University.

Joseph Lau is the Chief Information Security Officer at Portag3 Ventures. Prior to this role, Joseph was the Head of Critical Infrastructure Partnerships at the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security where he oversaw the declassification and transfer of cyber defence technology from government to large financial services enterprises in Canada and helped to manage a team of cyber security advisors who supported the telecommunications, finance, energy and transportation sectors. Before the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Joseph spent time in Doha Qatar with Global Risk Advisors where he was the Director of Cyber Security. His prior experience includes a long history of service as part of Canada's Communications Security Establishment where he spent fifteen years in progressive roles at the intersection of technology and security.

Jonathan Metrick is the Chief Growth Officer at Portag3 Ventures, and is based in Toronto. Prior to this role, Jonathan was the CMO of Policygenius, America’s leading insuretech marketplace.

Previously, Jonathan led marketing at Hult International Business School in London, building out their global marketing teams, and has marketing experience across entertainment (Live Nation), luxury goods (Tiffany & Co) and retail (Diesel). Jonathan began his marketing career at Procter & Gamble in Toronto. He is also the board chair for the Canadian Climate Challenge.

Jonathan holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce with distinction from Queen’s University.

Arianne is a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Diagram Ventures, and is based in Montreal. Prior to joining Diagram, Arianne previously worked as a Recruitment Consultant at Fuze HR Solutions, a national staffing agency; and as a Recruitment Coordinator at RBC Royal Bank of Canada. Arianne holds a Bachelor’s Degree with a Specialization in Psychology from Concordia University.

Max Cervelli is a Fund Accountant at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Prior to Sagard, Max worked in Deloitte's audit and assurance practice focusing on integrated audits for Financial Service entities.

Max earned a BS in Accounting at The College of New Jersey and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Veronica is an Executive Assistant at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Veronica has over 25 years of experience in managerial and administrative roles, among them: Office Manager of The Wellness Center of NY, C-Level Executive Assistant and Executive Director at Wachtel & Masyr LLP, Legal Assistant at Kubicki Draper (Miami). She is also a professional actor and is fluent and literate in Spanish (her first language) and currently learning French.

Djiffa Dogbé is Legal Counsel at Sagard Holdings, and is based in Montreal. He also serves as Legal Counsel of Portag3 Ventures. Before joining in 2018, Djiffa was an Associate in the Corporate / M&A practice group at Stikeman Elliott LLP where his practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and project finance, with a particular focus on cross-border transactions.

Djiffa holds law degrees in Civil Law (B.C.L.) and Common Law (LL.B.) from McGill University, and is a member of the Quebec.

David Fraser is the Director of Corporate Finance at Sagard Holdings. Before joining in 2019, David Fraser was at Brookfield Asset Management where he designed, planned, and launched private fund products across the global asset management business. Previously, David was at PwC where he audited numerous asset managers and investment funds.

David earned his HBA from Ivey Business School at Western University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Sacha Haque is Partner, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Secretary at Sagard Holdings, and is based in Montreal. She also serves as Partner, General Counsel & Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer of Portag3 Ventures. Before joining in 2017, Sacha spent over nine years with Power Corporation of Canada and Power Financial Corporation, where she most recently served as Assistant General Counsel & Assistant Secretary. Prior to Power, Sacha was an Associate in Corporate / M&A at Dentons LLP, a global law firm.

Sacha holds Civil Law (LL.L) and Common Law (LL.B) degrees from the University of Ottawa, and is a member of the bar in Ontario and Quebec.

Leslie Hill is a Principal, Investor Relations at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Prior to this role, she was a Director at Optima Fund Management, an alternative asset manager, where she managed the firm’s U.S. long/short equity portfolios. As a voting investment committee member, she also facilitated the firm’s investment dialogue with its diversified client base.

Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government, cum laude, from Harvard College.

Amer is the Vice-President of Finance at Sagard Holdings. Prior to joining Sagard, Amer served as the Vice-President of Finance at Tangerine Bank (formerly ING Bank of Canada) and as the Chief Financial Officer of Tangerine Investment Management Inc. and Tangerine Investment Funds Limited. Amer is an alumni of KPMG and graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor of commerce degree with a specialization in accounting and a major in economics.

Stephan Klee is a Partner and the Chief Financial Officer at Sagard Holdings. He also serves as Chief Financial Officer of Portag3 Ventures. Previously, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for SoFi’s Banking Division, which was created through the merger of Zenbanx Holding and SoFi, a strategic transaction between two of the world’s leading Fintech companies. Stephan was instrumental in architecting and completing this business combination.

Stephan holds a Bachelor’s degree in business from Wilfrid Laurier University and earned his Masters of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Jim Schmiedel is a Corporate Controller at Sagard Holdings, and is based in New York. Prior to this role, he served as Corporate Controller at Aetos Capital Real Estate.

He earned a BS in Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting from American University in Washington, DC.

Junaid is Senior Legal Counsel at Sagard Holdings and also serves as Senior Legal Counsel at Portag3 Ventures. Before joining in 2019, Junaid served as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary at CoPower Inc., a start-up asset manager. Prior to CoPower, Junaid advised on a variety of corporate and securities law matters, including public and private offerings, M&A, corporate governance and securities regulatory compliance for a wide range of market participants at the Toronto offices of Stikeman Elliott LLP. Junaid began his career in the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital group of a prominent New York-based law firm.

Junaid is called to the bars of Ontario and New York and holds degrees in common law and civil law from McGill University and an undergraduate degree in microbiology, immunology and finance from McGill University. Junaid was honoured as the “Young Lawyer of the Year 2016” by Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers.

Martin joined Portag3 Ventures as Senior Controller with more than 20 years of experience in asset management. He most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer at a real estate fund manager as well as Head of Finance at an alternative investment manager in the institutional Fund of Hedge Funds space. Martin’s previous work experience includes working as a manager at Citco Fund Services both in Canada as well as in Europe as well as key internal control roles in corporate finance.

Martin is a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) and holds his Bachelor's degree from Concordia University in Montreal.

Karel Vuong is an Associate at Sagard Holdings based in Toronto. Prior to joining Sagard, he served as the General Manager and first employee at Diagram where he established a new $30M fintech-focused fund and venture builder. Karel began his career as a software developer and product manager in Toronto, Waterloo, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Karel studied Computer Science at the University of Toronto - Trinity College.