Leadership

Jean-Guy Desjardins is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Fiera Capital, which he founded in 2003.

After working as a financial analyst and portfolio manager for a life insurance company, Mr. Desjardins co-founded TAL Global Asset Management in 1972 and was its principal shareholder until its purchase by a financial institution in 2001.

Mr. Desjardins is a member of the Board of Directors of the Société de Services Financiers Fonds FMOQ, HEC Montréal, DJM Capital Inc., and the SPACQ Foundation.

Mr. Desjardins also supports a variety of community and social programs, in particular as a member of the Council of Governors of Centraide of Greater Montréal. Additionally, he sits on the Investment Committee of the Canadian Centre for Architecture and on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

Mr. Desjardins graduated from Collège Mont-Saint-Louis in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1969, he earned his L.Sc.Comm. (Finance) from HEC Montréal. Mr. Desjardins is also a CFA Charterholder. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in December 2014 and, in 2015, received the CFA Institute Award for Excellence, the highest and most prestigious distinction bestowed by the CFA Institute.

Jean Michel is Executive Director, President and Chief Investment Officer of Fiera Public Markets. He leads all global public markets activities with a focus on the growth and evolution of Fiera Capital’s public markets investment platform, including equities, fixed income and liquid alternatives. 

Jean joined Fiera in 2022 and has been working in the financial industry for more than 25 years. Prior to Fiera, Jean held the position of Chief Investment Officer at Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) where he established the first investment strategies for the organization and put in place the investment teams in each asset class. Before IMCO, Jean held the position of Executive Vice President, Depositors and Total Portfolio, at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), and prior to CDPQ, he was President of Air Canada Pension Investments. Jean also spent over 12 years in the consulting industry, namely Mercer, where he held various advising positions for national and international clients. 

Jean graduated from Université Laval with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Actuarial Mathematics and a Master of Finance (MFin). He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. 

John Valentini is Executive Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fiera Private Markets. In his role, he oversees Fiera Capital’s private markets platform, which includes real estate core and value-add, real estate financing, infrastructure, agriculture, private equity and private credit. 

John has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive in managing both public and private organizations, including in the area of investment management. Prior to joining Fiera Capital, he held the positions of Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at PSP Investment Inc., Chief Financial Officer at BCE Emergis and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Cognicase Inc., as well as senior positions in Corporate Finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Caisse de depot and placement du Quebec and Ernst & Young. 

John holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Corporate Finance and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University. He is an Advanced Management Program Graduate of Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. John holds the following professional designations: Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) and Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA). He is also a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors. 

Michael Quigley is Global Head of Distribution. In this role, he leads Fiera Capital’s Global Institutional Distribution activities across all investment platforms.  

Michael has a deep understanding of the institutional business environment and an extensive knowledge of both traditional and alternative asset classes. He brings more than 30 years of investment management industry experience having achieved great success with asset management firms of varying sizes in Canada, the United States and Europe, and has developed and established a very strong network with pension plans, foundations, endowments and investment consultants. Under his leadership our teams of professionals focus on advancing the evolution of distribution practices while continuing to enhance the depth, value and sophistication of investor interactions. 

Michael graduated from the University of Sherbrooke with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. 

Peter Stock is Executive Director, President of Fiera Private Wealth. Prior to his June 17, 2020 appointment, Peter was the Executive Vice President of Strategic Development. He has over 38 years of financial services industry experience in the United States, Canada, and South East Asia. Peter has extensive experience with private wealth and institutional clients in the areas of investment management, marketing, sales and client services.

Peter’s earlier experience includes working at TAL Investment Counsel as Managing Director of the Hong Kong office and prior to that as Vice President of Institutional Sales and Marketing in Vancouver, British Columbia.

From 1982 to 1992, Peter worked in New York as a Senior Vice President for Dean Witter Reynolds and Lehman Brothers in Institutional Equity Sales. In 1978, he began his career as an Account Executive with A.E. Ames & Co in Toronto.

Peter graduated with a degree in History and Politics from Trent University, Ontario in 1977.

Lucas Pontillo is Executive Director, Global Chief Financial Officer. As a member of the Global Executive Management Committee, he leads Fiera Capital’s finance function and drives core initiatives to advance the firm’s strategic plan. 

Before joining Fiera Capital, Lucas was Chief Operating Officer for Manulife Asset Management Canada, where he was responsible for delivering on the corporate strategy through leadership and collaboration. Most notably, while CFO of Manulife’s Global Asset Management business, with over $400 billion in AUM, he played a key role in the acquisition of Standard Life Investments Canada, and its subsequent integration, including being a member of the Manuvie Quebec Executive Leadership Team. While based in Hong Kong with Manulife, he served as CFO of the asset management business and investment division across the Asia region.  

Prior to his time at Manulife, Lucas was Senior Underwriting Officer at Chubb Insurance specializing in Representations & Warranties insurance for M&A transactions, Fiduciary and Directors & Officers liability most notably for companies undergoing corporate restructurings, IPO’s and income trust conversions. Lucas began his career with KPMG and was a member of their Financial Institutions & Real Estate practice. 

Lucas is a member of the Board of Directors of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada (PMAC) and co-chairs their Emerging Trends Committee. He is also a Board member of the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto (AST). 

Lucas graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Accounting and Finance. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, a Master of Science in Global Finance (MSGF) jointly awarded by the New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, School of Business and Management. 

Gabriel Castiglio is Executive Director, Global Chief Legal Officer.

Before joining Fiera Capital, Gabriel was a partner at the law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP where he practiced business law for over 15 years, more specifically mergers and acquisitions, securities law and corporate governance.  

Gabriel sits on the Board of Directors of BMTC Group Inc. (TSX: GBT) and is also chair of its investment committee. 

Gabriel earned his law degree from University of Montreal and completed common law studies at Osgoode Hall Law School. He is a member of the Quebec Bar. 

Sebastian Blandizzi is Global Chief Technology and Operations Officer at Fiera Capital and a member of the Global Executive Management Committee. In this role, Sebastian is responsible for overseeing the global operations and technology functions of the firm, including Investment Analytics, Cybersecurity, Data Management, and Client Experience. He leads our Strategic Transformation program, driving regional back office integration and the digital transformation ambitions of the firm.  

Sebastian has more than 20 years of experience in strategic roles related to IT and operations. Prior to joining Fiera Capital, Mr. Blandizzi founded a consulting firm specializing in technological change and organizational transformation strategies with a focus on increasing business efficiency and profitability. Previously, Mr. Blandizzi was CIO, SVP & Head of Global Solutions Delivery for the Investments and Corporate Group Divisions at Manulife Financial, having direct accountability for all global systems and services supporting Manulife’s operations across North America, UK and Asia. One of his noteworthy achievements during his time at Manulife was the creation of LoFT (Lab of Forward Thinking), a globally branded network of development labs focused on driving innovation and accelerated solution delivery. Sebastian also directed Manulife Financial’s enterprise data and analytics strategy and was responsible for aligning the company’s divisions to a common framework and technological infrastructure.

Mr. Blandizzi started his career at State Street, spending over 13 years in various roles and was Vice President and Head of Global Technology Services prior to joining Manulife in 2010.

For almost 30 years, Lyne Lamothe has been an enthusiastic advocate for purpose-driven HR. With a strong focus on the power of engaging communications, she thrives to find a true balance between talent and value creation for businesses. An established executive, she has led many companies through critical times of organizational transformation, including mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Lamothe avidly navigates change management strategies to ensure business growth, while maintaining an exceptional employee culture. Most recently as Chief Talent Officer at Le Cirque du Soleil, she worked within the executive team in charge of closing the sale of the company to the new owners. Previously, as Vice President, Human Capital at La Presse, she led a cultural and organizational transformation enabling the organization to implement a new digital model. Her other work experiences include executive HR positions at Saputo, Liz Claiborn and Nestlé. Ms. Lamothe has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations of the University of Montreal and holds the CRIA designation.