In the 1st round of the Competition, one team from each school consisting of two to three students submits a maximum ten page (plus necessary exhibits) research report to the competition managers in late January of the year of the Competition. The research report is of a single stock from a pre-determined list of value stocks that is shared with participating schools ten days prior to the submission deadline. 1st round judges include the following industry professionals:
Principal, Framework Venture Partners, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mr. Gopal is a founding Principal of Framework Venture Partners. Based in Toronto, Ajay joined to the firm with close to a decade of prior investing and capital markets experience. Ajay’s responsibilities include deal sourcing, due diligence and assisting portfolio companies with operational and strategic initiatives. As an entrepreneur, Ajay is a partner of a healthcare services company currently in operation in Toronto. Ajay currently serves as a Board Observer of both FlipGive and Daisy Intelligence, two Toronto based technology companies. Ajay's original interest in value investing and being a contrarian to the market was originally ignited by his time at a distressed private equity fund in New York. Ajay holds a MBA from the Ivey Business School in London, Ontario, Canada, a BSc Electrical Engineering and a BA (Hons) Major in Economics both from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Ajay is also a CFA charterholder.
CFO, Artisanal Gold Royalties, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Mr. Gryba is a professional engineer and geologist registered in British Columbia. He completed his degree in Geological Engineering from the University of British Colombia in 2002 and began his career in the natural resources sector as an engineering consultant. Upon reading Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor” and achieving considerable success applying value principles for personal investments, Mr. Gryba decided to supplement his engineering background with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business. Mr. Gryba began his finance career with BMO Capital Markets conducting equity research of mining companies in the precious metals sector. Post BMO, Mr. Gryba was an Associate Portfolio Manager at BCI. Mr. Gryba is currently a Director of Winter Harbour Capital Corp and the CFO of Artisanal Gold Royalties.
Portfolio Manager, Bristol Gate Capital Partners, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mr. Taxildaris earned a BA in Economics from Democritus University of Thrace in Greece. After his graduation he fulfilled his one-year military obligations at the Hellenic Air force. Then he moved to Germany to work at Lingohr & Partner Asset Management GmbH in Düsseldorf for 2 years as an Assistant Portfolio Manager. Afterwards, having heard about the Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing, he decided to pursue an MBA at the Ivey Business School. Upon graduation, he was involved as an Analyst with the Ivey Value fund and in 2013 joined Morningstar, Inc. as Manager Research Analyst. Achilleas joined Bristol Gate Capital Partners in 2017 as an Investment Analyst and in 2018 was promoted to Portfolio Manager. Through this time he remained involved with the Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing. He is a CFA charterholder and speaks fluently Greek, English and German.
Director, High Yield Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mr. Vergara is a 2013 graduate, with distinction, of the MBA program at the Ivey Business School at Western University located in London, Ontario, Canada. Edgar is currently working in the High Yield Capital Markets group at RBC Capital Markets, focused on structuring and originating Canadian dollar high yield credit. Prior to attending Ivey, Edgar was a Portfolio Manager at Stanton Asset Management, responsible for North American high yield and Canadian convertible debt. Edgar also holds a Bachelor of Commerce (with distinction) from Concordia University and is a Level III CFA Candidate.
AVP Portfolio Manager, Mackenzie Investments, Toronto Ontario, Canada
Ms. Zabielska is an AVP Portfolio Manager on the Mackenzie Ivy Team. Her primary responsibilities are to contribute to the fundamental research, security selection and portfolio construction of Ivy’s Canadian focused mandates. Prior to joining Mackenzie Investments Marlena spent 9 years as a Portfolio Manager and a senior member of the investment team overseeing $3 billion in long-only equity assets at Sionna Investment Managers Inc. Marlena has an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and is a CFA Charterholder.