As the founder and CEO, Upkar is responsible for the overall strategy and vision of Rally, and nurturing the right culture to enable our people to flourish and deliver systems-changing impact, in alignment with our mission.

Upkar brings sophisticated expertise in business, capital markets and finance from working with companies of all sizes, at different stages, sectors and geographies. Over the past 35 years, he has been active in investing, financing, operating and advising companies, using innovative investment structures in the public and private markets. Over his career, he has worked directly with some of Canada’s most successful and well-known families and philanthropists.

Upkar is an FCPA, FCA and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Upkar has extensive governance experience, having served on the boards of organizations such as Meridian Credit Union, Vancity Community Investment Bank, University of Waterloo and Metrolinx. He is a BMW Foundation Global Responsible Leader and an adjunct lecturer at the University of Waterloo.

Kelly Gauthier is the President of Rally Assets. As the driving force behind one of Canada’s fastest-growing firms, Kelly sets the strategic direction, leads the team, and ensures Rally delivers on its work to align clients’ capital with purpose. Her leadership is shaping the future of impact investing in Canada.

With over 20 years of investment experience, Kelly has advised a wide range of clients — including private wealth, foundations, family offices, institutional investors and Indigenous trusts — on building portfolios that achieve social and environmental outcomes without compromising financial performance. She has worked in impact investing since its earliest days in Canada and has played a pivotal role in developing the market—unlocking the flow of capital from the supply side to the demand side. This depth of experience gives her deeply valuable insight into the evolving impact investing sector.

Under her leadership, Rally has become known for its rigor, innovation and results. Rally has been recognized as an IA50 Manager (2025), one of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business (2024), a Top 25 Real Leader (2022, 2023, 2024), a Great Place to Work (2024) and a Certified B Corp. Kelly also led Rally’s successful bid to become one of the federal Social Finance Fund wholesalers, securing its position as a key player in deploying catalytic capital across the country.

Before joining Rally, Kelly worked at Mercer in the Responsible Investing team. She has served the broader investment sector through her roles on the Investment Committees of the Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds, Coralus’ Venture Fund, and as a former board member of the Responsible Investment Association.

“I know capital markets have the power to solve today’s toughest global challenges. We are out of time and excuses – we must do better for our planet and for ourselves.”

Marc is responsible for Rally’s investment management services. He leads Rally’s multi-asset portfolio strategies and investments and is the portfolio manager of Rally Funds. He ensures our investment process is structured to deliver strong impact and financial performance.

With two decades of experience in the financial services industry, Marc has a diverse background in managing global funds and portfolios consisting of direct and fund investments in public equities, bonds, alternative investment strategies and assets, and private equity investments. Prior to Rally Assets, Marc was a Senior Portfolio Manager with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, responsible for managing the firm’s $1.5 billion Global Thematic Fund.

“I’ve seen first hand the ever-increasing need to make meaningful impact on a global scale. I joined Rally to be a part of a leading, innovative and dedicated team that can effect such change.”

Karolina leads engagements with Rally’s clients, including design, implementation, measurement and management of impact investment mandates. She serves as Portfolio Manager for clients with a Custom Impact Portfolio. Karolina’s previous impact investing experience includes working on the Sustainable Investing team at Addenda Capital, a large institutional asset management firm, as well as being an investment consultant for HNW families with impact investing mandates.

• Credentials: CFA Charterholder; CAIA Charterholder; SASB FSA credential holder; BCom Honours in Investment Management, McGill University
• Impact Outside Work: Chapter Leader, Toronto Chapter, Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy

Chelsea leads engagements with Rally’s clients, including design, implementation, measurement and management of impact investment mandates. She serves as Portfolio Manager for clients with a Custom Impact Portfolio. Before joining Rally in 2017, Chelsea worked as a consultant to help social enterprises leverage impact investing, sold community bonds at the Centre for Social Innovation and worked in ESG investment research at Corporate Knights Capital.

• Credentials: Chartered Investment Manager (CIM); Sustainable Investment Professional Certificate (SIPC); BCom, McGill University
• Impact Outside Work: Board member, Greenest City

Chelsea is on parental leave. 

Ben helps to grow Rally’s business by supporting the team to develop and strengthen relationships with investors, advisors and partners from the financial services and impact investing sectors. Over the last 10 years, Ben has worked across the impact sector in social services, health and environmental organizations, with experience in fundraising, relationship management and operations. Most recently, he led the operations for Canada’s first Social Impact Bond in the healthcare sector.

• Credentials: MBA, Schulich School of Business, York University; BSc, University of Guelph
• Impact Outside Work: Steering Committee Member, Nature Investment Hub; Advisory Committee Chair, YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka

Ammara has been spearheading our investment research since joining us in 2017, focused on centring equity within investment decision-making processes. Having developed extensive outbound origination channels, strong relationships with product issuers and highly refined due diligence skills, she leads her team to source and monitor high-quality deals that enable our clients to place their capital in line with their investment goals. Prior to joining Rally, Ammara worked at Grand Challenges Canada and CIBC.

• Credentials: MBA, Schulich School of Business, York University

“Traditional investing has not contributed to solutions that address pressing social and environmental issues. I joined Rally Assets to help asset owners and asset managers take a holistic approach to moving capital into investments that create a positive impact.” 

Estelle is responsible for our public communications and client reporting, working to ensure we engage key audiences with compelling communications, and therefore grow the impact investing world as well as our place in it. She has spent almost the whole of her 30-year career strengthening values-based organizations, in the environmental, international development and social services fields.

• Credentials: Bachelor of Journalism, Carleton University

“My Rally teammates are demonstrating how we all can invest in alignment with our values, and so create a large, positive impact. I love sharing their work and communicating that message.”

Sahil supports our operations team in building effective systems for business development, fundraising and personnel management.

Impact has been the central focus of Sahil’s career, previously working with Canadian and international social enterprises, development organizations and nonprofits including the World University Service of Canada, Agova and JDRF.

• Credentials: Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management (Development Studies), Carleton University
• Impact Outside Work: Operations Coordinator, Shukrana Foundation

Monika oversees portfolio operations for the Custom Impact Portfolios, Realize Fund I and the Rally Funds. She joined Rally in 2023, bringing seven years of experience in the Canadian wealth management industry. With a diverse background in various operational roles, she is dedicated to developing and refining operational processes for client success.

• Credentials: BSc., University of Toronto

“I joined Rally to do my part in helping expand the impact made with capital. There is a lot of learning and growth needed in this space and I am inspired to join that effort.”

Sila leads the screening and due diligence of private investment opportunities at Rally, and monitors both financial and impact performance across portfolios post-investment. Sila joined Rally’s impact reporting team in 2023 and supported multiple teams and projects before fully transitioning to the research team in 2025. Before Rally, Sila worked with the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, focusing on equity and project finance investments in the energy sector. She has also held roles as a public equity research analyst at Union Bancaire Privée and as a data analyst with the Ecological Footprint Initiative at York University. 

• Credentials: CFA Charterholder. Master in Environmental Studies (MES), York University, Schulich School of Business; MSc in Energy Technologies and Management, Sabanci University; BA in Management, Bogazici University

“Being part of Rally Assets gives me a space to be a part of the solution to address the pressing global problems. I am excited to contribute to the journey of our clients and the wider impact investing ecosystem in Canada with robust impact reporting practices.”

As Head of Impact Management and AI Strategy, Ryan leads Rally’s efforts to strengthen how capital markets deliver measurable sustainability and impact outcomes, advancing the firm’s leadership in rigorous impact performance and responsible AI-enabled transformation.

Ryan leads Rally’s impact management efforts to embed social and environmental performance into investment decision-making, while working across the sector to strengthen impact management practices, promote standards adoption, and help shape the future of impact investing.

In his AI Strategy role, Ryan provides enterprise leadership on the strategic governance and integration of artificial intelligence, ensuring AI advances long-term organizational value, sustainability risk management, and scalable, reportable impact outcomes across Rally’s portfolios and operations.

With over 15 years of experience across business, finance, government, and nonprofits, Ryan brings deep expertise in aligning investment strategies and innovation with positive real-world outcomes. His background as a CPA ensures impact is pursued with the same accountability expected in financial reporting, while his policy and program evaluation expertise strengthens Rally’s ability to assess social and environmental results with rigor.

• Credentials: Chartered Professional Accountant; Master’s Degree in Public Policy, Administration, and Law (with a formal focus on policy and program evaluation), York University.

Lars is the Portfolio Manager for Realize Fund I, our mandate under the Social Finance Fund. Lars is responsible for private investment research, portfolio construction and strategy and portfolio management across this private market fund.

Lars brings over a decade of experience to this role from both the demand and supply sides of the impact investing market. He’s built products and raised meaningful capital, and also been an investor allocating and deploying capital. Lars was most recently an Impact Investment Manager at Vancity, where he was responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of investments in Canadian impact-focused funds.

• Credentials: CFA Charterholder; BA Honours in Environment, Sustainability, and Society and Political Science,  Dalhousie University; Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation, University of Waterloo

“I am excited by the potential of Realize Fund I, and Rally’s work as a whole, to contribute to a vibrant Canadian sector delivering more socially just and environmentally sustainable outcomes for communities across the country.”

Alexandra leads engagements with Rally’s clients, including design, implementation, measurement, and management of impact investment mandates. She serves as Portfolio Manager for clients with a Custom Impact Portfolio. Alexandra brings over two decades of investing experience in private equity and leverage finance, working at leading banking and non-banking financial institutions as well as being a consultant to small and medium-sized organizations to find ways to become more impact oriented.

• Credentials: Executive Education, Impact Investing Programme, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; MBA, McMaster University; CFA Charterholder; Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant
• Impact Outside Work: Financial literacy volunteer with CPA Canada; board member, The Tyndale Foundation

Skye helps the private investment research team to source deal flow, conduct due diligence, manage relationships with product issuers and support client engagements. Prior to joining Rally, Skye completed internships within the social innovation and finance space, most notably at InBC Investment Corp.

• Credentials: BBA – Sustainable Business (joint major with concentrations in finance and operations), Simon Fraser University
• Impact Outside work: Young Board Director, Fora’s Rise on Boards Cohort

Johny manages the community investing strategy for Realize Fund I, our mandate under the Social Finance Fund. By building community partnerships and investments he is supporting the development of Canada’s social purpose sector and social finance market.

Over the last 12 years, Johny has worked in emerging economies on topics such as sustainable finance, economic development and climate change adaption and mitigation. Most recently, Johny worked as an investment associate for Grand Challenges Canada and as a senior associate at Convergence Blended Finance.

• Credentials: MBA, INSEAD; Master of Development Studies, University of Melbourne; BBA, University of Dhaka

Sohailia plays a key role in the delivery of IMM programming within the Social Finance Fund, supporting partnership management and leading learning initiatives tailored to Social Finance Fund participants. Internally, she advances our IMM capabilities by implementing cross-functional enhancements and integrating IMM best practices into our investment operations. Prior to joining Rally in 2024, Sohailia was an Oversight Analyst for Morningstar Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings where she contributed to quality assurance and governance of ESG assessments. She brings a diverse portfolio of experience advising Canadian and international organizations on impact-driven strategy and program design. Her experience spans educational programming with an impact focus, gender-lens investment frameworks, social impact measurement and evaluation, and climate resilience strategies.

• Credentials: Master of Global Affairs (Specialization in Global Development), University of Toronto; MA, Western University
• Impact Outside Work: Director of Economy Zero Group, consultant at Openly Inc

“I’m excited to be a part of Rally’s efforts to build capacity around impact measurement and management in the Social Finance Fund. By enhancing these skills, organizations can feel empowered to more accurately assess how they are driving meaningful change for people and the planet and ensure capital is allocated to make a difference where it matters most.”

Kate is dedicated to advancing the practice of IMM among social finance intermediaries and social purpose organizations as part of our market-building work for the Social Finance Fund. She is leading partnerships and designing a comprehensive suite of IMM programming that is responsive and relevant to the variety of contexts across the Canadian impact investing market. Kate has deep experience in the social purpose sector, including more than a decade designing, delivering and measuring social impact programming across a variety of social issues. Prior to joining Rally, Kate was part of the ESG & Corporate Citizenship team at RBC, stewarding community investments for social impact with purpose-driven organizations across Canada and leading a suite of scholarships for equity-deserving youth.

• Credentials: MEd (specialization in the social and cultural contexts of education), Brock University
• Impact Outside Work:
  • Board Member, The Centre for Global Education
  • Mentor, Map the System Canada at Humber College
  • Risk & Audit Committee Member, Students Commission of Canada
  • Intergenerational Council Member, Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo

“At Rally, we are working with a diversity of partners and stakeholders to change capital systems to deliver sustainability, equity and justice for all; and to deliver better outcomes and more impact. Operationalizing systems change means taking on big, bold, exciting and disruptive initiatives like the Social Finance Fund (SFF). It is a privilege to have the opportunity to listen to and learn from people at every level of the capital and impact chain in the SFF, and to work in relationship with them on our IMM programming.”

Tarini supports our portfolio operations, working closely with key stakeholders to build resilient processes and deliver impactful results. She joined Rally in 2024, coming from the Spring Collective as an Investment Associate. Before making the transition to impact investing full time, Tarini was a buyer for large Canadian retailers, leading end-to-end business growth while embedding strategies of social impact within the organization. She also has extensive experience working with nonprofit and community-based organizations.

• Credentials: BA, McGill University (financial economics)
• Impact Outside Work: Business Development Committee Member, Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID)

“My passion lies in bridging the gap between profit and purpose – we cannot have one without the other. Working at Rally allows me to be part of growing the impact investing space at all levels and building a regenerative economy that drives sustainable growth for all.”

Guillermo coordinates and supervises portfolio operations at Rally Assets, which he joined in 2025. With over a decade of experience in financial analysis and 18 months of experience in the impact investing sector, he is committed to optimizing and enhancing operational processes to ensure client success.

• Credentials: MIM, INCAE Business School, MBA, Bentley University, BEng

Katerina helps develop and implement our impact data collection processes in order to produce impact results, visualizations and insights so that clients can understand the impact of portfolios. Katerina joined Rally Assets in 2025, bringing a background in ESG analysis from her previous role at Sustainable Fitch.

• Credentials: BCom – Finance, University of British Columbia

Williams supports the financial, operational and accounting functions at Rally, where he manages bookkeeping, financial planning and payment processing to ensure accurate financial records, timely payments and financial planning, all of which are essential to maintaining our operational integrity and supporting our investment goals. With over five years of experience in multi-entity audit, financial reporting and financial analysis across various sectors, Williams has a strong track record of streamlining financial processes to improve efficiency, reduce risk and strengthen financial decision-making.

• Credentials: Master of Science (Financial Analytics), Trent University; Bachelor of Science (Accounting), Covenant University; Chartered Accountant (ICAN)

Iryna is responsible for providing strategic leadership and oversight across all key elements of finance, operations and compliance to support achievement of our mission, vision and long-term priorities. Her responsibilities include leading financial planning and analysis to support strategic decision-making and organizational growth, developing and implementing financial policies, internal controls and risk management frameworks, ensuring regulatory and industry compliance and managing and mentoring a high-performing finance team to foster operational excellence and continuous improvement. She will also manage relationships with key service providers and vendors that support the operations of the finance, operations and compliance functions.

Iryna brings to Rally over 20 years of finance and compliance experience in the financial industry as CFO of a CIRO registered broker dealer, managing all aspects of financial and regulatory reporting and Senior VP of Compliance at one of Canada’s largest independent asset managers. Prior to that, Iryna held progressively senior roles in finance and compliance in a regulated asset management firm, after having started her career in financial services audit.

“After two decades in capital markets, I wanted to see my expertise drive more than financial returns. Rally offered a unique opportunity to combine skills with purpose, turning capital into meaningful change.”

Jillian works across teams to help develop impact assessments and investor contribution evaluations on investment products and supports initiatives to standardize impact data and benchmark performance. Additionally, she supports the delivery of IMM programming with participants of the Social Finance Fund, building sectoral capacity for data-driven impact management.

Prior to joining Rally in 2025, Jillian spent five years at HelpSeeker Technologies, where she led teams consulting on systems change in housing, mental health and community safety. Her work spanned government, nonprofit, Indigenous and private sectors, driving innovation through data science, community engagement and policy alignment.

• Credentials: Bachelor of Communication – Information Design, from Mount Royal University; Certificate in Systems Thinking Foundations for Service Design, from Franklin University (Switzerland); Certificate, Impact Professionals Program – Impact Investing Stream, from Propel Impact
• Impact Outside Work: Mentor & Judge, Map the System Canada, at Mount Royal University

Samantha manages a portfolio of projects as part of our market-building work for the Social Finance Fund. She is focused on building programming and tools to engage institutional investors on impact investing, as well as exploring new social finance opportunities within the arts sector.

Samantha joined Rally in 2025 as a seasoned project manager, with over 16 years experience working in the sustainable investing industry. Previous roles include VP, ESG Research & Engagement at TD Asset Management, and Executive Director, Global Head of ESG Issuer Communications at MSCI ESG Research. She is committed to supporting impact-first organizations to accelerate change.

• Credentials: MA, Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University; Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute

Sharujan leads our research, due diligence, monitoring and engagement across public equities and fixed income to ensure strong alignment between financial performance and measurable impact outcomes.

With broad experience across Asia and Canada, Sharujan has worked in private and public equity management and impact investment consulting, integrating traditional finance with sustainable investing principles. Prior to joining Rally Assets, Sharujan worked at SVX, helping to strengthen the Canadian impact investing sector.

Credentials: CFA Charterholder, Bachelor of Economics and Finance, The University of Hong Kong
Impact Outside Work: Consulting Project Advisor, Propel Impact

“Public markets represent one of the most powerful levers for systemic change. I’m excited to help channel impact capital into this space and support clients in building resilient, values-aligned portfolios that deliver both purpose and performance.”

Azhar supports the market-building initiatives for Realize Fund I by supporting our partnerships with fund managers, assisting with the investment-readiness of new and emerging fund managers and new product creation within the Canadian impact investing market.

Before joining Rally, Azhar worked as a senior finance and investment analyst at LixCap, a capital advisory and economic development consultancy. He has experience working on donor-funded feasibility studies and technical assistance and financing programs that have supported new product development, SME investment readiness and enabling infrastructure investments in emerging markets. More recently, Azhar has also assisted with market development strategy at a financial technology firm that facilitates small business lending for community lenders in North America.

Credentials:

• MBA, University of British Columbia (with a focus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
• Master, Advanced Management, Yale School of Management (with coursework focusing on Economic Development and Public Policy)