IMPACT INVESTMENT TEAM IN CANADA
Staff and advisorS
Senior Leadership Team
Upkar Arora, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D
Chief Executive Officer
Kelly Gauthier, MBA
President
Marc Foran, MBA, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
Portfolio Management and Client Support
At Rally, we focus on delivering a comprehensive suite of services to our asset management and advisory clients, including portfolio management, impact analysis, research and consulting.
Serkan Altay, CFA
Portfolio Manager, Public Investments
Karolina Iaydjieva, CFA, CAIA
Portfolio Manager, Custom Impact Portfolios
Chelsea Longaphy, CIM
Portfolio Manager, Custom Impact Portfolios
Ammara Shirazi, MBA
Head, Private Investment Research
Laurel Sabur, MSc
Manager, Private Investment Research
Nikki Kwan
Senior Associate
Laurel Dao
Associate, Public Equities Research
Sahil Arora
Associate, Research
Operational Support
Monika Anand
Portfolio Administrator, Custom Impact Portfolios
Marian Carroll
Manager, Operations and Compliance
Ben Rabinovitch, MBA
Manager, Business Development
Estelle Taylor
Head, Reporting and Communications
Interns
As part of our commitment to supporting a diverse, strong impact investing sector, we regularly host interns.
Spring 2023: William Lloyd, Research Intern. William, undertaking a Bachelor’s of Arts in History and Peace, Conflict, & Justice Studies at the University of Toronto, is examining:
- The opportunities and challenges around investing in support to SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Rally’s approach to investing for systems change
Our Advisors
Our advisors augment the work of the board. This group of respected impact investing advisors and champions are committed to helping our clients get the most out of their investments.

Alexandra Baillie
- President, Good & Well
- Co-Chair of the Board of Canadian Stage
- Vice Chair of the Art Canada Institute.
- Degrees from Queen’s University, Yale University, and Harvard Business School

Bernie Li
- Partner, Antler Canada
- Co-Founder, PURE Energies (acquired by NRG Energy)
- Advisor and Investor, Flow Water
- Advisor and Investor, Vizetto
- Investment Committee Member, The Atmospheric Fund
- Past Board Member and Treasurer, Centre for Social Innovation

Bill Young
- Founder and President, Social Capital Partners
- CEO, Hamilton Computers
- Chairman and CEO, Optel Communications
- MBA, Harvard Business School
- Member of the Order of Canada

Bruce Shewfelt
- President, Acuity Sales Inc.
- Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, Clariti Strategic Advisors Inc.
- 30+ years of sales and leadership roles in the institutional asset management and financial services space
- Board Member, Covenant House Toronto (Chair, Fundraising & Development)
- Volunteer Advisor, MaRS Discovery District

Christie Stephenson
- Executive Director, Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, UBC Sauder School of Business
- Board Member, UBC Staff Pension Plan
- Board Member, Vancity financial cooperative
- Past Manager, ESG Evaluation & Research, NEI Investments

Ken McKinnon
- Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Corporate Banking at TD Securities
- Experienced in originating, arranging and syndicating large debt transactions and project financings
- Lead on TD Securities’ Black Experience Committee
- Board Member, Fred Victor

Komal Bhasin
- Founder, Insayva Inc.
- Equity, diversity, inclusion and workplace mental health strategist, speaker, and certified coach, with a particular concentration in mental health and racial inclusion
- Over 20 years of experience in public policy, strategic planning and senior management
- Board member, Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario

Michael Sacke
- 20+ years of financial services experience, advising nonprofit organizations and charities to develop alternative funding strategies to create long-term sustainability

Nicholas Parker
- Chairman, Parker Venture Management
- Board Chairman, Drashta Ventures
- Advisory Committee Member, GRE&T Centre, Alectra
- Co-Chairman, Centre for Mindfulness Studies
- Distinguished Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Nilofer Ahmed
- Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Insights at Motif FoodWorks, a food technology company focused on plant-based food solutions
- Past Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group
- Co-founder of Fire Ox Foods, plant-based frozen food company
- Mentor with EverQuote’s inaugural leadership development program
- Big Sister with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program

Sarah Doyle
- Chief of Staff to the Director of UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
- Past Director of Policy and Research at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship
- Past Senior Policy Advisor, MaRS Discovery District
- Board member, The Neighbourhood Group

Upkar Arora, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
As CEO, Upkar is responsible for setting the overall direction, strategy and vision of Rally, and nurturing the right culture, environment and values to enable our people to flourish and deliver 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 (debt, equity and hybrid) in the public and private markets.
Upkar is an FCPA, FCA and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Upkar serves or has served on the boards of several organizations such as Vancity Community Investment Bank, University of Waterloo and Metrolinx. He is a BMW Foundation Global Responsible Leader and also teaches at the University of Waterloo.

Kelly Gauthier, MBA
President
As President, Kelly runs Rally. She is responsible for Rally’s day-to-day operations and client relationships. She leads the team and manages the business to enable Rally to grow. Kelly anchors Rally’s impact thought leadership both internally and externally.
For two decades she has helped clients create impactful portfolios. She has worked with a range of asset owners to design and implement their approach to responsible and impact investing, strategically aligning their investment and portfolio strategies with positive outcomes for people and the planet. Before joining Rally in 2012, Kelly was with Mercer in the responsible investing team. Kelly is a board member of the Responsible Investment Association and an Investment Committee member for SheEO’s Venture.Fund.
“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 Foran, MBA, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
Marc is responsible for Rally’s investment management services. He leads Rally’s multi-asset portfolio strategies and investments and is portfolio manager of the 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, 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.”

Marian Carroll
Manager, Operations and Compliance
Marian ensures Rally is operating in compliance with all relevant regulations. Marian has two decades of experience in the Canadian wealth management industry. Her experience includes providing investment management and investment consulting services to private and institutional clients and acting as the Chief Compliance Officer of Portfolio Manager and Exempt Market Dealer firms. She has worked at Royal Bank of Canada and The Toronto-Dominion Bank as well as Bull Capital Management Inc. and Ernst & Young Investment Advisers Inc.
“Rally Assets is dedicated to positive change and doing the right thing. What a treat to be part of it!”

Karolina Iaydjieva, CFA, CAIA
Portfolio Manager, Custom Impact Portfolios
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: BCom Honours in Investment Management, McGill University; CFA Charterholder; CAIA Charterholder; SASB FSA credential holder
Impact Outside Work: Chapter Leader, Toronto Chapter, Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy

Nikki Kwan
Senior Associate, Client Services
Nikki supports client engagements with Rally’s asset management and advisory clients. Nikki has experience in Asian and Canadian social finance spaces, working with various social ventures and social finance intermediaries, such as the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network and VERGE Capital.
Credentials: HBA, Ivey Business School, Western University
Impact Outside Work: Advisor, London Social Value Fund

Chelsea Longaphy, CIM
Portfolio Manager, Custom Impact Portfolios
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: BCom, McGill University; Chartered Investment Manager (CIM); Sustainable Investment Professional Certificate (SIPC)
Impact Outside Work: Board member, Greenest City

Ben Rabinovitch, MBA
Manager, Business Development
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 and BSc Conservation Biology, University of Guelph
Impact Outside Work: Board member, Cecil Community Centre; Investment Committee member, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO.

Laurel Sabur, MSc
Manager, Private Investment Research
Laurel undertakes private investment research, including sourcing new opportunities and conducting due diligence. Her work helps ensure Rally has a large pipeline of impact investments for clients to consider. Laurel has an interdisciplinary background, with a decade spent in financial services, corporate social responsibility and community development. Her experience includes investment research, liquidity analytics and portfolio management support for asset managers. She has worked with governments, nonprofits and corporations in Canada, Jamaica, Ghana and Kenya. She is also a social entrepreneur.
Credentials: MSc, Applied Mathematics (Finance); BSc, Actuarial Science; Community Economic Development Certificate.
Impact Outside Work: Laurel provides pro bono strategic support to Africa Centre, a pan-African non-profit organization in western Canada.
“Life is filled with many choices; a choice that has a win win for our planet and all inhabitants is a choice worth making. Investing with intentional impact repairs and sustains the beauty of our planet and the conditions required to support future generations.”

Ammara Shirazi, MBA
Head, Private Investment Research
Ammara leads private investment research, including sourcing new opportunities and conducting due diligence. Prior to joining Rally, Ammara was an Investment Analyst with the Transition to Scale team at Grand Challenges Canada and was involved in all aspects of the investment process. Before making the switch to impact investing, Ammara spent five years working at Canadian financial institutions.
Credentials: MBA, Schulich School of Business, York University
Impact Outside Work: Board member, Access Community Capital Fund
“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 Taylor
Head, Reporting and Communications
Estelle is responsible for our public communications, 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 25-year career strengthening values-based organizations, in the environmental, international development and social services fields.
Impact outside Work: Chair, Withrow Park Farmers’ Market
“My Rally teammates are demonstrating how we all can invest in alignment with our values, and so create large positive impact. I love sharing their work and communicating that message.”

Serkan Altay, CFA
Portfolio Manager, Public Investments
Serkan is a Portfolio Manager for Rally’s public investments and is responsible for investment research, strategy development, and idea generation in addition to portfolio management duties across all our public investment mandates. Serkan has 15 years of investment experience with asset management firms both overseas and in Canada, where he was an Associate Portfolio Manager at BCI. Serkan was most recently the Director of Investments for Victoria Foundation where he was responsible for managing the primary endowment portfolio and played a lead role in launching the foundation’s impact investing strategy.
Credentials: BCom Honours in Finance from Concordia University; CFA Charterholder
After having the chance to work with Rally Assets on the client side, I was impressed with the team’s investment process and commitment to furthering the impact investing ecosystem in Canada. I am excited to join a diverse group of individuals aiming to help clients use their capital to create positive social and environmental impact while generating a financial return.

Sahil Arora
Research Associate
Sahil undertakes policy and market research for various clients and Rally teams. He has experience in the Canadian impact space, working with various social enterprises and international development organizations such as the World University Service of Canada and Agova.
Credentials: Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management, Carleton University
Impact Outside Work: Board Member, Shukrana Foundation

Laurel Dao
Public Equities Research Associate
Laurel supports our investment team, researching public investments, analysing financial information and identifying investment opportunities that fit into our impact themes. Laurel’s experience includes working on emerging markets and Canadian equities mandates at BCI and Fiera Capital.
Credentials: BBA in Finance from Simon Fraser University

Monika Anand
Portfolio Administrator, Custom Impact Portfolio
Monika helps the Impact Portfolio Managers with client service and administration. She joined Rally in 2023, with seven years of experience working in the Canadian wealth management industry at a big bank as well as an independent asset management firm. Having had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of HNW retail and institutional clients in the public markets, she is excited to join the impact investing space and work with Rally’s clients.
Credentials: BSc. in Biotechnology from the 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.”