#109. Cedar Leaf Capital (Thursday, October 31, 2024)
What was your best day…of contributing to a cause in your own unique way?
Economic reconciliation is a movement that has grown significantly in Canada over the last several years. It can mean different things to different people, but in short it “strives to achieve economic balance and equality for Indigenous Peoples to redress the fundamental social, political, and financial harm enacted through systematic disempowerment” (from the Vancouver Economic Commission).
An important topic, for sure. But while I was an economist by title, my specialization in sovereign bonds offered no natural point of engagement for most of my career.
My opportunity came in July, when senior representatives from Cedar Leaf Capital reached out to my debt management team (#114, which I had recently returned to as a principal analyst after several years in foreign reserves). Cedar Leaf was poised to become the first majority Indigenous-owned investment dealer in Canada, a significant development. And after follow-up conversations, it became clear it would be a great idea to host them at our institution.
My director and I initially assumed it would be a small thing. We contacted Jawad, my good friend who led our department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, who directed us to the DEI director (Mandy) and Indigenous specialist (Michelle) in HR. From them, we learned this had a lot of potential linkages with our institution’s own initiatives on the reconciliation front.
It ended up becoming much bigger than any of us expected. I volunteered to take the lead in organizing the one-hour event, which would feature: (1) a speech by our executive policy director; (2) an opening and closing by a local Indigenous Elder (featuring a traditional transfer of tobacco); and (3) a thirty-minute fireside chat with the Cedar Leaf CEO Clint Davis and one of his directors Misko, to discuss their business and the broader theme of economic reconciliation.
With Michelle’s help, I spent countless hours educating myself on economic reconciliation and key aspects of Indigenous culture. Working with her and Cedar Leaf, I wrote up a series of well-thought-out panel questions that tried to bring out unique insights at the intersection of reconciliation and financial markets. Meanwhile, Mandy and I took care of the extensive logistics. (A lot more goes into organizing a conference than I could have imagined.)
As the Halloween date of this event approached1, the key remaining question was: who would moderate the panel? As an analyst (albeit a principal one), I initially seemed too junior for the role. But as I was now the most knowledgeable person here on all these diverse topics, my director and his bosses decided it was a no-brainer for me to take on this special responsibility. Assuming I was up for it.
I sure was—and super-excited as well. This was my chance to contribute to Canada’s economy in a way that went beyond my ordinary job responsibilities but was just as (if not more) substantial.
And the session goes as well as it possibly could have. The auditorium is filled to about a hundred: thanks to my director and I pestering everybody in our department to come, plus getting my close friend Aaron Brookbank to promote it to self-identified Indigenous government staff. And they watch Clint, Misko, and I share a highly dynamic and insightful exchange—which, with help from a few instances of deft moderating on my part, we’re able to squeeze seamlessly into the strict thirty-minute timeframe.
Because of all the homework I did and Clint and Misko’s own enthusiasm, we’re able to really elevate this beyond a generic Q&A into something quite informative and, at times, inspiring to everyone in the room. Of particular interest to my colleagues is how our (or any) institution could learn from traditional Indigenous business practices, and how their environment-focused investment approach could go hand-in-hand with global green initiatives.
Things wrap up with lunch with the Cedar Leaf representatives. And as we give our hearty handshakes and depart, I think to myself just how much my role shaped what this event became. Not only by being a natural go-getter and dynamic speaker, but by genuinely caring about adding value to the causes I deal with—even when the cause itself is new to me.
- There must be something about Halloween and proud moments in debt management. Dr. Greenwood’s visit was nine years before to the day (#114).