Our guest today is at that intersection of public and private partnerships here in Ontario, Canada. Brenda Hogan is the CIO of Venture Ontario, a $205M joint initiative between the Government of Ontario and leading institutional investors to invest primarily in Ontario-based and focused venture capital and growth equity funds that support innovative and high-growth companies.
About Brenda Hogan
Brenda M. Hogan is the Chief Investment Officer at the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC) and has over 15 years of experience in strategy and execution in venture capital at the co-investment, fund of funds, and fund level investing.
Brenda has held senior roles in corporate development, finance, and strategic investing with Bell Canada, EY, the Business Development Bank of Canada, and a software start-up. Brenda sits on the Board of the Canadian Venture Capital Association and Chairs the Membership Committee; served as Co-Chair of Canadian Women in Private Equity (CWPE); serves with the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) as a member of the Content Committee; and served three terms on the Board of Women in Capital Markets, serving as Chair of the Governance Committee. She also served on the Board of Governors at Dalhousie University and Chaired the Finance, Audit, Investment, and Risk Committee. Brenda holds an MBA in finance.
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In this episode we discuss:
03:00 Brenda’s journey to becoming an LP
04:59 What it was like navigating corporate culture at one of the oldest companies in North America
06:29 What Venture Ontario is and how it works
08:02 How Venture Ontario Sources it’s deals
11:39 Working with emerging managers with limited track record
12:30 What makes a good fund manager
15:16 Red flags from managers to LPs
18:20 Positive signals managers can send to prospective LPs
20:49 How Brenda focuses on becoming a better LP and adding value
23:54 Investing in 2022
26:04 The Canadian Investing scene
27:57 Risks and rewards she is underwriting for in 2022
32:23 Investment categories Brenda is excited about
33:54 Strategies to mitigate risk in new commitments
36:04 Best career advice she’s recieved
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