Chris Smith is the founder and CEO of Ohana Real Estate Investors, an investment firm dedicated to the hospitality and residential sectors, where he has invested more than $4B since inception.

He started the firm in 2009 around a contrarian idea: that the operational complexity of higher-end hotels is not a risk to avoid but the opportunity itself.

Katie and Chris talk about why he treats hospitality as real estate first with an operating business on top, what the demand and supply data say about the luxury segment, why he favours resorts over cities, and how Ohana underwrites its exit before it buys.

He also explains what a set of car keys at 16 taught him about earning a re-up.

About our Guest

Chris Smith is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ohana, an investment firm dedicated to the hospitality and residential sectors. He is responsible for all of the firm's business activities and its strategic direction. Under his leadership, Ohana has invested more than $4B across hospitality and residential real estate since inception.

Before founding Ohana, Chris was an Investment Officer at Comprehensive Financial Management (CFM), a leading family office, where he was responsible for the real estate portfolio. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and previously served on the board of directors of Montage International and on several advisory boards for Special Olympics International. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College.

David Wong is Group Chief Investment Officer of CIBC Global Asset Management, where he leads the investment team across Canada and the US for over $398B in assets. As head of Total Investment Solutions, he also oversees more than $100B in managed solutions.

He has more than 27 years of experience, beginning as a research analyst at Russell Investments.

Katie and David talk about where private markets fit inside a bank-owned platform, why Canadian investors remain underexposed to alternatives, the regulatory ceiling that shapes how much can go to privates, and what it takes to earn a re-up at scale.

He also explains the free coffee test — and why performance is only part of what a manager sells.

David Wong is Group Chief Investment Officer of CIBC Global Asset Management, where he oversees the investment team across Canada and the US and sits on the firm's executive leadership team. In that role he leads the management of over $398B in assets spanning managed solutions, fixed income, equities, and alternative investments. As head of the Total Investment Solutions team, he directly oversees the portfolio management of more than $100B in managed solutions, and he is a member of the CIBC Family Office Leadership Team, providing institutional asset allocation advice to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.

David joined CIBC Global Asset Management in July 2011, serving as Managing Director, Investment Management Research and later as Chief Investment Officer, Managing Director and Head of Total Investment Solutions before taking on the group CIO role. He has more than 27 years of industry experience in New York and Toronto; before CIBC, he was a Senior Research Analyst at Russell Investments, covering a broad spectrum of fixed income strategies for institutional and retail clients. David holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University, is a CFA Charterholder, and holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation from the Global Association of Risk Professionals. He serves on the boards of the CIBC Foundation and the Oakville Community Foundation, chairing and co-chairing their respective investment committees.

Anastasia Elia is Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at IMCO — the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario — where she leads the team running its roughly $10B private equity program.

When she joined in 2021, IMCO had inherited a small, fragmented portfolio. Ana and the team built it, largely from scratch, into a multi-client program of that scale in about five years.

Katie and Anastasia talk about pacing deployment through a hard market, why IMCO runs 15 core manager relationships, what a "Mini Maple" gains in the middle market, and what a GP has to show to earn a re-up.

She also explains why she passes on the one-and-done fundraisers everyone chases — if a manager doesn't need a partner, there's no relationship to build.

Listen to The Re-Up at augustadvisors.ca, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Any views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or affiliated organizations. Participation as a guest does not imply any client relationship, endorsement, or future business engagement.

Anastasia Elia is Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at IMCO — the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario — where she leads the private equity team and sets the strategic direction for the asset class, building the portfolio across fund commitments, co-investments, and direct deals, along with the strategic partnerships behind them.

She joined IMCO in 2021 and has more than 15 years of investment experience across public and private markets. Before IMCO, she spent 11 years at CPP Investments, leading deal teams on fund manager evaluation and direct investments and running legal negotiations across growth and buyout opportunities in North America and Europe.

Anastasia holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, a BBA from the University of Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.

The Re-Up is a podcast about the business of raising and allocating capital in private markets — and how that work can be done better. In private markets, a re-up is the decision to recommit to a manager's next fund: the ultimate signal of trust. Each episode is a candid conversation with the LPs, GPs, and advisors who have built exceptional track records — the conversations that usually happen over dinner after the conference, not the ones on stage. Hosted by Katie Fasken, founder of August Advisors, a Toronto-based placement firm connecting exceptional private investment managers with institutional capital.

Elizabeth Bell is Co-Head of Real Estate at Hamilton Lane, where she helps run a $114B real estate program and invests $2.5–3B a year across funds, secondaries, and co-investments.

She has spent about 20 years in real estate private equity, much of it on the GP side before moving to the allocator's seat.

Katie and Elizabeth talk about why institutional investors see today's reset as a chance to buy, the sectors leading and lagging the recovery, and where she sees opportunity, from data centers to necessity-based retail. They also get into the "re-emerging manager" and the discipline it takes to back one.

Her test for a re-up after a hard cycle: not whether everything went right, but how the manager behaved when it didn't.

Elizabeth Bell is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Real Estate on the Real Assets team at Hamilton Lane, where she leads due diligence across primary, secondary, and co-investment opportunities in real estate and sits on the Real Asset Investment Committee. Hamilton Lane's real estate program spans roughly $114B, deploying $2.5–3B a year across funds, secondaries, co-investments, and joint ventures.

She has spent about 20 years in real estate private equity. Before joining Hamilton Lane in 2022, she was a Managing Director at Jaguar Growth Partners, leading Latin American real estate private equity investments. Earlier roles included Investment Manager on Aberdeen Asset Management's Property Multi-Manager team, Vice President at Equity International investing in emerging-markets real estate companies, Associate at JER Partners, and investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank.

Elizabeth holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an A.B. from Princeton University.

The Re-Up is a podcast about the business of raising and allocating capital in private markets — and how that work can be done better. In private markets, a re-up is the decision to recommit to a manager's next fund: the ultimate signal of trust. Each episode is a candid conversation with the LPs, GPs, and advisors who have built exceptional track records — the conversations that usually happen over dinner after the conference, not the ones on stage. Hosted by Katie Fasken, founder of August Advisors, a Toronto-based placement firm connecting exceptional private investment managers with institutional capital.

Tom Kapsimalis is Managing Director and Head of Secondaries at CPP Investments, where he leads the team that buys and sells private equity stakes and continuation vehicles, deploying roughly $3–5B a year.

He has worked in secondaries since the market traded barely $10B a year; in 2025 it cleared $220B, and he has been part of that rise from the start.

Katie and Tom talk about how CPP decides where it has a real right to win, why alignment is the first thing he tests in a continuation vehicle, how a single secondary can become a years-long relationship with a manager, and where the market heads next.

His take on the "CV squared": the rationale for the deal matters as much as the price.

Tom Kapsimalis is Managing Director and Head of Secondaries at CPP Investments, based in Toronto. He leads the team responsible for the firm's private equity secondaries program — across LP-led and GP-led transactions, single- and multi-asset continuation vehicles, and structured secondaries — and oversees portfolio sales for CPP Investments' private equity department.

He began his career in 2008 in investment banking in New York, working in syndicated leveraged finance through the financial crisis, before moving to the buy side and into the secondaries market in its early days. He has been part of the secondaries business at CPP Investments through its growth from a nascent strategy into one of the largest segments of private markets, where the firm now deploys an estimated $3–5B a year.

The Re-Up is a podcast about the business of raising and allocating capital in private markets — and how that work can be done better. In private markets, a re-up is the decision to recommit to a manager's next fund: the ultimate signal of trust. Each episode is a candid conversation with the LPs, GPs, and advisors who have built exceptional track records — the conversations that usually happen over dinner after the conference, not the ones on stage. Hosted by Katie Fasken, founder of August Advisors, a Toronto-based placement firm connecting exceptional private investment managers with institutional capital.

Jack Glover is the Founder and Managing Partner of Incline Equity Partners, a Pittsburgh-based private equity firm in the middle market, with a flagship fund just under $2B.

He has been investing for more than 30 years — and many of the investors who first backed him are still with him today.

Katie and Jack talk about why he refused to chase a bigger fund, the belief that size is the enemy of returns, the age-12 loss that shaped his approach, and how Incline seeks to create value once it owns a business.

His take on continuation vehicles: he looks to put his own money into single-asset deals where the GP rolls 100% of their carry.

Jack Glover is the Founder and Managing Partner of Incline Equity Partners, a Pittsburgh-based private equity firm focused on the middle and lower-middle market across services, value-added distribution, and specialized light manufacturing. Over a 30-plus-year career, he has built Incline into a widely recognized middle-market buyout firm.

Before founding Incline, Jack spent 15 years at PNC Equity Partners. He began his career at Westinghouse Credit Corp. and went on to the investment banking division of Wheat First Securities. Today Incline manages a flagship fund of just under $2B alongside its Elevate and Ascent funds, which keep the firm active at the smaller end of the market.

Jack holds a B.S. with honors from Duquesne University, where he is a Distinguished Alumnus, and an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. A proud native of Pittsburgh, he founded the Incline Foundation, which supports education in under-invested communities.

The Re-Up is a podcast about the business of raising and allocating capital in private markets — and how that work can be done better. In private markets, a re-up is the decision to recommit to a manager's next fund: the ultimate signal of trust. Each episode is a candid conversation with the LPs, GPs, and advisors who have built exceptional track records — the conversations that usually happen over dinner after the conference, not the ones on stage. Hosted by Katie Fasken, founder of August Advisors, a Toronto-based placement firm connecting exceptional private investment managers with institutional capital.