Pension fund manager Caisse picks banking veteran as CEO
TORONTO The board of directors of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has chosen Charles Émond, a current Caisse executive and longtime banker, as successor to the pension fund giant’s chief executive Michael Sabia.
Émond — who joined the Caisse last February as executive vice-president, Québec, private equity and strategic planning, after nearly 20 years at Bank of Nova Scotia — will take over as CEO on Feb. 1.
The Caisse said its board conducted a “thorough and rigorous” selection process, and their candidate was approved by the Quebec government on Wednesday.
In his current job at the Caisse, Émond leads investment strategy in Québec and heads the domestic and international private equity teams, overseeing direct and indirect investments in nearly 800 companies.
He also leads the pension management organization’s annual strategic planning process.
When he left Scotiabank, he was based in Toronto as global head of investment banking and capital markets, and head of Canadian corporate banking.
The Caisse noted that he oversaw a team of more than 500 professionals in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America at Scotia, and also led the bank’s Quebec activities, serving as the most senior representative to “world-class companies” in the province.
“For over 25 years, Charles has acquired extensive international experience and a deep understanding of Québec’s companies and business community,” Robert
Tessier, chairman of the board at the Caisse, said in a statement Wednesday, in which he praised Émond’s leadership and said his “rich combination of experience” led to the board’s selection.
“A seasoned negotiator, Charles has demonstrated throughout his career that he can successfully conclude complex and major projects by mobilizing his teams and managing stakeholder relationships with a long-term perspective,” Tessier said.
“I am very pleased that he has agreed to steer CDPQ (Caisse) through the next stage of its evolution.”
In the statement, Émond called the Caisse “a unique institution with a distinctive signature,” noting that it plays a key role in the province’s economy while exporting “know-how around the world.”
“I want to continue building this organization to firmly position it to face the major challenges of our time, including developing our economy for tomorrow and investing sustainably while generating returns for our depositors in the future,” he said.
Sabia made the surprise announcement last November that he would be leaving the Caisse in February, a year ahead of schedule, to lead the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.
Tessier thanked Sabia on Wednesday for his “vision and profound dedication” at the Caisse over the past 11 years.