Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has appointed Pierre Cherki to lead its C$29bn (€19.7bn) global real estate business.
Ontario Teachers’ said Cherki, who has been a member of the Canadian pension fund’s real estate arm Cadillac Fairview board of directors, since 2022, will take on the new role of executive managing director of real estate from 22 January next year in Toronto.
Cherki’s appointment follows the pension fund’s previously announced plan to change its real estate investment model that will bring Cadillac Fairview’s international investment professionals in-house, aligned with Ontario Teachers’s other investment asset groups, the pension fund said.
Ontario Teachers’ said Cadillac Fairview will remain a core part of its global real estate portfolio, with a “focus on growth, diversification, and densification of its real estate assets in Canada”.
In his new role, Cherki will oversee the global real estate investing and portfolio management activities and a team of almost 40 investment professionals located in Toronto, London, Singapore, Dallas and São Paulo.
Cherki led the DWS alternatives business for two decades until March 2018, before leaving in 2020.
Jo Taylor, president and CEO of Ontario Teachers’, said: “For many years real estate has been an important component of our asset mix. Under Pierre’s leadership we plan to explore ways of effectively diversifying our portfolio by sector and stage internationally.”
Cherki said: “I’m delighted to be joining Ontario Teachers’ and look forward to leading a strong team of global professionals in supporting further growth in the real estate portfolio.
“Real estate has been a central part of the portfolio mix at Ontario Teachers’ for more than two decades and I am excited to build on that strong foundation to deliver value to Plan members.”
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