The C$250 billion ($184.3 billion) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has named Pierre Cherki to the newly created investment leadership position of executive managing director of real estate, effective January 22, 2024. Cherki will oversee the pension fund’s in-house real estate asset group, which will be established on January 1.
The OTPP announced in June that that it will bring real estate firm Cadillac Fairview’s international investment professionals in-house. Cadillac Fairview will remain a central part of the pension fund’s global real estate portfolio, with a focus on growth, diversification and densification of its real estate assets in Canada.
Cherki will manage a team of nearly 40 investment professionals who will be based in Toronto, London, Singapore, Dallas and São Paulo, and he will oversee OTPP’s global real estate investing and portfolio management activities. The pension fund’s real estate portfolio, inclusive of assets under Cadillac Fairview, was worth C$29.3 billion as of June 30.
“For many years, real estate has been an important component of our asset mix,” Jo Taylor, president and CEO of OTPP, said in a release. “Under Pierre’s leadership, we plan to explore ways of effectively diversifying our portfolio by sector and stage internationally.”
Cherki is currently a board member at Sienna Investment Managers and Cadillac Fairview and had a 23-year career at German asset management DWS Group, where he was a member of the executive board and managing director of alternatives. He also held several senior management positions at DWS, including global head of real estate, and head of real estate for Europe and Asia Pacific.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in management and economics from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
“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,” Cherki said in a release. “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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Tags: Cadillac Fairview, Canada, DWS, Jo Taylor, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, OTPP, Pension Fund, Pierre Cherki, Real Estate