Ontario Teachers’ Brings Property Investment In-House as Cadillac Fairview CEO Retires

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan on Monday announced a restructuring of its property investment arm, Cadillac Fairview, that will see the latter’s 37-strong global real estate team come directly under the umbrella of the parent organisation.

As part of the transition, longtime executive John Sullivan will retire as Cadillac Fairview’s president and CEO on 1 November of this year, the pension fund manager said in a release. Salvatore Iacono, currently executive vice president for operations, will succeed Sullivan in both roles.

Ontario Teachers’ will set up an in-house group to oversee real estate investment activities, aligning the investment approach with that of other asset groups at the C$247 billion ($185 billion) fund to enable information sharing, co-sourcing and best practices across the global platform. The fund aims to reach C$300 billion in net assets by 2030.

“We are excited to continue our decades long relationship with CF under an evolved model that will capitalise on expertise across our two organisations and further strengthen our respective positions as a leading global investor and a best-in-class Canadian real estate owner and developer,” said Ziad Hindo, chief investment officer of Ontario Teachers’.

Search for Real Estate Boss

Previously an executive at Brookfield Properties, Sullivan joined Cadillac Fairview 25 years ago and spent the last 13 years as CEO. Post-retirement he will remain at Cadillac Fairview in an advisory capacity to support the transition.

Iacono joined Cadillac Fairview in 2008 and has served in his current post since 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Concordia University and an MBA from McGill University.

Seeking to complete the restructuring by the start of 2024, Ontario Teachers’ is conducting a search for a global head of real estate. The chosen individual will lead the fund manager’s real estate group and report to Hindo.

“We are excited to welcome members of CF’s international investments team directly into Ontario Teachers’ in the new year as we establish a leading real estate investment group as a strategic complement to our existing investment teams across other asset classes,” Hindo said.

China Investment Pause

Ontario Teachers’ made headlines on both sides of the Pacific last month when fund management head Stephen McLennan told a Canadian parliamentary committee that the group had paused direct investments in mainland China amid rising tensions between Beijing and Ottawa.

Through Cadillac Fairview, the pension fund giant in mid-2021 committed $400 million to Hines Asia Property Partners, with US developer Hines citing China as one of the top-tier markets targeted by its flagship Asia investment vehicle.

In 2022, Ontario Teachers’ was among a group of investors joining a $505 million fundraising round for Asia Pacific data centre platform Princeton Digital Group, with that firm listing China as among its target markets, alongside India and Singapore.