Former Ivanhoe Cambridge Boss Fournier Chosen to Lead Oxford Properties

A former head of Quebec’s Ivanhoe Cambridge has moved one province west to take on the role of executive chair with Oxford Properties, the real estate investment division of OMERS, the largest pension fund manager in Ontario.

Daniel Fournier, who was chief executive and chairman of Ivanhoe Cambridge from 2010 until his retirement in 2019, has been lured off the bench to replace Michael Turner in Oxford’s top spot from 1 April, according to an announcement late Wednesday by OMERS, with Oxford known around Asia Pacific as one of the largest investors in ESR, as well as for its ventures in Australia.

“We are delighted to welcome Daniel Fournier to the Oxford team,” Blake Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer of OMERS said in a statement. “Mr. Fournier’s extensive experience, track record of success, and in-depth knowledge of global real estate investing will be an invaluable asset to Oxford as we enter this next phase of growth across the globe.”

Turner, who has been with Oxford for 13 years is said to be staying with the fund manager, where he will now focus on assisting with some of the institution’s US-specific strategies, according to the statement.

Boardroom Veteran

Since his retirement from Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate investment unit of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) four years ago, Fournier has kept busy serving on the boards or advisory boards of a number of Quebec-based companies, including Claridge, Groupe Maurice, Simons and BTB REIT.

Before joining the property investment institution the graduate of Princeton and Oxford had served as chairman of engineering consulting firm Genivar, which is now known as WSP Global, and was also a director of Summit Industrial Income REIT and of what is now Manulife.

In his new role Fournier will be overseeing the property investments of OMERS, which had $121 million in net assets as of 31 December 2021.

Oxford in Asia

Until ESR’s buyout of ARA in 2021, OMERS had ranked as the largest shareholder in ESR after buying a 7 percent stake in the industrial specialist from Warburg Pincus in 2020. The pension fund took a 9 percent slice of ESR when it opted for a cornerstone stake in the company’s 2019 IPO. Warburg Pincus again became the largest shareholder in ESR following the ARA acquisition through its shareholding in that Singaporean company.

Early last year Oxford Properties made the news in Asia when it sold a half-stake in a portfolio of Australian office assets to Link REIT for A$596 million (then $428.2 million).