CFO, COO Swap Jobs at CCPIB

The two Canada Pension Plan Investment Board executives will move into one another’s positions as part of a senior management revamp.

(November 25, 2013) – The CFO and COO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have been named to another’s roles, according to CEO Mark Wiseman.

Benita Warmbold, currently COO, will be responsible for all finance functions at the C$193 billion fund in her new role as CFO.

She replaces—and will be replaced by—Nick Zelenczuk, who will take over all operations, technology, and planning functions. He joined CPPIB in 2009; Warmbold has been with the fund since 2008.

Both will still hold their titles as senior vice-presidents.

“We are realigning responsibilities between the finance and operations functions,” Wiseman said in the announcement.

Additionally, he said the organization is “continuing to further strengthen leadership of our global operations,” and will be changing up two more senior management positions.

In addition to his role as president of CPPIB Asia, Mark Machin will assume the title of senior vice-president and head of international. Machin, who has only been with CPPIB since 2012, will be charged with coordinating all of its international investment activities and the management of its global advisory relationships.

Working under Machin will be Alain Carrier, the current managing director for Europe and global head of infrastructure private investments. He is moving up into the position of head of Europe, and his purview expanding to include the Middle East and Africa.

Carrier, according to the announcement, “will position CPPIB for the anticipated growth of our private and public investment programs in the these markets, cover all aspects of CPPIB’s mandate.” 

In an October interview with aiCIO, Wiseman stressed the upmost importance of hiring the right people and preserving CPPIB's culture. "In terms of management, the biggest errors are people errors," he said. "As an organization that prides itself on culture, integrity, high performance, whenever we’ve compromised on this, it’s been a mistake that I’ve regretted."  

Related Content: Power 100 Profile: Mark Wiseman & How Pensions Made Canada Great

«