Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan CIO Ziad Hindo to Step Down at Year’s End

Ziad Hindo

Ziad Hindo, CIO of the C$249.8 billion ($186.3 billion) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, announced he will be leaving at the end of the year after 23 years with the pension fund, including the past five as CIO.

“I would like to thank Ziad for his many contributions in his 23 years at Ontario Teachers’,” Jo Taylor, OTPP’s CEO, said in a release. “Through his leadership, Ziad has built an outstanding investments team, diversified the portfolio by sector and geography, and led the development of the investment strategy that has delivered strong returns for members for over two decades.

Taylor added that Hindo “also played a critical role in establishing our multifaceted climate strategy and as an active advocate for action on diversity, equity and inclusion, both internally and through engagement with our portfolio companies.”

Hindo joined Ontario Teachers’ in 2000, working his way up to increasingly senior roles in multiple asset classes before assuming the leadership of the investments division in June of 2018.

“It has been a privilege to lead the investments division as CIO over the past five years and to be part of the plan for over two decades,” Hindo said in a release. “I am proud of the performance we have delivered in service of our members, and I am confident the plan is well positioned for continued success over the long term.”

OTPP has named Stephen McLennan acting head of investments, effective immediately. According to the pension fund, McLennan, currently the OTPP’s executive managing director for total fund management, will provide leadership across its investment activities. He will also work closely with Hindo during a transition period, after which Hindo will primarily serve as an adviser to Taylor.

McLennan first joined OTPP in 2003 as a senior investment analyst and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the capital market and private asset related groups. He was promoted to portfolio manager of fixed income and alternative investments in 2006 before being named director of the group in 2011. He also held the role of managing director for infrastructure and natural resources before being elevated to his current position in 2018.