After more than ten years of service at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), including over nine as the chief executive officer of Ivanhoé Cambridge, Daniel Fournier, announces he will retire.
“His legacy – a unified and truly global real estate company with a clear strategy and solid execution capability – is one that CDPQ will be able to build upon for generations,” said Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer of CDPQ in the press release that also announced the succession team.
Fournier has more than 30 years of experience and a solid background in the real estate industry. In 2011, Fournier led the consolidation of CDPQ’s real estate subsidiaries – SITQ and Ivanhoé Cambridge – under a single banner. During Fournier’s term as chairman and CEO, the company’s real estate assets under management have shown sustained growth, rising to $65 billion from $31 billion.
Prior to joining Ivanhoé Cambridge, he was Chairman of the Board of Genivar, now WSP Global, and a member of Canadian Tire’s Board of Directors. He was also a director of the Summit Industrial Income REIT and of Standard Life (Canada), now part of Manulife. In recent years, he has chaired fundraising campaigns for La Maison du Père, The Lighthouse Children and Families, and the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC). He has also been co-chair of the fundraising campaign of Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the McCord Museum Foundation in Montreal.
Fournier will be succeeded by Nathalie Palladitcheff who has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. In her new role, Palladitcheff will work closely with Sylvain Fortier, chief investment and innovation officer, whose functions were expanded and include responsibility for the company’s overall investment activities.
“We have been working with the Ivanhoé Cambridge Board of Directors on the succession plan for several years. Today, I am very proud to pass the torch to Nathalie and Sylvain, two exceptional leaders whom I admire and who are devoted, passionate and embody the leadership that will guide Ivanhoé Cambridge for the future,” Fournier said in the press release.
Fournier will continue to serve in his role until October 15, 2019.
