Pension giant CDPQ has appointed a new managing director and head of Americas.
Yana Watson Kakar is taking up the role, leading the firm’s offices across North and South America to “develop its investment strategy and partnerships”.
Prior to joining the firm, Watson Kakar led Growth for Good, a sustainability-focussed special purpose acquisition company. Before that, she was global managing partner emeritus of Dalberg Advisors.
Marc-André Blanchard, executive vice-president and head of CDPQ Global, said that Watson Kakar’s “track record as an inclusive business leader, commitment to sustainable investing, and deep experience at the intersection of the public and private sectors will enable an immediate contribution to our constructive capital approach of creating solutions to the challenges that markets and communities face”.
CDPQ is one of the P3 industry’s major players; notably the firm acquired the Plenary Americas operating business and its corresponding P3 portfolio in 2020 from Plenary Group.