CPP Investments Appoints Suyi Kim to Head Private Equity
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board picked an internal candidate as its new private equity head, naming Suyi Kim, the pension fund’s top executive in Asia, to run the $100 billion division.
Kim will lead a department that’s an active player in buyouts globally, both in direct investments and through funds run by Apollo Global Management Inc., KKR & Co. Inc. and other private equity firms. CPPIB’s private equity assets have grown more than fivefold in the past decade.
The appointment marks a key step in the reshaping of the team around Chief Executive Officer John Graham, who was given the top job in February when former CEO Mark Machin resigned after flying to United Arab Emirates to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, in defiance of government guidelines to avoid international travel.
Kim is already one of the most powerful women at the C$497.2 billion ($399 billion) Canadian pension fund, alongside Deborah Orida, its global head of real assets. Kim joined CPPIB in 2007 after working for Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Carlyle Group Inc. and opened the pension fund’s Hong Kong office in 2008. She was head of CPPIB’s private-equity operations in Asia for more than eight years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“Suyi’s background in private equity, extensive experience leading our Asia Pacific business and deep knowledge of the organization makes her ideally suited for this role, and demonstrates the depth of our leadership team,” Graham said in a statement.
CPPIB has been increasingly investing in private assets amid stretched valuations for stocks and bonds. It’s part of the consortium led by Fortress Investment Group that’s making an $8.8 billion bid for Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc. The offer is opposed by the grocery chain’s largest shareholder.
Recently, it has also been involved in deals for Galileo Global Education, IT services company Virtusa and Brazilian real-estate startup Loft, the latter valued at $2.2 billion.
CPPIB’s private-equity investments returned 36.6% in the fiscal year ended March 31, generating a net income of C$34 billion, according to its annual report.
Kim, who starts the role Sept. 15, replaces Shane Feeney, who accepted an executive role at Toronto-based Northleaf Capital Partners Ltd. She will move to Toronto next spring, a CPPIB spokesperson said by email.
CPP Investments put out a statement on this appointment:
John Graham, President & Chief Executive Officer of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), announced the appointment of Suyi Kim as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Equity effective September 15, 2021. Kim will continue to be a member of the Senior Management Team.
Kim will lead the Private Equity (PE) department, which makes private equity investments globally, both directly and with partners. The PE team focuses on close alignment of interests between shareholders and management, delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns over extended time horizons. PE maintains relationships with 160 private equity fund managers and other specialized partners. As of March 31, 2021, PE managed C$125.1 billion in assets.
Most recently, Kim served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific, responsible for leading CPP Investments’ activities in Asia Pacific and overseeing its portfolio of Asia Pacific investments.
“Suyi’s background in private equity, extensive experience leading our Asia Pacific business and deep knowledge of the organization makes her ideally suited for this role, and demonstrates the depth of our leadership team,” Graham said. “CPP Investments is one of the top private equity investors globally, and I am confident that with her global expertise, Suyi will build on the success of a strong and experienced PE team to continue to deliver solid long-term results for CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”
Kim joined CPP Investments in 2007 after gaining global private equity experience at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and The Carlyle Group. She also worked at McKinsey & Co. in various Asian countries and at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Kim opened the Hong Kong office in 2008 and launched and led CPP Investments’ PE business in Asia before taking on her current role.
Kim holds a BA in Economics from Seoul National University and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant.
Kim currently serves on the board of directors of Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN), a Hong Kong listed Internet, Communication & Tele-communication company. She is also on the Products Advisory Committee of the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong and sits on the board of Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) and Junior Achievement in Korea.
About CPP Investments
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments™) is a professional investment management organization that manages the Fund in the best interest of the more than 20 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, investments are made around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At March 31, 2021, the Fund totalled C$497.2 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
Congratulations to Suyi Kim who is now in charge of CPP Investments' massive private equity portfolio (C$125.1 billion or US $100 billion in assets).
Ms. Kim has extensive experience serving as a Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific, a region where CPP Investments and other large Canadian pensions are committed to growing their investments over the next decade and beyond.
The last time I discussed Suyi Kim on my blog was two years ago when I discussed how CPP Investments was shifting the focus to emerging markets:
The key to success in emerging markets is solid partnerships and having qualified people on the ground developing these partnerships, Suyi Kim has said, noting her team needs to navigate the different languages, regulatory structures, and rules, before even thinking about looking at different asset classes.
For me the most important part of Kim's short interview is when she explains how people's perception of CPPIB has changed over the last ten years: "We’ve built a 10-year track record on dependability and transparency. Having a lot of capital does not differentiate us in Asia. What differentiates us is being a sophisticated long-term investor and having strong talent on the ground."
When I met up with Michel Leduc, senior managing director and global head of public affairs and communications at CPPIB, the day before Toronto's annual spring pension conference, he reiterated this point: "We cannot compete with large sovereign wealth funds writing huge cheques, so we like to find large complex deals others shun where we think we can add value."
Success in Asia is all about having the right partners and having a qualified team which can not only cultivate relationships but also be nimble to act quickly when opportunities arise.
That is what Suyi Kim means when she states: "We’ve built a 10-year track record on dependability and transparency."
Your partners depend on you to be there when they come calling and you need to be transparent and dependable.
Ms. Kim, who starts the role Sept. 15, replaces Shane Feeney, who accepted an executive role at Toronto-based Northleaf Capital Partners Ltd. The Bloomberg article states she will move to Toronto next spring.
Shane Feeney did an outstanding job managing CPP Investments' massive private equity portfolio for many years but the tide is turning, Asia is the next growth frontier and with this appointment, CPP Investments is sending a strong message.
Suyi Kim and Deborah Orida, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Real Assets, are now the two most powerful women in the Canadian pension landscape, managing billions in assets:
And yes, they are both Asian Canadian (I believe Kim was born in South Korea) and that too sends a powerful message to their partners in Asia, not to mention it sends the right message to Canadian women and the Asian community here (I'm a stickler for gender and other diversity & inclusion at our large pensions).
These are both very accomplished professionals with extensive experience and great credentials.
In order to add value over the next decade, CPP Investments and other large Canadian pensions need to focus their attention on Asia Pacific.
In terms of operations in private equity, the formula stays the same, invest in top private equity funds and co-invest alongside them to reduce fee drag.
Not too long ago, there was a guy called Mark Wiseman running CPP Investments and I met him back when he was running OTPP's private equity fund investments and co-investments.
Anyway, I'll never forget meeting Mark Wiseman at CPP Investments' offices and asking him about their approach in private equity which is now emulated by everyone:
"We can go purely direct in infrastructure but not private equity. If I could hire David Bonderman, I would, but I can't afford to, so we will always invest in top PE funds and co-invest with them on large transactions to reduce fees."
Co-investments are a form of direct investing and you need a qualified team to co-invest with top PE funds because they need to analyze deals quickly as turnaround time needs to be quick.
Large Canadian pensions like CPP Investments have a bigger co-investment portfolio than fund investment portfolio to reduce the overall fees they pay in private equity (most are 50/50 or close to it but the big ones have a larger co-investment portfolio because that is where they obtain the most bang for their buck).
It's the right approach in private equity but to gain access to large co-investments (to reduce fee drag) and maintain scale in your PE allocations, you need to cultivate the right relationships with top private equity funds all over the world and have a qualified team to do this right.
And CPP Investments invests in the top private equity funds all over the world. You can see the full list here.
Alright, let me wrap it up there. I wish Suyi Kim and the entire PE team at CPP Investments a lot of success investing in Asia and all over the world.
I also note the biggest vote of confidence comes from CPP Investments' CEO John Graham:
“Suyi’s background in private equity, extensive experience leading our Asia Pacific business and deep knowledge of the organization makes her ideally suited for this role, and demonstrates the depth of our leadership team,” Graham said. “CPP Investments is one of the top private equity investors globally, and I am confident that with her global expertise, Suyi will build on the success of a strong and experienced PE team to continue to deliver solid long-term results for CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”
Another former pension CEO also gave her high praise on Twitter after reading this post:
She was great from day she joined us at @OTPPinfo 20 years ago https://t.co/2A4CudNqBB
— Jim Leech C.M., LL.D, CD (@JimLeechCM) July 30, 2021
Below, Suyi Kim, the new head of private equity and former head of Asia Pacific at CPP Investments, discusses her investment strategies. She recently spoke with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia.
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