CPPIB names Mark Wiseman as new CEO

Under Denison's leadership, the $153 billion fund has become a far more active investor on a global scale across public and private markets. Its growing interest in Asia is likely to continue during Wiseman's tenure. The Globe and Mail describes him as a seasoned dealmaker with a keen interest in the region.

"We have to keep in mind not where the world is today but where the world is going," Wiseman said recently. "China will be the largest economy in the world ... and as investors with a 75-year time horizon, we have to be ahead of the curve."

As the executive responsible for CPPIB's overall global investment programs, Wiseman has already been building up the fund's China exposure. A Hong Kong office was opened four years ago and Mark Machin, formerly head of Goldman Sachs' investment banking business in Asia, has been recruited as president of Asian operations.

In addition to announcing Machin's appointment earlier this month, CPPIB said that it has retained VSG Capital Advisors, an investment bank recently set up by former Credit Suisse executive Vikram Gandhi, as its India-based consultant.

CPPIB is an LP in KKR, TPG Capital and Baring Private Equity Asia's regional funds, as well as in single-country vehicles run by the likes of CDH Investments, Hony Capital and Multiples Private Equity. The recruitment of Machin and Ghandi - investment bankers with deal-sourcing capabilities - suggests the pension fund might also further its direct investment activity in the region, which has so far largely focused on Australia.

The CPPIB board of directors praised Denison, who became president and CEO in 2005, for "fostering a culture capable of undertaking the largest and most complex transactions in the world." It added that Wiseman was the unanimous choice as his successor.

Wiseman joined CPPIB from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in 2005. He previously worked at Harrowston, a Canadian merchant bank, and as a lawyer with Sullivan & Cromwell.

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