Robard firm hires former CPPIB and Ontario Teachers’ exec – exclusive

Secondaries firm Whitehorse Liquidity Partners, which has raised a sixth of the target for its debut fund, has tapped a seven-year Canadian public pension veteran as CFO.

Yann Robard’s Whitehorse Liquidity Partners has appointed a chief financial officer with experience at two of Canada’s largest pension funds, Secondaries Investor has learned.

Sean Connor
Sean Connor

Sean Connor joined Toronto-based Whitehorse in April, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Connor spent two years in private investments at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) where he conducted due diligence on  private equity fund investments, and before that was a senior financial analyst at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

He was most recently vice-president of finance at Bridgepoint Financial Group, a Toronto financial services firm, according to his LinkedIn profile.

At Whitehorse, Connor is responsible for managing the firm’s compliance, accounting, reporting, treasury, investor relations and internal controls.

Whitehorse has also raised $50 million from one investor for Whitehorse Liquidity Partners I, according to a 10 May filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund launched in March and has a $300 million target, as Secondaries Investor previously reported.

The firm was launched in the second half of last year by Robard, the former secondaries head at CPPIB, and will focus on credit, similar to London firm 17Capital’s approach, Secondaries Investor understands.

Whitehorse declined to comment.