Yann Robard to depart CPPIB – exclusive

The head of secondaries at the Canadian pension – which plans to invest $10bn in secondaries over the next five years – will leave at the end of the month and be replaced by Michael Woolhouse.

Yann Robard, head of secondaries and co-investments at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), has resigned.

Robard will leave CPPIB at the end of July, according to a spokesperson from the pension fund. Robard has been with CPPIB since 2001 according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to joining the pension fund giant, he worked at Paul Capital Partners, CIBC World Markets and at JPMorgan Chase, according to CPPIB’s website.

Yann Robard
Yann Robard

Robard will be replaced by Michael Woolhouse, who is a senior principal in the funds, secondaries and co-investments division. Woolhouse joined the pension board from TD Securities where he worked in investment banking, and has worked at AXA Group in Tokyo, Bain & Company and Salomon Brothers.

“Michael has been with CPPIB for eight years and will be leading our deep, experienced team of secondaries and co-investment professionals,” CPPIB wrote in an emailed statement.

Jim Fasano will remain as head of the funds, secondaries and co-investments group.

CPPIB wasn’t able to comment on Robard’s next position or the reason for his departure.

In June, Neal Costello left CPPIB to re-join Amsterdam-based AlpInvest Partners after two years as the pension investment board’s head of European secondaries and co-investments in London.

CPPIB was one of the most active non-traditional buyers in the secondaries market last year. The institution plans to invest $10 billion in secondaries in the next five years – split evenly between purchasing limited partner interests and direct secondaries, Secondaries Investor reported in January.