Globe and Mail Update
Jim Leech is Canada's highest profile pension executive, a title the chief executive officer of the Ontatio Teachers Pension Plan doesn't always relish shouldering.
Mr. Leech is best known for the Teachers long and utimately unsuccessful pursuit of BCE, a buyout that began in 2007, at the height of the private equity boom, and fell apart in the fall of 2008.
He joined the $84.7-billion Teachers fund in 2001, and became president and CEO in 2007, replacing founding CEO Claude Lamoureux. His first year at the helm came during an unpercendented market meltdown that saw the Teahcers fund post an 18-per-cent loss, matching the median performance at Canadian pension funds.
As head of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Mr. Leech oversees the management of the pension fund and the administration of pensions for 278,000 plan members in Ontario.
Mr. Leech joined Teachers' in 2001 to lead Teachers' Private Capital and was appointed President and CEO in 2007. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan was established by the Ontario government in 1990 as an independent corporation to manage the pension plan. Today, Teachers' is recognized for its outstanding service to members and its innovative investment program.
During his distinguished career, Mr. Leech has gained recognition for his expertise and leadership in the private equity industry and as a CEO of several public companies. He has a solid reputation for building businesses and strong management teams and has led large public companies operating and investing in the financial services, real estate and energy industries, as well as start-up technology businesses.
Under his leadership, Teachers' Private Capital became one of the world's leading private equity investors. Before joining Teachers', Mr. Leech was President and CEO of Unicorp Canada Corp., one of Canada's first public merchant banks, and Union Energy Inc., then one of North America's largest integrated energy and pipeline companies. During the 1990s, Mr. Leech guided two start-up technology companies to the revenue generation stage. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a B.Sc. (Hon Math and Physics) and holds an MBA from Queen's University.
He is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors and serves on the boards of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation, Right To Play and the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada. He also serves on the advisory boards of the Queen's School of Business and The Learning Partnership.
Join Mr. Leech at noon ET on Tuesday or submit your question here.
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