New real estate boss lands at CDPQ

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has appointed a new head of real estate as it merges its Otéra Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge businesses. Rana Ghorayeb will take up the position of executive vice president and head of real estate at CDPQ, replacing Ivanhoé Cambridge chief executive Nathalie Palladitcheff. Ghorayeb is currently chief executive at Otéra Capital. Palladitcheff announced her departure from the Canadian pension fund at the beginning of the year, when plans to integrate Ivanhoé Cambridge with Otéra Capital were first revealed. Before joining CDPQ in 2012, Ghorayeb was vice president of acquisitions at JP Morgan Asset Management in London, where she was in charge of real estate investments in several European countries and a senior partner at US pension fund TIAA. “Rana’s career at CDPQ has been remarkable, first as senior vice president in the infrastructure team, where she forged partnerships and carried out investments across the globe that continue to benefit CDPQ,” said Charles Emond, president and chief executive at CDPQ. “Then, as president and chief executive of Otéra, where she distinguished herself as a leader. She successfully led the organisation’s profound transformation since joining five years ago, and headed the portfolio’s growth and diversification strategy, which has made Otéra a major player in North America.” Ivanhoé Cambridge’s activities will formally be integrated with Otéra’s from 29 April when Ghorayeb takes over as chief executive.