Ziad Hindo has had an intense six months.
The chief investment officer of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has overseen the launch of a new tech-investing division, surpassed $200 billion in assets under management and inked partnerships with Google’s sister company Sidewalk Labs and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Digital Ventures. He also launched the Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), which invested in SpaceX in June.
Teachers’ is going all in on tech: the fund is overhauling its operations and those of its portfolio companies as it gears itself up for an economic downturn and a global trade war.
But it isn’t the only pension fund with a new tech focus. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have new billion-dollar tech funds and plans to overhaul their investing strategies. CPPIB and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) announced new tech-focused divisions coupled with San Francisco offices this year.
Yet Hindo, who has been in the CIO job for a little over a year, has a plan to beat the competition.