Teachers' promotes investment managers with track record for value-added performance

TORONTO: The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') has announced the promotions of seven executives in the Investment division. The appointments include: Stephen Dowd, Senior Vice-President, Infrastructure; Ron Mock, Senior Vice-President, Alternative Investments; Jason Chang, Vice-President, Fixed Income Capital Management; Kevin Kerr, Vice-President, Infrastructure; and Andrew Claerhout, Shael Dolman and Glen Silvestri to Vice-President, Teachers' Private Capital.

"These appointments reflect Teachers' tradition of cultivating its talent internally and promoting from within," said Neil Petroff, Group Senior Vice-President, Investments. "As a long-term investor, we are focused on fostering the strength of the fund into the future. The breadth of experience they each bring to their roles will enable us to continue to build on Teachers' innovative approach to investment management."

He added that Teachers' produced $2.3 billion in value added above the fund's benchmark in 2007 and more than $5 billion over the benchmark in the last two years.

Mr. Dowd oversees Teachers' global infrastructure and timber portfolio, which includes utilities, power generation facilities, airports, toll roads, marine container terminals and timberlands. Mr. Dowd joined Teachers' in January 2006 with almost 20 years' international experience in banking and the energy and utilities sectors in Europe, North America and Latin America. He holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Mock is responsible for Teachers' global hedge fund portfolio. Mr. Mock joined Teachers' in 2001 as Director, Alternative Investments and was most recently Vice-President, Alternative Investments. He has 22 years of international experience in investments and finance. Mr. Mock holds a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from York University.

Mr. Chang's responsibilities include the fund's fixed income nominal bond index, money market, real return debt and global liquid yield curve arbitrage portfolios. Since joining Teachers' in 1995, he has held progressively more senior positions, most recently as Director, Fixed Income. Mr. Chang holds an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Kerr is responsible for infrastructure and timberland transactions internationally. He joined Teachers' in 1998 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in inflation-sensitive portfolios. He began his career at Deloitte and Touche LLP. A Chartered Accountant, he holds a B.Comm. from Carleton University and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Claerhout is responsible for the pension fund's private equity investments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and is also head of Teachers' Private Capital's London office. He joined Teachers' in 2005 from EdgeStone Capital Partners. He received an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Mr. Dolman oversees Teachers' private equity investments in the business services and diversified industrial sectors. He joined Teachers' in 1997 with a background in corporate banking. He received a BA from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from McGill University, and is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Silvestri leads the fund's private equity transaction activities in the telecom, media and technology sectors. He joined Teachers' in 2001 with a background in mergers and acquisitions and finance. A Chartered Accountant, he earned a BA from the University of Western Ontario.

With $108.5 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2007, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 278,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario.

Contact:

Deborah Allan
Director, Communications and Media Relations
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
(416) 730-5347
deborah_allan@otpp.com