Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a leading global investor and one of Canada’s largest pension funds, has appointed N Venkatram (Venkat) as Country Chair for CDPQ India.
Venkat served as CEO & Managing Partner of Deloitte South Asia during 2015-2023 period.
He was also on the Global Executive of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and the Asia Pacific Executive as well as a member of the South Asia Board and the Executive Committee for 12 years.
Venkatram will join CDPQ on April 1, 2024, the company said. He will also be a member of CDPQ’s Global Management team
Last month, CDPQ had hired Pratibha Bajaj, former Regional Lead, Digital Infrastructure, IFC as senior director -Infrastructure, India.
Saurabh Agarwal, managing director at CDPQ India and its local head had quit last year, ending a six-year tenure with the Canadian fund.
CDPQ, which has been investing in renewable energy and road sectors in India, deployed about $9 billion since 2016, with its assets doubling in 6 years. It has also jointly invested with Piramal Asset Management in a private credit financing platform, and with Embassy Group in an office business parks investment platform. CDPQ’s other investments in the country include PharmEasy and logistics company Logos India.
In India, the pension fund owns Maple Highways – CDPQ’s platform for the roads sector in India and the sponsor of Indian Highway Concession Trust (IHCT).
CDPQ also owns Azure Power, the leading independent solar power producer and Apraava Energy, the Mumbai based green energy producer. However, Azure Power which was listed with much fanfare on NYSE got delisted following a cloud of controversy in 2022-2023 around governance issues after a whistleblower report alleged corruption which also saw its auditor resign and financial results getting delayed.
“CDPQ has a long-term conviction towards India’s high potential economy. The addition of Venkat as Country Chair and a member of our Global Management team is an indication of our ongoing commitment towards developing partnerships that are aligned with driving performance and sustainable impact” said
Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive Officer, CDPQ.
In his 40 years of experience, including 30 years with Deloitte, Venkat assisted companies in strengthening governance and controls, raising capital, mergers and acquisitions, and solving their most complex accounting and business issues, the company said.
“What excites me most is CDPQ’s mission to contribute to the economic development and prosperity of geographies that it invests in, while fulfilling its mandate of generating optimal returns for clients. This resonates deeply in the current global business environment.” said Venkat.
“Venkat’s international leadership and experience around complex business organisations and partnerships bring significant additional depth to the pursuit of our ambitions – both in India and globally.” said Marc-André Blanchard, Executive Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global and Global Head of Sustainability.
Venkat has served on the Mutual Fund Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee set up by the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is currently on the SEBI Takeover Panel, the Corporate Bonds & Securitization Advisory Committee and the High-Powered Committee on Settlements.
As of December 31, 2023, CDPQ had an AUM of $322 billion.
