Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Success Story
Outgoing CEO Jim Leech reveals the Teachers' secret sauce and shares his vision for a renewed Canada Pension Plan
Over the next 20 years, more than 7 million Canadian workers will retire, creating the largest exodus from the workforce in Canadian history. However, unless our crumbling pension system is reformed, many retirees will find their retirement dream to be nothing more than a bewildering and disappointing mirage.
This looming economic disaster underscores the critically important role that an organization's corporate governance structure plays in its sustainable success.
In this 60-minute webinar, Jim Leech, President & CEO of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan will discuss the success of the OTPP and the role of pensions in our economy. As he and his co-author, Jacquie McNish describe in their newly published book The Third Rail, we ignore their impact and minimize the reality of future crises at our economic peril.
Key insights and takeaways include:
- The key forces behind the success of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
- The role of pensions in our society
- The potential economic impact of ignoring the future of our pension systems
Following the presentation we will have a period dedicated to Q&A with our speaker.
Session Leader
Mr. Jim Leech
As head of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Jim Leech oversees the management of the pension fund and the administration of pensions for 303,000 plan members. Mr. Leech joined Teachers' in 2001 to lead Teachers' Private Capital and was appointed President & CEO in 2007. Under his leadership, the organization became one of the world's leading private equity investors.
Mr. Leech has gained recognition for his expertise and leadership in the private equity industry and as CEO of several public companies. Before joining Teachers', Mr. Leech was president and CEO of Unicorp Canada Corporation, 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, he guided two start-up technology companies - Disys Corporation and Kasten Chase Applied Research - to the revenue generation stage.
Mr. Leech is chair of the board of Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation. He is a member of the board of the MasterCard Foundation and was a founding director of Right To Play International. He has been named Chancellor-designate of Queen's University, effective July 1, 2014 and currently chairs the advisory board of the Queen's School of Business. Mr. Leech also serves on the advisory board for The Learning Partnership, the advisory council for the Toronto Region Board of Trade and the Toronto Financial Services Leadership Council. In addition, Mr. Leech is a member of the government of Ontario's Economic Advisory Panel.
In 2012, Mr. Leech was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his work with the True Patriot Love Foundation. He announced his retirement effective December 31, 2013.