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CDPQ recruits Yana Watson Kakar as head of Americas

Kakar will also serve as head of CDPQ’s New York office and oversee its offices in Mexico and Brazil.

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  • Kakar is the CEO of Growth for Good, a special purpose acquisition company focused on sustainable companies
  • Previously, she was global managing partner of Dalberg Advisors
  • CDPQ is Canada’s second largest pension system

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has hired Yana Watson Kakar as managing director and head of Americas.

Kakar will also serve as head of CDPQ’s New York office and oversee its offices in Mexico and Brazil to promote the group in the wider region with key stakeholders. She will work closely with the heads of the asset classes in developing CDPQ’s investment strategy and partnerships across the Americas region.

Kakar is the CEO of Growth for Good, a special purpose acquisition company focused on sustainable companies critical to the decarbonization of the global economy. Previously, she was global managing partner of Dalberg Advisors.

“We are truly delighted to have Yana join the CDPQ team to lead our Americas region. Her track record as an inclusive business leader, commitment to sustainable investing, and deep experience at the intersection of the public and private sectors will enable an immediate contribution to our constructive capital approach of creating solutions to the challenges that markets and communities face,” said Marc-André Blanchard, executive vice president and head of CDPQ global and global head of sustainability, in a statement.

CDPQ, Canada’s second largest pension system, invests on behalf of Quebec public retirement and insurance plans. It had net assets of C$402 billion as of December 31, 2022.