Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Montreal, today announced senior management changes; a 14% reduction in staff; and a reduction in the number of subsidiaries, including condensing the private equity office to three units from six and cutting foreign business offices to three from 11, according to Isabelle Tremblay, spokeswoman for the C$133 billion (U.S.$85 billion) fund.
Terminated executives include Claude Seguin, president, CDP Capital, private equity; Pierre Belanger, president, CDP Capital, communications; and Andre Duchesne, senior vice president, fixed income and currencies. Michel Nadeau, president of CDP Capital, was let go last month.
"The strategic orientations that I am setting out today for the Caisse involve refocusing the organization’s operations on its fundamental mission as a fund manager in order to obtain a better return on assets,” Henri-Paul Rousseau, chairman and CEO of the Caisse, said in a statement. "In the months and years to come, all the organization’s resources and energy will be dedicated to achieving that objective,” he added.
According to Mr. Rousseau, the restructuring will reduce operating costs by C$22 million annually. The non-recurring restructuring cost is estimated at C$10 million.
