The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) manages $123-billion of assets on behalf of members in Ontario’s health care sector.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan has named a new chief risk officer and promoted three other senior staff as chief executive officer Annesley Wallace tweaks the fund’s leadership and strategy.
Linda Halley will be taking over as the organization’s chief risk officer, after her recent stint as interim chief financial officer, HOOPP announced on Wednesday. Ms. Halley has worked at the fund for 24 years, rising through the ranks within the finance department.
Ms. Halley succeeds Saskia Goedhart, who joined HOOPP as CRO in 2020, and is now leaving the pension fund manager. Also departing as part of the shuffle is chief operating officer Tim Shortill, who spent six years at the pension plan.
Chief legal officer Mary Abbott adds responsibility for public and regulatory affairs, government relations and compliance. Elena Palumbo, the chief human resources officer, will take on oversight of communications and corporate services.
Angela Waite has been named chief of staff and corporate secretary, joining the organization’s executive team.
The revamped leadership group will also include new CFO Reena Carter, who was hired in June from a senior portfolio management and operations role at Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Ms. Carter starts as CFO on August 1.
Ms. Wallace took over as the company’s CEO in April, after leading strategy and corporate development at Calgary-based TC Energy Corp. She was previously global head of infrastructure at OMERS, but left in a series of changes two years ago.
Under Ms. Wallace, the fund has been working on a new strategic plan following the retirement of her predecessor, Jeff Wendling, a 26-year veteran of the company, who led HOOPP for five years.
HOOPP manages $123-billion of assets on behalf of nearly 479,000 members from 709 employers in Ontario’s health care sector, including nurses and medical technicians.
The organization recently made a change to expand its membership by allowing self-employed doctors to join the pension plan for the first time.
Last year, HOOPP earned a 9.7-per-cent return on its investments, and the plan has gained an average of 7.5 per cent annually over the past decade.