Three of the most senior executives at the CAAT Pension Plan resigned without explanation this week, as chief executive officer Derek Dobson cited a need for “the right alignment of our executive team” in a memo to staff.
Chief investment officer Asif Haque, chief financial officer Mike Dawson and chief pension officer Evan Howard resigned on Monday, according to a company-wide e-mail reviewed by The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Dobson did not provide a reason for their departures to plan staff, but he wrote that all three executives “are leaving the organization on good terms” in the e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesperson for CAAT confirmed the resignations in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday that did not explain why they are leaving but said that the plan “is in strong financial shape.”
Mr. Haque, Mr. Dawson and Mr. Howard all had years of experience at CAAT. Mr. Haque had the longest tenure among them, at nearly 16 years, and had served as CIO since 2021.
Mr. Dawson joined CAAT in 2018 after a stint as a vice-president at fund manager BlackRock Inc., and took over as CFO in 2022. And Mr. Howard, a former Bay Street lawyer, joined CAAT as general counsel in 2012.
CAAT promoted Kevin Fahey to CIO, to succeed Mr. Haque. Mr. Fahey has worked at CAAT for 17 years.
The plan also named Scott Blakey, a former CAAT trustee, as interim executive vice-president and chief people and culture officer.
“CAAT is actively in search of permanent senior executives,” Mr. Dobson said in the staff memo. He also said CAAT’s 2026 business plan “remains intact.”
Chief strategy officer Jillian Kennedy is staying in her role, and vice-president of actuarial solutions John Baiocco will oversee the plan’s funding and sustainability.
CAAT is a multiemployer pension fund, founded in 1967 to serve Ontario’s colleges of applied arts and technology, that has expanded to serve more than 750 participating employers, with more than 120,000 active and retired members.
The Globe is a participating employer in CAAT, having merged its company pension plan in 2022.
The CAAT plan manages $23.3-billion in assets and is in a surplus funding position, with $1.24 in assets for every dollar it expects to owe in pensions, as of Jan. 1, 2025.