Teachers' appoints head of London private equity office

TORONTO, Jan. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') today announced that Jo Taylor has been appointed as the new head of the London office of Teachers' Private Capital (TPC).

As a Vice-President of TPC and Teachers' senior representative for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Mr. Taylor will lead a growing team of professionals responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing investments ranging between C$100 million and C$300 million.

"With his extensive investment background and private equity experience, Jo has demonstrated a collaborative leadership style and strong deal-origination skills that will make him a powerful addition to our London team," said Jane Rowe, Senior Vice-President, TPC. "His appointment enhances our investment capabilities and demonstrates our clear commitment to grow our European business."

Mr. Taylor's private equity career includes more than 20 years with 3i Group Plc, where he held a number of progressively senior roles and was a member of the group management and investment committees. Most recently, he has worked as an independent investor, portfolio manager and board member. Mr. Taylor holds a BA (Hons) from London University and an MBA from Manchester Business School.

TPC activities include leading deals on a sole or partnered basis, investing in private equity funds in markets and sectors that it cannot efficiently access directly and co-investing with other like-minded private equity funds. TPC manages a global portfolio valued at approximately $12 billion. Since Teachers' began making private equity investments 20 years ago, it has achieved an average annualized return of close to 20% from the asset class.

In addition to its TPC holdings, Teachers' also has considerable infrastructure, public equity and real estate investments in the United Kingdom, including Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd., HS1 rail network, Birmingham and Bristol international airports, Scotia Gas Networks PLC and Thomas More Square. Teachers' total UK investments exceed £2 billion.

ABOUT TEACHERS'
With $107.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2010, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets globally and administers the pensions of 295,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information visit www.otpp.com.

Deborah Allan
Director, Communications
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[email protected]