CDPQ Names New Head Of Real Estate To Oversee Ivanhoé Cambridge

Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global real estate investor with tens of billions of dollars in assets, has a new leader. 

Canadian pension fund CDPQ appointed Rana Ghorayeb as executive vice president and head of real estate, it announced Thursday. In her new role, she is responsible for overseeing the portfolio and investment team of  Ivanhoé Cambridge, the pension fund's real estate investment subsidiary. 

The portfolio includes assets of over C$77B, or $57B.  

Ghorayeb joined CDPQ in 2012 and most recently served as president and CEO of Otéra Capital, CPDQ's real estate lending arm, where she worked for almost five years.

"Along with the Ivanhoé Cambridge team, I am delighted to be able to contribute to the next chapter at this pivotal moment for the industry, knowing that we have the key strengths to come out ahead," Ghorayeb said in a release. 

Before joining CDPQ, Ghorayeb served as vice president of acquisitions at JP Morgan Asset Management in London. There, she was in charge of real estate investments in Europe. She also worked as a senior partner at the U.S. pension fund TIAA.

The appointment comes as the pension fund is in the process of integrating Otéra Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge as investment groups within the company. Ghorayeb will begin her new position on April 29, when the groups are fully integrated.

She will take over for CEO Nathalie Palladitcheff, who took on the role in 2019. Palladitcheff will remain as CEO until the transition period ends in April.

The pension fund's real estate subsidiary holds interest in 1,500 buildings primarily in the industrial, office, residential and retail sectors, according to its website. The company has worked on several partnerships across the country, including the 47-story, 1M SF Texas Tower it co-developed in Houston and the 350K SF FORUM lab and office project in Boston being co-developed by Lendlease.