CAAT Pension Plan has placed embattled CEO Derek Dobson on administrative leave, effective immediately.

The board of trustees announced Friday that Kevin Fahey, most recently the plan’s chief investment officer, has been appointed acting CEO and plan manager to lead the organization during the transition.

The board also named Audrey Wubbenhorst as chair, succeeding Don Smith, and appointed Janet Greenwood as vice-chair, replacing Kareen Stangherlin, who has resigned as a trustee.

The moves came after the Ontario Public Sector Employees removed former chair Don Smith after CAAT initially suspended him. Smith had been OPSEU’s representative on the board. Smith was removed after other board members and CAAT executives became concerned about a $1.6-million vacation payment provided to Dobson amid questions regarding whether he was eligible for it in accordance with CAAT’s compensation policy.

The board and executives were also concerned about a board-sanctioned consensual relationship that Dobson had with a CAAT employee, according to multiple reports. He had disclosed the relationship previously to the board and CAAT employees.

“The CAAT board of trustees has determined that these changes are in the best interests of the plan and are necessary to restore stakeholder trust in CAAT’s leadership, governance and plan management,” said Wubbenhorst in a statement. “[Fahey] is a veteran CAAT executive with a strong track record of high performance, and his extensive experience and institutional knowledge make him ideally suited to lead the organization through the current period of significant change.”

Fahey has spent more than 16 years at CAAT and also sits on the Investment Committee for Teachers’ Pension Plan Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador. He previously chaired the Pension Investment Association of Canada and the Salvation Army of Canada’s Investment Advisory Committee. He holds a BCom from Queen’s University, an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Wubbenhorst, an employee-appointed trustee since 2023, is co-chair of the finance and administration committee and a faculty member at Humber Polytechnic. Greenwood, an employer-appointed trustee since 2023, has served as co-chair of the investment committee and as a member of the governance committee, and brings more than three decades of global wealth management experience.

The plan also provided an update on its independent-governance review, launched after the board became aware of concerns related to a vacation payment to Dobson. CAAT said the governance-related issues under review do not affect the plan’s financial health or its ability to deliver secure, predictable pensions, and that the review is expected to be completed later in February.

“Good governance is the backbone of a pension plan’s stability and strength, and the foundation for trust between the plan and its sponsors, members and all other stakeholders,” Wubbenhorst said. “The board will carefully consider findings and recommendations of the independent review and remains focused as always on strengthening Plan governance to ensure it aligns with industry best practices.”

CAAT’s most recent independent valuations show the plan is 124% funded on a going-concern basis. With more than $23 billion in assets and approximately $6 billion in funding reserves, the plan said it has a greater than 99% probability of remaining fully funded over the next 20 years.

Established in 1967, CAAT is an independent, jointly governed defined benefit pension plan that serves more than 800 participating employers across 20 industries and about 125,000 members.

Photo: CAAT