With my own retirement beckoning in the new year, I want to take the time to share a few last thoughts with you as my tenure as HOOPP's President & CEO draws to a close.
When I first joined HOOPP in 1998 as Chief Investment Officer, HOOPP was already a successful organization. By the time I became President & CEO in 2001, it was clear that my job would be to build on its successes and take HOOPP to the next level.
An insular approach had served HOOPP effectively for the previous 40 years, but it was abundantly clear from the multitude of changes in the broader pension and healthcare landscape, that a new approach was essential for HOOPP to step forward and claim its place as an advocate for retirement income adequacy.
Some of the changes to the pension and healthcare environment have been concrete and indisputable. The last decade has ushered in financial malfeasance that resulted in a much more rigid regulatory environment; the healthcare system has expanded into the broader community; and vast technological advances have transformed our entire society into users of tablets, social media and complex IT infrastructures.
And while these changes have resulted in coordinated adjustments to the way in which we operate, perhaps the biggest challenge is the rise of both real and perceived threats to the defined benefit (DB) model.
Whether we have faced the repeated, ill-defined attacks to the DB model in favour of defined contribution plans or the proposal of a “superfund,” HOOPP has remained steadfast in its role as defender of both DBs and as an advocate of expansion into a provider of broader coverage for the healthcare sector.
As we move forward, and as I have witnessed in my tenure at HOOPP, change is the one constant that everyone can count on in life. HOOPP is ready for it – no matter what form it takes.
We have built the capacity and the flexibility to deal with change within the organization, putting intelligent people and the right platforms in place so that we can go elbow-to-elbow with the best.
As I look back on my time at HOOPP, I can tell you this much: nothing has made me prouder than to have had the honour and privilege of working with the team there.
Every single day, in every single task that we do, we are helping secure the financial future of healthcare workers all across Ontario – and in this day and age, where so many are forced to put off retiring, that means a lot.
It has been said that the true test of a leader is the performance of the organization he leaves behind – and on this score, I feel I have left my legacy in good hands.
HOOPP has a great depth of talent in the 400 smart people that work here. It also has, in my successor, Jim Keohane, a strong and capable leader.
I take enormous pride in the accomplishments of HOOPP's team amidst a changing pension and healthcare landscape. I know that Jim is inheriting an organization that is ready for whatever challenges may come its way and I have enormous faith that the best of HOOPP will carry us forward to new successes in the days and years ahead.
I have had some of the best years of my working career at HOOPP and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.
John Crocker
Effective January 2012, Jim Keohane, will become HOOPP's new President & CEO, following current CEO John Crocker's planned retirement.
Jim, formerly HOOPP's Chief Investment Officer and Senior Vice President, Investments, has led the transition to HOOPP's adoption of a liability driven investment strategy enabling HOOPP to maintain its fully funded status. Through the efforts of Jim and HOOPP's investment team, the Fund has averaged returns of 6.28% over the 10-year period ending Dec. 31, 2010, adding more than $17 billion to the HOOPP Fund.
Dec 2011
