The Growth Equity team builds positions in the most attractive growth and venture backed companies by investing alongside top-tier GP partners. We make direct investments in a wide range of next generation technologies and business models, primarily in North America and Europe. Our direct investments range from investment sizes of $25M to $200M+ as we follow growth companies through their lifecycle.
Our Team
Paul McCracken
Managing Director, Growth Equity
Paul leads investments in growth stage private companies in healthcare. Prior to that, he was responsible for building the health care team and leading the launch and scale-up of multiple health care strategies for CPPIB Active Equities.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2009, Paul was a Senior Vice President at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers in New York, leading the Health Care Desk-Based Analytics team for trading in public equities and equity derivatives. Previously, Paul held a series of positions in financial services, private start-up ventures, and strategy consulting.
Paul holds a BA (Hons) in Chemistry and English, a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Queen’s University.
Monica Adractas
Managing Director, Head of Growth Equity
Based in San Francisco, Monica leads the Growth Equity Team within Private Equity, overseeing the Fund’s venture and growth investments. Growth Equity invests through integrated funds and direct investment strategies, leveraging 20+ partnerships with top-tier GPs and focusing on technologies and innovations. Monica joined CPP Investments in 2019, when she launched the Venture Capital program and was instrumental in establishing CPP Investments’ presence in San Francisco.
Prior to joining CPP Investments, Monica built and led businesses in high growth environments, including Meta, Box, and Starbucks. Most recently, she was Global Director at Workplace, an enterprise business she helped launch at Facebook. Monica spent a decade with McKinsey & Company to start her career across San Francisco and New York.
Monica holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Iliyan Kaytazov
Managing Director, Growth Equity
Iliyan leads investments in growth stage private companies in Enterprise Software and Deep Tech. Based in San Francisco, he plays a key role in sourcing and managing direct investments.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2016, Iliyan spent 8 years working with strategic and financial investors on a broad range of M&A transactions across industries at RBC Capital Markets. Prior to that, Iliyan held a series of positions in the Software industry driving product development and go-to-market for small and mid-sized software companies.
Iliyan holds a MSc in Software Engineering from University of Alberta and an MBA from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management.
Max Miller
Managing Director, Growth Equity
Max leads investments in venture and growth stage funds and companies for CPP Investments’ Growth Equity team. Max joined CPP in 2014 and was one of the founding members of the Venture Capital program, which now includes a portfolio of several top-tier funds and companies. Max is based in San Francisco, having relocated from Toronto as one of the initial employees to establish the office in 2019.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2014, Max was a consultant at A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm, and an Analyst at Birch Hill Equity Partners, a Canadian mid-market private equity firm.
Max holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) from the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business.
Caitlin Walsh
Managing Director, Growth Equity
Caitlin leads investments in growth stage private companies in deep tech and mobility for CPP Investments’ Growth Equity team. Caitlin is based in San Francisco, having relocated from Toronto as one of the initial employees to establish the office in 2019.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2014, Caitlin led strategy consulting teams at Bain & Co. She also invested in public equities at Basswood Partners, a New York based hedge fund, and worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch.
Caitlin holds a BS in Mathematics from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.