With a diverse and well-established portfolio of private equity managers, the PE Funds team uses a three-pronged investment approach:
- Making multi-year commitments to established large- and middle-market buyout and growth equity funds in North America and Europe. The team targets fund size in excess of C$1 billion in developed markets, with a minimum commitment size of C$100 million;
- Selectively backing first- or second-time funds with limited realized track records or institutional history (emerging managers), with a minimum fund size of C$500 million; and
- Making minority direct investments, up to C$100M, alongside our private equity fund partners.
Our Team
The PE Funds team is comprised of experienced professionals with offices in Toronto and London. Here is a listing of all our senior team members, categorized and searchable by city.
The PE Funds team is comprised of experienced professionals with offices in Toronto and London. Here is a listing of all our senior team members, categorized and searchable by city.
Caitlin Gubbels
Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Equity
Caitlin leads CPP Investments’ Private Equity program globally, including teams dedicated to investments in Direct Private Equity, Private Equity Asia, Private Equity Funds and Secondaries.
Before this appointment she was Managing Director, Head of Funds, where she led the private equity funds business at CPP Investments. In this capacity, she has been responsible for overseeing and leading private equity fund investments in North America and Europe, with a focus on buyout and growth equity strategies.
Prior to joining CPPIB in 2010, Caitlin worked at CIBC World Markets in Investment Banking, based in Toronto. During her time at CIBC, Caitlin focused primarily on executing M&A transactions and public market offerings for clients in the Diversified Industries group.
Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University. She is also a Director of the Board of Wilton Re.
Afsaneh Lebel
Managing Director, Funds
Afsaneh is responsible for executing and managing private equity fund investments in North America and Europe.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2009, Afsaneh was an investment banker at UBS Securities Canada, where she worked on a variety of M&A and restructuring mandates across different sectors in the U.S. and Canada.
Afsaneh holds a BComm from McGill University. She is a CFA charterholder.
Dushy Sivanithy
Managing Director, Head of Secondaries
Dushy leads our private equity secondaries team, based in London and Toronto, which undertakes a wide range of secondary transactions and liquidity solutions for both GPs and LPs.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2018, Dushy was Head of Origination for Rede Partners. Prior to that he was an LP for 15 years, primarily with Pantheon, where he sat on the investment committees for Europe and Emerging Markets. He began his career at Morgan Stanley in Investment Banking.
Dushy holds a BSc in Biochemistry from King’s College London.