Chief Operating Officer – Credit & North American Private Equity

Sagard overview:
Sagard Holdings (“Sagard”) is a multi-strategy alternative asset manager with professionals located in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Since 2016, Sagard has grown exponentially. Assets under management have expanded from US$500M to over US$25B, and Sagard’s team of diverse professionals has grown from 50 to over 300 team members in just 5 years.

Sagard invests across four asset classes: Venture Capital, Private Equity, Private Credit, and Real Estate. Sagard was founded by Power Corporation of Canada (“Power”) as a complement to its global investment holdings and serves as one of its key strategic priorities with strong, long-term growth objectives. Power is one of the largest public companies in Canada, and a significant stakeholder in Sagard.

Sagard’s entrepreneurial DNA is palpable across our entire team and is a platform built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. Sagard looks to generate attractive returns by matching investment opportunities with flexible capital solutions and pairing entrepreneurs with teams that have deep industry knowledge. Sagard develops long-term partnerships and empowers the growth of its investments through a unique global network of portfolio companies, limited partners, advisors, and other valued relationships.

Sagard is a UN PRI signatory and strives to measure and assess the social and economic impact it has on the people and businesses within our network, as well as on our society as a whole.

Position overview:
The Chief Operating Officer – Credit & North American Private Equity, will be based in Sagard’s Toronto Office and is a critical new position that will be key to driving transformational growth across the business. The COO will report to the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and will work closely with senior investment leaders across the firm, as well as senior leaders in capital formation, value creation, compliance, communications, legal, and HR. The individual will serve as a key point of contact to help oversee day-to-day operations of the Credit and North American PE businesses. This is a highly visible role with an opportunity to make an impact across the business.

Your Responsibilities:

• Partner with senior leaders across the organization, including investment teams, Finance/Tax, value creation, capital formation, investor relations, compliance, legal, and HR to serve as a key point of contact to help operate and grow the business.
• Prioritize and lead large scale strategic initiatives including new products launches and strategic M&A designed to transform the business.
• Conduct initiatives to strengthen governance, organizational structure, and processes.
• Work with the investment teams to develop strategic plans and build out for the business.
• Evaluate and partner with external vendors to drive efficiencies and utilize best practices.
• Partner with key teams on retail initiatives.
• Collaborate with finance on administrative and annual budgeting exercises.
• Assist the investment team to create and maintain its systems and IT roadmap to support the business’s strategic plan.
• Collaborate with the capital formation team on fundraising efforts.
• Assist in optimizing product and legal structures, in collaboration with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, to enable strategic and operational objectives.
• Work with the finance team at Sagard to establish any third-party credit facilities needed to support the business.
• Influence stakeholders across the firm to drive positive outcomes for the organization.

Experience & Skills:

• Appropriate industry knowledge, including working in a global asset manager with private credit and private equity expertise.
• Track record of leading project implementation across various functional areas.
• Experience with relevant investment strategies (private credit and private equity) and functions such as fund accounting, fund administration, trade operations, fund treasury, CLO operations and compliance, trade settlements, performance, valuations, investor reporting, regulatory reporting, financial reporting, management reporting, internal controls/audit, and vendor/subscription management.
• Knowledge and expertise in budget setting, working with third party banks establishing credit facilities, and/or experience with investor relations with retail or institutional investors is considered an asset.
• Requires communication and diplomacy skills in order to guide and influence others.
• Experience and demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities in a complex and dynamic environment.
• Self-motivated with the ability to make decisions in the absence of detailed instructions.
• Should demonstrate a commitment to quality and attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal relationships with ability to influence and negotiate with stakeholders.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• 10+ years of experience overseeing multiple business operations; technology operations and investment operations experience highly preferred.
• Experience working with executive management team.
• Demonstrated experience in the ability to influence/lead high performing teams.

Sagard is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity in the workplace. We are therefore happy to accommodate any individual. If you require accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, please contact the People & Culture team to make your needs known in advance.

We welcome all applications and wish to thank all candidates for their interest in applying for this position. However, only individuals selected for interviews will be contacted.