OMERS Ventures has had three heads in three years. Here's what the leadership churn signals for pension fund venture capital exposure
Saar Pikar, the head of venture and growth investments at the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), is leaving the pension fund to become president of Kensington Capital Partners Ltd.
Pikar starts at the Toronto-based alternative asset manager on July 28. He will report to chief executive officer Tom Kennedy and take direct oversight of Kensington’s venture and growth portfolios.
Third leadership change in three years
The move marks the third time in three years that the OMERS Ventures unit has changed hands. Damien Steel left in 2023. Michael Yang, its most senior venture capital leader, followed two years later.
OMERS said it expects to announce new leadership for the division in the coming weeks. Michael Block, OMERS head of private capital, praised Pikar’s record across asset management and growth equity. Block praised Pikar for bringing clarity and strong relationship-building skills to the Ventures & Growth division.
Why this matters for plan sponsors
For pension fund managers and institutional allocators, the leadership churn at OMERS Ventures raises questions that go beyond a single personnel move. OMERS has approximately $1.5-billion — about one per cent of its total portfolio — allocated to venture investments.
Managing that allocation has proven costly. The fund took a nine-figure loss on point-of-sale software company TouchBistro Inc., recovering only $2 million from an initial $140-million investment. The unit has also retreated from the United States and the United Kingdom after struggling to compete in markets such as Silicon Valley. It now focuses primarily on Canada.
That combination — repeated leadership turnover, a significant write-down, and a narrowing geographic mandate — is the kind of governance signal plan sponsors and investment committees track closely. It speaks directly to how large defined benefit funds manage alternative asset exposure.
Canada’s largest pension funds are broadly reassessing their private capital strategies. Some are pulling back from direct investing and shifting toward co-investments and external managers.
Research supports a more targeted approach. A Fraser Institute paper examining Canadian pension fund returns found that domestic venture capital and private equity allocations outperform foreign equivalents, with Canadian-fund IRRs averaging 25.8 per cent versus 4.9 per cent for foreign funds. The question for plan sponsors is not just whether to be in venture, but whether their managers can execute on that home-market advantage.
Kensington context: a redemption freeze
Pikar’s destination firm also warrants attention from institutional allocators.
Kensington suspended redemptions on its flagship private equity fund in September 2025, citing liquidity challenges across private markets. That suspension was extended in December 2025 for a further 90 days. For any pension fund with existing or prospective exposure to Kensington, it is a liquidity risk consideration worth factoring into due diligence.
Kensington has around $2 billion under management across venture capital, growth equity, and mid-market buyouts. AGF completed a strategic investment to acquire a 51-per-cent ownership stake in the firm in March 2024.
OMERS reaffirms venture commitment
Despite the turbulence, OMERS is not exiting the asset class. “The Ventures team continues to actively source and diligence investment opportunities with a focus on backing strong Canadian companies and creating long-term value for our members,” Block said.
The fund is targeting at least $10 billion in new Canadian investments over the next five years. Priority areas include infrastructure, real estate, and private capital, with venture and growth focused on AI platforms and defence technologies.
That domestic push is part of a broader reshaping of OMERS’ investment leadership. The fund absorbed its CIO responsibilities into the CEO role and reorganised its investment reporting structure.
Alongside the Pikar appointment, Kensington is also hiring Bo Cenanovic as senior managing director and head of private equity. Cenanovic spent more than a decade at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and was most recently a managing director at PSG Equity. His mandate is to expand Kensington’s mid-market buyout business.
