The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Thursday announced the appointment of Roland Lescure as executive vice president and chief investment officer.

Lescure will take up his new post this fall.

His appointment stems from an action plan underway since April to refocus on core operations, manage risk more effectively and generate sustained returns over the long term, the Caisse said.

“The Caisse is proud to welcome Roland Lescure to its senior management team. He is recognized in Europe as one of the best asset managers of his generation,” stated Michael Sabia, president and CEO.

Lescure will be responsible for setting the Caisse’s investment strategy and asset allocation for its overall portfolio, as well as shaping the research underpinning its investment activities. He will also oversee investments in liquid markets (equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities) and will play a key advisory role for private equity and real estate.

A graduate of Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole nationale de la statistique et de l’administration économique (ENSAE) and the London School of Economics and Political Science, Lescure is a seasoned economist with many years of experience in the investment field.

He began his career in asset management at the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) in France. Lescure is currently chief investment officer at Groupama Asset Management, which is one of the largest asset management firms in France.

Responsible for managing assets totalling 80 billion euros ($125 billion), Lescure was one of the main architects of the measured strategy behind Groupama AM’s success, the Caisse said.

“Recruiting an executive of this calibre shows that the Caisse is seen as a leading global fund manager. The addition of Mr. Lescure will strengthen our team and enable us to accelerate the implementation of our plan to serve depositors more effectively and to ensure the Caisse’s growth,” Sabia said.

The Caisse manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. It held $120.1 billion of net assets as at Dec. 31, 2008.

IE