Bridgewater Executive Karen Karniol-Tambour Named Inaugural CEO of Canada Strong Fund
Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Bridgewater Associates co-chief investment officer Karen Karniol-Tambour to lead the Canada Strong Fund, a new sovereign wealth fund with an initial $25 billion capital commitment.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Karen Karniol-Tambour as the inaugural chief executive of the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's new sovereign wealth fund. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced the appointment on Monday.
Karniol-Tambour currently serves as the co-chief investment officer at U.S.-based Bridgewater Associates, where she has worked for more than 20 years. She graduated from Princeton University in 2006 and has been named one of the 100 most influential women in U.S. finance by Barron’s for seven consecutive years.
The Canada Strong Fund was announced last spring with an initial capital commitment of $25 billion. It is designed to operate at arm’s length from the government under its own independent board of directors. The fund's mandate includes financing "nation-building" domestic projects and generating returns that can be reinvested into new Canadian initiatives.
A retail component will also be included, allowing individual Canadians to invest and share in the fund's returns through retail notes similar to savings bonds.
While the PMO biography states that Karniol-Tambour is a Canadian citizen, public records indicate she was born in Israel.