The $212B (C$295B) British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has appointed Ken Bennett as strategic advisor for its private equity program, effective immediately.
In his new role, Bennett will focus on strengthening long-term value creation activities across BCI Private Equity’s global portfolio, noted a news release. He will also be responsible for reinforcing the Canadian pension investor’s strategic partnerships with current and prospective management teams to drive further business growth.
Alongside his advisory role, he will serve as a board member of U.K.-based specialty insurance and reinsurance broker BMS Group — one of BCI’s private equity investments — where he will provide strategic guidance on ongoing value creation and growth strategies.
Based in Newfoundland and Labrador, Bennett has extensive experience across the insurance and reinsurance industries and business strategy. He began his career at as a manager at KPMG, before moving to Johnson Inc., where he served for more than a decade in several leadership roles, including vice-president and corporate controller, vice-president of growth initiatives, regional vice-president for Western Canada, and chief operating officer. He also served for 15 years as president of Johnson Insurance Ltd. and Assurance Co, where he led a successful transformation and expansion of the business.
“We are pleased to welcome an accomplished industry leader of Ken’s caliber to BCI’s Private Equity program,” said Jim Pittman, executive vice-president and global head of private equity, in the release. “Ken is the first of several senior advisors we plan to bring on to work alongside our talented team to help scale and support our growing global portfolio. He will be a key asset to the BMS board, and his deep operating expertise, board-level insight, and unparalleled experience in insurance and reinsurance will further strengthen our value creation model, governance and alignment across our portfolio.”
Outside of work, Bennett currently chairs the board of Newfoundland and Labrador non-profit The Health Care Foundation and is a member of Vedra AI Inc.’s board. He is also a former chair of the board of Newfoundland Power (a Fortis Company).
