Why We Recruit is a series of interviews with our recruiting partners covering a variety of topics ranging from their experience working with HBS to what they want students to know. New interviews will be released throughout the year to dive into unique perspectives of recruiting.
Name, Title and Organization
Melissa Dalmacio, Senior Advisor, Campus Recruitment, CPP Investment Board
Describe your organization in three to five sentences.
CPP Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the most respected and fastest-growing institutional investors in the world. With current assets under management valued at approximately $300 billion (CDN), CPPIB is a professional investment management organization that globally invests the funds of the Canada Pension Plan to help ensure its long-term sustainability. CPPIB invests in all major asset classes, including public equity, private equity, real estate, infrastructure and fixed-income instruments, and currently has offices in Toronto, Hong Kong, London, New York, São Paulo, Luxembourg and Mumbai.
How long has your organization been recruiting at Harvard Business School and what roles do you hire for?
Our fund launched its active management strategy in 2006 to diversity investments by asset class and geography. Shortly after, in 2010, our organization started recruiting through the on-campus recruiting process at Harvard Business School. We recruit for full-time opportunities at the Senior Associate level, as well as Summer Associate Internships in our Private Investments and Real Assets group, with a particular focus on Direct Private Equity, Principal Credit Investments, Natural Resources and Infrastructure.
What recruiting tactics have you found most successful in engaging with students and/or alumni at HBS?
Some of our key successes in engaging students at HBS are coffee chats and student club events such as industry education presentations, conferences and brown bag lunches. We also attend the HBS Company Information Day, including the meet and greet. These events, coupled with posting on the HBS recruiting platform, have provided very valuable touchpoints to students. HBS alumni at CPPIB are also great contributors as they are constantly in touch with current students, alumni and faculty.
Give us your elevator pitch – what is the one thing students should know about working for you?
If you are looking for intellectually challenging work in a collaborative and fast-paced environment, CPPIB is a company you would want to work for. Since we are one of the fastest-growing institutional investors in the world, we have a focus on career development opportunities that is supported by our diverse and inspiring colleagues and leaders.
Is there anything else you would like to share with fellow recruiters or those who are new to recruiting with HBS?
Personal touchpoints are key. Reach out to the students / student groups and work together on discovering what kind of outreach works best for them. Sometimes your recruitment strategy will need to include unconventional ideas you would never have thought of.
Interested in learning more? Look at our Recruiting Guide to discover ways to engage with and recruit current students at Harvard Business School.
