A contender for the top job at BlackRock Inc. was ousted from the money-management giant for failing to disclose a relationship with an employee under his reporting line. Mark is a Senior Managing Director at BlackRock, Global Head of Active Equities, Chairman of BlackRock Alternative Investors. He also serves as Chairman of the firm's Global Investment Committee and on its Global Executive Committee. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2016, Mark was President & CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Mark joined CPPIB in June, 2005 as the organization's Senior Vice-President, Private Investments. He was later named Executive Vice-President, Investments, responsible for managing all of the investment activities of CPPIB. He was named President & CEO in 2012. Prior to joining the CPPIB, Mark was responsible for the private equity fund and co-investment program at the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Previously, Mark was an officer with Harrowston Inc., a publicly traded Canadian merchant bank and a lawyer with Sullivan & Cromwell, practicing in New York and Paris. He also served as a law clerk to Madam Justice Beverley McLachlin at the Supreme Court of Canada. Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University and a law degree and Masters in Business Administration from the University of Toronto. He was also a Fulbright Scholar at Yale University, where he obtained a Master of Laws. Mark is a regular lecturer at the Harvard Business School and an adjunct professor at Tsinghua University. Mark is a member of the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, which advises the Canadian Finance Minister on economic policies to achieve long-term sustainable growth. He is also the Chairman of the Focusing Capital on the Long Term initiative, which he co-founded. Mark also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations, including Sinai Health Services in Toronto, the Capital Markets Institute and the Dean's Advisory Board at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Mark is a certified member of the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors. Previously, he chaired the United Way of Toronto's 2015 Campaign and Youth Without Shelter, and is a past Board Member of Right to Play International.