Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 132
132
( 2026)
SPONSOR CONTENT
UPP is focused on building an intentional culture
M
ost veteran
employees have
clocked decades
with their
company. For
Nirupa Muthurajah, it’s only taken
three years to earn that title at the
University Pension Plan Ontario
(UPP), Canada’s newest defined
benefit pension.
What excited me most
was the chance to
make an impact at
the ground level and
shape the foundational framework from the
very beginning.
— Nirupa Muthurajah
Director, Equity Strategies
Lead, Active Public Markets
When the fund offered her a
job in 2022, Muthurajah says it
was an easy yes. After a decade
in institutional investing at two
large Canadian “Maple Eight”
pensions and a local family office,
she found that UPP’s mission
to provide retirement security
for university-sector employees
resonated with her. Plus, she was
getting in on the ground floor.
“What excited me most was
the chance to make an impact at
the ground level and shape the
foundational framework from the
very beginning,” said Muthurajah,
UPP’s director and equity strategies lead for active public markets.
Part of laying the foundation is
building an “intentional” culture,
says Omo Akintan, chief people
The organizational culture at University Pension Plan Ontario emphasizes meaningful collaboration between
all employees.
officer. “No organization sets out
to be a toxic work environment;
they fall into it. UPP realized that
you have to define your North
Star from a culture perspective
and intentionally build programs
and develop leaders that can help
produce that culture,” she says.
The organization fosters a
“learning mindset,” with an up
to $5,000 education assistance
fund, and is rolling out formalized
development plans for each employee. “We encourage dialogue
between people and their leaders
about what they need to be
successful in their roles and where
they aspire to take their careers,”
Akintan says.
It also sees equity, diversity,
inclusion and reconciliation
(EDIR) as critical components of
its culture. “At UPP, we call out
reconciliation intentionally and
are being particularly attentive
to the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission call to action that
asks organizations to educate their
employees about the rights and
history of Indigenous People.”
One way UPP is bringing that to
life is through UPP Reads. In 2023,
all employees read “21 Things You
May Not Know About The Indian
Act” by author Bob Joseph and
discussed it in peer-facilitated
groups. Now, it’s a part of onboarding: once there’s a big enough
cohort of new hires, they’re all
given a copy and participate in a
discussion group afterward.
It has also hosted organization-wide learning around
inclusive workplaces and now has
an online curriculum of EDIR
learning opportunities that employees can choose from on topics
such as psychological safety, trans
identities, ability rights and other
equity-deserving populations.
“This unique education is
really supporting us to broaden
our perspective and helping
us become more aware of
marginalized communities and
the importance of diversity,”
Muthurajah says. “From an
investment perspective, it’s
valuable for us to be aware of
since it’s a priority both in our
decision-making and in our hiring
practices.”
Muthurajah says she’s benefited
from UPP’s support for professional development. Since starting
at the pension, focused on active
