diff --git a/cmake/opentelemetry-proto.cmake b/cmake/opentelemetry-proto.cmake
index b6cb66a3ab..5484dcd439 100644
--- a/cmake/opentelemetry-proto.cmake
+++ b/cmake/opentelemetry-proto.cmake
@@ -82,8 +82,7 @@ foreach(IMPORT_DIR ${PROTOBUF_IMPORT_DIRS})
   list(APPEND PROTOBUF_INCLUDE_FLAGS "-I${IMPORT_DIR}")
 endforeach()
 
-get_target_property(gRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE gRPC::grpc_cpp_plugin
-                    IMPORTED_LOCATION_RELEASE)
+set(gRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE $<TARGET_FILE:gRPC::grpc_cpp_plugin>)
 
 add_custom_command(
   OUTPUT ${COMMON_PB_H_FILE}