Blake Hutcheson, who has been chief executive of Oxford Properties Group, will take on the new role at OMERS of president and chief pensions officer.Fernando Morales
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is shaking up its management structure and promoting internal leaders in a move that signals the pension plan is planning for the future.
OMERS, which invests and administers pensions for almost half a million members and has more than $95-billion in net assets, has internally announced a series of executive changes set to take effect on April 1 that will reshape the executive team reporting to OMERS chief executive officer Michael Latimer.
The moves put Blake Hutcheson into the new role of president and chief pensions officer. Mr. Hutcheson, who has been chief executive of the pension plan's real estate company Oxford Properties Group, will now take on an expanded operational role at the fund. This change follows a move in 2014 to make Mr. Hutcheson the head of strategic investments where he established new arms-length investment platforms. Sources familiar with the pension plan say this puts Mr. Hutcheson in position to potentially lead OMERS when Mr. Latimer retires from the role.
Also moving up is Satish Rai, who becomes chief investment officer at OMERS overseeing a variety of asset classes within the portfolio. Mr. Rai has been head of capital markets activity at the pension plan since 2015, and is credited with making changes that significantly improved the group's performance. He came to the pension fund from TD Asset Management where he was well respected as chief investment officer. OMERS said that these management adjustments come as the pension plan transitions from thinking about its 2020 strategy, toward its 2030 strategy. "These changes have been anticipated and are being made as an integral part of our investment in and development of the senior leadership of our organization," Ann DeRabbie, vice-president of communications at OMERS, said in a statement.
Last year, OMERS posted an 11.5-per-cent investment return, benefiting from strong gains across public and private markets. In recent years, the pension plan has been retooling its investment strategy, including buying up more private-market assets and seeking to establish a larger presence outside North America, where the vast majority of its assets are invested. Michael Rolland, who has been head of private markets overseeing infrastructure and private equity, is set to take on a new role as president and chief operating officer of the Asia-Pacific region, which follows the opening of a new OMERS office in Singapore last year.
Michelle Banik, senior vice-president of people and culture, will also join the pension plan's senior executive team.
There will be new heads of real estate and capital markets to replace Mr. Hutcheson and Mr. Rai, respectively. Michael Turner will be the new Oxford Properties president and global head of real estate for OMERS. Mr. Turner had been the executive vice-president of Canada at Oxford, responsible for the development and management of 50-million-square-feet of Canadian commercial real estate in the portfolio. At the same time, Ken Miner becomes global head of capital markets. He formerly had responsibility for the fixed income, currency and balance sheet management portfolios.
Other leaders at the pension plan will stay in their current roles, including Jonathan Simmons, chief financial officer, and Rodney Hill, chief risk officer.
Amid these promotions, Warren Bell, current chief operating officer, will be retiring at the end of 2018. He has been with OMERS since late 2010 overseeing teams such as pension services, technology and human resources.