Alberta appoints Ray Gilmour as interim CEO of AIMCo

The provincial government has announced the new chief executive officer of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) following Thursday's news that the agency’s entire board of directors had been fired.

AIMCo is the Crown corporation that manages pension and other funds for the province and handles more than $160 billion in assets.

Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a statement Thursday that the firing of the board, including CEO Evan Siddall, was due to rising management fees coupled with a consistent failure to meet mandated benchmark returns.

He said he would be the sole director and chair for AIMCo until a new chair was appointed and a new board established after that.

On Friday, the province revealed Deputy Minister of Executive Council Ray Gilmour would serve as the interim CEO.

"Ray has been the most trusted official in the province under three premiers,” said Horner.

"I have complete confidence in his ability to get costs at AIMCo under control and restore stability to the corporation."

Gilmour has been the most senior public servant in the Government of Alberta for more than five years and worked in executive council under multiple administrations.

Prior to his time in government, he worked for in banking and financial services.

AIMCo, in its latest annual report, said it had $161 billion of assets under management as of the end of last year, with 600 employees spread across offices in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Luxembourg and London, U.K.

It said it handles about $118 billion in investments for public sector pension plans representing thousands of Albertans, including teachers, police officers and municipal workers.

In a Friday statement, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association Jason Schilling said despite the firing of the AIMCo board, Alberta teachers can be confident that their pensions remain secure.

"The Alberta Teachers’ Association is monitoring developments closely and will be ready to step in to defend the interests of active and retired teachers," Schilling said.

"The Association disapproved of the government-mandated transferring of teacher pension assets to AIMCo in 2020, and we remain concerned about the politicization of pension policy."

AIMCo is also responsible for managing the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, in which Premier Danielle Smith has pledged to stash over $250 billion.

- With files from The Canadian Press