AIMCo Appoints Ray Gilmour as Permanent CEO
Alberta Investment Management Corp. has made Ray Gilmour its permanent chief executive officer, removing the interim tag from the job he took more than a year ago when the province overhauled the pension fund manager’s senior ranks.
AIMCo’s board of directors appointed Mr. Gilmour as CEO effective immediately, according to an announcement released on Tuesday. His performance had been reviewed by a third party.
Mr. Gilmour was an unconventional choice to lead the $179.6-billion public-sector pension fund manager, which invests retirement savings for pension, endowment, insurance and government clients in Alberta.
He was hand-picked by the provincial government to serve as interim CEO in November, 2024, after Finance Minister Nate Horner dismissed AIMCo’s board of directors, previous CEO Evan Siddall and other top executives.
Since then, Mr. Gilmour has helped steady AIMCo after a period of tumultuous change, and revamped the pension fund manager’s senior executive team. That included promoting Justin Lord to chief investment officer earlier this year.
In the first six months of 2025, AIMCo earned a 2-per-cent return on its investments during a volatile start to the year for markets, which were unsettled by shifting tariff policies.
“The board has complete confidence in Ray’s clear management expertise and proven ability to excel, both as leader of this organization and as an effective steward of the funds AIMCo manages on behalf of its clients,” board chair Stephen Harper said in a news release.
AIMCo’s board hired “an independent third-party organization to conduct a comprehensive review of Ray’s performance during his tenure as Interim CEO, including interviews with key stakeholders such as clients, members of the Executive Committee, and others across AIMCo,” spokesperson Sabrina Bhangoo said in an e-mail.
Mr. Gilmour has deep experience as a public servant. He held senior roles under several Alberta premiers, including a five-year stint as deputy minister of the province’s executive council and also a deputy role in its finance department. He spent an earlier part of his career in the banking industry.
But he arrived to lead AIMCo without the senior-level experience in investing and finance that would by typical for the CEO of a major pension fund manager. And his appointment, combined with the province’s decision to appoint the province’s deputy finance minister as a permanent member of AIMCo’s board, raised questions about whether the arm’s length pension fund manager was being drawn closer to government.
In a letter published by the province last summer, Mr. Horner laid out a “renewed mandate” for AIMCo, affirming that it “will operate independently and at arm’s length from the Government of Alberta.”
From the outset, people close to AIMCo and the Alberta government expected Mr. Gilmour to stay put, serving as a steady hand with a mandate to keep costs under control and boost satisfaction among pension plan clients.
“Over the past year, I have seen firsthand that the AIMCo team is talented and committed to excellence, and that it shares a deep sense of purpose to deliver long-term value for our clients,” Mr. Gilmour said in a statement.
Since Mr. Gilmour started at AIMCo, former private equity head Peter Teti was named global head of private assets. The pension fund manager also hired John Walsh as chief legal officer and promoted Janice Guzzo to chief human resources officer earlier this year.
Three board members who were previously dismissed by the province returned to form a smaller, revamped board chaired by Mr. Harper: private-equity executive Jason Montemurro, real estate investor Bob Dhillon and former Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan CEO Jim Keohane. AIMCo also added its former CIO Sandra Lau to the board.
Barbara Shecter of the National Post also reports AIMCo names former senior bureaucrat Ray Gilmour as permanent CEO:
Former senior bureaucrat Ray Gilmour has been named chief executive of Alberta Investment Management Corp.
Gilmour, Alberta’s former deputy minister of executive council, was installed as interim CEO of AIMCo on Nov. 8 last year, the day after the Alberta government jettisoned the entire board of the pension and endowment fund and four members of the management team, including then-CEO Evan Siddall.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner blamed the shakeup on rising costs without commensurate returns for the fund, which was set up to operate at arms-length from government and manages pensions for a range of clients including teachers, municipal employees and judges. But insiders said there was growing friction over decisions made by the management team and board, including those involving the establishment of international offices and energy transition funds.
Shortly after Gilmour was appointed interim CEO a little over a year ago, the Alberta government named former prime minister Stephen Harper as AIMCo’s chair and established a permanent unpaid board seat to be filled by the province’s deputy minister of treasury board and finance. The board position was added “to ensure more consistent communications between AIMCo and Alberta’s government.”
Before Gilmour joined AIMCo, he was Alberta’s deputy minister of executive council for more than five years and held other senior positions in government including deputy minister roles in finance, intergovernmental relations and infrastructure.
Prior to joining the Alberta government, he worked in the banking and financial services industry for 15 years. A chartered professional accountant by training, Gilmour also has a masters of business administration from the University of Saskatchewan.
“The board has complete confidence in Ray’s clear management expertise and proven ability to excel, both as leader of this organization and as an effective steward of the funds AIMCo manages on behalf of its clients,” Harper said in a statement.
When Harper was appointed chair a little over a year ago, three of AIMCo’s 10 former directors re-joined the scaled-down board.
At the time, pension and governance professionals expected that replacing the interim CEO would be a top priority for the reconstituted board and its chair to re-establish confidence in the arms-length model. But some also noted that it could be a challenge to recruit a skilled investment management professional in the wake of the government’s shock reorganization of AIMCo.
Earlier today, AIMCo's Board issued a press release stating they appointed Ray Gilmour as permanent CEO, effective immediately:
Edmonton – Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Ray Gilmour as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gilmour has been fulfilling the role on an interim basis since November 8, 2024.
“The Board has complete confidence in Ray’s clear management expertise and proven ability to excel, both as leader of this organization and as an effective steward of the funds AIMCo manages on behalf of its clients,” said The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Chair, AIMCo Board of Directors. “Together with Ray, the Board is committed to ensuring that AIMCo remains an admired institution that will continue to serve the best interests of Albertans for decades to come.”
“Over the past year, I have seen firsthand that the AIMCo team is talented and committed to excellence, and that it shares a deep sense of purpose to deliver long-term value for our clients,” said Mr. Gilmour. “I am proud to serve as AIMCo’s CEO as we continue to grow and evolve in ways that enhance our ability to deliver for all of our stakeholders.”
Prior to joining AIMCo, Mr. Gilmour served as Alberta’s Deputy Minister of Executive Council for more than five years. He has also held senior positions in the Alberta government, including Deputy Minister roles in Finance, Intergovernmental Relations, and Infrastructure. Prior to these roles in government, Mr. Gilmour worked in the banking and financial services industry for 15 years. Mr. Gilmour has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Saskatchewan. In addition, he is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors Program.
About Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than C$182 billion of assets under management as at June 30, 2025. AIMCo invests globally on behalf of pension, endowment, insurance and government funds in the Province of Alberta. With offices in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, London and Luxembourg, our more than 200 investment professionals bring deep expertise in a range of sectors, geographies and industries.
Alright, let me get right to it.
First, congratulations to Ray Gilmour, he's now officially the permanent CEO of AIMCo with a mandate that lasts five years and is renewable if he does a satisfactory job.
Second, I don't think anyone is surprised that Ray Gilmour was made permanent CEO.
In my opinion, this was in the works from the get-go after Alberta's finance minister Nate Horner dismissed former CEO Evan Siddall, some senior executives and the entire board of directors.
Of course, Mr. Horner and the Board reiterated the organization's independence and there was a trial run for Mr. Gilmour which he passed.
Note this passage which was conveyed to James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail:
AIMCo’s board hired “an independent third-party organization to conduct a comprehensive review of Ray’s performance during his tenure as Interim CEO, including interviews with key stakeholders such as clients, members of the Executive Committee, and others across AIMCo,” spokesperson Sabrina Bhangoo said in an e-mail.
Why is this passage important? Well, it reaffirms the Board has the power to fire and hire the CEO and it did its job hiring a third party to conduct a comprehensive review Mr. Gilmour's performance including interviews with key stakeholders such as clients, members of the Executive Committee, and others across AIMCo.
They basically wanted to make sure he's up for the job and the huge responsibility it carries and they wanted to make sure the public knows it was they and not the government of Alberta that made him permanent CEO.
Of course, the optics don't look good and critics will claim this is "backdoor government interference".
Fair enough but I think there was another problem here.
Who in their right mind would take the job of CEO at AIMCo after the purging and compensation was cut?
Mr. Gilmour just got a huge raise but others wouldn't move to Edmonton so easily under difficult circumstances and knowing very well what happened there.
To my knowledge, there were no other internal or external candidates reviewed for the top job at AIMCo and this too doesn't pass the smell test.
In other words, it confirms Gilmour was and remains Nate Horner's top choice and I'm sure Danielle Smith's as well.
Will the Alberta's government introduce a dual mandate like the one La Caisse has in Quebec?
Well, if that's the direction they're headed, Ray Gilmour is the best choice to lead AIMCo.
I also want to be fair here because thus far Mr. Gilmour has done a decent job and he obviously has the support of AIMCo's clients and that is the critical bit I want to emphasize here.
AIMCo manages the assets of many clients including Alberta's teachers and the CEO has to manage all these relationships very diplomatically.
In that regard, maybe Ray Gilmour is doing a much better job than his predecessors.
We shall see, I think he deserves a fair shot and I remind my readers that not every CEO of a major Canadian pension fund comes from the investment world.
Michael Sabia came from Bell and prior to that he was also a high level bureaucrat in Ottawa.
Sabia did a decent job heading up the Caisse, reinforced governance, introduced gender equality at all levels and managed to kick-start the REM which is now operational and the envy of most North American cities (minus the glitches here and there).
But I told Sabia at a private party we both attended after he left the Caisse that he was damn lucky he never had to face a severe financial crisis and he wiped his eyebrow and said "PHEW!".
The test of any CEO in the investment world isn't when everything is melting up, it's when it hits the fan and you have shore up the troops and perform under very difficult and tough circumstances.
The late Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith once famously noted: "In a bull market, everyone is a financial genius."
Don't forget that, and in that sense I'm glad Ray Gilmour has a solid and experienced investment team headed up by CIO Justin Lord. He will be leaning heavily on them when the going gets tough.
Lastly, if Ray Gilmour succeeds and AIMCo continues to perform well over the long run, it could represent an existential threat to the other Maple 8 funds because politicians might be asking tough questions on compensation and more (I doubt it but you never know).
Below,Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is now among 21 MLAs in the province facing a recall petition — which represents almost a quarter of those sitting in the Alberta Legislature. The CBC’s Hilary Johnstone explains the next steps in the recall process.
I didn't know there were so many crazy lefties in Alberta, quite surprising to me. I'm on record stating Premier Smith is the best politician in the country by a mile and wonder which interest groups (Canadian or American) are behind these recall petitions.
Also, CNBC’s “Closing Bell” team discusses the outlook for markets, U.S. economy and more with Liz Thomas of SoFi, Lauren Goodwin of New York Life Investments and Ellen Zentner of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
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