A view of the Peace Bridge in Calgary. AIMCo invests retirement savings for pension, endowment, insurance and government clients in Alberta.Amir Salehi /The Globe and Mail
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.
Ray Gilmour was appointed AIMCo’s interim CEO in November, 2024.Supplied
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.