Justin Lord
The C$179 billion ($131 billion) Alberta Investment Management Corp. announced Friday that it had promoted its global head of public markets, Justin Lord, to CIO. AIMCo invests assets on behalf of pension funds, endowments, insurers and other government funds in the Canadian province of Alberta.
AIMCo’s most recent CIO, Marlene Puffer, left the role in September 2024 after less than two years in the position. Her duties were split between Lord and David Scudellari, head of international investment.
“Justin has proven he has the experience, expertise and investment acumen to head this critical function,” said Ray Gilmore, AIMCo’s interim CEO, in a statement. “He is a trusted partner to our clients and an excellent leader to our investment teams, and I am pleased AIMCo has the deep bench strength to tap for this role.”
In November 2024, two months after Puffer’s departure, the provincial government controversially fired its board and top executives, including Interim Chair Kenneth Kroner and CEO Evan Siddall, pinning the blame on rising costs. The fund has since made efforts to cut headcount and shut offices in multiple countries, including its offices in New York and Singapore.
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Roughly two weeks after the firings, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was named chairman of AIMCo’s board. A search is still underway for Siddall’s successor.
Critics derided the 2024 overhaul of the pension fund as being severe intervention by the Alberta government; Canada’s large pension funds, known as the Maple 8, operate using the “Canadian” or “Maple” model, under which these public funds operate with independence from their respective governments.
AIMCo is structured as a crown corporation of Alberta. In Canada, provincial crown corporations operate with different levels of independence from their respective provincial governments. Crown corporations are owned by the public, established by legislation to provide specific services, and structured to provide more managerial autonomy and flexibility than traditional government departments.
Speculation arose in 2024 that some Alberta politicians were unhappy with what they saw as too little investment from the pension fund in the province, as well as AIMCo’s global expansion, according to reports. Critics saw the funds’ returns as not good enough to justify the efforts.
Lord joined AIMCo in 2012 and held roles including portfolio manager; senior portfolio manager of public equities; and director and senior managing director of public equities. He was previously a portfolio manager at the New Brunswick Investment Management Corp.
Lord earned a bachelor of business administration degree in finance and economics from the University of New Brunswick.
“I am proud to work on behalf of AIMCo’s clients and to lead such a world-class investment team,” Lord said in a statement. “I know that together we share the same deep commitment to successfully executing our investment strategy and to delivering on our mandate.”
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