OMERS Appoints New Chief Investment Officer

TORONTO - The Board of Directors of the OMERS Administration Corporation has unanimously approved the appointment of Michael Latimer as OMERS Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer (CIO), effective January 1, 2010.

Mr. Latimer has held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oxford Properties, OMERS real estate arm, since 2004. He has 30 years of corporate leadership experience with both public and private companies. He has also served as CEO and a trustee of the Primaris REIT since 2003 and led its initial public offering of equity and debt. Under his leadership, Oxford has grown to oversee and manage approximately $18 billion of real estate, with annualized returns of approximately 18 per cent over the last five years.

Mr. Latimer is already a five-year member of OMERS senior management team and the executive committee that reviews all major public and private market investment proposals. As CIO, he will be responsible for overall leadership of and collaboration among the OMERS investment entities that manage public equities, fixed-income securities, private equity, real estate and infrastructure assets.

The role of CIO was assumed by Michael Nobrega when he was appointed OMERS CEO in March 2007, consistent with the dual responsibilities held by his predecessor.

Mr. Nobrega will continue as OMERS President and CEO with responsibility for the leadership and performance of the entire enterprise, including its corporate, pension plan and investment components. Bringing Mr. Latimer in to fill the CIO role will enable Mr. Nobrega to focus on overall corporate strategy, including OMERS ambitious plans to form a multi-billion-dollar global strategic investment alliance with like-minded investors to jointly own large-scale infrastructure and real estate assets; and to take on the investment management of third-party capital pools in Canada and internationally, under new legislated powers granted to OMERS this summer. As CEO, Mr. Nobrega continues his responsibilities for enterprise-wide initiatives, including human resources, government relations and pension industry reform.

The next five months will allow for a seamless transition at Oxford Properties.