The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has appointed Michael Graham as its new global head of private equity.
Graham will replace Mark Redman, who has decided to leave the pension fund, effective March 31, 2020. Since Redman joined the OMERS in 2009 to establish its European private equity business, private equity has grown as a component of the pension fund’s business, reaching $14.2 billion as of 2018.
“On behalf of OMERS, we sincerely thank Mark for his long service, commitment to our organization and his visionary leadership,” said Satish Rai, chief investment officer at the OMERs, in a statement. “Mark’s tenure as global head of private equity will be forever defined by his focus on executing innovative transactions, building a world-class team and delivering strong performance. Mark’s belief in a disciplined direct investment approach and active asset management in collaboration with top management teams has served the OMERS overall investment strategy very well.”
Read: OMERS names new chief pension officer
Graham joined the OMERS’ private equity team in 2003. In 2009, he took on the task of opening its New York office, heading up the fund’s U.S. private equity efforts. And he’s held the position of head of the North American private equity program since 2013.
“I am honoured to have been named global head of OMERS private equity,” said Graham. “And I thank Mark for his partnership and everything he has done over many years to put our private equity business in a position of long-term strength. With this foundation as our base, we will remain focused on identifying promising new investment opportunities, in North America, the U.K., Europe and across the globe, as well as enhancing the performance of our directly held portfolio of world-leading businesses.”