The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is appointing Sandra Lau and James Barber as co-chief investment officers, effective March 1.
The pair will succeed Dale MacMaster, who is retiring from the organization after 23 years. Lau will also be head of public investments, responsible for bringing together fixed income, mortgages and public equities, while Barber will be head of private investments, responsible for real estate, infrastructure, private equity and private debt and loans.
“After screening over 60 qualified candidates from around the world, it became clear that the best choice for our clients is to appoint Sandra Lau and James Barber as co-chief investment officers of AIMCo,” said Evan Siddall, the organization’s chief executive officer, in a press release. “Their combined expertise will serve our clients best, striking an ideal balance that no other candidates were able to match.”
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“Internal leadership succession should always be our preference and I am pleased that we were able to build our team from within. Sandra’s deep history at AIMCo provides important continuity of leadership and sensitivity to client need, while James’s global industry experience and investment acumen helps ensure we are at the forefront of global asset management.”
With more than 22 years at the AIMCo, Lau was previously the organization’s executive vice-president of fixed income and senior portfolio manager of fixed income. Since July 2021, Barber has held the role of executive vice-president of public equities at the AIMCo. Previously, he was a co-founder and board member at AMP Investment Partners, chief investment officer for equities at Russell Investments and a portfolio manager at SEI Investments Co.