Ontario Pension Giant OMERS Promotes Ralph Berg to CIO

The C$121 billion (US$90.3 billion) Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System has promoted Ralph Berg to become its new CIO, effective April 1.

Berg, who had been global head of capital markets, will succeed current CIO Satish Rai, who will transition to an advisory role until he retires in late 2024. Rai, who has been with OMERS for eight years, has been CIO since 2018.

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“OMERS investment strategy has seen considerable benefit from having Satish Rai as our long-serving CIO, and now, we are fortunate to be in the capable hands of Ralph Berg,” Blake Hutcheson, OMERS’ president and CEO, said in a release. “Ralph is a proven investor and a seasoned executive. Ralph is a respected leader who will work together with a world-class team of dedicated investment professionals.’’

As head of the system’s capital markets team, Berg currently oversees OMERS’ public market investments, which account for more than half of net investment assets, according to the fund. Berg joined OMERS in early 2013 and worked on infrastructure for more than eight years, including six as global head of infrastructure.

Before joining OMERS, Berg was a managing director and head of the European energy and power team at Credit Suisse, where he spent seven years advising clients regarding mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and structured finance transactions. Prior to Credit Suisse, Berg worked on the energy team at Deutsche Bank in New York and London for almost 12 years.

“I am honored to be taking on this role and look forward to working alongside the exemplary investment team at OMERS to generate long-term value, which ultimately fulfills our pension promise to all of our members,” Berg said in a statement.

Satish, who joined OMERS in January 2015, was previously CIO at TD Asset Management, overseeing $250 billion in assets.

“Satish has devoted his talent, leadership and expertise to building an extraordinary global investment strategy, brand, and team during his tenure at OMERS,” Hutcheson said in the announcement. “We are extremely grateful for Satish’s contributions, and I look forward to his continued commitment and counsel that will benefit our members and their families over the long term.”

OMERS has approximately 1,000 participating employers and more than 500,000 active, deferred and retired members, which include employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies.