NewsmakersAugust 11, 2023

OMERS Names CPPIB’s Michael Hill Head of Infrastructure

Hill was most recently managing director and head of the sustainable energies group at Canada’s largest pension fund.

Reported by Michael Katz

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has named Michael Hill, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s head of sustainable energies, as its global head of infrastructure. He will join OMERS in its New York offices on September 5.

At CPPIB, Hill focused on direct private equity investments within the energy sector and was head of its New York office. Prior to joining CPPIB in 2016, Hill was at Nomura Securities, where he was managing director of the Americas and head of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance, according to his LinkedIn profile. Earlier roles included global co-head of natural resources at Deutsche Bank and executive director within the investment banking division at Morgan Stanley.

“Michael has an impressive track record, extensive transaction background and significant experience in business strategy and sustainable energy,” OMERS CIO Ralph Berg said in a release. “Infrastructure plays a core role in our global investment strategy, and I look forward to working with Michael and the entire team as we continue to focus on the pension promise to our members.”

Hill will report to Berg and will oversee global infrastructure investment and asset management programs for the C$124 billion ($92.6 billion) pension fund. OMERS Infrastructure manages approximately C$34 billion in assets in more than 30 investments in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific and among the energy, digital services, transportation and government-regulated services sectors. The unit also boasts a five-year average net return of 10.2% as of the end of 2022.

Infrastructure investments account for 21% of the OMERS portfolio, which is the pension fund’s joint second-largest asset allocation, along with credit investments and just behind the 23% allocated to public equities.

“It is a real privilege to join OMERS and I look forward to working with its world-class team of investment professionals to continue to grow its infrastructure platform,” Hill said in a release.