Doug Pearce, long-time chief executive officer of British Columbia Investment Management Corp., will retire next year.
Doug Pearce, long-time chief executive officer of British Columbia Investment Management Corp., will retire next year.
In an announcement Tuesday, BCIMC said it anticipates it will have a successor selected to replace Mr. Pearce by next March, but said he is willing to stay on past March 31 if necessary to complete a transition to a new leader.
Mr. Pearce has spent the past 25 years overseeing the assets of British Columbia's public sector pension plans, and has served as both CEO and chief investment officer of the fund. BCIMC is an independent agency that manages more than $100-billion for the province's pension plans, public trusts and insurance funds.
"After 25 years, it is time to move on and allow BCIMC to transition to a new generation of leadership that will continue to provide the best long-term view that is the foundation of our business," Mr. Pearce said in a statement.
BCIMC chairman Rick Mahler said Mr. Pearce has led the fund through "many challenging times and events" in the markets.
"Doug's vision led to the establishment of BCIMC and he went on to create a company with an international reputation of being a prudent, ethical and responsible investor that is held in high regard by our peers and partners," Mr. Mahler said in the statement.
Since 1988, Mr. Pearce has seen BCIMC's assets grow from $15.9-billion to over $100-billion while increasingly diversifying its holdings from passive bond and stock investments to a portfolio of infrastructure, real estate, renewable resources and mortgages. The fund's 20-year annualized return for combined pensions is 7.9 per cent.
Mr. Pearce has also taken an active role in promoting corporate governance reforms for publicly listed companies in Canada and served as the chair of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, a powerful association of large institutional investors, from 2006 to 2009.