AIMCo interim CEO could earn millions in bonus pay after leadership overhaul

Globe and Mail

3 days ago

Alberta Investment Management Corp.'s interim chief executive officer could earn a multimillion dollar compensation package after the provincial pension fund manager's senior ranks were overhauled and its former chief investment officer received millions of dollars in severance pay.
Ray Gilmour stepped in as interim CEO last November after a career as a senior public servant, following the Alberta government's abrupt purge of AIMCo's board and senior management.
Mr. Gilmour was paid $241,869 in less than five months on the job, to March 31, according to AIMCo's annual report released Friday. That included $210,796 in base salary, plus pension contributions and other pay. When prorated for a full fiscal year, Mr. Gilmour could be paid an annual base salary of more than $500,000.
Mr. Gilmour is also part of AIMCo's corporate incentive plan, which sets his base target for bonus pay at 355 per cent of his salary, or about $1.78-million, according to a copy of his employment contract obtained by The Globe and Mail under an access to information request.
Alberta's purge at AIMCo followed a clash of visions, complaints about leadership
However, the agreement says that Mr. Gilmour can earn a maximum of 2.5 times that incentive target, and it has been customary for previous AIMCo CEOs to earn approximately 1.75 times the target payment for good performance. At that level, Mr. Gilmour would earn about $3.1-million in incentive pay, for total compensation of at least $3.6-million.
AIMCo's annual report does not list any incentive payments to Mr. Gilmour as of March 31. His base salary is redacted in the documents released to The Globe.
'Our compensation structure is based on market salaries in similar Canadian institutional investment organizations, with executive compensation and associated terms discussed and validated by the Board's independent compensation adviser,' AIMCo spokesperson Sabrina Bhangoo said in an e-mailed statement.
Though Mr. Gilmour was appointed as interim CEO, his employment agreement says that AIMCo wishes to employ him 'as Chief Executive Officer,' and does not mention his interim status.
AIMCo's annual report shows that the pension fund manager also appears to have paid millions of dollars to former CIO Marlene Puffer as a 'transition agreement payment.' Ms. Puffer left AIMCo in September, roughly six weeks before Alberta's government dismissed other senior leaders.
Ms. Puffer was paid $5.91-million in 'other compensation,' which includes the transition payment that would have been agreed to under previous leadership. She also earned more than $250,000 in base salary.
'The separation arrangement disclosed is in keeping with our contractual obligations made by previous leadership. No additional compensation is owing,' AIMCo's statement said.
Former CEO Evan Siddall, who was dismissed in November, appears not to have come to terms financially with AIMCo as of March 31. He was paid $1.56-million in total compensation last fiscal year but received no transition arrangement payment during the fiscal year, according to the annual report.
In his last full fiscal year as CEO, Mr. Siddall was paid $3.77-million in total compensation, and nearly $4.6-million in total direct compensation, including $585,000 in base salary.
The report also says AIMCo paid $957,397 to third parties on behalf of the former CEO, and that $458,312 had not yet been reimbursed as of March 31, 'inclusive of imputed interest.' AIMCo has included that amount in 'accounts receivable.'
Stephen Harper, the former prime minister who was appointed chair of AIMCo's board in November, said 'there is more work ahead in our task of restoring confidence and stability in Alberta's investment manager,' in a message in the annual report.
'We are making progress with the new management team on ensuring that sound governance, ambitious objectives, professional operation, and responsible risk management permeate the firm,' Mr. Harper said.
In his own message in the annual report, Mr. Gilmour said that in the coming months AIMCo 'will be focused on the continuation of a business transformation program to improve the technology, data and processes that are the foundation of the work we do on behalf of our clients.'