CANADA - The CAD47.9bn (€31bn) Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Scheme (OMERS) has chosen Michael Nobrega, the current head of its infrastructure subsidiary, as its new chief executive.
 
Nobrega replaces Paul Haggis, who announced his resignation last month after an apparent disagreement over his role in the fund's new governance structure.

Under the terms of his appointment, Nobrega will occupy the role until 2008, when he will present a new succession plan to the board. However, OMERS spokeswoman Debbie Oakley said his was not an interim appointment.

The board unanimously selected Nobrega from an unspecified line-up of internal candidates based on his "excellent relationships" with local, provincial and federal government leaders. He is also understood to be on good terms with trade union leaders and other OMERS stakeholders.

This contrasts with his predecessor, who is understood to have clashed with a number of board members and announced his departure three years into the role. Oakley told IPE at the time: "Governance is not his [Haggis's] expertise or interest."

Michael Rolland, currently senior vice president at Borealis, will take over from Nobrega as CEO of the infrastructure subsidiary later this month. Borealis has been at the centre of an ongoing regulatory investigation into the 2002 transfer of the pension fund's real estate fund management business.

Earlier this week OMERS announced an overall 16.4% return for 2006, driven largely by increased income from real estate and equity outperformance.

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