AIMCo CIO Marlene Puffer leaves after less than 2 years

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Marlene Puffer, a seasoned pension and investment executive brought in as Alberta Investment Management Corp.‘s chief investment officer, has left after less than two years on the job. 

She is not being directly replaced. Rather, two internal executives are being promoted to oversee public and private assets at AIMCo, which invests on behalf of a variety of pension, endowment and government funds in Alberta.

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One of them is David Scudellari, who was recruited from the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) in January 2023, within weeks of Puffer being hired at AIMCo. He takes on a broadened executive team role following her departure, as senior executive managing director of private assets and strategic partnerships, where he will oversee global private assets including private credit, infrastructure, real estate and private equity.

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Scudellari previously worked at Barclays and Goldman Sachs & Co. His arrival at AIMCo accelerated the Alberta fund management organization’s move into credit and private debt and his assignment included overseeing several key investment functions including international expansion, credit and private debt, and management of key external relationships. He was also brought on to “play a critical role in investment leadership development and succession planning at AIMCo,” according to a news release announcing his hiring. 

The release credited Scudellari with opening PSP’s New York office and building a global credit business with a net AUM of $21.9 billion at the end of March, 2022. He was also interim CFO for a time.

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Alongside Scudellari’s expanded role this week, Justin Lord, who spent the last two years as head of public equities at AIMCo, has been promoted to the executive management team. In a newly established role of senior executive managing director, public markets, he will oversee public equities and fixed income. Lord has been with AIMCo for 12 years, in both capital allocation and international public markets.

“David and Justin both bring decades of investment experience, and I am excited to be so well-positioned to continue to fulfill our purpose to our clients, as we execute our investment strategy under their leadership,” AIMCo chief executive Evan Siddall said in a statement Monday.

He also thanked Puffer for “her deep commitment and for the value she has added” at AIMCo. 

“Her passion for investing on behalf of our clients is undeniable and her contributions to the organization will continue to position AIMCo for success in the future,” Siddall said.

Before joining AIMCo, Puffer was chief executive officer at CN Investment Division, where she was accountable for all aspects of the investment management and organizational oversight of the CN Pension Trust Funds. She is also a former vice-chair of the board of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).

• Email: bshecter@nationalpost.com

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