When half a million Canadians are counting on you to look after their pensions, you need to stay squarely focused on the long term. “We often joke, ‘A quarter is not three months – a quarter is 25 years,’” says Blake Hutcheson, President and CEO of OMERS, which  manages the retirement savings of current and former municipal employees across Ontario. 

OMERS is one of the largest defined benefit pension plans in Canada, with net assets of more than $114 billion. So it’s good to know that when Hutcheson looks to the future, he’s optimistic about what he sees. 

“This is one of those times where there are outsized opportunities ahead – lots of reasons to believe in tomorrow, lots of reasons to believe in this country, and lots of reasons to believe in the future.”

In conversation with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, Hutcheson discusses the challenges of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He also shares some of the lessons he learned growing up 200 km north of Toronto in the town of Huntsville. “To me the ticket for getting ahead as a society is putting [aside] differences and working together in a trusting way. Small towns do that.”

Listen to Blake Hutcheson’s conversation with Goldy Hyder – including his 2022 Stanley Cup prediction – in the Speaking of Business podcast.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/