Ottawa-based Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB) announced Wednesday that Neil Cunningham has been appointed president and CEO, effective immediately.

Prior his appointment, Cunningham was senior vice president, global head of real estate and natural resources at PSPIB.

Cunningham’s appointment comes with the departure of André Bourbonnais after three years of service as president and CEO. Bourbonnais will be joining asset management firm BlackRock later this year to lead a new initiative within BlackRock Alternative Investors.

“Neil Cunningham has been a key player in PSP Investments’ evolution, both as an investor and as a senior executive. This extensive experience, along with Neil’s consistent demonstration of the core values of the enterprise, makes him the natural and ideal next leader of PSP Investments,” said Martin Glynn, chair designate of the board, in a statement.

Cunningham joined PSPIB in June 2004 as vice president, real estate investments, and was named senior vice president, global head of real estate in 2015. In December 2016, he also took on oversight of PSPIB’s natural resources team.

Prior to joining PSPIB, Cunningham held various real estate investment positions at Merrill Lynch, Brazos Advisors Canada, National Bank of Canada and Coopers & Lybrand.

PSPIB is one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers with $139.2 billion of net assets under management. It manages net contributions to the pension funds of the federal public service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force.