In September, two pensions and endowments saw shifts in their investment team. Senior investment professionals moved to other institutions, and rising stars were promoted from within their organizations. Here are the top institutional investment moves in September:

Asset Allocators:
Lawrence Kochard, chief investment officer and chief executive officer of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, announced he will depart the $8.6 billion endowment at the end of the year. Bloomberg reported recently that Kochard is to become chief investment officer of Mackena, an asset management firm established by former Stanford endowment investors. The university is currently searching for a replacement.

Dana L. Vicknair was named director of the Louisiana Teachers’ Retirement System, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Vicknair currently serves as the assistant director of the $18.7 billion pension fund. She will replace Maureen H. Westgard, who announced her retirement from the pension to join the National Council on Teacher Retirement as the executive director in August. A replacement for the assistant director seat has yet to be announced.

Scott L. Wilson, chief investment officer of Grinnell College, will become the chief investment officer of Washington University Investment Management Company on December 1, 2017. Wilson will replace Kimberly G. Walker, who stepped down from the $7.5 billion endowment at the end of 2016. Grinnell College appointed Andrew Choquette interim chief investment officer of Grinnell’s $1.8 billion endowment. Choquette was previously the director of investments for Grinnell College, and was named on Trusted Insight’s current list of Top 30 Endowment Rising Stars. Wilson was named on Trusted Insight’s Top 30 Endowment Chief Investment Officers (read our interview with him here).

Sarah Samuels, deputy chief investment officer of Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, departed the pension to join Wellesley College’s $1.8 billion endowment as a managing director. Michael Trotsky, chief executive director and chief investment officer of the Massachusetts state pension, named David Gurtz to the deputy chief investment officer position. Gurtz is currently the fund’s chief financial officer, but has held the position of deputy chief investment prior to his role.

Asset Managers:
John Kos and Jeff Heh were named as principals of GTCR, a private equity firm located in Chicago. Kos was vice president in the firm’s Healthcare Group since 2011, leading in various healthcare investments. Heh joined as vice president in 2013, focusing on debt financing for new and existing investments.

Trey Parker was promoted to co-chief investment officer of Highland Capital Management, an alternative credit manager. This is a new position, and will share the same responsibilities with Mark Okada, chief investment officer and co-founder of the firm.

View Trusted Insight's people moves roundups from previous months here.