Institutional investors had a busy month changing jobs. In this inaugural monthly roundup of people moves, Trusted Insight highlights the ten most noteworthy hires at sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and renowned asset management firms.
EY (formerly Ernst & Young), a leading consulting firm with 231,000 employees globally, appointed a new treasurer to oversee the firm’s pension plan. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the United Arab Emirates’ $500 billion sovereign wealth fund, expanded its footprint into Asian markets as it opened an office in Hong Kong and appointed a regional head.
The GP side, although not as busy as the LP, saw two star hires at leading firms. Silicon Valley’s venture capital titan Sequoia Capital hired its first female partner in the firm’s 44-year history after a four-year chase. On the East Coast, New York-based private equity giant Warburg Pincus added a former Goldman Sachs partner to its healthcare and consumer group.
Here are ten notable LPs and GPs who changed firms in October:
LP:
The Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) promoted deputy CIO Steve Davis to CIO. The position was vacant since January 2015, when then-CIO Scott Chan departed to join the University of California. Davis joined SCERS in 2010, first as an investment officer and has served as deputy CIO since July 2012.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a $500 billion sovereign wealth fund, opened its first office in Hong Kong and appointed Dong-Sinh Ngo as its chief representative of the Asia Pacific. In this role, Ngo will lead a research and analysis team to identify investment opportunities in key Asian markets.
One of the “Big Four” consulting giants EY (formerly Ernst & Young) tapped a new chief investment chief and treasurer, Walter Kress, for its pension fund. Kress took the role in October. Previously, he worked for nearly ten years at JP Morgan as a managing director and chief operating officer of its retirement plans.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) appointed John Graham managing director and head of principal credit investments of the $219 billion pension fund. Graham was promoted from managing director and head of portfolio investment and business management in private investments at CPPIB.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) hired Peter Emmevid to lead the $250 billion sovereign wealth fund’s asset allocation strategy. Previously, Emmevid was head of quantitative analysis and a portfolio manager at First Swedish National Pension Fund. QIA appears to be on a hiring spree since Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani took the role of CEO in 2014. In 2016 alone, the sovereign wealth fund hired several senior executives, including a CFO, head of fixed income and head of passive investments.
GP:
Sequoia Capital, one of the most vaunted venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, hired Jess Lee, 33, as its 11th partner. She is the first woman to take this position in the firm’s 44-year history. Lee was a former Google product manager and the CEO of Polyvore, a fashion shopping site that was acquired by Yahoo! Inc. last year. Sequoia has reportedly been wooing Lee since 2012, and as Yahoo is now being bought by Verizon Communications Inc., Sequoia finally sealed the job contract. Lee officially started on November 7.
Private equity firm Warburg Pincus appointed former Goldman Sachs executive Thomas Carella partner of the firm’s healthcare and consumer group. Carella will assume the role in late November. Previously, he was a partner at Goldman Sachs’ merchant banking division for 11 years, specializing in healthcare investing.
TPG Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc., the real estate debt origination and acquisition platform of global private equity firm TPG, hired Peter Smith as managing director and head of originations. Smith most recently served as managing director at Ladder Capital Corp, a leading commercial real estate finance company.
Capital Generation Partners (CapGen), a private investment group serving ultra-high net worth families and endowments, appointed Alex Waters as global strategist to develop CapGen’s macroeconomic analysis. Waters joins CapGen from Roubini Global Economics, a financial research firm, where he led the firm’s macroeconomic and monetary policy research.
Bridge Growth Partners, a growth equity firm, named Joseph M. Tucci, a member on the firm’s Investment Committee and Advisory Board since 2013, chairman. Tucci previously served as chairman for EMC Corporation (now Dell EMC), a computer storage company, and VMWare, a subsidiary of Dell Technologies.
Click here to see Trusted Insight’s recap of LP and GP moves in Q3 2016.
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