Last month, Stephen Blyth, president and CEO of Harvard Management Company (HMC), resigned after only 18 months in the role.
The news has drawn attention to HMC’s high management turnover (Blyth was the fourth chief of HMC since 2006) and unexciting performance despite its enormous asset size (valued at $37.6 billion as of June 30, 2015).
While the endowment’s return has consistently outperformed the industry averages since 2000, except for 2012 and 2013, according to HMC’s 2015 annual report, it is lagging behind most of its Ivy League peers. Harvard returned 10.5 percent annually over the five-year period ending in June 30, 2015, while Yale returned 14 percent over the same period -- the highest of all Ivy League schools.
Bloomberg reported that the University would find a replacement by September. But who will that be?
As the world’s biggest global network for institutional investors, Trusted Insight delved into its vast database and selected the 21 investment professionals whom we deem the most qualified to run the world’s largest university endowment.
We factored in a candidate’s current job, industry tenure, the size of assets under management and the investment return their portfolio has achieved. If you closely follow the endowment world, it would not be surprising to see a few familiar names from Harvard’s closest rivals. Nevertheless, we also looked beyond endowments to the top talent at private foundations, government pensions and corporations.
Here are the investment professionals who Trusted Insight believes most likely to be the next Chief Executive Officer of Harvard Management Company:
Alan Heuberger
Portfolio Manager
Cascade Investments
Years of experience: 19+
Current firm AUM: $80 billion (estimate)
Alan Heuberger is second-in-command at Bill Gates’ family office. With nearly 20 years experience managing the wealth of a billionaire tech mogul, at an estimated $80 billion in AUM, Heuberger is a strong candidate. Family offices are renowned for their innovative investment approaches, and Heuberger could offer the new direction Harvard Management Company needs to improve its returns.
Allison Thacker
Chief Investment Officer
Rice Management Company
Years of experience: 30
Current firm AUM: $5.6 billion
Five-year annualized return: 12.2%
Allison Thacker joined Rice University in 2011 and has the responsibility of managing a $5.6 billion endowment fund and the university’s $968 million of debt. The Rice University endowment ranks in the top 20 endowments of private research universities in the United States. Her experience as the leader for one of the top endowments would be valuable experience for the role of chief executive officer at Harvard Management Company. Thacker was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Endowment Chief Investment Officers.
Ana Marshall
Chief Investment Officer
The William And Flora Hewlett Foundation
Years of experience: 29
Current firm AUM: $9 billion
Five-year annualized return: 10.7%
Ana Marshall brings 29 years of investment experience to her role of vice president and chief investment officer for The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. She is responsible for asset allocation and strategic investment policy recommendation and implementation of the nearly $9 billion foundation portfolio. With her expertise in the selection and oversight of external managers in global equities, distress/credit, fixed income, derivative strategies and absolute return, she will be a good candidate to maintain an endowment in perpetuity. Marshall was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Foundation Chief Investment Officers.
Read our exclusive interview with Marshall here.
Andrew Ward
Chief Investment Officer
The Boeing Company
Years of experience: 26
Current firm AUM: $65 billion
Andrew Ward is chief investment officer at The Boeing Company, where he oversees $65 billion in assets under management, almost double that of the Harvard Management Company. He has allocated roughly 55% to alternative assets -- an innovative strategy, which might appeal to the Harvard Management Company’s board in trying to boost its returns.
Anne Martin
Chief Investment Officer
Wesleyan University
Years of experience: 24
Current firm AUM: $840 million
Five-year annualized return: 11.2%
Anne Martin is Wesleyan University’s chief investment officer. She previously was a director at the Yale Investments Office where she worked primarily on the natural resources and private equity portfolios. As former Swensen protegé, she took the reigns at Wesleyan in 2010. Is it time for her to step up and oversee an endowment pool 40 times her current portfolio? Absolutely. Martin was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Women Chief Investment Officers.
Brian Collett
Chief Investment Officer
Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System
Years of experience: 16 (11 years at Missouri)
Current firm AUM: $6.3 billion
Five-year annualized return: 12.8%
Brian Collett has been the chief investment officer of Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS) since April 2005. Under his leadership, the LAGERS investment portfolio ranks in the first quartile in the public fund universe, returning 7.65% net of fees for the last ten years ending June 30, 2015, exceeding the assumed rate of return of 7.40% by 0.25%. Collett’s impressive investment track record could be a very attractive quality for Harvard Management Company as it looks to improve its returns.
Collette Chilton
Chief Investment Officer
Williams College
Years of experience: 31
Current firm AUM: $2.4 billion
Five-year annualized return: 12.9%
Collette Chilton joined Williams College in October 2006 as chief investment officer. Prior to this, she had an extensive career managing pension assets as the chief investment officer at the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and later the chief investment officer at Lucent Asset Management. Her long tenure in leadership positions in both the pension and endowment investing realm would be a valuable asset to Harvard Management Company. Chilton was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Women Chief Investment Officers.
Dean Takahashi
Senior Director
Yale Investments Office
Years of experience: 28
Current firm AUM: $25.6 billion
Five-year annualized return: 14%
Dean Takahashi was one of the first people to be hired by David F. Swensen when the endowment was only worth about $1.5 billion and has to be accredited his part in creating strong year-on-year returns. He recently had a Yale professorship named in his honor to celebrate his thirty-year tenure. Will Swensen’s right-hand man make the switch to the other team?
Gumersindo Oliveros
CEO & Chief Investment Officer
Kaust Investment Company
Years of experience: 30
Current firm AUM: $20 billion
Gumersindo Oliveros currently leads Kaust Investment Management, the investment management arm of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Previously, he managed the pension plans and endowments for the World Bank. With an illustrious career in investment management and leadership, becoming chief investment officer of the Harvard Management Company would be a logical next step in his career trajectory.
Jason Klein
Chief Investment Officer
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Years of experience: 13
Current firm AUM: $3.3 billion
Jason Klein has spent more than eight years running investment operations for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and was chief investment officer at the Museum of Modern Art for the five years prior to that. Klein is a proven investment thought leader and Harvard Management Company could present a new challenge. Klein was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Hospital Chief Investment Officers.
Joel R. Wittenberg
Chief Investment Officer & Vice President
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Years of experience: 29
Current firm AUM: $8 billion
Joel Wittenberg has almost 30 years of experience in institutional investing. He has been leading the investments of W.K. Kellogg Foundation for seven years and previously worked as corporate treasurer of two Fortune 500 companies. His outstanding expertise in leading sophisticated investment programs at top-tier organizations made him a very likely candidate to lead Harvard's massive endowment portfolio. Wittenberg was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Foundation Chief Investment Officers.
John Moehling
Chief Investment Officer
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Years of experience: 32
Current firm AUM: $6.7 billion
John Moehling has spent the last nine years managing the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which has nearly $6.7 billion assets under management. In addition to running a foundation investment office, Moehling has previous experience in decision-making roles at the University of Chicago’s investment office and Exelon’s pension fund. Running Harvard’s endowment would be the next logical step in an already very successful career. Moehling was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Foundation Chief Investment Officers.
John Shue
Managing Director of Private Equity
Harvard Management Company
Years of experience: 20
Current firm AUM: $37.6 billion
Five-year annualized return: 10.5%
Joe Shue is currently managing director for emerging markets private equity, including Latin America and Asia, at Harvard Management Company. Prior to joining HMC in 2006, John worked with Boston-based private equity firms Audax Group and Housatonic Partners from 1999 - 2005. Given his ten-year tenure at Harvard Management Company, Trusted Insight believes Shue would be the best pick should the endowment decide to recruit its next chief executive officer from within its own ranks.
Landis Zimmerman
Chief Investment Officer
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Years of experience: 31
Current firm AUM: $18 billion
Landis Zimmerman is an industry veteran, having spent 12 years as vice president and chief investment officer at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was previously appointed the first chief investment officer of the University of Pennsylvania, where he managed a $3.6 billion endowment and $600 million pension fund. He could provide the steady hand that Harvard Management Company needs. Zimmerman was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Hospital Chief Investment Officers.
Larry Kochard
Chief Investment Officer
University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO)
Years of experience: 29
Current Firm AUM: $7.5 billion
Five-year annualized return: 13.7%
Lawrence Kochard has a broad investment and operational experience as both the chief executive officer and chief investment officer of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), where he has overseen a high five-year return of 13.7%. Kochard’s well-rounded experience at UVIMCO could prove to be an asset in directing Harvard’s endowment. Kochard was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Endowment Chief Investment Officers.
Read our exclusive interview with Kochard here.
Pamela Peedin
Chief Investment Officer
Dartmouth College
Years of experience: 29
Current firm AUM: $4.7 billion
Five-year annualized return: 12.9%
Pamela Peedin oversees Dartmouth’s investment office and the management of its $4.7 billion endowment. In her previous role as chief investment officer of Boston University, she established the institution’s investment office, which managed the university’s $1 billion portfolio. Having had previous experience in leading and establishing prestigious Ivy League endowment investment offices, Peedin would be an obvious choice to be the next CEO of Harvard Management Company. Peedin was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Women Chief Investment Officers.
Paula Volent
Chief Investment Officer
Bowdoin College
Years of experience: 16
Current Firm AUM: $1.4 billion
Five-year annualized return: 14.7%
Paula Volent has been the chief investment officer for Bowdoin College’s endowment since 2000, where she has proven a capable leader with a strong investment record, which includes a 14.4% return in FY 2015. She is a former protegé of David F. Swensen, after earning her M.B.A. at Yale and later going on to work for the Yale Investments Office for four years -- experience that would undoubtedly be useful in running the Harvard Management Company. Volent was also named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Endowment Chief Investment Officers.
Robert Manilla
Vice President & Chief Investment Officer
Kresge Foundation
Years of experience: 26
Current firm AUM: $3.6 billion
Robert Manilla joined The Kresge Foundation in 2005 and is its current vice president and chief investment officer. He was named as one of the 100 most influential global institutional investors by aiCIO magazine in 2013 and 2014. He also has strong corporate investment background, after spending 20 years at Chrysler Corporation, and could bring some fresh ideas to the table. Manilla was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Foundation Chief Investment Officers.
Samuel Gallo
Chief Investment Officer
University of Maryland
Years of experience: 15
Current firm AUM: $1 billion
Five-year annualized return: 8.20%
Samuel Gallo was recognized by Institutional Investor Publishing as one of the top four foundation CIOs in 2015. He is also winner of Institutional Investor Endowment & Foundation Forum’s 2015 best governance award, named by CIO Magazine in 2014 as one of the top five most innovative foundation CIOs and recipient of Money Management Intelligence’s 2012 public fund rising star award. Given Gallo’s nationwide recognition for his strong leadership as CIO at the University of Maryland, he would be an excellent choice to lead the Harvard Management Company during this crucial period of time.
Scott Evans
Chief Investment Officer
New York Retirement System
Years of experience: 36
Current firm AUM: $160 billion
Five-year annualized return: 10.17%
Scott Evans has decades of experience in high-level positions at renowned institutions managing large portfolios, including chief investment officer of TIAA-CREF, which has nearly $500 billion in investment assets. Evans certainly has the prerequisite experience and skills in managing large investment portfolios and can transfer that knowledge into growing Harvard Management Company’s returns. Evans was named on Trusted Insight’s list of Top 30 Pension Chief Investment Officers.
Stuart Mason
Chief Investment Officer
University of Minnesota Foundation
Years of experience: 39
Current firm AUM: $1.29 billion
Five-year annualized return: 11.7%
Trusted Insight ranked Stuart Mason as the No. 1 CIO in the country. Mason manages the University of Minnesota’s $900 million broadly diversified endowment and directs the cash management and Treasury operations, which include direct investment of approximately $650 million of university cash reserves. He also serves as the treasurer and CIO of the University’s captive insurance company, RUMINCO, Ltd. Due to his 39 years experience and excellence as a university endowment CIO, he is a strong candidate to fill a similar role within the larger Harvard Management Company.
Read our exclusive interview with Mason.