By Muskan Arora
Houston-based $8.1bn Rice Management Co.,
the endowment of Rice University has promoted John Lawrence from the role of deputy
and interim CIO to CIO.
After 13 years, the seat of CIO became empty
when Allison Thacker, who was the president and CIO stepped down in September
2024. Lawrence will succeed her.
Lawrence joined the endowment in 2012 and
was promoted to the role of deputy CIO in 2022 and took over as interim CIO
when Thacker stepped down.
The executive search firm Spencer Stuart assisted
with the endowment to find a new candidate for the role.
A deputy CIO is yet to be named.
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“John has been a key, invaluable leader at
RMC for over a decade, helping guide the organization to best-in-class,
risk-adjusted returns. His deep knowledge of Rice’s values, commitment to
excellence and track record of success make him the ideal person to lead RMC as
we continue to enhance the financial strength of our university for generations
to come,” said Reginald DesRoche, president of the endowment in a recent press
release.
Before joining the system, Lawrence spend 12
years working with public equity investments, including as a principal and
portfolio manager at Transamerica Investment Management in Los Angeles and as a
senior analyst at Tudor Pickering & Holt, where he focused on energy
securities.
“John’s strong track record, extensive
investment management experience and knowledge of and commitment to Rice values
as an alumnus makes him ideally positioned to lead the endowment at this
important time in Rice history,” said Robert T. Ladd ’78, chair of the Rice
Board of Trustees.
The endowment’s asset allocation is focused heavily on private assets, with a 30% allocation to venture capital and private equity and another 20% to alternative investments. The Rice endowment ranks among the top 20 of U.S. private research universities.
Lawrence holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in
managerial studies from Rice and an MBA from the University of California, Los
Angeles’ Anderson School of Management.
