2024 Elite 100 CIOs Part 2

Bryan Fujita is the Chief Investment Officer at the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions (LAFPP), overseeing $30 billion in assets and all aspects of the investment program, including policy formulation, investment strategy development, and risk management. Prior to LAFPP, Fujita was the Chief Operating Officer at the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS). He has also held positions at The Walt Disney Company and Wedbush Securities, bringing extensive experience in managing pension investments and financial risk. In FY2023-2024, Fujita oversaw commitments totaling $440 million to 11 private credit funds, completed a fixed income structure study, and initiated a real assets structure study. He championed DEI initiatives, including revising the Private Equity Specialized Fund Managers Policy and creating an investment internship program in partnership with Girls Who Invest (GWI). Additionally, he appointed the Plan's first Deputy Chief Investment Officer.

Dipesh Mehta serves as the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI). He oversees over $25 billion in assets between the defined benefit and defined contribution plans on behalf of more than 175,000 beneficiaries. In his leadership position, Dipesh is responsible for overseeing all investment operations, managing, and executing ISBI's investment policies, and assisting the Trustees in the strategic direction of ISBI. Dipesh previously served as ISBI's Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel.

ISBI won the American Investment Council's top ranking in private equity performance among public pension plans nationally three years in a row. ISBI continues to achieve top performance with strong allocations to minority and woman-owned managers, currently at a high watermark of 46.7% of the portfolio. Under Dipesh's leadership, ISBI has meaningfully reduced fees, is actively exploring risk/return enhancements for its public equity portfolio and is partnering to conduct industry-leading research on retirement income for its DC plan beneficiaries.

Richelle A. Sugiyama is the Chief Investment Officer for the $24 billion Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho, where she is responsible for all investment activities of the organization. She has served in that position since October 2022. Previously, Richelle served as the Investment Officer for PERSI from 2001.

In addition to her duties at PERSI, Richelle is a member of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute, the Idaho Community Foundation Investment Committee, the State of Idaho Treasurer's Investment Advisory Board, the Boise State University (BSU) Foundation Board and Investment Committee, the Idaho State Board of Education Committee for the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), the St. Luke's Health System Investment Sub-Committee, and represents PERSI on advisory boards. She previously served as a member and Vice Chair of the State of Idaho Endowment Fund'Investment Board (EFIB) for 17 years, as a member and Chairperson of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) Investment Committee for 10 years; and as a Board Member of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute (PPI) and Chairperson of the PPI Membership Committee.

Kristin Varela is the Chief Investment Officer for the Employees Retirement System of the State of Hawaii, a $23 billion pension plan, serving 150,000 active and retired members across the state of Hawaii. She is responsible for the design and implementation of the Fund's overall strategic goals, policies, and programs.

Kristin holds over 15 years of experience in the institutional investment industry and has served in both public and private sectors throughout her career. Prior to her time in Hawaii, Kristin served as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico. In these roles, Kristin oversaw the delegated implementation of a $17 billion pension portfolio, ensuring the long-term solvency of the plan, and serving over 90,000 active and retired members.

Kristin holds broad expertise in modeling, market analysis and manager-specific due diligence across various asset classes of public, private, and alternative markets. She specializes in risk-based asset allocation and portfolio management, real asset investment opportunities, innovative investment solutions, and prudent portfolio implementation through focused operational management.

Kristin holds a BBA in Finance from New Mexico Highlands University and is from a multi-generational family of local New Mexicans, and is a proud mother to her 15-year-old son.

Michael Shackelford is the Chief Investment Officer of the $17 billion New Mexico Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA). He has significantly increased private assets in the fund's strategic asset allocation and overhauled the private credit and private real assets portfolios to add more stable returns in evergreen fund structures. Shackelford has also seeded several new investment funds in partnership with investment managers, demonstrating his strategic vision and expertise in enhancing the fund's performance and stability.

Bob Jacksha assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer for the $17 billion New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (ERB) in January 2007. He supervises an investment team of 14 individuals responsible for managing ERB's investment portfolio. Before this role, Bob served as Deputy State Investment Officer with the New Mexico State Investment Council and has held various positions in the investment field over the past 35 years. Bob holds both the CFA and CAIA charters, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and a BS degree from Bemidji State University. Under his leadership, ERB has transitioned from a 70/30 stock/bond model to a diversified, low-volatility, multi-asset portfolio. He has been instrumental in pioneering public pension fund allocations to private infrastructure and private credit/debt, initiating an opportunistic credit allocation in 2009. Additionally, Bob has expanded the investment team from four to fifteen members and launched a significant co-investment program.

Matt Clark has been the State Investment Officer for the nearly $15 billion South Dakota Investment Council since January of 2005. He joined the Investment Council in 1984 and was named Deputy Investment Officer in 2000. Prior to being named State Investment Officer, he managed or led the launch of several internally managed investment programs including investment grade and high yield fixed income, domestic equity, merger arbitrage, convertible arbitrage, international equity, and relative valuation asset allocation.

Matt is a member of the South Dakota Retirement System Board of Trustees. He is a former President and current member of the South Dakota Investment Society and serves on the Board of the National Association of State Investment Officers'

Sam Masoudi has more than 30 years of financial industry experience and has been the Chief Investment Officer for the $11 billion Wyoming Retirement System since December 2013. Prior to this role, he served as a Managing Director of Tulane University's Endowment fund for five years. Previously, he was a founder and portfolio manager for eight years at the hedge fund Silver Peak Capital Management. Sam's other investment experience includes three years at Veronis Suhler Stevenson as a director and four years as an assistant vice president in real estate investment banking at PaineWebber and Kidder Peabody, two New York-based investment banks.

Andrew Junkin is the Chief Investment Officer of the $109 billion Virginia Retirement System (VRS), one of the largest public pension systems in the U.S. Appointed in 2022, Junkin brings extensive experience from his previous role as CIO of Rhode Island's $10.5 billion pension plan. He also served as President of Wilshire Consulting, leading a team that worked with numerous institutional investors. His career includes senior consulting roles at Asset Services Co. in Oklahoma.

He serves on the Investment Committees of the University of South Dakota Foundation, South Dakota State University Foundation, and the South Dakota Community Foundation.

Jon Braeutigam is the Chief Investment Officer at the $105 billion Michigan Department of Treasury. He has played a crucial role in guiding the systems through the Great Recession and has been instrumental in building out Absolute Return strategies over the past decade, particularly when fixed income returns have been historically low. Jon has leveraged important relationships to achieve portfolio diversification and has led a team that has produced robust returns over the past decade on both a relative and absolute basis.

Benjamin L. Cotton serves as the Chief Investment Officer for the $74 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS), reporting to the PSERS Board of Trustees. He oversees the implementation of the board's fiduciary investment policies, prudently deploying the system's portfolio through both internally and externally administered investment strategies. Prior to joining PSERS in January 2023, Dr. Cotton earned a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University and worked in investment, treasury, and risk management roles at Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. He proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1988-1992.

Amy Copeland McGarrity is the Chief Investment Officer at the $56 billion Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (Colorado PERA). She oversees the management of the organization's investment portfolio, ensuring the implementation of effective investment strategies, risk management, and the long-term financial stability of the retirement system contributing significantly to Colorado PERA's mission of providing secure retirement benefits to its members. Her strategic vision and expertise are integral to the organization's success.

Rodney June is the Chief Investment Officer at the $23 billion Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS). His responsibilities include managing investment advisory, general partnerships, consultant and custodian relationships, performance evaluation, vendor selection, investment policy, and investment strategy development and implementation. Mr. June previously served as an Investment Officer II at LACERS from 1998 to 2008. Before returning to LACERS, he was the Chief Investment Officer of the State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System, overseeing an $11 billion portfolio.

Molly Murphy has more than 30 years of investment experience and currently oversees the investment portfolios as Chief Investment Officer of the $23 billion Orange County Employees Retirement System. In 2023, Ms. Murphy was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 List, honoring women leaders, creators, and difference makers in innovation, impact, investment, and lifestyle. Ms. Murphy contributes her time as a member of the IEEE Investment Committee and has served regularly as a Board member or Investment Committee member for various non-profit organizations. She is a graduate of Miami University and Xavier University and holds the CFA charter.

Ted Hall is the Chief Investment Officer at the $18 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the fund's investment strategies, portfolio management, and risk assessment. Under his leadership, the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund aims to maintain its strong financial health and meet its long-term investment objectives.

Jeb Burns is the Chief Investment Officer of the $16 billion Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Michigan (MERS). He is responsible for directing all investment activities and portfolio management. Under his leadership, MERS has adapted to new market dynamics, focusing on strategic international investments amidst deglobalization and increased protectionism. Burns emphasizes the importance of addressing demographic challenges and retaining talent in the investment sector. His innovative approach ensures MERS navigates regulatory hurdles and achieves sustained success.

Steve Willer is the Chief Investment Officer at the $25 billion Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA), overseeing the Office of Investments and managing fixed income assets. With over 25 years of institutional asset management experience, Mr. Willer joined KPPA in April 2020 as the Fixed Income Division Director. Prior to this, he served as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Previous positions also include portfolio management positions at Deutsche Investment Management and INVESCO Worldwide Fixed Income, where he contributed to global investment research and strategy.

Tim Barrett is the Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Investment Officer for Texas Tech University System (TTUS), where he oversees the nearly $3 billion endowment. Mr. Barrett is responsible for the day-to-day management of the endowment assets and the implementation of the investment strategy. He began his tenure with TTUS in April 2013.

Before joining TTUS, Mr. Barrett served as Director of Pension Investments Worldwide at Eastman Kodak, where he managed over $16 billion in assets across approximately 77 plans globally. His role at Kodak began in November 2010.

Mr. Barrett launched his career at the San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association (SBCERA), where he advanced to become the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer. During his time at SBCERA, he was instrumental in managing a public pension, global corporate pensions, and an endowment fund, exercising full autonomy in manager and strategy selection'a critical aspect of his success as a CIO.

With over 20 years of experience, Mr. Barrett has successfully run levered portable alpha structures and implemented derivative overlay strategies to manage beta exposure, creating significant value for SBCERA. His expertise in this area is well-documented, including a published paper on the topic, which led to an industry award.

A notable achievement during his tenure at SBCERA was during the credit crisis, where he managed to navigate the challenges posed by the downturn. Despite the crisis reducing par loans to 60 cents on the dollar and losing leverage lines, Mr. Barrett partnered with two managers who had open leverage lines at Libor plus 20bps. By relevering in the downturn at a higher leverage ratio, he not only recovered the losses but also created two new investment vehicles with major credit firms, showcasing his strategic acumen and leadership in crisis management.

Andrew Golden is the President of the Princeton University Investment Company (Princo), managing the university's $34.1 billion endowment. Under his leadership, Princo has achieved top-quartile performance and substantial growth, expanding the endowment from $2.5 billion to $34.1 billion during his tenure. Golden's strategic vision includes shifting the portfolio to external investment management, recalibrating illiquid asset exposures, and committing to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by 2050. Known for his investment acumen and sense of humor, Golden has significantly contributed to Princeton's financial success and educational mission.

Kim Y. Lew is the Chief Executive Officer of the $14 billion Columbia Investment Management Company managing the endowment of Columbia University in the City of New York. Previously, she was the Chief Investment Officer of Carnegie Corporation of New York, a private grant-making foundation founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1911, which she joined from the Ford Foundation. Lew began her career in the middle market banking group of Chemical Bank and later joined Prudential Capital Group after business school.

Lew serves on the Boards of Ariel Investment Management Mutual Funds and Girls Who Invest, and on the investment committees of the ACLU and National Gallery of Arts. Lew graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics and from the Harvard Graduate School of Business with an MBA.

Alyssa Rieder is the Chief Investment Officer of Common Spirit Health, overseeing the management and oversight of the organization's $25 billion investment program and leading a 20-person investment team. Common Spirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the country, operates over 1,000 care sites across 24 states and provides over $5 billion in charity care and community benefit annually.

Before joining Common Spirit Health in 2011, Alyssa managed retirement and endowment assets for the University of California system at the Office of the Treasurer of the Regents, focusing on Emerging Market and Global Equity Investments. She also spent ten years at Franklin Templeton Investments as the lead Portfolio Manager on a mutual fund, Sector Team Leader, and Research Analyst in Financial Services. Earlier in her career, Alyssa worked in management consulting and served as the CFO/COO of a Bay Area social service agency. Additionally, Alyssa is a trustee for Sempra Energy's Nuclear Decommissioning Trust and serves on the advisory board for TIFF Advisory Services.

Erik Lundberg is the Chief Investment Officer at the University of Michigan, responsible for directing the University's $19 billion long-term investment portfolio. Since joining the university as its first Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Lundberg has established the university's investment office as a highly regarded institutional investor, seeing the endowment grow from $2.5 billion (17th largest) to $19 billion (9th largest) in value and deliver top quartile performance. Leading a staff of twenty investment professionals, Mr. Lundberg develops and implements investment strategy for the university's long-term investment portfolio, which includes one of the most diverse groups of asset managers of any university, according to a 2024 study by the Knight Foundation. The portfolio is on track to become Net Zero by 2030.

Susan Ridlen is the Chief Investment Officer, Vice President, and Assistant Treasurer at Eli Lilly and Company, overseeing $24 billion in assets and exposures under management. She directs strategy, portfolio management, due diligence, risk management, and manager selection. Susan is also responsible for benefit plan financial and regulatory reporting, as well as benefit plan design analysis and recommendations globally.

She is an active member and former board member and Committee Chair of CIEBA, a board member and chair of the Investment Committee of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Foundation, a previous Chair and President of an Indianapolis Real Estate Partnership, and a previous Finance Committee member of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Charles Van Vleet is the Assistant Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of Pension Investments at Textron Inc., overseeing $15 billion in defined benefit and defined contribution assets for Textron's US, Canada, and UK plans. Together with an investment team of four, he provides retirement security for over 75,000 current and past employees through broadly diversified investments, including private equity, hedge funds, commodities, real estate, fixed income, and public equity. Charles serves as a member of Textron's Investment Committee, Investment Management Group, Employee Benefits Committee, and as Chair and Board Member of Textron's UK and Canadian Plans.

Before joining Textron, Charles spent eight years as Director of Pension Investments at United Technologies (UTC) in Hartford, CT. He has over 25 years of experience in banking and investment management with firms such as Credit Suisse, Warburg Pincus, Putnam, Alliance Capital, and Brown Brothers Harriman. His career has spanned living and working in New York, London, and Tokyo, managing mutual funds, high-net-worth portfolios, public pension, and corporate pension funds.

Neil Roache is the Chief Investment Officer of the $33 billion Johnson & Johnson Pension Fund. In this role, he leverages extensive experience in investment strategy and public markets to ensure the fund's continued growth and stability. Previously, Neil served as Director of Investment Strategy and Public Markets at Exelon and held a key position in public markets at UPS. His expertise in managing large-scale investment portfolios plays a crucial role in maintaining the financial health of Johnson & Johnson's pension fund.