Britt Harris will be leaving his post as the CEO and President at the University of Texas/Texas A&M University Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), the largest public endowment in America.
His last day will be June 30, 2023, according to a press release from the firm. Under
Harris’ leadership UTIMCO has been a top-performing investment team in both
return generation and professional risk management. Upon Harris’s departure,
UTIMCO’s Chief Investment Officer, Rich Hall, will be promoted to CEO and
President.
“Britt is a unique and
exceptional leader and one of the most talented investment leaders in the
country – we have been fortunate to have him at the helm of UTIMCO these last
six years,” said UTIMCO Board Chairman Rad Weaver. “We are grateful for Britt’s
steadfast, impactful leadership, and his foresight in working with the Board on
a succession plan that has fully prepared our talented team of investors to
take command of UTIMCO’s important work upon his departure. We look forward to
Rich Hall stepping up as UTIMCO’s forthcoming CEO.”
Harris mentored Hall into the chief investment officer position when he transitioned to president and CEO to focus on the larger concepts around the investment corporation. He has more than 30 years’ investment experience leading several of the largest organizations in America known for their success and innovation. He has also mentored a volume of CIOs.
Prior to UTIMCO, he was CIO for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), CEO for Bridgewater Associates, CIO and President for Verizon Investment Management Corporation and a managing director for Asea Brown Boveri in Europe.
Harris recently was recognized with a Hall of Fame award by this publication, owned by Markets Group, and he and his team have received a volume of achievement awards for their partnerships and performance. He has served on the President’s
Working Council on Financial Markets, advised both the NY and Dallas Federal
Reserves banks, co-led the San Jacinto Project – an American energy transfer
initiative – and advised several countries on the creation of their investment
organizations. Harris was also the first institutional investor to fund a fully
minority-managed investment strategy while at Verizon in 1996. In addition to
his leadership in the institutional investor community, Harris has made
significant contributions to academia by teaching simultaneously at his alma
mater, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He has mentored more than 800 aspiring investors through his classes.
“UTIMCO has everything it needs
to continue to be a world-class investment team for years to come,” Harris
said. “Thank you to the Board of Directors for the opportunity to lead UTIMCO
these last six years – I am grateful for all the amazing people that I have
worked with and met along the way. Rich Hall and our leadership team are
experienced and talented. I have no doubt they will continue to positively move
UTIMCO forward.”
Hall joined UTIMCO as Chief
Investment Officer in early 2018. He previously served as a managing director,
head of private equity, and member of the Executive and Investment Committees
at Harvard Management Company. Prior to serving Harvard, Hall worked with Harris as the head of
private equity and a member of the Management Committee at the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas (TRS). Prior to TRS, Hall had mergers and
acquisitions related positions in industry and investment banking and served as
an intelligence officer for six years in the U.S. Navy. He earned his master’s
in business administration from Northwestern University and received his
bachelor’s degree from Harvard.
UTIMCO Board Chairman Rad Weaver
continued, “We are ready to initiate a seamless transition. Rich is a proven
leader of people and of investment management and is eminently qualified to
take the helm of UTIMCO. We look forward to the ongoing success he will
accomplish on UTIMCO’s behalf. UTIMCO has an excellent leadership team and will
no doubt continue to generate superior long-term investment returns so UT and
A&M institutions can continue to deliver the very best education and health
care to the people of Texas.”
UTIMCO holds $66 billion in
assets under management with an endowment value of $52.9 billion, representing
about $134,000 per student.
Harris did not indicate he will fully retire, however.