Connecticut CIO To Resign After a Decade

Lee Ann Palladino, CIO of the CT Retirement Plan & Trust FundsThe $29.6 billion Connecticut Retirement Plan and Trust Funds will be short a CIO as of July 1.

Lee Ann Palladino, who has served as chief of the public fund for more than a decade, announced her upcoming retirement Monday.

“Under her leadership, the fund has produced very strong results that ensure benefits for retirees as well as reduced costs for taxpayers,” said the interim chair of the state’s investment advisory council.

State Treasurer—and principal fiduciary for Connecticut’s pension and trust funds—Denise Nappier expressed similar sentiments and credited Palladino for “strengthening the management of a demanding and complex investment program.”

Palladino spearheaded “many successful investment initiatives that build upon a track record of solid performance—especially during severe market turmoil—with total assets now at an all-time high of $30 billion,” Nappier said.

She tapped Deputy CIO Deborah Spalding as interim CIO once Palladino retires.

Spalding became Palladino’s right-hand woman in 2013 after an 18-month national search, according to the treasury.

“She is a seasoned professional with a deep appreciation for our investments and operations, and she is ready to step up to lead the pension funds management division,” Nappier said.

A 20-year veteran of investment management, Spalding previously served as managing partner of Working Lands Investment Partners focusing on investing sustainably managed property.

She also spent time as a partner at Chaplin global, head of international investments at Schroders, and head of international institutional investments at Zurich Scudder Investments.

Spalding holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and master’s degrees from Harvard, the University of California at Berkeley, and Yale University.

The Connecticut treasurer’s office told CIO it was in the process of considering how to approach finding a permanent CIO for the pension funds.

Related Content: State-Run DC Plan for US Private Sector Moves Ahead