Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Names Nancy Orr as New CIO

Nancy Orr has been named vice president for investments and CIO of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, beginning November 1. Orr succeeds Jay Flaherty, who has served as CIO since 2007 and will continue at the Mott Foundation to assist with the transition until his January 2024 retirement.

“We’re excited that Nancy Orr has agreed to lead our investment team,” said Ridgway White, the Mott Foundation’s president and CEO, in a statement. “She combines experience as a CIO and a passion for investing with equal enthusiasm about advancing the Foundation’s mission of promoting a just, equitable and sustainable society. I’m confident Nancy is the right person to help position the Foundation as we prepare to enter our second century of grantmaking.”

Orr has more than 20 years of experience in investments. She was previously the CIO of Fiduciary Counselling Inc., a St. Paul, Minnesota-based financial advisory firm with more than $11 billion in assets under management. She was also a senior investment officer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.

Orr earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

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“I am truly honored to be selected to serve the Mott Foundation as its chief investment officer,” Orr said in a statement. “I believe in the Foundation’s mission and the impact it achieves for the communities it serves globally. I look forward to contributing my expertise alongside the talented team here to maximize returns that will help further the Foundation’s charitable goals.”

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a Flint, Michigan-based private charitable foundation. In 2022, the foundation made 385 grants worth more than $187 million and had assets of nearly 4 billion, according to the foundation’s website. The foundation makes grants through four programs: civil society, education, environment and Flint area.