To see this article in digital magazine format, click here.
Putting up with Editor-in-Chief Kip McDaniel can be quite trying at times (Ed. Note: False), so at the beginning of the year I was more than pleased to have Elizabeth Pfeuti join the aiCIO editorial team, if only remotely, in London.
Liz, as we call her, comes to aiCIO with a robust editorial résumé that includes stints at Financial News and Incisive Media—and an unparalleled reputation in the European financial reporting community. Many of you will have known Liz, or have heard of her, long before she joined us. There’s a good reason for that: She is Bob Woodward and Jackie O. rolled into one, the consummate professional and bubbly socializer.
Kip told me the story of how we hired her. Having met her a few years ago through a mutual friend, he turned to her in an advisory role when he started his search for a European editor. While in London interviewing prospective candidates, he met up with Liz for a drink to discuss the process. Liz then invited him and an aiCIO salesperson to a JPMorgan event at London’s Tate Modern. Upon entering, Liz proceeded to work the room, seemingly knowing everyone—and everything about everyone—in attendance. It was one of many obvious signs that Liz was meant to join our team. Three weeks later, and with a lot of wooing, she had agreed to come on board.
You’ll see Liz making her mark in this magazine, online, and in our conference series. In this issue she tackles the issue of risk parity from a European perspective, as well as profiles the Dutch pension market following a trip she took there in early January. She also helped report on our cover story, which explores recent scandals—and the very business model—with custodial banks and their ancillary services. Online, you’ll see her producing news for our growing website, which will continue to house global content. She’ll lead the charge with our London Chief Investment Officer Summit in late June, following our successful New York City and Sydney Summits in 2011.
Liz’s arrival marks larger plans for aiCIO. Until now, we’ve produced one magazine for the global CIO community. It’s true that a lot of the issues faced by CIOs and their colleagues are the same in South Korea and South Carolina. Yet some issues—regulation, for one—differ by geography. In that vein, aiCIO will soon begin to role out geographical supplements to the magazine, focusing on particular issues that affect a subset of our global audience. With Liz’s arrival in London, you can guess where we’ll be continuing this push to make aiCIO the premier institutional investment magazine worldwide.