Rebecca Carland Named CIO of Knight Foundation

Rebecca Carland

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced Monday the appointment of Rebecca Carland as CIO, an appointment that foundation leadership said is a significant step in bringing its investment management and operations in house.

“We are thrilled to have Rebecca at the helm of our investment office,” Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, president and CEO of the Knight Foundation, said in a statement. “Building an in-house investment team allows us to manage our assets with greater strategic flexibility, ensuring that we continue to support Knight’s mission in perpetuity.”

The foundation, which provides grants to support journalism, the arts and culture, managed $2.6 billion in assets, as of 2023. The foundation approved 315 grants worth $195 million that year.

“I’m honored to help build and lead Knight Foundation’s investment team at such a pivotal moment,” Carland said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time to advance the foundation’s legacy of thoughtful stewardship. I look forward to working with the team to continue supporting Knight Foundation’s impact.”

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Carland is currently a senior adviser at impact investor Builders Vision, having previously served as CIO of the firm’s asset management team. She transitioned to the adviser role earlier this year, and will step down from Builders Vision in May, according to people familiar with the firm succession plans. Her previous roles include managing director of Walton Enterprises, the family office of the Walton family, and senior investment director at Cambridge Associates.

Carland earned a bachelor of arts degree in international relations and Spanish from Tufts University and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

In addition to Carland, the foundation also announced the appointment of Shanna Charles as director of investment operations. Charles managed the Knight Foundation’s portfolio operations while at Cambridge Associates.

In March, the foundation announced the appointment of Kevin Stephenson, also an alum of Walton Enterprises and Cambridge Associates, to its board of trustees. Stephenson, while working at Cambridge Associates, served as the outsourced CIO for the Knight Foundation between 2005 and 2019.