Dore Partnership, an executive search firm, has been hired by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to lead the search for a new CIO after Nicole Musicco departed suddenly in September. Deputy CIO Dan Bienvenue is currently serving as interim CIO.
“CalPERS is looking for a strong investor with broad experience who is committed to our public service mission of ensuring the retirement benefits of 2 million people,” said Marcie Frost, CalPERS’ CEO, in a press release. “Dore Partnership is a proven partner with a successful track record of putting the right people in the right spots all over the world.”
Musicco announced in mid-September she would leave CalPERS on September 29 to focus on her family. A successor to Musicco would be the system’s fourth CIO in the last five years, joining Musicco, Ben Meng, who was accused of profiting personally from CalPERS investments, and Ted Eliopoulos, who left in 2018.
Some industry observers have said the fishbowl environment of managing the investments for the largest U.S. state pension fund makes it a hard job to fill. Eliopoulos was the last internal candidate to fill the CIO role.
When CalPERS hired Musicco—who had previously managed private and public equity investments for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan—the fund was increasing its allocation to private markets in an effort to improve returns. Interest rates and other macro trends have made it a tough environment for returns on private-market investments.
At the time of his departure, Eliopoulos cautioned that the private-equity investments would shrink without a restructuring to allow direct investments in private equity and venture capital.
CalPERS serves more than 1.5 million current and retired California public employees. The new CIO would be in charge of managing the fund’s $462.8 billion portfolio.
CalPERS has also posted the job opening on its website. “The ideal candidate is an exceptional investor who is goal-oriented, organized, and can carry out a complicated, highly visible, fast-paced, and multi-faceted role with poise, integrity, and grace.” the posting states.
“The competition for top talent has never been fiercer, especially when it comes to implementing and delivering on the investment returns needed to support our members,” said Theresa Taylor, president of the CalPERS Board of Administration in a statement.
Dore Partnership is a New York-based firm that has made more than 900 placements across 20 countries and 60 cities since its founding in 1997.
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Tags: Ben Meng, California Public Employee Retirement System, CalPERS, Marcie Frost, Nicole Musicco, Ted Eliopoulos, Theresa Taylor