(April 17, 2014) — The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has announced the appointment of Jonathan Hook as its first CIO.
The Baltimore-based foundation has previously invested with “a number of outside money managers in conjunction with the board,” according to spokesperson Yvonne Sporrer.
“The decision to hire a CIO was a product of the growth and increasing complexity of the foundation’s portfolio,” said Rachel Garbow Monroe, president and CEO. “It was appropriate to hire an in-house CIO who is available on a daily basis to guide and manage our investment portfolio. Jonathan is a superb professional with a strong background in finance in addition to his investment management experience.”
This won’t be Hook’s first time “chartering a new course,” the foundation said. He had helped to found Ohio State University’s investment office in 2008 where he served as vice president and CIO, and also built Baylor University’s investment office in 2001. Prior to these positions, Hook spent 22 years in commercial banking.
At the Weinberg Foundation, Hook will work closely with Monroe “to refine the foundation’s investment strategy.” He will also build an internal investment team to oversee the foundation’s $2 billion portfolio, including in-house management of real estate and traditional market holdings. According to spokesperson Sporrer, the foundation may still utilize some of its current managers after Hook begins his role, but most of them are not expected to remain.
“I am extremely honored and humbled that the foundation selected me to head this critical effort,” Hook said. “The Weinberg Foundation’s mission is to assist those who are poor and vulnerable, a mission that resonates very strongly with me. The foundation has a dynamic and successful history. I look forward to this challenge and the opportunity to help the Weinberg Foundation manage and grow its assets and be even more effective in the future.”
Hook has a degree in economics and sociology from Willamette University and an MBA in finance from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.
The appointment was made after a four-month long national search by executive search firm Korn Ferry, Sporrer told aiCIO. Hook will begin his tenure at the Weinberg Foundation on May 27.
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