Home ListingMarch 19, 2015

San Diego Pension CEO Resigns as Friction Continues

Brian White will leave the $10.5 billion public fund as it searches for a new CIO and conflicts between trustees intensify.

Reported by Featured Author

The CEO of San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (SDCERA) has resigned after nearly two decades in the position as the pension fund continues to be fraught with tension.

The pension fund’s spokesperson confirmed that after an eight to one vote, Brian White—the $10.5 billion fund’s first and only CEO—and the board have “amicably agreed” that White would leave his post on March 30. White will be paid $250,000 in severance.

“SDCERA has enjoyed great success, which I expect will continue,” White said in a statement. “Serving as SDCERA’s CEO has been an incredibly rewarding professional experience.”

In White’s absence, management consultant David Wescoe will take over leadership duties temporarily until a new CEO is hired, SDCERA said. Hired by the pension fund last month, Wescoe was tasked with helping the fund’s transition from outsourced-chief investment officer (OCIO) Salient Partners to an internal CIO.

“The board has been working with David in filling several key management vacancies, and we are confident in his ability to lead SDCERA while we move forward with a search to replace Brian,” the board chairman said. “The board’s priority now is to hire a leader who can build on our strong foundation and continue the association’s positive momentum.”

“[David] Myers has personally attacked me on the record when I point out Salient’s unimpressive tenure.” —Samantha Begovich, SDCERA trustee.

The fund’s spokesperson said SDCERA would begin a search to fill the CEO position as soon as possible, as it continues to recruit for a new CIO.

According to Wescoe’s report at the latest investment committee meeting on Thursday, SDCERA received nearly 200 applications for the CIO position. The advisory committee said it would interview about 10 applicants on April 2 and 3, with the hopes of narrowing the group down to three or fewer candidates.

The San Diego pension plan’s search for an internal CIO comes after a contentious year with its OCIO. Certain board members expressed their dissatisfaction with Salient’s management, particularly its use of risk parity, and voted to retain its services until SDCERA hires a new CIO.

Tensions between trustees also escalated drastically in recent weeks. Allegations of racial and sexual harassment surfaced, as well as fears about violence, according to email records.

In an email to White, Samantha Begovich accused fellow trustee David Myers of racial and sexual slurs against her and said she is considering a temporary restraining order.

“Myers has personally attacked me on the record when I point out Salient’s unimpressive tenure,” Begovich wrote in an email obtained by CIO. “Of me, Myers has used the following: hysterical, paranoid, carrying a pitchfork, a lynch mob, storming the castle, theatrical. He has also physically invaded my space.”

In another email to White, Begovich said she “deeply [fears] for [her] safety” and that the CEO had dismissed her concerns.

Myers wrote to White in response that Begovich has repeated broken the law “in her delusional machinations… distracting all of us from doing work to serve the members of our retirement system.”