Harvard’s Jane Mendillo Resigns
(June 10, 2014) — Jane Mendillo, president and CEO of Harvard Management Company (HMC), has announced her departure from the endowment at the end of 2014.
“I am incredibly proud of the work we have accomplished over the last six years,” Mendillo said. “The team’s dedication, creativity, talent, and sheer hard work in the face of, and following the financial crisis has led to a dramatic recovery and a portfolio that is once again firing on all cylinders.”
Mendillo, having been at the helm of HMC since July 2008, has built out and “reoriented” the now-$33 billion endowment’s investment platform and organization positioned for long-term success, the university said. She has worked for HMC for 21 years.
“Jane has been an excellent leader for HMC and a true partner for the university,” Harvard President Drew Faust said. “She has repositioned the endowment and re-established a world-class investment platform to support Harvard and all of its activities for many years to come.”
According to the university, Mendillo’s legacy includes increasing the depth and breadth of HMC’s investments and risk management, strengthening of internal management and direct investing, accounting for 42% of the portfolio, and better aligning HMC’s risk/return profile with the university’s liquidity needs. She also helped raise awareness of sustainable investing, including the endowment’s public commitment to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.
“The work HMC is doing today—on everything asset allocation, to internal trading, to direct deals, to fund investing, to investment operations—is better than it has ever been,” Mendillo said. “This excellent teamwork and the resulting investment judgment it enables will have a lasting positive impact on the portfolio. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a career or a more noble cause. It has been my privilege to serve Harvard University.”
Mendillo also successfully led the endowment after the financial crisis, achieving an estimated average annual return of 11-12% for the five years ending June 30, 2014.
“She elegantly managed the endowment through the financial crisis and attracted a broad slate of high-caliber professionals to strengthen the organization and position he portfolio for strong, long-term returns,” James Rothenberg, chairman of HMC’s board of directors, said. “I am very sorry to see her go.”
Under Mendillo’s tenure, HMC recorded an 11.3% investment return during fiscal year 2013, bumping its assets to $32.8 billion, the largest in the country.
Most recently, it was revealed that Mendillo’s total compensation had slipped in 2012—to $4.8 million from $5.3 million in 2011—while other HMC managers received sizeable raises.
The university said Mendillo would help facilitate the transition process until the end of the year and will continue to serve on boards and investment committees after her departure.
HMC has already begun its search for a new leader.
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