David Barrett Partners Places Investment Chief At Dartmouth

March 21, 2017 – Executive search firm David Barrett Partners has placed Alice A. Ruth as chief investment officer of Dartmouth College. After serving for more than six years as Dartmouth’s CIO, Pamela Peedin is stepping aside as the school year winds down later this spring.

Ms. Ruth, who spent the last eight years as chief investment officer for Michael Bloomberg’s family office, Willett Advisors, will oversee Dartmouth’s investment office and management of the College’s $4.5 billion endowment. She will also manage additional college funds totaling approximately $1 billion.

Before Willett Advisors, Ms. Ruth was chief investment officer for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where she led and shaped a $6 billion portfolio. Prior to Moore, she spent 12 years at Montgomery Securities as a senior managing director and co-director of equity research. “Alice’s accomplishments are legendary in the investment community,” said Dartmouth president Phil Hanlon. “We are thrilled to welcome her back.” Ms. Ruth graduated from Dartmouth in 1983 with a degree in economics.

At Dartmouth, Ms. Ruth will work closely with trustee Richard Kimball, chair of the trustees’ investment committee. “Dartmouth is lucky to have someone of Alice’s caliber managing our endowment,” said Mr. Kimball. “She has a stellar track record, excellent judgment, and a love of Dartmouth — a winning combination.”


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“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Dartmouth,” said Ms. Ruth. “It is an inspiring institution and has had a significant impact on my life. I look forward to having a part in building the college’s future.”

David Barrett Partners has a growing practice in the placement of top drawer CIO leadership, having recently placed investment officers for Harvard Management Co., University of California and Stanford Management Co. And the firm is certainly no stranger to finding all sorts of investment leaders with proven track records that can be proffered to clients seeking the best elite investment professionals that money can buy. He and his partners are considered top boutique recruiting specialists in the field, serving traditional and alternative money managers, endowments, foundations, family offices and sovereign wealth funds.

The firm was founded by a team of investment management recruiting industry veterans from large, multinational search firms who were drawn to establishing a focused investment and wealth management boutique. David Barrett Partners also recently placed Jack Mahler as the first chief investment officer of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.


Investment Professionals In Demand

According to recruiters specializing in the investment function, demand for executive level, ‘high impact’ investing talent has been on the rise, and that demand is expected to soar in coming years. But recruiters say these roles can be generally difficult to develop and ultimately recruit for clients, given their multi-disciplinary and evolving nature ….. Here’s some further reading from Hunt Scanlon Media on other notable searches for chief investment officers over that past year.

EFL Associates Recruits CIO for the Colorado Retirement Association
EFL Associates has placed Amy C. McGarrity as chief investment officer of the $44 billion Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association. Most recently, Ms. McGarrity was a global equities product specialist with William Blair & Company in Chicago.


Korn Ferry Leading Chief Investment Officer Search for South Carolina Retirement System
Korn Ferry has been retained by the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission to lead its search for a chief investment officer. Hershel Harper Jr. resigned as CIO last September. Geoffrey Berg serves as acting CIO.


Korn Ferry Recruits CIO for Indiana Public Retirement System
Executive search and leadership solutions provider Korn Ferry has placed Scott Davis as chief investment officer of The Indiana Public Retirement System. David Cooper, the organization’s previous CIO, left to become CIO of the $2.8 billion Purdue Research Foundation.


Korn Ferry Taps Chief Investment Officer for Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System
Korn Ferry has recruited Bryan Lewis as chief investment officer of the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System. He will assume duties from Thomas F. Brier, who announced his plans to retire in June after nearly 24 years of commonwealth service.


DHR Places Chief Investment Officer At Alaska Fund
DHR International has placed Russell Read as chief investment officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. He replaces Jay Willoughby at the Juneau, Alaska-based sovereign fund. The search was led by Carol Hartman, managing partner of the firm’s financial services practice in North America, and partner James Schroeder.


Prince Houston Recruits Chief Investment Officer for Commonfund
The Prince Houston Group has placed Mark Anson as chief investment officer of Commonfund, a leading manager for endowments and foundations. In his new role, Mr. Anson will serve on Commonfund’s operating committee and will chair the investment policy and asset allocation committees.


Recruiting top talent in our space has always been challenging and, even with the ongoing advances in technology and proliferation of third-party candidate databases, it will not get easier,” said Mr. Barrett in an interview with Hunt Scanlon Media last year. He said pay was a key factor and that since successful professionals are paid well throughout the sector, there is little incentive or reason for them to consider moves elsewhere.

“In an increasingly competitive marketplace, the challenge for recruiters in this space will be to demonstrate they have the relationships, market credibility, and industry knowledge to not just serve up candidates, but to deliver the right candidates,” he noted.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media

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