Heidrick & Struggles Assists the MacArthur Foundation with Chief Investment Officer Search
May 19, 2025 – According to recruiters specializing in the 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. In fact, impact investing roles are new to many organizations, they report.
Executive search, leadership consulting and culture shaping services provider Heidrick & Struggles recently assisted in the recruitment of Bola Olusanya as vice president and chief investment officer of the MacArthur Foundation. “Olusanya has earned a reputation for delivering returns while applying strategic leadership, vision, and a commitment to advancing the mission,” said MacArthur president John Palfrey. “We are grateful he will fill this critical role and lead our skilled and accomplished Investments team.”
With over 25 years of experience, Mr. Olusanya has a track record of growing endowments while aligning investment portfolios with organizational values. He deploys an investment philosophy integrating long-term thinking, collaboration, and a commitment to advancing global challenges through responsible capital deployment.
As chief investment officer, Mr. Olusanya will manage the foundation’s nearly $9 billion endowment, with the objective of earning a five percent real return annually. This portfolio is the source of funds for the foundation’s grantmaking activity and other organizational experiences. Mr. Olusanya will oversee MacArthur’s overall asset allocation and investment strategy, principally through the retention of outside investment managers. He will continue to pursue the foundation’s goals of increasing assets under management with investment managers committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion while leading a 17-person investment staff.
Prior to joining MacArthur, Mr. Olusanya served as vice president and chief investment officer at The Nature Conservancy, where he managed an investment portfolio of over $4 billion and built the organization’s first internal investment team, transforming the endowment into a global, mission-aligned portfolio. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Key Private Bank, Vanderbilt University, Strategic Investment Group, and S&P Global, in each role applying innovative approaches to asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio construction for large institutional portfolios.
Mr. Olusanya is a board member of The Investment Fund for Foundations, serves on investment committees at the Cleveland Foundation and United World Colleges, and advises Giant Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the United States, renowned for its commitment to fostering a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. With an endowment of over $7 billion, the foundation supports a wide range of initiatives, including global climate solutions, criminal justice reform, public interest media, nuclear risk reduction, and local Chicago-based community development.
Related: Heidrick & Struggles Retained by the American Institute of Architects to Find New Leader
As globalization, change and disruption create many opportunities and risks in the investment management sector, Heidrick & Struggles brings in-depth knowledge and boutique-like qualities across six sector teams: wealth management, asset management, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure investment, and private equity and venture capital.
Chief Career Officer Search
In April, Heidrick assisted Davidson College in the recruitment of Mike Summers as chief career officer and executive director of the Betty and B. Frank Matthews II Center for Career Development. “Mike is a proven leader who will help ensure that our graduates are prepared for jobs that did not exist when they enrolled or for continued education that opens up even more fields where they can make a difference,” said Doug Hicks, president of Davidson College. “He will help leverage the powerful mix of students’ exploration and self-reflection in the classroom, their intensive experiences across internships and global projects and our extensive alumni network to build robust pathways for their leadership and service in the world.”
Mr. Summers will be the first career center leader to carry the chief career officer title at Davidson, reflecting the college-wide role for career development and networking with employers in the Charlotte region and beyond, alums, parents and friends of the college. The college partnered with Heidrick and Struggles to identify the inaugural holder of that title. Mr. Summer is a veteran leader in career guidance and executive search across the higher education and corporate worlds. He comes to Davidson after eight years at Lafayette College, where he is associate vice president and leads the Gateway Career Center.
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan’s Ford. It is a four-year undergraduate institution and enrolls 1,973 students from 50 states and territories, Washington, D.C., and 46 countries.
Related: 9 Talent Acquisition Trends You Must Know to Drive Success
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
