Mendillo to step down
Jane Mendillo, who led Harvard University’s investment arm through the troubled waters of the global financial crisis into the renewed growth and relative stability of recent years, will step down at the end of the year, she announced today. Mendillo, who has served as president and chief executive officer of Harvard Management Company (HMC) since 2008, will depart after stabilizing an organization in transition and revamping its investment strategies. During her tenure, she hired new staff, including senior managers, and put a stronger emphasis on liquidity, flexibility, and risk management in HMC’s investments. Since the depths of the financial crisis, Harvard’s endowment, overseen by HMC, has averaged 11.3 percent annual returns and grown from $26.1 billion in 2009 to $32.7 billion in 2013. HMC also has increased its emphasis on sustainability, hiring its first vice president of sustainable investing, and earlier this year signing the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment. “I am...