Chief Investment Officer

Company
The Ohio State University

Location
Columbus, Ohio

Category
Executive officer
Administrative officer

Field of Interest
Education

The Ohio State University (University, Ohio State or OSU) is searching for a Chief Investment Officer (CIO), a newly created position, to build and lead an investment organization responsible for management of the University’s $2.3 billion Long-Term Investment Pool (LTIP) that consists of endowment and quasi endowment assets.

Ohio State is a world-class public research university and the leading comprehensive teaching and research institution in the state. Ohio State provides a distinctive educational experience for students and pursues cutting-edge interdisciplinary research that brings together scholars from diverse disciplines to solve key problems in society.

Ohio State is a multi-campus university with a main campus in Columbus, five regional campuses and Extension offices in every county around the state. With more than 60,000 students, 18 colleges, and 170 majors, the University offers its students tremendous breadth and depth of opportunity in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions.

With more than 400,000 alumni all over the world, Ohio State has attained international distinction in education, scholarship, and public service. The University is proud of its academic improvements, student performance and national academic rankings.

The CIO will be responsible for management of the LTIP that is invested in a diversified portfolio that is amongst the top 10 largest public university investment pools. The LTIP is expected to realize significant growth in contributions from the $2.5 billion capital campaign announced by President Gee. The current asset allocation is Equities (domestic and international) 51%, Fixed Income (domestic and international) 13%, and Alternatives 41% (Absolute Return 20%, Real Estate 8%, Private Equity 10%, and Natural Resources 3%), Cash -5%. All assets are currently managed by 50 external managers.

The Development & Investment Committee of the Board, comprised of seven members (4 Trustees and 3 exofficio) and chaired by Mr. Leslie H. Wexner, Founder and Chairman of Limited Brands, has retained Cliffwater, LLC to provide investment consulting for alternative investments and Cambridge Associates to consult on traditional asset classes.

In fiscal 2007, NACUBO ranked Ohio State 27^th based on asset size. In “Big Ten Performance Comparisons” and “Peer Institutions Performance Comparisons,” the University ranked 3^rd in market value in each report for the period ended June 30, 2007. In both reports, the University’s performance is not at the level desired, but it has improved over the years as indicated in the schedule below.

As of 6/30/2007	1-Year	3-Year	5-Year	10-Year
Total Portfolio	18.0%	11.8%	11.2%	7.5%

The CIO is a newly created position; an exciting opportunity to be the University’s first CIO and the architect of this new investment organization. The CIO will have the broad investment and organizational responsibilities that generally accompany such a position and will:

Participate and advise the President, Development & Investment Committee and Senior Vice President for Business and Finance (SVP) on the appropriate reporting and organizational structure for the investment department and its relationship to treasury, fundraising, and accounting functions.
Participate and advise the President, Development & Investment Committee and SVP on updates to the investment policy to ensure that assets are well diversified to optimize returns, while controlling risk.
Oversee the departmental general business functions (e.g., budgeting, personnel, and procurement) within University policies and procedures.
Recruit and hire the required investment professionals (currently there are two investment officers in the department) to support, if necessary, a new organizational structure.
Review the current infrastructure (e.g., facilities, technology) and develop the business case, if necessary, to support the desired changes to support a new organizational structure.
Review and develop recommendations for the role of external investment consultants.
Evaluate, recommend and implement/modify a manager search process to ensure appropriate use of investment consultants and internal resources resulting in utilization of best practices in manager evaluation and selection.
Evaluate the current pool of managers and recommend changes, if necessary, to re-balance assets, and terminate and hire managers to ensure managers and investment mandates align with the investment policy.
Review and develop recommendations as to the appropriate benchmarks for the current asset allocation.
Provide education and be a thought leader on investment matters, including non-traditional assets.
Establish relationships within the global investment community (e.g., investment, managers, investment consultants) to ensure the University has access to best-in-class research and managers.

The University is searching for a CIO or senior investment leader from a well-recognized investment organization with a track record of superior performance and established relationships with best-in-class external managers. The minimum qualifications and preferences include:

Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in accounting, economics, finance, business or a related field.
CFA preferred.
Track record of progressive responsibility in investment management and administration.
Experience building a performance driven investment organization and a demonstrated track record of hiring, training and retaining investment professionals.
Generalist investment knowledge and experience across all asset classes, with a preference for strong experience in alternative asset classes (including but not limited to private equity, real estate, hedge funds).
Experience leading investment organizations that are externally managed is preferred.
Demonstrated track record of adding value as compared to appropriate benchmarks.

This is a highly visible position in the University with exposure to many constituencies. The CIO must have excellent communication skills, and the poise and presence to interact with trustees, administrators, staff, donors and other key stakeholders. S/he must embrace and adapt to the University culture, be collaborative and collegial, effective building relationships across the campus, and effective leading and influencing decision-making within a shared governance environment.

Compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications and is designed to attract the best-qualified investment professionals from the national market. Comprehensive health care, retirement benefits, and relocation assistance are also provided.

For additional information or to submit a resume, please contact:

Jackie Tisch, Senior Consultant

Hudepohl & Associates, Inc.

150 W. Wilson Bridge Road, Suite 203

Worthington, OH 43085

614-854-7300

jtisch@hudepohl.com

Date Posted
March 3, 2008

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