Pamela Peedin '89 Tu '98 will serve as the College's new Chief Investment Officer, College President Jim Yong Kim announced on Monday.
Peedin will replace former Chief Investment Officer David Russ, who stepped down in June 2009 to head the Investment Strategies and Solutions group at Credit Suisse, The Dartmouth previously reported. Former Trustee Peter Fahey '68, Board Chariman Steve Mandel '78 and Bill Helman '80 have jointly helped manage the Investment Office and the endowment since Russ left the College.
Upon assuming her new position, Peedin will supervise Dartmouth's Investment Office and its approximately $3 billion endowment, according to the press release. While the endowment's value grew by 6 percent over the 2010 fiscal year, the sum has yet to recover from its $835 million loss in the 2009 fiscal year.
Before accepting her position at the College, Peedin served as CIO at Boston University, where she managed their $1 billion portfolio, according to the press release. In the 2010 fiscal year, Boston University's endowment saw a 12.7-percent return, the press release said.
Peedin's experience at Boston University will prove valuable in her transition to Dartmouth, according to Helman, who is chair of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees' Investment Committee.
"Her background is a terrific fit for Dartmouth," Helman said. "This woman understands what it's like to run an endowment in a college environment."
Helman said he expects Peedin will bring strategy and organizational skills to Dartmouth's Investment Office.
"She's very good at setting strategy and investment policy," he said. "She's very good organizationally."
While Peedin's alumni status was a contributing factor in her appointment, it was not decisive in Kim's decision, according to Helman.
"We wanted to appoint the best person for the job," he said. "The absolute best person for the job. Our goal is to be world-class and provide top-tier returns to Dartmouth."
Through Peedin joining the administration, the Board of Trustees Investment Committee will run more efficiently, according to Helman.
"The investment committee is used to working with a CIO," Helman said. "This will improve it and enhance it, because having a full-time, highly qualified person is the best way for the Investment Committee to be constructive."
Last November, Kim told The Dartmouth that the College had put its search for a new CIO on hold, The Dartmouth previously reported. The search's suspension was never meant to be long-term, according to Helman.
"The search was suspended because President Kim was new, and there was an awful lot going on," he said. "We always knew we were going to go out and get the best person to run the endowment the whole time."
When the search resumed, a committee led by Helman and Stephen Mandel '78, the former chair of the Trustee Investment Committee, selected Peedin after a process that lasted "several months," according to Helman.
"You talk to everyone in the field, you create a target list, you qualify, and then you talk to more people," he said. "And then you narrow it down, narrow it down."
When the College offered her the job, Peedin was not looking to leave BU, Helman said.
"She was not looking for a job," he said. "We had to entice her back to her alma mater."
Peedin will differ from Russ in her managerial relations in the Investment Office, Helman said.
"They're two very different people," he said. "Pam is focused on excellence. She's very hands-on with her managers."
Yet, like Russ, Peedin will participate in academics at the Tuck School of Business and discuss career possibilities with Dartmouth students, according to Helman.
"Pam plans to be a member of the community," he said. "That means helping out in coursework at Tuck. It means meeting with people and talking about careers."
Peedin will begin her work at Dartmouth on February 1, 2011.
