The Talent Allocators

The Talent... Allocators How to Lose Jobs & Alienate Everyone Some asset owners parachute into their dream jobs. Most don't.

TheTalent…Allocators

Executive recruiting’s elite

Jagdeep Bachher, CIO,
University of California Regents

Greg Williamson,
CIO, American
Red Cross
Foundation

Robert Wallace,
CEO, Stanford
Management
Company

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners

Art by John Cuneo
THE TALENT ALLOCATORS

How to Lose Jobs&Alienate Everyone

Some asset owners parachute into their dream jobs. Most don’t.

Reported by Kip McDanielArt by John Cuneo

CIO-Landing-Jagdeep-Bachher
CIO-Landing-Greg-Williamson
CIO-Landing-Wallace-and-Barret

THE TALENT ALLOCATORS

 

You are strutting up Park Avenue, bold pinstripes encasing your magnificently broad shoulders. Your stride consumes Manhattan blocks in bounds as you glide back to your office. Your chest—Napoleonic—leads.

“Look at that guy,” you imagine both tourists and locals thinking as you march by. “He’s going places.”

And you are. Because what’s that in your hand, you capital-market Bonaparte? “Why thank you for asking. It’s an offer letter.”

Not just any offer letter, of course. This one took months to acquire, starting with the phone call from the recruiter whose midtown office you’ve just exited. It’s the spoil of endless interviews, covert travel, finessing your résumé, sweet-talking your references, and, perhaps most importantly, your cultivation of the recruiting industry titans who act as gatekeepers to asset management advancement.

But your coup de grâce awaits. For at the end of your uptown parade lies not a fond farewell to colleagues past, but a haggling over your future. You see, the offer letter in your hand is for a job you don’t want—and a paycheck that you do. You’ve played it perfectly: You’ll walk in, confidently hand your bosses the letter, and after a brief back and forth they’ll acquiesce to your will. You’ll then call the recruiter back, apologize quickly but profusely, and triumphantly debouch for a night of debauchery at Smith & Wollensky.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Here’s why you’re an idiot: If you possess any investing talent at all, there is a strong chance that the office from which you just decamped belongs to one of American executive recruiting’s Big Four: David Barrett, Deb Brown, Anne Keyser, and Jane Marcus. And chances are even greater that if—somehow—you made it through their intense screening process without being exposed as a counteroffer hunter, you will not be invited back. By playing them for fools, you have just stepped on one of the many landmines littering the career advancement battlefield. Forget about those magnificently broad shoulders, my friend. Time to start focusing on how you’re ever again going to get an audience with the most important non-investors in the investing industry.

 

David Barrett pondered the above hypothetical. "I'd be disappointed in myself," he offered. "If I haven't figured out that they were just doing it for a counteroffer, it's my fault."

Barrett sat in his 230 Park Avenue office on an overcast Friday in May. Unless they were travelling—and given their vocation, that was very likely—he was less than 100 yards away from the other members of the Big Four, huddled in various offices surrounding Grand Central Station. Closer still was his impressive-by-any standard collection of New York Yankees memorabilia: the handiwork of Mantle, DiMaggio, Jeter, and perhaps hundreds of other past members of baseball's most despised team.

Unlike the contemporary Yankees, however, Barrett and Anne Keyser—the "two grizzled vets" who lead David Barrett Partners—are executive recruiting's hot hand. Since the beginning of 2014, they've placed Jagdeep Bachher (University of California Regents from Alberta Investment Management Corporation), Greg Williamson (American Red Cross Foundation from BP America) and, perhaps most notably, Robert Wallace (Stanford from Alta Advisers— the family office for billionaire Hans Rausing). This team knows how to get CIOs their dream jobs.

Barrett also knows how hard that actually is, statistically and otherwise. Take, for example, Wallace's placement at the Stanford Management Company.

"In the first meeting—when we were trying to get hired over Russell Reynolds and others—we gave the search committee about 20 names: Canadian pension plan executives, endowment and foundation CIOs, Stanford grads," he explained. "Eighty percent of the legwork is done before that meeting even starts."

There are generally two types of candidates, according to Barrett. "You have your 'in-the-fairway' people, and you have your 'best athletes.'" The first group consists of traditional allocators—in this case, largely CIOs and their deputies at smaller nonprofits. The second group is largely an alumni pool—for it is an open secret that elite endowments prefer their own. "We probably did over 100 calls to Stanford grads in investing," said Barrett. Yet committees, and by extension recruiters, often "stay in the fairway."

Once formally hired (after a purgatory of "sweating and waiting"), the winnowing began. Barrett and Bruce Dunlevie—a venture capitalist and Stanford board member chairing the search committee—were "attached at the hip. Most candidates came to Mohammed, so to speak, but Bruce was willing to travel to meet people, which was helpful." They kissed many frogs. More than 150 people made the initial call list, according to Barrett. Fifty were more formally reviewed, and Dunlevie "met 15 or so." Wallace, the eventual winner, met two key criteria: He had worked at a fund of similar scale, and he had managed a large investment team. Training at Yale under David Swensen certainly helped, and so, perhaps, did his unusual career path: Before Alta Advisers and Yale, Wallace danced professionally with the American Ballet Theatre, among several other top companies. And, according to Russell Reynolds' Deb Brown—who knows Wallace's career well—he also did two other things right: "He had a broad range of experience across asset classes, and he waited for the fat pitch."

There you have it: a simple mix of intelligence, not playing recruiters for fools, management experience, familiarity with a fund's size, multi-asset class experience, and patience makes a career. And yet that's not remotely the whole story.

“You try to have a balanced slate to present to the selection committee, but boards want to sleep at night, frankly. It’s still a ‘hire IBM’ thing a lot of the time. You can only be as lateral as the client lets you be.”

 

(Continued...)

THE TALENT ALLOCATORS

 

How to Win Jobs & Alienate No One: If, in some alternative universe, Jagdeep Bachher and Greg Williamson were to co-author such a book of advice, it would be a bestseller among CIOs. Over the course of two separate discussions with Bachher and Williamson, following their moves to the University of California Regents and the American Red Cross Foundation, respectively, an imaginary table of contents emerged—one that extends far beyond the above checklist.

Chapter One: Have an insatiable curiosity about portfolio management, because ancillary benefits abound. "I didn't actually try and position myself to be a specific type of investor," says Williamson, who spent a quarter-century at BP America and its predecessor, Amoco. "I wanted to do a good job and learn as much as I could about the investment business and portfolio and risk management. That meant meeting endowments, foundations, wealthy family offices, sovereign funds, and many of my corporate peers so that I could see how they did things. If there was a better model, I wanted to know about it." Of course, with so many connections, it was inevitable that the all-powerful recruiting industry would also take notice.

Chapter Two: Don't worry too much about the brand. Here, recruiters tend to disagree with Williamson and Bachher. To many of their clients, the imprimatur of a Yale Investment Office or Texas Teachers can have a significant effect on their willingness to hire. But Bachher is explicit: "I wouldn't necessarily worry about which brand you end up with," he says. "I say that because over a 10-year journey, you're essentially collecting skills and experience. They don't have to be linear—they can come from a variety of things and places. It's not pay; it's not title; it's not even brand—it's the collection of skills you pick up over that time frame that matters."

Chapter Three: If you're not growing, leave. "The key to advancement is to be a part of an effort where you have the opportunity to develop and grow. If you are not, then it likely will not be an enjoyable environment—and it's going to make you less valuable," Williamson says. "Sometimes it will be made very clear to you that your organization isn't structured to help you grow. Perhaps the defined benefit plan is shutting in five years, or being offloaded, but it won't always be that obvious. So take stock of your situation, and plan accordingly."

Chapter Four: Forget pay, forget titles—and aim big. "I had a mentor at Manulife," Bachher remembers. "When I was interviewing, I noticed he'd taken notes on my résumé before we'd met. He greeted me with such personal attention to detail—it showed me that I wanted to work with him." This mentor gave Bachher three pieces of advice. "He said, 'I wouldn't worry what we pay you, because the reality is that a decade from now you'll be paid 10 times that if you're good. Don't worry about the title we give you, because you'll naturally gravitate towards the role that suits you.' And then he said the most important one: 'If you're going to take on an assignment, take on a challenge—a big one—and own it, so that it counts if you get it right.'"

Chapter Five: Nurture the recruiters. "In the summer of 2013, I knew that the travel to Edmonton, Alberta from New Jersey, where my family lived, was not a sustainable model," Bachher concludes. "I had some interest from the Middle East, which was in the back of my mind. So on Labor Day, I was actively starting to look—and Anne Keyser called me. We'd connected a year prior when someone had introduced us—Barrett Partners was looking to fill a risk role, and she wanted to know if I knew anyone who might be interested. That started an ongoing discussion: They'd call me, and I'd suggest people." Eventually, Bachher says, Keyser's questions became more direct. "I got to know Anne, and she approached me a couple of times for different role. Then, that Labor Day in 2013, she called me about a role in California, saying the client was very interesting and the position fit my background." The rest is history—Bachher joined the fund eight months later as its CIO.

It is very unlikely that you are the next Bachher or Williamson. While Barrett and Keyser have a track record of placing nontraditional candidates in nonprofit CIO roles, even they admit that it's not the norm. "The endowment and foundation world needs new blood," Barrett says. "You try to have a balanced slate to present to the selection committee—some stellar public fund CIOs, family-office types, people from other areas of asset management—but boards want to sleep at night, frankly. It's still a 'hire IBM' thing a lot of the time. You can only be as lateral as the client lets you be."

Therein lies the central tension of executive recruiting: the stubbornness of the status quo, which some headhunters are rebelling against. "It's still all the same people!" Renee Neri says to the suggestion of a changing search industry. A rising star of asset management executive search, the Heidrick & Struggles principal isn't just talking about the Big Four (one of whom, Jane Marcus, she worked under and admits to adoring). To Neri, all the talk about bringing in nontraditional job candidates is just that—talk. "It's still just a revolution of the deck chairs."

Which raises the specter of disruption. At this point, Uber is as much a management cliché as it is a business—but it also poses a pressing question. "On the asset management side, services like LinkedIn and other changes are taking away some flow," says Neri, who focuses on public fund, family office, insurance, and health care fund searches. "People post jobs to the CFA Institute website; Pensions & Investments has job boards. It's become slightly more commoditized. Asset management firms are building their own talent acquisition teams, which also take away business. But on the asset-owner side, because of governance issues, lack of resources at some funds, and the relatively narrow field of candidates, it is less disrupt-able." Of course, taxi medallion holders thought that too.

There are those on the other side of the table from recruiters who would be all too happy to see disruption occur. A recent conversation in a Greenwich Village coffee shop highlighted this point. Upon hearing that one of the patrons was interviewing at a hedge fund, I mentioned this in-progress article. The patron was not a fan of recruiters. After a brief back and forth, I suggested that perhaps there was a level, far below the Big Four, that could be categorized as "hustlers."

"That's exactly what they are," he responded, and left.

But this is all rather obvious. When you left for college, your mother probably reminded you of a few key life points: Do what you love, do it well, don't do it for the money, and treat people like you'd like to be treated. (And maybe, don't drink too much.) The advice from executive recruiters, and from those who have successfully navigated the recruiting process, is pretty much the same—which raises the question of just what, exactly, puts a candidate over the edge.

To find out, I called Deb Brown for approximately the fifth time in a week. When we met for coffee the next day (we could literally see Barrett's office from the café), she had a one-word answer: "leadership."

"Take the Ontario Teachers' CIO search, for example," she explained. (Her firm Russell Reynolds is currently working with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to find a replacement for outgoing CIO Neil Petroff, arguably the most prestigious CIO search in the market.) "It's unusual because it's a large pool of directly invested funds, with six investment teams running the gamut from traditional public equities to real estate and infrastructure. Because of this, we are scouring the planet for people who are pioneering and can think very broadly about portfolio construction. We are looking for a potential nonlinear career—it could be an investment banker who went to private equity, it could be someone who's spent some time in corporate finance, maybe someone from an opportunistic family office—and we're looking for someone who can lead that organization and has business-building skills."

The problem with leadership as a concept is that it is exceedingly broad, and not something a candidate's LinkedIn will tell you. In essence—although she is too dignified to ever say it—this is exactly why funds are still paying substantial sums to hire executive recruiters like Brown.

So next time you're peacocking down Park Avenue, chest puffed to full breadth, it better be because you've taken the offer.

Kip McDaniel

THE TALENT ALLOCATORS

 

The Russell Reynolds Mafia

Three of the Big Four—David Barrett, Deb Brown, and Jane Marcus—have prowled the halls of one recruiting shop: Russell Reynolds.

"It's not a coincidence," Brown said recently. "Russell Reynolds has spawned almost all the competition in the asset management space. But there's no single reason."

There was, however, Rick Lannamann. "Many moons ago, we had a dean of the industry," Brown said. "It was Rick. He was at Russell Reynolds for 23 years, and he did an excellent job of building up a practice and being the team to beat."

He built that practice through a rather obvious (for a recruiter) method: Hiring top talent. "I joined in the 1980s—I'm not telling you which half!—and they were generally hiring newly minted MBAs, just like McKinsey was," according to Marcus. "And just like the consulting and banking firms, you either went up the ladder or you were cut. Other recruiting firms just didn't follow that model." (Marcus admitted that executive search was not her primary career objective: "I wanted to be a trader, and for some reason I thought this job would get me a job in trading!" she said.)

The Russell Reynolds Mafia—his former underlings—split much of the elite asset management search market among their respective firms, thanks to an interesting, if obvious, dynamic. In that community, your personal brand may be as important as your firm's—and likewise for your superiors.' Rick "was in the business a long time, so unless you wanted to be in his shadow, you went onto a new firm or started a boutique," Brown explained. "For David, he took an entrepreneurial route, and it's turned out great. For Jane, although I can't speak to her motivations, she probably saw a great opportunity and jumped at it." Other alumni, most notably George Wilbanks and Marylin Prince, also now run their own boutiques. "In essence, we had a very senior guy who was the dean of the space for a very long time—and that's why so many of the successful recruiters in asset management started here."

For Brown, timing proved fortuitous: "I joined in 1996; Rick left in 2002." And Brown was quick to point to the quality of the brand Lannamann left behind. "There is more to serving clients than just finding asset managers," she said. "And with a bigger platform like Russell Reynolds"—compared to a boutique shop being the implication—"you have a broader ability to help clients in all aspects of their business. You also have colleagues around the world who can help." She cited the firm's ongoing search for the CIO role at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan—perhaps the most powerful job to open this year. "I like doing a Teachers'-style search. It's truly global. I just got off of a call with colleagues all over the world—we wanted to reach more into Australia—and that's harder to do at a boutique. I still see immense value in the platform we have here."

But now that she is perhaps the new dean of asset management recruiting (a title she actively shies away from), how does she avoid creating a Lannamann-style talent diaspora? "Our team is much flatter than it used to be, and we complement each other," she responded, ever the diplomat. "We are not a star system. I depend on my colleagues for their expertise in areas where I am less knowledgeable and plugged in—and they know they can depend on me for the same. The platform is the glue that has kept me here for just shy of 20 years."

Kip McDaniel

THE TALENT ALLOCATORS

 

The Future of Search

The future of search is family offices. There you have it. Family offices are the future of executive search.

Here's why: Disrupters like LinkedIn and internal talent acquisition groups are taking away the lower-tier employment search. That said, given the smaller salaries associated with these positions, these were never recruiting's sweet spot anyway.

On the asset-owner side of the business, that means recruiters focus on the top: CIO and portfolio manager positions, with a skew towards nonprofits, sovereign funds, and large corporate pensions. But once in a premier role, senior allocators are notoriously cautious about departing. There are market environments—like right now, perhaps—where more moves occur, but the default setting for a CIO is to stay put.

So where will the action happen? New family offices, multiple executive recruiters say. A variety of factors have led to an increased number of families attempting to institutionalize their asset management, and that means not only finding a CIO, but also creating the role from scratch. Recruiters are more than happy to help.

"You're not just filling a chair. You're defining it," said Jane Marcus of Korn Ferry. "It's about advising, about seeing around the corner." Even some stellar CIOs are not right for the role, she admitted. "Not everyone likes ambiguity. But some need it—some love innovation and entrepreneurship. For these new roles, we need someone who is strong amid ambiguity, and strong at being an entrepreneur."

They'll also need to be strong in a changing portfolio environment. "There is a sea change in the structure of the family office investment portfolio," according to Renee Neri of Heidrick & Struggles. "Before the crisis, they saw themselves as mini-institutions. 'Just do what Swensen does,' they thought. Post-crisis, they realized that they are not entirely permanent pools of capital—they need liquidity. They need to be more goals-based, and their asset allocation needs to be for the purpose of the family." The logical extension of this, Neri said, is "in some places a barbell portfolio. Also, more direct investments, more internal trading, and more disintermediation." Any individual who can fill such a role, in Neri's view, will bring "creative ideas—and won't necessarily come from the endowment and foundation world."

Another active space for recruiting as of late has been the outsourced-CIO (OCIO) market. According to the firms themselves, assets under management are growing at an astronomical pace. The number of firms entering the market is increasing, with well north of 50 OCIOs attempting to play in the US alone. The word "bubble" has been muttered under more than one breath.

Neri is skeptical. "OCIO feels a bit like the fund-of-funds business in the 1990s," she said. That is far from a resounding endorsement—and perhaps an indication that the future of search is not in the OCIO space.

Kip McDaniel

The Talent Allocators

Art by John Cuneo
Renee-NeriRenee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles
David-BarretDavid Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-MarcusJane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Deb-BrownDeb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Leo-MeggitLeo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Anne-KeyserAnne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners

The Knowledge Words of wisdom from the talent allocators.

"Follow your passion," your mother likely told you. It turns out she was right. According to these six respected executive recruiters—some well established, some up-and-comers, all insightful—doing what you like, for the right reasons, is essential for career success. What else do they recommend? Read on. Or go ask your mother for more advice.

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

The most under- and overvalued qualities in an asset management
job candidate are...

David Barret

The most overvalued is the undergraduate degree—who cares if I went to Yale and Columbia? I'm looking for academic achievement wherever you went, and how you levered it. Undervalued is what you can't see on the résumé: communication skills.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

On a personal level, the most overvalued quality is charisma. It's too easily confused with leadership, and many people lead from a quiet confidence. Professionally, manager selection can be overvalued. What's undervalued is having a great network of leaders and mentors to rely on.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

Overvalued: Current compensation. I will quote Warren Buffett: "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."

Undervalued: The proven ability to mentor, train, and promote staff. How do you treat the people underneath you?

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

A breadth of asset class experience can be undervalued—for so many people are really siloed. Breadth of asset class experience shows a breadth of thinking. The 'soft' skills can also be undervalued—and the bigger the team to lead, the more important this is. As for being overvalued, I call it the 'But... but... but' issue: The idea that a candidate wants to point to something that doesn't really matter, when they should be looking for breadth.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

Undervalued: Humility.

Overvalued: What's another word for bullishness? Assertiveness? Assertiveness is often overvalued.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

Overvalued: Counterintuitively, the ability to get things done. It's not just what you do, but how you do it, that leads to persistent success.

Undervalued: On the flipside, respect and cultural fit. You want to be a disrupter—but in the right way.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his or her career?

 
David Barret

People trading down in terms of quality of platform for the money or title—because it's very hard to recover from that. What's key is the quality of organization where you work. Don't compromise on your platform in terms of the next step.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

Speaking ill of a past employer and not taking ownership of a mistake, misstep, or blunder. There are people who will cast aspersions and make it look like it's someone else's fault. It's just so unbecoming. For an asset owner in particular, a mistake might be taking what appears to be an industry spotlight role as a stepping stone when your heart isn't really in it.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

A lack of patience. But the flipside of that is lethargy. Fifteen years in the pension world can be too long.

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

Too many moves—it usually indicates you're chasing the money. Oh, and lying on your résumé.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

Going to a public sector scheme. It doesn't always work out badly, and there are some within the public sector (like the Pension Protection Fund) that are seen as good moves. But in at least one instance I've seen someone take a public sector scheme position—and it set him back years. He's back on the right track now, which is great.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

In one instance in the insurance space, someone was about to get an offer but went off the rails when asked about compensation. They were way too cagey about what they currently made—and that leads people to think you're being dishonest.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

David Barret

It was my fault. I didn't manage the process. If the offer is fair and strong, and you've been managing relocation, spouses' jobs, and all that, I don't blame the candidate. I blame the recruiter. It can always fall apart if the client gives a poor offer—but if you've checked all the boxes, it's on us. That's what we get paid for.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

First of all, we try really hard to not let a client make an offer that won't be accepted. We have tested it, tweaked it, and then both sides get what they want. Does it ever happen? Of course it happens. My reaction is disappointment. I don't want to be played—and if we've orchestrated the search well, we have a close runner-up that the client will be equally happy with. Also, I've advised clients to not make an offer if I know the candidate is interviewing elsewhere—I don't want that offer in their pocket!

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

I hope I have a strong backup candidate!

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

It doesn't happen very often, so my reaction is, 'Something went wrong.' But it's an outlier.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

My reaction is disappointment. By that point, I think it's important to understand where you stand. I generally mean it when I say I don't end up angry—except if it's clear that they've wanted an offer to get a counteroffer, but that's only happened once or twice. My first thought would always be to look at why I didn't see that coming.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

Disbelief. Massive amounts of frustration. The nature of the search hinges on human emotion—and that's hard to anticipate. It's not always possible, but to avoid being left at the altar you need to suss out all the risk factors. Flesh them out early and hit them repeatedly.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

David Barret

Don't take on a search where you don't know exactly what you're getting into. Know your client. In our business, it's easy to get wrapped up into the next search, the next seat. To avoid that, don't be greedy. Don't take something on that you can't sell yourself. [Editor's note: Slightly better than Anne's answer, but still]

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

KAUST, or the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, in Saudi Arabia. When we were brought in, the school was just a dream on blueprints. $20 billion was bequeathed to rival the Harvards of the world. It had an iconic board, with brilliant finance people alongside some treasury experts from Saudi Aramco. They wanted the most brilliant minds in endowment and foundation land to be CEO and CIO of this new idea. As recruiters, we had to tell a story. It was challenging because no one had ever heard of them. If you name the big names in nonprofits, we went after them. The ultimate pick—Sindo Oliveros, from the World Bank—has done a splendid job.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

There is no winning in answering this question! [Editor's note: Much persistence was exhausted in attempting to get Anne to answer this question.]

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

Like I'd tell the name! The most challenging one for me was a family office. It wasn't a bad client at all, but a family office investment head can be drawn from such a diverse background, and this was its first CIO. It was an 'I'll know it when I see it' search, and we had to kiss a lot of frogs—little ones, fat ones, round ones. It took a long time.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

The most challenging one was for multi-billion dollar pension search. There was someone on the trustee board who was extremely well regarded and well known in the city and among consultants—and was also known for being incredibly tough. A number of the candidates heard he was on the board and had a nervous giggle. We did find someone for the position in the end—but it could have been better if people hadn't backed away due to his tough reputation.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

The most challenging position I've had to fill was backfilling a CIO who had risen to the top of his organization. We couldn't replicate the new CIO, and we had to complement their strengths and weaknesses. It was tough—so tough that it brought about a very helpful conversation about restructuring the organization.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

David Barret

Jason Klein, CIO at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I like backgrounds that include direct investment experience, and Jason began his career at Lehman Brothers in private equity. He then made the conscious decision to move into the endowments and foundations world.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

Rob Wallace, the new Stanford investment leader, has been very smart. He had great training at the Yale Investment Office, and he stuck very close to a strong mentor. And don't think that the recruiting community hasn't been running after him for years. He was patient. He waited for the fat pitch.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

Oftentimes prospects tell us that their dream job is to manage money for their alma mater. There are many success stories out there, but one is Pam Peedin, Dartmouth's talented CIO (an undergraduate and graduate degree holder from the college). She successfully leveraged her Cambridge Associates experience to ultimately land the top spot at the investment office.

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

Greg Williamson, now at the American Red Cross Foundation. A recent placement—not mine. Greg has always been very discerning with what's brought to him, and that's why he was at BP America for so long. You might say 'He's an old timer!' and you'd be right—but that's the point.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

On the asset-owner side, Ian McKinlay has done it very well. He rose to a senior position with a large consulting firm, developing his skills there, and then he moved to take on a big role at the Pension Protection Fund at a time it was growing very quickly. He then parlayed that into a good role at Aviva. He's in a strong position to go on to even bigger things.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

Greg Williamson. He has had real staying power, and he really delivered for BP. Mark Schmid, now at the University of Chicago, and DTE Energy's Paul Cavazos have also done a good job—with Paul largely being under the radar.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

David Barret

In the traditional money management arena there are many examples, including Wellington, Capital Group, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Tiger Management, and the Tiger Cubs. In the endowments and foundations world, it hasn't gotten to that level of scale. You have to look at Yale, Notre Dame, Michigan, and even some of the Canadian plans in the pension space—but in most cases there isn't enough scale to say they're huge feeders of talent.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

Two that come to mind are the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and the University of Notre Dame. With Notre Dame, Scott Malpass has done an awesome job. He's filled the office with alums, and they have huge retention—which of course makes it hard to recruit them out of there! Also, I must add that more broadly, in terms of generating the next generation of talent, the Canadian pensions are unparalleled.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

Any of the companies and funds that David said. More generally, anyone with over $5 billion in assets who performs well. You'll find talent there.

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

Because they are both strong at talent development in their own unique way, T. Rowe Price and BlackRock. On the asset-owner side, the MacArthur Foundation—under the leadership of Susan Manske—has great talent.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

Aberdeen Asset Management is good—they've got a great culture. Legal & General Investment Management as well. The best among the pension fund side is Universities Superannuation Scheme, I think.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

Look at Boeing, at Chrysler, at Ely Lilly—these corporations have done a great job of spawning talent. It's no coincidence they're all corporations. Pensions can have a material impact on a corporation, so the management of those assets and liabilities is done very professionally.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

David Barret

For a deputy: Don't get overly siloed. Work across asset classes and get good asset allocation and board exposure.

For the CIO: Stay focused on your current role, on your performance, and on your team. Don't look too far ahead—if you're good, we will find you.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

Advice for an aspiring CIO: I'd be silly if I didn't say do a great job in the role you're in. Also, find a way to move from a specialist to a generalist. And get on Chief Investment Officer's Forty Under Forty, of course.

For a CIO: I think the answer to that has a little to do with visibility. Do a great job, but become visible and connect with influencers. Get noticed, but not to the point that you put off your board. Find that balance, and get noticed.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

For both groups: I would advise excelling in the seat they're in. Be open to relocation. Focus on investment performance, effective leadership, and management of your board and committee—which ultimately are your references—and opportunities will come knocking.

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

For a deputy: Broaden your exposure to asset classes and broaden your exposure to leadership. Get a coach. Know who you are.

For a CIO: Don't get stuck on titles. You may now be a CIO at a smaller fund, but don't be afraid of being the deputy at a larger, more sophisticated fund. And have an end game.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

To deputies: You need to assess the likelihood of being a CIO at your current organization. The thing is, when the CIO leaves, the deputy often gets overlooked—so you need to call upon confidants about what they think will happen if your CIO leaves. The CIO also has a network of other CIOs, which can help.

To the CIO: Great, let's talk. But is larger the real goal in your career progression? Small can be exciting, and can grow.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

For a deputy: The critical component is showing reach across the portfolio. Show you are ready to fly the plane. I always ask which internal committees they've sat on, how they've influenced the whole portfolio, and what changes they've affected during their tenure.

For CIOs, I'd just say one thing: Have an opinion.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >
Question Previous |Next

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

David Barret

What I love to see is someone who started in the traditional money management business and has direct investment or capital-markets experience on Wall Street; Someone who trained at a T. Rowe Price, Goldman Sachs, or Morgan Stanley, and then transitioned into a nonprofit or plan sponsor role. To me, that's someone who is passionate about markets and then made a conscious decision to get to the asset-owner side.

David Barrett,
David Barrett Partners
Deb-Brown

There is a school of thought that great CIOs need to have some direct investing experience. So find a way to do that, either through co-investing or spending some time at an asset manager. Also, perhaps take on an advisory role in some way—maybe as a consultant or at a solutions group, if you are an allocator. It can only make you better.

Deb Brown,
Russell Reynolds Associates
Anne-Keyser

Any position that provides you with an equity track record. Combine that with a track record of managing people, and you've got a shot.

Anne Keyser,
David Barrett Partners
Jane-Marcus

I'm not actually sure. In this business, you're either the mechanic or you're selling the cars—there is little appreciation for rotation between those two sides. So perhaps I would advise people to get experience in a risk department, and in distribution, if they can find a way.

Jane Marcus,
Korn Ferry
Leo-Meggit

A multi-asset solutions job. It's somewhere where you use a lot of breadth—you're coordinating with portfolio management teams and consultants—and where you'll get asset class, allocation, and relationship management experience.

Leo Meggitt,
Forster Chase
Renee-Neri

A big area is distribution—it's valuable to have sat in that seat. Knowing this in a multi-asset class role gives you credibility you might otherwise lack. The flipside of a move to this space exists, however. If you have been a CIO for a long time, you've probably gotten used to being the prettiest girl in the room—and when you're in distribution, you need to be ready not to be.

Renee Neri,
Heidrick & Struggles

QUESTION

The most under-
and overvalued qualities in an asset management job candidate are...?

Answers >

QUESTION

Without using names, what is the biggest misstep you've seen by an asset owner in building his
or her career?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is your reaction when a candidate reaches the point of receiving what you see as a strong offer, then drops out?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is the most challenging search you've ever undertaken?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific chief investment officer or asset owner has structured their career extremely well, in your eyes?

Answers >

QUESTION

Which specific organizations impress you with their ability to develop CIO-level talent? And please don't say the Yale Investment Office...

Answers >

QUESTION

If you were to give one piece of advice to an ambitious deputy CIO, what would it be? And for a CIO?

Answers >

QUESTION

What is one non-asset owning role that you would recommend for aspiring CIOs, and why?

Answers >

The Talent AllocatorsThe Judgment

Applause and abuse
from the career gatekeepers.

Art by John Cuneo
CIO-Portrait-Deb-Brown

CAREER GOAL "My career goal would be to serve as a CIO at a large pension or endowment. I get a huge kick out of solving the unique institutional and investment problems faced by asset owners and then distilling these often highly technical and complex issues into a clear message for stakeholders."

CIO-Resume-Judgment-David-Barret-pg1
CIO-Portrait-Jane-Marcus

CAREER GOAL "I'm seeking a position evaluating and recommending investments in real and emerging asset classes."

CIO-Resume-Judgment-David-Barret-pg1
CIO-Resume-Judgment-David-Barret-pg1
CIO-Portrait-Renee-Neri

CAREER GOAL "A strategic leadership role within an asset management firm or function. I want to be more effective in helping the company or enterprise achieve its overall goals."

CIO-Resume-Judgment-David-Barret-pg1
CIO-Resume-Judgment-David-Barret-pg1

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