Welcome to the 2025 CIO awards season!

Since 2010, with the exception of 2020, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER has highlighted truly innovative approaches to the challenges of institutional asset ownership and asset management.

This year, we are celebrating those asset owners, asset management firms and consultants that have thrived and been incredible leaders, even as markets have been volatile, inflation is in flux and the political climate has changed.

In February, we opened nominations to CIO registrants and our friends and partners in the industry. Each nominee was asked to fill out an application offering details about performance, innovative strategies, contributions to the industry and drivers of success. Categories awarded each year may differ depending on the categories in which we receive applications.

A panel of internal judges at CIO selects the award finalists in categories for both asset owners and asset management and service providers and selects the winners in each asset management and servicing category. Previous award winners help the panel select the winners in each category for the asset owner awards.

The award categories, winners and finalists for 2025 are listed below.

On October 16, at Chelsea Piers in New York City, we will host both the Influential Investors Forum and our Industry Innovation Awards celebration, where we will announce this year’s winners.

Save the date, because you’ll want to be in the room to meet finalists, talk with them about investing and join the excitement as the winners are announced. There is nothing like having a room full of peers to applaud your hard-won success.

Lifetime Achievement Award:
Andrew Palmer, former CIO, Maryland State Retirement and Pension System

Versatility Award:
Stefan Strein, CIO, Cleveland Clinic Investment Office

CIO of the Year:
Geri Melichiorre, University of Illinois System

Asset Management & Servicing Award Winners and Finalists:

Data and Technology

• Alkymi—Winner
• Dynamo Software
• Jacobi
• Oxane Partners
• PitchBook
• Vidrio Financial

Emerging Markets

• Artisan Developing World/Artisan Partners—Winner
• Principal Asset Management
• Vontobel

ESG/ Sustainability

• Mirova—Winner
• Principal Asset Management

Liability-Driven Investing (LDI)

• Capital Group
• Goldman Sachs Asset Management—Winner
• L&G
• NISA
• Wellington Management

Multi-Asset Portfolios

• Capital Group
• L&G—Winner
• Lumenai Investments LLC

OCIO

• Cerity Partners OCIO—Winner
• Goldman Sachs Asset Management
• PNYX Group SA

Opportunistic Investments

• L&G
• Project Level (Ariel Investments)—Winner
• Wilkinson

Private Credit

• Kerberos Capital Management
• L&G
• Saluda Grade—Winner
• Seix Investment Advisors

Private Equity

• Apollo Global Management
• Kingswood Capital Management—Winner
• Schroders Investments

Public Equity

• AQR Capital Management
• Arrowstreet Capital Management
• L&G
• Parnassus Investments—Winner
• Schroders Investments
• Vontobel

Public Fixed Income

• Capital Group
• L&G
• NISA
• TwentyFour Asset Management, a boutique of Vontobel—Winner

Real Assets and Infrastructure

• Brookfield Asset Management
• DigitalBridge
• Global Infrastructure Partners (BlackRock)
• Harrison Street
• KKR
• Maquarie Asset Management
• Principal Asset Management—Winner
• Stonepeak

Asset Owner Industry Innovation Awards Winners and Finalists:

Collaboration

• Jennifer Neppel, Pinnacol Assurance
• Carlos Rangel, W.K. Kellogg Foundation—Winner
• Joe Siprut, Kerberos Capital Management

Corporate Plans

• Harshal Chaudhari, GE
• Robin Diamonte, RTX Corp.—Winner
• Walter Kress, EY

Endowments

• Richard Chau, Tulane University
• Geeta Kapadia, Fordham University
• Geri Melchiorre, University of Illinois System—Winner
• David Morehead, Baylor University

Foundations

• Nickol Hackett, The Joyce Foundation—Winner
• Lisa Murray, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• Peng Wang, Inatai Investment Management Company

Health Care/Hospital Plans

• Mark Cagwin, SSM Health
• Kathleen Jacobs, RWJBarnabas Health
• Josh Rabuck, Indiana University Health—Winner
• Rob Roy, AdventHealth

Public Defined Benefit <$25B

• Ted Hall, Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund
• Katherine Molnar and Andrew Spellar, Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System and Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System—Winner
• Molly Murphy, Orange County Employees Retirement System
• Kristin Varela, Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii

Public Defined Benefit >$25B

• Geoffrey Berg and Bryan Moore, SC Retirement System Investment Commission
• Benjamin Cotton, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System
• Craig Husting, The Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri—Winner

Public Defined Contribution

• Elizabeth Fernando, U.K. NEST
• Yup Kim, Texas Municipal Retirement System—Winner
• Paul Taylor, Government Employees Superannuation Board