Notre Dame CIO Mike Donovan to Retire | Chief Investment Officer

Photo: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame

Long time Notre Dame CIO Mike Donovan will retire this year, a university spokesperson tells CIO. He will be succeeded by Tim Dolezal, managing director at Notre Dame’s investment office, who has been at the fund for 20 years.

Donovan will step down from his position at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

Donovan, who is a member of CIO’s 2023 Power 100 list, was appointed CIO of Notre Dame in 2020, 23 years after joining the investment office. He succeeds Scott Malpass, who helmed the investment office as CIO for 32 years. The university’s investment office has a history of hiring alumni. Donovan, Malpass, and Dolezal are all graduates of the university.

Notre Dame’s endowment had $18.9 billion in assets as of fiscal year-end 2023, and has returned 1.3%, 13.1%, 10.7%, 10.5% and 10.7% annualized for the prior one, three, five, 10 and 20 years. The fund allocates 25.1% of its portfolio to public equity, 48% to private equity and 26.6% to multi-strategy investments, including fixed income and other diversifying assets that are uncorrelated to public markets.

Previously, Donovan was a managing director of private equity at the investment office. He also practiced corporate law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Donovan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from Notre Dame, A J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Donovan is not the only high-profile university endowment CIO to announce their retirement this year. Andrew Golden, CIO of the Princeton University Investment Co., will also retire after 30 years with the fund.