Interim Sharcus Steen Appointed Long-Term CIO of University System of Maryland Foundation

Sharcus Steen

The University System of Maryland Foundation, the investment management arm for 10 University of Maryland campuses, five Maryland community colleges and the system’s office, announced the appointment of Sharcus Steen as CIO, the university announced on Friday. Steen had been serving as interim investment head since Samuel Gallo stepped down in 2022.

Steen will oversee the endowments and investment assets of the University of Maryland system, which currently sit at $2.3 billion as of June 30.

“The role requires great skill in communicating with our partners, working with our excellent investment committee, and functioning as an integral member of the foundation’s senior leadership team to accomplish our strategic goals in support of the USM,” Leonard Riley, president and CEO of the USM Foundation, said in a statement. “Sharcus has more than proven that he possesses these skills during his 15 months as interim CIO.”

Steen was named part of CIO’s “NextGens class of 2021.”

Steen earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and psychology, as well as a Master of Arts in organizational behavior, from Stanford University, where he also played football from 1995 to 1999. He later earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Steen has worked at the USM Foundation since 2017. He previously served as a senior investment director at Cambridge Associates and also held roles as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and as an associate at Citigroup.

Steen was appointed a Maryland state retirement and pension system public adviser to the investment committee by Maryland Governor Wes Moore. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and served as chapter head of the CAIA Association’s Washington, D.C. chapter between 2017 and 2019.

“I am excited and honored to step into the permanent CIO role at the Foundation,” Steen said in a statement. “This is an outstanding organization and an extraordinary team. I look forward to ensuring that the philanthropy entrusted to the foundation provides a growing and stable source of support for students, faculty, and programs across Maryland.”

“Sharcus is an experienced investor and a team builder with an incredible strategic outlook and a passion for supporting higher education,” said Don Scheeler, the chair of the foundation’s board of directors. “We are so fortunate that we’ve benefited from his recent leadership, and the Foundation’s future is bright with Sharcus in this role.”