NEPC Names Sarah Samuels CIO, Tim McCusker Future CEO
Sarah Samuels
Investment consultant and outsourced CIO provider NEPC LLC announced two promotions, effective January 1, 2026: Sarah Samuels, current partner in and head of investment manager selection at the $1.7 trillion firm, will become CIO, and Tim McCusker, NEPC’s current CIO, will be elevated to president and successor CEO. He will then take the reins from current CEO Michael Manning in January 2027. Manning will remain with the firm in a senior advisory role following the leadership transition.
“These changes represent the next chapter of NEPC’s evolution,” NEPC stated, in advance of the firm’s 40th anniversary next year.
Samuels, in her current role, oversees manager selection for private markets, public markets and hedge fund investments, leading a 45-person team. Across two decades of experience, she has held various senior roles, including managing director at the Wellesley College Investment Office, deputy CIO of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management and senior positions at Wellington Management.
McCusker took up the role of CIO at NEPC in 2014 after nearly a decade at the consultancy. As CIO, he has led the investment strategy development for NEPC and oversees more than 72 staffers, who work across investment research, multi-asset investing, asset allocation, portfolio construction and OCIO investment strategy.
Tim McCusker
“It has been a privilege to lead NEPC and work closely with our clients over the last 28 years of significant growth and change,” Manning said in a statement. “As we celebrate our 40th anniversary and look to the next chapter of NEPC’s evolution, Tim is the right choice to lead us forward. He has played an integral role at NEPC over the last two decades and has always exemplified the qualities that define NEPC.”
NEPC credited McCusker as instrumental in shaping the firm’s direction, including establishing NEPC’s OCIO practice as a core investment solution. He joined the firm in 2006 after a stint at Towers Perrin.
“I have always been proud to work for a mission-driven organization that makes a real impact on society, and it is a privilege to work alongside an incredibly talented team that cares deeply about helping our clients achieve their goals,” McCusker said in a statement. “From Mike and many others at NEPC, I’ve learned the value of true leadership and how vital our culture is to our success. Having spent my career here, I know how special this firm and our offerings are, and I am excited to build on NEPC’s legacy of integrity, innovation and partnership, and evolve our business while preserving the client-first mindset that defines who we are.”
Samuels was named to CIO’s 2025 Knowledge Brokers list of investment consultants on whom asset owners rely, her third such inclusion. When she was the deputy CIO of MassPRIM, she was named one of CIO’s Next Generation honorees in 2015. McKusker was previously nominated for CIO’s consulting award in 2015 and 2016.
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