Following an extensive six-month search, the College recently appointed David Russ its new chief investment officer. Russ replaces former chief Jonathan King, who left Dartmouth in January for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Russ, a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and UC Davis, will assume control of the Office of Investments on August 1, where he will be overseeing Dartmouth's investment strategies of the over 4,500 individual funds constituting the College endowment.
Currently treasurer of the regents and vice president for investments for the University of California system, Russ controls an endowment valued at $5.4 billion. Before joining the UC system, Russ held positions at Stanford University and the University of Texas, and has also worked with a variety of private investment management firms.
Adam Keller, executive vice president for finance and administration at the College, announced Russ's hiring and said he believed Russ's experience was a key component of his selection.
"David was chosen because he had terrific experience in academic settings and outside academia and he brought in experience from the private investment world and having worked in endowments as well," Keller said.
"He was very highly regarded as a team leader and manager and we thought he would be a really good compliment to our existing staff," Keller added.
Valued at $2.4 billion, Dartmouth boasts the twenty-first largest endowments in the nation. Keller said he believed the addition of Russ as investment officer would allow the College to improve its standing.
"We are hoping that the investment endowment performance continues to be superlative and he takes that up a notch," Keller said. "We are hoping to be in the top 10 percent of the nation consistently."
Russ was appointed following a search process beginning in December, headed by a committee that included Keller, a finance professor from the Tuck Business School, and the head of the investment committee.
Amy Wang de Rham, a Tuck graduate and senior partner of the Rhodes Associates executive search firm, headed the recruitment process. In the final stages of the search, Russ was part of a group of 15 finalists interviewed before the search committee.
Keller stressed the importance of the College's management of its endowment, stating his desire to increase the funds available to members of the Dartmouth community, particularly for improving the academic opportunities available.
"Building the endowment happens through philanthropy -- that is our alumni -- and the second part is to invest that wisely," he said. "It is a function of investing the money that the alumni are giving us [that will] improve the opportunities for students and faculty."
In an interview with The Dartmouth, College President James Wright said that he looks forward to Russ's appointment and is pleased with the endowment Russ will take over.
"Dartmouth has a very strong record of investment performance," Wright said. "Obviously the whole investment climate has changed in the last 4 or 5 years and I think that will allow the Board of Trustees to take another look at the allocation of assets."
When asked his expectations for the fund with Russ at the helm, Wright was cautiously optimistic.
"I don't think you can project a figure like that," Wright said. "I think you'd like to see performance that averages over 8 percent. We're going to keep working toward that."
While Russ was unable for comment, in a statement from the Office of Public Affairs Russ expressed his excitement at his upcoming position.
"I'm very excited about the position and joining the finance group at Dartmouth to assist in managing the endowments, working with alumni and donors and working with members of the faculty," he said.
