It has been a year of heightened uncertainty, with investors navigating the effects of war, higher energy prices, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. In times like these, the need to have a levelheaded and pragmatic CIO at the helm is more important than ever.
II is pleased to announce the first group of finalists for Institutional Investor’s Allocators’ Choice Awards, spanning five categories: Public Pension Plan CIO of the Year, Healthcare System CIO of the Year, Endowment/Foundation CIO of the Year, Insurance CIO of the Year, and Family Office Investor of the Year.
These are the leaders that the awards are meant to recognize. This year's allocators represent the sharpest and most successful leaders across the industry. They have flourished under pressure, adapting to new market conditions while sticking with strategies that have stood the test of time, mentoring staff, and delivering consistently strong results.
Now in their ninth year, the awards highlight professionals who have earned the respect of their peers for leadership, judgment, and a willingness to push the industry forward. Following a call for nominations in March, II’s editorial team reviewed submissions alongside candidates identified through its own reporting. Last year, the Allocators' Choice Awards recognized investors like Baylor’s Dave Morehead and Selective's Joseph Eppers for their exceptional leadership.
Finalists in additional categories, including Corporate Pension Plan CIO of the Year, Allocator Team of the Year, Asset Manager/Allocator Partnership of the Year, and Leadership and Vision awards, will be announced in the coming days.
We also thank our awards advisory board for their insight throughout the process, including Chris Ailman, founder and CEO of Ailman Advisers and former CIO of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, and Brian O’Neil, a consultant and former CIO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Read about Jonathan Grabel, CIO of Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association and II's 2026 Allocator Lifetime Achievement award winner. Then see who made it to this year's list of Allocator Rising Stars.
Winners will be announced September 17, 2026, at a gala at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. You can register here.
Public Pension Plan CIO of the Year
Kent Custer, CIO of the Illinois Police Officers' Pension Investment Fund, for consolidating hundreds of separate police pension funds into a $15.2 billion fund that’s earned an 8.1 percent annualized return since inception and in the 8th percentile among public funds exceeding $1 billion. After pushing the plan further into active mandates for the last two years, Custer is now expanding the portfolio further into private markets.
Steve Davis, CIO at Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System, for being instrumental in developing the pension plan’s investment program that can deftly navigate California's state policies. Davis, who joined SCERS in 2010 and became CIO in October 2016, has been a collaborative and pragmatic investor who maximizes SCERS’ limited resources — after all, at $14.6 billion, it’s one of the smaller California plans.
David Kushner, CIO at the City of Austin Employees Retirement System, for strengthening governance, refreshing investment policy, and repositioning the portfolio. Since taking the role in 2022, Kushner has moved performance from the bottom quartile to a more competitive footing. He has introduced a private credit program and laid the foundation for private equity for the first time in the plan’s history. His work shows how smaller public pensions can expand their opportunities while maintaining discipline around costs, oversight, and long-term return objectives.
Andrew Spellar, CIO for the Fairfax County Employees' Retirement System, for his innovative approach to asset allocation, including investing in blockchain and digital assets. Though having been CIO since 2013, the intellectually curious and forward-thinking investor has been a huge influence on the Virginia-based system’s investment process since joining in the late ‘90s (first as an investment analyst before becoming senior investment manager). Since the $6 billion portfolio began investing in crypto-related investment funds in 2018, the move is paying off, with its initial allocation increasing due in large part to growth in value.
Ted Wright, CIO of Connecticut Retirement Plan and Trust Funds, and Erick Russell, treasurer of Connecticut, for turning around a struggling state pension investment program. When Wright joined in 2021, the fund ranked in the bottom decile of state pension plans and faced years of turnover and a deeply risk-averse culture. Working closely with Russell, Wright rebuilt the investment team, revamped asset allocation, and helped push through more competitive compensation for staff — moves that stabilized the organization and improved decision making.
Russell, who played a critical role in aligning the board, legislators, and broader state leadership, and Wright have worked to shift both the portfolio and the culture. Although it took five years, the result is a plan that has moved from persistent underperformance to above-median returns.
Healthcare System CIO of the Year
Anurag Pandit, CIO of ALSAC / St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for working under enormous constraints to support the institution’s mission of saving children’s lives. Pandit is a very well-regarded thought leader who’s working to diversify the $10 billion long-term portfolio (focusing on liquid alternatives this year) to ensure that the organization remains strong.
Philip Rotner, CIO of Boston Children’s Hospital, for designing the top ranked healthcare system’s portfolio to withstand heightened risk: The repeat ACA finalist created a new allocation model that categorizes investments not by asset class but by risk profile. Rotner also created a short-term capital pool to accommodate the hospital’s two-and-a-half-year cashflow needs, which the highly regarded investment chief says lets the team “invest from a position of strength.”
Rob Roy, CIO of AdventHealth, for ensuring the hospital’s financial health before planning longer term investments. For years, Roy has worked with the faith-based healthcare system’s treasury department to strengthen underlying financials, including improving the amount of cash it has on-hand. This has created the flexibility to take on more risk and potentially achieve higher returns. As Roy told Institutional Investor: “The biggest thing that you've got to get right is the big building blocks.”
Donna Snider, CIO for Hackensack Meridian Health, for running a thriving portfolio after single-handedly building the New Jersey hospital system’s investment office from scratch — and during the height of covid. Two years after the former Kresge Foundation MD became Hackensack Meridian Health’s first dedicated CIO in 2020, the office Snider assembled was nominated for Team of the Year. As she once told II: “Margins in health care are slim, so you need to work with people who are razor sharp.” In addition to her knack for finding talent, Snider has long been known as a fiercely intelligent allocator and thought leader.
Jason Klein, CIO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, for continuing to manage and grow a small team with a track record of strong performance — all while increasing assets to support one of the leading cancer centers in the nation. Voted CIO of the Year at the inaugural ACAs in 2017 and a finalist for the second annual awards, Klein has developed a reputation as a leader who inspires the best from his team. Managers who work with Klein speak fondly of his “deep bench” and “happiness in empowering staff.”
Endowment/Foundation CIO of the Year
Ed Grefenstette, CEO and CIO of The Dietrich Foundation, for maintaining a highly concentrated portfolio — roughly 90 percent is in venture capital and private equity — with no investment committee, all while paying its distributions without having to rely on its line of credit. Rather than answer to a separate investment committee, Grefenstette — who was hand‑picked by the foundation’s late founder Bill Dietrich to serve as the first president, CEO, and CIO — has full discretion to invest the portfolio’s assets. Grefenstette’s peers are also impressed with his unique and successful approach to Chinese venture opportunities.
Michelle Knudsen, CIO at New York University, for driving significant change to NYU’s portfolio in a relatively short period of time. In the span of barely 2 years, Knudsen has largely rebuilt the investment program at the $7.4 billion endowment, hiring a new team and restructuring the portfolio under a new asset allocation and risk framework. Colleagues are impressed with her thoughtful, no-nonsense approach to the changing investment landscape. Under Knudsen’s leadership, the team has deployed billions into emerging managers, as well as niche credit and quant strategies. Peers also appreciate her willingness to share ideas on portfolio construction, managers, and board management.
Bola Olusanya, CIO of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, for keeping endowment performance high as foundation seeks to increase the amount of grant money it provides. Olusanya has barely been with the MacArthur Foundation a year, but he’s already shown the mark of excellence at the roughly $9 billion endowment by revisiting policies while remaining open to new strategies. The former Nature Conservancy CIO is widely regarded as a strong CIO with an impressive track record of strong returns and strategic leadership.
Philip Zecher, CIO of Michigan State University, for bringing a scientist's instincts to the role. As MSU’s first CIO, the nuclear physicist PhD and former hedge fund risk manager questions assumptions, trusts the data, and disregards consensus. Under Zecher’s watch, MSU’s endowment has grown from $2.4 billion to $4.6 billion mostly through investment gains. The fund ranks 4th in the nation on 10-year performance among endowments over $1 billion.
Abigail Wattley, CIO at Williams College, for picking up where her predecessor left off while still adapting to the new investment landscape. Wattley is considered by many a sharp and savvy CIO who’s savvy and flexible enough to adjust to the changing markets. Wattley, who was appointed CIO in 2023 after being part of the investment office since 2007 (she also received her BA from the school), assumed the role from award-winning allocator Collette Chilton, a legendary allocator who held onto the role for nearly 17 years. Since taking over, Williams’ endowment hasn't lost a step, now over $4 billion and the largest of its liberal arts college peers.
Insurance CIO of the Year
Mike Huff, CIO at PartnerRe, for managing risk where it matters most: for a balance sheet built to absorb volatility. Overseeing a global investment portfolio tied to a reinsurance business, Huff’s approach centers on diversification and capital preservation in the face of unpredictable losses. It’s a reminder that for reinsurers, investing isn’t just about returns, but about building a portfolio that can hold up when the unexpected happens.
Nick Liolis, CIO at Guardian Life, for rethinking how an insurer builds and manages its investment portfolio. Instead of continuing to expand a large in-house team, Liolis formed partnerships with HPS Investment Partners, Janus Henderson, and Hamilton Lane to manage the insurance company’s assets, while structuring those relationships so Guardian shares in the upside it helps create. Liolis did what few leaders do: he took a risk on restructuring a core skill for the company, while also slimming down his own organization. Guardian controls key decisions around asset allocation, risk, and liabilities, and the model lowered costs — in some cases to the point where they could effectively turn negative once equity and revenue sharing is included.
John Morriss, CIO at Lincoln Financial Group, for reworking a large insurance portfolio through sophisticated capital structures. As he reshapes the firm’s general account, Morriss has focused on tools like ICOLI (insurance-company owned life insurance) and IDF (insurance-dedicated funds) — designed to improve tax efficiency and how investments are held — can be used more strategically. Morriss has shown how established insurance portfolios can be reengineered to better meet return and capital demands, and how the CIO role is increasingly including advising on the construction of the balance sheet itself.
Craig Sabal, CIO at New York Life Insurance Company, for managing scale with discipline. Overseeing roughly $350 billion, Sabal’s focus has been on how to continually improve a portfolio that must balance stability, income, and long-term value for policyholders. A longtime leader in New York Life’s investment organization, he now oversees capital allocation across a broad mix of public and private assets. His approach underscores that at this size, performance is about consistently refining allocation, risk, and execution to deliver meaningful results.
Christine Todd, CIO at Arch Capital Group, for her strategic investment decisions and ability to move with changing markets and drive strong financial results. In a role that spans both external managers and Arch’s internal asset management group, Todd skillfully balances traditional portfolio management with innovative alternatives. Since joining in 2022, she has taken a disciplined, risk-aware approach to guiding the portfolio, while building a reputation as a thoughtful leader and mentor committed to developing the next generation of talent.
TC Wilson, CIO at TDC Group, for transforming The Doctors Co.’s investment strategy as its first CIO, delivering strong results amid industry shifts. TDC’s high-profile CIO has prioritized liquidity management, stress-tested allocations, and private market investments since 2017. He’s accomplished these results while collaborating closely with regulators. A 30-plus-year veteran and former consultant, Wilson blends analytical discipline with mission-driven execution, fueling TDC’s growth in medical malpractice insurance.
Phil Passifiume, CIO at Protective Life, for managing a large insurance portfolio with a focus on credit structuring and risk discipline. Overseeing an almost $100 billion general account, he integrates NAIC capital considerations into investment decisions while maintaining a conservative approach suited to policyholder obligations. Passifiume’s work reflects the increasing importance of combining technical expertise in credit with a clear focus on stability and regulation in insurance investing.
Family Office Investor of the Year
Tanya Burnell, senior investment professional at Henry Crown and Company, for her rigorous due diligence and widely recognized excellence at operational oversight of portfolio companies. For 13 and a half years, Burnell has worked on direct investments for the Crown family and has been involved in several significant deals. Besides her strategic insights, Burnell has established herself among the single-family office investor community as a well-respected peer and mentor.
Marcus Siezing, CIO at Dillon Trust, for his consistently strong results over 16 years at one of the largest family offices in the world. The CIO of a well-known family office pointed to Siezing’s ability to construct a diversified volatility hedge portfolio, specifically through difficult markets, and his ability to employ thorough due diligence to steer clear of fad investments. Siezing is an experienced and innovative investor, with a consistent approach that has yielded strong results for the office.
Matt Hershey, CIO at Marron Capital, for his ability to pair analytical rigor with sound judgement while building out a multi-asset, endowment style portfolio. As one of the youngest CIOs in the family office industry, peers say he has earned the Marron family’s deep trust through a combination of institutional discipline, strong integrity, and a sharp investing mindset. While his skills would lend themselves to quant trading or a hedge fund, Hershey is said to have found his calling in the family office profession.
Reshma Kalimi Casale, head of investments at RCap, for her procedural approach to serving the family office of Fanatics’ Michael Rubin. Several nominators highlight her as an investor who can navigate complex situations, with a wide range of skills that include operations and tax, especially in sports and media, and for fostering relationships that have opened doors to unique opportunities.
Nicole Sherwood, founder at Altman Family Holdings, for her contributions to the family office industry and ability to build institutional level systems around complex portfolios. Since taking over the personal portfolio of Owl Creek Asset Management’s founder Jeffrey Altman, she has focused on improving the rigor and efficiency of the family’s private investment process. Sherwood is a community builder and leader in single family offices, bringing people together to share solutions.
