Charles Valdes was elected chairman of the investment committee of the $186.9 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, returning him to the position after a five-year absence and dashing expectations that fellow board member Priya Mathur would succeed Rob Feckner as committee chairman. George Diehr was elected vice chairman, replacing Ms. Mathur.
David J. Adams was named executive director of the $11.25 billion Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund, Indianapolis. He replaces Craig E. Hartzer, who left in January. Mr. Adams will explore cost savings and synergies among Indiana PERF, the $6.7 billion Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund and other state financial organizations, said Charles Schalliol, director of the state Office of Management and Budget, in a statement. Mr. Adams was managing partner of real estate firm Estate Ventures.
Steven A. Kandarian was named chief investment officer at MetLife. He will replace Leland C. Launer Jr., who was promoted to president of MetLife's institutional business organization. Mr. Kandarian was executive director of the PBGC until early last year.
William E. Dodge joined Fox Asset Management as chief executive officer and CIO, said Meg Pier, spokeswoman with Eaton Vance Corp., which owns an 80% stake in Fox. Mr. Dodge replaces Peter Skirkanich, who left Fox in early November. Mr. Dodge comes from Nine Gates Capital, the investment management firm he founded in 2001, and he will bring with him the roughly $30 million in assets he managed there, Ms. Pier said.
Robert Bloom joined Trainer Wortham as CIO and managing director. He replaces Laurence E. Ach, a managing director, who will focus on other duties as a portfolio manager. Mr. Bloom had worked at Bloom Capital, an investment boutique he founded in 2004 to serve high-net-worth individuals, said spokesman Greg Berardi.
Axel Schwarzer was named head of Scudder Investments, said Thomas Richter, a spokesman for Scudder parent Deutsche Bank. Mr. Schwarzer replaces William N. Shiebler, who was named vice chairman of Deutsche Asset Management, a new position. Mr. Schwarzer will move to New York from Frankfurt. He will report to Axel Benkner, who was global co-head of the DeAM retail group with Mr. Shiebler. Mr. Benkner will become the sole global head of retail, retaining his positions as head of DWS Investment and head of DeAM Europe, ex-U.K. Mr. Schwarzer is currently managing director at DWS Investments, where he is responsible for products, marketing and distribution; the position will be filled, said Mr. Richter. Thomas F. Eggers remains managing director and CEO of Scudder, a DeAM spokeswoman said.
Jolyne Caruso was named managing director and head of global absolute-return strategies at Lehman Brothers. It is a new position, said Kerrie Cohen, spokeswoman. Ms. Caruso will oversee the company's hedge fund platform, which offers proprietary single-manager and multimanager funds of funds and third-party single-manager funds to institutional and high-net-worth investors. She will report to Theodore Janulis, managing director and global head of Lehman Brothers' investment management unit. Ms. Caruso will join the Lehman Brothers management committee and the steering committee of the investment management division. She was president of hedge fund manager Andor Capital Management. Kevin O'Brien, a managing director at Andor, did not return a call seeking information about Ms. Caruso's replacement.
Daniel Strumphler was named director of institutional sales at Northern Trust Global Investments, said Christine Harmon, spokeswoman. It is a new position. He will report to Robert Gray, director of U.S. institutional sales and consultant relations. Mr. Strumphler was senior vice president of institutional sales and marketing with ABN AMRO, according to a Northern Trust press release. Mr. Strumphler's duties have been assumed by other team members.
