Harvard Management Co.'s Jane Mendillo tops the list of highest-paid chief investment officers — with total compensation of $4.75 million, research by executive search firm Charles Skorina & Co. shows.
Harvard Management oversees the investments of the $32 billion Harvard University endowment, Boston. Ms. Mendillo is president and CEO; the Skorina report noted that researchers there included executives who oversee their institutions' investments, regardless of title.
David F. Swenson, CIO of the $16.7 billion Yale University endowment, New Haven, Conn., was second on Skornia's list, with compensation of $3.8 million, followed by Nirmal Narvekar, president and CEO of the $6.5 billion Columbia University endowment, New York, at $3.45 million; and Scott C. Malpass, CIO of the $5.2 billion University of Notre Dame endowment, South Bend, Ind., at $2.06 million.
Laurence Hoagland, CIO of the $7.4 billion William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Menlo Park, Calif., was fifth, with $2.02 million in compensation.
There were two CIOs on the list from public pension funds: Britt Harris, CIO of the $107.5 billion Texas Teacher Retirement System, Austin, ranked 23rd with compensation of $1 million, and Charles W. Cary Jr., CIO of the $49.6 billion Georgia Teachers Retirement System, Atlanta, was No. 48, $609,440.
Of the top 50 salaries, 46 belonged to CIOs at educational endowments, private foundations or public charities such as the Metropolitan Museum.
The data come from 990 and 990F filings, most of which were for fiscal year 2010, which for most institutions ended June 30, 2010. The salaries reported must come from the most recent calendar years, making most of the salaries effective Dec. 31, 2009.
See the full chart of top paid CIOs of tax-exempt institutions
