Jameela Pedicini was named vice president for sustainable investing at Harvard Management Co., according to Kevin Galvin, HMC spokesman.
The position is new, Mr. Galvin said. It was created after student activist calls for HMC, which manages the $31 billion endowment of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., to purge its holdings of fossil-fuel companies.
Ms. Pedicini will report to Kathryn Murtagh, managing director and chief compliance officer. “We will be looking to Jameela as our subject-matter expert on current industry practices, possible partnerships related to ESG investing, and on issues of interest emerging on Harvard's campus,” said Ms. Murtagh in a news release.
Ms. Pedicini was the investment officer for global governance at the $263.2 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento. Staff at CalPERS will handle her duties until a replacement is found, according to a statement from CalPERS.
Bloomberg contributed to this story.