California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, will be hiring a recruiter to conduct a national search to find a replacement for Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dear, who died Feb. 26, said Henry Jones, chairman of the system's investment committee.
Mr. Jones, in an interview with Pensions & Investments at the Milken Institute Global Conference, said the search will look for the best candidates nationwide to lead the $289.1 billion pension fund. He said any internal CalPERS candidates who might be interested in the position would be considered.
Mr. Jones said he expects a pool of top candidates for the job will be assembled within three to four months.
He said no date has been set to hire a replacement for Mr. Dear, but “we want to move on this as quickly as possible.” Theodore “Ted” Eliopoulos, head of the real assets investment team, is serving as acting CIO.
CalPERS spokesman Brad Pacheco said in an e-mail that the pension system is actively in the process of engaging with a recruiting firm but nothing is final yet.
