Hershel Harper Jr. was named chief investment officer of the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, Detroit.
Mr. Harper oversees investment of $60 billion in trust assets, which fund retiree health care for 750,000 former hourly workers of General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, said a news release from the trust.
Mr. Harper replaces Kenneth Frier, who resigned in September 2014. Avtar Vasu, senior managing director for the trust, has served as interim CIO and retains his previous position. Executive recruiter Korn/Ferry International conducted the search for Mr. Frier’s replacement.
“Hershel Harper brings a depth of experience in the investment management industry and expertise in alternative investments and portfolio diversification. … His track record of building strategic partnerships and management risk will serve the trust well,” said Adam Blumenthal, chairman of the trust’s investment committee and the CIO search committee, in the news release.
Mr. Harper resigned from his position as CIO of the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission on Sept. 30. The RSIC oversees investment for the separate administrative agency South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority, which oversees the $29.2 billion South Carolina Retirement Systems, Columbia.
Geoffrey Berg, a managing director and head of public markets within the RSIC, was named interim CIO.
Commissioners of the RSIC will hire an executive recruiter to conduct a national search for Mr. Harper’s replacement, said Danny Varat, a commission spokesman, in an e-mail. A time frame for the hire of an outside search firm has not been set.
