Anne Sheehan, director of corporate governance at the California State Teachers' Retirement System, West Sacramento, will retire March 30, according to a news release from the $221.7 billion pension fund.
Christopher J. Ailman, CalSTRS' chief investment officer, hired Ms. Sheehan as the pension fund's first corporate governance director in 2008, “the Monday after Lehman Brothers went over the cliff,” the release stated. Her mission was to protect and advance shareholder rights in the wake of the financial crisis. Her team manages an activist investment management portfolio of $4.1 billion. Her team seeks to turn around underperforming holdings through adoption of good corporate governance.
“Anne has been my most unconventional, best hire,” Mr. Ailman said in the release. “Anne is extraordinary and has positioned CalSTRS at number one in the U.S. and top in the world in corporate governance.”
CalSTRS will begin a search for Ms. Sheehan's replacement in a competitive recruitment process. A job announcement is expected to be posted on CalSTRS' website and on the California state jobs website, said Krista Noonan, director of communications in an email.
