Rich Hall was appointed CIO of the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Co., Austin, by the board of trustees during a meeting Thursday.
Mr. Hall assumes the role on Jan. 1 from Britt Harris, who remains president and CEO of UTIMCO.
Mr. Hall joined UTIMCO as deputy CIO in 2018 from Harvard Management Co., Boston, where he was managing director and head of private equity for the university's now $53.2 billion endowment.
Mr. Hall will not be replaced as deputy CIO, said Karen Adler, a University of Texas spokeswoman, in an email Thursday.
In an interview, Mr, Harris said Mr. Hall's appointment is part of succession planning at UTIMCO.
"This job is about running the race. I can only hold the baton for a certain amount of time. My job is to select the next guy who will carry the baton from here," Mr. Harris said. "I personally picked Rich as my successor. We need to get investment management into the hands of the next generation."
Mr. Harris added that at an investment firm the size of UTIMCO, serving in the three roles he holds "really is too big for one person. Rich is at the sweet spot in his career to take over the (CIO) job. This change will unleash me and free up time to focus on the things that I'm good at that matter to me."
Messrs. Hall and Harris previously worked together in Austin at Texas Teacher Retirement System. Mr. Harris was CIO at the now $201.8 billion system before he joined UTIMCO in 2017. Mr. Hall was managing director and head of private equity and principal investing at TRS between 2008 and 2014 before he moved to Harvard.
"Britt's recommendation to name Rich as chief investment officer was well-received and unanimously approved by our board. This will set UTIMCO's leadership up well for years to come," Jeffrey Hildebrand, chairman of UTIMCO's board, said in a news release.
In addition to his responsibilities as president and CEO, Mr. Harris said he also will focus on UTIMCO's strategic direction over the next two to three years.
"You never have time day-to-day to focus on planning ahead and now I'll have more time for these kinds of projects," he said.
Given that he "really likes big global projects," Mr. Harris said he is spearheading a climate and energy transition conference in Austin that UTIMCO will host in the first half of 2022.
The conference will bring together scientists, policymakers and investors to focus on developing sources of clean, affordable, reliable energy, Mr. Harris said, stressing that "the world needs another fuel sources away from hydrocarbons. We need a technological miracle."
UTIMCO manages $68 billion, of which $55 billion is managed in two endowment funds with the balance in operating funds, the news release said.
