Sean Olesen, who was an investment officer at Cornell University, left the institution’s investment office Feb. 7, a university spokesperson confirmed in a Feb. 12 email.
Olesen worked for Cornell’s Office of University Investments, which manages the Ithaca, N.Y.-based institution’s $10.7 billion endowment.
“Reflecting on the past six years leaves me humbled by the caliber of professionals I have worked with and alongside, and excited to carry these relationships forward,” Olesen wrote in a Feb. 7 LinkedIn post.
He added that he will be taking some time off and “spend quality time with my family.”
Prior to joining the university in 2019, Olesen served as director of investments at Dignity Health, a San Francisco-based not-for-profit healthcare system. He was also director of private capital and impact investing at Ascent Private Capital Management, a division of U.S. Bancorp that offers wealth management services.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, Cornell’s endowment returned 8.7%, up from its 3.6% return in 2023.
