Firms & Funds

Del Gaudio goes to PennSERS, NYC pension’s PE program left shorthanded

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  • James Del Gaudio started at the PennSERS March 23
  • He is managing private debt portfolio
  • NYC pension system is down to one person managing private equity

James Del Gaudio, who helped manage New York City’s private equity program, started at the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System on March 23.  Del Gaudio is managing the private debt portfolio, PennSERS spokeswoman Evelyn Tatkovski Williams said.

The departure of Del Gaudio leaves New York City’s retirement system with one person, Alex Doñé, managing the roughly $10 billion private equity program. It’s not clear if the system has moved lower-level staffers into private equity to fill the gap. Eric Sumberg, a spokesman for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Del Gaudio worked for the New York City system since 2007, most recently as a senior investment officer in private equity, according to his LinkedIn profile. As such, he had the longest private equity tenure on the team.

Prior to New York City, Del Gaudio worked as a financial advisor at Wachovia Securities LLC, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In November, New York City named Doñé head of private equity at an annual salary of $160,000, with no incentive bonus. Doñé had previously spent two years in the Comptroller’s office as the head of the emerging managers program. Before that, he worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, where he helped minority-owned businesses secure nearly $11 billion in contracts and capital, Buyouts sister publication peHUB reported.

New York City has seen its entire veteran private equity group leave over the past few years, and it has largely not been replaced.

Former private equity chief Barry Miller left in 2013 to take a job at secondary firm Landmark Partners. Experienced private equity investment officers Elizabeth Caldas left in 2013, and Rafique DeCastro departed earlier this year.

The system has been on the lookout for investment officers and analysts, Sumberg said in a prior interview. It’s not clear if the system has yet made any new hires on the private equity team.