L.P. Florida Pension Adds Managers

After a long hiatus from private equity, the Florida State Board of Administration is taking steps toward getting its investment strategy underway this month by appointing Jim Treanor as portfolio manager and Mike Ireland as assistant portfolio manager.

Prior to joining the pension vehicle, Treanor served as regional director of airport affairs at Northwest Airlines where he was in charge of relationships for 35 airports in the Western half of the U.S., and oversaw a $50 million budget for the airports. “Airlines pay the majority of airports’ bills such as rent and landing fees, so we would work with the airports to understand, manage and pay for the capital plans at the airports,” said Treanor.

Treanor said he left his former position because he was interested in getting into the private equity industry. “It has been interesting and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities,” he said.

In his new role as portfolio manager, Treanor said, “We’ll be monitoring the investments and developing relationships with our funds.”

Treanor will take the place of Irwin Loud, who left his post to launch a $300 million fund-of-funds with Chicago-based Muller & Monroe Asset Management LLC, as its chief investment officer (BUYOUTS May 31, 1999, p. 1).

Prior to joining the Florida State Board of Administration, Ireland served as an equity research associate at Raymond James & Associates, a regional investment bank located in Tampa, Fl., where he followed the telecom equipment sector for two years.

Ireland said his interest in private equity prompted him to resign his former position for his new role as assistant portfolio manager at the Florida pension vehicle. “It is a very interesting business and the position here intrigued me because there is a lot of room for growth and opportunity,” said Ireland.

In his new capacity, Ireland will be assisting Frank Fernandez, Florida’s portfolio manager, with the day-to-day responsibilities of managing the portfolio and researching initiatives within alternative investments.

As far as joining the ranks of limited partners in the world of private equity, Ireland said the vehicle still has a lot of due diligence to perform on investment opportunities. “It is going to be a while before we decide on exactly how we want to proceed,” he said.

The alternative program also named Bill James last year to head Florida’s newly created alternative asset group, which includes the private equity portfolio.