TIAA-CREF veteran named CIO of NYC pension

Evans, a 27-year veteran of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, replaces Seema Hingorani, who had been working in the role on a six month commitment she made at the beginning of the year, sister website peHUB reported.

Hingorani’s plans are not yet finalized, said Eric Sumberg, a spokesman in the comptroller’s office. It was not clear if she will remain at the system in a different capacity.

Evans, meanwhile, joins the system after a lengthy career in pension management, according to the comptroller’s press release. Most recently he worked as chief investment officer at TIAA-CREF before retiring in 2012 as president of asset management. In that role, Evans managed the firm’s nearly $500 billion in proprietary investment assets across multiple asset classes. He also sold TIAA-CREF’s services to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors, according to the press release.

Evans also serves as a trustee and chair of the Due Process Oversight Committee of the IFRS Foundation, the governing body of the International Accounting Standards Foundation; external adviser to the investment committee of Dutch pension giant ABP Pension Fund and a board member of the William T. Grant Foundation, as well as a member of the investment committee of Tufts University.

The private equity industry now waits to find out who will head up the system’s private equity portfolio. The former private equity chief, Barry Miller, left last year to join secondaries firm Landmark Partners.

The system’s private equity team suffered another senior loss last year when senior private equity investment officer Elizabeth Caldas left to join the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.

Hingorani had been searching for a private equity chief in March, when she mentioned on the sidelines of an industry conference she was still looking for candidates.

Hingorani said at the time the system would continue to be a big backer of private equity and could also consider another sale of private equity interests on the secondary market. The system sold about $1 billion worth of LP stakes in a big sale in 2012 run by UBS.

However, it was not clear if those plans for private equity could change under the leadership of Evans.

Chris Witkowsky is editor of peHUB.