A search has begun to replace Mike McCaffery, president and chief executive officer of Stanford Management Company, who is stepping down to form a new investment company.
McCaffery, MBA ’82, was chief executive officer of the investment banking firm Robertson Stephens before joining Stanford in 2000. Under his leadership, the University’s endowment has grown substantially, averaging a 7.9 percent annual return during a five-year period when U.S. stocks declined an average of 1.4 percent per year. At the time of McCaffery’s departure announcement in January, the management company was overseeing roughly $14.3 billion in endowment and trust assets.
Two of McCaffery’s colleagues at the management company, chief investment officer Michael Ross, MBA ’97, and managing director of private equity David Burke, have left to join him in the new venture. McCaffery will stay on until a replacement is found, and Ross and Burke have said they will act as consultants to the University for three months.
“Mike McCaffery has been a leader in endowment investing and has provided stellar results for Stanford, as well as being a great friend of the University,” says Ward Woods, ’64, a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees. “He will be difficult to replace, and we appreciate that he is willing to stay on so long to ensure that we have the time to find another star performer to lead the Stanford Management Company.”
