FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2015
Contact: Nate Williams, 212-649-1692
[email protected]
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Announces Retirement of
William B. Petersen, CIO
Chief Investment Officer to retire after 16 years of service
(New York, NY) The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announces that William B. Petersen, Senior Vice President and
Chief Investment Officer, will retire in 2015. Mr. Petersen has served as the Foundation’s first Chief
Investment Officer since 1998. He will assist the Foundation’s president and investment committee in the
search for a new Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Petersen’s retirement caps a successful 16-year track record
of managing the Foundation’s investment portfolio. During Petersen’s tenure as CIO, the Foundation’s
endowment grew at an annualized rate of 8.7 percent, 4 percent higher than the annualized growth rate of
the S&P 500 over the same period. As of September 30, 2014, Foundation assets totaled approximately $1.9
billion.
“The first responsibility of the Foundation is to be a wise steward of the funds placed in our trust by Alfred P.
Sloan Jr.,” says Paul L. Joskow, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “No one has better fulfilled that
responsibility than Bill Petersen. Thanks to his prudent leadership, the Foundation today is better positioned
than ever before to achieve its mission of accelerating advances in science, technology, engineering,
mathematics, and economics.”
“Looking back at the past sixteen years, Bill has much reason to be proud and the Foundation has much
reason to be grateful,” says Richard Bernstein, Chair of the Foundation’s Investment Committee. “ Bill has put
together a first-class investment team that’s delivered superior returns. He’s a good friend and a great
investor. He will be sorely missed.”
Though he will retire from full-time work, Petersen will continue to serve on the investment committee of the
Wenner-Gren Foundation and as a special advisor to Market Street Trust Company. In retirement, he is
looking forward to having more time to spend with his family and to pursue his many, varied interests.
“When I joined the Foundation, I never imagined I would be fortunate enough to spend 16 years working with
such outstanding colleagues and investment managers in support of the Foundation’s important mission,”
says Petersen. “I’ll be forever grateful to the Foundation for the opportunity given to me to enjoy such a rich
and rewarding experience.”
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The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grant making institution based in New York
City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then President and Chief Executive Officer of the
General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in support of original research and broad based
education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics. www.sloan.org