David Frederick Swensen

David Frederick Swensen is the Chief Investment Officer at Yale University. Prior to joining Yale in 1985, he spent six years on Wall Street, where his work focused on developing new financial technologies. He is the author of Pioneering PortfolioManagement: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment and Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment. He teaches students in Yale College and in the School of Management, is a fellow of Berkeley College, an incorporator of the Elizabethan Club, and a fellow of the International Center for Finance. He has won numerous awards including: in 2012, the Yale Medal for outstanding individual service to the University; in 2007, the Mory’s Cup for conspicuous service to Yale; in 2007, the Hopkins Medal for commitment, devotion and loyalty to Hopkins School; and in 2004, the Inaugural Institutional Investor Award for Excellence in Investment Management. He has established a new standard for endowment management through deep research and novel analytical approaches. His strategies led to extraordinary financial returns contributing enormously to the educational and research programs of the university. Following these concepts, many other institutions have also enhanced their financial stability and resources. He serves on the Board of Trustees of TIAA, the Brookings Institution and the Carnegie Institution for Science.