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DiscussAbout one year after Michael Abbott suddenly stepped down [8] from his post as Cornell’s chief investment officer, the University has tapped A.J. Edwards to fill the position, an anonymous source told a news outlet.
On Friday, peHUB Wire [9], a private market news site operated by Thomson Reuters journalists, reported that Edwards had been appointed CIO, though Cornell did not confirm the account.
When asked about the appointment, Simeon Moss ’73, deputy University spokesperson, said “It hasn’t happened yet.” He declined to give further information about the search for the next CIO.
Abbott stepped down from his position in May 2011 — less than a year after he was named [10] Cornell’s CIO. The University then named Edwards, previously a senior investment officer, the interim CIO, and arranged for the investment office to work with the Board of Trustees’ investment committee during the transition.
At the time, the University declined to elaborate on why Abbott stepped down, citing its inability to comment on “matters regarding personnel.”
Tommy Bruce, vice president for University communications, said that it had “become apparent that [Abbott’s] style of conducting business is inconsistent with Cornell’s policies and expectations.”
“The parties concluded that it would be in everyone’s interest to end the relationship,” Bruce said last May.
Abbott’s departure left several unanswered questions regarding the circumstances surrounding his exit. During Abbott’s tenure, the endowment — which is managed by the CIO — grew, with Abbott claiming in April 2011 that the University’s endowment rebounded “impressively” from the recession.
Cornell’s endowment reached $5.2 billion in April 2011, after the University lost at least 25 percent of its endowment in the recession, according to a University press release [11].