After a lengthy search, Hershey Trust has found its new chief investment officer and chief executive officer: Leslie Lenzo, who currently leads Advocate Aurora Health’s investment office.
Lenzo is set to join Hershey in January 2023, succeeding Janice Bratton, who is retiring from her post after 33 years at the organization. Bratton announced her retirement plans earlier this year. Recruiter David Barrett ran the search for her replacement.
Hershey Trust serves as an investment advisor to the Milton Hershey School Trust, the M.S. Hershey Foundation, and the Hershey Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust.
Lenzo has been Advocate’s chief investment officer since 2013 and stayed with the organization through its merger with Aurora Health Care in 2017. During her time at the organization, she built up the investment and operations team, which now manages $14 billion in assets. Her staff was nominated for Team of the Year at Institutional Investor’s Allocator’s Choice Awards in 2021.
A spokesperson for Advocate Aurora did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Lenzo’s replacement.
“We are pleased to welcome Leslie to Hershey Trust Company and are extremely confident in her ability to lead the organization and our investment program, building upon our already strong foundation,” said M. Diane Koken, chair of the board of HTC, in a statement. “She is a proven leader and investor who possesses the experience and expertise to deliver the investment performance required to support our mission and the legacy of Milton and Catherine Hershey.”
Lenzo, a CFA charterholder, began her career at the Partners HealthCare System as an investment analyst. She later served as an equity research associate at SG Cowen and then as an investments manager at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, before joining Advocate in 2013.
“It is an honor to join such a prestigious investment organization and help support the legacy of Milton and Catherine Hershey,” Lenzo said in a statement.
Bratton, her predecessor, took on the dual role of CEO and CIO in 2021, three years after she was named CIO. She was previously the organization’s director of investing for public markets.
