The California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s deputy chief investment officer for capital markets — who even once served as interim CIO — is leaving the $503 billion pension plan next month to take on a managing director role at private equity firm General Atlantic.
Dan Bienvenue, who has been in the role since April 2020, will step down April 18 to lead General Atlantic’s capital solutions for pension plans, according to an internal memo from CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost seen by Institutional Investor. No decisions for a successor have been made at this time.
Frost wrote that Bienvenue “has been an exceptional leader, a trusted colleague, and a driving force behind our investment strategies” for nearly 21 years, adding: “Dan is known for creating a team culture of collaboration, respect, and trust, and made several key hires in our Investment Office.”
Since joining CalPERS in September 2004, Bienvenue developed the in-house team to handle international equity investing, reduced the number of external global equity managers from over 60 to 15, and integrated corporate governance into the global equity team. He also took over management of the affiliate funds from the broader organization.
Bienvenue also held several leadership positions within the investment office — including interim CIO in September 2023 after Nicole Musicco left the role in less than two years to attend to family matters in her hometown of Toronto. Bienvenue remained interim CIO until New Zealand Superannuation Fund CIO Stephen Gilmore took over in July 2024.
Before CalPERS, Bienvenue was a principal and senior portfolio manager with Barclays Global Investors, where his team oversaw a $55 billion international equity portfolio across developed and emerging markets.
CalPERS posted a net return of 9.3 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. Its annual five-year return was 6.6 percent, its 10-year return was 6.2 percent, and its 20-year return was 6.7 percent, each lagging CalPERS’s discount rate of 6.8 percent.
