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The #OpenLP Podcast Miniseries: Kim Lew, CEO of Columbia University’s Endowment
Published
September 30, 2021
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#OpenLP is taking over the Origins podcast. Listen to episode one featuring Notation here.

In this episode of the #OpenLP podcast miniseries, Sapphire Partners’ Nate Leung sits down with Kim Lew, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Columbia Investment Management Company. Kim has a storied career as an institutional allocator, previously serving as VP and CIO of the Carnegie Corporation, where she was responsible for the investment and oversight of the Corporation’s $3.5 billion foundation. She also spent a dozen years at the Ford Foundation. In 2019 she was awarded the title of Endowment & Foundation CIO of the Year, and in 2021 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Institutional Investor. 

During the conversation, Nate and Kim touch on the following topics:

  • How institutional managers consider and approach risk, particularly in the context of venture investing
  • Differences between foundations and endowments in terms of liquidity, portfolio construction, and risk allocation
  • What Kim looks for in new managers for the venture portfolio component of Columbia’s endowment
  • What quality mentorship and leadership looks like and how she cultivates investment talent
  • Her views on key investment trends across climate, artificial intelligence, crypto and more…

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