Jon-Michael Consalvo, managing director of Carnegie Corporation of New York’s investments team, has been appointed as the Corporation’s chief investment officer effective March 1. The philanthropic foundation’s board of trustees voted to promote Consalvo, a 15-year veteran of the institution, to oversee its $4.2 billion endowment and in-house group. Consalvo succeeds Mark Baumgartner, who stepped down in September 2023.
Having joined the Corporation in 2009 as an investment analyst, Consalvo rose through the ranks while working closely with the Corporation’s investment leaders, including former CIO Kim Lew. He was instrumental in helping to double the foundation’s assets during his tenure, and in 2020, Consalvo was named managing director. In this role, he oversaw a significant restructuring of the Investments team during the pandemic, including the hiring of six directors and six analysts.
Consalvo’s track record was recognized by his peers in 2022 when Chief Investment Officer magazine named him to its list of “NextGens,” and in 2023, Institutional Investor honored the team as “Foundation of the Year” at its Hedge Fund Industry Awards ceremony.
“Having worked closely with Jon-Michael, I know that he has the investment acumen, experience, integrity, and unmatched commitment that we need in a CIO,” said Governor Thomas H. Kean, chairman of the Corporation’s board of trustees and former governor of New Jersey. “Our founder, Andrew Carnegie, endowed the Corporation in perpetuity, making the selection of the CIO of vital importance to our longevity and our ability to fulfill Carnegie’s mission of doing ‘real and permanent good in this world.’ Jon-Michael is exceptionally qualified for the role of growing and preserving our assets.”
The six-member CIO Search Committee was led by Stephen Oxman, a long-standing Corporation trustee and seasoned investor, and included Maria Elena (Mel) Lagomasino, chair of the Investment Committee and a leader in wealth management. They worked alongside Dame Louise Richardson, the foundation’s president, to manage an extensive, nationwide search.
“Jon-Michael has served the Corporation with distinction since 2009, earning the respect and admiration of his colleagues and his investment peers. Having interviewed a number of highly qualified candidates, we are delighted with this outcome,” said Oxman, a former senior advisor at Morgan Stanley and past assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs. “We are confident that Jon-Michael has all the skills necessary to be an outstanding CIO, and we value the important continuity he brings to this role.”
“It has been such a pleasure to work with Jon-Michael. Over the years, he has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the foundation and our philanthropic goals of strengthening democracy, education, and global peace and security,” said Richardson. “Jon-Michael is an outstanding investor with the knowledge, skills, foresight, and collegiality that the Corporation values in its executive team.”
As the Investments team’s most senior member, Consalvo has focused on partnership management, including the sourcing, evaluation, and monitoring of the Corporation’s relationships with fund managers. His specialty is in the private equity and venture capital asset classes. He also developed and maintained the investment portfolio’s risk management practices during his tenure.
“I am humbled to follow in the footsteps of many great investors who have built a sterling reputation for our Investments office,” said Consalvo. “It is an honor to support the foundation’s dedicated grantmaking team under the leadership of Dame Louise Richardson, and I am truly thankful for the support of my colleagues, the board of trustees, and the guidance of our Investment Committee. I look forward to generating great results for the organization and building on its investment strategy to further the foundation’s vital work.”
Consalvo earned a master of business administration from the Wharton Executive MBA Program at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor of science with a concentration in economics and finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He is also a CFA charter holder. As a volunteer, he is a member of the investment committee of the American Council of Learned Societies.