But the vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union also knew he was up against a resourceful politician in San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who had the support of California Governor Gray Davis. So the labor chief held off on popping the champagne until the final election results were announced late last month. (He won, 8 to 4.)
“Mayor Brown is one of the most skillful politicians in the history of the state of California,” says Harrigan. “I certainly did not celebrate my victory until the votes were counted.”
Harrigan takes over at a tough time for CalPERS: The fund’s assets have declined 22 percent, to $133 billion, since May 2001. Talent has been fleeing. CIO Daniel Szente left in November 2001, followed last May by CEO James Burton. More recent departures include general counsel Kayla Gillan, deputy executive officer James Gomez, investment committee chairman Michael Flaherman and Robert Aguallo, who was assistant executive officer for investment operations.
But Harrigan is less concerned about turnover, which he attributes to the inevitable lure of private sector pay, than he is about improving returns. The fund pays too much attention to individual investments and not enough to macro trends, he says. “We will spend more time evaluating our portfolio on a macro level and less on specifics.”
