The head of Lockheed Martin Investment Management Company, which manages the aerospace and defense company’s pension assets, is leaving at the end of this month, a spokesperson confirmed to Institutional Investor on Tuesday.
Christopher Li served as president and chief investment officer of the unit, overseeing a $70 billion portfolio and 45 professionals, according to his LinkedIn profile and a speaker biography.
He departs without a successor in place.
“Lockheed Martin is committed to naming a new leader for LMIMCo as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said in a statement, which characterized the exit as a retirement. “We thank Chris for his contributions to LMIMCo and wish him well in his new endeavors.”
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Li joined Lockheed Martin in 2007, following six years as president of Diamond Capital Management.
He took over a $23 billion portfolio, “transforming it from a plain-vanilla plan into a sophisticated mix of alternatives, global equities, fixed income, and extensive in-house management capabilities,” according to a 2010 II profile. Within a year of joining, he had opened an office in Hong Kong and was hiring local investment staff in Asia.
Since then, corporate pension investing more broadly has become more conservative, particularly in the last decade, as companies seek to move risk and liabilities off of their books, and immunize against market moves.
Li did not respond to two requests for comment about his impending exit.
