California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, has hired Greg Ruiz as managing investment director for private equity.
Ruiz was previously a principal at Altamont Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Palo Alto, California, according to a statement Monday from CalPERS. He is taking over from Sarah Corr, who has served as interim head of the private equity program since Réal Desrochers left the role in 2017.
CalPERS, which manages about $360 billion of assets, has been reviewing how it invests in private equity. At a board meeting in March, the pension fund’s investment committee voted to continue developing a new private equity business model that will include establishing vehicles targeting longer-term deals and late-stage venture capital and growth investments.
“Private equity plays a vital role in CalPERS’ ability to meet our commitment to our 1.9 million members,” said CalPERS chief investment officer Ben Meng, in Monday’s statement. Ruiz will be “pivotal to our program as we continue to explore different approaches to investing in private equity.”
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Ruiz has spent his entire career working in private equity, according to Meng.
Before joining Altamont in 2013, he worked at private equity firm FFL Partners and Goldman Sachs Group, according to the CalPERS statement. Altamont’s website shows that he has experience in the consumer, business services and technology sectors. A spokesperson for Altamont did not return a phone call seeking immediate comment on his departure.
A spokesperson for CalPERS said Corr will remain on the pension fund’s private equity team.
