Months After Naming a New CIO, W.K. Kellogg Hires Director of Investments

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has hired a director of investments only months after its new chief investment officer, Carlos Rangel, took the helm.  

Shanelle Brown joined the Battle Creek, Michigan, foundation as its director of investments on June 21, according to an announcement published on Monday.  

At the $8.3 billion foundation, she will oversee investment strategy and portfolio and investment management, with a focus on public equities.  

“We are thrilled to have Shanelle as part of the foundation's investments team,” Rangel said. “She comes to us with significant expertise and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our field.” 

Brown was most recently the chief of staff to the chief financial officer at the Exelon Corporation. During her six-year tenure at Exelon, she also oversaw the investment office’s $18 billion in public equity investments as the senior portfolio manager. She also led Exelon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, including its diverse manager program, according to the announcement.  

Prior to joining Exelon, Brown spent just over eight years at U.S. Trust, where she most recently was a portfolio manager for high-net-worth individuals and families. Her career began at Citibank as a client financial analyst in San Francisco.  

W.K. Kellogg’s announcement comes at an important time for the foundation. In December 2020, Institutional Investor reported that Joel Wittenberg, who had been W.K. Kellogg's CIO and vice president since 2009, was retiring.  

In January, W.K. Kellogg announced that it had named Rangel to oversee investments. Prior to the promotion, he had been leading the foundation’s expanding equity work. He joined as a portfolio manager in 2010. Brown will become one of the foundation’s four directors of investments, replacing Rangel following his promotion.