Helmsley Trust CIO Roz Hewsenian Announces Plans to Retire

The 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award winner will step down in 2023, with Joshua Fenton taking her place.

LinkedIn photo

LinkedIn photo

After 12 years as chief investment officer at the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Rosalind (Roz) Hewsenian has announced her plans to retire.

Institutional Investor’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award winner will step down at the end of 2023, according to a Wednesday announcement. Joshua Fenton, the Helmsley Trust’s director of investments, will take over the role on January 1, 2024.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to serve as Helmsley’s chief investment officer and to see firsthand how our investment strategy has helped improve the lives of countless people around the globe,” Hewsenian said in a statement. “It has been a privilege to work alongside a team of innovative, creative individuals who are always looking for ways to better the world around them.”

Even though she’s retiring, Hewsenian will still be involved at Helmsley. She plans to serve as a member of Helmsley’s Investment Committee, according to the announcement.

Hewsenian joined the organization in 2010 — it was her first role as a chief investment officer. She quickly got to work, developing an investment office that was eventually named a finalist for Team of the Year at II’s 2018 Allocators’ Choice Awards.

Prior to joining Helmsley, Hewsenian served as the chief executive officer at Clay Finlay and partner and senior investment consultant at Wilshire Associates. Hewsenian spent 21 years at Wilshire, where she served as the primary consultant to California Public Employees’ Retirement System, among other organizations.

She began her career as a special education teacher, then went back to school for an MBA, which landed her jobs at Kraft Foods Group and at PepsiCo in their corporate pension plans.

Fenton, her successor, joined Helmsley two years after Hewsenian. His prior work includes analyst and portfolio manager roles at Breeden Capital Management, Clay Finlay, and Gabelli Asset Management.

He is currently primarily responsible for the organization’s public markets investments.

“Roz has been an exceptional mentor throughout my career, and I am excited to continue working with our team to fulfill the trust’s mission of helping people live better lives,” Fenton said in a statement. “I am grateful to Helmsley’s Trustees for this opportunity.”

Related