Leena Bhutta is a recipient of the Women in Investment Management Recognition. In six years at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Leena has risen from investment officer to Chief Investment Officer. Leena started her career at Goldman Sachs and then spent many years as a direct investor in global markets at Joho Capital. Leena then moved within Joho to help create an investment program for the private foundation of the founders, Hollyhock Foundation. Leena is a graduate of Wellesley College and obtained her MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
At the $2 billion foundation, which Leena joined in 2019, she leads a team of six investment professionals and is a member of the Management Committee of the foundation. In her work, Leena also leads the integrated impact investing mandate for the endowment.
What aspect of your work or contribution are you most proud of, and what impact do you hope it will have on others?
The aspect of my work and our team's work that I am most proud of is the impact it has on society. The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation is to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. Every day, my team and I come in to work to work on our portfolio to enable this mission, so whether it be the Doris Duke Artist Awards, grants to land conservation, or medical research in the United States, our work has incredible meaning every day.
What advice would you give someone who aspires to be in your role someday?
I have been in the investment business for more than two decades now, constantly trying to learn and understand more, and still do that every day; “Have curiosity about the work and how it all fits together and push yourself to continue to learn” is a piece of advice I would give anyone wanting to be in a leadership position in the investing industry.
As a foundation CIO, I think my path was also determined by seeking ways in my career to align my work with a mission mindset. If you want to be a non-profit CIO, I think those two pieces are very important.
What part of your portfolio are you most excited about?
I don't really have any favorite children, but, if forced to choose, I feel excited about our hedge fund portfolio today. Negative sentiment around hedge funds is pretty high, but I think over time, we have collected a group of very strong firms who create a more consistent return profile for Doris Duke Foundation's portfolio. With a lot of macro uncertainties in the picture, I feel good about this allocation today.
Who is your mentor, and how did the two of you connect?
I have been very fortunate in my life to not have just one mentor. There are seasoned, cycle-tested CIOs who mentor me now in my role, and I value their advice and input so much.
There have been board members at the foundation that have been kind enough to provide mentorship; I have met mentors through the alumni networks of my alma maters; and of course, there were the mentors in the early part of my career, both at Goldman Sachs and at Joho Capital, who taught me what was what.
What is your favorite hobby outside of work?
Outside of my work, I spend all my time with my family, whether it's cooking together, watching movies together, watching my kids' sports or being their Uber driver are my hobbies outside of work. I love yoga so I try to get some mat time in whenever I can!
This piece has been edited for length and clarity.
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