Taking the Helm at the Wallace Foundation

Tom Lenehan is the CIO at the Wallace Foundation, where he oversees $2 billion for the New York City-based Foundation whose mission is to foster equity and improvements in learning and enrichment for young people. Tom is only the second CIO in Wallace’s history, having taken over the helm in January 2021. Before joining Wallace, he served as deputy CIO of Rockefeller University under longtime CIO Amy Falls and appeared as the 4th guest on Capital Allocators back in 2017. That replay is available in the feed and offers a fantastic comparison in Tom’s perspectives on as a deputy compared to a CIO.

Our conversation this time dives into his transition, managing a team and a portfolio during COVID, and how Tom has approached asset allocation of a new pool of capital. We discuss his key priorities for the portfolio, and his perspectives on China, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, inflation, cash, and crypto. We close with Tom’s approach to building and working with his team, governance, and future risks.