Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) announced that three new members have joined its Investment Committees. Vineer Bhansali, Mary Ann Deignan, and Jacob Walthour were recently appointed to the Investment Committees for Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and Anne Ray Foundation, both of which operate under the umbrella of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.
Vineer Bhansali is Founder and Chief Executive Officer at LongTail Alpha LLC. Vineer’s 24-year investment career started at Citibank, and he later joined Salomon Brothers. Vineer also spent sixteen years at PIMCO, the last eight years as Managing Director and head of the Quantitative Portfolios team, which he founded in 2008. He’s written four books on finance, and he has authored more than 25 papers in leading publications. Vineer received his doctoral degree in theoretical physics from Harvard University and has received numerous awards, including the Graham and Dodd Scroll Award from the Financial Analysts Journal.
Mary Ann Deignan is a Managing Director in Shareholder Advisory at Lazard Freres & Co., advising clients on shareholder activism, trends in corporate governance, and the changing profile of public shareholders. Previously se was Co-Head of Global Equity Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She has extensive knowledge of global equity markets and public market investors and has advised a wide variety of global issuers. Mary Ann is on the Board of Advisors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and she is a founding member of the Hospital’s Pediatric Council.
Jacob Walthour is Chief Executive Officer of Blueprint and has more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, traditional, and alternative asset management. He oversees the business and investment activities of Blueprint and is responsible for strategy, business development, and execution of the firm’s business plans. Jacob served as Trustee for New York Foundation for the Arts and as Director of New York Cares. He also served on the Investment Subcommittee of Girl Scouts of the USA for six years, the Investment Committee of the University of Albany Alumni Foundation, and as Trustee of the ECLC School for children and adults with learning disabilities.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Vineer, Mary Ann, and Jacob to our Investment Committees,” commented Paul Busch, President & CEO at Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. “Each brings a unique perspective and rich expertise to the Philanthropies. Our Boards, other Committee members, and the entire MACP Investment team look forward to drawing on their collective experience.”
The Investment Committees provide oversight for the investment portfolios of MACP’s two grantmaking entities and report directly to the Board of each entity. Among their responsibilities, the Committees oversee investment funds and the effectiveness of the investment structure and strategy, monitor risk within the portfolio, approve tactical asset allocation changes, and ensure appropriate resources are allocated to fund management.
