UF has chosen the first female chair of the UF Investment Corporation, or UFICO.
UF alumna Rebecca Patterson will serve as the chair and oversee the institution’s almost $1.6 billion endowment.
The corporation, a subsidiary of UF, was founded back in July 2004 to provide oversight and management of the university’s investments. These investments are meant to safeguard and grow the endowment and ensure sustained funding for the university’s operations.
Patterson is the third chair of UFICO, said William Reeser, the CEO and chief investment officer of UFICO.
UF President Kent Fuchs appointed Patterson as the chair in February shortly after former chair, Andrew Banks, stepped down from the position. At the June 8 meeting of UF’s Board of Trustees, the board unanimously voted to ratify Patterson’s appointment to a six-year term.
“Both the board of the corporation and the staff of the corporation are very enthusiastic about Rebecca,” Reeser said. “We are looking forward to the leadership.”
In her current role as managing director and chief investment officer of the New York wealth-management firm Bessemer Trust, Patterson oversees more than $100 billion in assets. Patterson’s continued success in the financial industry has earned her a spot on American Banker’s 2014, 2015 and 2016 lists of “The 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance.”
“To attract a person of Rebecca’s talent to serve the UFICO board at this moment in time is absolutely extraordinary,” said Thomas Mitchell, the vice president for development and alumni affairs at UF. “We are elated.”
Working alongside the 12-member board of other industry leaders, Patterson will provide investment counsel to the university and advise on potential investment strategies.
“She has agreed to assume the leadership role of UFICO during an important and critical time in the university’s history,” Mitchell said.
