The University of California’s Office of the Chief Investment Officer (UC Investments) today announced a partnership with the Oakland-based Toigo Foundation to fund 20 fellowships for UC graduate students seeking to become tomorrow’s leaders in the world of finance.
“Toigo has a stellar reputation for preparing young leaders with industry education, leadership training, and career counseling that fuels their career paths within the wide array of opportunities in the financial industry,” said Jagdeep Singh Bachher, the University of California’s chief investment officer. “Some of our key investment partners at UC Investments have leaders who proudly call themselves Toigo alumni. Funding this initial cohort of UC students enrolled in UC MBA and graduate real estate programs is a sound investment in the future – at UC Investments and in the financial industry as a whole.”
UC Investments, which manages some $150 billion on behalf of the university, hopes its commitment to the Toigo fellowships, which run concurrently with the students’ graduate programs, will encourage other institutions to make their own contributions that benefit the non-profit’s mission of advancing inclusion within the finance industry and beyond.
“One of our goals at the university, and at UC Investments, is to grow talent and expand the pipeline of opportunities for UC students from all backgrounds,” said UC Regent Richard Sherman, chair of the Investments Committee. “The UC Investments Toigo fellowships do just that. We expect that one of these days a former fellow will bring us a great investment opportunity for the university.”
The relationship between the Toigo Foundation and the University of California dates from 1994, when the foundation’s second class of fellows included graduates of UC Berkeley and UCLA. Overall, more than 100 graduates of UC MBA programs have participated in the Toigo fellowship program, which includes two years of intensive leadership training as well as career and mentoring support throughout the span of their careers.
Said Toigo Foundation President and CEO Nancy Sims, “We are humbled by UC Investments’ trust in our organization and our mission to support high potential students eager to chart their careers in the financial industry. This new initiative tailored to the University of California is a model that can easily be replicated by other organizations seeking to tap into the next generation of financial leaders. I call it a win-win.”
Said Arthur R. Guimarães, UC Investments’ chief operating officer and co-head of real estate, “We’re excited to partner with Toigo to offer UC students this tremendous opportunity to supercharge their graduate education with real-time insights and guidance about excelling in the financial industry.”
The UC Investments Toigo fellowship program will be managed internally at UC Investments by Guimarães, Craig Huie, director of private credit and absolute return, Matt Webster, director of private equity, and Wendy Pulling, director of ESG integration. Each of the fellows will have an individual mentor from the UC Investments’ staff.
A committee of Toigo alumni, all of them leaders in the finance industry, will make the initial selection of the UC Investments Toigo fellows. The committee members include:
- Raudline Etienne, managing partner, Daraja Capital (UC Berkeley 1994)
- Jay Ferguson, managing partner, Vicente Capital (UCLA 1994)
- Jo Deborah Gallegos, managing director, Palladium Equity Partners (UC Berkeley 1996)
- Andrea Mack, senior vice president, Pathways Capital (UCLA 1994)
- José Minaya, CEO, Nuveen (Tuck 2000)
- Jake Wamala, global research analyst, Aristotle Capital Management (UC Berkeley 2019)
Toigo Foundation
Toigo’s mission is to inspire change and to advance more inclusive leadership within finance and beyond. The foundation has served nearly 2,000 young men and women attending business schools across more than 20 academic institutions. The organization advances its mission by working with forward-thinking organizations through education and strategies that drive greater workplace inclusion and the ongoing development and promotion of exceptional diverse leaders. Based in Oakland, CA, the non-profit has been focused on leadership development and workplace inclusion for 30+ years. Its programs include finance industry education, career development, women in leadership, corporate support services, and leadership advancement within organizations, board governance and entrepreneurship.
For more information about applying to become a UC Investments Toigo fellow, please contact:
- Toigo: Andrea Beldecos andrea.beldecos@toigofoundation.org
- UC Investments: Wendy Pulling wendy.pulling@ucop.edu