August 22, 2016

Harvard Management Company, the manager of Harvard’s $37.6 billion endowment fund, has named Colin Butterfield as its new head of natural resources.

Butterfield has been chosen to lead the fund’s $3.6 billion natural resources portfolio, replacing Alvaro Aguirre-Simunovic who resigned from the position in October 2015 after 12 years with the company. Beginning in October of this year, Butterfield will report to managing director and head of public markets, Mr. Rene Canezin, who has been acting as the interim head of natural resources during the search for a replacement.

Butterfield joins Harvard from his position as CEO of Radar S.A., a Brazil-based $2.2 billion farmland investment management joint venture created by TIAA and Cosan S.A. While with Radar, he expanded the firm’s portfolio and improved its risk profile and increased profitability, while also serving as a member of TIAA’s Global Agriculture Fund investment committee.

Between 2010 and 2013, Butterfield was president of Cosan Alimentos, and between 2007 and 2010, held the positions of COO and CIO at Bracor S.A. Previously, he was a director at Cargill where he structured merger and acquisitions and business development plans for entry into the Brazilian sugar and ethanol market for the group between 2004 and 2007.

“Colin brings substantial technical expertise in natural resources, including deep insight into the operating and financial viability of investment opportunities across the globe,” said Canezin. “Natural resources investments have been a long-time contributor to the overall endowment portfolio and we will look to Colin to refine our strategy and to bring the best opportunities at scale to our portfolio.”

The hiring of Butterfield comes at a time of significant transition and reorganization for Harvard Management Company. Less than a month ago CEO Stephen Blythe announced his resignation, citing personal reasons after being on medical leave since May of this year. Bloomberg reports that the fund’s chief operating officer, Robert Ettl, is serving as the interim CEO while the company searches for a replacement.

Butterfield’s appointment also follows closely upon the announcement that former head of alternative assets at Harvard, Andrew Wiltshire has partnered with former Harvard Management colleagues, Oliver Grantham and Alvaro Aguirre to co-found Folium Capital – a new Boston-based investment firm looking to raise $500 million to commit to agriculture and timber investments.

Meanwhile, earlier this year is was announced that Satu Parikh and Marco Barrozo, both former senior managers with the endowment left to launch HSQ Capital, a hedge fund geared to leverage commodity pricing inefficiencies and fixed-income markets.

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Lynda Kiernan