Microsoft Word Packard Foundation-Investments Background -jul-2017. doc

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The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Investments Team 

 

Our Background 

 

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was founded in 1964 by David Packard, co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard 

Company, and his wife Lucile Salter Packard.  The Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children, enabling 

the creative pursuit of science, advancing reproductive health, and conserving and restoring the earth’s natural 

systems.  More info on the Foundation’s programs can be found at www.packard.org. 

 

The Foundation remained a small family foundation for over three decades.  When Mr. Packard died in 1996, he left 

the bulk of his estate to the Foundation in the form of Hewlett-Packard Company stock.  In 1999, when HP spun off 

its measurement and components businesses as Agilent Technologies, the Foundation held a two-stock portfolio.  In 

2003, after experiencing the volatility of the tech boom and bust, the Board of Trustees authorized the diversification 

of the portfolio and moved toward a liquid portfolio of stock index funds and bonds, while it evaluated possible next 

steps.  In November 2007, the Foundation hired its first Chief Investment Officer, John Moehling, to recruit an 

investment team and build out an institutional-quality portfolio.   

 

The investment team seeks to build a concentrated, global portfolio of long-term oriented investment partnerships 

focused on quality, bottom-up, fundamental research.  Our partners have the discretion, with no screens, to invest in 

ways that maximize the growth of our endowment so we can make grants to as many effective people and 

organizations as possible across our program areas.  The Foundation’s target asset allocation consists of 35% Public 

Equities, 15% Private Equities, 10% Fixed Income, 25% Marketable Alternatives, and 15% Real Assets.  As of June 

2017 the Foundation’s investable assets total $7 billion. 

 

Our Philosophy 

 

We believe that great investments begin with great people.  Our strategy is to build strong partnerships with a select 

group of talented investment partners around the world.  While our partners vary in terms of strategy, degree of 

specialization, and level of experience, they share common characteristics: passion, integrity, and strong investment 

judgment.  We see partnership as a two-way street, and aim to be stable, engaged, and responsive limited partners. 

 

The Foundation’s mission and time horizon enable us to be long-term investors.  We see having a long time horizon 

as a competitive advantage, and seek patient partners who share our view.  We recognize that volatility may present 

interesting buying and selling opportunities.  We do thorough work to develop confidence in our partners up front, 

with the intention of sustaining lasting relationships. 

 

We value deep, bottom-up, fundamental research because we believe it can lead to differentiated insights and 

conviction.  We look to partner with independent thinkers who perform exhaustive and creative research.  We are 

not macro investors. 

 

We are opportunistic, flexible investors.  We don’t invest to check boxes or to fill quotas.  We invest with people 

who optimize reward versus risk, and acknowledge that the best opportunities may manifest themselves in different 

forms.  We believe the best way to build a portfolio is to allow ideas to originate from the bottom up, not to impose 

them from the top down. 

 

We build conviction based on high-quality research, enabling us to take concentrated positions in our portfolio, and 

limiting turnover where it is not necessary.  We hope that our partners will do the same. 

 

We seek aligned incentives with our partners.  We prefer to work with managers who are independently owned, 

focused on investment excellence first over asset size growth and product proliferation, and who are meaningful 

investors in their own funds.  

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We have a small team pursuing a generalist model with a collaborative approach.  We strive to avoid having siloes in 

our portfolio and on our team.  Every investment we make gets compared against every other, and is subject to 

review by a team of people with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints.  We believe that this approach will lead to a 

more concentrated portfolio, greater institutional knowledge, and deeper relationships with our partners. 

 

We strive for intellectual honesty and meritocracy in our process.  We foster a culture in which independent thinking 

is valued and the best ideas can prevail, regardless of their origin. 

 

Our Team 

 

John Moehling was Director of Hedge Funds and Fixed Income at the University of Chicago Office of Investments 

before joining as the Foundation’s first Chief Investment Officer in late 2007.  Before that he served as managing 

director and head of Fixed Income at Duff & Phelps Investment Management and as a director at the Commonwealth 

Edison Pension Fund.  Mr. Moehling holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. Electrical Engineering 

from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He holds CFA, CFP, and CAIA charters. 

 

Kimberly Sargent serves as Senior Managing Director, working broadly across the portfolio.  Prior to joining the 

Packard Foundation in February 2008, Ms. Sargent was a consultant with McKinsey & Company’s San Francisco 

office, and prior to that a senior analyst at the Yale Investments Office.  Ms. Sargent holds an M.B.A. from Stanford’s 

Graduate School of Business, a B.A. from Yale University, and is a CFA charter holder.  

 

Christine Ortiz serves as Managing Director, focusing on Real Assets.  Prior to joining the Foundation in January 2009, 

Ms. Ortiz worked for the University of Chicago Office of Investments and had served as a Manager of Real Assets.  

Ms. Ortiz holds a M.B.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.S. from Indiana University at Bloomington. 

 

Silpa Pericherla serves as Managing Director, focusing on Global Equities, both public and private.  Prior to joining 

the Foundation in February 2010, she was on the direct investing side with positions at Seneca Capital, R6 Capital, 

and the Carlyle Group.  Ms. Pericherla holds a B.A. from Yale University, and is a CFA charter holder. 

 

Seck-Eng Tan serves as Managing Director, focusing on Global Equities, both public and private.  Prior to joining the 

Foundation in October 2008, he held positions as Director of Investments at the James Irvine Foundation and Senior 

Vice President at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) Special Investments.  Mr. Tan holds 

both a MSc. and BSc. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.  He is a CFA charter holder. 

 

Ben Chiquoine serves as Manager, working broadly across the portfolio.  Prior to joining the Foundation in 

September 2015, he worked at the Stanford Management Company and The Investment Fund for Foundations.  Ben 

began his career at The Federal Reserve Board.  He holds an M.S. from Stanford and a B.A. from Colorado College.  

 

Philip Bronstein serves as Senior Associate, working broadly across the portfolio.  Prior to joining the Foundation in 

September 2017, he was a senior associate at the Yale Investments Office.  Philip holds a B.S. from Yale University 

and is a CFA charter holder. 

 

Kate Powell serves as Senior Associate, working broadly across the portfolio.  Prior to joining the Foundation in July 

2016, she worked for the University of Pennsylvania Office of Investments and The Investment Fund for Foundations 

(TIFF).  Kate holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Stanford 

University. 

 

The Foundation’s investment team also includes David Cormier, Director of Investment Operations; Cathleen Poon, 

Senior Operations Analyst; and Danielle Pateman, Operations Administrator.