The Harvard Management Co.’s (HMC) chief executive officer, N.P. “Narv” Narvekar, is discussing stepping down from his role, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
After nearly a decade leading Harvard’s investment manager company, Narvekar has discussed with the Board of Directors the possibility of retiring in late 2027 — though no formal departure date has been announced — allowing time for succession planning and an eventual leadership transition.
Harvard’s endowment supports more than a third of the university’s annual operating budget.
Narvekar joined the HMC in 2016, overseeing a major restructuring of the endowment’s investment model toward greater use of external managers. During his tenure, the organization expanded allocations to hedge funds, private equity and venture capital while reducing internally managed assets. Under his leadership, Harvard’s endowment has grown from roughly $37B to roughly $57B today, an increase of approximately $20B driven primarily by investment returns and portfolio restructuring.
Before joining Harvard, Narvekar served as chief executive officer of the Columbia University Investment Management Co. from 2002 to 2016. Over the course of his tenure, Columbia’s endowment generated approximately 10.1% annualized returns over roughly 10 years through fiscal year 2015 — placing it at or near the top tier of Ivy League endowment performance during that period.
Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at JPMorgan Chase, including managing director in the equity derivatives unit.
Narvekar also serves as an “ex-officio” member of the HMC’s Board of Directors.
His planned departure comes as elite universities face intense scrutiny from the current U.S. administration over spending and governance that has culminated in steep cutbacks to federal funding to the sector.
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