Investment veteran Lane MacDonald was promoted to oversee the private equity investments of Harvard Management Company. The firm manages the USD 32.7 billion endowment of Harvard University.

MacDonald first joined the firm in 2008. He served as the Managing Director of Harvard Management Co's Public Markets platform where he took care of investments with external managers. He would be assuming his new role in the private equity arm in December. Peter Dolan left the post in April after only less than a year of service. Dolan had been with Harvard Management Co for 18 years.

According to Reuters, personnel appointments of Harvard Management were closely monitored by the industry. This was due to the Ivy League school's innovative investment style and its record of delivering strong investment returns. In the past 20 years, the annualized return of Harvard Management was pegged at 12%. This was way over the 9.1% benchmark. It has also made Harvard the wealthiest educational institution in the world.