Harvard Names New Head of $25.9 Billion Fund - New York Times

"Harvard University announced today that it had hired Mohamed A. El-Erian, a managing director at the Pacific Investment Management Company, to head its endowment fund, the largest of any university."

Mr. El-Erian succeeds Jack R. Meyer, the hugely successful fund manager for Harvard, who stepped down Sept. 30 after criticism about the multimillion-dollar salaries he and other senior managers were receiving.

When Mr. Meyer took over the Harvard fund in 1990, it was worth $5 billion, and in June of this year, it was valued at $25.9 billion, with growth far outpacing any other university fund. In fiscal year 2005, the fund achieved a total return of 19.2 percent, Harvard officials said today.