Jonathan L. Leight Named Managing Director, Asset Allocation and Risk Management at MacArthur Foundation

5/20/2004

From: Jen Humke of The MacArthur Foundation, 312-726-8000

CHICAGO, May 20 -- Jonathan L. Leight has been named Managing Director, Asset Allocation and Risk Management, for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

In this position, Leight will be responsible for managing the Foundation's quantitative research/analytics function, including Asset Allocation and Risk Management. The Managing Director is responsible for maintaining a quantitative valuation approach and risk management framework to assist in the management of the total Foundation portfolio.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Leight held a series of financial management positions with Sears Roebuck & Company, a firm he joined in 1990, leaving in 2001, having risen to the position of Chief Investment Officer. In that capacity he was responsible for total plan structure and asset allocation, portfolio risk analysis, global tactical asset allocation and liquidity management. He was also responsible for strategic asset allocation and asset/liability management. Earlier in his career, from 1985 to 1990, he worked for Deloitte & Touche LLP in Chicago in a number of corporate finance positions, including Manager in the Capital Markets Services group.

Leight is a 1974 graduate of the University of Chicago, following his undergraduate education with professional music studies at the Julliard School in New York, where he earned both his Diploma and Masters Degree in violin performance. From 1978 to 1983 he was Assistant Concertmaster for the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in Portland, OR. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1985.

In his new role at the MacArthur Foundation, Leight will join a fourteen person staff responsible for management of its $4.5 billion endowment, generating returns that support MacArthur's annual grantmaking of approximately $180 million.

About the Foundation:

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with headquarters in Chicago, is a private, independent grant-making institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. The Foundation makes grants through four programs. The Program on Human and Community Development supports organizations working primarily on national issues, including community development, regional policy, housing, public education, juvenile justice and mental health policy.

The Program on Global Security and Sustainability supports organizations engaged in international issues, including peace and security, conservation and sustainable development, population and reproductive health, and human rights. The General Program supports public interest media and the production of independent documentary films. The MacArthur Fellows Program awards five-year, unrestricted fellowships to individuals across all ages and fields who show exceptional merit and the promise of continued creative work. With assets of about $4.5 billion, the Foundation makes grants totaling approximately $180 million each year.