Cynthia Steer
Education
M.B.A., international finance, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Summary of Experience
Ms. Steer is an expert in the global investment industry whose interests include retirement savings, fiduciary process, investment strategy, asset allocation, and emerging markets. She serves as an independent director of Brightwood Capital, a private, SEC-registered business development company; as director and chair of the investment committee for MissionSquare Retirement, a $70 billion nonprofit organization that focuses on retirement security for public-sector workers; as an independent director for Xponance, an entrepreneurial, solutions-oriented investment firm that supports emerging managers, diversity, and sustainability; and as an investment committee member for The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Ms. Steer is a former independent director of Hancock Natural Resource Group, a $14 billion investment manager in global forestry and agriculture. Prior to her role at Hancock Natural Resource Group, Ms. Steer was an executive vice president at BNY Mellon Investment Management, where she was responsible for performance oversight, due diligence, and analysis of investment performance across the firm’s $1.6 trillion in assets under management. At BNY Mellon, Ms. Steer was also a senior investment advisor to the executive management team, a member of the benefit investment committee, and leader of the firm’s outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) practice. Her investment experience includes senior roles at Russell Investments and Rogerscasey, and she has served as CIO for United Technologies, Philip Morris, the City of Hartford, and SBLI. Ms. Steer is a co-chair and senior advisor at Institutional Investor, an organization that hosts private industry events for leaders in the asset management community as well as a senior advisor at Investment Office Resources (IOR), which helps investment offices on specialized projects and extension of staff initiatives.