August 14, 2019

Endowment Veteran Appointed as Director of Private Equity

Stephen Vaccaro joins us from the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments. We are thrilled to have Stephen join our team!


Hirtle Callaghan, pioneers of the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) model with over $20 billion under management, announced today that Stephen Vaccaro has joined the firm as Director of Private Equity. Mr. Vaccaro is an accomplished investment professional with more than 15 years of experience in endowment management and consulting, including the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and BCG.

Mr. Vaccaro is working closely with Hirtle Callaghan’s investment team to oversee private equity investment efforts on behalf of the firm’s family, endowment, foundation, healthcare, and pension clients. He reports to Dan McCollum, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, who leads the firm’s manager selection and is himself an endowment veteran, having joined Hirtle Callaghan from Brown University. Mr. Vaccaro also serves as a member of Hirtle Callaghan’s Investment Policy Committee and Investment Strategy Committee.

“We are excited to welcome a professional of Stephen’s caliber to the investment team at a time when private equity is an increasingly important component of our clients’ portfolios,” said Mr. McCollum. “Stephen brings an impressive track record leading private equity investments and a robust relationship network of talented fund managers. We are certain that his extensive experience at two of the world’s most prestigious university endowments will further enhance our ability to identify and access top performing private equity managers.”

Mr. Vaccaro joins Hirtle Callaghan from the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments, where he focused for eight years on growing the private equity investment program for the University’s $13 billion endowment and $2 billion pension fund. As a senior team member, Mr. Vaccaro played an active role in investment committee discussions across public equity, private equity, real assets, and absolute return strategies.

Prior to joining the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Vaccaro was a senior team member at Princeton University’s $26 billion endowment, where he worked in private investments across buyouts, venture capital, natural resources, and real estate. Before Princeton, Mr. Vaccaro served as a principal in BCG’s New York and Moscow offices, where he led numerous projects for private equity firms, investment banks, global corporations, and start-up ventures. Mr. Vaccaro holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Yale University. He is also a CFA charterholder.

“I am honored to take on this new role at Hirtle Callaghan and build on the firm’s three-decade legacy of partnering with families and institutions to serve as their investment office and helping them in achieving their goals,” said Mr. Vaccaro.