Press Release

April 23, 2008
Contact: Pat Macht, Assistant Executive Officer
Office of Public Affairs
(916) 795-3991

CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Russell Read To Step Down

SACRAMENTO, CA – Russell Read, Chief Investment Officer for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), announced today that he intends to step down from his post on June 30, 2008, to pursue his long-standing interest in environmental and cleantech investing.

In a letter to the CalPERS Board, Read said working for the Board, staff and members has been the greatest experience in his investment career.  He credited the strong, creative and motivated investment staff for the many investment accomplishments of the System.

George Diehr, Investment Committee Chair for CalPERS said,” We wish Russell well in the next chapter of his professional career.  He has great enthusiasm for environmental and clean technology investments and we look forward to hearing about his future endeavors in sustainability investments as that sector grows in the capital markets.”

Read joined CalPERS in June 2006, after serving as Deputy Chief Investment Officer for Deutsche Asset Management and Scudder investments. 

CalPERS Board will meet soon to discuss steps for appointing a new Chief Investment Officer.

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling more than $244 billion.  The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than 1.5 million State and local public employees and their families. For more on CalPERS, please visit www.calpers.ca.gov.

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Dated: 04-23-2008