The $88 billion New Jersey Department of the Treasury’s Division of Investment has hired Dana Johns as head of private equity, effective immediately. She replaces Jared Speicher, who left last year for MetLife Investment Management. 

Before joining the pension fund, Johns was a member of the private equity team at the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, where she has yet to be replaced.  

‘We are very happy to welcome Dana as our new Head of Private Equity,” said Shoaib Khan, chief investment officer and director of the Division of Investment. “Her demonstrated success in managing institutional investments in the private market will help us further out fiduciary duty to the pension members we serve.” 

Johns has more than two decades’ experience managing multi-billion-dollar global portfolios of institutional alternative investment assets.  

Johns is board chair of the Private Equity Women Investor Network and a member of the Institutional Limited Partners Association Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council, Academy for Institutional Investors Editorial Committee, AIF Women’s Leadership Steering Committee, and the SEO Alternative Investments Limited Partner Advisory Council. 

Recently, the Division of Investment selected CVC Capital Partners IX and AIP’s American Industrial Partners Capital Fund VIII. As of the end of March, the pension fund has nearly $11 billion allocated to private equity.   

Johns’ hire follows that of Brad Johnson as head of private credit. 

Meet industry experts like Greenrock Research Founder & President Kevin Malone by joining us at the Connect Money: Alternative Assets Conference on June 14 in Chicago at the W City Center.