The New Jersey Department of the Treasury’s Division of Investment on Wednesday said that, as of Jan. 3, two new deputy directors have been installed. Lisa Walker was named director and deputy chief investment officer, and William “Bill” Connors was named deputy executive director and deputy chief investment officer.
Connors was elevated from his role as head of fixed income within the division, while Walker comes to the division with a wealth of private-sector experience.
“The Division of Investment is one of the largest pension fund managers in the United States, and Bill and Lisa will play a key role in the division’s management of the retirement assets of hundreds of thousands of public employees and retirees,” Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said in a statement. “We are excited about the innovative policies and strong fiduciary commitment both will bring to the division’s talented leadership team.”
“By promoting Bill and bringing Lisa in, our leadership team is now well-rounded with institutional knowledge and fresh ideas,” Chief Investment Officer and Director of the Division of Investment Shoaib Khan said. “The people who rely on us to maximize the return on the New Jersey Pension Fund investments can be confident in the breadth and depth of investment experience of these two professionals.”
Connors has been with the Division of Investment since 2020, when he was brought in to lead the fixed income team. Throughout his three-decade career, he has demonstrated expertise in investment policy, asset allocation and governance, portfolio construction and operations management in traditional and alternative investments.
Walker has had a three-decade career working in the private sector for firms including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. Most recently, Walker was a senior investor on BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund, a multiasset strategy fund with assets under management during her tenure of up to $100 billion. She also previously managed its Financial Services Fund and was a senior investor on its SmallCap Fund. She has expertise investing across asset classes including public equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and derivatives, and across all geographies.
