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The Boston Foundation Investment Committee
Andrew Arnott, Chair of Investment Committee
Term expires June 30, 2026
Andrew G. Arnott is President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Investments, a wealth management business of John Hancock Financial, the U.S. division of Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corporation.
Mr. Arnott brings a wealth of organizational and industry expertise to this role, including more than 20 years of experience in the asset management industry. Since 2012, he has led all aspects of John Hancock Investments’ business, from investments, sales, marketing, finance, and product development to operations and technology. Mr. Arnott is also President of the trusts for the John Hancock Group of Funds, with general responsibility for overseeing day-to-day management of fund business and operations, serving as Chief Executive Officer of all funds, acting as liaison between management and the funds’ Board of Trustees, and presiding over Trustee and shareholder meetings.
In his prior position as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Investment Management Services, Mr. Arnott was responsible for all asset manager relationships across the John Hancock Investments and Manulife Financial platforms in the United States and Asia.
Mr. Arnott serves on the Board of Overseers for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, the Board of Directors for the Boston Foundation, the Board of the Mt. Mansfield Winter Academy, and the ICI Board of Governors.
Elyse Cherry
Term expires June 30, 2024*
Since 1997, Elyse Cherry has served as the CEO of BlueHub Capital, a national nonprofit community finance organization with a 35-year history of building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. Under Cherry’s leadership, BlueHub has invested over $2.2 billion, leveraged an additional $10 billion, and built a national tax credit practice to: finance affordable housing, health centers, schools, and other community facilities; provide foreclosure relief through the creation of a mortgage lender aimed at stabilizing urban neighborhoods; create jobs; benchmark and drive down energy and utility costs; and promote resiliency.
Cherry is a former partner at the law firm of Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale) where her national transactional practice focused on multi-family and commercial real estate finance and development, affordable housing, and open space preservation.
An active civic and business leader, Cherry is a member of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees, the Board of Advisors of Eastern Bank, and Chair of the Board of the Forsyth Institute. She is also on the Board of Directors of The Boston Foundation, where she co-chairs the Advisory Committee for The Equality Fund -- a fund supporting greater Boston nonprofits that strengthen the LGBTQ community.
Betty Francisco
Term expires June 30, 2025*
Betty Francisco is a seasoned business executive, board director, angel investor and community leader. She is known as a powerful convener and changemaker, unapologetic about creating visibility for Latinx and people of color. Boston Business Journal named Betty as one of the 2020 Power 50 – Extraordinary Year Extraordinary People, and Boston Magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Boston in 2018. She has over 22 years of experience launching and growing startups; advising boards and executive teams on corporate governance, risk management and diversity, equity and inclusion; and negotiating and advising companies on debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.
Betty is currently the CEO of Boston Impact Initiative, a social impact investment fund that invests integrated capital in regenerative local enterprises in Eastern Massachusetts that are owned and controlled by entrepreneurs of color or are serving communities of color. She is the co-founder of Amplify Latinx, a social venture that is building Latinx economic and political power by significantly increasing Latino civic engagement, economic opportunity and leadership representation in Massachusetts. Betty is also co-founder of the Investors of Color Network, a consortium of Black and Latinx accredited investors working to close the racial funding gap in startup capital.
Most recently, she was the General Counsel at Compass Working Capital where she oversaw the organization’s legal affairs, compliance, and risk management. Before that, she served as EVP, General Counsel for Sports Club/LA and Reebok Sports Club/NY, a fitness brand acquired by Equinox Fitness in 2014. Betty began her legal career as a Senior Business Law Associate at Edwards Wildman (now Locke Lord) representing start-ups, corporations and investors in financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general corporate matters.
She serves on the Boards of Directors of The Boston Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Beth Israel Lahey Health, and Roxbury Community College. She is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s New England Community Development Advisory Council, Advisory Board Member for LISC Boston and The Capital Network. She is also a founding member of the Coalition for an Equitable Economy which is building an equitable small business ecosystem for entrepreneurs of color in Massachusetts.
Ronald P. O'Hanley
Term expires June 30, 2024
Ron is chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Corporation. He is also a member of State Street Corporation’s Board of Directors.
Ron was previously president and chief operating officer of State Street Corporation, and before that president and chief executive officer of State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation. He joined State Street in 2015.
Prior to State Street, Ron was president of Asset Management & Corporate Services for Fidelity Investments, responsible for all Fidelity asset management organizations and Fidelity’s corporate functions and enterprise technology. He served at Fidelity from 2010 to 2014.
Prior to joining Fidelity, Ron served as president and chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Asset Management in Boston, a position to which he was named in 2007. During this time, he also served as vice chairman of Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and was a member of its Executive Committee. Additionally, Ron oversaw all of Bank of New York Mellon's activities in Asia. Prior to the 2007 merger of Bank of New York and Mellon, he was vice chairman of Mellon Financial Corporation and president and chief executive officer of Mellon Asset Management. He served at Mellon and Bank of New York Mellon from 1997 to 2010.
Prior to Mellon, Ron was with McKinsey & Company, Inc., from 1986 to 1997 and was elected a partner in 1992. He founded the Investment Management practice worldwide and was co-founder and co-leader of the firm's North American Personal Financial Services practice. Additionally, he was a member of the Worldwide Property & Casualty Insurance practice. During his tenure with McKinsey, Ron served in the firm’s Boston, New York, and Stockholm offices.
Ron received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Syracuse University in 1980 and his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1986.
Ron serves on the boards of Unum Corp. and Rhode Island Commerce Corporation. He also serves on the boards of Beth Israel Lahey Health, The Boston Foundation, IYRS School of Technology and Trades, Syracuse University and WBUR. Ron’s philanthropic and civic interests include corporate governance, retirement/healthcare policy and funding, education, and climate. He has led several initiatives on gender equality. Ron is a frequent speaker and writer, and an avid offshore sailboat racer.
Raj Sharma
Term expires June 30, 2027*
The founder of The Sharma Group, Raj Sharma has more than 30 years of financial services experience. Before joining Merrill in 1987, he worked for 12 years as a financial analyst, management executive and media specialist.
Thoughtful and analytic, with an excellent understanding of the global markets, Raj has received numerous industry recognitions. Barron's has named him as one of America's Top 100 Financial Advisors for 18 consecutive years through 2022 - putting him among the "Barron’s Hall of Fame’, a distinction accorded to advisors who have been on the top advisor list for ten years. In 2021 and 2022, Raj was named the #1 Financial Advisor in Massachusetts on Barron’s America's Top 1,200 Financial Advisors list for the thirteenth consecutive year. Forbes named Raj the #1 Financial Advisor in Massachusetts on Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list in 2019-2022. He was also named to Forbes' "America's Top Wealth Advisors" list 2016 – 2022. Most recently The Sharma Group was featured by Barron's as a Top 50 Private Wealth Teams in 2020 and Top 100 Private Wealth Teams for 2021. Additionally, he was named to the Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisors 2013 - 2021.
Raj earned a Master’s degree in Business Management, with a concentration in Finance, from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and a Master’s degree in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston. Raj holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation and is a member of the Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute).
Paul Gannon (ex officio)
Bio last updated 2022.
Paul Gannon is a retired Partner and former Chief Operating Officer of The Baupost Group where he was also a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Prior to joining Baupost in 1991, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Real Estate Group of Bank of Boston and was the VP of Finance for a chain of home centers.
Mr. Gannon earned his CPA designation while working with Ernst and Whinney in Boston and Sydney, Australia, after graduating from the University of Virginia’s School of Commerce.
Mr. Gannon is the Chair of the WBUR Board of Directors, serves on the Board of Advisors of The Baupost Group, as well as on the Board of Directors of Volos Software, Upstream USA, Opportunity Solutions International, the Boston Foundation, and Tenacity. He also serves as a Board Observer or mentor for a number of startup companies.
Grace Fey (ex officio)
Grace Fey, CFA, is President of Grace Fey Advisors. For 20 years, Ms. Fey was a partner at Frontier Capital Management Co., LLC, serving as Executive Vice President and Director of the investment management firm located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ms. Fey currently serves as a Trustee of the John Hancock Financial Services Funds and is on the Board of Directors of the Fiduciary Trust Co., Tufts Medical Center, the Museum of Fine Arts and WGBH. Ms. Fey is the recipient of the David Knapp Award for Trusteeship from the New England Board of Higher Education and the Big Sister Association of Boston Leadership Award. She is a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum and the Boston Club. Ms. Fey graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in English and lives in Boston with her husband, Ted.
Ms. Fey served as Chair of the Investment Committee until the expiration of her term on the Board of Directors in June 2019.
George C. Wilson
Chief Investment Officer
George Wilson has been active in the investment field for more than thirty years. His career has included serving as a Senior Investment Officer at Pension Reserves Investment Management, the $50 billion Massachusetts public pension plan, with responsibility at various times for overseeing its real estate, REIT, timber, and private equity portfolios. He also was a Vice President for Asset Management with GE Capital Investment Advisors, Inc., a partner with the New Jersey based investment banking firm of Robert A. Stanger & Co., and a certified public accountant at Price Waterhouse.
George earned a BS in accounting and an MBA from Babson College, and a master’s degree in taxation from Bentley College.
Prime Buchholz
Investment Consultant
Prime Buchholz has served as an independent investment consultant for two decades, partnering with clients to create and extend their investment programs. It advises more than 260 institutional and private clients ranging from non-profits and corporate entities, to high net worth families. The company was founded in 1988 in Portsmouth, N.H., and today it employs over 100 investment professionals and support staff with offices in Portsmouth, Boston and Atlanta.
*Eligible for another five-year term.
