Christopher J. Ailman

Mr. Ailman has been the Chief Investment Officer of CalSTRS with a $260+ billion AUM, for 20 years.  Mr. Ailman leads an investment staff of over 190.  He joined CalSTRS in 2000 and is one of the longest serving public CIO in the country.  He has over 35 years of institutional investment experience.  Annually, he is listed as one of the top ten CIO’s in the USA and globally by the institutional investment media. 

He has served on several boards and advisory boards in the U.S. and U.K. such as ICGN, PRI, PPI, EDHEC, and most recently as the inaugural Chair of the SASB Investor Advisory Board.  He is currently the North American Chair of the “300” CIO Club and the Milken Global Capital Markets Committee.  He has received numerous awards and recognitions over his career, from CIO of the Year in 2000, the NAA Latino service award 2011 Large Plan CIO of the year, and Investment Innovator of the Year in 2011 and again in 2013, all culminating in 2017, with receiving the inaugural Institutional Investor Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2018, he was named the top CIO in the world by Chief Investment Officer Magazine.

Mr. Ailman is a regular guest on the TV and radio, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Nightly Business Report. He is frequently quoted in major financial publications such as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s.   He has a BA from UCSB, an FSA, the Fundamentals in Sustainable Accounting credential from SASB.  He has been married for 35 years with three adult daughters and is a committed Promise Keeper.