Michael Chae ’90, Blackstone CFO, Joins Harvard Management Company’s Board of Directors

The Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — tapped Michael S. Chae ’90, chief financial officer of private equity giant Blackstone, to become the newest member of the Harvard Management Company’s board of directors.

Chae will begin his term on July 1, joining the HMC — which is responsible for stewarding Harvard’s $50.7 billion endowment — at the start of the fiscal year. With Chae’s appointment, only five of the 15 board members will predate the tenure of N.P. “Narv” Narvekar, who joined the HMC as CEO in 2016.

Under Navekar’s leadership, the HMC has focused on outsourcing assets to external managers. The shift in strategy has been accompanied by new appointees to the board of directors with roles in investment management — an experience Navekar has lauded as “extremely valuable” to support the new investment model.

Chae will be the fifth board member with experience in the industry.

Chae is the current CFO of Blackstone — the world’s largest private equity firm with $1 trillion in assets under management — has worked in leadership roles across the company leading divisions in the U.S. and Asia, while serving on boards of directors for many companies with substantial Blackstone investments.

Described as one of the “most senior deal makers in the United States” by the New York Times, Chae oversaw some of Blackstone’s largest investments including in NBC Universal, Nielsen, and the arts and crafts retailer Micheal’s.

Chae will serve as one of 10 board members elected by the Harvard Corporation. The HMC board does not have a set number of elected members and maintains seats for the University’s president, treasurer, chief financial officer, and the HMC’s CEO.

Longtime Harvard Treasurer Paul J. Finnegan ’75, who still serves as chairman of the HMC board, praised Chae’s appointment in a statement.

“Not only will Michael bring his decades of investment expertise, financial management experience, and deep understanding of global markets to the HMC Board, but also his passion for supporting educational institutions,” Finnegan wrote.

“We’re fortunate to be able to add his unique perspective in stewarding this critical resource for the University,” he added.

Chae, a former Currier House resident, has been a consistent donor for the University and established an independent research fund for the Harvard Department of Economics following the Covid-19 pandemic. Chae is also the name bearer of Yale Law School’s leadership program that launched in 2021.

Chae graduated from the College magna cum laude in History and holds a master’s in international relations from Cambridge University, as well as a law degree from Yale University.

—Staff writer Thomas J. Mete can be reached at thomas.mete@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @thomasjmete.