NEPC Names Successor CEO, CIO

Sarah Samuels

Tim McCusker

Investment consultant and outsourced CIO provider NEPC LLC announced two promotions, effective January 1, 2026: Sarah Samuels, current partner in and head of investment manager selection at the $1.7 trillion firm, will become CIO, and Tim McCusker, NEPC’s current CIO, will be elevated to president and successor CEO. He will then take the reins from current CEO Michael Manning in January 2027.

Manning will remain with the firm in a senior advisory role following the leadership transition.

“These changes represent the next chapter of NEPC’s evolution,” NEPC stated, in advance of the firm’s 40th anniversary next year.

Samuels, in her current role, oversees manager selection for private markets, public markets and hedge fund investments, leading a 45-person team. Across two decades of experience, she has held various senior roles, including managing director at the Wellesley College Investment Office, deputy CIO of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management and senior positions at Wellington Management.

McCusker took up the role of CIO at NEPC in 2014 after nearly a decade at the consultancy. As CIO, he has led the investment strategy development for NEPC and oversees more than 72 staffers, who work across investment research, multi-asset investing, asset allocation, portfolio construction and OCIO investment strategy.

NEPC credited McCusker as instrumental in shaping the firm’s direction, including establishing NEPC’s OCIO practice as a core investment solution. He joined the firm in 2006 after a stint at Towers Perrin.

“I have always been proud to work for a mission-driven organization that makes a real impact on society, and it is a privilege to work alongside an incredibly talented team that cares deeply about helping our clients achieve their goals,” McCusker said in a statement. “From Mike and many others at NEPC, I’ve learned the value of true leadership and how vital our culture is to our success.”

Samuels was named to CIO’s 2025 Knowledge Brokers list of investment consultants on whom asset owners rely, her third such inclusion. (CIO is a sister publication of PLANADVISER.)