Ellen Ellison ’80

After 16 rewarding years serving as Chief Investment Officer in the endowment space, Ellen Ellison returned to the Family Office world in 2022 as the first Chief Investment Officer for HICO Ventures Ltd., the investment advisor to HICO Asset Management Pte Ltd. She also serves as Special Advisor to the Executive Chairman of X-Press Feeders, Ltd., the world's largest independent common carrier in Asia, Middle East, Caribbean, Central America, Mediterranean and Europe, and is based in London.

Previously, Ellison served as Chief Investment Officer of the University of Illinois Foundation from 2013 to 2021. While at the Foundation, she assembled the Foundation’s first independent investment team and established the Chicago-based investment office. As CIO, she led the six-member investment team and provided guidance for the Foundation and its board on all investment-related matters, including asset allocation, management of the Foundation’s portfolio, and best practices in governance. The endowment grew from $1.0 billion to $2.7 billion during Ellison’s tenure at the Foundation.

Ellison, who has more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector, previously served in a similar capacity at the University of Miami, where she was the Executive Director of Investments. At Miami, she managed two multi-asset class investment pools, including university endowment and pension fund that totaled $1.5 billion. Ellison has also served as a senior vice president at Fiduciary Trust Company International in both New York and Miami. In 2019, Ellison was named one of the Top 30 University Endowment Chief Investment Officers by Trusted Insight, the world’s largest network of institutional investors.

The Glen Cove, N.Y. native received a bachelor’s degree in French literature from Mount Holyoke College and then earned an MBA from Columbia University Business School. Ellison also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. She speaks four languages and serves as the Chair of Mount Holyoke College’s Investment Committee as well as on the Board of Parkwood Trust Company and its Investment Committee in Cleveland, Ohio (USA).