Kristin Agatone, a leader in the higher education investment space, has been appointed as Georgetown’s chief investment officer.
Agatone joins Georgetown from Lehigh University, where she served as the chief investment officer for nine years, and will follow the stewardship of Mike Barry, who served as Georgetown’s chief investment officer for over a decade.
At Georgetown, Agatone will oversee the university’s Investment Office and endowment, including managing the investment policy, asset allocation, board communications and investment reporting. She will start in her new role on Sept. 15.
“We welcome the addition of Kristin to our leadership team at Georgetown,” said David Green, Georgetown’s chief operating officer. “Her years of experience in finance in both higher education and the private sector will be invaluable as Georgetown grows and pushes forward in its mission.”
Finding a Path in Finance
Considering her early love for math and science, Agatone says a career in finance, now entering its 20th year, almost seemed inevitable. She knew from an early age that she didn’t want to spend her career in a lab. Instead, as an undergraduate at Harvard University, she discovered a passion for economics, diving into the world of finance through summer internships.
In finance, Agatone found a field that allowed her to make calculated decisions while managing risks. Rather than preferring clearly defined right and wrong answers, she embraces the inherent uncertainty in finance, she said.
“In finance, you make a lot of assumptions about behavior in an imperfect world,” she said. “There’s something about trying to make the best decisions possible in the midst of ambiguity that was always attractive to me.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree from Harvard, Agatone entered the investment banking analyst program at Goldman Sachs, followed by an associate role at private equity firm TPG. In her private sector roles, Agatone gained a deeper understanding of how companies operate and execute their business strategies.
Serving the Mission of Higher Education
While Agatone enjoyed her experience in the private sector, she sought to serve a higher purpose.
As an MBA student at Harvard Business School, she interned with Harvard Management Company, helping oversee the university’s endowment and support its goal to fund scholarships and financial aid. Being a first-generation college graduate who relied on financial aid herself, Agatone found managing investments for higher education an ideal intersection of career and purpose.
“The combination of investing with a strong mission to support students and institutions of higher learning was the perfect path for my career,” she said.
In 2016, she joined Lehigh University as chief investment officer. Under Agatone’s leadership, Lehigh’s endowment nearly doubled, performing in the top quartile of its peer group. She built strong partnerships across Lehigh’s academic and administrative leadership while working with students, faculty, alumni, staff and university trustees.
Agatone wanted to join the investment team at Georgetown because of its strong values and reputation. She said she’s excited to join the vibrant Georgetown community and be part of a university that excels in all facets of higher education.
“It’s such a dynamic institution with a strong mission to holistically improve its students’ lives through education,” Agatone said. “That priority is immediately apparent across the entire campus.”
At Georgetown, she’s eager to contribute to the university’s mission, especially as it grows with new programs at the Capitol Campus and abroad. She said she also looks forward to building on the work of the current team and continuing programs like the Investment Office’s internship program. The program, similar to the one Agatone participated in as a Harvard student, offers Georgetown undergraduates the opportunity to learn about the world of investment management.
“The endowment enhances every part of the university,” Agatone shared. “My goal is to help it expand and flourish, allowing Georgetown to attract talented faculty, provide financial support to students and further the university’s mission to develop the whole person.”
