Markets Group is proud to present the 2025 Elite Private Equity Allocators list, recognizing the leading institutional investors shaping the future of private equity. This list highlights senior professionals from Public Pension Funds, Endowments, Foundations, Insurance Groups, and Private Wealth Firms who are advancing the field through strategic allocations to buyouts, growth equity, secondaries, co-investments, and direct investments.
Part of our broader Elite Series, this recognition honors individuals who demonstrate vision, rigor, and long-term perspective in navigating a complex and competitive private markets environment. This list was developed through industry research and direct engagement, including peer input, institutional feedback, and a review of each allocator’s influence in private equity markets.
We invite you to explore the list and celebrate the allocators whose leadership continues to define excellence in private equity investing.
New Jersey Division of Investment Public Pension Fund
Dana Johns is head of private equity at the New Jersey Division of Investment, where she leads the state pension...
Dana Johns is head of private equity at the New Jersey Division of Investment, where she leads the state pension fund’s private equity program. Johns oversees portfolio construction, manager selection, and strategy across venture capital, growth equity, buyouts, and secondary investments for one of the nation’s largest public plans.
She joined the New Jersey Division of Investment in 2023 after more than a decade with the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, where she advanced to senior portfolio manager in the private equity group. Earlier in her career, she was an investment associate with Camden Private Capital, a private equity fund-of-funds.
Johns serves as chair of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), the largest organization for senior women in the private equity industry. She holds a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from Indiana University Bloomington, a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Stevenson University, and a Master of Science degree in finance from Loyola University Maryland.
AUM
$78 B
LOCATION
Trenton
REGION
Tri-State
TIME AT FUND
2 year(s)
Bruno Sollazzo
Generali Insurance Group (Asset Management)
Bruno Sollazzo is group head of private equity investments at Generali, where he leads the company’s multi-billion-dollar global private equity...
Bruno Sollazzo is group head of private equity investments at Generali, where he leads the company’s multi-billion-dollar global private equity investment program. He is responsible for portfolio construction, allocation strategy, and overseeing the investment process across buyouts, growth equity, venture capital, and other private markets strategies.
Sollazzo has been with Generali for more than three decades, holding various leadership positions across the organization. Before assuming his current role, he served as head of group planning and control as well as head of international mergers and acquisitions projects, managing operations and deal execution across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
He holds a master’s degree in business and economics from the University of Trieste.
AUM
$998 B
LOCATION
Trieste
REGION
Italy
TIME AT FUND
26 year(s)
Al Kim
Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Foundation
Al Kim is director of investments at the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, where he helps lead...
Al Kim is director of investments at the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, where he helps lead the development and implementation of the foundation’s overall investment strategy. His responsibilities include thematic research, manager due diligence, portfolio construction, and portfolio management across all segments of the Trust’s global investment program, including private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and public markets.
Before joining Helmsley in 2015, Kim was a director in BlackRock’s outsourced chief investment officer business, managing multi-asset class portfolios for institutional clients. He previously served as a consultant at Wilshire Associates, advising large defined benefit pension plans on asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio structure.
Kim holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
AUM
$7 B
LOCATION
New Yok
REGION
Tri-State
TIME AT FUND
10 year(s)
Tanya Kemp
San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) Public Pension Fund
Tanya Kemp is managing director of private markets at the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS), where she oversees the...
Tanya Kemp is managing director of private markets at the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS), where she oversees the pension plan’s $10B global private markets portfolio. Kemp is responsible for portfolio construction, manager selection, due diligence, and overall program strategy.
She joined SFERS in 2008 and has held several leadership roles across private markets, including director of private equity and senior portfolio manager of venture capital. Before joining SFERS, Kemp was an investment risk and performance analyst at the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS).
Kemp holds a Master of Science degree in international economics from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri.
AUM
$35 B
LOCATION
San Francisco
REGION
Northern California
TIME AT FUND
16 year(s)
Michael Aswad
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Foundation
Michael Aswad is managing director of private investments at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he oversees its global portfolio...
Michael Aswad is managing director of private investments at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he oversees its global portfolio of private equity drawdown funds. His responsibilities span buyouts, venture capital, real assets, and credit/distressed strategies across a broad range of managers and geographies.
Aswad joined the foundation in 2007. Earlier in his career, he founded a consulting firm providing corporate finance, strategic investment, and operational advisory services to corporate and non-profit clients. Previously, he spent 18 years as a senior investment banker with J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Securities, focusing on corporate finance, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions for financial institutions.
Aswad earned a dual degree in economics and business from the University of Chicago and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
