MacDonald Leaves Harvard to Manage Money for Fidelity Owners

(Bloomberg) --- Lane MacDonald, who oversaw private-equity investments for Harvard University’s endowment, has left the school to manage money for the Johnson family, owners of Fidelity Investments.

MacDonald will become president of Crosby Company of New Hampshire, the family office for the Johnson family, Vincent Loporchio, a spokesman for Fidelity in Boston, wrote in an e- mail today. The office is based in Salem, New Hampshire.

MacDonald joined Harvard Management in 2008 and was named head of the endowment’s private-equity investments in October last year. Harvard $32.7 billion endowment makes it the world’s wealthiest university. The school helped redefine endowment investing by pushing into alternative assets such as private- equity funds.

Fidelity, which managed $1.9 trillion as of Dec. 31, is the second-largest U.S. mutual fund company after Vanguard Group Inc. in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The Johnson family owns 49% of FMR LLC, Fidelity’s holding company, according to regulatory filings.

Edward C. Johnson III, Fidelity’s chairman and chief executive officer, is worth $6.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. His daughter Abigail P. Johnson, president of Fidelity, has an estimated fortune of $9.1 billion.

MacDonald played for the U.S. hockey team at the Winter Olympics in 1988 and was captain of Harvard’s hockey team when it won the NCAA championship in 1989.

Kevin Galvin, a spokesman for Harvard University, declined to comment on MacDonald’s move, which was reported earlier today by the Boston Globe.

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