THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INVESTMENT ADVISORY GROUP
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) Investment Advisory Board was formed in February of 2001 with the purpose of providing APFC Trustees further insights into the increasingly complex and changing world of institutional investing. The advisors impart special perspectives drawn from their professional knowledge in the areas of portfolio management, overall management of a large fund and experience with an endowment or trust fund. The advisors serve staggered three-year terms.
Mr. Harris is currently serving as interim CEO of the Texas Permanent School Fund which is the second largest Sovereign Wealth Fund in the US. Previously he was CEO of UTIMCO, which is the first external investment corporation formed by a public university system and oversees investments for The University of Texas and Texas A&M Systems. Mr. Harris served as the Chief Investment Officer for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) which is among the 25 largest investment funds in the world. Prior to his arrival at TRS, he was the CEO for Bridgewater Associates and was also the CIO and President for Verizon Investment Management Corporation. Mr. Harris is an advisor to the US Federal Reserve, a former member of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and is an Executive Professor for his course “Titans of Investing” at both Texas A&M and the University of Texas. In 2013, he was honored with a lifetime achievement for distinguished service to the financial industry.
John D. Skjervem is Chief Investment Officer for Utah Retirement Systems (URS) which manages a financial and real asset portfolio totaling $54.4 billion as of December 31, 2023, and comprises both defined benefit and defined contribution retirement programs. Prior to URS, John was Chief Executive Officer of Alan Biller and Associates, responsible for its $131 billion institutional investment advisory practice.
John also previously served as Chief Investment Officer for Oregon State Treasury where his team managed a $111 billion, globally-diversified investment program. Before his tenure in Oregon, John held a variety of portfolio management and leadership positions at Northern Trust including Chief Investment Officer for that firm’s $180 billion wealth management division.
In addition to his APFC service, John is an advisor to the Retirement Board of the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho and a member of the IEEE Foundation’s investment committee. He is also a member of the Milken Institute’s Global Capital Markets Advisory Committee and serves on the Investor Advisory Group of the International Sustainability Standards Board. John holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, received his BA in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and earned an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Statistics from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
As Corporate Vice President and Treasurer, Mr. Zinn is responsible for overseeing Microsoft’s corporate assets. He leads a group which manages the company’s worldwide financial and corporate risk, investment portfolio, strategic portfolio, foreign exchange, corporate and structured project finance, dilution management, cash and liquidity, customer financing, and credit activities. Mr. Zinn is dedicated to minimizing financial risks for Microsoft while optimizing returns. Prior to joining Microsoft in 1996, he was a partner in a money-management firm specializing in foreign exchange and commodity trading. Mr. Zinn holds a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies, with a minor in Romance Languages, from Bowdoin College. He earned his MBA from the University of Washington while working at Microsoft. Mr. Zinn has also been recognized by Treasury & Risk Management Magazine as a Top 40 Finance Professional under 40.