Allison Thacker

Allison K. Thacker joined Rice University in 2011 as President of the Rice Management Company. Ms. Thacker is responsible for managing the $7.24 billion endowment fund. The Rice University endowment ranks in the top 20 endowments of private research universities in the US and funds over 40% of the university budget. Over the 3, 5, and 10 years ending June 30, 2023, annualized endowment returns were 13.4%, 9.2% and 9.4%. Rice Management Company partners with third-party investment managers and also internally manages a portfolio of oil and gas royalties, timberland, and operating businesses.

Prior to joining Rice University, Ms. Thacker spent 11 years with RS Investments, a San Francisco-based investment firm specializing in public equities. At RS Investments, Ms. Thacker held roles including Portfolio Manager, Managing Director and Research Analyst. In the earlier portion of her career, Ms. Thacker served as a Summer Analyst at Putnam Investments and as a Financial Analyst in the energy investment banking group at Merrill Lynch & Co. She is the board chair of the KIPP Texas Houston Regional Board of Directors, an open-enrollment, public school network with 59 schools serving 34,000 students across Texas. She is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Financial Sector Advisory Council, the Houston Ballet Board of Trustees, Houston Endowment Investment Committee,