Kathleen Jacobs

Kathleen currently serves as Chief Investment Officer at RWJBarnabas Health, the largest and most comprehensive health care system in New Jersey which treats over three million patients per year. She was previously the Chief Investment Officer for New York University, and also worked in her area of expertise in other organizations including NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, The Juilliard School, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan Chase.  

Kathleen serves on several boards including the 20-20 Investment Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to emerging markets research, and The Jeffrey Company where she is a member of the Audit Committee.  She is a founding board member of the Institutional Investor Endowments & Foundations Institute, a forum for senior investment professionals to share insights on investment strategies, governance, and long-term capital management, as well as the Private Equity Women Investor Network.  In addition, she is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kathleen’s leadership and achievements have been recognized widely, including being named to the Top 30 Endowment Chief Investment Officers and Top 30 Most Influential Women in University Endowments. She is an inductee to the Chief Investment Officer Hall of Fame, was a finalist for Institutional Investor’s CIO of the Year in 2021 and Endowment of the Year in 2022 and is nominated for Institutional Investor’s 2025 Healthcare CIO of the Year.