Dakota Live! Podcast

Governance Over Everything: Inside the CIO Seat (WVU Live)

Robert Morier Season 1 Episode 164

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0:00 | 1:10:15

What does it look like to sit in the CIO seat?

This episode of Dakota Live was recorded on campus at West Virginia University, bringing students directly into the room with institutional investors responsible for billions in capital.

Rob Morier sits down with:

  • Jim Bethea, CIO of the WVU Foundation

  • Craig Slaughter, CIO of the West Virginia Investment Management Board

  • Josh Hall, Dean of the WVU Business School

This is not a surface-level discussion.

It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how portfolios are actually built—and what matters far more than most people think.

We cover:

  • How endowments and pensions allocate capital

  • The real role of governance in investment outcomes

  • How CIOs evaluate managers (and why it’s not a pure science)

  • Private markets vs public markets today

  • Active vs passive: where the opportunity may be shifting

  • What students and young professionals need to know to break into investing

One of the biggest takeaways:

Most CIOs don’t spend their time talking about managers.

They talk about governance, process, and decision-making.

If you’re an allocator, asset manager, or student trying to understand how institutional investing actually works—this episode is for you.