Harvard Management Company, the firm that manages Harvard’s endowment, named Michael Ryan as its new head of Public Equity at the beginning of this month.

Ryan, who most recently served as the chief investment officer at MDR Capital Management in New York, will start his new role in September. He will report to Managing Director Stephen Blyth, HMC’s head of public markets and will play an important role in “in the strategy and performance of HMC’s global equity portfolio,” according to a press release.

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The announcement comes alongside other recent changes in leadership at Harvard Management Company, including the impending departure of CEO Jane L. Mendillo this January, as well as the recent exit of managing director for private equity Lane MacDonald ’88-’89.

“Mike brings deep experience across global equity markets, including expertise managing large, diverse investment teams and extensive knowledge of the global landscape and hedge fund strategies,” Blyth said in the press release. “Public markets are an important driver of HMC’s returns and we are confident Mike will contribute significantly to our investment strategy and our ability to outperform our equity market benchmarks.”

Public equity had the highest returns of any HMC asset class during fiscal year 2013, with a return of 16.3 percent.  

Ryan, who earned his B.A. at Yale, previously worked as co-CEO of JAI Capital Management, head of global securities at Credit Suisse, and as a partner and co-head of global equity products at the Goldman Sachs Group, according to the press release.

—Staff writer Ivan B. K. Levingston can be reached at Ivan.Levingston@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @IvanLevingston.