YaleNews

The Yale Corporation named sitting trustee Marta Tellado GRD ’02 as its next senior trustee and appointed Carter Brooks Simonds ’99 to fill a vacancy on the corporation.

Also known as the Board of Trustees, the Yale Corporation is composed of the University president, Connecticut’s sitting governor and lieutenant governor, and sixteen trustees — ten “successor trustees” and six alumni fellows. Successor trustees are appointed by the current trustees from among Yale alumni, while alumni fellows are elected by Yale alumni from a slate of nominees. The successor trustees and alumni fellows have the same responsibilities.  

When current “senior trustee” Joshua Bekenstein ’80 completes his two successor trustee terms on the board this year, Tellado — a successor trustee since 2022 — will assume the role. As senior trustee, Tellado will be responsible for liaising between the other trustees and University President Maurie McInnis. 

According to University spokesperson Karen Peart, the senior trustee role has “evolved over time to include serving as the primary spokesperson for the trustees.”

Simonds will fill Bekenstein’s vacated successor trustee seat. Simonds has been on Yale Investments’ advisory committee since 2011 and served on the search committee to appoint Yale’s current chief investment officer, Matthew Mendelsohn ’07, in 2021.

Four other members of the Yale Corporation — McInnis and trustees Neal Wolin ’83 LAW ’88, Michael Cavanagh ’88 and Joshua Steiner ’87 — also serve on the Investment Committee. Ann Miura-Ko ’98, another trustee, previously served on the committee with Simonds.

Simonds, who will fill the open successor trustee seat, is the managing partner at Four Pines Partners, a private investment firm focused on public equities. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Yale in 1999, and previously worked at Blue Ridge Capital and Tiger Management. 

In 2018, Simonds returned to campus to speak with students in Davenport College about her experience as a woman navigating the male-dominated finance industry. She is also designated as a Mory’s fellow, having gifted over $25,000 to the private dining club on York Street.

“She has shown her dedication to strengthening Yale in countless ways, including with her long service on the Yale Investment Committee,” McInnis said in a statement to YaleNews. “I look forward to working with her in this new role.”

Leila Govi, president of the Deerfield Academy Board of Trustees, where Simonds is also a trustee, wrote to the News that, “Carter’s appointment to the Yale Corporation is a testament to her intellect, integrity, and deep commitment to education.”

At Deerfield, Govi noted that Simonds brings “extraordinary insight and principled leadership” to her work as Vice Chair of Deerfield’s Admission, Financial Aid, and College Advising and Endowment committees.

The Board of Trustees held five official meetings during the 2024-2025 academic year.