Head of Harvard's $57 billion endowment, plans to retire, WSJ reports

The head of Harvard University's nearly $57 billion endowment, N.P. Narvekar, has told its board that he plans to retire, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Friday, citing sources.

The report said that Narvekar had not set a definitive departure date but discussed the possibility of stepping down in late 2027.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Harvard Management Co, the university's investment arm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

Narvekar could not be immediately reached by Reuters, but the Journal report said he had declined to comment to the newspaper.

Narvekar joined the university's investment arm as its CEO in December 2016, according to its website. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Columbia University Investment Management Company.

Harvard University's endowment is the world's largest among universities and it grew by nearly $4 billion to $56.9 billion in fiscal 2025 on the back of strong investment returns even as the Trump administration cut the school's research funding.

(Reporting by Mihika Sharma in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 12:55 AM.