An Abu Dhabi Equities Chief Moves to Singapore: How to Map a New CIO's Old Relationships

On 1 October 2026, Daren Smith took over as chief investment officer of the National University of Singapore endowment, which holds about $11.5 billion. He arrives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, where he was CIO of Global Equities, a voting member of the investment committee and the head of a 15-person team. At ADIC he restructured the global equities portfolio, introduced portable alpha mandates run through equity hedge funds and built an investment approval framework. That record is a map of relationships, and a GP who can read it has a better chance of a warm introduction than one who waits for a cold reply.

Why one move creates many openings

A CIO change rarely stands alone. ADIC has been rebuilding its leadership, and the pattern shows how fast relationships redistribute. It named Lori Hall-Kimm CIO for Private Equity, joining from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, where she has led global private equity since 2022, after earlier work as a managing director of direct private equity at CPP Investments. It named Edward Winter CIO for Real Assets, coming from Global Infrastructure Partners, and added Alain Carrier, formerly CEO of Bregal Investments, as an executive director in private equity earlier in 2026. Real estate head Dan Teper left for the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, as we covered in our report on AIMCo's new global head of real estate.

Counting the five named moves, three (60%) are hires into ADIC and two (40%) are departures from it. Each one reconnects a set of managers to a new decision maker. ADIC is a large allocator, with about $150 billion, 65% in private markets, no single investment above 1% of the portfolio, and $19 billion deployed with top-tier managers in 2025. A departing executive takes years of manager meetings with them, and so does an arriving one.

The mapping method

Use four steps, and keep the output to one page per LP.

First, write the move chain: where the person was, where they are now and the years in each seat. For Smith the chain is ADIC global equities to the National University of Singapore endowment. For the private equity seat at the Abu Dhabi Investment Council it runs through HOOPP and CPP Investments.

Second, list the strategies the person was known for. Smith's are portable alpha through equity hedge funds and a formal approval process, so the managers who ran those mandates, and the allocators and consultants who worked with them, are the relevant circle. Hall-Kimm's range spans direct investments, co-investments, fund commitments and secondaries.

Third, cross the list with your own network. Which of your existing LPs, co-investors, advisory board members or service providers have worked beside the person? That overlap is a warm introduction waiting to happen, and our review of why co-investors are your warmest route to fund LPs explains how to test it.

Fourth, choose the route and ask for something small. A shared LP who will forward a one-paragraph note is stronger than a stranger with a deck. The ask should be a short call on a stated theme, not a commitment.

What to put on the one-page map

Keep the page factual and short. List the LP, the person, the date they started, the previous employers, the strategies they are associated with, and three possible bridges: a shared investor, a shared co-investor and a shared adviser. Add one line on your own fit, such as a fund size that suits the LP's typical ticket, and one line on timing, such as your next close. Update the page when the person's seat changes again. A one-page map takes under an hour per LP and can be reused across the whole team, so that no one on your side writes to the same CIO twice in a month. It also forces an honest check on fit, since a map with no bridges and no strategy match is a sign to spend the time elsewhere. Sovereign wealth funds and endowments tend to announce senior appointments publicly, which makes the move chain easy to build from public statements.

Timing and what to say

The first months in a new seat are a review period. A new CIO inherits a manager roster, studies it and decides what stays. That makes a message in the first quarter useful if it is relevant, and wasteful if it is generic. Lead with the connection, then one sentence on the strategy, then a specific reason it fits the new seat. For NUS, a manager of equity hedge funds or market-neutral strategies has a clear link to Smith's portable alpha work. For ADIC's private equity seat, a buyout, growth or venture manager with co-investment capacity speaks to the five portfolios ADIC runs.

Data we published recently on how warm introductions help GPs close LPs faster supports the same approach: the introduction does the work that the first email cannot. Treat LP staff moves like market data, log each one, and keep the map current as the seats continue to change. Respect privacy and local rules at every step, and use only business contacts and public information.

What to watch next

Watch for further ADIC appointments, for the first public manager decisions under Smith at NUS and for who fills the vacated seats. FundLinx members can see which sovereign wealth funds and endowments have changed leadership this quarter, and which of their own contacts overlap.

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