Wilbanks Partners Assists in Recruitment of Danita Johnson to NHRS as Head of Private Markets

New position designed to bring larger share of retirement system’s investment activities in-house

CONCORD, NH, UNITED STATES, July 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) has hired Danita Johnson to serve as Head of Private Markets on its investment team, effective July 14, 2025. Wilbanks Partners led a national search on behalf of NHRS to identify investment professionals with the requisite experience and vision to lead NHRS’ Private Markets staff.

Johnson will report to Chief Investment Officer Raynald Leveque. The role is a new position that is part of an initiative announced in the fall of 2024 to bring in house a larger share of the investment decision-making activities.

"This was a great search partnership with CIO Raynald Leveque and Executive Director Jan Goodwin. The team is on the move with a well-thought-out, multi-year agenda to increase the returns and service levels for participants of the State of New Hampshire. We are proud of the small role we played as a recruiting partner in this process,” remarked George Wilbanks, Managing Partner.

“Wilbanks Partners’ search work continues to be driven by private market firms and functions. Over a third of our work has historically had a mission-driven aspect, like working with this large public fund." Wilbanks said.

Johnson joins from the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System where she was a Managing Director – Investments, responsible for the $11 billion real assets portfolio, including real estate, infrastructure, energy, and natural resources asset classes. She previously held investment leadership roles in real assets with the State of Connecticut Retirement Plans, Franklin Templeton Investments, and the New York City Retirement System. She started her career on Wall Street as a securities analyst with Credit Suisse and Prudential Financial. She earned her undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the New Hampshire Retirement System, an organization known for its thoughtful approach to long-term investing and commitment to its members,” Johnson said. “I look forward to working with the investment team, the Independent Investment Committee and the Board of Trustees to strengthen the private markets portfolio through disciplined and innovative strategies that support the system’s long-term objectives.”

NHRS pursues an investment strategy designed to achieve its long-term funding requirements. The goal is to meet or exceed the retirement system’s 6.75% assumed rate of return over the long term while managing the risk, return, and liquidity of the portfolio.

Johnson was honored in 2025 as a member of the Wall Street Hall of Fame sponsored by the National Association of Securities Professionals, New York Chapter. She is an Executive Board member of the Pension Real Estate Association, a member of the Institutional Limited Partners Association, a Limited Partner Advisory Council member of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, and an Investor Board Member of the Alternative Investments Forum Global. Johnson is a former board member and treasurer of the New York Covenant Community Development Corporation.

About NHRS
NHRS provides retirement, disability, and death benefits to its eligible members and their beneficiaries. The State of New Hampshire and nearly 470 local government employers participate in NHRS for their employees, teachers, firefighters, and police officers. NHRS has approximately 48,900 active members and 45,000 benefit recipients. NHRS administers a defined benefit plan qualified as a tax-exempt entity under sections 401(a) and 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

About Wilbanks Partners
Wilbanks Partners is an executive search firm serving the asset and wealth management industry. George Wilbanks spent over 20 years building the asset and wealth management practice at Russell Reynolds Associates to an industry-leading position before starting his own firm. Earlier he had worked with a venture capital and family office business, Agtek International, and then The Dreyfus Corporation in business development as Assistant to the Chairman. A graduate of Williams College with a degree in Political Philosophy, he subsequently earned his MBA at New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business.

George Wilbanks
Wilbanks Partners llc
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