A managing director with UVA’s endowment who grew up in Charlottesville died suddenly Sunday of a blood clot in her brain, according to reports confirmed by a colleague.
Sherri King, 39, joined the University of Virginia Investment Management Company in 2012, said UVIMCO CEO Larry Kochard, and oversaw fixed-income investments at the fund, one of the largest public school endowments in the country.
“It’s just devastating,” Kochard said Tuesday. “She was here two and a half years, but it feels like she’s been here so much longer.”
According to a report from Bloomberg, King was born in Germany while her military father was stationed there but spent her childhood in Charlottesville. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duke University and an MBA in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business, according to her profile on UVIMCO’s website. King had a high-profile career on Wall Street between 1997 and 2012, working for Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns, and JPMorgan Chase. Her husband, Patrick O’Connor, told Bloomberg they moved to Charlottesville because they wanted to raise their kids—now 2, 4, and 6—in the town where King grew up.
Kochard called King a rare talent, and said she was beloved by those who worked with her, both at the fund and at the nonprofits with which she was involved.
“That combination of smart and nice, patient and analytical—it’s hard to find,” he said. “Everyone viewed her as more than just a colleague. She was a friend to everyone.”
