Verna Kuo

Ms. Kuo is the founder and principal of VHK Investments, LLC, providing advisory services and investment acumen in real assets and private equity.  Ms. Kuo serves as a senior investment advisor for several top tier university and foundation endowments including Georgetown University, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Moore Foundation, and Bowdoin College.  In this capacity, she originates and underwrites new private equity and real assets investments and assists in the management of the current endowment portfolio. Additionally, Ms. Kuo currently serves as a Senior Advisor to three real estate and private equity firms. 

From 2006 to 2014, Ms. Kuo was the Director of Real Assets at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. At the Foundation, she was responsible for investing and managing the Foundation’s $1.5 billion global real estate and natural resources portfolio, including REITs, private funds and co-investments. She served on 26 Advisory Boards while at the Foundation and on the internal investment committee, overseeing the entire portfolio.  Ms. Kuo has been the PREA Conference Co-Chair in 2002, 2013, and 2018 (Investor Conference).   Prior to the Hewlett Foundation, Ms. Kuo was the Director of Real Estate and Natural Resources at the Stanford Management Company from 1999 to 2005. At Stanford, she co-managed and built the endowment’s $3 billion global real estate and natural resources portfolios. She served on the internal Portfolio Management Committee and on fifteen Advisory Boards. Previously, Ms. Kuo held positions at Hines, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the Corporation for National Service.

She currently serves on the Advisory Boards for Hillcrest Financial and Artemis Real Estate Partners (The Emerging Managers Program), on the Investment Committee of the Harbage Foundation, and on the Board of the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club. Ms. Kuo earned her BA degree from Stanford University and her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she recently served as Reunion Co-Chair.