As the author notes, most of the Meta Fund team is based in London. On previous recruitment rounds, the Meta Fund has taken steps to seek Fund managers from a wider set of locations, and will continue to do so in the future. Of course, the decision to appoint Fund managers is contingent on finding suitable candidates, and the location was one of a number of factors under consideration.
The management team system has been in place for over a year, so I think it’s pretty problematic that the Meta Fund’s team remains so concentrated geographically. Could you explain some of the specific steps that have been (or will be) taken to find managers from a wider set of locations?
I’m not really clear on how the manager selection process actually works, and how much of a role CEA takes relative to the Chair and other managers. And while I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, I’d be happy to set up a form where community members can nominate potential managers from a different location.
Fund managers are appointed by CEA on the recommendation of the Fund Committee (in the case of the Meta Fund, my understanding is that currently all committee members have input on the decision, with equally-weighted votes, though this is not the case on all Fund teams). My understanding from conversations with members of the Meta Fund team is that the last recruitment round considered candidates from several locations, with an emphasis on trying to find someone from the Bay Area. At least two promising candidates (both based in the Bay) were approached, but were ultimately unable to take the position. While the appointee (Peter McIntyre) does live in London, he’s originally from Australia, and has recently moved back from living in the Bay, and maintains strong connections there.
As an aside, I’d note that the team is somewhat more geographically diverse than is being presented here. While the plurality of the team currently lives in London, with a member in Hong Kong and an advisor in the Bay, they also come from five different countries, and as far as I know most have lived in several different cities.
I’m happy to forward nominations for Fund managers (for any of the Funds) on to their respective Chairs. The best thing to do is send me an email at sam[at]centreforeffectivealtruism[dot]org.
Thanks for this background info Sam! Glad to hear that people from more places were considered in the last recruitment round. Were there any candidates from the US-excluding-Bay (which has more EAs than the UK, Bay Area, and Australia combined)? Did the candidates from the Bay who were approached give any reasons for why they couldn’t/wouldn’t take the position (e.g. is the volunteer nature of the role a limiting factor)?
I’ll email you some nominations (and FWIW, if the fund managers agree this is a priority it’d be great to also solicit nominations in higher profile places like the EA newsletter).
The management team system has been in place for over a year, so I think it’s pretty problematic that the Meta Fund’s team remains so concentrated geographically. Could you explain some of the specific steps that have been (or will be) taken to find managers from a wider set of locations?
I’m not really clear on how the manager selection process actually works, and how much of a role CEA takes relative to the Chair and other managers. And while I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, I’d be happy to set up a form where community members can nominate potential managers from a different location.
Fund managers are appointed by CEA on the recommendation of the Fund Committee (in the case of the Meta Fund, my understanding is that currently all committee members have input on the decision, with equally-weighted votes, though this is not the case on all Fund teams). My understanding from conversations with members of the Meta Fund team is that the last recruitment round considered candidates from several locations, with an emphasis on trying to find someone from the Bay Area. At least two promising candidates (both based in the Bay) were approached, but were ultimately unable to take the position. While the appointee (Peter McIntyre) does live in London, he’s originally from Australia, and has recently moved back from living in the Bay, and maintains strong connections there.
As an aside, I’d note that the team is somewhat more geographically diverse than is being presented here. While the plurality of the team currently lives in London, with a member in Hong Kong and an advisor in the Bay, they also come from five different countries, and as far as I know most have lived in several different cities.
I’m happy to forward nominations for Fund managers (for any of the Funds) on to their respective Chairs. The best thing to do is send me an email at sam[at]centreforeffectivealtruism[dot]org.
Thanks for this background info Sam! Glad to hear that people from more places were considered in the last recruitment round. Were there any candidates from the US-excluding-Bay (which has more EAs than the UK, Bay Area, and Australia combined)? Did the candidates from the Bay who were approached give any reasons for why they couldn’t/wouldn’t take the position (e.g. is the volunteer nature of the role a limiting factor)?
I’ll email you some nominations (and FWIW, if the fund managers agree this is a priority it’d be great to also solicit nominations in higher profile places like the EA newsletter).