An investment executive with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is the newest trustee for the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy appointed Ethan Schutt on Wednesday.
Schutt said he’s excited to be joining the board of the $67 billion fund.
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“The permanent fund touches every Alaska household, so it’s an awesome responsibility,” he said. “And it’s a little bit intimidating, but I look forward to it.”
Schutt said he’ll aim to strengthen the fund “for the long-term benefit of Alaskans, making sure that the permanent fund really is permanent by overseeing the prudent investment of the corpus of the fund.”
Schutt was raised in Tok. He’s an attorney who was a law clerk for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Walter Carpeneti.
He’s also served as general counsel for Tanana Chiefs Conference and an executive for Cook Inlet Region Inc. He oversaw CIRI’s energy investment portfolio, including the Fire Island wind project. He also managed CIRI’s 1.5 million acres of land, including oil and gas leasing.
Schutt currently manages the tribal health consortium’s investment portfolio as the CEO of Alaska Native Resource Development and chairs the board of Alaska Pacific University.
The biography of Schutt posted on the permanent fund’s website says he and his wife are the “proud parents of five hockey players.”
Schutt said his enthusiasm for the state and his experiences have prepared him to be a trustee.
“I anticipate doing a lot of homework early on to come up to speed with the responsibilities as a trustee,” he said.
The board’s annual meeting is Sept. 23 and 24.
Schutt’s term is four years.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
