Winston H. Hickox

The Honorable Winston H. Hickox served as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, from January 1999 to November 2003. Mr. Hickox served as the Portfolio Manager for Environmental Initiatives at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). At CalPERS, Mr. Hickox helped implement California’s Green Wave program, an effort to improve long-term financial returns for pensioners through investments in the burgeoning environmental technology sector, while also reducing the risks to the pension funds posed by corporate environmental liabilities. Mr. Hickox has spent roughly half of his career in government and half in the private sector in the real estate investment management field. Former Secretary Hickox’s prior government service includes 7 years as a Special Assistant to the Governor for Environmental Affairs as well as Deputy Secretary for Environmental Affairs. From April of 1997 until January of 1999 he served as one of the Assembly Speaker’s appointees to the California Coastal Commission. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in April 1998 appointed Mr. Hickox to the Board of the $5 billion Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) where he continues to serve. His private sector experience includes management of a nearly $2 billion real estate portfolio for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) from 1987 through 1996. Earlier in his career he operated his own successful real estate investment firm, Hickox Financial Corporation.