Chris Hartnoll, CEO and Managing Director of HICO Investment Group, discusses how the firm is approaching AI adoption across its multi-asset class endowment style portfolio and direct investment platform. He explains why preparation, security, and operational groundwork must come before any meaningful AI deployment, and shares early signs of productivity gains and improved risk identification. Practical guidance on experimentation, leadership mindset, and the urgency of starting now makes this essential listening for LPs and allocators considering their own AI journey. Chris Hartnoll operates at the intersection of institutional investing and industrial technology. At HICO Investment Group, he has built a global multi-billion dollar platform that pairs a sophisticated multi-asset class endowment style portfolio with direct investment and incubation of new ventures in sectors like maritime logistics and energy transition. In this episode, Chris unpacks what it means to prepare an investment office for AI: the security considerations, the folder structure decisions, the legal questions around data protection, and the cultural shift required to move from manual processes to AI-assisted workflows. The conversation is grounded in Chris’s background navigating high-stakes environments, from aerospace engineering at Rolls-Royce to Morgan Stanley M&A Advisory to the Royal Marines. He draws a direct line between the discipline of preparation in those fields and the approach HICO has taken to AI adoption: do the unglamorous operational work first, then experiment in discrete, measurable process steps. He argues that the allocator community has been slow to look inward and apply AI to its own processes, despite readily advising GPs and portfolio companies to do the same. What You’ll Learn: Why preparation and operational groundwork are the non-negotiable prerequisites for AI adoption in investment offices How HICO balances an endowment style portfolio with a company builder approach to direct investments and incubation, and what that means for information flow internally Why the allocator community has been slow to adopt AI despite advising portfolio companies and managers adopt AI How to start AI experimentation in discrete, measurable process steps Where early productivity gains are showing up: LPA summarization, manager interviews, and AI-assisted risk identification Why AI-enabled teams will respond faster and make better decisions during periods of rapid market change Why starting now is critical, even if full end-to-end AI integration is years away, and the cost of waiting If you enjoyed this conversation make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. About the guest: Chris Hartnoll is the CEO and Managing Director of HICO Investment Group, a global investment firm focused on maritime, logistics, and energy transition. Chris built and oversees a multi-billion dollar platform that includes a multi-asset class endowment style portfolio paired with direct investment and incubation of new ventures. Before founding HICO, Chris held roles in aerospace engineering at Rolls-Royce, M&A advisory at Morgan Stanley, and served as a Royal Marine. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.Episode highlights: [00:01:46] Background and Approach to Risk Chris traces the thread connecting his Royal Marines experience, aerospace engineering at Rolls-Royce, and Morgan Stanley M&A to how he thinks about preparation and risk management in investing. [00:03:31] Balancing Endowment Style Asset Allocation with Direct Investment Chris explains how HICO balances its capital allocation process and its direct deal-making and incubation activities, and why keeping the processes separate while sharing information has been key. [00:05:17] Why the Allocator Community Has Been Slow to Adopt AI Chris reflects on why investment professionals are quick to advise others on improvement but slow to apply the same lens to their own processes, and why CIOs have been reluctant to disrupt what they’ve built. [00:07:27] The Operational Groundwork for AI Adoption Chris details the unglamorous but critical preparatory work: security guardrails, data privacy, folder structure, legal review of GP document protections, and building the right digital infrastructure. [00:08:55] Early Signs of Value: Productivity and Risk Identification Chris shares where AI is already delivering: summarizing LPA documents, capturing manager interview data, and surfacing new ways of viewing risk. [00:12:57] The Future of the AI-Enabled Investment Office Chris outlines his vision for human-AI collaboration in investing, why private markets will continue to have a human-in-the-loop, and how AI-enabled teams will gain a decisive speed advantage during periods of market volatility. [00:15:39] Advice for Peers on the Fence Chris delivers his core message: be prepared first, then start experimenting immediately, because the learning curve is long and the cost of waiting is compounding. Episode resources: Chris Hartnoll on LinkedInHICO Investment Group WebsiteVictoria Sienczewski on LinkedInAuumAI Website
