Manuel Casanga joined the New York State Common Retirement Fund in 1997. He is the director for real estate and real asset investments. He’s been the director for real estate investments since August 2015, with further responsibility for real asset investments since July 2018. He manages a combined portfolio totaling $33.5 billion and develops the portfolio’s long-term investment strategy. Additional duties include investment and asset management responsibilities for the real estate portfolio. Casanga holds a BS in management from Rutgers University and an MS in real estate finance from New York University. Casanga is a veteran and retired from the New Jersey Army National Guard with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Lastly, he serves on the Pension Real Estate Association (“PREA”) Board of Directors as immediate past chair and on the PREA Foundation Board as secretary.