March 12 (Bloomberg) — New Jersey named Christopher McDonough director of investments, overseeing the 12th-largest public pension in the U.S.

McDonough, 37, had been acting director of the state Treasury's Investment Division since September, after Timothy Walsh resigned in August to run North American operations for Hong Hong-based real-estate investor Gaw Capital Partners. A resident of Philadelphia, McDonough had been deputy director since 2010, helping manage about $20 billion of alternative investments and more than $15 billion of international equity.

"He is both a good investor and good manager of people and he will be a great leader of the division," Bob Grady, chairman of the State Investment Council and of the search committee, said in a statement from the Treasury Department yesterday.