BOSTON (AP) – Harvard University, whose wealth recently surged past $25 billion, tapped a specialist in emerging market debt Friday to oversee its endowment and try to extend a yearslong streak of hugely successful investing.

Mohamed El-Erian, a recent candidate to lead the International Monetary Fund, will become CEO of Harvard Management Co. early next year. He succeeds Jack Meyer, who helped grow Harvard’s endowment from $4.7 billion when he arrived in 1990 to $25.9 billion at last report.

El-Erian, 47, is a managing director at Pacific Investment Management Company, a California-based firm specializing in fixed-income assets. He also was a candidate to be IMF managing director last year but was passed over for former Spanish Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato.

Friday’s announcement came after Harvard interviewed several candidates about the position, and last month appointed a temporary chief investment officer.

During Meyer’s tenure, Harvard was criticized by some alumni for paying managers as much as $35 million in bonuses and salaries. But Harvard, noting the bonus system was tied to beating benchmarks, said the its managers earned billions for the school and could command far higher salaries on Wall Street.

Meyer himself earned $7.2 million in the year proceeding HMC’s 2004 report. In a telephone interview, El-Erian declined to discuss details of his compensation, but James Rothenberg, university treasurer and chairman of the HMC board, said El-Erian “will have the same opportunities to earn dollars as Jack did.” He added that Harvard wanted to hire a CEO before contemplating broad changes in HMC’s compensation structure or its relationship to the university.

“I think the elements of compensation will certainly include a fairly heavy piece in terms of how the endowment does compared to benchmarks,” Rothenberg said.

At Pimco, El-Erian has managed a $28-billion portfolio in emerging market debt, as well as other bond and fixed-income investments. At Harvard he also will oversee and pick outside managers for portfolios of stocks, real estate and venture capital.

Previously, El-Erian was at Solomon Smith Barney, and before that at the IMF for 15 years.

“It allows me to continue to do what I’ve been doing, which is investment management, and do it within an academic community,” he said. The job, he added, offers “a large, patient and stable capital to work with” a talented staff and “a very clear mission.”

Meyer, who announced his departure in January along with four other top HMC managers, is preparing to open his own investment firm, Convexity Capital Management. Among his clients will be Harvard, which has said it will invest up to $500 million with the new company.