Fall Academy Investment Forum

Yulia Alekseeva is Head of Fixed Income at MissionSquare, where she leads investment strategy, asset allocation, portfolio construction, manager selection and risk oversight across Fixed Income and Alternatives. Yulia previously held multiple leadership roles at Barings, having served as Head of Consumer Asset-Based Finance, Head of Global Securitized Credit Research and Portfolio Manager for the Global Fixed Income group, managing $25B in AUM. Prior to that, she held investment positions with CPP Investments, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Yulia holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she triple-majored in Finance, Strategy, and Entrepreneurial Management. She also holds a B.A. in Economics and Master of Finance from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. She is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Mark Refermat serves as Global Head of Portfolio Strategy at Voleon, where he leads Voleon’s portfolio strategy efforts and helps institutional investors understand the firm’s investment strategies and the application of machine learning in finance. He works closely with Voleon’s research team to develop investment solutions, portfolio analytics, investment insights, and strategy narratives that connect the firm’s research to client portfolios. Before joining Voleon, Dr. Refermat spent nearly a decade developing and communicating quantitative investment strategies at Man Group. He holds a Ph.D. from EDHEC and a degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and is based in Berkeley, California.

Brendt joined the Colgate University Investment Office in 2016 after serving the university in various administrative roles beginning in 2001. Prior to his work at Colgate University, Brendt started his investment career in Minneapolis, MN working for the hedge fund group, EBF & Associates. He received an MBA from the University of Iowa and BA in Finance from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Brendt resides in Hamilton, NY with his wife and two children.

Sargent is a partner and serves as the chief investment officer for the firm’s endowment and foundation business. Prior to joining Brown Advisory, he was a managing director and senior member of the investment team for the University of Virginia’s endowment office (UVIMCO) for 11 years. While at UVIMCO, he led multiple strategies across public and private equity, served as a member of the investment committee, and was involved in all aspects of the investment process and portfolio risk management. Prior to UVIMCO, he spent 11 years as a portfolio manager for Invesco’s global equity group, where he led research efforts on a variety of global sectors and served as the head of developed market equities from 2009 to 2013. Prior to Invesco, he worked in sell-side equity research in New York as a research associate for both Sanford Bernstein and PaineWebber.

Education

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MBA
• University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce, BS Certifications
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®)

Thomas Duetoft is the Senior Portfolio Manager for the Senior Loan Strategy. His responsibilities include the selection, due diligence, structuring of investments, and the management of the Senior Loan Strategy to achieve its investment objectives. He is a member of the Direct Lending Operating Committee of Pemberton Capital Advisors LLP and a member of the Credit Review Committee.

In his capacity as Head of Client Solutions Thomas is responsible for leading strategic client engagement with a focus on product partnerships and capital formation across private credit.

Thomas joined Pemberton in 2014. Prior to that he was a Managing Director at RBS, where he held a number of roles including Head of European Loan Trading and Head of Credit Trading, Asia ex-Japan.

He has over 25 years of experience in loan and credit markets. Previously he was a Managing Director at Dresdner Kleinwort, responsible for European Loan Trading from 2001-2006. He began his career in finance in 1998 at Citibank.

Thomas graduated from the University of Copenhagen with a Master of Law.

Sam is a multi-time startup founder. He is currently the Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel at Unburdn (www.unburdn.ai) an AI Enablement company working primarily with family offices and private equity funds. He has an eclectic background: he attended medical school, switched to law school, clerked for a US federal judge, earned a patent license, practiced at a top 5 law firm (Simpson Thacher and Bartlett), and then in 2009 dove headfirst into the technology start-up world. Sam founded successful companies on the cutting edge of technology, including: mobile, blockchain (commercial use cases), video games, and AI. He has trained over one thousand sales professionals and formed partnerships with companies like CBS, IBM, WPP, and OpenAI.

Sam is also a professor and teaches AI for law and business at the University of Southern California Law School. He is on the national board of a non-profit. For fun, Sam loves to box, played baseball in college, studies history and finance, and enjoys spending time with his family. His wife is a famous estate planning attorney and best selling author. He believes the five most important words are: “surround yourself with good people.”

Mr. Gingold is a Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Strategy for Silver Point Capital’s Direct Lending business, where he is a senior member of the investment team focused on portfolio construction, product design, and client engagement.

Mr. Gingold previously served as a Managing Director in Credit and Structured Solutions at Francisco Partners, where he spent seven years. Earlier in his career, he was a Managing Director in Distressed and Leveraged Credit at Angelo Gordon & Co., a Director in Commercial Restructuring at Alvarez & Marsal LLC, and Director of Sales at George Weston Bakeries, Inc. He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Salomon Smith Barney.

Mr. Gingold received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Coming Soon

Prior to starting at the Fuqua Family Office and Foundations in spring 2022, Jim did buyside equity research covering consumer and tech stocks the prior 14 years at three long/short and one long-only investment firms. Before graduating with an MBA from Chicago Booth in 2009, he was a consultant at McKinsey, did high grade and high yield credit research and was an associate at a small private equity firm. Jim also holds a BA from Williams College (2001).

Erika Murphy is a portfolio manager in the Global Asset Allocation division at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals. GAA is an investment team within Fidelity’s Asset Management Solutions division, an investment organization that provides industry-leading multi-asset solutions to the retail and institutional marketplace.

Prior to assuming her current role, Erika was a managing director at Wellington Management, where she designed and managed custom multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios for large institutional clients globally. She also played a key role in Wellington’s sustainability and climate research initiatives. Earlier in her career, she worked as an investment professional at GAM’s hedge fund of funds, and she served as an analyst within Ernst & Young’s valuation advisory practice. Erika joined Fidelity in 2022 and has been in the financial industry since 2005. Erika earned her Bachelor of Science from Villanova University.

Katie is an investor at the Columbia University endowment, where she is a generalist on the team managing $13bn across asset classes and geographies. Prior to joining the endowment in 2019, Katie began her career on the Mortgage Trading desk at Goldman Sachs. Katie received her BA in Applied Math-Economics from Brown University and her MBA from Columbia Business School.

Laura B. Wirick, CFA, CAIA – Managing Principal/Consultant, Maketa Investment Group

Ms. Wirick joined Meketa in 2008, and has 23 years’ experience in the institutional investment industry. She serves as the lead consultant for public, endowment, foundation, and pension clients, with a focus on investment and asset allocation policy, investment manager selection, and oversight of client portfolios. Ms. Wirick is the Chair of Meketa’s Executive Committee and the Endowment & Foundation Practice Group, and serves as a member of the Investment Policy and Consulting Leadership Committees.

Prior to joining the firm, she was a senior investment analyst for the Dartmouth College Endowment. While at Dartmouth, she participated in setting asset allocation policy, and selecting and monitoring both traditional and alternative investment managers for the Endowment. Prior to that, she worked with endowments and foundations as a senior consulting associate at Cambridge Associates, where her responsibilities included both qualitative and quantitative analysis of client portfolios and research on fund governance issues.

Ms. Wirick received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with concentrations in finance and international marketing from American University. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. Ms. Wirick also holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation and is a member of the CAIA Association®. In February 2023, she earned the CFA Institute Sustainable Investing Certificate.

Ms. Wirick is a member of the CFA Society San Diego and the Women in Institutional Investments Network. She is an active participant at investment industry conferences and is regularly interviewed by industry publications, including a recent interview with the Financial Times.

Torsten Slok is Partner and Chief Economist at Apollo. Prior to joining in 2020, Torsten worked for 15 years on the sell-side, where his team was top-ranked by Institutional Investor in fixed income and equities for ten years. Previously, he worked at the OECD in Paris in the Money and Finance Division and the Structural Policy Analysis Division. Before joining the OECD, Torsten was with the IMF in the division responsible for writing the World Economic Outlook, and the division responsible for China, Hong Kong, and Mongolia.

Torsten studied at University of Copenhagen and Princeton University. He frequently appears in the media and has published numerous journal articles and reviews on economics and policy analysis, including in the Journal of International Economics, Journal of International Money and Finance, and The Econometric Journal.

Jason Love is a managing director at UVIMCO and is responsible for Real Estate and Resource investments. He also takes the lead on direct private investments across multiple sectors. Mr. Love serves as a member of UVIMCO’s investment committee and is involved in all aspects of the investment process. He joined UVIMCO in October 2012.

Prior to joining UVMICO, Mr. Love spent the majority of his career as a private equity investor and investment banker. He was a principal at Allied Capital Corporation in Washington, D.C., where he invested in private debt and equity securities, and also worked for Asgaard Capital and the Breckenridge Group, both boutique investment banks serving middle-market companies. He has further worked in an operational capacity for Luxbaum Windows + Doors, a family-owned manufacturer of custom wood windows and doors.

Mr. Love received a B.S. in commerce from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and an MBA degree from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

John Regan (JR) is a Founding Partner and the Chief Investment Officer of PermCap, a Multi-Family Office Investment Manager with offices in New York City, Charleston, SC and San Diego, CA. Founded in 2011, PermCap has grown to $4.6 billion in assets, serving endowments, foundations and family offices. Prior to founding PermCap, JR was a Senior Investment Officer at Cornell University’s endowment, responsible for hedge funds, private equity, and overall endowment liquidity. JR served as a member of the Executive Management Group, overseeing all endowment activities, and helped lead the restructuring of the endowment after the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to Cornell, JR was the Founding Partner and CIO of Steeple Capital, a long-short equity hedge fund with offices in San Francisco and New York. JR also served as a Principal and Portfolio Manager with Andor Capital, a $10 billion equity hedge fund. He has held senior investment positions with Bessent Capital, JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management and Train Smith Investment Counsel. JR began his investment career at Morgan Stanley in commodities trading and equity research. JR is a long-standing member of Tufts University’s Board of Advisors for Athletics and former Co-Chair of the Tufts Athletics Campaign. He serves on the Advisory Boards of The Citadel’s Baker School of Business and the MUSC Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery. Previously, he was a foundation board member at The Porter-Gaud School in Charleston and represented PermCap’s ownership on the board of Meetup, Inc. until its 2024 sale. JR also served as a trustee of Poly Prep Country Day School, where he chaired the Investment and Advancement Committee, and as a board member of Girls Who Invest. JR graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Political Science from Tufts University where he competed for four years as a member of the Men’s Track and Cross Country Teams. He earned an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and studied abroad at The Yale in China program at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Michael Mauboussin is Head of Consilient Research for Counterpoint Global. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2020 and has 39 years of investment experience. Prior to joining the firm, he was director of research at BlueMountain Capital Management, head of global financial strategies at Credit Suisse, and chief investment strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management.

Michael is the author of The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012), Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition (Harvard Business Press, 2009) and More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places-Updated and Expanded (New York: Columbia Business School Publishing, 2008). More Than You Know was named one of “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time” by 800-CEO-READ, one of the best business books by BusinessWeek (2006) and best economics book by Strategy+Business (2006). He is also co-author, with Alfred Rappaport, of Expectations Investing: Reading Stock Prices for Better Returns—Revised and Updated (Columbia Business School Publishing, 2021).

Michael has been an adjunct professor of finance at Columbia Business School since 1993 and is on the faculty of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham and Dodd Investing. He received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009 and 2016, and the Graham & Dodd, Murray, Greenwald Prize for Value Investing in 2021. Michael earned an A.B. from Georgetown University. He is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of the Santa Fe Institute, a leading center for multi-disciplinary research in complex systems theory.

Greg is an innovative leader of our $7.3 Billion Pension Trust including asset allocation, risk management, alternative assets, equities, etc. Creative practitioner of TPA (Total Portfolio Approach). Greg spent 10 years as a hedge fund CIO and 15 years on the sell-side Asia equity including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Macquarie, and UBS Warburg. Northwestern University: MBA majors in Finance, Economics, OB, and International Business; Virginia Tech: BS Industrial Engineering & Operations Research.

Frank serves as Chief Investment Officer for North Dakota Trust Lands, a $9B state sovereign wealth endowment for the benefit of public schools in North Dakota. North Dakota Trust Lands manages 2.6 million mineral acres, 700,000 surface acres and 13 permanent education trusts, the largest being the Common Schools Trust Fund. Since 2013, the Common Schools Trust Fund has distributed more than $2 billion to North Dakota public schools and distributions have increased from 8% to 24% of the state funding share of public education, reducing the burden on local property taxpayers and the state’s general fund.

Previously, Frank managed the hedge fund portfolio at New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association, a $19B public pension, where he built a $1B portable alpha hedge fund program comprised of multi-strat, event driven, equity long/short, fixed income RV, CTA and macro strategies ported over core bond beta.

Frank holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is a CFA charterholder and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Mark is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Pemberton. He chairs Pemberton’s Management Committee and is a board member of Pemberton Asset Management S.A. and Pemberton Capital Advisors LLP.

Mark was previously the lead portfolio manager for Pemberton’s Mid-Market Debt strategy from inception in 2014 until 2021 and subsequently led Pemberton’s Working Capital Finance strategy before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2023.

He has over 30 years’ experience in credit markets and was formerly a Managing Director at RBS between 2003 and 2010, where his responsibilities included RBS’ principal finance and FI securitisation businesses in Europe.

Mark holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics with Statistics from the University of Bristol.

Danita Johnson is Head of Private Markets at the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS), where she oversees investments across private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure. She has more than 20 years of institutional investment experience spanning public and private markets.

Prior to joining NHRS, Johnson held senior investment roles at the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and the Connecticut Office of the State Treasurer, where she managed diversified real assets portfolios including real estate, infrastructure, energy, and natural resources. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the Private Real Assets team at Franklin Templeton Investments and held roles as a Real Estate Investment Officer with the New York City Comptroller’s Office, as well as an Analyst at Prudential Financial in the Equity Research Group and at Credit Suisse in the Credit Risk Management Division.

Johnson holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and serves on several industry advisory boards, including SEO, AIF Global, ILPA, FTSE Russell’s Private Markets Advisory Committee, and the Executive Board of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).

Ben Dell is a Managing Partner of Kimmeridge and oversees investment activity across the firm. He is closely involved in the screening of new geological opportunities and in the negotiation and execution of investment strategies.

Prior to founding Kimmeridge, Mr. Dell was a Senior Equity Research Analyst for Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (E&P) at Sanford C. Bernstein, where he was ranked first three times in the Institutional Investor Research Survey for coverage of E&Ps. Mr. Dell was also ranked for Natural Gas and for Oil Services and Equipment coverage. Mr. Dell joined Sanford C. Bernstein in 2003. Prior to joining Bernstein, Mr. Dell was employed at British Petroleum (BP) in its M&A and finance group. Before moving into the finance field, Mr. Dell also held positions as an exploration geologist and geophysicist across several of BP’s regional business units.

Mr. Dell is currently CEO of Chestnut Carbon, a nature-based carbon removal developer and is on the Board of Kimmeridge Texas Gas (“KTG”), a large private natural gas producer in South Texas. He previously held positions as Chairman of the Board and interim CEO of Civitas Resources, Inc. (“Civitas”), a company that formed from the merger of Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. and Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. Mr. Dell earned an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in Earth Sciences from St. Peter’s College, Oxford.

Coming Soon

Nicholas Csicsko joined Trinity Wall Street in 2016 as part of the organization’s first internal investment office. Nicholas works on a small team as a generalist helping to build and oversee Trinity’s $3.5B Endowment. Prior to Trinity, Nicholas was a member of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s investment team. Nicholas received a BA from Indiana University, MM and PhD from the Juilliard School, and holds both the CFA and CAIA designations.

Lisa J. Pattis is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Next Chapter Holdings, based in Highland Park, Illinois. The firm manages investments for the Pattis family and The Pattis Family Foundation. Previously, Ms. Pattis served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC). Prior to Wintrust, Ms. Pattis was a partner in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP where for nearly two decades she specialized in corporate governance, securities law, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic counseling for public and private companies. She began her career with the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Department of State, focusing on microenterprise lending in Africa and Latin America. Fluent in Spanish, Lisa has lived in Peru and Mexico. Ms. Pattis holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Princeton, a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford, and a JD from Northwestern. She serves on the boards of several community and cultural organizations, including as a Trustee of The Newberry Library, where she chairs the Finance and Investment Committee, and of the National Philanthropic Trust, where she chairs the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Among other recognitions, Ms. Pattis was named a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow (2005) and one of Crain’s “40 Under 40” (2006). Ms. Pattis resides with her husband Mark R. Pattis in Highland Park, Illinois and Asheville, North Carolina.

Chris Crampton is a Managing Director at Blue Owl and the Head of Strategic Equity. Previously, Chris was a Partner at Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman”) where he was the head of Services private equity investing and prior to that led Industrials private equity investing in the Merchant Banking and Asset Management Divisions. While at Goldman, he was a member of the Global Corporate Equity Investment Committee and Growth Sub-Investment Committee and represented Goldman on various corporate boards. Prior to Goldman, Chris worked in the investment banking group at Deutsche Bank Securities. Chris serves on the board of the ‘Sconset Trust, a non-profit committed to land conservation, historical preservation, and related educational and recreational initiatives in Siasconset, Massachusetts. Chris received an AB degree in History from Princeton University.

Andrea Szigethy is the Founder and CEO of the Academy for Institutional Investors (AII), where she has spent more than two decades bringing together some of the most sophisticated minds in the investment world. With over 26 years of experience designing educational programs for institutional allocators and managers, Andrea is known for creating environments where meaningful relationships, high‑quality content, and genuine community thrive.

Andrea discovered her passion for producing events early in her career while organizing pharmaceutical conferences. She quickly realized she loved connecting senior executives, building networks, and curating timely, relevant topics for discerning audiences. That passion carried into the investment industry, where she has since built a reputation for fostering trusted, long‑term relationships in a relaxed, non‑sales‑driven atmosphere.

At AII, Andrea’s mission is simple: combine high‑caliber investment education with a close‑knit community experience. Each event is intentionally designed to spark new ideas, deepen professional bonds, and create friendships that feel like an extended family. While the Academy welcomes new members at every gathering, Andrea remains committed to keeping the community intimate, sophisticated, and highly engaged — with a limited number of managers and service providers to preserve the quality of interaction.

Before founding AII, Andrea served as Principal and Director of Marketing and Branding at Morgan Creek Capital Management (2006–2016), where she led the firm’s branding, public relations, client education, events, and marketing strategy. She previously spent six years producing financial conferences and managing research, development, sales, and relationship management. Earlier in her career, Andrea worked at North Shore University Hospital in New York as a vocational rehabilitation job coach and began her professional journey at Computer Associates on Long Island.

Andrea serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for CFA Society North Carolina and is a founding member of the North Carolina chapter of 100 Women in Finance. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Albany and completed graduate coursework toward a Master of Arts in Social Work at Adelphi University.

Outside of work, Andrea loves spending time with her adult daughters and close friends. Andrea and her husband enjoy traveling, spending time at the NC beaches and playing golf and pickleball together. Andrea is a devoted music lover, she never misses a chance to see live concerts or Broadway shows of any kind.

Liza Scott joined CornerStone Partners in 2023 as Managing Director and serves as the CIO for a subset of the firm’s non-profit clients. She was previously the Director of Asset Management/Assistant Treasurer at Dominion Energy, Inc. where she oversaw over $20 billion of pension and other assets. Prior to Dominion, she spent 11 years at Spider Management Company, the investment office of the University of Richmond and outsourced investment office for over 25 other endowments and foundations. Before Spider Management, she was an Associate at J.P. Morgan Investment Management in New York. Prior to attending business school, Liza was a high school teacher at a New York City public school through the New York Teaching Fellows program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in foreign affairs and Spanish from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. Liza serves on the University of Virginia Foundation Board of Directors and the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees.

Jim Candelmo is an executive vice president and head of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions areas for PNC Bank. In this role, he is responsible for the enterprise program within the Independent Risk management (IRM) organization.

Before joining PNC, Jim Candelmo was the Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer (CAMLO) with Capital One. Jim was responsible for leading and overseeing all facets of company’s AML program, including adherence to KYC, Sanctions and applicable Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) laws and regulations. Prior to that he led the AML program at Ally Financial.

Jim is a career Federal Prosecutor and former member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Council for the state of North Carolina. He is the current Chair of the Association of Certified Anti- Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)

Advisory Board, member of the FBI’s National Security Partnership Alliance, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations’ Bank Forum, ABA Money Laundering Enforcement Committee, and a board member of the Bank Secrecy Act Coalition.

His awards include the Department of Justice’s Director’s Award for Terrorism Prevention and National Security for his work in public/private partnerships combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the Central Intelligence Agency

Seal Medal for his contributions to our National Security. Jim was also named “AML Professional of the Year” by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering.

Jim attended the University of Dayton School of Law where he was named to the Law Review. After graduating law school, he served on active duty with the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, during that time Jim received his

Master of Law in International Law from Georgetown University. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Marko is a macro and geopolitical expert at BCA Research, a global investment research firm. He provides in-depth analysis that combines geopolitics and markets in a framework called GeoMacro. He is also the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future. At BCA, Marko leads the firm’s premier service, BCA Access, that allows clients to unlock access to custom research and the vast expert network that BCA has cultivated over its 76 year history. Previously, Marko was a partner at an alternative asset management firm in California where he provided his investors and clients with controversial market calls, bold views, and around-the-clock research. He helped seed global macro hedge funds and curate several funds, across public and private markets. His work on incorporating geopolitics into the asset management industry has become part of the CAIA curriculum. Born in Belgrade, Serbia, he has lived in Iraq, Jordan, Switzerland, Canada, and the U.S. He has lectured at the top universities and you’ll frequently see him in global news media.

Chief Economic Advisor to Group CEO, Equity Group Holdings; Head of Macro-strategy, FIM Partners;

Chief Economist, RenCapAfrica & Author, The Fastest Billion and The Time Travelling Economist

Charles Robertson, a leading emerging and Frontier markets specialist, is Chief economic advisor to Group CEO Dr James Mwangi, of the largest east African financial group, Equity Group Holdings. He is also FIM Partner’s Head of Macro-strategy, an economic consultant for Nigeria’s RenCapAfrica and writes for the Financial Times’ FDI Intelligence magazine. Mr. Robertson covers the global economic themes having the greatest impact on emerging and Frontier markets, including democratisation, demographics, education, electricity, ESG, fertility, pension funds, savings, terrorism, as well as key ways to examine exchange rates, debt and equities in emerging and frontier markets.

Mr. Robertson published The Time Travelling Economist in 2022, outlining 3 centuries of economic development and the education, energy and demographic lessons for Frontier markets in Asia and Africa in the coming 50 years. It was runner-up in the African Business Book of the Year in 2023 by BCA Leadership. He is also the lead author of The Fastest Billion: The Story Behind Africa’s Economic Revolution (www.fastestbillion.com), published in October 2012, and is often found on twitter @CharlieTTEcon. His TED Global talk has attracted over a million views.

Charlie is the only Frontier analyst to be in the Hall of Fame, having won top spot in 10 separate years. In his previous roles, Charlie was voted the #1 Frontier analyst in the Extel survey in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, #1 Frontier analyst in Institutional Investor in 2019, and Renaissance Capital was the #1 rated Frontier firm in both 2016 and 2017. He was previously ranked the number-one economics and macro analyst for emerging Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the Extel survey in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In addition, the team he led was ranked the best macro team in Extel’s 2010 survey of equity investors. Another of Charlie’s teams took 1st place for SSA coverage in the institutional investor survey for 2012.

In 2021, Charlie was the first non-African to receive the “African Icon” award from African Banker as his work has helped change perceptions about Africa and position the continent as a serious investment destination.

Mr. Robertson graduated from the London School of Economics in 1993 and worked at a UK parliamentary defense think-tank and a research boutique until joining the financial services industry in 1998.

Mark Steed is Chief Investment Officer for Arizona PSPRS, a public pension plan with approximately $9 billion in AUM. Over the last 10 years at Arizona PSPRS, Mr. Steed has managed Private Equity, Venture Capital, Absolute Return, Opportunistic Credit, Public Equity, Global Trading Strategies and Real Estate portfolios. His creative approach and notable performance across disparate asset classes won him recognition as a “Rising Star” by Money Management Magazine and, later, “Asset Allocator of the Year” by Institutional Investor. Mr. Steed recently concluded a four-year stint as a forecaster for the distinguished Good Judgment Project, led by Dr. Phil Tetlock at UPenn, and recently published the first guest-post on the popular decision science blog Farnam Street. Prior to Arizona PSPRS, Mr. Steed worked in Banking at JPMorgan Chase. Mr. Steed graduated with a Masters of Science degree in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. He also has an MBA from Thunderbird’s School of Global Management (Jost Henkel Scholar) and received his BA (with honors from Sigma Iota Rho) in Latin American Studies and Business Management from Brigham Young University.

Vanita is Managing Director of DFO Management, LLC. Previously, she was the managing director of public investments for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s $14 billion investment portfolio. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2016, she was the Director of Research at Ehrenkranz Partners, L.P., a New York-based multi-family office, where she was responsible for investments across asset classes, including fixed income, equities, hedge funds, private equity, and real assets. Before joining Ehrenkranz Partners, L.P. Vanita served as a Director in alternative investments at Credit Suisse, where she was responsible for research and portfolio management across several hedge fund strategies. Prior to Credit Suisse, she held roles in asset management at The Blackstone Group and J.P. Morgan Chase. Vanita serves on the Board of the Prison Law Office, a California-based organization that strives for fair and humane treatment of prisoners, and Neighbors Together, a New York City-based non-profit dedicated to fighting hunger and poverty in Central Brooklyn. She earned her BA in Mathematics and Economics from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.

Sheru Chowdhry is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer at DSC Meridian Capital, an opportunistic credit investment firm focused on generating returns across the credit cycle.

Prior to launching DSC Meridian Capital, Mr. Chowdhry was Head of Credit Research and Portfolio Manager at Paulson & Co. and managed the Paulson Credit Opportunities Funds. He was the first credit hire at Paulson & Co. in 2004, and was promoted to Partner in 2007, to Head of Credit Research in 2009 and to Portfolio Manager in 2015. During his tenure, he oversaw a team of 15 credit professionals and represented Paulson & Co. on several creditor committees and Boards of Directors.

Prior to Paulson & Co., Mr. Chowdhry was a Vice President at DebtTraders Inc. and focused on high yield and distressed securities research. Mr. Chowdhry started his career in 2000 in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at J.P. Morgan as an Associate.

Mr. Chowdhry has an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor of Technology from IIT Bombay. He currently serves on the NY Tri-State Board of Pratham, one of the largest non-for-profit in India, that seeks to provide quality education to underprivileged children in India.

David Gilmore is the Chief Investment Officer of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The Foundation has $3.2 billion in assets and will make over $150 million in grants this year. The portfolio is invested across all asset classes including public equities, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and real assets. Prior to joining the Foundation, David helped start The Ohio State University investment office in 2009 and served in several senior roles. The investment office was responsible for the investment management of the University’s $3.5 billion long-term investment pool. David was previously a partner at Gerber/Taylor Capital Advisors, Gerber/Taylor is an independent investment advisory firm. During his tenure the firm consulted on over $20 billion in assets and managed over $3 billion in discretionary fund of funds mainly focused on hedge funds and private equity investments. David earned his BBA from Baylor University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Memphis. David holds the Certified Financial Planner™ professional (CFP®) designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.

Jeremy Heer is the Managing Director, Investment Research & Engagement at the University of Illinois Foundation. In this role he advances learning, research, and engagement activities within the Investment Office. He supports and advances the Foundation’s thesis-driven and outbound sourcing efforts and diligence through conducting research and analysis, acting as a thought partner to the rest of the investment team, and acting as a bridge to the investment community and University of Illinois System development partners. Previously, Jeremy was the senior portfolio manager for the strategy group at the University of Chicago. In this role, he primarily supported the Managing Director of Strategy in developing and managing the overall investment strategy for the endowment and other University pools of capital. He also served as the senior portfolio manager for the University’s investments in private equity limited partnerships during his time there. Jeremy has also held roles in multi-asset investment management for Singer Partners, UBS Global Asset Management, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and has worked in risk management and derivatives-related roles at Morgan Stanley and Cargill Investor Services. Jeremy earned an MBA with concentrations in finance and statistics from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a BS in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a CFA Charterholder, a grader of the exam, and a contributor to the curriculum. He also volunteers for the CFA Society of Chicago and currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, Jeremy is a CAIA Charterholder and serves on CAIA’s Allocator Advisory Council.

Christine Zapotoczky Kelleher is managing director, client portfolio management, at Strategic Investment Group, where she directs the development, implementation, and ongoing management of client investment portfolios. Previously, she was chief of investments for the National Gallery of Art, senior investment officer for Georgetown University, and managing director for Avec Capital. Earlier in her career, she served on the executive team of the Central European University, founded by George Soros, in Budapest, Hungary. Christine is a member of the American Chemical Society’s Pensions & Investments Committee, 4-H National Council’s investment subcommittee, and The Academy for Institutional Investors’ editorial board. She received a BA in Russian and international relations from Bucknell University and holds MAs in Russian and East European studies and in Central European history from Georgetown University.

Larry Kochard is a Senior Advisor, board member, and the retired Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Makena Capital Management. Prior to his retirement at the end of 2024, Larry was a member of the three-person Executive Committee that ran the firm. He led the investment process and managed Makena’s investment team. Larry was previously the CEO and CIO of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO). As CEO, Larry provided leadership for all aspects of UVIMCO’s operations and served as UVIMCO’s primary representative to the university, related foundations, and the public. As CIO, Larry was responsible for the investment management of UVIMCO’s Long Term Pool, overseeing the asset allocation, portfolio management, risk management and manager selection activities of the investment staff. Prior to joining UVIMCO, Larry served as CIO at Georgetown University. From 2001 to 2004, he was Managing Director of Equity and Hedge Fund Investments for the Virginia Retirement System. From 1997 to 2004, he taught in the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, first as an adjunct and later as a full-time assistant professor. Larry received his BA in Economics from the College of William & Mary, an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Rochester, and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Virginia. He is a CFA Charterholder. Larry currently chairs the Investment Advisory Committee for the Virginia Retirement System, serves on the board and chairs the investment committee for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation and is on the investment committee of Eighteen48. Larry previously served on the board of directors of Janus Henderson Group, Inc. and the Virginia Environmental Endowment, and chaired the investment committee for the College of William & Mary’s endowment. Larry was the 2015 winner of the Rodney H. Adams Award for Endowment Management from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), which recognizes outstanding contributions to university endowment and investment management. Larry is a longtime moderator and speaker at endowment and foundation conferences, and is the author of several industry publications, including Foundation and Endowment Investing: Philosophies and Strategies of Top Investors and Institutions. He will continue to teach investment courses at the University of Virginia.

Mike Masters founded Masters Capital Management in 1994 with a vision for an investment company that would align with his professional and personal values. More than twenty years later, the firm has a great track record. Mike is proof that a conscience-first approach to investing can be both financially and ethically rewarding.

A lifelong learner, Mike takes a unique approach to markets and investing, applying principles from philosophy, psychology and behavioral finance. He has become a sought-after industry expert who shares his knowledge and perspectives in a variety of ways. He has presented his ideas in front of the United Nations General Assembly, the Canadian Parliament and numerous colleges and universities, including Harvard, Georgia Tech, and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, CBS News, CNBC, BBC and BBC Korea, and in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Der Spiegel and The Nikkei Veritas. He has authored and co-authored white papers that take a close look at the social role of markets and the real human impacts of speculation.

While his firm largely flies under the radar, Mike is better known in Washington, D.C. In the last decade, he has testified before many congressional committees and government agencies in an effort to hold the financial industry accountable for the downstream effects of its collective actions. As an industry insider, his perspective has proven invaluable to government agencies like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Senate Homeland Security Committee, the House Energy Subcommittee and the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.

Mike is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was an All-American swimmer. The 2004 winner of the “Open Your Heart” award from Hedge Funds Care, he currently serves on the boards of several charitable and private organizations.

Ms. Molnar joined Fairfax County Retirement Systems in 2013 and currently serves as Chief Investment Officer of the Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System, a $2 billion plan. Her responsibilities include all aspects of portfolio management and oversight, including strategic and tactical asset and risk allocation, selection and supervision of external investment managers and risk management. From 2001 until 2012, Ms. Molnar was Vice President, Senior Research Analyst at AIG Investments’ Hedge Fund Solutions Group – both in London and New York. At AIG Investments, Ms. Molnar was responsible for due diligence procedures and research including: sourcing new managers, monitoring current hedge funds, analyzing portfolio risk and performance, making new investment recommendations to an investment committee as well as hedge fund asset allocation recommendations for portfolio construction. She was additionally responsible for portfolio reviews and overall asset allocation recommendations for external client portfolios. Previously, she was Vice President, Market Research Analyst at Citigroup Investments’ Alternative Investment Strategies group. Prior investment management experience includes positions at Paribas Asset Management as well as Trevor Stewart Burton & Jacobsen. Additionally, Ms. Molnar spent one year in Warsaw, Poland launching the first retail mutual funds available to the Polish market as well as two years in Frankfurt, Germany as an intern with J.P. Morgan. Ms. Molnar received a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a CFA Charterholder.

Mark E. Roberts, CFA serves as the Chief Investment Officer for Ironsides Asset Advisors, LLC, as well as a Managing Director for the Tuscarora Company (a family office).  Immediately preceding, Mr. Roberts was the Director of Global Equities and Hedged Strategies for the North Carolina Retirement Systems where he and his team were responsible for the management of the $33 billion Global Equity and Hedge Fund portfolios for the State of North Carolina.  Additionally, Mr. Roberts has provided consulting services for endowments and foundations.  Mr. Roberts served as Director of Risk Management for Centura Bank and had asset – liability management responsibilities.  Mr. Roberts received his Master of Science degree in finance from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Calloway School of Business at Wake Forest University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the North Carolina Society of Financial Analysts and the American Finance Association.

Mr. Roberts serves on the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Philanthropic Advisory Board and on the NC Investment Authority Board for the State of North Carolina Retirement System.  Mr. Roberts is the past Chairman of the Board for the NC State University Investment Fund and has served on multiple non-profit boards.

Erik Sebusch is a Partner at Mercer Alternatives boutique, specifically focused on Private Equity. He is the Global Strategy Leader of Venture Capital and Growth Equity. In addition to fund research, Erik is involved in co investments and secondary opportunities. Before Mercer, Erik was a Partner with a San Francisco-based Venture Capital / Growth Equity manager Presidio Partners FKA CMEA Capital. His primary duties were managing the corporate strategic investors, traditional institutional limited partners and early-stage technology investing. In addition, Erik served on the boards of multiple technology companies, led technology investments and served on the Investment Committee while at CMEA. Prior to CMEA, Erik spent nearly 12 years at UPS. Erik began in New Product Development, and Innovation then moved to the Corporate Venture Capital group and lastly worked as a Private Markets Portfolio Manager to over a $5 billion allocation to private assets in the $30+ billion UPS Pension. Before UPS, he spent ten years working as a high-net-worth financial consultant for Merrill Lynch and private practice for individuals and family offices. Erik holds an International MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management and serves on over 20 limited partner advisory boards.

Kyle Stewart serves a Senior Investment Director at Children’s Health Medical Center Foundation based in Dallas, TX. Kyle focuses on the Foundation’s marketable investments including Public Equities, Diversifying Strategies, Fixed Income and Liquid Real Assets.

Prior to joining Children’s Health, Kyle was a senior investment professional at Irvington Capital and previously held roles at CTC myCFO, Taylor Investment Advisors and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Kyle holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas Tech University and a M.S. in Finance from Southern Methodist University.

Stephanie E. Szymanski is the Chief Investment Officer at Lakeview Capital Management, a single-family office in Chicago. She is responsible for asset allocation, due diligence, and portfolio and risk management for investments across public and private markets. Before joining Lakeview, Stephanie spent fifteen years in senior investment roles at two other single-family offices. Before becoming an allocator, she worked in a variety of roles in the financial services industry. Stephanie graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and earned her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2006. Stephanie is a member of the WHI Trust Company Investment Committee; PEWIN, including the PEWIN Foundation Board and PEWIN Midwest Events Committee; the Team IMPACT Midwest Advisory Board; and the global and Chicago chapters of the CFA Institute. She is also a mentor with Evanston Scholars and a Senior Advisor for WORC (Workforce & Organizational Research Committee).

Dan Ward is the Chief Investment Officer at GreenHawk Corporation, a Single-Family Office based in Raleigh, NC. He oversees all public and private investments and leads investment strategy and portfolio management. He also sits on the board of a specialty finance company and on the board for the North Carolina Investment Authority. Previously, Mr. Ward was at the Virginia Tech Foundation from April 2008 and led its endowment until his departure in June 2023. Mr. Ward has been in the investment industry since 2000 and prior to Virginia Tech he was the director of research for Integritas Advisors, a multi-family office, from July 2004 – April 2008. Mr. Ward holds a BBA from The University of Michigan Business School, a MBA from The University of Florida Warrington College of Business and is a CFA charterholder.

Emily serves as the Chief Investment Officer and chair of the investment committee at the firm. In her role, Emily provides oversight and guidance in managing and coordinating all aspects of investment activities and strategies consistent with its mission, objectives, and established policies. Prior to joining the firm, Emily was an Investment Officer at Oklahoma State University and a Vice President within the Investment Management Group at Hatteras Funds where she focused on sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management of alternative investments strategies across public and private asset classes. Emily received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph Macon College with majors in both Business/Economics and Accounting. Emily also obtained her Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from the University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School. Emily is a CFA® charterholder and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.