Fall Academy Investment Forum

Steve Marino is the Managing Director of Private Markets for the State of South Carolina, a $38B Public Plan. Prior to this role, Steve managed the public equity and credit, and the derivative overlay portfolios. Prior to RSIC, Steve worked at Airgas Inc. in the corporate development group executing an acquisition roll-up strategy. Steve is currently a Board Member and Joint Investment Committee Member for the University of South Carolina’s Education Foundation (~$800M). Steve earned a B.S in Business and Economics from Lehigh University and was captain of the Men’s lacrosse team. He also earned an International MBA from the University of South Carolina. He is a dual citizen to the US and Italy and currently lives in Columbia, SC with his wife and two sons.

At the heart of every sale, every interaction between a leader and a team member, every conversation with a customer… is a connection. How to make those connections effective, and leverage them for greater success, is the thread woven into every one of Colette’s presentations. Colette teaches audiences how to transform relationships through the power of connected conversations. Her keynote programs are so personalized, attendees often assume Colette is one of them. She has the outstanding ability to connect through engaging content and laugh-out-loud humor. With a Master’s Degree in Human Behavior, and more than 20 years of experience helping individuals change behaviors that impact their success, Colette understands the psychology, mindset, and skills required to make positive, long-lasting change. Colette is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a designation held by fewer than 10% of the members belonging to the International Federation for Professional Speakers. In 2017, Colette was inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall Fame(r), a lifetime award that honors professional speakers who have reached the top echelon of platform excellence. Trusted clients include Boeing, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Federal Express, Fidelity, Domino’s Pizza, Great Clips, and the United States Government.

Nina has spent nearly thirty years in the investment management business. Her career encompasses the marketing and sales of a range of investment products to institutional investors. Her focuses have included private equity and alternative investment funds, in addition to other classes of equity and fixed income products. She spent thirteen years with investment management firms including The Putnam Companies and Invesco (formerly Chancellor LGT Asset Management). As Head of Sales and Client Service at Chancellor Capital, Mrs. Lesavoy developed one of the industry’s premier sales and client service groups comprised of 25 individuals. From 1990 to 1995, her team brought in 200 new institutional relationships and serviced the needs of over 450 clients. In 2000, after working for the CEO of Invesco Institutional, Mrs. Lesavoy joined InvestorForce, an institutional investment technology enabling company, and was instrumental in its development both as an early founding shareholder, as well as supporting the capital raise of $72 million. In 2003, Mrs. Lesavoy co-founded Cue Capital, which successfully advised a range of private equity and alternative funds. With the founding of Avec Capital, Mrs. Lesavoy focuses on personally investing in and assisting emerging PE, VC, and Real Estate funds with differentiated skills and strategies that look to access institutional and high net worth investor groups. Mrs. Lesavoy is an Independent Director on the U.S. SEI Mutual Funds Board, whose assets under management are approximately $100 billion. SEI U.S. Mutual Funds provide a solution-based manager of manager program for institutions globally. Her charitable involvements include New Heights, an organization founded in 2001 that uses inner city youth’s excitement and talent on the basketball court as a means to focus their attention on values and skills that stretch beyond athletic competition to find success in other areas of life, including education and career development. She is also a supporter of the Financial Futures Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2007 with the purpose of identifying, nurturing, and motivating minority or female students who may have career interests in the field of financial services, but lack exposure to the industry. Mrs. Lesavoy also sits on the senior advisory board of The Toigo Foundation. The Toigo Foundation, founded in 1987, provides minority students interested in the asset management business scholarships to the major business schools in the United States. Mrs. Lesavoy is a founding member of PE WIN. She is a member of the Duke alumni association and remains very active with Duke University. She served on the Trinity College board of advisors for two terms. Mrs. Lesavoy also participates in the Stanford University Fiduciary College, training pension fund trustees and staff on important fiduciary and ethical issues. She holds the Series 7 and 63 registrations with FINRA. Mrs. Lesavoy is a native New Yorker. She attended The Brearley School for 13 years. She received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University in Management Science and French Studies.

Chris Rudolph is a Senior Director of the Public Investments team at the UNC Management Company.
Prior to joining the UNC Management Company in 2006, Mr. Rudolph was the Director of Investments and Planned Giving at the BBC Foundation in Clarks Summit, PA. He began his career as a Supervising Senior Accountant with KPMG and has served on the boards of BBC Foundation and ReCity. Mr. Rudolph graduated magna cum laude from Cedarville University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Mr. Rudolph holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.

Eric Smith is the Chief Executive Officer and a founding member of Locust Point Capital. Under Mr. Smith’s leadership, in 2016 Locust Point Capital launched the first institutional private debt fund focused on the senior housing and care industry. Mr. Smith is responsible for establishing the foundation of the firm’s core investment philosophy. In addition, his extensive contacts and his strong understanding of senior housing debt markets have been a driving force in elevating Locust Point Capital to become a nationally recognized senior housing debt platform. With more than two decades of structured finance experience, Mr. Smith has spent the last 25 years originating, underwriting, and managing investments in long-term care, seniors housing, and healthcare services sectors. He has served as a partner/principal in seven prior healthcare investment funds. Throughout his career, Mr. Smith has participated in over 400 transactions representing approximately $1.8 billion in senior debt, mezzanine, and preferred equity investments within the long-term care, senior housing and healthcare services industries. Mr. Smith holds a B.A. in Economics from Allegheny College

Antonio Rodriguez is currently Director of Investment Strategy at the NYC Board of Education Retirement System where he works with the Executive Director and Board of Trustees on creating and implementing investment policy and strategy. Prior to his role at BERS he was Senior Pensions and Investments Officer at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Pensions and Investments where he represented the Finance Commissioner as Trustee on the New York City Police Pension Fund board and New York City Fire Department Pension Fund board. He was also a designated alternate trustee for the Mayor on the New York City Employees Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System of New York City. Prior to working in the Mayor’s Office of Pensions and Investments, he was Research Director at SEIU Local 1107 in Las Vegas and a Financial Analyst with the SEIU Capital Stewardship program in New York. Antonio is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

With more than two decades of financial industry experience and a diverse international background, Aoifinn Devitt plays an integral role in establishing Moneta’s long-term investment vision, philosophy and strategies. As the firm’s first female Chief Investment Officer, she aligns Moneta’s investment programs with broader firm goals while also overseeing the research, evaluation and selection of asset classes and investment vehicles. Devitt values knowledge sharing and education, which motivates her to ensure investors are informed as possible. She strives to reduce complexity and demystify the world of investing for them by educating rather than just giving advice. Devitt joined Moneta in 2021 with extensive experience working with institutional clients and alternative investments as well as overall portfolio oversight functions. Her global career – with stops in London, Hong Kong, New York City and now Chicago – helped open her mind and introduce her to new investing perspectives while stimulating creativity, innovation and adaptability. She has also seen a wide range of investment manager talent and has developed a robust network of industry contacts. Originally from Ireland, Devitt spent her early career working in London as an investment banking associate at Goldman Sachs International and a specialist consultant at Cambridge Associates Limited. Devitt also founded Clontarf Capital, a pan-alternatives research and consulting firm. More recently, she served as CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago and head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers Ireland Limited. Devitt is also a licensed attorney who has been a member of the New York Bar since 1996. She earned her law degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. She also earned her MBA from INSEAD in France and MSc in Applied Neuroscience from Kings College London. In addition to her work at Moneta, Devitt hosts and produces The Fiftyfaces Podcast, which showcases diversity and inclusion within the investments industry and other professions. She has run 38 marathons, is fluent in both German and French, and enjoys traveling.

Ken is the founder of Cordatius an agency-based management consulting company focusing on the investment offices of the long-term investors, across policies, technology, processes, and operations.
Ken was the President of ASPN Solutions (a spin-off of Protégé Partners), Head of Capital Markets business for EletrifAI (a spin-off of McKinsey), Head of Global Markets’ Pension Strategies and Solutions group at Deutsche Bank, and Head of Risk Management at Optima Fund Management. In 1998, he co-founded RiskMetrics Group (acquired by MSCI) where he held the position of Chief Knowledge Officer.
In 1998, Ken founded Investor DNA, with the belief there was a need to broaden the knowledge of long-term investors. His readership has grown to over 15,000 including many CIOs in North America.
Ken began his career at J.P. Morgan after completing a Doctorate in Civil Engineering at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. Ken has been married for almost 30 years and is the proud father of two grown children.

Rod Collins is a leading expert on digital transformation and the future of business. He is the host of The Thinking Differently Podcast on the C-Suite Radio Network, where he explores how technological innovations continue to transform the rules for how successful businesses work. Rod is a regular blog contributor on Medium and the author of Wiki Management: A Revolutionary New Model for a Rapidly Changing and Collaborative World, which highlights the innovative tools and practices used by a new breed of business leaders to sustain extraordinary performance in a world reshaped by digital disruption. Rod is the former Chief Operating Executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, one of the nation’s largest and most successful business alliances. Under his leadership, the business experienced its greatest five-year growth period in its 60 year history.

Campbell R. Harvey is a Canadian economist. He is a Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as President of the American Finance Association in 2016. Professor Harvey obtained his undergraduate degree from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He obtained his doctorate at the University of Chicago in business finance where his thesis discovered the power of the yield curve to predict economic recessions. He has served on the faculties of the Stockholm School of Economics, the Helsinki School of Economics, and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He has also been a visiting scholar at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He has published over 140 scholarly articles on topics spanning investment finance, emerging markets, corporate finance, behavioral finance, financial econometrics and computer science. He has received numerous best paper awards. He is a Fellow of the American Finance Association. Harvey is a Founding Director of the Duke-CFO Survey. This widely watched quarterly survey polls over 1,500 CFOs worldwide. Harvey edited The Journal of Finance – one of the three leading scientific journals in his field and one of the premier journals in the economic profession from 2006-2012. His publications can be found at http://people.duke.edu/~charvey/research.htm. Follow him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camharvey/

Pippa is an economist who brings simple sensemaking to the complexity of the world economy, geopolitics and technology. She draws on her experience as an Economic Advisor in the White House and as the Chief Currency Strategist, and as the Deputy Head of Global Strategy for global investment banks. She’s also been involved in robotics and autonomy having Co-Founded a firm which won the CogX Award in 2020 and which was shortlisted for the National Technology Awards in 2020. She has been named a Most Influential Woman in Tech by AccelerateHer and WeAreTech Women. She is also a bestselling author of award-winning books including The Infinite Leader (October 2020), The Leadership Lab, which won the International Press Award in 2020 and was named Business book of the Year in 2019 and Signals: How Everyday Signs Help Us Navigate the World’s Turbulent Economy, a crowd-funded best-seller (2016) and Geopolitics for Investors (2015). She gave the commencement addresses at the London School of Economics in 2013 & 2016. She lectures at Sandhurst and the Duke Fuqua Global Executive MBA program. She has also lectured at UT Austin, INSEAD and Tsinghua University. Pippa makes regular guest appearances on Bloomberg and the BBC including The Today Program, Newsnight, Hard Talk and on Monocle Radio.

Much to his chagrin, Grant Williams has reached 30 years in finance. Over that period, he has held senior positions at a number of Investment banks and brokers including Robert Fleming, UBS, Banc of America and Credit Suisse in locations as diverse as London, Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore. From humble beginnings in 2009, Things That Make You Go Hmmm.. has grown to become one of the most popular and widely-read financial publications in the world. Grant is a senior advisor to Vulpes Investment Management in Singapore, an advisor to Matterhorn Asset Management in Switzerland and also one of the founders of Real Vision Television-an online, on-demand TV channel featuring in-depth interviews with the brightest minds in finance. A regular speaker at investment conferences across the globe, Grant blends history and humour with keen financial insight to produce unique presentations which have been enthusiastically received by audiences wherever he has traveled.

Acclaimed for his stunning early predictions of Donald Trump’s victory and Brexit and for identifying the phenomenon that he named “Global Trumpism,” Brown University professor Mark Blyth energizes audiences with his sharp Scottish candor and no-nonsense insights into the interconnected impacts of global politics, economics and markets. Blyth’s ability to break down and clarify high-level financial and political issues for diverse audiences has made him a popular keynote for groups ranging from international investor conferences to trade associations. Blending essential knowledge with invaluable insights, Mark Blyth challenges conventional thinking and deeply informs economic, political, and technological forecasts. All with a thinking-person’s wit and insightful humor that make incredibly complex and difficult topics accessible, understandable, and refreshingly entertaining. Mark Blyth currently serves as the Eastman Professor of Political Economy at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Blyth also recently became the Director of the William R. Rhodes Center at Brown University. His research focuses upon the causes of stability and change in the economy and “why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets of evidence to the contrary.” Professor Blyth has authored several books, most recently Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea and The Future of the Euro. Austerity, which has been translated into 16 languages, won numerous awards, and the attention of Paul Krugman and Lawrence Summers. Reviewing Austerity in the Financial Times, Summers compared Blyth’s writing to that of John Maynard Keynes. Professor Blyth has also been internationally recognized for his work on macro-prudential regulation in finance (as a member of the Warwick Commission), the impact of economic ideas on politics and on exotic monetary policies. He is a regular contributor to Foreign Affairs and The Guardian and has appeared multiple times on NPR, BBC and Bloomberg. Professor Blyth is currently finishing up a new book on why electorates across the world are so angry, and what can be done about it. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Columbia University. Professor Blyth is known for working collaboratively with clients to tailor his presentations to their interests. As one client glowingly wrote about his presentation to senior level investment officers and executives, “Attendees appreciated the clarity and insightfulness of his remarks. Mark was able to strike a balance between focusing on the macro trends which are drivers of the current environment, while also providing some specific opinions about future and potential opportunities. He was exactly what we’d hoped for.

As Chief Investment Strategist for Cambridge Associates and a Managing Director of the firm, Celia is responsible for formulating our global investment strategy and portfolio construction advice. Since joining Cambridge in 1996, Celia has contributed to a wide range of research initiatives, including serving as one of the main architects of our Risk Allocation Framework and an author of the related report. She is the author of our quarterly publication, VantagePoint, in which she shares our house view and advice. Celia is a regular contributor to other research publications, covering a wide range of capital market, asset allocation, and investment planning topics. She is a frequent presenter and discussion moderator at the firm’s roundtables and various industry conferences. Before joining Cambridge Associates, Celia was a consultant for Harlan Brown & Co, a competitive intelligence consulting firm. In this position, she researched, wrote, and presented market analysis commissioned by Fortune 500 clients on a variety of consumer and industrial products. She also worked for the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), where she conducted research and wrote reports on retirement income security issues. Celia has an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia and a BA from University of Pennsylvania.

Susanne Gealy is a Senior Director of the investments team at Dignity Health based in San Francisco. She leads the organization’s public and hedge fund equity investments. Dignity Health is one of the largest health systems in the US, dedicated to providing quality, compassionate health care. The organization has an $11 billion investment portfolio, allocated across the long-term strategic goals, retirement benefits, endowment, and insurance. Prior to joining Dignity Health, Susanne spent 10 years at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, in Austin, a $150 billion retirement plan. At TRS, she was responsible for the $26 billion external equity investment program comprising US, international, emerging markets, and global equity managers. Before joining TRS, Susanne worked in New York at Investcorp, Lazard Asset Management, a family office, and Banc of America Securities. She began her career in finance at JP Morgan in equity derivatives. Prior to attending business school, Susanne worked in the field of structural engineering in San Francisco. Susanne holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. She has a M.S. and B.S. in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Susanne is a board member of Trinity Charter School, a Texas charter school district dedicated to the educational needs of abused children.

David Gilmore joined The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in 2014 to help build the investment office. The Foundation has $2.8 billion in assets and makes over $100 million in grants each year. David is responsible for the design and implementation of the Foundation’s asset allocation, investment manager selection and risk management. Prior to joining the Foundation, David served in several senior roles at The Ohio State University investment office which managed $3.5 billion. David was previously a partner at Gerber/Taylor Capital Advisors. 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(tm) professional (CFP(r)) designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.

Ms. Johns joined the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System in June 2011 and is a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Private Equity Group. Ms. Johns has over 15 years of investment experience and managing a global portfolio of institutional alternative investment assets. Ms. Johns has expertise and highly developed personal networks with top performing private equity and venture funds. Ms. Johns was recently included on Trusted Insight’s 2020 list of Top 30 Pension Private Equity Investors. Ms. Johns is co-President of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), and a member of both ILPA’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council and the SEO Alternative Investments Limited Partner Advisory Council. In 2018 PEWIN awarded Maryland with the 2018 Limited Partner award for Ms. Johns’ work in transforming the private equity industry with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Continuously invited to keynote at conferences including the AIF Institute Global Investor Series, Big Path Impact Capitalism Summit, Women’s Private Equity Summit, Women’s Alternative Investment Summit, GCM Grosvenor Consortium, Markets Group Private Equity US Forum, Kayo Private Equity Conference, Pension Bridge, Emerging Manager Connect, Equity Summit, Hispanic Heritage Foundation Investor Group, Institutional Investor Private Equity Summit, SEO and NVCA. Most recent panel topics included private equity terms & trends, portfolio construction, developing fund managers, diverse fund managers, diversity and inclusion, and venture capital. Ms. Johns has both a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Indiana University Bloomington and a B.S. in Computer Info Systems, Magna Cum Laude from Stevenson University. She graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a master’s in finance while working full time as an associate at Camden Private Capital, a private equity fund of funds. She has completed the ILPA Institute’s Private Equity Executive Education program.

Christine Zapotoczky Kelleher is chief of investments at the National Gallery of Art, responsible for managing the Gallery’s $1.3 billion endowment. Previously, Christine served as senior investment officer for Georgetown University. She assisted with the founding of Georgetown’s Investment Office in 2004 and served as acting chief investment officer in 2011. After Georgetown, Christine led investment strategy, sourcing, and evaluation for Avec Capital, a boutique investment advisory and placement firm. 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 Board of Investment Trustees for the Montgomery County Employee Retirement Plans and the Board of Trustees for the Consolidated Retiree Health Benefits Trust, the finance committee of the YWCA National Capital Area, the editorial board for The Academy for Institutional Investors, and the CAIA Allocator Council. She serves as a mentor for Accel CIO, accelerating tomorrow’s Black & Latino chief investment officers; an advisor to the Kayo Conference Series supporting women investors; and president of the Bucknell University Alumni Association. 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. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and son.

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.