Spring Academy Investment Forum

Reino Ecklord is a Managing Director of Investments at Sawdust Investment Management Corp, a private investment company that manages the investment portfolios of the Circle of Service Foundation and a single-family office created by the founder of CDW. Reino is a generalist, working on investments across all asset classes and is part of the team that sets the strategic direction of the portfolios. Reino has a BSBA in Finance from the University of Connecticut and holds both the CFA and CAIA designations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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.

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.

Nishi Shah has been a Director, Public Investments at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2024. Previously, Nishi spent nine years as a Founding Partner and the Head of Research of Old Farm Partners, a firm focused on allocating to hedge funds and co-investments. Prior to that, she spent nine years at Soros Fund Management where she was an allocator, an equity research analyst and a legal analyst.

Nishi holds a BA with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania. She became a CFA Charterholder in 2017. She has served on the Finance Committee of the Northstar Community Foundation since 2017 and is a Board Member and on the Investment Committee of the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

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.

Karen Horn Welch is Deputy, Chief Investment Officer at Spider Management Company, which manages approximately $6 billion in endowment assets for the University of Richmond and other non-profit institutions. In this role, she is involved in leading asset allocation and manager selection across the portfolio. She also works closely with Spider’s non-profit clients and their investment committees. Prior to joining Spider Management in 2016, Ms. Welch worked at Stanford Management Company from 2007 through 2015. She served as Director, Portfolio Strategy, leading asset allocation, portfolio strategy, and co-managing a portfolio of direct investments. Previously, she was Director of Public Equity, managing the endowment’s global public equity and long/short hedge fund portfolio. Prior to joining the Stanford Management Company, Ms. Welch worked at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she served as Manager of Investments. Ms. Welch previously worked as a Research Associate at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard University Center for International Development and began her career at JP Morgan. Ms. Welch received a BA with honors in Economics and International Relations from Bucknell University and an MPA with a focus on international economics from Harvard. She is a CFA charterholder and member of Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Welch serves on the Investment Committee for CommonSpirit Health, a non-profit health care system, and on the St. Christopher’s School Foundation Board. She has also served on the St. Christopher’s Board of Governors as a member of the Bucknell University Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Brian Neale is a seasoned investor and leader with more than 20 years of professional experience working with both for-profit and not-for-profit institutional clients. As a process and outcome-oriented professional, Brian focuses on creating value through repeatable processes central to the management of institutional asset pools. His experience includes working with university endowments, defined benefit plans, captive insurance entities, healthcare entities, and liquidity portfolios. Currently, Brian is responsible for discretionary management and oversight of more than $3.0B of investable assets on behalf of the University of Nebraska Foundation. In this role, his principal duties include managing the internal investment team, establishing long-term asset allocation policies and short-term tactical tilts, manager research and selection, portfolio construction, compliance, and oversight for all endowment portfolios. Brian also has sole portfolio management responsibilities for an internal pool of capital that is in excess of $725M. These efforts provide financial support to four distinct campuses with student enrollment of 52,000. Additionally, he serves as principal investment liaison to the Foundation’s Investment Committee and Board of Directors, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents Business and Finance Committee, and numerous other constituent groups. Executive management responsibilities include leading the investment office team as well as serving as a member of the Foundations Executive Leadership Team, DEI Committee, and Retirement Committee. Brian enjoys sharing his knowledge and views with others and is a frequent contributor as a panelist and/or moderator for a variety of industry events. One of his favorite aspects of his professional career is having the opportunity to mentor interns and others new to or interested in the investment profession. In addition, he has served as a guest lecturer for both undergraduate and graduate-level programs.

Ms. Fefer is a senior investment professional with over 20 years of experience in investment management, asset allocation, and organizational development. Ms. Fefer is a former Investment Manager at DUMAC, Inc., a professionally staffed investment office that manages $27 billion of endowment and other Duke-related assets. Ms. Fefer led private investments in emerging and established general partners across venture capital, leveraged buyout, credit, natural resources, and real estate for 15 years, and prior to that focused on public securities. She has served on the boards of Rock the Street Wall Street and the American Dance Festival and currently serves on the Editorial Committee for the Academy of Institutional Investors and on the boards of Global Connections for Change and Kaleidoscope Dance Theater. Ms. Fefer earned a bachelor of arts in mathematics from Duke University and is a CFA charterholder.

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.

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.

Muthu is the Chief Investment Officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, stewarding the institution’s assets to create returns that advance the CHOA mission. Previously, he oversaw the strategic and sustainable growth of Group Health Foundation’s investments. Muthu is a seasoned asset management professional, with experience investing globally across various asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, real estate, real assets, and both public and private investments in emerging economies. He has led investment teams and strategies at Emory Investment Management, Covariance Capital Management, the University of Richmond, the State Board of Administration of Florida, and RSM Equico. Outside of work, Muthu reads a lot of nonfiction books, stays active by bicycling or jogging, and enjoys watching Tamil movies. He also likes to travel, including visiting his family and community in India. Muthu holds a BHM from Mangalore University and an MBA from Rollins College.

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.

• Daniel Clifton is a Partner and Head of Policy Research for Baird Strategas LLC. In this capacity, Mr. Clifton evaluates the financial market implications of policy and political developments. This includes analyzing trade, tax, healthcare, energy, and other policy initiatives to determine how public policy changes impact the economy and financial markets for institutional investors.

• Daniel leads the #1 ranked Washington policy team on Wall Street in the 2025 Extel U.S. All-America Research Survey (formerly Institutional Investor). Mr. Clifton has been ranked as a top Washington policy analyst in each of the past eleven years. Daniel is also a top ranked analyst in the category of Tax and Accounting Policy.

• Mr. Clifton’s research on the interaction between policy, elections, and financial markets is widely cited in the media and Daniel is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business.

• Prior to joining Baird Strategas, Mr. Clifton was Executive Director of the American Shareholders Association (ASA), a non-partisan, non-profit organization which analyzes public policy affecting shareholders. In this capacity, Daniel was part of coalitions that successfully lowered capital gains and dividend tax rates to 15 percent in 2003, a repatriation tax holiday on foreign source revenue in 2004, and reform of the nation’s private-sector pension system.

• Prior to joining ASA, Mr. Clifton lobbied for tax reform and served as a senior staff member in two gubernatorial administrations working on economic and fiscal policy issues. Daniel has also worked in various capacities on elections at federal, state, and local levels.

• Mr. Clifton received both his BA in Urban Planning and his MS in Public Policy from Rutgers University where he was a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics and a Harold Martin Fellow for Public Policy.

Dr. Pippa Malmgren is an economist who makes sense of the world economy and geopolitics by writing books, by founding tech businesses, by advising policymakers around the world and through public speaking and teaching. Her specialty is understanding the nexus between geopolitics, tech innovation, strategic security, and markets. She is a Strategic Advisor to C10 Labs, the MIT Media Lab based AI Venture Builder Studio. She is also on the Board of Premios Verdes which holds the annual “Green Oscars” to support the best cleantech start-ups in emerging markets. She is on the YPO Learning Advisory Partners Faculty from 2023 through 2026. She is on the Advisory Board at Kragon Space, a satellite firm, and a Founder member of LUNARC, a project to ensure the first human institution on the moon represents the arts and humanities. She has also served on the Judging Panel of The King’s Awards for Enterprise since 2017 and is a Senior Associate Fellow of RUSI, the world’s leading defense think tank. She launched an award-winning robotics firm in 2014 and remains an advisor to several startups in cutting-edge tech, including space, nuclear fusion, batteries, and lunar logistics. She writes a column about the world economy and geopolitics on Substack

She served President George W. Bush in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and on The National Economic Council. She served on the President’s Working Group on Corporate Governance and The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. After 9/11 she was also assessed Terrorism Risks to the Economy and Pentagon procurement from tech startups. Before joining the White House, she ran the Bankers Trust Asset Management business in Asia and then served as the Global Chief Currency Strategist. She was then named the Deputy Head of Global Strategy at UBS. More recently she advised the British Cabinet on trade issues as a Board Member for The Department for International Trade from 2017-2019. In 2014, she co-founded a robotics firm that made industrial drones, which won the 2020 Cog X Award for Autonomy, the 2020 National Technology Award, and Power Product of the Year 2020. She was a Senior Advisor to The Monaco Foundry, a European start-up incubator for impact-led founders from 2020-2024. She previously served on the Advisory Boards of the Legatum Center at MIT, The Ditchley Foundation, and Indiana University.

Her most recent bestseller, The Infinite Leader, won the International Press Award for the Best Book on Leadership for 2021. Her book, The Leadership Lab, was named Business Book of the Year and Best Book on Leadership in 2019 and won the International Press Award 2020. She is also the author of: Geopolitics for Investors (2015) and Signals: How Everyday Signs Help Us Navigate the World’s Turbulent Economy (2016/7). She has been named one of the Fifty Top Inspiring Women in the UK and one of the Top 100 in Tech by @WATC_WeAreTech. In 2024 she was awarded the Mission College Women in Leadership Prize.

She has a BA from Mount Vernon College and an M.Sc. and PhD from LSE. She completed the Harvard Program on National Security. She gave the graduation address at the London School of Economics in 2013 and 2016.

Robert (Bob) McNally is the founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, a Washington, DC-based independent energy market intelligence, policy, and geopolitical risk advisory firm. Robert has 35 years of government and market experience as an international energy consultant, White House energy advisor to President George W. Bush, and hedge fund strategist. He is the author of Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices (Columbia University Press, 2017), a standard reference on oil price cycles and supply management, recognized with the 2018 PROSE Award (Honorable Mention, Economics), the 2023 Marcel Boiteux Award from the IAEE, and the 2024 Adelman-Frankel Award from the USAEE.

Robert has testified before Congress on energy markets and national security and is regularly interviewed by leading media outlets, including 60 Minutes, CNBC, and Bloomberg News. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Special Assistant to the President on the White House National Economic Council and, from January to June, 2003, Senior Director for International Energy on the National Security Council. For 12 years, Robert worked as an energy and macroeconomic strategist in Washington, DC, for Tudor Investment Corporation, rising to partner. He began his career as a gasoline market analyst at Energy Security Analysis, then based in Washington, DC.

Robert earned his B.A./B.S. in Political Science and International Relations from American University and his M.A. in International Economics and Foreign Policy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

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.

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.