2018 Chief Investment Officer Summit

| Harvard Club of New York City

SPEAKERS

  • Craig Barker

    Chief Investment Officer, University of Arizona Foundattion

    Craig Barker is the Senior Vice President of Financial Services/CFO/CIO of the University of Arizona Foundation. He is responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s Asset Management ($970MM at February 28, 2018), Accounting, Fiduciary Compliance/Gift Transactions, and Central Gifts. Craig joined the Foundation in April 2000, was promoted to Vice President and CIO in January 2005 and promoted to his current position in May 2006. He received a 2016 Industry Innovation Award (Foundations) from Chief Investment Officer. Prior to joining the Foundation, Craig spent 16 years in the audit and assurance division of Ernst & Young, where he was responsible for serving primarily publicly traded companies and nonprofit organizations. He is a certified public accountant licensed in both Texas and Arizona, and he received a “Top Ten” award from the Texas State Board of Accountancy. Barker graduated with a BS in business administration with high distinction from the University of Arizona. He serves as a Trustee of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and is a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church where he serves on the Finance Committee. He is a Past President of the Board of 88-Crime, Served as 10 years as the Treasurer for the Rotary Club of Tucson and served for 2 years as Treasurer for the Coronado Little League. Craig served as a coach/manager for teams in the YMCA Soccer League (2 years), AYSO Region 22 (3 years) and Coronado Little League (4 years). Barker, a Tucson native, is the proud father of identical twin sons who are seniors at the University of Arizona (Lukas) and Northern Arizona University (Jacob).

  • Karen Bater

    Senior Fixed Income Specialist, Aberdeen Standard Investments

    Karen Bater is a Senior non-US Fixed Income Specialist on the Institutional Business Development team. Prior to joining Aberdeen Asset Management in 2012, Karen served as Director of High Yield Strategies and Senior Portfolio Manager at Standish Mellon Asset Management responsible for managing US and global high yield portfolios. From 2000 to 2007, Karen led the high yield portfolio management team at NWD Investments Inc. She also spent 14 years at Wachovia Bank NA/Evergreen Investments and predecessor organizations where she served as a Senior Portfolio Manager on the Enhanced Yield team. Karen earned a BS from The Pennsylvania State University and is a CFA charterholder.

  • Paul Benjamin

    Director, Pension Investments, Alcoa Corp.

    Based in New York City, Mr. Benjamin is the Director of Pension Investments at Alcoa Corp. In 2017, he was named by CIO magazine one of the institutional investment Industry’s 40-under-forty. Currently, Mr. Benjamin is responsible for asset allocation, manager selection and risk management of Alcoa’s $7+ Billion in global Pension and Foundation assets. Prior to joining Alcoa, Mr. Benjamin was a Vice President at Brookfield Investment Management focusing on investment strategy and corporate development. Earlier in his career, Mr. Benjamin was an Investment Analyst and Fund Manager at General Motors Asset Management, where he was part of a lean investment staff responsible for $150+ Billion in Pension and Insurance assets. During his career at GMAM, he had a multi-disciplined focus culminating in the management of an internal dynamic asset allocation strategy. Mr. Benjamin completed his graduate studies at Cornell University where he earned an M.B.A. He earned his B.A. in Economics at University of Colorado Boulder. Mr. Benjamin is a CFA Charterholder.

  • Sean Bill

    Investment Program Manager, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

    Sean Bill has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He served as a Trustee for the City of San Jose’s pension board and is currently the Investment Program Manager at the VTA; at the latter he is responsible for the management and oversight of a multi-billion dollar portfolio. Sean is also an active Angel Investor, focused exclusively on FinTech; recent investments include AutoFi, Avant, Checkbook.io, Kueski, Lend Street Financial, LendSnap, Lyft and StratiFi. Sean believes that there is a massive opportunity to unlock value creation by reducing the friction between the owners of capital and the end users of capital. Prior to entering public service, Sean was a Principal at a Global Macro hedge fund. He is a frequent guest on Bloomberg Television, CNBC and Fox Business News, he brings a unique perspective on the interactions between pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and alternative investments.

  • Sanjay Chawla

    Senior Vice President and CIO, FM Global

    Sanjay Chawla is senior vice president and chief investment officer at FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial and industrial property insurers, where he manages all the company’s investment functions. Assets managed include general account and pension assets, combined total in excess of $20B. He is based in Waltham, Mass., USA. Chawla joined FM Global in March 2018 from Raytheon Company where he was vice president and chief investment officer, responsible for combined pension assets of US$38 billion. His investment management responsibilities at Raytheon included portfolio construction and asset allocation across public and private markets, risk management, operations, ongoing performance and managers’ monitoring and diligence. Prior to that, Chawla worked for Dow Chemical for 18 years and held various leadership roles in finance, primarily involving portfolio investments and treasury. Roles included global asset allocation, enterprise-wide and financial risk management at the corporate headquarters in Michigan, USA, and during expatriate assignments in Asia. He received an MBA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Va., USA, and a bachelor’s degree in commerce (honors) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University, India.

  • Amy Chen

    Chief Investment Officer, Smithsonian Institution

    Amy Chen joined the Smithsonian Institution in October 2006 and established its first Office of Investments. As the Chief Investment Officer, she oversees the management of the Smithsonian’s $1.5 billion endowment with a ten person team and is responsible for its investment strategy, manager selection and execution.  She led the diversification of the Institution’s traditional portfolio into alternative assets, including marketable alternatives, private equity and natural resources. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian belongs to the people of the United States and is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. Ms. Chen was previously the Portfolio Manager at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in New York and was instrumental in developing its portfolio from scratch. She has held senior finance and management roles in finance and non-profit organizations for the past 30 years. Ms. Chen serves as a trustee and co-chair of the investment committee at Oberlin College.  She was a former member of the Advisory Boards of the New York State Common Retirement Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.

  • Matt Clark

    State Investment Officer, South Dakota Investment Counsel

    Matt Clark has been the State Investment Officer for the South Dakota Investment Council since January of 2005. He joined the Investment Council in 1984 and was named Deputy Investment Officer in 2000. Prior to being named State Investment Officer, he managed or led the launch of several internally managed investment programs including fixed income, domestic equity, merger arbitrage, convertible arbitrage, international equity, and relative valuation asset allocation. Matt is a graduate of the University of South Dakota with a B.S. in Business Administration and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Matt is a member of the South Dakota Retirement Board of Trustees. He is a Past President and member of the South Dakota Investment Society. He serves on the Investment Committees of the University of South Dakota Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation. Matt and his wife, Pam, have three children.

  • Bill Coaker

    Chief Investment Officer, San Francisco Employees Retirement System

    Mr. Coaker is the Chief Investment Officer for the San Francisco Employees Retirement System, a $24 billion pension plan. He also served at SFERS from 2005 to 2008 on the senior investment team. From 2008 to 2014 Mr. Coaker served as Senior Managing Director for the University of California, with investments of $80 billion in pension, endowment, and campus assets. From 1992 to 2005 Mr. Coaker served at the Diocese of Monterey as their Chief Investment Officer and Controller where he managed the organization’s pension, endowment, and corporate assets. Mr. Coaker is a regular speaker on the Science and Technology Revolution, artificial intelligence, the life sciences, China, and investing in disruptive innovations. He is a published author, with eight articles published on investing. His education includes an MBA in Finance from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Science from Loyola Marymount University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder, a Certified Financial Planner, and completed continuing education on endowment investing from The Commonfund and the Yale University School of Management. He is a member of the National Council Leadership Committee for Best Friends Animal Society, the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary.

  • Clint Coghill

    CEO, Backstop Solutions Group

    Clint Coghill co-founded Backstop Solutions Group in 2003 as the Founding Chairman and has helped guide the company as Chairman of the Board for the last 10 years. Clint now leads the Backstop Executive Team as CEO. Prior to joining Backstop in an executive role, Clint was CIO of Coghill Capital Management, a successful Chicago-based hedge fund management company he started in 1995. Among his other professional pursuits, Clint was the Founding Chairman of NFTE Chicago’s Regional Advisory Board, which provides entrepreneurship programs to young people from low-income communities and reaches more than 2,000 youth per year. He is also the founder of two charitable Organizations, the Coghill Family Foundation and the Environmental Impact Initiative. Clint received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the London Business School.

  • Sean Crawford

    Chief Investment Officer, Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York

    Sean Crawford is the Chief Investment Officer for the State of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the largest transportation network in North America. Sean has the distinction of being named the Authority’s first Chief Investment Officer and is tasked with creating an investment culture and infrastructure as he oversees over $15 billion in defined contribution (401k/457), defined benefit (pensions), health and welfare (OPEB), and insurance assets. From 2000-2014, Sean held senior positions in manager research with Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), Barclays, Lehman Brothers, and McDonald Investments where he covered all traditional and alternative asset classes and led and developed high performing investment research teams. Also while at Barclays, Sean created, developed, and managed the firm’s first proprietary investment strategies offered in the US Market, an ETF Tactical Asset Allocation program and an income-oriented stock portfolio. Sean began his career as an analyst in corporate bond research at Salomon Brothers in 1997 before moving to National City Bank as a portfolio manager in 1998. He holds both a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) and a Master of Arts (Political Economy) from New York University. Sean has been a CAIA Charterholder since 2005.

  • Olivia Engel

    Senior Managing Director and CIO of Active Quantitative Equities, State Street Global Advisors

    Olivia is a Senior Managing Director of State Street Global Advisors and CIO of Active Quantitative Equities. She has global oversight of the broader AQE research agenda, investment process, portfolio management, and product innovation. Prior to serving as Deputy CIO for AQE in 2017, Olivia led the Active Quantitative Equities team in Asia Pacific, and was responsible for all benchmark unaware strategies globally for the team. Olivia joined State Street Global Advisors in 2011, after eight years at GMO, as a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Australian Equities group, responsible for portfolio management across all Australian strategies. She has been working in the investment industry since 1997 in roles including research, portfolio management, and trading. Olivia has a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University. She has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, is a member of the CFA Institute and is a Past President of the CFA Society of Sydney.

  • Scott Evans

    Deputy Comptroller for Asset Management and CIO, New York City Pension Funds

    Scott C. Evans is the Deputy Comptroller for Asset Management and Chief Investment Officer for the Office of the New York City Comptroller, which serves as investment advisor to the New York City Retirement Systems. With over $193 billion in assets, it is the fourth-largest public pension fund in the United States providing retirement benefits to over 700,000 members, retirees and their beneficiaries. In addition to his investment role with New York City, Mr. Evans serves as Trustee and member of the investment committee for the William T. Grant Foundation and is a member of the Investor’s Advisory Group of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Prior to his appointment Mr. Evans was most recently Executive Vice President of TIAA-CREF and President of its Asset Management subsidiaries. Past external investment roles include serving on the investment committees of the Dutch pension fund ABP, Tufts University Endowment, Rockefeller Family Fund (Chair) and Barnard College (Co-Chair). Other past external roles include serving as trustee of the IFRS Foundation, which sets accounting standards for more than 100 countries, member of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Improvement to Financial Reporting, Trustee of Barnard College, and Dean’s Advisory Council at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Evans holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He earned an M.M. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University.

  • Jeff Geller

    hief Investment Officer, Multi-Asset Solutions, J.P. Morgan

    Jeffrey Geller, managing director, is a Chief Investment Officer of Multi-Asset Solutions, where he is responsible for investment oversight of all mandates managed in New York. This includes providing oversight with respect to manager and strategy suitability and fit and ensuring that the team’s asset allocation views are reflected appropriately across a diverse set of mandates. Jeff is also a portfolio manager for less constrained multi-asset class portfolios as well as portfolios with alternatives exposure. Before joining the firm in 2006, Jeff was director of Hedge Fund Investments at Russell Investment Group and served as chairman of the firm’s hedge fund investment committee. Prior to that, he was a senior partner at Credit Suisse Asset Management’s BEA Associates unit where he had responsibility for managing equity, currency overlay and relative value arbitrage strategies. Jeff earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government  from Clark University and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He is a CFA charterholder and is Series 24, 7, and 63 licensed.

  • Brian Gonick

    Co-Chief Investment Officer, Senvest Management, LLC

    Brian Gonick became a board member of Senvest International in 1994 and joined Senvest full time as a Principal in 2008. In addition to serving as co-manager of Senvest’s flagship fund, Brian oversees the management of the firm’s investment team, business development and operations based in New York City. Previously he was a Portfolio Manager in the Media group at Balyasny Asset Management and the Director of Research/Senior Analyst at Corsair Capital Management. Prior to that, Brian worked as an investment banker for more than a dozen years and has experience in M&A, equity offerings and restructurings, primarily in consumer industries. He also worked for two Internet music start-up companies. Brian graduated cum laude from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with a BS in Economics. He serves on the board of the Greater New York chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

  • Rens Götz

    Head of Pension Asset Management, ABB

    Working for ABB since 2014, Rens is currently Head of Pension Asset Management. In this role he is leading the global process of asset allocation, from strategic and dynamic allocation, down to manager selection. Digitalization was vital in facilitating scalability and consistency of the process, improving local decision making using a risk managed framework. Previously, Rens was an ALM consultant for Dutch and European pension funds at Ortec Finance. Apart from being a CFA Charterholder since 2014, Rens holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry, Science Based Business from Leiden University.

  • Jon Hansen

    Managing Director, Cambridge Associates

    Jon Hansen is a Managing Director in the Boston office of Cambridge Associates. In his current role, Jon works with non-profit and family clients on both discretionary and advisory relationships. Jon oversees total portfolios for which he helps define investment objectives, establish asset allocation guidelines and implement manager exposure. Jon also specializes in alternative investments, working with clients to optimize exposure to hedge funds and other differentiated investment structures. Jon previously worked in Cambridge Associates’ research group where he was responsible for sourcing and monitoring managers across alternative investment strategies. Jon has written numerous research reports on performance and industry trends, and also is a regular contributor to news articles on the investment landscape. Prior to Cambridge Associates, Jon worked for Pearson Prentice Hall and the Houghton Mifflin Company. Jon received his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and earned his MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

  • David Holmgren

    Chief Investment Officer, Hartford HealthCare

    David joined Hartford HealthCare as its Chief Investment Officer to build a comprehensive, sustainable best-in-class structure for Hartford HealthCare members to efficiently pool their vast pension, endowment and insurance assets. Prior to joining HHC in May of 2010, David was Principal Investment Officer for the Connecticut State Treasury for 4 years and Executive Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at DSI/UBS Asset Management for 13 years. Prior work experience included three years in London doing brokerage at Jefferies and research at Extel (now Reuters). David is widely recognized for his long-term, top quartile performance record and often referenced as an industry expert on institutional manager selection, asset allocation and risk function design. David earned his MBA at Columbia University, BA in Economics at Denison University and studied French at Yale University.

  • Jason Klein

    Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, Investment Office, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

    Jason Klein is Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which he joined in 2008 to create the Investments Office. As CIO, Jason oversees $5+ billion in longterm global investment assets and leads asset allocation, manager selection and risk management efforts. The MSK investments team has achieved peer-based recognitions for innovation, portfolio construction and investment achievement. An active member of the endowment and foundation investment community, Jason is a member of the investment committees of Oxford University, Wesleyan University and the College Board; he is a current member of the Global Capital Markets Advisory Council for The Milken Institute and a former member of the Institutional Investor Advisory Council for the Managed Funds Association. Jason is additionally a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, a member of The Economic Club of New York and a Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association. Previously, Jason was the Chief Investment Officer for The Museum of Modern Art and a Vice President and Principal in the private equity division of Lehman Brothers; he has also been an Equity Capital Markets Associate at Prudential Securities and a Commercial Credit Analyst at Chemical Bank. Jason earned an MBA from Wharton, a JD from The University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA from Wesleyan University; he has also authored law review articles that were published by Stanford and Columbia.

  • Karianne Lancee

    Senior Pension Investments and Global Sustainability Manager, Univest Company (Unilever)

    Karianne provides investment services to Unilever’s 80 global pension plans with $30bn AUM. More specifically, she is responsible for the investment strategies of Unilever’s largest plans, including the US and Canadian plans. She is also leading the sustainable investment practice for Unilever’s global plans, working closely with local stakeholders to integrate ESG factors in decision making processes; including allocating capital that facilitates the transition towards a more sustainable economy. More recently, Karianne started putting her Nutritional Therapist skills to the test and got involved in rolling out well-being programs for Unilever’s global employees. Karianne studied at Cass Business School and graduated in 2009 with an MSc in Investment Management.

  • Kim Y. Lew

    Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, Carnegie Corporation of New York

    Kim Y. Lew is Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Carnegie Corporation of New York, a private foundation established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie that supports, “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” The $3.5 billion portfolio is global in scope and diversified by asset class and strategy. While at Carnegie, she also served as co-Chief Investment Officer and Director of Investments with responsibility for private equity. Prior to joining Carnegie, she spent thirteen years at the Ford Foundation where she first managed a portfolio of public technology stocks and then managed the private equity portfolio. Before Ford, she invested in private placements while at Prudential Capital and started her career working in middle market banking at Chemical Bank. Lew earned a B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business. Additionally, she was awarded her Chartered Financial Analyst designation and served as both a grader and standard setter for the CFA exam. Lew serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Stevens Cooperative School. She is also on the Mutual Fund Board of Ariel Investments where she serves on the Audit Committee. She serves on the Steering Committee of Private Equity Women Investor Network and is a member of the Investment Committees of the ACLU. She is married and the mother of two daughters.

  • Rich Nuzum

    Wealth Leader, Growth Markets Region, Mercer

    Rich is President of Mercer’s Wealth Business, and a member of Mercer’s Executive Leadership team. Rich is responsible for Mercer’s delivery of investment consulting, open architecture manager-of-managers investment management, and retirement actuarial consulting services and solutions globally.  During the past 26 years Rich has provided investment advice to clients in more than 20 countries, including many of the world’s largest institutional investors. In prior roles, Rich was the President and Global Business Leader for Mercer’s investment management business, global Chief Investment Officer for Mercer’s investment management business, and held a variety of other leadership roles while based in Tokyo, Singapore and later New York. Rich holds an MBA with High Honors in Analytic Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago, and a BA with Honors in Mathematical Sciences and Mathematical Economic Analysis from Rice University. Rich also did graduate work in international economics at Tokyo University. Rich is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute. Rich has repeatedly been named to CIO Magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential investment consultants, and received CIO Magazine’s 2017 Industry Innovation Award as “Consultant of the Year”.

  • Richard Pook

    Partner, Dore Partnership

    Richard Pook is a Partner and Executive Search Consultant at Dore Partnership, based in the New York office. Since joining the firm in 2007, he has been responsible for leading searches for senior data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence professionals across industry sectors, as well as both senior discretionary and quantitative research and portfolio management professionals for investment firms. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Bristol in the UK.

  • Vivek Ranadivé

    Owner and Chairman, Sacramento Kings

    Vivek Ranadivé is the owner and chairman of the Sacramento Kings. He is an entrepreneur, technology visionary, New York Times best-selling author and philanthropist recognized for his innovative thinking.

    As a technology entrepreneur, he pioneered the use of real-time event processing software and created TIBCO, a multibillion dollar software company. In addition to digitizing Wall Street, his software became the central nervous system for most of the world’s largest  companies and government agencies. He is known as “Mr. Real Time” which defines his  belief that by getting the right information to the right place at the right  time, you can make the world a better place.

    Ranadivé is a longtime basketball fan, which started when he coached his daughter’s middle school team. His coaching success was highlighted in a New Yorker magazine article by Malcolm Gladwell, as an example of innovators who win big by doing the unexpected and breaking the rules.

    He started his foray into professional basketball when he became the co-owner and vice chairman of the Golden State Warriors NBA franchise in 2010.

    In 2013, he became the first Indian majority owner of an NBA team when he purchased the Sacramento Kings, securing the team’s future in California’s capital city. Under Ranadivé’s leadership, the Kings are investing $1 billion in the downtown area, creating thousands of jobs, revitalizing the region and building the next great American city.

    At the heart of the investment is Golden 1 Center, the new home of the Sacramento Kings. This 21st-century coliseum is the greenest and most technologically advanced arena in the world. Golden 1 Center is 100 percent solar powered and is the first sports venue in the world to earn LEED Platinum certification making it a model for innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

    In 2016, Ranadivé founded Bow Capital in partnership with the University of California with a vision to invest in value-driven startups, many emerging from the UC system. Vivek’s vision is to help entrepreneurs who are using technology to create companies that advance society and make the world a better place.

    As a young boy in his native Bombay, Ranadivé listened to the moon landing on the radio and was inspired at the age of 16 to leave India for Cambridge, Massachusetts. After earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Electrical Engineering from MIT, he earned an MBA at Harvard where he was a Baker Scholar.

  • Carlos Rangel

    Director of Investments, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

    Carlos Rangel is director of investments at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan, reporting to the vice president and chief investment officer. In this role, he serves as a member of the Kellogg Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Trust investment teams, developing investment strategy, managing the portfolio and reviewing the analysis of investment managers. Prior to joining the foundation, Rangel spent nine years at Managed Asset Portfolios, serving as an assistant portfolio manager and an associate analyst. From 2008-2010, he taught undergraduate finance classes as an adjunct instructor at Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration. Carlos earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in finance from the University of Michigan – Dearborn. He holds the following designations: Certified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and Certificate in Investment Performance Management (CIPM). He volunteers at Family & Children Services. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life. The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

  • Bonnie Saynay

    Global Head of Responsible Investment, Invesco

    Bonnie Saynay is Global Head of Responsible Investment for Invesco. In this role, she oversees responsible investment (RI)/environmental, social and governance (ESG)/investment stewardship practices, proxy voting, and governance across Invesco, including RI strategy, policy, investor/issuer engagement and ESG thought leadership. Ms. Saynay is supported by a team of eight ESG and governance analysts located across three regions. Ms. Saynay engages with external stakeholders through institutional and retail client engagement, industry events, interviews, collaborations, panels, and speaking engagements. She engages with internal stakeholders through executive team updates, funds’ board updates, and by partnering with global investment teams across listed equity, fixed-income, and alternatives investments. Additionally, Ms. Saynay supports industry advocacy around responsible investment. She serves on the Principles for Responsible Investment Advisory Committee for ESG Engagements (an industry RI advisory effort), is a member of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Working Group and has been named to the advisory board of the Deep Data Delivery Standards initiative responsible for ESG vendor due diligence. Ms. Saynay also chairs the Invesco Global Proxy Advisory Committee and is co-chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee, which oversees Invesco’s investment and corporate stewardship activities globally. Ms. Saynay has more than 20 years of experience in process improvement consulting and program management in both the public and private sectors. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a master’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

  • Anik Sen

    Managing Director, Global Head of Equities, PineBridge Investments

    Mr. Sen is Global Head of Equities and a Portfolio Manager. He leads the firm’s equities business, overseeing fundamental and quantitative strategies that are highly active with stock selection driving excess returns at similar risk to benchmark. Mr. Sen joined PineBridge in 2008, and is a member of the firm’s Management, Global Risk and Proxy Committees. He has over 30 years of investment experience which includes leading successful investment teams in a number of leading financial institutions and was a ranked equity analyst. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Sen was a Portfolio Manager at Brevan Howard, a Managing Director and Business Unit Leader at Goldman Sachs and a Managing Director at UBS Warburg. Earlier, he was an analyst at Fidelity Investments and began his career at Lloyds Bank International, serving in four countries. Mr. Sen holds an MBA from INSEAD.

  • Matthew Sherwood

    Senior Manager, Public Markets Investments, MMBB Financial Services

    Dr. Matthew Sherwood is an accomplished investment professional with a strong track record of success. Dr. Sherwood began his asset management career at Morgan Stanley, where he managed investments in the Private Wealth Management business unit. Dr. Sherwood left Morgan Stanley for a full discretion Portfolio Manager position at Access Global Partners, where he was responsible for allocating capital across all asset classes. Dr. Sherwood left Access Global Partners to pursue a Senior Portfolio Manager position at The Schonfeld Group, before obtaining the Chief Strategist position at Ivy Strategy, and now he is the Head of Public Markets and Hedge Funds at MMBB Financial Services. Dr. Sherwood has performed exceptionally well throughout his asset management career. In 2008, a year that saw a 40% drop in the S&P 500 index, Sherwood was up 18% on his assets under management, resulting in a 58% outperformance over the benchmark index. Dr. Sherwood is a sophisticated and seasoned investor, who is skilled at risk management, investment research, and the application of economic theory. Dr. Sherwood graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Honors Program at Liberty University in an accelerated three years. He went on to obtain his Masters of Business Administration, where he studied Finance and Economics, and graduated with honors. Sherwood has studied business quantitative methods and economic theory on the doctoral level, and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration from Northcentral University. Dr. Sherwood is an appointed Fellow in Business and Finance and an adjunct faculty member at the King’s College, where he lectures on Finance, Economics, and Investments. Dr. Sherwood Is an Investment Committee member and a member of the ESG/SRI Working Group for the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA). Dr. Sherwood is a published author and has a research focus in ESG investing.

  • Darrell Spence

    Economist, American Funds from Capital Group

    Darrell R. Spence is an economist at Capital Group. He has 25 years of investment industry experience, all with Capital Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Occidental College graduating cum laude, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Epsilon. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the National Association for Business Economics. Darrell is based in Los Angeles.

  • Kamal Suppal

    Chief Investment Auditor, Emerging Markets Alternatives, LLC

    Kamal Suppal, is founder and Chief Investment Auditor of Boston based, Emerging Markets Alternatives, that specializes in independent research and due diligence on alternative strategies in emerging markets for both LPs and GPs from LPs’ perspective. Kamal continues to pursue premiums for illiquidity, inefficiency, and complexity across emerging markets, building upon his prior seven-year role as a Senior Research Consultant at NEPC. Kamal’s alternative strategy experience also extends to custom solution capabilities (including co-investments) of multi-strategy fund of hedge funds that enhanced his experience in constructing multi-asset portfolios, a skill he honed previously as a Portfolio Manager at US Trust, and in his earlier role at the Private Bank of Royal Bank of Canada. Preceding a career in asset management spanning six years, Kamal spent another six years as a corporate finance buy/sell side analyst in Canada and in Dubai, UAE.

    Sharing his experiences and perspectives on alternative strategies in emerging markets, Kamal frequently authors “Ideas Lab.” (https://www.emaltsauditor.com/ideas-lab/) and regularly speaks at institutional investment conferences.

    Kamal has also completed a dissertation on multi-strategy fund of hedge funds towards completing an M.B.A. in Global Asset and Wealth Management from Simon Fraser University, Canada. Kamal is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and holds a Chartered Accountant designation from India.

    Kamal lives with his wife and son in southern Massachusetts and enjoys cultural exchange forums, reading and theatre. In his spare time, he volunteers to impart cultural education to youth and mentor under-privileged children.

  • Matt Toms

    Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, Voya Investment Management

    Matt Toms is chief investment officer of fixed income at Voya Investment Management. In this role, he leads a team of more than 100 investment professionals. Before becoming CIO, Matt was head of public fixed income at Voya Investment Management, overseeing the investment teams responsible for investment grade corporate, high yield corporate, structured products, mortgage-backed securities, emerging market debt and money market strategies for Voya’s general account and third-party business. In this capacity, Matt led the fixed income investment strategy and portfolio management process in close partnership with Christine Hurtsellers, former CIO of fixed income and now chief executive officer of Voya Investment Management; he also served as a lead portfolio manager on many of Voya’s multi-sector fixed income strategies. Prior to joining the firm, Matt worked with Calamos Investments, where he established and grew their fixed income business. He also has prior experience with Northern Trust and Lincoln National within both public and private corporate markets as well as across multi-sector and global bond portfolio management. Matt received a BBA from the University of Michigan and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation

  • Charles Van Vleet

    Assistant Treasurer, CIO, Textron, Inc.

    Charles Van Vleet is Assistant Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of Pension Investments at Textron Inc., Providence RI*. Together with an investment team of four, Charles has Trustee oversight of $10.6BN in defined benefit and defined contribution assets for Textron’s U.S., Canada and UK Plans providing retirement security for over 75,00 current and past employees. The Textron retirement Plans are well funded with broadly diversified investments including private equity, hedge funds, real estate, fixed income and public equity. In addition to investment oversight, Charles serves as a Member of Textron’s Investment Committee, Investment Management group, Employee Benefits Committee, Trustee and Board Member of Textron’s UK and Canadian Plans. Prior to Textron, Charles spent 8 years as Director, Pension Investments at United Technologies in Hartford CT. Prior to pension investment Charles spent 25 years in the asset management divisions of Credit Suisse, Putnam Investments, Alliance Capital, Brown Brothers Harriman and Nomura Securities. At different times -living and working in New York, London and Tokyo- he has had the opportunity to manage ‘40 Act mutual funds, high net worth, endowment, public pension and corporate pension funds. Charles holds bachelors’ degrees in Economics and Political Science from UC Berkeley, Berkeley CA and an MBA from the University of CT (UCONN) in Storrs, CT. Currently, Charles is a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Investment Subcommittee for CIEBA (Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets) and serves on the investment advisory board for the Lifespan endowment, Rhode Island’s largest not-for-profit health care system. In addition, he serves on the advisory board for Rhode Island’s Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), advisory committee for the Washington DC based, Managed Fund Association (MFA), Industry Affairs Committee for the Institutional Limited Partners’ Association (ILPA) and Defined Contribution Alternatives Association (DCALTA). *Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. Founded in 1923, we have grown into a network of businesses with total revenues of $13.4 billion, and approximately 32,000 employees with facilities and presence in 25 countries, serving a diverse and global customer base. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island Textron is ranked 228th on the FORTUNE 500 list of largest U.S. companies.

  • Anthony Waskiewicz

    Chief Investment Officer, Mercy Health

    Mr. Waskiewicz has over 28 years of investment experience advising and managing assets for institutional investors. Mr. Waskiewicz is a skilled investor and leader with a proven track record managing teams and generating strong risk-adjusted returns using absolute-return focused portfolio construction techniques and thoughtful, differentiated manager selection processes. Mr. Waskiewicz has over fifteen years experience as a chief investment officer managing endowment & foundation, reserve and pension portfolios, building investment programs, hiring staff, creating prudent investment solutions and establishing selection processes for products and managers across the equity, fixed income, real asset, hedge fund and private debt/equity markets. Mr. Waskiewicz currently serves as Chief Investment Officer for Mercy Health (St. Louis, MO) managing the AA- rated health system’s short-term, endowment and pension plan assets, totaling $2.7B in assets under management. With nearly 50 hospitals across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas, 40,000 employees and $5B+ in net revenues, Mercy is the nation’s 5th largest Catholic health system and known for its vibrant and entrepreneurial culture, innovative and pioneering spirit and desire to make a difference. Mr. Waskiewicz joined Mercy in February 2010 as the system’s first chief investment officer charged with creating a top-performing in-house investment program. Under his leadership, Mercy has generated strong risk-adjusted returns while receiving industry recognition, including AI-CIO – Healthcare CIO of the Year (2017 & 2016 Nominee), Investor Intelligence Awards – Healthcare Plan of the Year (2015) and Healthcare Chief Investment Officer of the Year (2014); Institutional Investor Hedge Fund Awards – Healthcare System of the Year (Nominee 2014) and Institutional Investor Hedge Fund Awards – Rising Star (2012). Mr. Waskiewicz has hired and mentored an award-winning investment team at Mercy. The team’s Deputy CIO was acknowledged with the prestigious AI-CIO 40 Under 40 honor (2016) and the team’s Senior Investment Analyst was honored as a Rising Star by Institutional Investor (2015) and as a Top 30 Women Rising Stars in Institutional Investing by TrustedInsight (2016). Prior to taking on his first role as CIO in 2004, Mr. Waskiewicz spent fifteen years in the asset management and advisory business, working with and learning from industry leaders at T. Rowe Price, Mercer Investment Consulting, Evergreen Investments and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Waskiewicz is an active member of the investment community serving as a member of the CFA Institute and the St. Louis Society of Investment Analysts. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at institutional investor industry conferences and roundtables and has served on the advisory board for various industry associations and conferences. Mr. Waskiewicz serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School in St. Louis, where his two daughters recently graduated. Mr. Waskiewicz also serves as a trustee for Cooper-Anthony Child Advocacy Center (Hot Springs, Arkansas), as an investment committee member for the Missouri Health Foundation and for the Mid-American Transplant Association and as an adjunct professor in the business school at Webster University (St. Louis).

  • Bruno Weinberg Crocco

    Quantitative Analyst, Fidelity Investments

    Quantitative Analyst Fidelity Investments Bruno Weinberg Crocco is a quantitative analyst in the Global Asset Allocation (GAA) group at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and services to more than 20 million people, institutions, and financial intermediaries. In this role, Mr. Crocco is responsible for providing research support to the portfolio managers within the Global Institutional Solutions (GIS) group. Additionally, Mr.Crocco is responsible for researching active asset allocation investment signals and disseminating his findings across GAA. Prior to assuming his current position in August 2014, Mr. Crocco was a manager in the Financial Markets Group. In this capacity, he was responsible for monitoring global financial markets for trends that might impact Fidelity’s mutual funds and businesses. He has been in the financial industry since joining Fidelity in 2010. Mr. Crocco earned his bachelor of arts degree in pure and applied mathematics, his bachelor of science degree in business administration, and his master of science degree in mathematical finance, all from Boston University. He is also a CFA charterholder.

  • Christie Zarkovich

    Managing Director, Cambridge Associates

    Christie is a Managing Director in Cambridge Associates’ Arlington office and a member of the Endowment and Foundation Practice. In this capacity Christie develops investment strategy, and contributes to asset allocation and risk management for a range of foundation clients. She also conducts investment manager diligence and develops investment strategy research to support client-specific objectives. Prior to joining Cambridge Associates, Christie was a Managing Director in Perella Weinberg Partner’s (PWP) Agility outsourced CIO investment organization, which provided discretionary oversight of approximately $8 Billion in assets for foundations, colleges, universities, and private families. During her tenure at PWP, she was a member of the investment and risk management committees, led private real assets and impact investment activities, and was a senior member of the absolute return investment teams. Prior to her role at PWP, Christie was SVP and Chief Investment Officer at EverBank Wealth Management and contributed to asset allocation, risk management, and manager research across a range of real asset and hedge fund investment strategies at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the A.I. duPont Testamentary Trust. Christie began her career at the New York Mercantile Exchange as a commodity derivatives research analyst.

Contact Information

Sponsorship Information

Rob Reif (212) 217-6906

General Information

Carol Popkins (203) 461-0985