Influential Investors Forum

Rupal Bhansali is chief investment officer and portfolio manager of Ariel’s global equity strategies. In this capacity, she oversees our global research effort and manages multi-billion dollar portfolios. She also co-manages our global concentrated strategy. Rupal joined Ariel in 2011 after 10 years with MacKay Shields where she was senior managing director, portfolio manager and head of international equities. Previously, she spent 5 years at Oppenheimer Capital, where she was responsible for international and global equity portfolios and was promoted to co-head of international equities. Additionally, Rupal has held various roles at other financial services firms since she began her career in 1989, including Soros Fund Management. In 2009, Forbes International Investment Report named her a “Global Guru,” in 2015, Barron’s recognized her as a “Global Contrarian,” and in 2017 PBS’s Consuelo Mack referred to her as an “unconventional thinker.” In 2019, Rupal became the newest member of the prestigious Barron’s Investment Roundtable, which showcases “10 of Wall Street’s smartest investors.” She was also awarded the North American Industry Leadership Award by 100 Women in Finance. In 2020, Rupal obtained the FSA credential, awarded by the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) for professionals who understand the link between sustainability and financial performance. She is a frequent guest on Bloomberg, CNBC and Fox Business News, and authored the book, Non-Consensus Investing: Being Right When Everyone Else Is Wrong. Rupal was also featured on the Barron’s Top 100 Women in US Finance  in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Rupal serves on the Advisory Board of Directors of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School, and the Board of Directors of the 100 Women in Finance Global Association. Fluent in several Indian languages including Hindi, Rupal earned a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and finance, as well as a Master of Commerce in international finance and banking from the University of Mumbai. She later earned an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester, where she was a Rotary Foundation Scholar.

TOBAM has been multi-awarded over the years, and Yves Choueifaty has notably been recognized as “Chief Investment Officer of the Year” in 2015 (Funds Europe) and “Asset Management Leader of the Year” in France in 2016 (AGEFI).

As one of the pioneers of the smart beta movement, Yves Choueifaty is a frequent speaker at conferences and is a member of The 300 Club (23 members throughout the world), whose mission is to raise awareness about the potential impact of current market thinking and behaviors.

Mr Choueifaty graduated in 1992 from ENSAE (leading French Engineering School) in Statistics, Actuarial studies, Finance, and Artificial Intelligence.

Mathematician and Former CEO of Credit Lyonnais Asset Management (“CLAM”, AUM €70B). Having spent over 10 years with CLAM in diverse senior roles (CIO, Head of Financial Engineering and Quantitative Investment Management), Mr Choueifaty left in 2004, went back to Mathematics research and founded the Maximum Diversification^® approach and TOBAM in 2005.

Mr Choueifaty is also a committed entrepreneur on human rights and climate change challenges. He has several external commitments: he is the president of the advisory board of WeNow, a “climate neutral now” champion endorsed by the United Nations. He is also a board member of the Saint-Joseph University foundation in Lebanon, a board member of the RDCL (Association of Lebanese businessmen and women united by a common vision for the Lebanese economy), and Yves Choueifaty is a member of the Paris Committee of the NGO Human Rights Watch since 2019.

Clint Coghill is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Backstop Solutions Group. Clint co-founded Backstop in 2003 with the vision of helping institutional and alternative investors make the most of every minute. 
 
With nearly 30 years of experience in the investment management industry – from Goldman Sachs to Coghill Capital Management (a successful Chicago-based hedge fund that he founded in 1995) to Backstop – Clint is steeped in the inner workings of institutional investing, which allows him to guide Backstop’s product roadmap, client care, and overall client success with an insider’s perspective. In addition to his professional pursuits, Clint also has a passion for charitable work. He 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 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. 

Mr. Holmgren is the former Chief Investment Officer of Hartford HealthCare’s $3.5B of investment assets. He has lead responsibility for the hospitals’ investment portfolios which includes risk management, portfolio construction, asset allocation, manager selection and investment operations. Previously, he had served as Principal Investment Officer for the Connecticut State Treasury as well as Senior Portfolio Manager at DSI/UBS. David has 30 years of investment experience in the U.S., Europe and Middle East covering traditional and alternative investment management and earned his MBA from Columbia University.

Todd Jablonski is the executive director – chief investment officer and head of multi-asset investment strategies and solutions for Principal Asset Management®. He is responsible for the business, research, and investment management of Principal Asset Allocation. Jablonski oversees specialized multi-asset investment strategies and solutions, including target date, dynamic risk, outcome-oriented solutions, and bespoke multi-asset investments on behalf of global clients. He leads portfolio management, product development, and research capabilities, which include macro insights, manager research, and investment risk & innovation. He also serves as a Portfolio Manager on U.S. dynamic risk asset allocation strategies. In addition, Jablonski is a member of Principal Asset Management’s Operating Committee. In this capacity, he contributes to the overall vision and management of Principal Asset Management, including strategic planning and execution. He also serves on the board of directors of AFP Cuprum S.A. in Santiago, Chile. Jablonski joined Principal® in 2010. Previously, he was an Executive Director and Portfolio Manager at UBS, and prior to that, a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Credit Suisse. He has an MBA with concentration in quantitative finance from New York University, a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Jeff is the Staff Vice President of Retirement Investments for FedEx Corporation.  His group oversees the assets of the Company’s retirement plans.  The plans collectively total approximately $60 billion: the U.S. pension plan has over $28 billion in assets; the U.S. 401(k) plan, $25 billion; and various international plans.  His primary responsibilities include determining the plans’ asset allocation; hiring and monitoring of fund managers; and managing various vendor relationships (investment consultant, custodian, and recordkeepers).
Prior to this role, Jeff worked at FedEx Services in internal finance.  Previously, he also worked at Bolton Financial, an alternative investment firm; Goldman Sachs, where he was in Private Client Services; and at Cazenove Incorporated, a leading UK investment bank.
Jeff holds an A.B. in History and Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was Beta Gamma Sigma.  He is a CFA charterholder.
Jeff currently serves on the boards of Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South, the CFA Society of Memphis, and the City of Germantown Pension Commission; is President of the Economics Club of Memphis; and is a past board member for CIEBA (Committee for the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets).
He is a native Memphian and is married with three children.

Chitrang Purani is a fixed income portfolio manager at Capital Group. He has 18 years of investment industry experience and joined Capital Group earlier this year. Prior to joining Capital, Chitrang worked as a fixed income portfolio manager at PIMCO focused on a broad array of multi-sector fixed income strategies. Before that, he was a fixed income trader and analyst at PNC Capital Advisors. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Northern Illinois University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. Chitrang is based in New York.

Mr. Rabuck serves as the Chief Investment Officer for Indiana University Health (Indianapolis, IN), overseeing the management of the investment program for the nation’s 4^th largest Academic Medical System with $8Bn of assets across various pools of capital, including the system’s cash, long term investment pool, foundation and various insurance company reserves.  In addition to those capital pools, he also serves as a member of IU Health’s Retirement Plan Committee which oversees the system’s $3Bn defined contribution plans. Mr. Rabuck joined IU Health in 2011 as the system’s first Chief Investment Officer to establish an in-sourced investment management program that serves the needs of Indiana’s most comprehensive healthcare system. 

Rick is a director in NISA’s Investment Strategies Group. He is responsible for developing custom strategies designed to meet client objectives and developing and implementing proprietary financial modeling and engineering tools used throughout NISA. Rick is also responsible for the day-to-day oversight of NISA’s Strategic Portfolio Management team which is charged with maintaining hedge strategies including completion portfolios. In addition, he assists in the areas of product development and growth initiatives at NISA.

Rick was recruited through NISA’s internship program and joined NISA’s Investment Strategies Group in 2005. He holds a BS in Computer Science and Economics and an MS in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Alyssa Rieder, Chief Investment Officer is responsible for management and oversight of CommonSpirit Health’s $50 billion investment program. In this capacity, she works to ensure that development and implementation of the team’s investment strategy is in alignment with CommonSpirit Health’s capital structure, liquidity needs, policies, strategic goals, and mission.

Prior to joining the organization in 2011, Alyssa spent three years at the Office of the Treasurer of the Regents of the University of California system, helping manage the retirement and endowment assets for the U.C. Campuses, Medical Centers, and Laboratories, focusing on Emerging Market and Global Equity Investments. Before joining U.C., Alyssa worked for ten years at Franklin Templeton Investments where she was the lead Portfolio Manager on a mutual fund as well as a Research Analyst and Sector Team Leader in Financial Services. Prior to graduate school, Alyssa worked in management consulting and was the CFO/COO of a bay area social service agency.

Alyssa holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a B.A. in Quantitative Economics with honors from Stanford University.  She is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco, the CFA Institute, and the CIPM Association. She also holds the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting credential. Alyssa is a board member, Investment Committee Chair and Audit lead for Castilleja School in Palo Alto and a board member on Sempra Energy’s Nuclear Decommissioning Trust. Alyssa lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two teenage daughters.

Alfred C. Salvato serves as the SVP Finance & Chief Investment Officer for Thomas Jefferson University (Jefferson). During his tenure at Jefferson, he has served in various leadership roles, including Treasurer and CFO of legacy TJU.   As TJU’s SVP Finance and Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for the management of the institution’s $11.0 billion investment program, comprised of short/intermediate/long-term pools and the defined benefit and contribution pension plans. He also serves as the CIO for the HPP and Captive Insurance portfolios. In this capacity, and in coordination with the Investment Committee of each Board, he is responsible for strategic Investment Policy, manager selection (public/private), Integrated Financial Risk Framework maintenance, and service providers administration. He also participates in the sourcing and evaluating of early-stage companies in which Jefferson’s Innovation Fund may choose to make a direct investment.

Along with his CIO duties, he is responsible for Jefferson’s $3.8 billion debt and credit portfolio. In that capacity, he is responsible for the investment banking syndicate, financial advisory team, debt covenant/reporting compliance, and rating agency relationship. He is also responsible for the Treasury operation (Treasury/Accounts Payable/Payroll, banking relationships). He also serves as the Senior Finance Officer for Jefferson’s Academic Pillar.

Outside of Jefferson, he actively serves the public and business communities. He currently serves on several investment company advisory boards and has served as a board member on three 40 Act mutual funds. He also serves the public by participating in various philanthropic or community-based organizations. He holds a degree in Economics from Villanova University.

Santiago is the Secretariat (CEO/CIO) of the Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá
(Panama’s Sovereign Wealth Fund), a ~$1.4 billion investment vehicle for
stabilization and intergenerational wealth creation; the Fund invests in global public and private markets, and in a variety of financial instruments.
He has over 22 years of financial experience in the financial sector, including executive roles in equity investment research, investment banking, restructuring and financial regulation.
Prior to his current role, he was an equity investment research executive at Morgan Stanley in New York covering the energy and industrial sectors (over $270 billion in market cap.) and worked in teams that consistently ranked No. 1 in
equity research. Earlier in his career, Santiago served as a financial analyst at the US Securities & Exchange Commission overseeing financial/regulatory matters at
broker dealers and asset managers, and also served in the US Air Force.
Santiago is a Board Leadership Fellow with The National Association of
Corporate Directors (NACD), Washington, D.C.
He is currently onboarding as a member of the board of an energy
focused company, which will trade in U.S. markets. Santiago received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver.

Stefan joined the Cleveland Clinic in 2015 in the newly created role of Chief Investment Officer.  He has over two decades of investment experience, including the management of diversified endowment portfolios, alternative investments, and portfolios of direct investments.  He is responsible for the strategic direction and investment management of the Clinic’s $15 billion in investible financial assets, which includes the short and long-term investment portfolios, defined benefit pension funds, and a captive offshore insurance trust.  In addition, he co-Chairs the Cleveland Clinic’s Retirement Committee, which oversees the $11 billion in defined contribution assets invested for the organization’s 70,000 caregivers. 

Prior to joining the Cleveland Clinic, Stefan was the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national private philanthropic organization he served for ten years.  Earlier in his career, Stefan was a member of the general partner in two mid-Atlantic based early stage venture capital firms and also worked in commercialization and licensing of university-developed technology for Johns Hopkins University and Virginia Tech. 

Stefan has served on the Advisory Boards of several financial/investment organizations.  Currently he is serving on the Advisory Boards of ABRY Partners, Altos Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Flare Capital, Flagship Pioneering, FPV Ventures, Greenspring Associates/StepStone Group, Willis Towers Watson and for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, an organization dedicated to providing education-to-career pathways into the investment industry for minority youth and college students.  In addition, he serves on the Investment Committee of The Cleveland Foundation and has previously served on the Investment Committees of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, The Planned Parenthood Federation, and The Baltimore Community Foundation.  He serves as a content advisor to the Goldman Sachs Healthcare CIO Forum and the Cambridge Associates CIO Forum, and is a frequent speaker and panelist at the NMS Forums. 

Stefan holds an undergraduate degree from Washington College and a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Jeremy Wolfson, Chief Investment Officer, currently manages the Investment Section of the $20 billion dollar Los Angeles Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan. He is responsible for all pension plan asset classes including broad equity, fixed-income, real-estate, private-equity, hedge funds, real return and cash. He currently serves on the advisory boards of various private equity and real estate funds.

Prior to joining DWP, Wolfson worked for the Los Angeles City Treasurer for two years where he was responsible for actively managing the City’s $8 billion dollar fixed-income portfolio and was promoted to Chief Investment Officer just prior to transferring to the pension plan.

Before joining the City, Wolfson worked for Bank of America (approximately 11 years) as well as First Tennessee Bank (2 years) as a Vice President and managing Principal in their institutional fixed-income groups.

Wolfson has gained many accolades, including being recognized as a finalist for CIO’s Innovative Plan of the Year award in 2014 and as a finalist for CIO’s Industry Innovation Awards in 2021.

Wolfson obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from California State University, Northridge, his MBA from Pepperdine University, and various executive education programs including the Wharton School of Business, and Harvard Business School. He is a member of the CFA Institute and is on the CFALA Strategic Advisory Council.