Influential Investors Forum

|

  • Cheryl D. Alston

    Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer , Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas, Texas (“ERF”)

    Cheryl D. Alston is the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas, Texas (“ERF”), a $4.0+ billion pension plan for the City’s civilian employees.  Cheryl began her term in October 2004 and provides leadership for the Fund’s staff in implementing the programs necessary to achieve the mission, goals and objectives established by the Board of Trustees.    Cheryl was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Advisory Committee and served two terms ending from 2011-2016.  Cheryl serves on the Board of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City and Globe Life Corporation (NYSE – GL). She formerly served on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas.  Cheryl was named as one of the most influential corporate directors by Women Inc. Magazine in 2018 and most influential Black corporate directors by Savoy Magazine in 2021. Cheryl has over twenty-five years of expertise in the financial services industry. She served as an Executive with CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services.  Prior to CIGNA, Cheryl has served as a Corporate Banking Officer at Chase Global Services, providing investment banking services for Fortune 500 clients.  Cheryl has an M.B.A. in Finance from the Leonard N. Stern School at New York University and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Alston was recognized by the D CEO Power 500, Institutional Investor magazine, Dallas Power 50 award and the National Association of Securities Professionals’ Pacesetter Award.

  • Alex Ambroz

    Director, Cleveland Clinic Investment Office

    Alex is a Director in the investment office of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Prior to joining the Clinic, he worked in the CIO office of J.P. Morgan, responsible for sourcing managers, performing due diligence, and monitoring investment portfolios. Earlier in his career, Alex was a Senior Analyst with Morgan Creek Capital Management. He also served in the U.S. Army, with multiple overseas deployments. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an MBA from Duke University.

  • Rupal Bhansali

    Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, International & Global Equities, Co-Portfolio Manager, Ariel Global Concentrated

    Rupal Bhansali is chief investment officer and portfolio manager of Ariel’s international and 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 January 2019, Rupal became the newest member of the prestigious Barron’s Investment Roundtable, which showcases “10 of Wall Street’s smartest investors.” 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. 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. 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.

  • Carol Boykin

    former Representative of the Secretary-General (RSG) for the Investment of the Assets, UNJSPF (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund)

    Ms. Boykin is the former Representative of the Secretary-General (RSG) for the Investment of the Assets of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF). Her career includes pioneering ESG work with climate change, diversity & inclusion, and corporate governance.  Prior to the UN, Carol was President of Bolton Partners Investment Consulting Group, Inc., where she provided advice to retirement plans. Prior to that, she held senior positions with several large pension plans including: CIO for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Deputy CIO for Lucent Asset Management, and Securities Investment Officer for the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. Ms. Boykin holds an MSF (finance) from Loyola University Maryland and a B.A. in Economics from Emory University.  She is a CFA charterholder, a former CFA grader and a member of CFA Institute.

  • Harshal Chaudhari

    Chief Investment Officer, General Electric (GE)

    Harshal Chaudhari is the Chief Investment Officer for GE Pension since 2019. Harshal was previously with IBM for 19 years and held several senior roles including Chief Investment Officer, Divisional CFO, Chief Analytics Officer, as well as several key positions in IBM’s Treasury department. Harshal earned an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

  • Yves Choueifaty

    President and Chief Investment Officer, tobam

    Yves Choueifaty – President and CIO of TOBAM (28 years investment experience) 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.

  • Jonathan Glidden

    Managing Director - Pensions, Delta Air Lines

    Jon is responsible for Delta Air Lines’ defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans.  In this role he oversees all aspects of the plans including asset allocation, alpha generation, and plan level risk management. 

    Prior to joining Delta in 2011, Jon was Director of Manager Research at Wilmington Trust.  Prior to joining Wilmington Trust in 2007, Jon spent six years with Emory University’s Endowment Fund. 

    Jon holds a master’s degree in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an MBA from Emory University, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He served as an officer in the US Navy as the Tomahawk Missile Officer on USS Stout (DDG-55) and the Weapons and Boarding Officer on USS Firebolt (PC-10).

    Jon is a member of the Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts and is current a member of the Board of Directors of CIEBA, the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets, Inc.

  • Russ Ivinjack

    Global Chief Investment Officer, Aon Investments

    Russ serves as Aon Investments’ Global Chief Investment Officer (CIO). As Global CIO, Russ manages our investment manager research teams in equities, fixed income, liquid alternatives, private equity, infrastructure and private credit; the Global Asset Allocation Team and our discretionary client portfolio management teams. Russ also serves as the lead strategist for several of the firm’s largest retainer clients and has advised on over $1 trillion in client assets over the course of his career. He previously led the development of our alternatives investment capabilities and our U.S. Client Solutions team.

    Russ holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University and an M.B.A. degree from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. Russ Co-Chaired the Chicago Children Museum’s (CCM) 2020 Virtual Gala – Play Never Stops and serves on CCM’s Development Committee and Board of Directors. 

  • Lauren Jacobson

    Managing Director, Columbia Investment Management Company

    Lauren Jacobson is a Managing Director with Columbia Investment Management Company (Columbia University’s $13bn Endowment). She is Co-Head of Columbia’s Marketables Asset Classes and a member of the Endowment’s Portfolio Construction Committee. She spent most of the prior four years as a generalist investing across private and public asset classes. Prior to joining Columbia in 2017, Lauren spent eight years at the Rockefeller Foundation’s $5 billion endowment where she was a Director and portfolio manager of Rockefeller’s $1 billion absolute return and illiquid distressed portfolios. Lauren also played an active role in annual asset allocation studies. Lauren began her career at Goldman Sachs as an Analyst on the convertible bond desk. Lauren graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2007 with a B.B.A. in Finance and was a member of the varsity track team. Lauren served as a member of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Navigators from 2011 to 2016. Lauren resides in New Jersey with her husband, Matt, two daughters, Michaela and Emma, and two dogs.  

  • Martin Jaugietis

    Managing Director, Co-Head Americas Pensions OCIO, BlackRock

    Martin Jaugietis, Managing Director, is Co-Head of Americas Pensions within Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions (MASS) at BlackRock. In this role he is responsible for co-leading the team that delivers outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO), and custom investment advisory solutions to corporate and public pension clients in the Americas. Before joining Blackrock in 2018, Martin was Managing Director, Multi-Asset Solutions at Russell Investments in New York where he led client portfolio management activity for U.S. institutional clients. At Russell, he also served as Head of Liability Driven Investment (LDI) Solutions for five years and also spent a number of years as a Senior Investment Consultant in its advisory business. In 2012, he was recognized by CIO Magazine as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Investment Consultants in the World”, and he also led the team that developed and launched the Bloomberg Barclays LDI Index Series. Mr Jaugietis started his career as an analyst and investment consultant at Towers Perrin in Melbourne, Australia, and also spent time in Towers Perrin’s global consulting group based in New York advising multi-national corporations on their international pension investing arrangements.  Mr. Jaugietis graduated from the Australian National University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with Honors) and a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Political Science. He is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the New York Society of Securities Analysts.

  • Kathleen (Kathy) Lutito

    President and Chief Investment Officer, LUMEN / CenturyLink Investment Management

    Kathleen “Kathy” Lutito, Chief Investment Officer, is responsible for the investment management of over $18 billion in assets in the various employee benefit trusts which include pension and healthcare trusts and 401(k) savings plan. She and her investment staff are responsible for the asset allocation and investment strategies for the trust assets; selecting and monitoring internal and external investment managers, trustees and other service providers. Ms. Lutito has over 30 years of investment experience and received a Bachelor’s degree from Western State Colorado University and a Master’s in finance from the University of Colorado and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.  Outside of CenturyLink, Ms. Lutito is a member of the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA), the University of Colorado Investment Advisory Committee, serves as a community member on the Investment Committee for The Colorado Trust, an external advisor for Exelon Corporation’s Investment Committee and serves as an independent Board Trustee for Lord Abbett & Company, LLC.

  • Elizabeth McGeveran

    Director of Investments, McKnight Foundation

    As McKnight’s director of investments since 2019, Elizabeth McGeveran oversees the team that manages the Foundation’s $3 billion endowment. With her leadership and vision, the Foundation committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire portfolio by or before 2050—the nation’s first of the 50 largest private foundations to do so. McGeveran designed a market-rate solutions-oriented portfolio that aligns with the Foundation’s mission, advancing climate solutions, and equitable communities and economies. Across the entire endowment, one of every three invested dollars is mission-aligned.

    McGeveran first joined McKnight in 2014 to lead its impact investing program. She helped pave the way for the Foundation as a leading impact investor, identifying investment opportunities that are building the world we want to live in. As an investment leader since 1999, McGeveran with others was an early actor in developing environmental social and governance (ESG) approaches across the industry. As senior vice president for governance and sustainable investment at F&C Asset Management, a London-based commercial asset manager (now BMO Global Asset Management), she built this firm’s market-leading socially responsible investment team.

    McGeveran is an independent trustee of funds at Boston Trust Walden, a longtime leader in incorporating ESG into its investment approach. She an original member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for the FTSE4Good indexes, and currently volunteers on the investment committee at the University of St. Thomas in her hometown of St. Paul. McGeveran grew up outside Boston and graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota.

  • Katherine Molnar

    Chief Investment Officer, Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System

    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 pension 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. She is active on several Limited Partner Advisory Committees (LPACs). 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.

  • Andrew Palmer

    Chief Investment Officer, Maryland State Retirement and Pension System

    Andrew Palmer, CFA is the Chief Investment Officer for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the System’s investment division and has overall responsibility for the System’s investment program.
    Previously he was the Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Director of Fixed Income for the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System. In addition to his role as Director of Fixed Income, he led the construction of a Strategic Lending Portfolio, was a member of the Private Equity and Real Estate Committees and shared in the responsibility for tactical asset allocation and new product development. He began his career at ASB Capital Management, a Bethesda, Maryland based institutional advisory firm.
    Mr. Palmer is a member of the University of Maryland, Economics Leadership Council, and the ILPA, has been active in the CFA program and was President of the Washington Association of Money Managers.

  • Owais Rana

    Business Development North America Institutional Investors, Moody’s Analytics

    Owais Rana joined Moody’s Analytics in 2020 as the Business Development manager for institutional clients in North America. Previously, he spent 3 years as the Head of Insurance & Pensions Solutions Group at Conning Asset Management where he developed customized investment solutions for clients. Prior to that, Owais spent 10 years at J. P. Morgan. Most recently, he was the Global Head of Liability-Driven Investment (LDI) Solutions business at J. P. Morgan Asset Management. He also worked in J. P. Morgan’s investment banking division in both, London and New York offices providing investment strategy and derivative-based solutions advice to institutional investors globally. Owais started his career as an investment consultant at Aon Hewitt’s London offices. Owais has a Bachelors Honors degree in Actuarial Science from the London School of Economics & Political Science.  

  • John Reade

    Chief Market Strategist, World Gold Council

    John Reade joined the World Gold Council in February 2017 as Chief Market Strategist. He is responsible for producing strategy and developing insights on the gold market; leading our global dialogue by engaging with leading economists, academics, policy makers, fund managers and investors on gold; and leading our research team.

    John has over 30 years’ experience in the gold industry and related fields, most recently as a partner and gold strategist with Paulson & Co for the past seven years. Prior to that, he worked as a precious metals strategist at UBS for 10 years; a gold equity analyst in South Africa for 5 years; and over 8 years held various positions in production and project evaluation in the gold division of Gencor, then a leading South African mining house.

    John has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Royal School of Mines, a constituent of Imperial College, London

  • Jason Rector

    Managing Analyst, State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB)

    Jason Rector is a Managing Analyst at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) located in Madison, Wisconsin.  Jason’s responsibilities include manager due diligence, portfolio construction, and oversight of the absolute return and beta one external manager portfolios.  Prior to joining SWIB, Jason was an Analyst on the manager due diligence team at Mesirow Advanced Strategies in Chicago, IL.  During his tenure at Mesirow, Jason spent time on the investment team as well as the operational due diligence team.  Jason has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University.  Jason is also a CFA Charterholder.

  • Alyssa Rieder

    Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, CommonSpirit Health

    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.

  • Seema Shah

    Chief Strategist, Principal Global Investors

    Seema is Managing Director – Chief Strategist at Principal Global Investors. Based in London, she oversees global market strategy and advises investment staff across the firm in making economically sound asset allocation calls. She is responsible for the creation of global economic macro and secular event research, closely monitoring global central bank policy and political developments.
    Seema joined Principal Global Investors in 2010, previously working as a strategist within Principal Global Fixed Income. Prior to joining Principal, Seema served as an economist at Capital Economics where she focused on macroeconomic analysis of the UK and the European economies. She also worked with the macro consulting group at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and as an economist at HM Treasury & Inland Revenue Service. Seema received a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from the London School of Economics.
    Seema is a regular participant in conferences and forums speaking about global macro market issues. She is frequently quoted by the financial news media and appears regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg TV.

  • Valerie J. Sill

    President and CEO, DuPont Capital Management (DCM)

    Valerie J. Sill, CFA, CAIA is President and CEO of DuPont Capital Management (DCM) and serves as its Chief Investment Officer.  She is responsible for overseeing the investment of more than $26 billion in assets held by DuPont Company plans and external clients.  DCM manages assets across nine different asset classes using a value-based investment approach that combines valuation and risk control disciplines designed to produce risk-efficient excess returns that satisfy its clients’ investment objectives.
    Valerie chairs the Board of Directors of the CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) Association.  Valerie is a member of the Board of Trustees of Longwood Gardens and chairs its Investment Committee.  Valerie was appointed as an Independent Trustee to Wilmington Trust’s Fund Board in 2020.  She serves in an advisory capacity on T. Rowe Price’s Defined Contribution Advisory Council.  Valerie is a Trustee of the Christiana Care Health System and chairs its Investment Committee.  She served a three-year term on the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic Advisory Council.
    Prior to joining DCM in April 2004, Valerie was Executive Vice President at The Boston Company.  There she chaired the Equity Policy Group and was the Director of Large Cap Value strategies.  She was a dual officer with Dreyfus, also a Mellon company, where she managed the Dreyfus Premier Core Value mutual funds.
    In addition to her work at The Boston Company and Dreyfus, Valerie formed and chaired Mellon’s Research Forum to foster collaboration among investment professionals from each of Mellon’s investment management subsidiaries.
    Valerie started her career in asset management with State Street Research & Management Company as a Health Care and Utilities analyst and later joined Investment Advisors in Minneapolis as a senior analyst.
    Valerie was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in Economics and Philosophy from Wellesley College.  She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a Durant Scholar.  Valerie holds an MBA from Harvard University and was awarded both the CFA and CAIA charters.

Contact Information

Sponsorship Information

Rob Reif (212) 217-6906

General Information

Carol Popkins (203) 461-0985