The Fiftyfaces Podcast: Recent Episodes

Aoifinn Devitt

A series that showcases the diversity and richness of the investment world through showcasing inspiring investors and their stories.

As a special treat in the run up to the release of Series 5 we are delighted to bring you this additional conversation with Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist of J P Morgan Asset Management. Our conversation is filled with Dr. Kelly's trademark turns of phrase and is a relatable tour through market dynamics. We start by asking why so many market pundits got the recent market strength wrong and were premature in predicting a recession in 2023. We examine whether some of the older and traditional market indicators are still fit for purpose and ask what to use in replacement. In analyzing the shape of inflation trends he invokes the shape of the Eiffel Tower - steep inclines followed by a symmetrically steep decline on the opposite side of the peak, and think about the future path for inflation. Moving then to interest rates we interrogate the "higher for longer" narrative and whether it can stand, and look at the likely path of interest rates, with a sidebar of a discussion around the likely shape of any coming distressed cycle and what central banks are really good at doing. We move then to the the hot topic of AI, ask whether it is a hype cycle and whether AI is one of those things that really will change our lives. This takes us to compare the US market to China, India and other markets and we look at whether a diversified approach to equity investing is supportable today. We end on an intriguing discussion of the role that low interest rates have played in rising wealth inequality and how these disparities both get to the underlying distress among some consumer segments and the potential for political surprise. This is another whistlestop tour through the issues of our time. Please enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Carthy is Managing Partner Ireland of DLA Piper. He was previously a partner at William Fry in Dublin as well as President of the Irish Exporters Association.. He previously spent over 7 years with the Ireland India Business Association where he spent 5 years as Chairman. Our conversation starts with David's path into law and his early focus on the commercial aspects of his practice. He was intentional about building business networks through trade bodies and held various leadership roles in groups that grew in relevance as Ireland's role in international trade increased. Moving to his role as Managing Parter Ireland at DLA Piper we detail how he built the business from scratch - where he was the first employee in 2018 to over 110 lawyers today. He details how he looked to other branch offices of the firm in order to develop a model as to how to grow the Dublin office and began to recruit using a values-based approach. The values that he focuses on are a global perspective - a comfort level with working with team members in a network around the world, as well as a boldness and comfort level with change. Finally, he seeks team members who are genuinely collaborative and go beyond paying lip service to this notion. When the values are aligned around growth, collaboration and reach goals in this way, the organization grows in a cohesive way that can be diverse by design. David describes the intentionality with which he approached developing a diverse workforce and the office has significant female representation at all levels. We end with some words of wisdom relating to the satisfaction of working in teams and the introduction of balance between one's professional and personal life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we take a short break before Series 5 of 2023 launches, we wanted to share with you some nuggets of a conversation with fellow podcast host Anthony Amunategui that we are launching over on our founders podcast channel. It is jam packed full of insights on leadership, learning to create an image with words and ultimately make the sale. Enjoy! Anthony Amunategui is founder of CDO Group, a women owned business that provides general Contracting and Construction Management. He now spends most of his time as podcast host of The Future Factory Podcast, a podcast focused on diving into conversations about what the future holds for us personally and professionally and the adventures that shape that journey. Our discussion starts with Anthony’s upbringing in Florida and how he got his start – painting houses, and then as a stockbroker. We speak about how he learned to grow his sales technique, and the mentor who taught him about using his language to convey images. We hear about the relentlessness needed to make 300 calls a day, and how he processed the rejection and the no. We jump then to his work in construction management and how he devised the concept of outsourcing construction management and how the business achieved its growth. We hear about mindset – about letting go of some of the baggage that weighs us down, weighing on our confidence and outreach. Anthony is the founder and host of The Future Factory Podcast – which you can find here: https://www.futurefactorypodcast.com He tells us what drove him to gather this collection of leaders and the sparks that unite them. We hear about the importance of working on oneself as an attribute of leadership – of pushing oneself to learn and change. He touts the benefit of coaching in many

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Cathie Wood is CEO of ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”). Prior to ARK, Cathie spent twelve years at AllianceBernstein as Chief Investment Officer of Global Thematic Strategies where she managed $5 billion. Cathie joined Alliance Capital from Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund she co-founded which, in 2000, where she managed $800 million in global thematic strategies. Prior to her tenure at Tupelo Capital, she worked for 18 years with Jennison Associates as Chief Economist, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Director. She started her career in Los Angeles, California at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist. This was our second podcast recording together but the first for the Fiftyfaces Podcast. We started by tracing Cathie's upbringing and the fusion of innovation, entrepreneurship and travel that led to a peripatetic youth, including a spell in Ireland. We hear what drove her interest in finance and investing, and how she started her career. Our conversation moves then to the founding of ARK, and the almost spiritual reckoning that led to Cathie's decision to strike out on her own. We hear about her commitment to transparency and openness when it comes to research, and to the overarching importance of making their research open source. The team at ARK believes that this makes their process more robust, more resilient and adaptive, and they give the example of the evolution of their "autonomous cars" segment to embrace all of AI and how they have cross-checked some of their assumptions around growth in other sectors. Given how topical the subject is, we dive into a discussion about AI and its likely impact on the investment management industry. Cathie's thesis is an optimistic one, that should get the industry back to its original, forward-looking focus on themes and creativity. Finally we speak about pushback, criticism and debate that ARK and its theses have occasionally attracted. This podcast will be part of Series 5 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast which is kindly sponsored by With Intelligence, which has the mission of connecting investors and managers to the right people and data to raise and allocate assets effectively

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Caroline Lovelace is Founding Partner at Rose Hill Park Alternative Asset Managers, as well as Preserver Partners as CIO and Co-Portfolio Manager. Preserver is diverse-owned and Memphis-based. It runs a multi-strategy fund that invests through external managers. She has had an extensive career in researching and investing in hedge funds and in promoting emerging private equity and hedge fund investment programs. Our conversation starts with her upbringing and academic career and the mentors who spotted her talents and nurtured them. We talk about the sometimes painstaking process of learning to take risk, about career setbacks, pivots and restarts. We learn about the importance of plan B and beyond and the importance of developing the agility to pivot to these alternatives. This requires a dose of realism and we talk about how to set expectations appropriately and how to advocate for oneself and to be coachable. Moving through Caroline's various roles, we look at the skills needed to progress successfully through investment banking, then onto the buyside, then into a founder role. We move to speak about the challenges faced by diverse founders more broadly, and how we might move the needle more in this area. This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the “reverse enquiry” form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers.

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Andy Ayim, MBE is an investor and founder based in the UK, and runs an Angel Investing School designed to “teach people how to invest small tickets in start-ups effortlessly.” He has run the School since January 2020, and is a venture partner and board member of numerous technology companies. Passionate about financial education and entrepreneurship, he has held been entrepreneur in residence at accelerators such as Entrepreneur First, and OneTech and spent time as Managing Director at the London Accelerator Backstage Capital, which focuses on supporting underrepresented founders. He was awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to diversity in technology. Our conversation starts with Andy’s early interest in finance and investing and he describes how his family had to order the Financial Times specially to their local newsagent in Tottenham. He became an entrepreneur at an early age and became fascinated by the business of investing and building a business. We trace this through his love of music and then hear about how he entered an accelerator program. Andy describes what makes an accelerator program successful and he stresses the importance for him of building deep relationships and trust at the early stages of an entrepreneurial venture. We turn then to the Angel Investing School and bust some myths about what it is to be an angel investor and what the curriculum taught at the school entails. We conclude with a discussion of the upcoming London Tech Week and what it offers for entrepreneurs and budding angel investors.

Learn more about The Angel Investing School: https://angelinvestingschool.com/

Sign up to Andy’s weekly newsletter here: https://andyayim.com/

LTW: https://londontechweek.com/

Connect with Andy on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyayim/

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the “reverse enquiry” form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colin Robertson is an independent advisor to two LGPS funds – London Borough of Tower Hamlets and London Borough of Harrow, within a portfolio career that he has had since 2013. He previously held the role of Global Head of Asset Allocation for Aon Hewitt and previously at Mercury Asset Management. He has extensive experience in working with a wide range of institutional clients.

In this podcast we go on a journey from Scotland to the University of California – Berkeley around the end of the Flower Power era. It was there that Colin studied for a year and focused on Game Theory, a subject that he likens to risk management. Colin describes the evolution of his investment beliefs and how they have evolved to incorporate more behavioural aspects.

We cycle through the various roles that Colin has had, in which he spent time working on both equity and fixed income investments before becoming a Chief Investment Officer. He subsequently decided to focus on economics and asset allocation, holding major global positions. After retiring from full time employment, he has taken on independent advisory work amongst other roles. We examine what it takes to be an independent advisor and the level of challenge that is appropriate.

Returning to the topic of behavioural science, we examine what it is that makes people lose some of their over-confidence and arrogance in the investment arena over time. Colin discusses how the role of interpreting the mass of data we have out there is more important than ever and reflects on the satisfaction he has enjoyed from being able to innovate throughout his career.

This podcast is part of a special collaboration with Crispin Derby Limited. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Guilliotti is Assistant Director – Financial Services – at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. He has had a long career in local government and is a frequent participant in discussions around leveling up and LGPS pooling. Our conversation starts with Paul’s childhood where he spent some time in Zambia during his early school years. We speak about any take-aways from that time and then dig into the origins of his unusual name a little.

We then trace his long years of service in public service, and how he ended up in a pension fund role and the investment beliefs that he developed over the years.

We then cycle through many topics, including leveling up, local investing, the origins and success of local government pooling and the challenges facing pension plans such as his today. We talk about managing a funding level that is now over 100% and Paul’s interest in getting ahead of the pools when it comes to renewable energy investment. We speak also about a certain lack of diversity in the investment industry particularly as it relates to socio-economic diversity and mobility.

The last part of our discussion is dedicated to Paul’s side passion which is for football and we learn that he is a hugely devoted volunteer to a League 2 football team, Sutton United. Paul does a range of different roles for that team and it is now gaining traction although has not yet attracted the Hollywood star wattage of Wrexham. While we hope that this Fiftyfaces Podcast can achieve that, we are not, at this stage certain it can go quite that far – but it is a start.

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Betsy Cohen has built financial businesses for her whole career. She is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Cohen Circle, a growth stage investment firm focused on the fintech and impact spaces. She was previously CEO at The Bancorp Bank, which she founded in 2000 and previously worked at Jefferson Bank for 26 years. She sits on numerous boards and has received several awards being named a Forbes 2022 Most Powerful Self-Made Woman, 25 outstanding women bankers and many more. Betsy is Executive Committee member and Secretary of Asia Society; Founding Member of the Asia Society Policy Institute; Trustee of The Brookings Institute; Honorary Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Treasurer, Managing Director, and Finance Committee member of The Metropolitan Opera. Our conversation covers the “series of opportunities” that have characterized Betsy’s arc, which she doesn’t define as a career, strictly speaking. Therein lies the most vivid depiction of her approach to seizing opportunities throughout her career and building businesses where there was “white space”. We look at the fundamentals of financial institutions as well as the opportunity now in fintech, and how she developed an ability to go up and down the capital structure stack at Cohen Circle including launching a SPAC practice. Our discussion then moves to her large number of Board roles and examine what it is that she brings to these roles and what it takes to be successful in them. We end with reflections on a remarkable and ground-breaking path that Betsy has forged through the world of financial institutions and then FinTech, her belief in needing to think on ones feet and not always wait for the precedent and the ability to learn at every stage. This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the “reverse enquiry” form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Portnoy is the founder of Shaping Wealth, a learning technology platform transforming the human experience of money. It combines science and story to show people how to underwrite a meaningful life, and is the source of the term “funded contentment". He previously led investor education across a series of investment firms and prior to that was head of manager selection at a Chicago-based fund of hedge funds. Our conversation starts with a quick summary of Brian's background, his academic journey through politics, economics and sociology and his love of teaching. We trace this speciality into his career in investing, which always involved a deep involvement in learning and education, and then examine his research around wealth, and in particular the study of the goals of wealth management. Brian is credited with coining the term "funded contentment" and we establish what this is, and why the concept has resonated so well with his audience. We also dissect the current state of behavioral science and in particular examine the type of behavior that a chief behavioral officer might focus on. Brian asks whether we should be focusing on the "who" and not simply the "why" when it comes to analyzing a client's objectives. He posits that everyone has multiple versions of themselves now and in the future. He suggests that a really, really good financial plan is going to tap into those multiple identities and that requires the adviser to have some good questions prepared and some thinking on this topic. This is a robust and stimulating discussion about what matters for financial advisors, their clients and the future evolution of the industry. There is more information about Shaping Wealth and their Outsourced Chief Behavioral Officer program here: https://www.shapingwealth.com/ This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the “reverse enquiry” form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Barry is an investment advisor at Aaron Wealth Advisors in Chicago. She previously spent over 26 years at Citi, where she held a series of roles and focused on institutional equity sales most recently. We start with Jenn's upbringing in the suburbs of Detroit and the culture of owning restaurants in her family that instilled in her the value of a dollar, and a habit of hard work. We follow her love of sports (and volleyball in particular), discuss the coaches and support team that believed in her, and trace her path into finance. After a career in finance that was fast-paced and intense Jenn felt the need to make a change and after 26 years changed gears to become an investment advisor. We discuss how the focus of that has shifted from advising clients on their finances to advising them on their lives. We look at what this entails and how the role of a financial advisor is evolving to incorporate behavior - both of the advisor and the clients. There is a shoutout to the Building the Behavioral Advisor program hosted by our mutual friend - and upcoming podcast guest - Brian Portnoy and his team at Shaping Wealth and a discussion of how women in particular are serviced in the wealth advisory business. This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the “reverse enquiry” form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC is registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission, nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. This material is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor or suggest any specific course of action. Investment decisions should be made based on an investor’s objectives and circumstances and in consultation with his or her advisors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Howard Fischer was the original founder of Basso Capital hedge fund and the co-founder of the Gratitude Railroad initiative in 2013. He is now the Chairman Emeritus of Basso Capital and “Chief Evangelist” at The Gratitude Railroad. The Gratitude Railroad is an initiative that unites 9 “tracks” or different concepts using capitalism to solve a social or environmental problem. Our conversation starts by tracing Howard's route into finance and some of the serendipity and chance that led to his first training in the field. We follow this through the areas of merger arbitrage, convertible bond arbitrage and special situations and hear about what led to his founding of his own firm, Basso Capital. We discuss then the deeply humbling process of capital raising and learn about some of its ups and downs. Market volatility has been a constant backing sound track to the years that Basso Capital has been in business and Howard discusses the impact of particularly difficult market periods such as 2008 and the mindset that assisted him in navigating it. We move then to Howard's current evangelical passion - with the Gratitude Railroad. We discuss how it originated, following his participation in the Harvard Leadership Initiative - https://www.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/, which is designed to unleash the potential of experienced leaders to help solve society's most pressing challenges. The Gratitude Railroad (https://gratituderailroad.com/) has various intersecting strategies focused on impact and includes direct venture capital, incubation, education, collaboration and partnerships. In the discussion we discuss what impact means and touch on subjects as diverse as grassfed beef, rotational grazing, regenerative agriculture, social justice, renewable energy and other concepts that fall under the definition of conscious capitalism. This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the “reverse enquiry” form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers

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Christine Reed is an analyst on the Fixed Income team at Ninety One covering Latin American sovereign and currency markets. Based in New York, Christine is responsible for all Latin America coverage and supports the alpha decision-making process across investment capabilities. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs Asset and Citigroup. Our conversation starts with Christine's first foray into finance and how she found herself fitting on a trading floor. We then trace her path into emerging markets and some initial early lessons on having to take risk, and "own" that risk. We then do a deep dive into emerging markets and work around the region analyzing central bank policy, the strength of institutions, the reaction to inflation and the road ahead. We spend a dedicated section discussing ESG integration and some of the leapfrogging that is occurring in developing countries. We look at past systemic crises in certain EM regions and ask why this has been avoided in the most recent crisis post-Covid. When it comes to portfolio construction in an Emerging Market Debt portfolio we look at the interplay of quantitative and qualitative inputs and how divergent some of the components of an index can be. Finally in this section we examine recent geopolitical risk and concerns and investors' reaction to them. Christine's perspective on diversity in the industry is informed by her time spent in emerging markets where different support systems and social structures exist supporting working parents. We look at the importance of these support systems in enabling leaders to thrive and ask how far away we are from this equilibrium in our current industry state. This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Tom Raber and Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and fund placement boutique with offices in London and Stockholm. An early adopter of the "reverse enquiry" form of placement, Alvine relies on insight and dialogue with its pan-European investor base to develop and source investment solutions from a wide variety of industry providers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Raber is the founder and Managing Director of London-based Alvine Capital, a reverse enquiry solutions firm that Tom founded in 2005, with a particular focus on finding solutions for institutional investors in alternative assets. Originally from Sweden, he previously held leadership roles at Key Asset Management and a series of investment banks. We start by discussing Tom's path and education and the determination that he showed to get a job on "Wall Street" where he ultimately arrived via a role in investment banking in London. We chart that path, then learn what led to his move to a fund of hedge funds fund raising during the hedge fund peak and ultimately to founding Alvine Capital. Alvine Capital was, in my view, the pioneer of the "reverse enquiry" form of capital raising. Instead of relying on a push strategy for alternative products it derived a pull strategy from its many relationships with providers of institutional capital. It was a strategy perhaps initially necessitated by the requirement to stay efficient as a small, boutique operator. Ultimately, though, it became a differentiator and value proposition. I asked Tom about how he learned to succeed in sales, and about the need for a thick skin and techniques to actually seal the deal. What follows is a series of insights on preparation, reading the room, reading the client and ultimately finding the moment at which a decision is likely and bringing that decision around, whatever it might be. We discuss the importance of preparation and follow up, two areas which may not always be receiving the right focus. Finally we bring our discussion to the human side of sales, the need to adapt, shift habits, pace oneself. It is a rich discussion with one of the best there is. This podcast is kindly supported by Tom and Alvine Capital who have supported Fiftyfaces Productions every year since its inception by sponsoring a podcast series. This year they are sponsoring Series 4. There is more information about Alvine Capital on the website: alvinecapital.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Series 4 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast of 2023 we gather 10 guests who share a passion for excellence – in very different fields. We hear from a legendary business builder about how he closes the deal while a hedge fund manager shares the humbling effect of market downturns. A CIO reveals her ups and downs and the importance of learning to take risk and having a backup plan, while a serial builder of banks and financial institutions who started her career decades ago tells us what has changed, and what has not and sharpens the focus on what kind of mentors really matter An angel investing expert tells us about the school he has formed to bring angel investors to the table and fill the gaps in their expertise while a guest who studied “game theory” at Uni of Berkeley during the Flower Power era relates it to risk taking and asset allocation and he offers up an antidote to AI, the value of humans in interpreting information. An emerging market debt specialist learned quickly that taking a position was important, while a private wealth manager describes what drives her. Finally we examine the biases inherent in the work we do and ask why to start with the “who” and we even hear from a real life Ted Lasso about the his commitment to a League 2 football team, and how seeing an underdog thrive is the passion that drives him. So tune in every Tuesday and Thursday from June 27 through early August where we will release a new episode of the series twice a week. If you like what you heard and would like to support our content and our mission to amplify diverse voices, you can support us on Patreon. Just search for Fiftyfaces Podcast or click on the following link: Patreon Link

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Bruno Kaiser is CFO at Smile CDR Incl, a digital health company based in Toronto. He previously spent over 20 years in a series of investment banking leadership roles with a particular focus on the Metals and Mining Sector. We were classmates at INSEAD from 1999-2000. Our conversation takes a journey from the old economy to the new economy – starting with Bruno’s upbringing in Canada, his path into investment banking and ultimately the field of metals and mining. We discuss valuation dynamics in this field, the evolution of the area, what it takes to deliver value as an investment banker in this arena and how the companies are responding to growing ESG demands. We turn then to something totally different, which is the field of digital health, where Bruno is currently focused. The capacity for data and artificial intelligence to improve the user experience within healthcare is immense and we discuss what that will mean for cost structures as well as the balance between tele-health and in-person interactions. We finish with a discussion about the move from being a banker to a CFO and how that transition looked, and reflect on how bankers can sometimes be pigeon-holed and have challenges in moving to industry. Bruno discusses how this can be countered – through building strong relationships with clients, reading around the industries one works in and really focused on specific rather than generic industry problems.

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David Semmens is Chief Investment Officer at Cadro and an External Investment Committee Member at Wealthify where he was previously CIO. He holds additional Investment Committee and advisory roles and is an adjunct lecturer at Heriot-Watt University. Our conversation starts with David’s path into the world of investment which took him around various European cities and ultimately to Edinburgh where he decided to settle. We speak about the impact of Fintech on the way that wealth is managed and discuss its disruptive nature as well as the focus on dynamism and change. This is a significant shift from the older, more static, approach to managing money towards a more personalized and interactive approach. We trace the beginning of this interactivity to ESG and sustainable investing trends and now examine how it is becoming more widespread. We return to the concept of communication and how key that is to get ideas across. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe. Currently, they believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonali Patel Wilson is Managing Director and Director of Alternatives, Americas at Wellington Management where she is based in the New York City area. She sits on the investment committee of the Harry and Jeanette Foundation in Baltimore and she is the trustee of EWOB Encouraging Women across All Borders, which helps college aged women and non-binary individuals build their confidence to enter STEM and finance fields. She previously held various positions at PIMCO focused on account management in the alternatives area and has held various investor relations and analyst roles. Our conversation traces Sonali's roots and the path her parents took as immigrants from India as well as the entrepreneurship and sacrifice that served as the backdrop to her childhood. The entrepreneurship journey took them from lobby convenience store stands to real estate and the focus was on studying and academic achievement and, always, hard work. We move then to her journey into investment and finance and how she found her voice and style in developing a network and some of the surprising turns that that journey took. This discussion infuses Sonali's personal and professional lives, in which she followed a tradition of "breaking with tradition" in her own choice of life partner, and this has given her a new appreciation for diversity and inclusion. Sonali has numerous interests that are close to her heart and many of them relate to STEM and finance and getting those areas more diverse. In particular her work with EWOB (Encouraging Women across All Borders) is impactful in this respect and we discuss what drives her to do more in this area. Series 3 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Eagle Point Credit Management. Eagle Point Credit Management is a specialist investment manager principally focused on income-oriented credit investments in niche and inefficient markets. Founded by Thomas Majewski in partnership with Stone Point Capital in 2012, Eagle Point currently manages over $7.8 billion in AUM. Investment strategies pursued by the firm include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), portfolio debt securities, and other opportunities across the credit universe. Currently, they believe that Eagle Point is the largest investor in CLO equity in the world and one of the largest non-bank lenders focused on providing financing solutions to credit funds. Learn more about Eagle Point at http://eaglepointcredit.com/

Jonathan Hollow is a writer and commentator on consumer education and protection. His recent book, How to Fund the Life you Want, distills learning on financial education and evidence-based investing into a manual for pensions and investing. He is a charity trustee and also doing a part time MA in Ancient History. His former roles include leadership positions in the Money Advice Service and Money and Pensions Service.

Our conversation starts with Jonathan's education, which included a spell in Russia during the 1990s, and his extensive experience with writing and the importance of a plain English approach. We move then to what inspired him to pursue an MA in ancient history and some of the parallels that is is drawing between ancient Rome and its collapse and the scenarios playing out in geo-politics.

We move then to the motivation for writing his latest book "How to Fund the Life you Want", and the gap in financial literacy that exists when it comes to savings, investments and pensions. Some of this he attributes to a low level of engagement by individuals, in part because the area of pensions and investing is just not considered that interesting. He talks about the different sections of the book including the need to be mindful of Sharks and Charlatans as well as the importance of choosing a financial adviser that is evidence based. We also discuss the different experience of women as pensioners and investor and note the wealth gap that persists well into retirement.

Jonathan's new book is a collaboration with Robin Powell, who writes the Evidence Based Investor Blog and is featured on the Fiftyfaces Podcast here: https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/robin-powell-evidence-based-and-value-driven-myth-busting-across-the-investment-landscape/ There is more information about How to Fund the Life you Want here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/how-to-fund-the-life-you-want-9781399404600/

Richard Okello is CEO and Co-founder at Sango Capital, an investment firm he founded 10 years ago that has a particular focus on investing in Africa. He previously was a principal at Makena Capital, and prior to that in a series of roles at Bridgewater Associates. He sits on several fund advisory boards, portfolio company boards as well as the boards of the African Leadership Foundation and Human Horizons Foundation.

Our conversation starts with reflections on Richard's extraordinary upbringing in Uganda, where as a young boy he started arbitraging the price of chickens at 12 years old, then campaigned for and succeeded in the abolition of caning in his school. His predisposition for adventure continued when he attended Swarthmore College in the US and took on an extra strenuous workload, and then the demands on his time were amplified when he became the legal guardian to his three young sisters, when still in his teens himself. Juggling these extraordinary duties and his new duties as a parent led to a zealous career focus and he found a welcome home in Bridgewater Associates, which was his first foray into the world of finance of investing.

We spend some time discussing the work environment there at Bridgewater, which is known for its radical candor, and learn how this was a good fit for him. We turn then to his move into the newly founded Makena Capital, an outsourced CIO, and how this was the foundation for his interest in investing in Africa.

We discuss Sango Capital then and its origins, and how the opportunity set presents in Africa and how ESG considerations are woven in from the outset. Finally we turn to his reflections on his career so far, how his faith grounds him and where he expects the opportunities to invest in Africa will lie in the years ahead.

This episode is being released as a bonus episode and fill feature in 2023 in our main investment focused series as well as in a special Africa focused series in 2023.

Julie Cane is CEO of Democracy Investments. The firm uses a proprietary algorithm to drive capital flows toward the economic growth of democratic countries and away from authoritarian states.

Julie has had an over 20 year background in financial services where she has developed market leading innovations at Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab Advisor Services, SEI Investments and Autodesk Ventures. She began her career as a US Naval Aviator flying the SH03 Sea King helicopter. Among her other roles, Julie is Chairman of the Board of Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit helping over 3000 military veterans, and until recently was Captain in the California State Guard.

Our conversation starts with Julie's naval training and some of the situations she found herself in - requiring split second decisions, composure under pressure and leadership. We speak about the diversity in the military during her career and how it evolved since then. We transition then to what inspired Julie to enter the world of finance and how the desire to make an impact was central to this. We explore this further - looking at the kind of impact that is possible in finance.

Democracy investments uses its proprietary algorithm to detect and direct capital to countries with demonstrated hallmarks of democracies, but as our democratic ideals are not universally shared, I asked her how dynamic (or static) these classifications were. What follows is a fascinating discussion about what makes a successful democracy and we then reflect on the values and learnings from her career in the military as a means to understand this more fully.

We end with Julie's reflections on the people and ideas that have inspired her, and reflect on the part we play as individuals in the whole. You won't want to miss this part of the discussion.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Dr. David Kelly is Chief Global Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, a position he has held for over 14 years. He lives in Massachusetts. He was previously economic advisor at Putnam Investments, and prior to that held a range of roles in the financial services industry. Originally from Dublin, like myself, he's a PhD in Economics from Michigan State University.

Our conversation starts with our remarkably similar upbringings in Ireland - we were both the children of politicians, we both studied initially in Dublin and then embarked on a career in the US. And we both are keen runners, lovers of literature and making the complex simple.

After completing his undergraduate degree in University College Dublin, David embarked upon further study for a PhD in the mid-west. We discuss what led him from academia to putting his skills into practice in a more commercial setting, and discuss his passion for markets and especially for translating them in ways that are relatable and accessible to his wide range of followers.

Our discussion touches then on today's markets, and how to contextualize them. We examine the global backdrop and the challenges that clients face, and ultimately how to communicate with clients, especially during times of market stress. We ask whether this is in fact a "regime change" that we are witnessing, or whether this is a term that is over-used, especially today. Along the same lines we examine the rise in interest in ESG investing, and dissect what that term really means. We turn then to examining the diversity of the investment profession and how that has changed over David's career.

In discussing teams, we move to the question of management and discuss the satisfaction that David derives from managing a broad team that is globally based, and how important it is to "believe in" the talent of team members and communicate this to them. We finally touch on the passion that David and I share for running and he shares a little of "what I think about when I think about running", which every runner among our listeners will relate to.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Preeti Singh was until recently an LP reporter in the private equity area at the Wall Street Journal. She graduated from the Graduate School of journalism at Columbia University, and has worked in a range of roles and financial journalism. She has spent time as a Content Manager for publishing company in executive search prior to entering journalism, and is known for her ability to cultivate deep relationships across the industry, and to get the first scoop and industry moves.

Our conversation starts with Preeti's first focus in her education and her initial (negative) experience with interviewing for positions in journalism. We hear about her move to the US, her early days writing in a library and how she pursued a masters at one of the most prestigious journalism programs in the US. She describes her experience in that program and in emerging from it - and the challenges she perceived due to being older than many of her cohort at that stage.

We speak then about how she discovered the private equity LP community and built trust therein. We ask what makes this area "tick" and the importance of relationships, trust and transparency. Ultimately this is a podcast about the power of storytelling - Preeti's own extraordinary story, and the next chapter she is about to write, the enduring power of storytelling in order to connect with readers and to express the zeitgeist, and the fact that traditional values of decency, protecting sources and protecting confidence will continue to endure.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

I'm joined today by Eugene O'Callaghan, who is a business and investment advisor based in Dublin, where he advises a range of asset managers and sovereign wealth funds on strategic initiatives. He was formerly director of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and prior to that Director of the National Pensions Reserve Fund of Ireland. He started his career as an accountant.

Our conversation starts with Eugene's early career and an adventure that took him to New Zealand for a period of time. We compare the Irish and the New Zealand economies as they stood at that time and trace then his move back to Ireland and his early years with the National Pensions Reserve Fund of Ireland. Eugene charts his time at the fund by reference to the economic backdrop that prevailed in the country at the time, and as such, what follows is a fascinating insider's view into the country's economic history.

One of the aspects of Eugene's career that I have most admired is his ability to pivot as the macro backdrop and governmental policy has dictated, this occurred after the financial crisis in 2008 when the NPRF fell in value and pivoted towards investing domestically via the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. We speak about the opportunity set in investing in Ireland and some of the limitations that come with size.

The need for the state fund to reflect the state's policy around sustainability was another pivot, and this saw sustainability be integrated across the entire fund portfolio during Eugene's time in leadership. We speak about what this meant in terms of the investment opportunity. The pandemic saw yet another need to pivot, this time towards investing in companies affected by the pandemic, via a Pandemic Response Fund. The need for this fund was, thankfully, time bound, but we speak about what that kind of investment necessitated.

Now retired from ISIF and a strategic advisor to a number of entities, including other Sovereign Wealth Funds, we speak about the unique nature of many of these funds and the way investments are approached. We discuss then some of the inspiring figures in his career, and how he learned the importance of "getting points on the board" early. This is a rich and fascinating discussion that spans many decades of economic ups and downs and never failing to fashion a response that works.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Geri McMahon is a partner at AON and Co-head of Responsible Investment at the firm. She started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Sydney, and spent time as a fixed income trader before moving to a healthcare technology, business and ultimately moving to AON in 2018. She wrote a powerful LinkedIn post about returners, which led me to want to find out more about returnship programs and their value.

In 2019, she was awarded the Most Inspiring Returner at the Professional Pensions, Women in Pensions Awards after her first year returning.

Our conversation starts with her upbringing, which spanned Hong Kong and Sydney, and the advice she received as a teenager to focus on becoming financially independent. We then trace her early career in finance and how the lack of other women and role models led her to feel less included and why she is now so passionate about inclusion.

After various career pivots and breaks, when Geri wished to return to finance, she had a varied experience with recruiters and executive search firms as well as the application process. One particular recruiter, though, changed the game, by selectively matching Geri, as an experienced returner, with a group of employers seeking the level of experience she brought and willing to offer a returnship program along with the skills training that would address any gaps.

She relates how one senior partner advised her to never underestimate the value that she brought to the firm just because she had had a different path. She talks about impostor syndrome she felt, and how the support she received enabled her to overcome that.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Blair Smith is Senior Director of the Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute, where he leads the Center’s Access to Capital and strategic innovative financing initiatives to enhance economic and social impact. Prior to joining Milken he was an adjunct professor at the Columbia Business School.

He is the former Chief Investment Officer for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, a CDFI and was the Founder and CEO of Promethean AB Strategies LLC, a strategic consultancy focused on helping diverse led Asset Management firms achieve their goals. He is a member of the Real Estate Executive Council and is a 2019 Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Finance Catalyst recipient.

We start with Blair's upbringing which saw him split his time between Annapolis and Baltimore in Maryland - a shift between big city and small town life. He took what his friends describe as the "weedy path" into finance, starting out in journalism and ultimately moving in to impact investing. We speak about the field of journalism and how it is evolving, and the lessons he learned there that he imported into his role in finance. We discuss then his role at the Milken Institute, and how it is set up as not just a Think Tank but at Think and Do Tank. We dive into defining the concept of inclusive capital:

Inclusive Capital is a belief in the concept that diversity creates long term value that benefits all stakeholders. So not just businesses and investors but also employees, customers, governments and communities. The second aspect of inclusive capitalism is that it produces equitable, measurable and sustainable growth that empowers others while addressing many of society's needs. And then finally, that inclusive capitalism enables stakeholders to participate in the capital markets structure to support both the end beneficiary as well as keeping an eye on the bottom line

The Milken institute believes in convening the right people in the room. We move to the imperative of ensuring more diversity in the workplace, not just because diverse teams perform better, but because they are likely to more nimble, more adaptable and more able to pivot two the dynamic changes happening in the workplace today.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Emma Jane Joyce is a sustainability specialist at the National Treasury Management Agency based in Dublin. She spent most of her career at the Agency holding roles such as Head of Responsible Investment and Investment Director. She's a member of the Ireland steering committee of the CDP Global Environmental Reporting System.

We start with Emma Jane's university education which was in the field of science and genetics. Although she didn't know it then, it would end up preparing her well for a career in investing that quickly started to move in the direction of sustainable investing and ESG standards. After a stint in investment consulting Emma Jane came to the National Treasury Management Agency and we discuss the leadership role that that organization has held in implementing policy and setting the standard in terms of divestment and ESG integration. We speak about the organization's goals, how they are evolving and how they are measuring progress against them.

We speak about the characteristics that are required to pursue a career in sustainability, which often has long-dated goals and challenging aspirations. Emma Jane describes these as patience, stubbornness, resilience and optimism. She acknowledges the role played by Eugene O'Callaghan, another guest in this series, with whom she overlapped at the NTMA, and how he encouraged her in her career as well as the influence of her mother - a climate warrior who made an impression from a very early stage.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

James Brooke Turner is Director of Yoke and Co and Investment Director of the Nuffield Foundation. He was voted one of the inaugural four Inspiring Leaders in the Voluntary Sector and writes about financial governance for charities. Our conversation starts with his study of art history, how he found that discipline and the perspective and insight it gave him for his ultimate career in finance.

We spend some time diving into the dynamics of investing as a charity, and differentiate it from managing a pension. Whereas in the realm of pension fund investing the focus is on the future and liabilities, in the case of a charity the focus is on the past and on staying true to the historic mission. We talk about how that translates into an extremely long time horizon, which enables the group to have a strong equity focus and make extensive use of private assets.

Given James's extensive involvement in different committees, I asked him what it takes to be a good chairman or board member. He responded by referring to the ancient Greeks, where characteristics valued included things like curiosity, the ability to argue with each other and to disagree in a non confrontational way, the enjoyment of argument and discussion. Other traits included laughter because of its ability to diffuse situations and overall curiosity, respect, enthusiasm, and enjoyment.

We finish with a description of an incident that was a reminder of the basic good in people, and James describes a time he participated in an art installation at Trafalgar Square. Standing there, vulnerable, and on display, he realized that most people are good and wish for the success of others.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Terri Duhon is an award winning educator, TEDx speaker, Board Director and speaker, who has over 25 years of experience in financial markets. She wrote the book "How the Trading Floor Really Works", founded her own financial markets firm, and is an Associate Fellow at the SAID Business School in Oxford. She sits on the Board of Morgan Stanley International, which she is Chair of the Risk Committee, and also holds a number of additional independent director roles. She is now based in London but hails from the New Orleans area originally.

Our story starts there - with Terri's upbringing in Louisiana, in the South of the US and how this was an additional reason that she felt like an "other" when she came to studying math at MIT and then Wall Street and a career on the trading floor of a major investment bank. This sense of being from a different socio-economic group was more visceral than being one of few women on the floor. She spent close to 10 years in similar roles, and describes herself as mastering the art of reinvention - in that to date she has reinvented herself approximately every 10 years.

Terri moved from the trading floor to founding her own firm, and then to her current chapter, which is in a series of board and committee roles. She explains how challenging it was to break into this field initially, and how she almost gave up hope, and then experienced a breakthrough. We spend some time on the question of what makes an effective board member and chairperson, and Terri delivers a mini-masterclass in the art (listen in particular from 6.21 to 9.09).

Our conversation then turns to the industry and its "brand" and how it doesn't always appeal to a diverse set of candidates, sometimes because it emphasizes traits that aren't universal. Terri uses her vantage point in a business school to give insights into the current priorities of graduates entering the field. She shares stories of her failures, and her triumphs, but always her humanity, and stresses how it is always our humanity we must stress in order to demystify the world of finance and make it more accessible.

David Holmgren is Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Healthcare, based in Connecticut, and has had over 30 years of experience in running both internal and external investment portfolios in a range of settings. Aside from being a nonprofit CIO, David also serves on the investment board for the Hartford Community Foundation.

Our podcast starts with David's journey into investing, his early work in education and what that taught him about communication, conveying complex concepts and patience. We hear about various detours his career took, and his reflections on these. He discusses the sense of duty he feels as CIO of a Non-Profit that is one of the largest employers in the area, and the pressure to perform, because an operating budget is depending on it.

We spend some time discussing how the changing needs of a healthcare institution impact the portfolio and how he has had to flex the portfolio in the current macro environment. He discusses adding to private credit to enhance income, and the kind of inflation protection that he has built through investing in asset-based infrastructure.

We move then to examining the current mix of internal and external managers in the portfolio and how David has managed to achieve high-performance while pursuing certain responsible investing goals. This gets us to a broader discussion of fees and governance, as well as team motivation and retention, and diversity across the investment world as a whole.

We end by returning to some personal reflections and we look at the overlap between parenting skills and tending a portfolio. There are more than you may think!

As we bring our third series and second full year of podcasting to a close we have assembled a library of over 170 diverse role models in this series. As the macro backdrop churns these dynamic personalities are our touchstones, our human constants, through the market noise.

In Series 5 of 2022 we hear from leaders from large institutions, a charity, a sovereign wealth fund, as well as a strategist at a global asset manager, a purveyor of inclusive capital, a partner at a consulting firm who successfully came back as a "returner", a financial journalist and an ex navy aviator.

The guests in Series 5 are:

David Holmgren is Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Healthcare, based in Connecticut, and has had over 30 years of experience in running both internal and external investment portfolios in a range of settings. Aside from being a nonprofit CIO, David also serves on the investment board for the Hartford Community Foundation.

James Brooke-Turner is director of Yoke and CEO and investment director of the Nuffield Foundation, based in the UK. He was voted one of the inaugural for inspiring leaders in the voluntary sector, and writes about financial governance for charities.

Geri McMahon is a partner at AON and Co-head of Responsible Investment at the firm. She started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Sydney, and spent time as a fixed income trader before moving to a healthcare technology, business and ultimately moving to AON in 2018. She wrote a powerful LinkedIn post about returners, which led me to want to find out more about returnship programs and their value. In 2019, she was awarded the most inspiring returner at the professional pensions, women and pensions awards after her first year returning.

Blair Smith is senior director of the Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute, where he leads the center's access to capital and strategic innovative financing initiatives to enhance economic and social impact. Prior to joining Milken, he was an adjunct professor at the Columbia Business School. He's the former Chief Investment Officer for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, a CDFI and was the founder and CEO of Prometheus AB strategies, LLC, a strategic consultancy focused on helping diverse lead asset management firms achieve their goals. He's a member of the Real Estate Executive Council and is a 2019 Council of Urban Professionals Finance Catalyst recipient.

Emma Jane Joyce is a sustainability specialist at the National Treasury Management Agency based in Dublin. She spent most of her career at the agency holding roles such as Head of responsible investment and investment director. She's a member of the Ireland steering committee of the CDP global environmental reporting system.

Terri Duhon is an award winning educator, TEDx speaker, Board Director and speaker, who has over 25 years of experience in financial markets. She wrote the book "How the trading floor really works", founded her own financial markets trading firm, and is an Associate Fellow at the Said Business School in Oxford. She sits on the Board of Morgan Stanley International, where she is Chair of the Risk Committee, and also holds a number of additional independent director roles.

Dr. David Kelly is Chief Global Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, a position he has held for over 14 years. He lives in Massachusetts. He was previously economic advisor at Putnam Investments, and prior to that held a range of roles in the financial services industry. Originally from Dublin, like myself, he's a PhD in Economics from Michigan State University.

Eugene O"Callaghan is a business and investment advisor based in Dublin, where he advises a range of asset managers and sovereign wealth funds on strategic initiatives. He was formerly Director of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and prior to that Director of the National Pensions Reserve Fund of Ireland. He started his career as an accountant.

Preeti Singh was until recently an LP reporter in the private equity area at the Wall Street Journal. She graduated from the Graduate School of journalism at Columbia University, and has worked in a range of roles and financial journalism. She has spent time as a Content Manager for publishing company in executive search prior to entering journalism, and is known for her ability to cultivate deep relationships across the industry, and to get the first scoop and industry moves.

Julie Cane is CEO of Democracy Investments. The firm uses a proprietary algorithm to drive capital flows toward the economic growth of democratic countries and away from authoritarian states. She has had an over 20 year background in financial services where she has developed market leading innovations at Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab Advisor Services, SEI Investments and Autodesk Ventures. She began her career as a US Naval Aviator flying the SH03 Sea King helicopter. Among her other roles, Julie is Chairman of the Board of Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit helping over 3000 military veterans, and she is currently Captain in the California State Guard.

Steve Kim is a partner in investment strategy and risk management at Verdis Investment Management in the Philadelphia area. He has focused over 30 years in his career in implementing and managing operating infrastructures. Prior to his role at Verdis held various Chief Technology Officer roles. He now focuses on integrating his insight from systems modeling and data analysis into an investment approach, particularly in the venture capital arena.

We start with Steve's upbringing and early education and ask how his various Chief Technology Officer roles evolved over time to embrace data and AI, and what the key challenges for such roles are today.

We move then to discuss the insights he brings from this background into investment management, and how he initially underestimated the randomness of returns and the degree to which modeling was a challenge. His philosophy on life - as well as venture capital - is that variance is where the unicorns lie, that it is only by focusing on achieving maximum variance that we can hope to happen upon true winners. This is just as true for the value of diversity within organizations.

We focus then on how to achieve scale and efficiency while also achieving variance, which can be a challenge. Our conversation turns to ESG and Steve's view that technology has greatly accelerated engagement, transparency and the integration of an ESG lens when investing. This is an alluring concept, and one that has not been particularly well developed in the current debate.

Our conversation ends, as usual, with reflections - the reminder to stay humble, and to avoid overly-simplistic reductionist thinking. This is an exceptionally rich and multi-layered discussion like a complex operating system, but one that bears scrutiny, for the many areas of utility it can touch.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Matthew Sherwood, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WeVidIt Media, a video streaming platform that leverages data and analytics for a more inclusive and profitable entertainment industry. We met while he worked as an asset allocator, where he headed up public market investments for MMBB Financial Services. He has spent time as a guest lecturer and an appointed professor at Columbia University and The King’s College in New York, and has authored a textbook on the topic of ESG Investing. He is a board member of the Guide Dog Foundation and American Vet Dogs and serves on the Lavelle Fund’s Investment Committee.

Matt lost his sight at the age of 24, and became legally blind within a matter of days. We discuss how he pivoted from a practical perspective, which enabled him to continue his career and to thrive there. We discuss the inclusion of people with similar disabilities in the professional world, and examine the massive advances in technology which are making access more seamless. Biases and prejudices however are less dynamic in changing and Matt reframes the term “persons with disability” as “persons with determination”.

We discuss many of the organizations and advocacy groups that are furthering better inclusion and then move to discuss Matt’s current passion for WeVidIt, democratizing access to this form of investment and the fundamentals that underlie it.

This podcast was previously released as a bonus in recognition of April 27 being International Guide Dog Day.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Jason Mitchell is co-head of responsible investments at MAN Group, and the host of a Sustainable Future Podcast at the MAN Institute, a podcast that he has hosted since 2018, which has now passed its 55th episode. He writes and speaks widely on sustainability issues, as well as serving on a number of committees such as the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.

Our rich and multi-layered discussion starts with his early interest in literature and Indian poetry in particular. We hear how he majored in English but how serendipity led him to choose a career using his coding rather than an MFA at a prestigious US institution. So commenced a fascination with finance and sustainability issues in particular, which saw him gain a bird's eye view into infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and work alongside policymakers at the highest level.

Jason's vantage point as an investor, podcast host and writer leads him to synthesize issues that may seem to be complex and multi-layered, and in particular he speaks about policy makers and governments facing an energy trilemma - the three-pronged challenge of how to make energy sustainable, affordable and secure. He integrates the imperative of not creating a class of "energy poor" with the challenges of pursuing a de-carbonizing and net zero agenda with the fluency of a poet.

Jason concludes with an exhortation to focus on breadth and not depth, and to slow down to allow our careers to breathe a little.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Zia Uddin is President of Monroe Capital LLC, an asset management firm headquartered in Chicago, which invests in middle market companies in North America through a range of products. Prior to joining Monroe he focused on middle market private equity investing for most of his career. Currently, he sits on a range of private company boards, as well as on the Board of a public company.

We start out by discussing Zia's upbringing, which saw him spend time in Indonesia and South Korea, before returning to study at the University of Illinois. We move then to his current role at the helm of Monroe Capital, which runs over $14 bn in assets focused mainly on the middle-market segment - we discuss the opportunity in this segment, whether it is overlooked and the unique challenges and opportunities that focusing on it brings. We examine private capital through a lens of ESG investing, and ask what kind of protection it might offer in a rising rate and inflationary environment.

After a detailed discussion of diversity in investment management we move to personal reflections and Zia shares the saying that "the problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence" and we examine the problems of overconfidence among financial sector actors.

We move then to one of Zia's passions, which is the Japanese art of Kendo. We speak about the art aspect of martial arts, and what it taught him about "mind over matter", discipline, self-control and what lies beyond the border of physical limitations.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Eve Ellis is a wealth advisor with William Blair, and is based in the New York City Area. She has a particular interest in socially responsible and impact investments and manages two proprietary portfolios, the gender parity strategy, and the Matterhorn Affinity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy. She's also a member of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. She has received multiple awards, including featuring on the Crain's New York Women and Financial Advice naugural list in 2020 as well as the Forbes America's Top Women Wealth Advisors best in state.

Our conversation starts with Eve's background in playing competitive tennis - we discuss what that taught her about gamesmanship, playing to win, and discipline. We transition then to her calling to act as a private wealth advisor, and how she had the same instincts to "win" and deliver for her clients. She had an early interest in investing with impact and developed the proprietary gender parity and diversity and inclusion strategies based on a high conviction that companies who prioritize these issues deliver better returns over time.

We dig in to these strategies in particular and ask what she learned from developing them and whether there were any surprises. As a "feminist forever" Eve has had a unique perspective on the world of private wealth, as well as the workings of corporate America, its record in terms of gender parity and levels of wealth in the hands of women today.

Eve wished me to note that her comments on this podcast were made in advance of the recent US Supreme Court Decision on Roe v. Wade.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Aaron Joseph is Senior Vice President of Investor Solutions at Blue Vista Capital Management, a Chicago-based real estate investment manager focused in particular on middle market equity, student housing and real estate credit. He previously worked as Deputy Sustainability Officer in the Office of the Mayor in the city of Chicago, and as a Strategy Manager at Urban Partnership Bank focused on providing banking services for impact capital and urban real estate investors.

Our conversation starts with Aaron's family upbringing, the promise of inclusion that brought them to the Oak Park area outside Chicago and his early interest in art history. We trace his path to real estate, which actually meandered through engineering, which is where his interest in sustainability first took root. We follow his path into the Urban Partnership Bank, and the focus on impact that that had - whether to combat red-lining or extend credit to disenfranchised populations, many of whom were essentially "unbanked".

Aaron spent time in the high-profile Mayor's Office of the City of Chicago, where he saw the usual policy and political battles, but also the efficacy of some measures to ensure sustainable change and more equity. We move then to his current role at Blue Vista, and cycle through the various sectors that they focus on - including in particular student housing and more esoteric areas such as RV parks and self-storage. We examine the rapidly changing dynamics in these areas and why the investment opportunity might be less obvious, but nonetheless compelling.

We end with Aaron's reflections on his career to date, how his learnings in Latin at Oak Park and River Forest High School taught him to "carpe diem" or seize the day, and how the leaving his MBA studies during a financial crisis taught him some essential survival and adaptation skills professionally.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Cynthia Steer has had a multi-decade career in investment management, spending time as an investment director, CIO, and Chief Retirement Strategist at a series of large consulting firms, and she now holds a broad range of investment committee and independent director roles.

We start by discussing Cynthia's global career, which saw her based in the US but travel frequently around the world at the helm of strategy and research at prominent consulting firms. We ourselves met on the investment conference circuit and we share how she has witnessed the investment management industry evolve over her career. We discuss the benefit of not remaining a generalist and of developing deep sector expertise, how every dollar counts ultimately, and how it is important to trust, but verify, when it comes to so-called market opportunities.

Cynthia also shares stories of the coaches that influenced her in her very early years of growing up in Canada - the ice skating mentors to taught her to execute demanding technical exercises and "get up and try again" when she failed. She shares gems of wisdom shared by other legends in the investment management industry - who taught her to select a key number of topics each year to focus on and really develop deep expertise on - excellent advice for the dynamic world we live in.

Finally we reflect on some of the industry challenges around diversity and inclusion and Cynthia shares her own experience in this respect. How sector and specialist expertise enabled her to distinguish herself and how she might now, upon reflection, wish she had carried a "softer stick" along the way. We explore what this means and what advice young women might take from that as they pursue a role in the industry.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

John Bowman is executive Vice President of the Caia Association, and a prolific writer and commentator on the investment management industry. He has written about the subject of culture, restoring the virtuous reputation of the industry and ensuring that dialogue and education are maximized, particularly in the area of alternative investing.

Our conversation starts with his thoughts on being a "man without a country" - his peripatetic youth and how having family in the investment management industry formed an impression on him from an early age. We jump straight in then to a host of issues on which he has a unique vantage point at the helm of an industry association committed to education, dialogue and ongoing improvement.

We start with the controversial topic of alpha generation - whether it remains possible in an environment that is flooded with data, quickly updated news cycles and crowding out of certain strategies. We focus in particular on the future for alternative assets - how these strategies are evolving and what are likely to become the most relevant strategies for the next decade.

We move then to the critical area of culture within the investment management industries and firms in particular - looking at the divide between investment-led and sales-led firms and what an aspirational culture for the industry as a whole might be. We move then to the disruption that Covid wrought and how that has altered the state of the investment management industry and to the increased integration of ESG risks and evolution of ESG-focused strategies.

We end then with a reflection on the mentors that have shaped him, the importance of faith in his life and trusting his own instinct. It is a wide-ranging discussion with particular relevance to the dynamic times we are living in.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Heather Brilliant is the President and CEO at Diamond Hill Capital Management, a $30 billion asset manager headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. She previously was Chief Executive Officer Americas at First State Investments and prior to that was CEO at Morningstar, Australasia, and formerly Global Head of Equity and Credit research. She's had a career long involvement with the CFA Institute globally, and was formerly Chairman of the Board, as well as a Director and Board Member for over seven years.

Our conversation starts with Heather's upbringing, and the inspiration she derived from her grandmother - a true pioneer in investing at a time when few women might have been investors. We trace her own journey into investing and finance and the serendipitous turns that saw her take the helm at Morningstar's Australasia operation after a stint as Head of Research.

We examine the impact of changing country and the cultural adaptation involved, and reflect on some outstanding mentors that Heather had access to during this time. Now in a leadership role at an asset management firm focused on active management we cycle through a host of topics - from the future of active v. passive investment, to the role of ESG integration, to the challenge of retaining talent and how to nurture a team.

We also spend some time on her involvement in the CFA Institute and reflect on how that organization has evolved for the modern industry. We look at the future of investment committee and board roles and the skillset that is involved for each.

Heather reminds us that when we look for role models all that we see are the accomplishments and the finished products and not the false starts, the errors, the u-turns - all of this is "left on the cutting room floor".

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market.

James Penney is Chairman of Darwin Alternative Investment Management Ltd, a firm that offers innovative alpha driven investment solutions for long term investors. Our conversation covers his exceptionally diverse background, and his experience with studying theology, languages and living in Latin America doing mission-based work.

Our conversation starts with his varied university career, and how he landed an 18 year old's dream job as a whisky salesman in Venezuela. What he saw there motivated him to change his major in law to one of theology and during his summers he spent time working in a Benedictine community in what was then conflict-torn Lima. James describes some of the experiences there that haunted him, including visits made to a prison, and we reflect on what he took from those experiences in terms of a deep respect for the human spirit, a desire to further their dignity and to appreciate their resilience.

We then cycle back to his professional journey and his initial emergence from academia into a consulting role and then the founding of Darwin Alternative Investment Management. We speak about some of the esoteric strategies pursued by the firm, including investing in bereavement focused industries which are largely fairly fragmented. These include crematoria and funeral homes. By consolidating and improving the efficiency of these organizations Darwin can ensure a more dignified experience for users and more equitable pricing.

In his personal reflections James shares his insights as an entrepreneur, including the importance of getting things in writing, the visceral nature of running such a large level of personal financial risk and the lessons learned from a life in both academia and investing. He also counsels us to never confuse enthusiasm for a check.

Darwin Alternative Investment Management kindly sponsored our Next Chapter podcast series focused on individuals at later stages of their careers developing plural roles and sharing their wisdom. Given the firm's focus on ensuring the dignity of individuals at every stage of their life it was. a perfect supporter of our own mission of amplifying these voices.

Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital. Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments. It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market.

In our summer Series 4 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast we invite you to see our industry through fresh eyes through hearing the stories of 10 extraordinary professionals. We hear of the training and perspective obtained through playing tennis at a professional level, challenging ice-skating routines and practicing the ancient Japanese martial art of Kendo. We hear about formative life experiences, such as mission-work in a violence-rocked Latin America as well as the challenges of becoming legally blind early in one’s career.

We hear about life’s setbacks, and how we rarely see the failures or false starts that end up on the cutting room floor, and about the importance of breadth v. depth as well as the importance of nurturing the variance in life as well as investing.

So take time during your summer road trip or plane journey to recharge and arrive inspired. Hear from these 10 inspiring guests:

James Penney is Chairman of Darwin Alternative Investment Management Ltd, a firm that offers innovative Alpha driven investment solutions for long term investors. He has had a varied background that involved time doing mission-based work in Latin America during his study of theology, he has spent time as an academic and as an consultant before developing his asset management business. Darwin Alternative Investment Management, through its investment products promotes the dignity of people at every stage of their lives, and is the sponsor of our Next Chapter podcast series.

Heather Brilliant is the President and CEO at Diamond Hill Capital Management, a $30 billion asset manager headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. She previously was Chief Executive Officer Americas at First State Investments, and prior to that was CEO at Morningstar, Australasia, and formerly Global Head of Equity and Credit Research. She's had a career long involvement with CFA Institute globally, and was formerly Chairman of the Board, as well as a Director and Board Member for over seven years.

John Bowman is Executive Vice President of the CAIA Association, and a prolific writer and commentator on the investment management industry. He has written about the subject of culture, restoring the virtuous reputation of the industry and ensuring that dialogue and education are maximized, particularly in the area of alternative investing.

Cynthia Steer has had a multi-decade career in investment management, spending time as an investment director, CIO and Chief Retirement Strategist at a series of large consulting firms, and she now holds a broad range of investment committee and independent director roles.

Aaron Joseph is Senior Vice President Investor Solutions at Blue Vista Capital Management, a Chicago based real estate investment manager focused in particular on middle market equity, student housing and real estate credit. He previously worked as deputy sustainability officer in the Office of the Mayor in the city of Chicago, and as a Strategy Manager at Urban Partnership Bank focused on providing banking services for impact capital and urban real estate investors.

Eve Ellis is a wealth advisor with William Blair. She has a particular interest in socially responsible and impact investments and manages two proprietary portfolios, a gender parity strategy and a dedicated diversity and inclusion strategy. She is also a member of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible investment. She has received multiple awards, including featuring on the Crain's New York Women and Financial Advice inaugural list in 2020. And the Forbes America's Top Women Wealth Advisors Best in State.

Zia Uddin is President of Monroe Capital LLC, an asset management firm headquartered in Chicago, which invests in middle market companies in North America through a range of products. Prior to joining Monroe he focused on middle market private equity investing for most of his career. Currently, he sits on a range of private company boards as well as on a public company board.

Jason Mitchell is co-head of responsible investments at Man Group, and the host of a sustainable future podcast at the Man Institute, a podcast that he has hosted since 2018, and has now passed its 55th episode. He writes and speaks widely on sustainability issues, as well as serving on a number of committees such as Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.

Matt Sherwood, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WeVidIt Media, a video streaming platform that leverages data and analytics for a more inclusive and profitable entertainment industry. We met while he worked as an asset allocator, where he headed up public market investments for MMBB Financial Services. He has spent time as a guest lecturer and an appointed professor at Columbia University and The King’s College in New York, and has authored a textbook on the topic of ESG Investing. He is a board member of the Guide Dog Foundation and American Vet Dogs and serves on the Lavelle Fund’s Investment Committee.

Steve Kim is a partner in investment strategy and risk management at Verdis Investment Management in the Philadelphia area. He has focused over 30 years in his career in implementing and managing operating infrastructures. Prior to his role at Verdis he held various Chief Technology Officer roles, he now focuses on integrating his insight from systems modeling and data analysis into an investment approach, particularly in the venture capital arena.

All of our podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast channels. You can find all of our content on the Fiftyfaces Hub (fiftyfaceshub.com) including resources and other material to enhance your career.

Matteo Dante Puccio, is President International and a Partner at Wave Financial Group. He's had an extensive career across the wealth management, VC tech investing and family office space. He's currently focused on digital assets at Wave Financial Group.

Our conversation starts with Matteo's first love, which was for theatre. We hear how being raised in the US by an Italian family formed his global attitude and reach, and how his acting training laid down some essential skills that he still draws upon today - the power of communication, performance, reading the room and relating to people. His knowledge of Italian got him a job at an Italian bank, and his surprising affinity for all things financial saw him transferred back to the Italian headquarters.

We turn then to his management style, as having cycled through many different types of roles as well as market cycles, managing people has been a core part of his success. We turn then to his current role in the digital assets arena and hear about the complexity and range behind the convenient labels and heuristics in this space. It is a range that defies easy classification, and in our discussion he draws out the nuances in different kinds of digital assets and the different roles that they can play. Bitcoin, NFTs, ESG aspects of digital assets . . a lot of ground is covered in this rich discussion.

Finally we reflect on lessons learned through decades in a relatively volatile area of finance - lessons in humility and in what really counts.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Deirdre Cooper is Co-Head of Thematic Equity at Ninety One, with a particular focus on sustainable investing. She is an Advisory Board Member at the Imperial College Centre for Climate Finance and an Advisory Board Member of Girls Who Invest. She previously founded the Clean Tech group in Morgan Stanley where she worked in M&A in London and Menlo Park.

Our conversation starts with her Irish roots, and her early days in investment banking, where her interest in sustainability started to take root. When she mentioned a stint focusing on micro-finance in Lahore, Pakistan, I couldn't resist spending some time on this aspect of her experience, and the impression it made on her as well as what it taught her about how we can create impact, but how difficult it is to measure it.

Climate tech and clean tech have been a focus of Deirdre's for well over a decade and we examine how that has informed her new role as head of thematic equities and portfolio manager of a sustainable equity fund at Ninety One. We then turn to greenwashing and whether it is a problem in an industry where products are continuing to proliferate.

We finally turn to words of wisdom and are reminded not to be afraid to ask questions.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Les Bond is CEO at Attucks Asset Management, a firm he founded over 20 years ago. Attucks is an MBE-certified registered investment advisor which builds portfolios of emerging investment managers- in particular female and minority owned firms.

Our conversation traces Les's college days where a major in sub-Saharan African studies kickstarted his interest in economics and trade. This saw a trip to Cuba and visits to Sugar Plantations where he saw the promise of but fraught nature of diplomacy and brokering deals.

We then see how he got his start in the industry, and how his time in Atlanta, interacting with successive mayors of the city, taught him how politics could be instrumental in forcing change, targets and the role of public pots of assets.

We turn then to the genesis of Attucks Asset Management and the role that it plays in not only promoting and amplifying emerging and minority owned managers but also in nurturing them through guidance and feedback.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Kerry Duffain is head of institutional client solutions at Fidante Partners. She has had a long career, that has involved over two decades of working with institutional investors and consultants, but also a number of other intriguing positions, such as her first position - as a newsreader of English news in Bahrain.

This ability to improvise, adapt, work hard and step outside her comfort zone has been a constant throughout her career - which has seen Kerry move around the world - in industries involving factory floors, a brewery, engineering electronics, until she finally became "hooked" on finance.

Kerry has built businesses large and small, but what remains the same is her sheer hard work, her persistence and her ability to pivot and adapt. She isn't deterred by getting a no - she sees the positive in at least getting an answer - and the potential for building a relationship that is solutions focused. She shares that in building businesses to be successful one needs to be like a three legged stool, with a business focus, a client focus and a focus on how the business operates. Kerry, of course, makes fusing these three look easy.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

LaRoy Brantley is a managing principal at Meketa Investment Group. He has over 20 years experience in an investment consulting capacity. We first met when we joined Cambridge associates earlier in our careers. He has had multiple public fund board positions and has a particular focus on raising awareness of diverse investment managers.

Our conversation starts with LaRoy's unconventional path into investments - he was a classics major and following his degree spent seven years as a teacher, until his blended love of languages, classics and technology saw him pursue a graduate degree at MIT. We reflect on the learnings that can come from classics - the attention to detail, the approach to education and conveying information, and the focus on creating institutions that endure.

Now he invests his time, talent and treasure across his consulting work and work on boards, particularly college boards. We talk about his investment discipline, as well as his commitment to amplifying emerging managers and forcing those sometimes uncomfortable conversations that lead to change - LaRoy believes that discomfort has its place on a constructive path to improvement.

Please enjoy this tour through core investment beliefs, market truths and an educator's view as to how our industry can grow.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Sinead Colton Grant is Global Head of Investor Solutions at BNY Mellon, based in NYC. She has over 25 years of global multi-asset experience across investment and wealth management in both Europe and the US, and started out in derivatives sales and later currency management. She was included in the 2022 Worth.com groundbreakers list https://www.worth.com/groundbreakers2022/

Our conversation starts with Sinead's upbringing in Ireland and her family history of "strong women" where she grew up believing that any career was open to her and that no area was off limits. We tracked then her entry into financial services, the world of trading and where she learned her craft.

Moving now to the realm of investment solutions we ask what this burgeoning area actually means for clients and find out how she is thinking about this area in light of growing geo-political uncertainty, inflation and the rising awareness of ESG risks. Given Sinead's experience in currencies, we talk at length about currency exposures in portfolios, whether and how to hedge exposure and how to think about volality.

Finally she reflects on role models who have influenced her throughout her life, from a finance lecturer who enlightened the classroom with vignettes from the financial field to other industry figures. We speak about the importance of self-advocacy, about communicating as a leader and about having a career plan.

It is an empowering conversation that I hope you enjoy.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

John Robinson is Chief Executive Officer at Bridge Capital Advisors, a firm he founded in mid 2021. He previously was Chief Executive Officer at Consequent Capital Management and is a Board Member of Mifugo Hela, a fintech company based in Kenya.

Our conversation starts with John's childhood where he was born into a family of entrepreneurs, restaurant and business owners. The lessons learned there in terms of hard work, risk and resilience stayed with him throughout his life.

We move then to discussing John's roles in finance and investment and how he conceived the notion of Bridge Capital Advisors. Given his long involvement with Africa we dig in in particular to his work there as well as the gap that exists between what investors do know, and what they should know about opportunities in the region.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Doug Heron is Chief Executive Officer at CERN pension fund based in Geneva, a role he assumed in August 2021. He was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Lothian Pension Fund, and prior to that held a number of finance industry roles throughout banking and asset management. He's a trustee director of the NatWest group pension funds and was a Member of the Business Council of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland for five years.

Our conversation covers Doug's early career and some of the stints abroad that proved to be formative - namely a spell in China and now the current life change which saw him move his family to Geneva from Scotland in the summer of 2021 to take up the role at CERN. We examine the challenges and tremendous opportunities in embarking upon an international career and look at some of the similarities in running pension funds no matter the context. Doug shares some of his core investment beliefs and working habits - such as his preference for low waste - keeping communications efficient and accessible.

We reflect on some of Doug's outside interest - such as coaching youth sport and his role on the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, and how this informed his investing work, and finally turn to some key advice for all of us - to "leave early and cycle home" as a nod to wellness, avoiding burnout and retaining perspective in life.

This podcast is a collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and Room151. Room151 is an online news, opinion and resource service for local authority Section 151 and other senior officers covering treasury, strategic finance, funding, resources and risk. Room151 was launched on 8th November, 2011, by Longview Productions Ltd, the organiser of the Local Authority Treasurers’ Investment Forum and is a small, privately owned, publishing and events company. There is more information about Room151 here: https://www.room151.co.uk/about/

David Vickers is Chief Investment Officer at Brunel Pensions Partnership Limited, which manages assets on behalf of 10 partner funds within the local government pension scheme, representing about £30 billion He has extensive experience and investing in the multi asset arena, where he has spent time managing assets for a range of institutional investors.

Our conversation starts with David's upbringing in Essex, where the City beckoned, even if it wasn't a familiar career field for him growing up as his parents were teachers. We recall how even notwithstanding the drama and volatility of incidents like the Barings crash the pace and energy of the place had an allure.

We move then to the body of his career which saw him initially work in fund management and later transition to managing teams. David relates how he developed a passion for journaling, particularly as it relates to investment decisions, and for investment processes that were robust and sustainable. He describes himself as a pragmatic investor and he translates this concept into his current role at Brunel.

Our discussion turns to recent initiatives in the field of Paris-aligned and sustainable investing at Brunel, in particular the development of a Paris-aligned index along with FTSE Russell. He looks at the likely future evolution not only of sustainable investing products but also practices and ultimately what this will mean for the leveling up agenda and local investment in the UK.

This podcast is a collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and Room151. Room151 is an online news, opinion and resource service for local authority Section 151 and other senior officers covering treasury, strategic finance, funding, resources and risk. Room151 was launched on 8th November, 2011, by Longview Productions Ltd, the organiser of the Local Authority Treasurers’ Investment Forum and is a small, privately owned, publishing and events company. There is more information about Room151 here: https://www.room151.co.uk/about/

Chris Hitchen is Chairman of the Border to Coast pension partnership, as well as the Pension Super Fund and Trustee and Chair of the Investment Committee at Nest, the National Employment Savings Trust. He holds a number of other Board and director roles and was formerly chief executive of RPMI representing over £27 billion of pension arrangements for the UK rail industry.

Our conversation is a far-reaching one that starts with Chris's educational path into investment consulting and how his breadth of interests was in evidence even then - including a passion for singing and violin. Another passion is trains, and when he was given an opportunity to join the investment team of RPMI, then known as Railpens he seized the opportunity. That close to 20 year assignment saw him create a unified investment plan from over 100 separate initial liability pots, transition ultimately from an outsourced investment model to a hybrid one that included in-house managers and prioritize value for money. We dig in to what this means and the various governance models that work well in different investment entities.

With his extensive governance experience Chris has extensive insight into the importance of institutions "carrying on" into the future - and what a sustainable institution looks like. We examine ESG integration and how this is affected by governance as well as how it is driving it and assess the diversity of the finance industry as it currently stands.

This podcast is a collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and Room151. Room151 is an online news, opinion and resource service for local authority Section 151 and other senior officers covering treasury, strategic finance, funding, resources and risk. Room151 was launched on 8th November, 2011, by Longview Productions Ltd, the organiser of the Local Authority Treasurers’ Investment Forum and is a small, privately owned, publishing and events company. There is more information about Room151 here: https://www.room151.co.uk/about/

Mike O’Donnell is Chief Executive Officer of London LGPS CIV Ltd., a position he has held since March 2019, following a career of over 30 years in local government including a range of finance-related roles. He recently announced his intention to step down from that role in March 2023.

Our conversation celebrates his roots in Leicester, and notes the learnings from his parents who had emigrated from Ireland in the 1950s. We move to his education - first in science, then in accounting, then as a CIPFA trainee. We move then to his career in public service and some of the highs and lows that that involved. We look at the role of politics, governance and budgets and then move to his current role at the helm of the London CIV.

At the London CIV Mike has three priorities- 1. Delivering the right products at the right time for the pool's 32 clients with a broad range of investment strategies and investment managers. 2. ESG and climate change, in particular, where the challenge is about both having a product range and reporting and measuring progress. He notes that strong engagement and voting through the fund managers has become a huge piece of work over recent years. 3. Building the team and building the strong processes required of an FCA regulated body.

We examine what it is to have effective governance and how training is so key and reflect on a piece of wisdom Mike has learned over his years working in public service is "if you can't change it, don't worry about it".

We end by talking about a cause that Mike has championed throughout his career which is that of homelessness. As trustee and Treasurer of the National Homelessness Alliance Mike pursues advocacy and strategy on areas such as affordable housing, social housing and the housing crisis. This is echoed in his local government work, particularly as it relates to the "leveling up" agenda.

This podcast is a collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and Room151. Room151 is an online news, opinion and resource service for local authority Section 151 and other senior officers covering treasury, strategic finance, funding, resources and risk. Room151 was launched on 8th November, 2011, by Longview Productions Ltd, the organiser of the Local Authority Treasurers’ Investment Forum and is a small, privately owned, publishing and events company. There is more information about Room151 here: https://www.room151.co.uk/about/

Fabiola Schneider is a doctoral researcher at UCD Michael Smurfit business school, where she focuses on sustainable finance with a particular focus on progressing the UN SDG agenda. She is Research Co-Lead on Greenwatch, which applies AI to detect Greenwashing in the market. She is also passionate about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Our discussion is a wide-reaching one which cycles through Fabiola's diverse areas of research. We start with what what attracted her to the field of sustainable finance and then turn to the the most dynamic areas of change in this arena. We unpack the concept of net zero goals, and examine how they can be set and ultimately reached. We examine the European taxonomy, and ask if it is fit for purpose, then examine the prevalence of greenwashing, and look at how artificial intelligence can be employed to detect it.

There is more information on Greenwatch here https://www.greenwatch.ai/

as well as on other aspects of our discussion such as the ECB's dirty bond purchases here https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3630112

and on Investment Banks as fossil fuel brokers https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00343404.2021.1995601.

Like many of the other guests in this Series 3, Fabiola is a truth seeker and a diligent student of policy and the frequent gaps between policy and practice. She also is skilled at explaining complex concepts in layperson's terms, using imagery such as a "diet" and a bathtub to convey relative performance measures, and the problem with a net and not an absolute emissions goal.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Robin Powell is a journalist, investor advocate, financial educator and content consultant. He is Head of Client Education at RockWealth, as well as Editor of The Evidence Based Investor, and executive director of Regis Media and Ember. He is a frequent commentator on investment management and behavioural finance, often probing the purported value added by active managers and advocating for better transparency and investor education.

Our conversation is a provocative one, which starts with Robin's entry into the world of media, and how he developed a passion for financial markets. We talk about financial literacy, the importance of transparency, use of plain English and clarity as to value added as well as suitability. We cycle through pension fund investing and individual investing, public markets and private markets and into the emerging landscape of ESG investing. It is safe to say that no stone is left unturned either by Robin in his advocacy or in this discussion.

You can find more of Robin's writing on the Evidence Based Investor blog: https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/about/ including articles on Bessembinder research:

https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/most-stocks-are-duds-yes-you-read-that-right/

articles arguing that passive managers aren’t passive share owners: https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/is-rise-indexing-bad-for-governance/

and the website belonging to Prof Ludovic Phalippou that debunks some of the myths surrounding private equity:

https://pelaidbare.com/

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Debbie Cunningham is Chief Investment Officer of Global Liquidity Markets at Federated Hermes and has been a portfolio manager for all government and prime liquidity products since 1990. She previously was Director and President of the CFA Society of Pittsburgh and sits on the board of Robert Morris University, Treasury Market Practices Group and Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.

Our discussion covers Debbie's extraordinary career in the fixed income arena, which spanned over 40 years and saw radically evolving interest rate environments and economic backdrops. She describes the fundraising climate and use of money market funds when she joined the firm, and reflects on the changing role of the instruments today. We examine the diversity of the industry at the time that she joined and the way it has changed.

Having managed a successful career with a family Debbie speaks to her approach of melding work and family and reflects on her approach to risk throughout her career. We hear about seizing opportunities, making choices and looking back without regret.

Series 3 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Matt Sherwood, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WeVidIt Media, a video streaming platform that leverages data and analytics for a more inclusive and profitable entertainment industry. We met while he worked as an asset allocator, where he headed up public market investments for MMBB Financial Services. He has spent time as a guest lecturer and an appointed professor at Columbia University and The King’s College in New York, and has authored a textbook on the topic of ESG Investing. He is a board member of the Guide Dog Foundation and American Vet Dogs and serves on the Lavelle Fund’s Investment Committee.

Matt lost his sight at the age of 24, and became legally blind within a matter of days. We discuss how he pivoted from a practical perspective, which enabled him to continue his career and to thrive there. We discuss the inclusion of people with similar disabilities in the professional world, and examine the massive advances in technology which are making access more seamless. Biases and prejudices however are less dynamic in changing and Matt reframes the term "persons with disability" as "persons with determination".

We discuss many of the organizations and advocacy groups that are furthering better inclusion and then move to discuss Matt's current passion for WeVidIt, democratizing access to this form of investment and the fundamentals that underlie it.

We are releasing this podcast as a bonus in recognition of April 27 being International Guide Dog Day.

Jack Dodd describes himself as a human who talks about mental health. I came across him thanks to a powerful LinkedIn post he made about how boys get sad too, in which he called to normalize expressing emotion, sometimes at work. He is a corporate partnerships lead in the Charity Sector and prior to that worked in recruitment. I asked Jack to join me to talk about the mental health advocacy that is close to his heart and to hear about the response he received to the LinkedIn post that drew me to him.

Our conversation starts with Jack's own story, and how he developed the courage to talk about mental health, feeling sad, feeling grief and how to assist others to develop the same vulnerability. We talk about why barriers sometimes exist to this kind of sharing, and how to break them down.

This podcast will also appear in our 2022 Pride Series, which will be launched in June 2022.

Welcome back to the Fiftyfaces Podcast where we are delighted to bring you Series 3 of 2022, which features critical thinkers from all walks of life. We hear about the value added of active
management, the robustness of sustainable investing terminology, the role of politics in promoting inclusion and economic empowerment and the opportunity in Africa.

First we hear from Debbie Cunningham, who has had a four decade career at Federated Hermes, in a leadership role within fixed income. Her journey has seen some fascinating changes in the market backdrop, not least of all in the prevailing risk free rate on money market funds.

We then move on to one of the most critical thinkers I know, Robin Powell, UK-based financial journalist and consultant, who presents robust challenges to value added and value for money in actively managed funds. We might argue that our industry very much needs these questions to be asked, and Robin is certainly not afraid to ask them.

We have more critical thinking as well as some powerful, actionable and relatable examples in the sustainability field in our conversation with Fabiola Schneider, who is active in tracking greenwashing and how sustainable investing is translated into practice. This podcast is essential listening as a primer on many topics.

John Robinson takes us on a journey of his start-up career, which has led him now to uncover the opportunity in Africa, while Sinead Colton Grant traces her own career path from Ireland to the helm of solutions at a large money manager in the wealth management division.

LaRoy Brantley is a legend in the consulting field and his own background as a classics major, and then a teacher, may be responsible for the powerful way in which he translates investment ideas for his diverse client base.

We move then to another kind of legend, one of business development, and chat with Kerry Duffain and hear about her extremely varied early career, but how that all laid the groundwork for an extremely persistent streak that lies behind her business building success. Another pathbreaker has been Les Bond, who founded Attucks Asset Management and has supported a vast network of emerging managers.

We return to sustainable equity investing with our conversation with Deirdre Cooper of Ninety One and hear how product proliferation in sustainable investing products is far from the problem it is made out to be. We end then with a conversation of another mainstay of UK asset management Matteo Dante Peruccio, who has pivoted yet again to another passion - digital assets. We hear about that thesis, why it is a multi-faceted one and where we go from here.

Series 3 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Maureen Downey is a Managing Director in Alternative Assets at The Beneficient Company Group as well as a Venture Partner at DigitalDx Ventures, and has specialized in alternatives investing with a particular focus on secondary investments and ESG integration for over 15 years.

Maureen and I got to know eachother at Goldman Sachs in London and it was fascinating for me in this discussion to discover the richness of her hinterland in terms of time spent in Emerging Markets, gaining experience in a range of industries and learning from some of the leaders in the field.

As an experienced investor in both emerging markets and private equity, we had a unique opportunity to discuss the intersections between the two areas, and now layer in the complexities of ESG overlays as well as the secondary market and its evolution.

We discuss the innovation that is being pursued by The Beneficient Company and how the time in the market is ripe for such a solution. Finally we reflect on the learnings from a career in international finance and the grounding that different academic backgrounds can provide.

Meredith Jones is a published author, speaker and consultant with decades of experience in the investment industry. She is a Partner and Global Head of ESG at a large consulting firm, where she chairs the ESG Think Tank with oversight of global solution development and strategy relating to climate change and ESG. She runs her own research firm MJ Alternative Investment Research and is on the Board of Directors of Rock The Street, Wall Street. She is the Author of Women of The Street: Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns and How you Can too. She released a Ted Talk on her life experiences called “Creating Luck for Yourself”.

Our conversation is a very broad-based one that starts with her upbringing, in which the theme of social mobility featured prominently. We trace the mentors who saw her talent and nurtured it, and then move to her ascent through financial services. Meredith has broken barriers with her research, particularly her findings of the added value of female fund managers. She has built an extensive network this way, and is a prominent advocate for better diversity in financial services as as on boards.

We talk about her current passion, Rock the Street Wall Street, and the work that that organization does in promoting roles in finance, providing networks, insights and mentorship as well as role models to young women interested in pursuing a career there.

Finally we listen to some life truths, such as never read the comments and to not think about careers and progression as a zero sum game.

You can see Meredith's Ted talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UR6WvCoNGQ

Nawar Alsaadi is a Senior Portfolio Manager in ESG investing at Canada Post and previously worked as a long-only portfolio manager. He has led product development for ESG product research and spent time as a private ESG investor.

Our discussion covers Nawar's childhood in Iraq, what drove his early interest investing and his transition to ESG-focused investing. He is a frequent commentator on LinkedIn and it was his insightful and relatable posts there that drew me to him. We cycle through many themes that he has expanded upon in articles, books and on LinkedIn including: the Russian Doll approach to understanding Net Zero, the concept of regret when it comes to stocks that are now the subject of divestment, the topic of engagement v. divestment and the broadbased adoption of ESG investing.

We discuss his writing and what drives him as well as some of the people who have inspired him.

There is a moving tribute to Nawar's mother who passed away in early April and whom he mentions on the podcast as an inspiring force in his life, on LinkedIN here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nawar-alsaadi-fsa-sipc-9667b650_iraqi-artist-sawsan-saif-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9-activity-6919364702162563072-yEbQ?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

You can read more about Nawar's stock market adventures here: https://hardbacon.ca/en/investing/nawar-alsaadi-lost-won-millions-stock-market/

Jennifer Coffey is Chief Executive Officer at Bright Capital Advisors, a firm she founded a decade ago that focus on capital introductions and placement for a range of alternative asset managers. She started her career in foreign exchange research at Lehman Brothers and worked in hedge funds for many years.

Our conversation starts with Jennifer's start in the world of finance, how she learned by doing on the trading floor and where she found her natural strengths to lie. We jump then to her time as an allocator in a fund of hedge funds, and what that taught her about an allocator's mindset, which was to prove extremely valuable in her next role.

When she faced a crossroads in her career, Jennifer took the decision to set up her own placement firm, and found that the partnerships with high quality GPs paid dividends in terms of opening doors, and building her own credibility as their representative. She talks about her persistence and work ethic, and how putting herself in the shoes of an allocator has enabled her to reframe the process of making introductions. Finally she shares her reflections on her upbringing and the people that inspired her - such as her father, a prolific author with boundless energy.

Bright by name and bright by nature, this bonus episode is an inspiring conversation that is a must listen for anyone interested in business building in the world of investing.

Nazmeera Moola is Chief Sustainability Officer of Ninety One, based in Capetown, where she previously headed up South African investing. Our podcasts starts with a discussion of her farming background as a child and the lessons that that taught her in terms of planning, market volatility, the importance of diversification and risk management. It was an interesting preparation for a career in investing, and we talk through the challenges and opportunities of emerging market investing, particularly in Africa.

We move then to her current role in Sustainable Investing, and first ask what a Chief Sustainability Officer does, and then analyze the particular context that living in such a rich country in terms of biodiversity and climate challenges provides. South Africa has been the cradle of many developments in terms of sustainability - in particular the discussion around extinction accounting, the imperatives around protecting ecosystems and the trade-offs that a just transition may contemplate.

We conclude with reflections on risk-taking, career paths and the diversity of the investment profession.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Molly Burba is Managing Director in Investment Research at RiskBridge Advisors, an OCIO firm serving institutional and individual investors. She previously held a series of investment research and allocation roles. She has a passion for wellness and spent a period working as a wellness consultant in a firm she established, and was captain of the Women’s Soccer Team while at Vanderbilt University.

Our conversation starts with Molly's first passion - for sports. From backyard soccer skills to competitive play and captaining a university level team, we learn what drives her in sports, and some of the life lessons it taught her. These lessons included learning to put a team's interests first when her own play time might be compromised, and coping and resetting after peaking early.

We move then to her career in finance and how the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer firm she is currently in offers a perfect blend of self-directed research, client service and decision making. We speak also about the challenges and rewards of blending work and family and the management style that is most accommodative.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Dr. Namukale Chintu is a finance professional who holds Non Executive Director Roles including roles at Invesco Limited and Arkadia Asset Management and a number of advisory roles. She started her career in investment banking and held a series of Executive Director roles in Proprietary Capital and Wealth Management covering Africa. She is the founder of Frontier Market Consultants.

A former Rhodes Scholar, she is National Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarship in Zambia and is passionate about encouraging entrepreneurship and enabling diverse founders to thrive.

This is a sweeping discussion which covers Namukale's early education in Zambia, her path to Oxford and her first foray into investment management. Our conversation cycles through the investment case for Africa, why she is so passionate about assisting entrepreneurs there and how her own life experience has enriched her perspective.

We discuss how her experience of early setbacks at university in Zambia prepared her for some of the volatility that the finance world provided (e.g. at Lehman Brothers in 2008). We examine how that learned skill of adaptation and pivoting is an essential one in the business world, and how, now as a director, it can be brought to bear in providing non-executive advice and input.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Hardeep Rai is Group Chief Executive Officer at The Kaleidoscope Group of Companies, which enable disabled individuals to realize their full potential and find their purpose by enabling them to learn new skills, find their dream job or start their own business. Kaleidoscope Investments invests in disabled individuals with great ideas enabling them to launch their own businesses. Hardeep is a prominent advocate for the rights of disabled people, particularly in the City of London network, and is driven by an agenda of social impact and inclusion.

I was drawn to Hardeep upon reading a passionate LinkedIn post of his celebrating the birthday of his son Eshan - who has severe cerebral palsy and is now in his teens. That post, which celebrates their love for eachother and the joy each brings to the other's life, struck a chord with many. Hardeep was inspired by the response to that post to set up a LinkedIn group for parents of children with special needs.

Our conversation covers Hardeep's own career in the city and how Eshan's birth drove him to take a separate path. He now is an advocate for disabled individuals in the City of London as well as a leader in The Kaleidoscope group of companies. Through Hardeep's work with disabled individuals he saw the important cognitive diversity that could be brought to many corporate settings. He also became aware of the unique challenges facing disabled individuals seeking to start their own businesses and has dedicated a separate entity within Kaleidoscope to that.

This is an inspiring and uplifting conversation that may just cause you to think differently about difference, about potential and the right of every individual to pursue their career path with dignity and hope.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Tremaine Wills is the founder and chief operating officer of Mind Over Money, which provides financial planning advice and manages investment portfolios to help clients meet their financial goals. She formerly spent time as an investment advisor representative, and from 2015 to 2019 worked as a maths teacher initially for Teach for America. Based in Virginia, she is passionate about increasing financial literacy for the black community in particular.

Our conversation starts with Tremaine's childhood growing up in a single family household in the Virginia Beach area. She had an early talent for braiding hair but quickly realized though that her braiding business, while allowing her to have a creative outlet, would not be scaleable and was physically challenging. We move then to her college career at an HBCU, and her first foray into finance and business and how isolating she ultimately found that. Driven by a desire to give back to her community, promote financial literacy and create a safe space for herself in the financial advisor community she launched her own RIA.

She remains passionate about serving the black community in wealth management and in furthering financial literacy and we dig in to some of the challenges and roadblocks that she thinks are in place. Most of this results from mindset and embedded behaviors around saving and we discuss ways that this can be addressed, particularly through long-term coaching style and supportive relationships and networks.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Marquette Chester is Senior Managing Director and Head of Alternatives at Xponance, Inc., based in Atlanta Georgia. He previously spent over 20 years at Invesco, the last 11 years of which were as Managing Director within the Private Capital area.

Our conversation covers Marquette's legendary career - where he has worked in a range of financial services firms and forged a name for himself as a relationship builder who is committed to leaving the industry richer than he found it.

We speak about the hurdles that Marquette has set for himself, his standards of excellence, and the importance that relationships have had throughout his career arc. Throughout his career Marquette has seen significant change in terms of diversity, and has been committed to organizations such as NASP.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Alex Edmans, is a professor of finance at the London Business school. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World” and the TEDx talk “The Social Responsibility of Business” with a combined 2.4 million views. Alex’s book, “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit”, (see also link here: https://mybook.to/Grow-The-Pie-pb) was featured in the Financial Times list of Business Books of the Year for 2020, and he is a co-author of “Principles of Corporate Finance” (with Brealey, Myers, and Allen) for the 14th edition to be published in April 2022. Poets and Quants named him Professor of the Year for 2021.

Our conversation starts with Alex's first foray into finance, which was as a practitioner and why he saw a path of academia as enabling him to have broader reach, and ultimately create more impact. We speak in detail about his areas of focus, and Alex is honest about the danger of academic research being cherry-picked to lend credence to different objectives.

We use some relatable analogies to explain the benefits of engagement v. divestment, and explore the meaning of what "responsible business practice" really means and the trade-offs that are involved.

Alex is noted for bringing the latest in cutting edge sustainability research into industry in a digestible and commercial way, and for this reason I believe he is responsible for "shrinking the gap" between theory and practice. This is a broad-reaching and stimulating discussion.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Ryan Bailey is a Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Carbonado Partners LLC, a leading placement agent with a differentiated approach to fundraising for emerging managers. He was previously Head of Investments at Children’s Health in the Dallas Area, and prior to that held various roles in investment boutiques including placement firms.

Our conversation starts with his ultra-early interest in investing and a purchase of Telmex stock that ended up funding his college education. The passion for investing he discovered then followed him into an allocator role where he spent many years as a Director of Investments for Dallas Children's Hospital. He talks about the particular aspects of investing on behalf of a hospital and how the concept of "enterprise risk" drives the asset allocation decision.

Now in a leadership role at Carbonado partners, Ryan spends significant time with emerging managers and sees firsthand the challenges faced by them. He assesses the industry as barely having a passing grade in that respect, and is keen to see that improve.

Finally Ryan shares what being a survivor of the World Trade Center collapse in 2001 taught him about appreciating each day, being mindful of his own good fortune and taking nothing for granting. It is an inspiring conversation that leaves us with the wise words: A wise man knows everything and a shrewd man knows everybody. Words to remember indeed.

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Cynthia Tusan is CEO and Chairman of Strategic Global Advisors, a fundamentally inspired and quantitatively driven investment manager focused on global equities, a role she has held for over 16 years. She previously was a portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management and is based in the Newport Beach area.

Our conversation starts with her upbringing which was the ultimate marriage of science and art, and translate that into her current passion for investment, which is, of course, part art and science. We speak about her experience of founding a firm as well as her philosophy for leading and motivating a team.

During our diversity discussion we discuss a recent example of "taking a stand" in which Cynthia publicly challenged an industry article that suggested that female fund managers had seen more negative impact from pandemic-related school closures than male fund managers. See this link for more information on the outcome:

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1smmwcdnt0nkm/A-Note-to-Our-Readers

We move then to her passion for education, in particular after-school education programs, and the impact that they can have. Our conversation ends with the people who have inspired her - and there is quite a list!

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

Stephanie Braming is Global Head of Investment Management at William Blair & Co. based in Chicago. She was previously a portfolio manager and specialist at William Blair. And prior to that investment consultant, she started her career as an examiner in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

We start with her upbringing in a rural town in the Midwest and how she moved from an English literature major to a role as a federal bank examiner, where she was once referred to as "that examiner girl". The fit proved to be a good one though as her visits involved banks like those in her home town. She moved from there to a role as an investment consultant and then a portfolio manager at an asset management firm.

Now in a leadership role at the firm and Global Head of Investment Management she is focused on a range of issues, from meaningful integration of ESG risk factors across the investment processes to improving the recruiting pipeline to ensure it feeds a diverse investment industry of the future.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.

In Series 2 of the 2022 podcast we discussing taking a stand – a stand against climate change, against bias, against recruitment processes that aren’t generating the results and against stereotypical thinking.

We hear from another 10 inspiring guests from around the world. From the academic who realized he could make a better impact with his sustainable finance agenda in the world through publishing papers and writing books, to the fund manager with a passion for improving after school education to a head of asset management who is changing the recruitment process from the ground up.

We hear about a founder committed to leveling the playing field for persons with disabilities both in the City and in entrepreneurial endeavors, and a former college soccer star whose lessons on the field prepared her for being a supportive team player in her work life.

A master fund-raiser tells us how the the greatest hurdles he ever faced were those he set for himself, while the founder of a placement firm discusses the work he does to elevate diverse managers.

A financial advisor describes the work she does to promote financial literacy and describes how not feeling safe in her job motivated her to launch her own firm, while a fund director reveals how her university life in Zambia prepared her for the unexpected. Staying in Africa we hear how farm-life is a good preparation for surviving in markets.

There is more information on the Fiftyfaces Podcast on the fiftyfaceshub.com.

Meet the guests in Series 1:

Stephanie Braming is global head of investment management at William Blair & Company. Based in Chicago, she was previously a portfolio manager and specialist at William Blair, and prior to that an investment consultant. She started her career as an examiner in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Year for 2021.

Cynthia Tusan is CEO and Chairman of Strategic Global Advisors, a fundamentally inspired and quantitatively driven investment manager focused on global equities, a role she has held for over 16 years. She previously was a portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management and is based in the Newport Beach Area.

Ryan Bailey is a Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Carbonado Partners LLC, a leading placement agent with a differentiated approach to fundraising for emerging managers. He was previously Head of Investments at Children’s Health in the Dallas Area, and prior to that held various roles in investment boutiques including placement firms.

Alex Edmans is a professor of finance at the London Business school. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World” and the TEDx talk “The Social Responsibility of Business” with a combined 2.4 million views. Alex’s book, “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit”, was featured in the Financial Times list of Business Books of the Year for 2020, and he is a co-author of “Principles of Corporate Finance” (with Brealey, Myers, and Allen) for the 14th edition to be published in April 2022. Poets and Quants named him Professor of the

Marquette Chester is Senior Managing Director and Head of Alternatives at Xponance, Inc., based in Atlanta Georgia. He previously spent over 20 years at Invesco, the last 11 years of which were as Managing Director within the Private Capital area.

Tremaine Wills is the founder and Chief Operating Officer of Mind Over Money, which provides financial planning advice and manages investment portfolios to help client meet their financial goals. She formerly spent time as an Investment Advisor Representative and from 2015 to 2019 worked as a mathematics teacher, initially for Teach for America. Based in Virginia, she is passionate about increasing financial literacy for the Black Community in particular.

Hardeep Rai is Group Chief Executive Officer at The Kaleidoscope Group of Companies, which enable disabled individuals to realize their full potential and find their purpose by enabling them to learn new skills, find their dream job or start their own business. Kaleidoscope Investments, which invests in disabled individuals with great ideas enabling them to launch their own businesses. He is a prominent advocate for the rights of disabled people, particularly in the City of London network, and is driven by an agenda of social impact and inclusion.

Dr. Namukale Chintu holds Non Executive Director Roles including roles at Invesco Limited and Arkadia Asset Management and a number of advisory roles. She started her career in investment banking and held a series of Executive Director roles in Proprietary Capital and Wealth Management covering Africa., She is the founder of Frontier Market Consultants. A former Rhodes Scholar, she is National Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarship in Zambia and is passionate about encouraging entrepreneurship and enabling diverse founders to thrive.

Molly Burba is Managing Director in Investment Research at RiskBridge Advisors, an OCIO firm serving institutional and individual investors. She previously held a series of investment research and allocation roles. She has a passion for Wellness and spent a period working as a wellness consultant in a firm she established, and was captained of the Women’s Soccer Team while at Vanderbilt University.

Nazmeera Moola is Chief Sustainability Officer of Ninety One, based in Capetown, where she previously headed up South African investing.

So from Tuesday March 15 tune in to hear from our 10 inspiring guests in Series 2. You can find all of our podcasts on the Fiftyfaces Hub, together with other resources such as affinity groups, internships and job opportunities, coaching and tips for well-being. Please follow us on Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIN, and rate us on Apple Podcasts to spread the word.

Diana Kiluta Amoa, is Chief Investment Officer of Kirkoswald, a US based hedge fund, and she formerly spent over a decade in financial services in a range of roles including fixed income and rates trading, with a focus on Emerging Markets. She is a Board Member of the Global Nomads Group among other roles.

Our conversation starts with her upbringing in Kenya, her education in the UK and how she pursued a Masters in African Studies among other post-graduate programs when she became a Rhodes scholar. We explore what she learned from that - how it enabled her to draw parallels across different disciplines and see issues in context.

We then turn to her extensive career in investing and the various roles that she assumed at different times, involving the coverage of all of Emerging Markets, to setting up fixed income trading functions to setting up an entire business in Africa and being forced to train up counter-parties (also her competition) in order to ensure liquid, well-functioning markets.

We look at the appeal of the asset allocator function and how it relates to being a fiduciary, and examine what that actually means. We also ask why in emerging markets the support functions provided to women can enable less complicated career paths and ask whether extending similar supports globally would change the trajectory for some professional women.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors.The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Joel Moreland is a Principal Consultant at Social and Environmental Finance.

He has worked in early stage investing, corporate finance, fund management and mainstream banking. In this discussion we start with how he was born into a culture of activism, thanks to the work his parents had done, and then delve into a broad and multi-faceted discussion about the issue of climate change and the various steps being taken to address it.

Joel's view is that the main issue is "urgency" - the urgency of the problem and the lack of understanding that the naturally conservative approach being taken by scientists in the modeling, arguably, requires much greater action by investors.

We talk about lobbying, the multi-lateral policy changes that are on the horizon, and the difference that concerted action by like-minded investors can make.

We learn about the mindset of "doing good" and how it is sometimes incompatible with generating a profit or making a return, and how we need to adapt our services and communication to make progress more likely.

We talk about the innovations inherent in climate tech, how being a techno-optimist is not enough anymore and how regulatory change can make a real, positive difference. It is a discussion that blends both high level directions of travel and specific examples of what is going well and less well amid the current environmental challenges.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors.The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Stavros Siokos is managing partner and co-founder at Astarte Capital Partners. He started his career with Salomon Brothers in NYC in the mid-nineties, was sent to London and later was managing director of Citigroup responsible for the global trading strategies across the firm and for the product solution for all pension funds and insurance companies across the world. He was formerly Head of Investment Management at Piraeus Bank. He is originally from Greece, but has lived outside there since 1990, mainly USA (where he did his Ph.D and Masters) and the UK.

Astarte Partners is an asset management firm with a global presence, that is focused on identifying thematic real asset strategies that are usually difficult for investors to access. They identify the strategies and different teams that they can deliver the strategies, and create asset management businesses. Stavros presents, in an unvarnished way, the challenges and opportunities of start-up life, how it takes, on reflection, double the time, double the money and half the friends. He speaks about the importance of trust and relationship building and how a friend in life may not necessarily be the right partner in business.

During the podcast he dives into some of the real asset strategies that they have launched at Astarte, including a forestry business which can now get the extra "boost" of carbon credits to enhance returns. We look at the increasing integration of ESG awareness and how this is changing the face of real asset opportunities.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Finally Stavros reflects on what has been important in his life, and the role that education has played, and how his greatest impact in life is educating other young people.

Seema Hingorani is the founder and chair of Girls Who Invest and a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Mangement. She previously was CIO at her own hedge fund and Chief Investment Officer of NYC Retirement Systems where she spent 4 years following a long career in asset management.

Seema's story has been told just recently in this podcast hosted by my friend Susan Soh so we took things in a slightly different direction. We first looked back at Seema's extraordinary career and asked about her career highs and lows. One of her high points was her time as CIO in the NYC Retirement Systems and we discuss the surprising benefits of a stint in public service.

Another highlight was the starting and success of the Girls Who Invest program (see link: https://www.girlswhoinvest.org/) which went from proof of concept to a program that has placed over 100 scholars into the financial services industry and is expanding rapidly from here. We discuss the pushback that Seema received at the beginning and how she went about proving some naysayers wrong and continues to "flood the system" with impressive talent.

We speak about the advice that the Girls Who Invest scholars receive, about how they are encouraged to optimize for career success and then turn to the particular strains that Covid restrictions and impediments to networking have put on young people at this stage of their career.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Simon Chisholm is Chief Investment Officer at Resonance Limited, an investment manager focused on achieving social and place-based impact. It currently runs funds focused on three themes – homelessness, housing for vulnerable women, and housing for adults with learning differences. It has over 20 years of an Impact Track Record and has housed over 2300 people in 1000 properties since inception. Simon previously spent over 16 years in investment banking and also holds a number of Board Roles.

Our conversation track's Simon's journey into impact investing and how that whole area has evolved over the course of his career. We speak about the nature of place-based impact and some of the challenges yet opportunities that present themselves. We ask how this impact can be reliably measured, and look at the evolving nature of products in this area.

Finally in the personal reflection section we look at the importance of staying curious and staying grounded.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Dr. Rania Azmi is the Founder of Alexandrite Decisions, a NATO registered management consultancy and training firm that fuses her three interests of investment strategy, academia and cancer patient advocacy. Based in Kuwait, she was strategic adviser to the Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund for over 10 years and has had a long career in academia and is a member of the executive education board at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. One of her particular interests is decision making.

Our conversation traces her career journey, why she chose finance, and how she developed an interest in decision making. We turn then to institutional investment in the Middle East and the issues that dominate the discourse there at present, including matters of ESG integration.

One of Rania's passions is cancer patient advocacy - an area sadly that she never originally sought, but stepped into when she saw gaps and a need for improvement. We talk about that as well as her experience in the world of finance as a muslim woman.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Vitali Kalesnik is a partner and senior member of the investment team at Research Affiliates, a Newport Beach headquartered investment firm. Vitali is based in London. He has focused his career in equity based research and has a Phd in economics. He has written extensively in academic journals and has received various industry rewards for his content. He is originally from Belarus.

Our conversation starts with his upbringing in Belarus and how a basic first computer sparked a love for coding. A deep commitment by his parents to his education and tutoring led to a branching out in terms of third level education, which saw Vitali study in the US and ultimately pursue a PhD.

Given that Vitali's focus is factor investing, we examine the sentiment towards this form of investing and how it has evolved over time, in particular during periods of challenging performance. in particular we look to ESG integration across this arena.

We speak about the concept of academic collaboration and how well that type of partnership can work across one's career, even outside the academic realm. We also look at the importance of recognizing one's strengths and weaknesses and addressing those items that promote success - such as presentation skills.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Rachel Green is Director of Institutional Sales at Nuveen. She started her career in risk management and moved into a sales role in 2014. She has been a prominent voice in the City of London on issues of diversity and inclusion and is the founder of The Skills Workshop, to help women and young people understand their career options, share stories and to identify with others as well to create a sense of belonging.

Our conversation starts with Rachel's upbringing in the Caribbean and her move to London as a teenager. She describes her entry into the world of finance as a "crash landing", which proves to have been a very fortuitous one. We discuss how she started to thrive in the industry and her move to sales.

The most extraordinary part of our discussion is the vision behind The Skills Workshop (https://diversityproject.com/theskillsworkshop) which Rachel launched in 2021, which involved over 60 seminars and 8,000 participants as part of a massive, concerted, volunteer effort. Rachel's description of how a simple gesture and exposure changed her life, and the hope that this effort will have the same, exponential, effect on thousands of life is a true definition of impact.

One of the mentor's in Rachel's career has included Justin Onuekwusi, whose own podcast featured in the 2021 Fiftyfaces Podcast (https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/fiftyfaces/episodes/2021-04-08T11_02_52-07_00) and who now has his own podcast series with the extraordinary Darren Johnson (see his own profile here: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/fiftyfaces/episodes/2021-09-08T01_56_57-07_00) The Rolling Start Podcast (https://audioboom.com/channels/5060750).

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

David Hutchings recently retired from Albourne Americas where he was most recently Partner Emeritus having spent over 14 years at the firm where he founded the private equity research practice when he joined. He previously held a range of senior private equity roles in a career that spanned over 50 years.

We start with the serendipitous start to his career - how he was tapped on the shoulder while sitting on a sea wall on a winter's day and how this led to a business school course and ultimately a career in the earliest forms of venture and private equity investing. David witnessed the birth of the industry as we know it in the UK, and recalls a time when a debate raged as to whether the industry (globally) would ever reach $100 m.

We speak about the industry's evolution - how David believes that investors sometimes get lost in the weeds of due diligence and voluminous data rooms and may miss the obvious human aspects of the professionals steering capital. He believes that private equity remains a people business built on trust and networks and that despite its massive evolution in recent years these factors remain key.

We end with the reference to luck being opportunity taken, and how seizing opportunities - whether to make a change in location or to work with an inspiring mentor can determine the course of a career and turn out to be the source of much luck. Finally, we are reminded of the importance of listening - as a tool to build relationships and truly understand deals and interpersonal dynamics.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Kimberly Smith is Head of Capital Formation at Techstars. She was previously Director of Marketing and Investor Relations at Owl Creek Asset Management and before that worked at Davidson Kempner and ABN AMRO. She holds a number of Board Roles and is an active advocate for education.

Kim is already known as a force in the world of client development and client service in the hedge fund arena. We dig in to the factors that made her a success - how her belief in "listening to learn" has guided her through her career and towards the importance of building relationships first, long before solutions may be in hand.

But first we focus on her fascinating back story - on a LinkedIn post in which she mentioned her army veteran father and the path he embarked up on early in life to build a life of education and opportunity for himself and his own family. We hear about Kim's grandmother, illiterate and employed as a domestic, who put her son on his path in life with $20 in his pocket and a generation's worth of expectations and hope.

We hear about Kim's passion for education and how her impact in this area takes many forms - from her work on non-profits and at schools to her insistence that a place at the table is accompanied by a voice at the table.

Series 1 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Welcome back to The Fiftyfaces Podcast in 2022. In this first series we meet with ten more inspiring guests and draw out in particular themes relating to impact and the importance of education. For some of our guests their commitment to educating the next generation – whether through personal sponsorship, Board Roles, teaching decision making or the founding of The Skills Workshop – there is universal belief in its importance.

Impact takes many forms, and includes investment in education, but for some of our guests it also includes solutions to alleviate homelessness, house vulnerable women and adults with learning differences, or address the problem of climate change.

We hear from private equity veterans, a rising stars in Emerging Markets and one in factor investing, creators of movements and inspiring figures all of whom make our industry richer, healthier and more sustainable.

The first series is brought to you with the kind support of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager invests in public equities in the technology, media, telecommunication, financial and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2011 and manages assets via a long/short fund and a long-only fund.

Kimberly Smith is Head of Capital Formation at Techstars. She was previously Director of Marketing and Investor Relations at Owl Creek Asset Management and before that worked at Davidson Kempner and ABN AMRO. She holds a number of Board Roles and is an active advocate for education

David Hutchings recently retired from Albourne Americas where he was most recently Partner Emeritus having spent over 14 years at the firm where he founded the private equity research practice when he joined. He previously held a range of senior private equity roles in a career that spanned over 50 years.

Rachel Green is Director of Institutional Sales at Nuveen. She started her career in risk management and moved into a sales role in 2014. She has been a prominent voice in the City of London on issues of diversity and inclusion and is the Founder of The Skills Workshop (https://diversityproject.com/theskillsworkshop), to help women and young people understand their career options, share stories and to identify with others as well to create a sense of belonging.

Vitali Kalesnik who is a partner and senior member of the investment team at Research Affiliates, a Newport Beach headquartered investment firm. Vitali is based in London. He has focused his career in equity based research and has a Phd in economics. He has written extensively in academic journals and has received various industry rewards for his content. He is originally from Belarus.

Dr. Rania Azmi is the Founder of Alexandrite Decisions, a NATO registered management consultancy and training firm that fuses her three interests of investment strategy, academia and cancer patient advocacy. Based in Kuwait, she was strategic adviser to the Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund for over 10 years and has had a long career in academia and is a member of the executive education board at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. One of her particular interests is decision making.

Simon Chisholm is Chief Investment Officer at Resonance Limited, an investment manager focused on achieving social and place-based impact. It currently runs funds focused on three themes – homelessness, housing for vulnerable women, and housing for adults with learning differences. It has over 20 years of an Impact Track Record and has housed over 2300 people in 1000 properties since inception. Simon previously spent over 16 years in investment banking and also holds a number of Board Roles.

Seema Hingorani, the founder and chair of Girls Who Invest and a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Mangement. She previously was CIO at her own hedge fund and Chief Investment Officer of NYC Retirement Systems where she spent 4 years following a long career in asset management.

Stavros Stiokos, managing partner and co-founder at Astarte Capital Partners.
Stavros started his career with Salomon Brothers in NYC in the mid-nineties and later was sent to London. He then became managing director of Citigroup responsible for the global trading strategies across the firm and for the product solutions for all pension funds and insurance companies across the world. He was formerly Head of Investment Management at Piraeus Bank. He is originally from Greece, but has lived outside there since 1990, mainly USA (where he did his Ph.D and Masters) and the UK.

Joel Moreland, who is a principal consultant in social and environmental finance. He previously worked as a fund manager and has a background in maths and management.

Diana Kiluta Amoa, is Chief Investment Officer of Kirkoswald, a US based hedge fund, and she formerly spent over a decade in financial services in a range of roles including fixed income and rates trading, with a focus on Emerging Markets. She is a Board Member of the Global Nomads Group among other roles.

In this last episode in this collection we go primarily to the US and Middle East, where we meet with some seasoned as well as newer directors to hear their thoughts on the evolution of the role and the power of diversity. We also hear from two guests, Dr. Rania Azmi and Kimberly Smith, who will feature in the first series of our 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast.

First we hear from Jan Nicholson, who is president of two private family foundations, the Nicholson Foundation in New Jersey, and the Grable Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has held board positions at Rubbermaid, Ball Corporation and Radian Group, Inc., from 1990 to 2015. I asked her about how her investment experience fed in to her Board roles, and how even without specific industry experience it is. possible to add value by leveraging her own expertise – e.g. on the Audit Committee of a board.

Staying in the US we then hear from legal legend, former Michigan Supreme Court Judge and Mayor of Detroit, Dennis Archer. Dennis has committed his life to lifting up people behind him on the ladder, and he reflects on the levels of diversity within Board level roles and why diversity has such value.

We hear then from Gerald Chen-Young, who was formerly CIO of the United Negro College Fund as well as holding numerous board roles and now running his own consultancy. He is candid about his reflections on his time in the executive role and how he wishes he had done even more to promote inclusion.

Moving then to our 2022 guests we hear from Kuwait-based Dr. Rania Azmi about her Board Roles and how she has seen value in thinking outside the box to add value. The outstanding Kimberly Smith rounds out this podcast and the entire series by distinguishing between having a seat at the table and having a voice, and the importance of ground rules to establish Board norms.

Setting the tone, starting as we mean to continue. I hope that you found these insights useful across the Next Chapter Series. I hope you found some food for thought here in this episode of FIftyfaces focus – The Next Chapter.

This podcast series was made possible by the kind support of Darwin Alternatives.

Darwin Alternative Investment Management Limited offers innovative, alpha-driven investment solutions that are uncorrelated with traditional asset classes and feature business areas which have not previously been considered by investment funds. The firm aims to create new opportunities for investors to further diversify their portfolios and achieve stable absolute returns.

In Series 3 of this FiftyFaces Focus Series focusing on the Next Chapter – and specifically portfolio careers and what makes an effective Board Member and Chari we meet with Alexandra Noble, Daniele Beasley, Susan Martin and Henry Tapper. We hear from a group of leaders committed to training the next generation of leaders, coaching through change and ensuring that all pensioners get to retire with dignity and informed choices.

First we hear from Alexandra Noble, who's an independent strategic adviser to financial institutions and charities and has a particular interest in mentoring the next generation of investment leaders. She shares what it means to be a good leader, the importance of listening and key it is to allow all meeting participants to have a voice.

We cross over to California then to hear from a financial advisor, Daniele Beasley about her own Board Roles and her views on diversity initiatives from her vantage point. She has built a career of service focused on giving, and encourages us to do the same.

Susan Martin is also a “giver” and as a change consultant is frequently called up to bring institutions through periods of transformational change. She describes the role of a Non-Executive Director as akin to a coach or a mentor, something that is more essential than ever now given the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) circumstances that we are living with today.

Our final guest Henry Tapper, dives into a subject that has been a lifelong passion for him – pensions transparency and equity. Given that many Board and Trustee roles cover pensions we wanted to provide some insight into the themes of this area, such as the levels of choice available, the pensions gap between women and men and the future evolution of this area.

Her portfolio career includes a consulting role for pensions for purpose, coaching and strategic advice to firms, a chair role of future fit limited and roles as a charity trustee and director.

It is clear that there is massive change ahead in the world of pensions – an area that will be relevant to all of us, but equally where many directors and trustees will find themselves in fiduciary positions. I hope you found some food for thought here in this episode of FIftyfaces focus – The Next Chapter. Follow us on Linked In, Twitter, apple podcasts, spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast series was made possible by the kind support of Darwin Alternatives.

Darwin Alternative Investment Management Limited offers innovative, alpha-driven investment solutions that are uncorrelated with traditional asset classes and feature business areas which have not previously been considered by investment funds. The firm aims to create new opportunities for investors to further diversify their portfolios and achieve stable absolute returns.

In our second podcast of our Fiftyfaces Focus Next Chapter Series we hear from four more seasoned voices who are all pursuing a rich and diverse set of roles. First we meet with Margaret Casely Hayford, CBE, Chancellor of Coventry University, Special Trustee at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Chair at Shakespeare’s Globe, among other board roles. She talks about the steep learning curve in gaining familiarity with the mission and purpose of each organization as well as the importance of learning to listen and for a Board to be a supportive Board. We speak also about the current levels of Board Diversity and the pace of change.

William Bourne is an independent adviser to a number of LGPS pension funds and also chairs pension boards as well as being the founder of his own firm Linchpin, which provides advice on investments and governance to institutional investors. He shares his views on the importance of bringing about better decision making as a board member, as well as the role of a Chair to ensure that all voices are heard and that meetings stay on course.

We then cross the Atlantic to meet with Sandra Urie, Chairman Emeritus of Cambridge Associates, and the holder of a range of investment committee and Board roles. She shares her views on the ideal size of an investment committee, and the importance of instilling an institutional quality process. We speak about the importance of good governance, sticking with the appropriate time horizon and about how the role changes through good and bad market environments.

Finally we hear from Julian Tregoning. Julian, like William, is another familiar face in the City of London, and he has throughout his career held many board roles in positions that sit “outside the envelope” of his City career. This is the ideal place to cut one’s teeth in his view.

So following your passion and interests, learning to think like a fiduciary, build a process and listening deeply, some tips from our seasoned board and committee members on this episode. Thank you for listening to the Fiftyfaces focus Next Chapter podcast. I hope you have enjoyed listening to these tips for the next chapter. Follow us on Linked In, Twitter, apple podcasts, spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast series was made possible by the kind support of Darwin Alternatives.

Darwin Alternative Investment Management Limited offers innovative, alpha-driven investment solutions that are uncorrelated with traditional asset classes and feature business areas which have not previously been considered by investment funds. The firm aims to create new opportunities for investors to further diversify their portfolios and achieve stable absolute returns.

Caroline Burton has a portfolio career which includes roles as an independent advisor to local authority pension plans and a NED role. She previously spent over 25 years at the Guardian Royal Exchange, where she was promoted to manager at the age of 28. She retired from that organization in 1999 and has since built a portfolio career.

Our conversation starts in what seems like an entirely different era in the City - during the mid 1970s. Top hats were in vogue, gentlemen's dining clubs were the rage and diversity was not high on the agenda. Caroline encountered her fair share of sexism in her early career, but nonetheless made her way through management ranks, and shares some of her strategies for success. We reflect also on how the industry has changed, and where progress has been lagging.

When she retired over 20 years ago she moved to a full portfolio career of committee and non executive director roles, and we discuss where these differ from executive roles.

As an experienced committee member she has a a clear sense of where non executive roles differ from executive roles - in particular that the mantra should be "eyes on, hands off" and that observing and listening to the direction of travel and then opining on it can be a key value added of the non executive director.

This podcast was supported by Speaking with Images, a company focused on motivational speaking, focused on increasing resilience, improving communication and building better workplace culture. https://www.jennysegal.co.uk/

Sharmila Kassam is the founder of Aligned Capital Investing, as well as holding a portfolio of Board roles. She was previously Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, a public defined benefit plan with around $30 bn in AUM, where she held a series of roles for almost 12 years. She previously worked as an attorney and a venture industry professional. She is a Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute.

Our conversation starts with Sharmila's move from law into the world of investing, and the policies and priorities that were at the forefront of her mind in her role as Deputy CIO of a large public plan. Sharmila was an early trailblazer for the building and promotion of diverse portfolios in her role at Texas ERS, and the strong performance of these portfolios serves as a powerful proof statement of the win/win nature of diversity. Now, as she builds out her portfolio of Board roles she is committed to using this experience to pave the way for smaller and more boutique organizations to see and enjoy the benefits of diversity. We speak about the figures in her life who have inspired her, and her current agenda to promote change.

Debbie Clarke was Global Research Chair and Global Head of Investment Research at Mercer for close to 16 years, following an extensive career in asset management and consulting which included 20 years as a portfolio manager. She retired from her position at Mercer in June 2021 and is building a portfolio career, including a NED role on the EMEA board of Blackrock and a member of the UK CFA Institute Advisory Board. She is an active speaker on the conference circuit and has been voted in the FN 100 Most Influential Women in Asset Management in 6 of the last 9 years.

Our conversation tracks Deb's career progression, what drove her move to London, and later to Chicago for a few years. We talk about what led her to a research role, her investment beliefs as well as the advice that she gives to younger career professionals.

My favorite part of this podcast was the time we spent discussing Deb's prodigious craft collection - as an avid quilter as well as a cross stitch and crochet expert, and I deliberately recorded a video so that we could showcase some of Deb's masterpieces - see the linked video on Linked In. This may be a skill that is in shorter and shorter supply now, but hear how Deb's heartfelt creations put the S in sustainability and recycle meaningful strands of lives lived into a gorgeous portfolio.

We are issuing this replay of Sally Bridgeland's podcast - Sally featured in the first series of The Fiftyfaces Podcast in August 2020.

Sally Bridgeland needs no introduction in London institutional investing circles. Following a long career as an actuary, investment consultant and investor, culminating in a role of CEO at BP Pension Trustees for the 19 BN GBP BP pension fund, she has pivoted to an extensive portfolio career. Since 2014 she has held roles at Nest, USS, Lloyds Banking Group, Avida International, RAF Central Fund, Nesta, the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, the Local Pensions Partnership, Impax Asset Management and Royal London.

Her portfolio is a very full one, but she still finds the time to commit to her passion for education in mathematics through the Royal Society and Loughborough University and is Honorary Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, No 601 Squadron.

Our conversation discusses Sally's journey into investment, the role that learning maths had in her story, and her lifelong passion for ensuring that maths is taught effectively and in a way that conveys its beauty. We also discuss her investment beliefs and lessons learned through a career in consulting and then as an asset owner.

In this inaugural "next chapter" podcast episode, we hear from four extraordinary leaders in investment management circles - each pathbreakers in their own right, and each of whom is dedicating this current chapter of their career to a portfolio of Board and other roles.

Many executives enter a portfolio or "plural" career once they finish up a traditional executive role, but there is a distinct lack of guidance as to what it is that makes a good director or investment committee member, and particular a good chair. We hear from these experts about the benefit of perspective, the mantra of "eyes on, hands off", the role of providing counsel to executives and to contributing to the efficacy of a Board.

We hear what it is to coach and nurture the next generation of leaders, and why helping to shape diversity on Boards is an important way of bringing about lasting change. We hear about the importance of an organization's mission, how a good chair will draw out the optimal contributions of everyone around a table, keep time and bring about effective decision-making.

This podcast series was made possible by the kind support of Darwin Alternatives.

Darwin Alternative Investment Management Limited offers innovative, alpha-driven investment solutions that are uncorrelated with traditional asset classes and feature business areas which have not previously been considered by investment funds. The firm aims to create new opportunities for investors to further diversify their portfolios and achieve stable absolute returns.

Margaux O’Brien is Investment Director at the University of California investment office, based in Oakland, CA. She previously spent over 14 years in the fund of hedge fund area, where she specialized in equity long/short and other equity hedge funds. Prior to that she was an investment consultant.

Our conversation starts with Margaux's upbringing in South Africa, her introduction to investment consulting and ultimately to manager selection and how her career took her around the world.

I have known Margaux as one of the most talented spotters of exceptional managers in the long/short arena and we dive right in to what she looks for in a manager and how she finds managers with an edge. We transition then to the broader equity space and ask when and where active management makes sense and non-traditional fee structures are justified. We also discuss portfolio construction and how here investment beliefs have evolved over time.

Now at a large endowment we talk about the role of allocators, and how portfolio management can seem like the challenge of a puzzle that has to fit together with all of the requisite pieces, and how it can be a fascinating and stimulating career to pursue.

When we turn to personal reflections and lessons learned over the years, we talk about the importance of humility as a tool to gain perspective and calm nerves, perhaps before a large presentation. We hear about the importance of feedback - both giving and getting it, and why, in the end, we all need to worry less.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Adam Demuyakor is the founder and managing partner at Wilshire Lane Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm that focuses on PropTech solutions based in Los Angeles California. Born in the US to a family originally from Ghana, Adam started out on Wall Street in investment banking and held a number of private equity and venture capital roles before found in Wilshire Lane. He also holds a number of Board roles and is a Board of Trustee of the education nonprofit 9 Dots.

Our conversation starts with his family roots, and the expectations that accompanied his schooling and career choices. We hear how he came to be interested in real estate and how he gained experience in both the private and public side of the business, and ultimately the vision with which he launched his own firm. This is an opportunity for our discussion to dive into PropTech and discuss what the technology that is transforming real estate looks like, and how these theses are playing out. Among some of the concepts discussed are Ghost Kitchens and the new look Self Storage outfits, and we discuss some of the business models that are exciting him most at this juncture.

As an early stage venture capital firm, Wilshire Lane Capital, is highly focused on the entrepreneurs and their vision that they support, and many of them are diverse founders themselves. In fact in an industry in which female and black and brown founders are poorly represented, Wilshire Lane is breaking the mould - 36% of their companies are led by women outright, 29% of their companies have a black founder on them, and 79% of their companies have an underrepresented minority or a female in the C suite.

Wilshire Lane Capital recently entered into a strategic partnership with Nile Capital which sponsored our original diverse founders and VCs series, and we speak about how these ideas came together.

We speak about 9 Dots, a nonprofit, based in Los Angeles, that focuses on providing subsidized computer science courses for the poorest students in the city. Adam shares why this is one of the most fulfilling of all of his roles. Finally, we discuss some highs and lows of his career so far, what Adam looks for in a founder and what it means to pass the "Shower Test".

This podcast will feature in our mini-series featuring professionals from the Ghanaian diaspora as well as our second diverse founders and venture capitalist series.

Pat Lynch, who was Founder, President and CEO of Chicago Equity Partners, a Chicago based asset manager for over 20 years. He now holds investment and strategic advisory roles within the investment industry and is on the board of directors of Loyola Business School, as well as the Ballmer Center for Social Justice.

Our conversation covers Pat's decades of experience in finance, including starting out in the investment arm of a bank, forming Chicago Equity Partners with a group of partners and growing that business. We spend quite a bit of time on how to make a sale, and how we must be careful not to project how we "buy" onto others. Knowing clients is about so much more than how they buy of course, and we speak about the importance of networks, developing direct client relationships and how the shape of finance is changing with more involvement of intermediaries. We also take a broader survey of the dynamics of the finance industry and how it is evolving.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Constance Freedman is Founder and Managing Partner at Moderne Ventures as well as Moderne Passport – an early stage investment fund and industry immersion program which is focused on investing in technology companies in and around the multi-trillion dollar industries of real estate, finance, insurance, hospitality and home services. It has just closed its (over-subscribed) second fund at over $200 m. She sits on numerous boards and has received several awards including Crain’s Business 40 under 40 and Chicago Top Tech 50 (on three occasions).

Our conversation - a bonus episode, which will also appear in our next Diverse Founders and VCs series - focuses on her professional journey and the fascinating world of Proptech - technology that is related to real estate and other property. This has been an area of expertise for Constance for some time, and we start with describing the opportunity in the area and then how Constance moved from working within another venture firm to starting Moderne Ventures.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Moderne Ventures is the Moderne Passport program, which creates an ecosystem for over 700 founders as well as industry members to network, work together and create synergies. It is also about creating network effects and enriching the social capital of founders, as well as enabling innovation to flourish through a system of pilot programs and providing feedback.

There is more information about Moderne Ventures and the Moderne Passport program on: https://www.moderneventures.com

Elina Kovaleva, who is head of research at Velox Capital Partners, an equity long/short market neutral hedge fund firm based in London, a position she has held for 3 years. She previously held a number of research and analyst roles, at investment banks and hedge funds.

Our conversation starts with Elina's upbringing in Russia in the 1990s and her route into finance and centers in particular on why she believes hedge funds, with their merit-based performance culture where results matter, can be a perfect place for women to work and thrive.

We dig into some of the unexpected variety and areas of deep satisfaction in stock analysis, and in the increasing integration of ESG in the process. We transition then to a discussion of impact and why it is increasingly integrated with instead of separate from the investment case. When it comes to life lessons, Elina draws one from chess - which is to be pessimistic about your next move, but optimistic about your ability. To be kind, and to consider the world your "Everest" - something that can be conquered, if you are up for the challenge.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

David Miller is an Executive Director at Quilter Cheviot, where he manages over £1.1 bn pounds in client funds. He has been in the investing business for over 40 years and and is the author of the 7 year old “Diary of a Fund Manager” weekly diary, which has a readership of over 15,000 across 57 countries.

Our conversation charts David's entry into finance and why it continues to be his passion and why he has returned to running money, after some spells managing people and teams. We start with how he accidentally fell into finance, after studying organic chemistry. His investment beliefs have evolved over time, but he continues to be focused (perhaps deriving from his roots as a scientist) on empirical evidence, and does not believe that finance is a dark art, but is instead about engaging with the real world. He speaks about his aversion to having too much "conviction" and certainty around market direction and asset classes.

Given David's extensive experience in rendering advice, we compare working with individual clients to institutions, and how the attitude to risk, time horizon and capital preservation might be different. We move to talk about his writing - which he likens to "going to the mental gym" each week, and the sense of discipline and clarity that writing his thoughts down brings to him.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Alexandra Noble is an independent strategic advisor to financial institutions and charities, and has a particular interest in mentoring the next generation of investment leaders. Her portfolio career includes a consulting role for Pensions for Purpose, coaching and strategic advice to firms, a Chair role at Future-Fit Ltd and roles as a charity trustee and director.

Our conversation is a broad-ranging one which starts with Alexandra's entry, into finance and her time as a fund manager as well as a manager of people. We discuss the traits that made her a leader, and what she learned from the industry as well as peers. We move to her current portfolio career and the passion she has to mentor the next generation of leaders, and how the complexities of business and the world today necessitate a different style of coaching.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Tim Hodgson is co-head of the Thinking Ahead Institute at Willis Towers Watson. He previously worked as an investment consultant. Our wide ranging conversation covers the genesis of the Thinking Ahead institute and what prompted the desire to gather industry thought leaders together to work on the most pressing issues facing not only the industry but the planet.

Tim's own career has had many twists and turns and we spend some time on how he learned to think in exponential terms instead of strictly linearly. We translate this thinking into what the outlook for the planet is and Tim is surprisingly sanguine about what progress we will make and the change that we will see in 5 years.

This podcast discusses similar themes to those discussed in Episode 72 with Tim's colleague, Marisa Hall co-head of the Thinking Ahead institute. You can find the link to that here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ITfgkpUg8NOzDY6XrqEx5?si=0zLrNlEwSKOCybf-MA4R7w

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Eoin Murray is Head of Investment at the international business of Federated Hermes. He has had a long career in investment management, spending time as a hedge fund manager and a quantitative equity specialist. He recently obtained a certificate in energy innovation and emerging technologies and is a passionate advocate for sustainable investing, greater awareness of climate change and in driving change in the investment industry towards these goals. He also has a diploma in specialist rescue which includes Swift Water Rescue, Powered Boat Rescue, Water Incident Management, & Rope Rescue via Outreach Rescue. It is these unusual intersections that we discuss in this podcast, which is also included in the Fiftyfaces Focus Intersections Series.

Our conversations starts with Eoin's proud Glaswegian routes, and how he stumbled into a career in investing and finance almost by accident. We learn about his passion for quantitative methods and what prompted him to start his own firm in 2008 - which he admits did not have the best timing. We cycle through his investment interests to his current focus on sustainable investing, pushing for greater awareness of climate change and the integration of climate change resilience into portfolios, as well as the drive for positive impact.

We then turn to a fascinating parallel interest of Eoin's which is specialist rescue, and discuss how this interest originated and what lessons it has taught him for life as well as his career. He recounts some of the highs and lows of this emotionally charged pursuit, the long hours of training and skill maintenance and why he feels so passionately about it. I hope you enjoy this refreshing conversation with a professional committed to lifelong learning and pushing boundaries.

Susan Soh, is Head of Capital Formation and Business Development at GrowthCurve Capital, a private equity firm focused on building world-class businesses by leveraging data, analytics, and machine learning, combined with a comprehensive approach to human capital, to accelerate growth and drive value creation. At the time of the podcast recording she was Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the private investment activities at Two Sigma, a $60B financial sciences firm with businesses in investment management, insurance, private equity and venture capital. She was previously a founding partner and Global Head of Marketing and Client Services at Perella Weinberg Partners and prior to that held a series of roles in business development at a series of hedge funds and private equity firms. She originally trained as a lawyer and M&A banker. She is a Board Member of AAAIM since 2014 – Association of Asian American Investment Managers.

Our conversation traces Susan's childhood and the expectations of her Chinese American family, as well as her cycle through her expected career, and then an unexpected one. This naturally led us to discuss what Susan describes as "AQ" - adaptive intelligence, and how being able to pivot and adapt to life's surprises is so key. We return to the topic of diversity time and time again - in particular the unique position of Asian Americans and why setting the standard is so important for role models of all kinds.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Andrien Meyers is a Councilman in the City of London Corporation as well as a Head of Pensions Investments at the London Borough of Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. He is a Non Executive Director of Resonance Limited as well as a strategic business advisor to bfinance.

Our conversation starts with his upbringing in India, and moves through his move to the UK, his early career in accounting and how he was attracted in to the investment area. We talk about what it means to be a steward of capital in the public fund area. We talk through his investment beliefs, such as what responsible investing means to him, his conviction in asset management and the importance of accurate measurement and reporting.

Passionate about financial literacy, Andrien describes the after school program that he has helped create that focuses on "fusion skills" such as Resume Writing, Interview skills and Presentation Skils. We move then to speak about his work on the Anti-Racism Taskforce for the City of London, of which Andrien is a member and discuss how delicate and sometimes nuanced actions take have to be, especially in a place as laced with history and tradition as the City of London.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed to the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Pippa Gawley invests in what she describes as deep science hard tech innovations to accelerate the zero carbon transition. She is the founder and director of Zero Carbon Capital, a fund she founded in April 2019, and holds various non-executive director and mentor roles. She has extensive experience in tech, and, latterly, in climate-tech in particular.

Our conversation traces her roots and her coming of age as an angel investor. We learn then what ultimately led her to climate tech, and to the potential that she believes that this area holds. We speak in particular about innovation in three areas: food and agriculture, carbon capture and the hydrogen economy.

We move to her experience as an angel investor and what she looks for in a founder or an idea or concept to back. She recounts her own experience in raising capital for her current fund and how being a female founder factored in, as well as how she had to embark on a process of education around the whole concept of climate tech. We speak about the industry at large, and how in the UK 81% of all VC deals have all male teams on the company side, and what needs to be done to slowly redress this balance.

There is more information about Pippa's approach and zero carbon capital here: https://www.zerocarbon.capital/

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Bob Snigaroff, who is President and CIO at Denali Advisors, based in San Diego. The firm is named after Mount Denali, the highest peak in the USA located in Bob’s native Alaska (and the name for the mountain means "High One or Great One"). The firm is classified as a minority run firm due to Bob’s native American heritage and we discuss his upbringing in a fishing village in Kenai Alaska and how this influenced him in both striking out from the area and remembering his roots.

Bob has a PhD in economic sociology and a host of other interests alongside his passion for value-based asset management, and we trace the evolution of his investment style as well as the trials and tribulations of starting a new firm and what the fundraising process has been like. We also speak about the underrepresentation of native Americans in US public life as well as in the finance industry and the fact that they remain one of the poorest demographic groups in the US, attracting little coverage, even during the current focus on diversity and inclusion.

We end with a tour through his inspiration from classical literature and the rooting in simple values that we sometimes lose sight of. I have always loved Bob's meditative calm and the manner in which he stands apart from the typical pace of asset management and finance. I hope that you enjoy these 20 minutes of his journey.

This podcast is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

In the final series of the main Fiftyfaces Podcast for 2021, we have a number of treats in store - from members of underrepresented groups that we often don't hear as much about - such as the Native American and the Asian American population - from Bob Snigaroff who moved from a fishing village in Alaska to Wall Street - but via one of Alaska's biggest allocators, and from Susan Soh, whose American-Chinese upbringing often made it seem that everything was planned out - but for whom Adaptive Intelligence (or AQ) has been key.

We hear from a number of women making strides and enjoying success in the areas of Climate Tech, where Pippa Gawley shares her vision that this area is the only way to ensure we meet our climate goals, and Margaux O'Brien who has brought her love of asset allocation from South Africa to the University of California with many global stops in between. Elina Kovaleva muses why more women don't see what a wonderful, flexible, career hedge funds can provide and Alexandra Noble reflects on a long, storied career and why she is now focused on giving back and mentoring the next generation of leaders.

Moving to London, Andrien Meyers is a true renaissance man, blending a role as an elected official with one in finance, and a broad commitment to social justice in which he is involved in the City of London tackling racism taskforce, while Tim Hodgson, co-leader of the Thinking Ahead Institute takes on a journey of thinking ahead which ends on a surprisingly optimistic note.

We also include the voices of wisdom of long-term practitioners in the areas of investment management and private wealth, hearing from Pat Lynch, former leader of Chicago Equity Partners and David Miller, whose weekly diary now reaches over 15,000 readers in 57 countries.

Series 5 is brought to you with the kind support of Pluscios Capital, a women-owned, WBENC certified investment management firm based in Evanston, IL. With over 60+ years of combined investment management experience, co-founders Constance Teska and Kelly Chesney are committed the development of bespoke investment solutions on behalf of institutions and intermediaries. In addition to broadly diversified core and catalyst solutions, Pluscios provides hands on product development support and custom solutions with a focus on diversity-led and emerging managers.

Susan Martin is MD of Greenstone Consulting, a change and and transition management firm. After a long career in the public sector, culminating in a CEO role at a financial services business, she now holds a number of director roles and works as an executive coach.

Our conversation tracks Susan's childhood and early career, and how she became used to frequent change and adaptation. This led to her becoming a committed change advocate and consultant. We talk about the challenges of change - the need to sometimes pause to allow change to settle, and how to mobilize an employee body behind a change initiative without fear.

As a generalist who has worked in a range of industries we talk about the tension between generalists and specialists and the role that interpretation and intuition play in this case. We turn then to what makes a valuable director or chair of a Board, and how diversity contributes to the richness of this discussion.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Amanda Pullinger is Chief Executive of 100 Women in Finance, where she leads a staff team and provides direction to 500 volunteer practitioners globally. 100 Women in Finance is focused on empowering women in the finance industry and inspiring the next generation of pre-career young women and has over 20,000 registered members globally. She previously held a series of roles in asset management and is a member of BAFTA and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Our conversation tracks her many divergent careers that ultimately led to one in finance and the resilience that she built in her early childhood and young adulthood. Moving then to her current life's work and passion we speak about the origins of 100 Women in Finance - which started out as 100 Women in Hedge Funds and how the organization's mission started with visibility and fellowship but has evolved into so much more of an empowering platform. I hope that you enjoy Amanda sharing her vision of this extraordinary and ground breaking organization and the important work that it has done, but also what remains to be done.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Elois Joseph is co-founder of the Greenwood project, which is an organization that connects Black and LatinX students with career opportunities in financial services and fintech. She previously held a series of roles in investment banks and other financial service firms, mainly in the trading support and compliance divisions.

Our conversation traces her upbringing in Chicago, the positions and mentors that shaped her early career progression and the break that led to her roles in financial services. We talk about the philosophy behind the Greenwood Project, which she co-founded with Bevon Joseph - a guest on episode 88 of the series, and why more women need to heed the advice she was given to "sit next to the power" because that is where decisions are made and where visibility is essential.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Johara Farhadieh is Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of The Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI), in which she oversees a $20 bn defined benefit fund and a $5 bn dollar defined contribution plan with over 150,000 beneficiaries. She has been at ISBI for over 13 years, and prior to that was a financial analyst. She was named an All-Star Chief Investment Officer by Trusted Insight and ISBI was ranked number one in private equity returns among public pension funds in 2020 by the American Investment Council.

Our conversation talks about how public funds can set the standard for diversity and inclusion in their manager mix, and how, through a combination of OCIO and direct mandates ISBI is doing this. Often, in this arena, politics and wrangling can interfere with governance, and we talk about how serving the Board and frequently involving the Board as stakeholders can be the recipe for smooth decision making and progress.

Johara also talks through her own background, her roots and how she was raised to be a survivor. As we move through the pandemic disruptions and its implications on how business is done, this is a particularly appropriate tale.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

David Vafai is Chief Executive Officer at bfinance International Limited, an investment consulting and advisory firm that he founded over 20 years ago. The firm is known for its innovative service model, which has shifted some of the traditional structures in investment consulting, manager selection and asset management.

Our conversation traces David's early entrepreneurial roots which saw him cycle through newspaper delivery to a hotdog stand in his early 20s and later a photo business. The unifying feature of each of these diverse business lines was a commitment to customer service and ensuring high degrees of customer satisfaction. We turn then to the origins of bfinance and how the business model evolved into a global franchise. We dissect what it means to provide investment consulting services and how the industry is evolving in this area to address the "information asymmetry" that continues to persist.

As a citizen of the world with global roots David offers a unique perspective on the immigrant story, the meaning of the hustle and why customer satisfaction should be the starting point and ending point of all enterprises.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Jessica Portis is Head of Member Portfolio Management and Services at TIFF Investment Management. She previously had a long career in investment consulting, first at Summit and then Mercer.

Our conversation start with her first internships - and the Inroads program that she participated in. This opened the door of opportunity to her - and not only provided an internship, but committed to broad educational support. This included advice on networking, how to "dress for success", and provided a safety net to ensure the best chances of succeeding in and sticking with the role. She rose through the ranks of investment consulting and we discuss why more women are not given that opportunity - and why maybe they don't "lean in" to seize it.

We spend some time discussing diversity in finance, and how we can do better to present challenge to women who are hungry for it. We examine why the biggest obstacle is women not being given the opportunity, and the tendency to hire in one's own likeness. We ask how do we make sure that women and people of color are given those opportunities?

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Henry Tapper is the CEO at Agewage, a firm committed to helping people understand their pension pots, and the Founding Editor of the Pension Playpen, which provides guidance on pensions. He has been involved in financial services for his whole career, and is a high profile advocate for pensions education and transparency.

We start with Henry's background, his year on a herring fleet in Iceland and how he fell into selling financial products because he couldn't find another job. We reflect on the staggering differences between training for such roles then v. now, and how this ties back to the value for money discussion that is now pervasive in asset management. Henry is a high profile voice in the cause of creating fairer, more transparent pension solutions, and his initiatives AgeWage and the Pension Playpen, a procurement website, which was set up to help employers choose their workplace pension. AgeWage is designed to help people feeling confident about the pensions decisions that they're taking and to make use of investment data in a way that they can understand. This returns to the topic across this series of financial literacy, and how it is essential across every age group.

We mull on the importance of the industry reporting on the outcomes of the work done for ordinary people in a way that ordinary people can understand, and end with some beautiful quotes from some of Henry's favorite poets.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Daniele Beasley is a Board Member at Mission Bank, a role she has held since February 2021, and is also a Chief Client Officer in charge of distribution at Apex Financial Advisors. She is a Certified Financial Planner currently focused on using her 30 years experience in the sector to educate and mentor clients in what she terms “her mid-life reset”.

Our conversation dives in to the theme of diversity and the need for diversity on Boards, as well as the skills that Daniele seeks to bring as a Board Member. We speak about her passion for serving her clients and enabling them to reach their financial goals - and how financial literacy is important at every age, as is a process of ongoing learning and growth.

As to her personal story we chart her path from learning about potato broking at the kitchen table, to building her own firm to changing direction in a midlife reset. We remind ourselves of the rules that "it's not how much you make, it's about how much you keep" and of the 80/20 rule of investing in yourself and giving back to others.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Darren Johnson is Chief Operating Officer in Listed Equities and Executive Director at Impax Asset Management, where he is responsible for Global Operations, including Portfolio Services, Technology, Change/Project Management and Client Onboarding. He previously worked in a series of accounting and operations roles. Our conversation starts with his upbringing in South London and why he was born with a “silver spoon in his mouth”. We talk about the unlikely role model that emerged for him even at a very young age and how that character sowed the seeds for a career in the corporate world.

We turn then to his education and early career and reflect on the lack of empowerment that young professionals sometimes have and how this can deter engagement and motivation. We examine his career path, and the individuals who made it possible, as well as the choices made throughout that path. In particular we look at the evolution of the asset management firm of today, and how remote working has changed it as well as the changes yet to come, which may shape the power centers of asset managers. We also discuss the dramatic impact that ESG integration will have and the effect of regulation in this area.

In our reflection section we look at how the investment industry and the practice of "mining for talent" can be compared to football (soccer) and the need to look outside the academy for talent. We reflect on the importance of making excellence a habit and the wisdom of The Four Agreements, which are: don't take things personally, don't make assumptions, always try your best and be impeccable with your word.

Darren was the source for many guests on this podcast series as well as the Diverse Founders and VC series. He is an active participant on the conference circuit as well as industry affinity groups designed to address low levels of diversity in finance.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Anji (Anjuman) Kaur Kang-Stewart is Global Head of Marketing at Man Group, based in their London office. She previously held a series of senior marketing and business development roles throughout the investment industry and is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Nova New Opportunities and the steering committee of Talk About Black.

Our conversation tracks the extraordinary story of Anji's childhood, her Sikh upbringing and her integration into London-based schools and how her late teen years and early twenties took some surprising turns. We speak about the lessons learned from these setbacks and the supports and structures that enabled her to start her career.

Now thriving in the world of finance, we look at the factors that excite her in the area, and the characteristics that helped her to move through the ranks. We speak about how glass ceilings persist in the industry, particularly for women and members of underrepresented groups, and how the low turnover in the industry can cause this to persist.

Anji is committed to passing on some of the supports that were offered to her, and we touch on the work being done by Nova New Opportunities, a West London-based diverse community charity with a pioneering approach to social change. Anji was also one of the founding members of the #Talkaboutblack initiative, and is now on their steering committee.

There is more information about Talk About Black here https://diversityproject.com/2018-05-18/so-can-we-talk-talkaboutblack and Nova New Opportunities here: https://novanew.org.uk/about-us/impact

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

We are back after an eventful summer with Series 4 of the 2021 Fiftyfaces Podcast, with a selection of 10 stories that provide insights from challenges at the beginning, middle and end of life, and the change and personal growth that happens in between. Social mobility is a core theme of this podcast series and we hear how social housing was so essential as safety net for some families and how it provided the stability to start a life. We hear from one guest how he was inspired by Michael J Fox to be driven, wear a suit and pursue an office job, and how this resilience and drive is what he considers being born with a "silver spoon in his mouth".

We hear about teenage hotdog stands and photo businesses, how different (and inadequate) financial product training was back in the day, and how the support of others is often the vital link to allow a career to take off.

One of our guests is committed to making 500 female fund managers visible, prominent and at the forefront of consciousness. Another made a mid-life reset and is now focused on providing financial advice that emphasizes financial wellbeing. One is the co-founder of a grassroots organization committed to providing social capital to enable Black and Latin-x students thrive in the world of finance, and she repeats the advice she heard to "sit next to the power". We hear about leaning in, focusing on one's strengths, and what a family heritage can teach you about being a survivor in the turmoil of financial services.

So tune in to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Twitter and now Youtube.

Series 4 is brought to you with the kind support of Federated Hermes, Inc., a leading global investment manager. Guided by their conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, their investment solutions span equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity strategies and a range of separately managed accounts, distributed through intermediaries worldwide.

Gerald Chen-Young is Principal and Chief Investment Officer at GCY Associates, which provides consulting and advisory services based in Washington DC. He has over 25 years of experience as a Chief Investment Officer, 14 years of which were spent as VP and Chief Investment of the United Negro College Fund. He previously held a range of financial services roles at firms including UBS, Paine Webber & Riggs National Bank, in different capacities. Gerald holds post-graduate degrees in Economics from York University and LSE and Law from Univ of Miami Law & AU’s Washington College of Law. He has a particular interest in ESG issues across the investment landscape.

Our conversation starts with Gerald's upbringing on the island of Jamaica and the culture shock that ensued when he went to a boarding school in Canada during his teenage years. He began his college education there and we delve into what drove him to pursue degrees in both economics and law and his passion for both areas. Gerald spent over 14 years at the United Negro College Fund as CIO and we speak about what was at the forefront of his mind in this role.

Gerald was an early adopter of ESG principles and we contextualize this movement by reference to other social movements such as universal suffrage and the abolition of slavery which started on the fringes and ended up in the mainstream. We hear about his passion for food, his belief in the value of sabbaticals and the highs and lows of an extraordinary career.

Jennifer Ockwell is a Partner at Triple Point Investment Management, based in London, and previously held a series of senior institutional business development roles at large asset management firms. She is an ambassador for the Diversity Project with a specific focus on the neurodiversity work stream and is a passionate advocate for neurodivergent individuals and their improved integration into the workforce. She was named “Investment Woman of the Year” and has been recognized for the impact that she has created in the workplace.

Our discussion is a refreshingly honest and personal one that starts with Jennifer's initial path in law, and how she found her fit in nurturing corporate environments on the investment management side, where she ultimately headed up UK client businesses. We learn what triggered her interest in ensuring that neurodivergent individuals are welcomed into and allowed to flourish in the workforce, and we speak in particular about some of the extraordinary talents that are being overlooked due to a preference for conventional hiring practices. This ties back to an earlier discussion we held with Oli Shakir-Khalil about the need for better mental health advocacy and awareness in our workplaces and in general for the need to be more flexible around how different approaches to work are welcomed.

Neurodiversity is a topic close to my own heart as well as Jennifer's and this is a conversation that is probably overdue and often forgotten as the lens firmly focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion issues. I hope you enjoy our efforts to remove some of the taboos and start talking openly about these issues.

Toyin Alalade's last role was as a Senior Strategy Manager with Royal London. She previously worked in a range of financial and marketing roles at Standard Life and Moody Monday. She recently left Scotland and returned to her home country of Nigeria, and it was a moving Linked In post that she wrote that led me to her.

Our conversation starts with Toyin's upbringing in Nigeria and what led her to university and the first part of her career in the UK. She describes how she settled there and eventually made Scotland her home. We talk about graduating with an engineering degree into a bleak job market and how she stumbled upon a career in finance and investing almost by accident. We discuss the ups and downs of a career in finance, the importance of seizing opportunities and the need to be flexible and adaptable as the industry's opportunities ebb and flow.

Moving then to what prompted her move back to Nigeria just this summer, we learn of the confluence of professional and personal opportunities that enabled it and Toyin's initial impressions of returning to Nigeria as a professional and her assessment of the opportunities in store. We take a short detour into another one of Toyin's passions - interior design - what sparked that and how it may be more and more relevant to how we build our workplaces going forward.

Finally we turn to what inspires her - to a discussion of her parents and other key people (including many women) who have inspired her in the workplace. We refer to a creed, which is "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might", which captures Toyin's commitment to doing her best at whatever she finds in front of her. It is an uplifting and life-affirming message.

Stephan Breban is Head of Research at Renewity, the Founder of Giants Shoulders Capital and a consultant to a number of different firms. He is known as one of London’s original (and legendary) private equity investors and advisors and has witnessed some of the good, the bad and the ugly of that the sector presents. We had the pleasure of working together, side by side in our own entrepreneurial ventures, for over a decade.

I have been keen to get Stephan on the podcast for some time, because I knew that his years of industry insight and reputation for straight talking and calling "a spade a spade" when it comes to difficult topics would make for a refreshing and insightful conversation. And he did not disappoint.

This sweeping conversation took us from his internship in an actuarial firm that he started at the tender age of 14, through his years as an actuary and then investment consultant and how he became one of the first private equity specialists in this area decades ago. We dive into why private equity makes sense for investors - institutional and high net work alike - and how he would approach constructing a portfolio today. As a seasoned investor Stephan has seen a few fund failures and debacles in this arena and we talk through the lessons learned there too.

We then move to the area of investing in Africa - long an area of expertise for Stephan, and explore why so many investors skip the onsite due diligence part and therefore fail to fully understand the opportunity in this area.

We finish with our usual discussion of diversity in the profession and what can be done to address it. Stephan, again, does not hold back in his prescription for change and progress.

Deb Clarke was Global Research Chair and Global Head of Investment Research at Mercer for close to 16 years, following an extensive career in asset management and consulting which included 20 years as a portfolio manager. She retired from her position at Mercer in June 2021 and is building a portfolio career, including a NED role on the EMEA board of Blackrock and a member of the UK CFA Institute Advisory Board. She is an active speaker on the conference circuit and has been voted in the FN 100 Most Influential Women in Asset Management in 6 of the last 9 years.

Our conversation tracks Deb's career progression, what drove her move to London, and later to Chicago for a few years. We talk about what led her to a research role, her investment beliefs as well as the advice that she gives to younger career professionals.

My favorite part of this podcast was the time we spent discussing Deb's prodigious craft collection - as an avid quilter as well as a cross stitch and crochet expert, and I deliberately recorded a video so that we could showcase some of Deb's masterpieces - see the linked video on Linked In. This may be a skill that is in shorter and shorter supply now, but hear how Deb's heartfelt creations put the S in sustainability and recycle meaningful strands of lives lived into a gorgeous portfolio.

Mark Steed is Chief Investment Officer at Arizona PSPRS Trust, a US public defined benefit fund with over $13 bn AUM, where he has spent over 14 years. He previously worked as a banker and prior to that as a financial analyst, and has a Masters in Predictive Analytics. He describes himself as an “investment ideas” guy and an out of the box thinker at that.

This wide-ranging conversation canters through multiple topics - from pension fund governance to building and maintaining a motivated team that has clear career trajectories to the power of data. We then move to some specific opportunities (in broad terms) that have been of interest recently - noting their diverse and diversifying nature - including English soccer clubs, e-sports franchises and the bereavement business. Mark also comments on the innovations that the team is seeing in emerging markets and China in particular.

Mark is unique in the pension fund arena for the breadth of his vision and his careful referral back to data and to analyzing his own and his team's predictions and for course correction in real time. Faced with a steep return target (as is the case for many US public funds) he looks for ways that the pension fund assets can be optimized for return and an all-weather profile.

Innovation and empowerment of team members is a hallmark of the investment style at Arizona PSPRS and it is fascinating to hear how more pension funds might be set up for success in this way.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Bevon Joseph is co-founder of the Greenwood project, which is an organization that connects Black and LatinX students with career opportunities in financial services and fin-tech. He previously held a series of roles in investment banks and other financial service firms, mainly in trading management functions. He is an advisory board member at the DePaul Career Center and is a graduate of the GS 10,000 small business program.

Our conversation starts with Bevon's upbringing in Trinidad, his move to the US and his early career when he admitted that one of the biggest challenges was not having mentors or being connected to the industry because he lacked the social capital that some others had. He said he had to figure out things on his own, which was a challenge and a relatively steep learning curve.

Later in his career he realized that he had the potential to bridge this gap for the next generation of Black and Latin-x students by creating the kind of infrastructure that many of them lacked. He set up the Greenwood Project with his wife Elois Joseph (whose podcast is to follow in Series 4, 2021) with the goal of reaching as many students as possible and bridging the lack of opportunity and exposure, because talent was not lacking. The Greenwood Project is intended to act almost like a market maker broker between firms and diverse candidates by getting them ready and bringing them to their doorsteps.

Bevon describes the mission as being bigger than just the internship, how it is to teach black and Latin x students that they can start building generational wealth starting with themselves.

There is more information about the Greenwood Project at greenwoodproject.org.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Annabel Gillard is an International Advisory Council Member at the Institute of Business Ethics. She previously had a long career in asset management where she ran institutional business development businesses for large asset managers and held various board and committee roles in the CFA UK organization. She is currently pursuing a post-graduate degree in the twin disciplines of Philosophy and AI.

Our conversation touches multiple times on the importance of lifelong learning and the systems thinking approach that can bring together seemingly orthogonal topics and enable richer learning. First, though, we return to Annabel's investment career and her insights on what it takes to build asset management businesses that are sustainable. We examine the positives and negatives of the culture of some financial environments and ask the question as to whether Chief Ethics Officer should be elevated as a C-Suite role within financial services firms. We ask whether ethics training is like training a muscle needing a case study approach and frequent reminders and how this can be integrated into firm structures.

We then move to AI, one of Annabel's current topics and its areas of fit as well as lack of fit. This is also an area where an ethical overlay will increasingly be applied.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Julian Tregoning has worked in the asset management business for many years, having had senior roles in the Flemings Group (where he also covered Latin America) and at BNY Mellon. He has held multiple Director and Chair roles and is a member of the investment committee for SAUL, a multi-employer defined benefit scheme for the non-academic employees of the University of London, which is where we met.

Our conversation goes back to some common ground Julian and I share - schooling in Ireland. His dates from the 1950s, when he attended boarding school near Kells, Co Meath. He then took a gap year in France where a passion for wine was born, and joined the navy, fulfilling a love of boats and exotic travel. Julian's career in the navy came to a shattering end following a skiing accident, and in a theme that we have seen again and again in this podcast series, from that crisis came opportunity - it was while recuperating from that injury that he read about the world of investing.

There began a fascinating career which saw him move from the era of top hats (and little diversity) in the City of London to a global career which saw him visit a wide sweep of Latin American countries as well as much of Asia. He saw the most fierce of bear markets as well as the most stunning recoveries. When asked what advice he has used to guide him through this journey Julian refers to the adage of the KISS principle - Keep it Simple Stupid. We talk about that as well as the current wave of ESG investing in order to round out this chronicle of a truly unique career journey.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Esther Peiner is Co-Head of the Infrastructure Group Europe in Partners Group, based In Zug. She previously spent close to 11 years at Macquarie Group, where she was a managing director focused initially on the TMT sector and then infrastructure and real assets.

Our conversation traces her entry into investment banking, how she thrived there and how she found being in a minority worked to her advantage at times - making her more visible, more memorable and more impactful. We cover then her move to Switzerland and ultimately Partners Group. Esther is open about a painful period in her personal life that forced her to reassess her priorities and appreciate the supports that she had around her. We talk about integrating family and work life, and why we need to normalize this balance.

Esther is now a leader in the infrastructure investor space and we mention how much opportunity sits in this space and why more people should consider it for their careers.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Sam Kunz is Chief Investment Officer at Core Financial Partners, a firm that provides financial planning to small and medium sized businesses based in Venice, CA. He was previously a Senior Managing Director responsible for asset allocation and investment strategy at the University of California and prior to that he was my predecessor as CIO at the Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund.

Our conversation starts with Sam's early days in investing as a trader and the skills and insights that that time provided - his transition to an institutional investing role was driven by a multitude of circumstances, but the training it provided in managing volatility and forgiving mistakes and even tolerating fallibility was highly instructive. Sam has seen the world of institutional investing from many angles - within a public pension fund, within a large university endowment and now within a more nimble boutique firm. Always philosophical and analytical we examine the lessons learned over decades of investing, why we need to be mindful of the industry's hubris and why, above all, we must learn to be gentle with ourselves, in what can be an unforgiving and challenging work environment.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Sandy Urie is Chairman Emeritus at Cambridge Associates, a role she has held since 2016, when she retired as Chairman and CEO, having held the CEO role since 2001, and capping an over 30 year career at the firm. Her current focuses include sustainability and impact investing and she has held multiple board and investment committee roles. Currently she sits on the boards of the Stanford Management Company, Social Finance US, Crane Institute for Sustainability (parent organization of The Intentional Endowment Network – IEN), and Plymouth Rock Insurance Company.

Sandy was one of the first people to inspire me in the world of investment, and I sat, enthralled, during my Cambridge Associates induction as she described her rise through the ranks of the firm, all while juggling mothering a toddler and then young child. It was (and remains) so rare to find a role model who has actually made some of the same choices and trade-offs that you face yourself day to day.

As an investment professional Sandy is without parallel. Passionate and visionary, she led the vision for global expansion of Cambridge Associates and now is at the forefront of its work on sustainability and impact investing. She loves what she does, loves the value it brings to the investment process of countless institutions from endowments to foundations to large family offices and has always been effective in nurturing a network.

We also manage to find time to discuss teaching and Russian language and literature in particular - which, as we have often discussed on this podcast, can be a pathway to better communication and storytelling, and highly useful in other careers.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Faisal Rafi is head of research at Riscura, based in London – Riscura is a South Africa-based financial services firm that focuses on providing purpose driven investment solutions for investors as well as investment managers. He previously worked as an investment manager at a UK corporate hedge fund, and prior to that in various asset management and consulting roles. He trained as an actuary.

Our conversation covers Faisal's international upbringing and his professional journey which saw him cycle through both established firms and start-ups, including Clontarf Capital - an alternatives focused research and advisory firm that I set up in 2006. His appetite for emerging markets and for carefully assessing their risk/reward has been present his whole life, and he provides some insights into the case for emerging markets investing and for investing in China in particular.

We look at some lessons learned in his own life - and how he coped with two distinct personal setbacks - a divorce, which prompted him to take time away from work to reset and a cancer diagnosis after which he actually was driven to do work whenever he could between treatments. This experience teaches us that work can be refuge at times when we experience stresses in our personal lives.

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Susana Coutinho is a Research Director at MainStreet Partners, a firm that provides investment Advisory and Portfolio Analytics on Sustainable, ESG and Impact investments. She is Portuguese, and has studied and worked in Italy as well as London, and has previously worked as an ESG analyst and in accounting.

Our conversation covers how Susana entered the field of ESG analysis and impact investing, and we spend some time on the "G" part of the equation - and in particular the area of gender balance and equal representation. It was actually an insightful post that Susana put on LinkedIN around International Women's Day that first drew my attention and we explore how expectations are changing about workplace composition and how this differs across Europe.

An unexpected delight in this podcast was discovering some hidden gems about Milan. Susana is also trained as a tour guide in the city so I couldn't resist asking her about some of her favorite spots and some lesser well known secrets of the city.

There is more information about MainStreet Partners on the following link: https://www.mspartners.org/

This series was made possible by the kind support of MainStreet Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges

Uche Orji is CEO of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, based in Abuja, Nigeria. A native of Nigeria, he has had over 20 years experience in various financial roles including semiconductor analyst in Europe and the US, before returning to Nigeria just over 8 years ago. He also holds a number of Board roles.

Our conversation starts with Uche's early career in investment banking and particularly semiconductor research. We hear about his swift rise to prominence in this area, and his global vantage point in this dynamic industry. We then move to what motivated his move home to Nigeria when he answered the call to take on a role at the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. This was a huge move - both in terms of responsibility and life direction but it was something he felt had immense sense of purpose and he committed to giving it all of his energy.

We discuss what is at the forefront of his mind in his current role - from portfolio diversification to investing locally in the emerging technology sector across all of Africa. We discuss some misperceptions that abound about investor interest in Africa and why these misperceptions persist.

Finally we reflect on people and organizations that have been influential and inspirational for Uche over his career so far. It is an enlightening conversation.

This series was made possible by the kind support of Main Street Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges

Series 3 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast 2021 is all about bold thinking. We hear from Uche Orji of the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Authority about his vision for investing in innovation in Africa, and from Faisal Rafi of Riscura, again an Africa based consulting firm, about the ground breaking changes underway in China, and what this means for an investment thesis.

We speak with Susana Coutinho about ESG integration, sustainability and impact investing, and how the S and the G have risen in importance recently.

Mark Steed, CIO of a large US public fund, is both a data junkie and an out of the box thinker - and his interests extend to e-sports, bereavement services and English football teams. Esther Peiner has carved a successful career in infrastructure investing, and consistently challenges preconceptions about work-life balance for all.

Sam Kunz is another bold thinker who started out as a trader and now works as a CIO. He advises us to love ourselves and to be more accepting, and more tolerant of some of the mistakes that will be inevitable. Annabel Gillard is extending her experience of investing into the twin areas of AI and Philosophy and has a passion for ethics and elevating ethics to a higher status in investment management firms.

The boldness of these ideas extends to the industry structure, and Bevon Joseph, the founder of the Greenwood Project, is on a mission to be a disruptor - to step in to provide social capital where it is absent, and to train and place black and Latin-x students in all parts of the financial services industry.

We speak with two guests who have had long careers in investing - Julian Tregoning, who turned to investing decades ago when his hopes and dreams were literally shattered, and now swears by the KISS principle (Keep it Simple Stupid) and Sandy Urie, Chairman Emeritus at Cambridge Associates who has had an extraordinary career carved by determination, client service and a deep love of investing.

This series was made possible by the kind support of Main Street Partners, a London-based independent and dedicated sustainable investment advisor that provides ESG multi-asset and multi-manager portfolios and a range of holistic portfolio analytics tools including sustainability ratings and bespoke sustainability intelligence. It was also supported by Carbonado Partners, an industry expert in capital raising for all asset classes, that endeavors to provide thoughtful solutions that address emerging managers’ perspectives and challenges.

Yele Aluko is Chief Medical Officer at EY, a role he has held for close to 4 years. He is Co-Chair, Health Equity Advisory, at the international Well Building Institute, an Advisory Board Member at the Children’s National Hospital and a Board Member at the Wake Forest University School of Business. He has worked as a Cardiologist in hospital settings for over 30 years.

Yele was born in Nigeria and we start with when he first realized his calling to be a doctor. We trace his journey to the US and how at the beginning he went through a difficult integration into life there - with little social capital locally and few relationships. We move to his journey to cardiology and his experience in hospital settings, and ultimately to what led him to move away from bedside medicine into matters of medical policy.

True to the mission of this podcast series we examine the issue of diversity in medicine, and Yele discusses the concepts of "missing persons" in medicine - the gap in representation of people of color at every level of medicine and the trickle down effects that this causes in terms of access to health care, trust in medical professionals and healthcare equity. We discuss initiatives to eliminate bias, and whether they work, and why they often lack sufficient "buy in".

This rich discussion is part of our Fiftyfaces Nigerian Voices series which will be released later in July. We are releasing it now as a counter narrative to that espoused by the podcast by the JAMA of February 2021 that questioned whether systemic racism in medicine existed.

Aman Kapadia is managing partner at Akaris Global, a hedge fund firm based in New York City. He previously worked at another fund Fir Tree Partners, and before that was an investment analyst focused on an event driven style of investing.

Our conversation starts with Aman's childhood which was spent living around the world, and then a taxing academic load, which included both a JD and an MBA, after a stint at McKinsey following undergrad. His introduction to the investing world came via an internship at a fund of funds, which facilitated ringside access to some of the most innovative hedge funds.

Now in his own firm, Akaris Global, we speak about the kind of thinking that has fostered idea generation and a high conviction investing style. We discuss the importance of lateral thinking, debating ideas and building a team with diverse passions and interests. We speak about the concept of constraints, and how, just as necessity is the mother of invention, constraints foster creativity and innovation.

Shruti Van Dyke Gandhi is General Partner and Founding Engineer at Array Ventures which invests in enterprise deep tech early-stage companies. Shruti is also a professor in the computer science department at Columbia University. She spent her early career as a developer on mainframe security, collaboration tools, and data analytics. Post engineering, she invested in early-stage companies at True Ventures and Samsung's venture fund. She is also the recipient of Chicago Booth 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award at Chicago.

Our conversation traces Shruti's experience in computer science and high growth industries and how this motivated her desire to launch a venture firm focused on high growth companies in the B2B world. We speak about the skills need to be successful in venture - from decision making (which needs to be fast) to knowing one's own strengths and weaknesses and supplementing gaps by surrounding oneself with the necessary skills.

We discuss the experience of some female founders in attracting venture capital and the issue of confidence, and the importance of thinking sufficiently "large" when it comes to check size and opportunity set.

See the following article for some positive news about increases in the numbers of women in venture, despite starting from a very low base. https://www.fastcompany.com/90567387/women-in-vc-growth

This podcast was supported by Speaking with Images, a company focused on motivational speaking, focused on increasing resilience, improving communication and building better workplace culture. https://www.jennysegal.co.uk/

Mitesh Sheth is CEO of Redington, an investment consulting firm based in London, where he has spent almost 8 years. He started his career as an investment analyst and held various roles in asset management firms and in his own strategy and innovation consulting business.

We talk about his childhood first and how he learned to bring his authentic self into the workplace. Something seemingly minor - like not drinking alcohol - can sometimes make socializing difficult - and this led to him finding different ways to connect and to bond with colleagues.

Now in a leadership role, Mitesh brings a considerable amount of thought and reflection to bear, which includes a practice of logging and tracking decisions and returning to analyze what drove them. We discuss the role of "experiment and fail fast" as a tool to encourage innovation, flexibility and psychological safety in the workplace. We then move to integrating spirituality into one's life, and how this can impact leadership as well as how we motivate others.

At Redington, the firm emphasizes celebrating “difference” and creating a culture of belonging. We talk about what this means in practice, and how it will be increasingly important in a post pandemic world.

Caroline Burton has a portfolio career which includes roles as an independent advisor to local authority pension plans and a NED role. She previously spent over 25 years at the Guardian Royal Exchange, where she was promoted to manager at the age of 28. She retired from that organization in 1999 and has since built a portfolio career.

Our conversation starts in what seems like an entirely different era in the City - during the mid 1970s. Top hats were in vogue, gentlemen's dining clubs were the rage and diversity was not high on the agenda. Caroline encountered her fair share of sexism in her early career, but nonetheless made her way through management ranks, and shares some of her strategies for success. We reflect also on how the industry has changed, and where progress has been lagging.

When she retired over 20 years ago she moved to a full portfolio career of committee and non executive director roles, and we discuss where these differ from executive roles.

As an experienced committee member she has a a clear sense of where non executive roles differ from executive roles - in particular that the mantra should be "eyes on, hands off" and that observing and listening to the direction of travel and then opining on it can be a key value added of the non executive director.

This podcast was supported by Speaking with Images, a company focused on motivational speaking, focused on increasing resilience, improving communication and building better workplace culture. https://www.jennysegal.co.uk/

Oli Shakir-Khalil is an investment director in EM Debt at Fidelity International, based in London. We met at an industry conference where he discussed his role as a mental health ambassador within his firm and the industry and his efforts to amplify the importance of mental health awareness. He is passionate about the need to reinforce listening within organizations and the debunk the myth that this area should be taboo. His initiatives both within his own firm and within the industry are innovative and powerful to spread inclusion and promote dialogue about this issue.

Our conversation starts with Oli's university specialty of classics and how he happened upon a city career with this quite unconventional background. What it did endow him with, though, was sharp writing skills and a comfort and ease with public speaking and client situations, which were the essential cultural "add" to round out a team.

We speak about his role as a mental health ambassador, why these roles are more essential than ever today, in light of the Covid-19 disruptions and enforced isolation and how simple adjustments like noting his status on his signature - indicating that he is "free to talk" and that colleagues who may be struggling can open up to him can be critical.

Oli is also an active advocate for the LGBT community at work and in the City and we will feature him in our upcoming series celebrating Pride Month in June, in which we celebrate the careers of LGBT professionals.

Andrew Osayemi is a specialist diversity recruiter at Rare Recruitment and the creator of the Netflix TV show Meet the Abebanjos. He started his career as a city trader and then took the plunge into starting a TV production company, MTA productions – although, as he claims he did not “know anything about TV”. He is the author of the book “How my Disastrous Teenage Love Life Will Get You Your Dream Job”.

Our fascinating discussion starts with his upbringing in South London, how he found himself a job in the City and the cultural adjustments that the trading floor entailed. As his career took off and took him to the US, he found himself faced with a challenging choice. His career then took a creative turn as he started to pitch his TV ideas and ultimately started a TV production company. We hear about the series of "Nos" that forced him to focus on "earning a Yes" and what happened when he did, finally, break through the competitive world of TV.

The discussion would not have been complete without analyzing how his teenage love life could get me - or anyone - a dream job, and we look at how relationships and commitment to them can be the key to nurturing a career. We then talk about authenticity, gratitude, finding one's voice, speaking up and showing up at meetings and in careers. Andrew is now sharing his advice with the next generation and if you will follow him on LinkedIN you will see that he has an ambitious goal of speaking to 1 million young people this year to talk about his career, his choices and what is possible.

Heidi Ridley is Co-Founder and CEO at Radiant ESG, based in the Bay Area of California. She has had a long career in asset management, including roles as CEO of Rosenberg Equities, a division of AXA Investment Managers, global head of client service and head of North America institutional sales. She is a member of the Advisory Council at the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership.

Our conversation tracks Heidi's entry into investing and how she rose through the ranks to become a C-suite leader. We discuss what true leadership really means and how her early career grit and determination contributed to her own trajectory. Heidi is now also a founder, and her vision for Radiant ESG is a unique one. We examine what motivated her to launch her own firm and some of the challenges that they encountered due to the prevailing market backdrop but ultimately overcame.

A key takeaway of this podcast that I won't forget is recasting the image of a bull in a china shop. Whereas this is typically a negative image, I have now re-imagined it as a determined, ambitious force within an organization that may, initially, resist being shaken up. My conclusion is that our industry needs a lot more of them.

There is more information about Radiant ESG at: https://radiantesg.com/

This podcast was supported by Speaking with Images, a company focused on motivational speaking, focused on increasing resilience, improving communication and building better workplace culture. https://www.jennysegal.co.uk/

Michiel Timmerman is founder and managing partner at Mbuyu Capital Partners, which is an Africa focused investment boutique focused on financial services and agriculture, as well as Equity for Africa and EFTA, both focused on equipment leasing in Tanzania. He previously held a series of CIO roles across various asset management businesses in the City of London, including Ignis Asset Managemnent, where we met.

Our conversation covers Michiel's early scientific education and how that hypothesis based scientific method informs his approach to investing. We then discuss how he came upon the SME investment opportunity in Africa somewhat by accident. While he had prepared for failure - he had not prepared for success, and this brought its own complications.

We look at the backdrop to investing in Africa, bust some myths associated with it, and describe some of the unique challenges (and opportunities) of investing in the region.

Marisa Hall is co-head of the Thinking Ahead Institute at Willis Towers Watson, where she has spent most of her career, starting initially as an investment consultant. She was named Woman of the Year in the 2020 Women in Finance Summit & Awards Series and was on the 2020 List of Financial News Rising Stars in Asset Management in Europe. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Diversity Project in its ethnicity workstream and is a Standing Committee Member of Investment 20/20.

Our conversation covers Marisa's entry into the world of investment and the various nudges that she received that pushed her in different but, ultimately, highly productive and creative directions. We speak about the innovative areas that she is focused on at the Thinking Ahead Institute, as well as her thoughts on the evolution of the investment industry over the next 5 - 10 years.

We then examine the question of diversity in detail - Marisa has a unique perspective due to her many mentoring and advocacy roles - and she speaks poignantly about the need to understand the differing mindsets that many of our colleagues bring into the industry and how intimidating the trappings of the workplace can be.

There is more information about Investment 20/20 here:

https://www.investment2020.org.uk/

This podcast was supported by Speaking with Images, a company focused on motivational speaking, focused on increasing resilience, improving communication and building better workplace culture.

Jim Maloney is a director at the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association and a director of Beachpoint Capital Management. He was a trustee of the Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund for over 11 years, including 1.5 years as interim chief investment officer. He retired from the Chicago Police in 2017, after 35 years of service, which saw him rise to the rank of Lieutenant. Jim has been active as an advocate for public fund investors for over a decade and is an active participant in the institutional investor conference circuit – when it exists.

Our conversation traces Jim's childhood in the Midwest and his ties with Ireland, including a period spent in the country while growing up, and then what led him to enter the Chicago police. We look at the highs and lows of a career of over 35 years, in which Jim took every available opportunity to advance and take on extra training and built strong collegial ties. We look at what first interested him in investment and how his representation on the Trustee Board of the Pension Fund tilted his life in another direction.

Jim is a good friend of mine and was the reason I had the privilege to serve as CIO of the Chicago Policemen's Annuity and Benefit fund for over 3 years. It was a further privilege to interview him here.

Leon Brujis is a Partner a Palladium Equity Partners, a private equity firm, headquartered in NYC. The firm is focused on making investments in middle market companies with a special focus on partnering with founders and family-owned businesses, and a particular focus on the Latinx consumer. He has held a number of board roles, and is currently on the Board of New America Alliance, a not for profit organization committed to building on American Latino success to forge a Stronger America.

Our conversation starts with Leon's background, his roots in Latin America and what drove him to come to the US. We then talk about his investment journey, the potential of the Latinx consumer and how the firm he is in today drives value, including the way it integrates ESG issues into the investment thesis. We then move to talk about the current levels of diversity in the investment industry, and how access to capital is the last frontier of the civil rights movement, and how diversity programs can contribute to addressing this deficit. It is staggering that women and minorities who comprise over 70% of the population manage less than 2% of the capital in the industry.

The end of the podcast contains a moving segment in which Leon shares wisdom that was shared by his late father, Marcos Brujis, who passed away only a few months ago. These three core pieces of advice are: 1. A Bad arrangement is better than a good fight; 2. You are what you negotiate and 3. Don't take No for an answer. We discuss how Leon learned to negotiate, and how he believes that action = priorities.

For our second series of 2021, we have a particularly diverse group of 10 inspiring guests who bring different backgrounds and skillsets to the world of investment. We meet with a retired police officer who entered the investment world through representing the pension scheme, a city trader turned Netflix TV producer, an investor in African SMEs, a venture capital investor, a leader of a think tank, a private equity investor focused on the Latinx consumer, a hedge fund founder and a consulting firm CEO.

We examine how access to capital is the last frontier of the civil rights movement, how supposed weaknesses can actually be a source of resilience and strength, how "earning your yes" instead of focusing on the "no' can be key in a business that is full of rejection and how mindful we have to be of how intimidating our industry can be.

We explore how constraints in setting up a business can foster creativity and the right kind of pivots, and how sometimes it is worth being that bull in the China shop and how much grit and setbacks can be the arsenal we rely upon.

Tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on Twitter (@fiftyfacespod).

This series was produced by Fiftyfaces Productions Ltd.

Jenny Segal is a motivational speaker, author and photographer, with a focus on building resilience, improving communication and building better workplace cultures. She had a long career in the investment industry culminating in senior leadership roles in institutional business development and distribution areas and is currently a Senior Investment Officer with Nesta among other positions, including an ambassador role with the Diversity Project.

Our conversation starts with Jenny's entry into the investment world, the motivation she received from her school and her family and her rise through the ranks in a profession that did not always value diversity. In a profoundly moving segment we speak about a health setback of breast cancer and how that changed her perspective on life, on her self-worth, and on what her next chapter would be. We then turn to Jenny's current focus, which is as a motivational speaker where she works with companies to improve their corporate cultures - drawing upon her own decades of experience as well as personal journey.

This is an exciting time for Jenny, as she has recently published a book focused on workplace cultures, and in particular motivating and de-motivating behaviors, and is developing her consulting business under her Speaking with Images brand.

There is more information on Jenny's new book: Motivation - Building Better Workplace Cultures here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0923WJ2BT/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=jenny+segal&qid=1617993968&sprefix=jenny+seg&sr=8-1

This podcast was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital, a specialist advisor and placement boutique, based in London.

On Motivation: Building Better Workplace Cultures

Doug Shaw is Bursar at St. Peter’s College, Oxford, a position he has held for over two years. I got to know him when he was in a COO role within one of Europe's most successful hedge funds, The Children's Investment Fund, and in his investment career he has held a series of fascinating roles, both at start up firms and in large firms such as Gartmore and Blackrock. He has spent time in derivatives sales, building a business for charity clients, and in managing hyper-fast growth, and now holds various NED and Investment Committee positions in addition to his Bursar role.

Our conversation starts with Doug's first trip to Oxford, what he thought he knew when he emerged, and what it turns out he actually did. In his early investment roles he worked with some disruptors, particularly in the hedge fund arena and built businesses run by strong personalities and serving weighty clients. We speak about what he learned from these experiences and the efforts he is making now, in an area (third level learning) that has been upended like never before. He is passionate about making the investment industry more accessible across the socio-economic spectrum and invites students of his Oxford college to observe the investment process as it relates to the endowment.

At every stage of Doug's career he has brought tremendous energy to his tasks in hand - our discussion of his efforts in terms of diversifying access to investment shows that energy alone may not be enough.

This podcast was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital, a specialist advisor and placement boutique, based in London.

Bridget Uku is Group Manager Treasury & Investments at a UK local authority, where she has spent over 14 years, and she previously worked as Investments and Insurance Finance Manager at the Greater London Authority. She is frequent participant on the local government conference circuit, which is where we met.

We talk about Bridget's upbringing in Nigeria, and her time at boarding school in the UK with her sisters and the cultural shift that that involved. We then move to how she overcame her aversion to maths to embrace a role that involved quite a lot of numbers - and discuss how having a family increased her drive to advance through her career and pursue promotions.

Finally, we look back to the family and other industry figures that inspired her and her approach to taking on new challenges and reach assignments.

This podcast was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital, a specialist advisor and placement boutique, based in London.

William Bourne is a long-time adviser to the local government pension schemes in the UK, and has over 30 years experience on all sides of the asset allocation business. He in the founder of Linchpin, which provides advice on investments and governance to institutional investors, and has worked in sales as well as investment roles, and has spent a considerable amount of time in Japan. He is a frequent commentator and participant on the investment advice conference circuit and a co-host of an occasional webinar series with me in which we bring together a lively group of investors and their advisers.

Our conversation starts with William's long and varied career which has been both global and hyper-local, and has included many start-up situations, some of which had varying degrees of success. We discuss his investment beliefs, and how helps his client to navigate the current market volatility and how his views have evolved over time.

We then dive what William terms his "hinterland", which is a particularly rich one - from his love of small-craft sailing, which included some stormy encounters and even a shipwreck, to his passion for bridge, which is one that he is committed to passing on to younger generations. We talk about some of the under-appreciated aspects of bridge - how it makes you think, and the skills it lays down for life.

There is more information about William and Linchpin (including William's blog) on: https://www.linchpin-advisory.com/home

This podcast was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital, a specialist advisor and placement boutique, based in London.

Justin Onuekwusi is a Fund Manager and Head of Retail Multi-Asset Funds at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) based in London. He started his career as an investment consultant in an actuarial consulting firm, and moved to a research and portfolio manager role, where he has specialized in multi-asset fund management.

Our conversation starts with Justin's upbringing in Manchester, and some of the challenges that came with it, and then moves to how he became interested in the actuarial profession and ultimately the world of investing. We discuss his recent blog post on LinkedIN called “where do we go from here?” which describes the early age he became aware of racism, learning how to code switch as early as primary school and micro-aggressions that he experienced throughout his career. We explore all of these in more detail, examining what it is to truly feel like you belong, and how firms can create a better sense of inclusion for all of their employees. Justin discusses his passion for mentorship and the circles that he coaches, which enable younger career entrants to develop and ultimately thrive.

Justin was pivotal in the recent #talkaboutblack campaign and speaks about what that means, and why it is important to be colour brave instead of colour blind, and to work to improve race fluency. His prescription for this is grounded in empathy, and in creating psychological safety for all colleagues to make mistakes without judgment.

See Justin's LinkedIN blog post here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6732603742996299776/ and follow him on LinkedIN for more information about #talkaboutblack and the 10,000 Black Interns campaign that he supports (https://www.10000blackinterns.com/).

This podcast was supported by Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and placement boutique, based in London, and the Guild of Investment Managers, which was found in 2015 by a group of investment managers, to combine the benefits of a modern, diverse and dynamic network organization with the traditions of the livery world.

Terry Mellish just recently retired from a head of international public policy diversity and inclusion role at Natixis Investment Managers, capping a career in the city that spanned over 50 years. He is continuing in an active role in the industry as an ambassador of The Diversity Project where he heads up the ability work stream, and is a frequent participant in industry networking events and diversity and inclusion themed initiatives.

Our conversation, and this podcast's title, references an article recently published featuring Terry in which he describes being born "on the wrong side of the tracks" but nonetheless entering the city at a very young age and working his way up. Terry spent much of his life working with institutional clients and he describes his extraordinary work ethic in which he learned to express his opinion only after finding how much it was valued. There were many changes in the City over the course of his career and we discuss whether the City has come far enough in encouraging socio-economic diversity and mobility and how it needs to improve.

One of the most affirming aspects of my conversation with Terry is our discussion of the energizing effect that his taking on a diversity and inclusion role had towards the end of his career. This unexpected turn, facilitated by a supportive sponsor, provided a new beginning at a time when careers typically wind down, and acted as launch pad for the next active chapter of his life - post retirement.

There is more information on the Diversity Project at: https://diversityproject.com/

This podcast was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital, a London based specialist investment advisor and placement boutique.

Robert (Rob) Gardner is Director of Investments at St. James’s Place Wealth Management, a position he has held since early 2019. He was a co-founder of Redington, a consulting firm, where he spent 14 years and remains a non-executive Director.

Rob describes himself as a financial activist – on a mission to make money a force for good for people and the planet and create “financial wellbeing in a world worth living in”. He is a passionate advocate for financial literacy and has written a children’s book on the topic called "Save your Acorns" (see: https://saveyouracorns.com/). He is on the expert committee of the Retirement Investment Systems Reform Project of the World Economic Forum.

Our multi-layered conversation looks back to Rob's youth, when he spent a period of time in Argentina and later in a boarding school in the UK. His early days of juggling exchange rates and experiencing the reality of hyper-inflation sowed the seeds for a passion for numbers and finance, and we trace his years in finance before he took the leap to found Redington.

We then pivot to some of Rob's core beliefs that guide his current advocacy - his passionate focus on increasing financial literacy, particularly in young children, and his advice around what it means to invest for a world worth living in. We speak about his current work that encourage planning for living to 100 (and beyond) and how investing with a sustainable lens is critical.

Rob leaves us with some of the advice he gives to the young people he mentors: that they should begin with the end in mind - and to nurture their three pools of capital: intellectual capital, social capital, and financial capital. This endorsement to keep learning, build networks and to manage risk and finances prudently is a powerful trinity that applies well beyond the walls of finance and investment.

This podcast was supported by Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and placement boutique, based in London, and the Guild of Investment Managers, which was found in 2015 by a group of investment managers, to combine the benefits of a modern, diverse and dynamic network organization with the traditions of the livery world.

William Heard is the founder and CIO of Heard Capital, a Chicago-based hedge fund firm that he founded when he was in his 20s, and where he is distinguished by a high conviction concentrated investment style. He was recently named one of Fortune’s 40 under 40 in the finance sector.

Our conversation looks back to William's entry into finance, what sparked his fascination with markets and his early training within a multi-strategy hedge fund firm. A self-described introvert in his style, William discusses how his team relies on debates not screens and focuses on what company management says v. what they do in order to determine where the value lies.

We turn then to the decision to launch his own firm, which he took at a particularly young age. We note the support he had from a range of backers who saw talent and believed in it, and how he has now built on his initial traction to gain scale.

William has a clear love of markets, their complexity and unpredictability, and this conversation is a refreshing look at what makes them so appealing and filled with opportunity.

This series of The Fiftyfaces Podcast was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and placement boutique based in London.

I’m joined today by Cary Krosinsky who is a lecturer at Yale University where he teaches and advises on sustainable finance, energy studies and climate and investing. He also holds posts at Brown University, Columbia University, and Xian Jiaotong University. Hs is a published author, most recently of “Modern China: Financial Cooperation for Solving Sustainability Challenges” as well as other publications in the area of Sustainable Innovation and Impact. He is co-founder of the Sustainable Finance Institute as well as the Carbon Tracker Initiative among other initiatives and has worked closely with institutional investors to develop sustainable investment strategies and goals.

My conversation with Cary traces the different phases of his career - which he counts (to date) as five. We talk about his early interest in sustainability, how he approaches cultural differences, particularly when taking the message to China and beyond, and how he has seen the field evolve. His endorsement to be flexible in one's career ambitions, to take time to allow careers to breathe, is one that resonates particularly well in today's volatile times.

This podcast was supported by Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and placement boutique, based in London.

Luba Nikulina is Global Head of Research at Willis Towers Watson, based in London, where she oversees the quality of research and investment decisions, new investment solutions as well as technology and strategy in research. She is a Non-Executive director at the Investor Forum, which focus on positioning stewardship at the heart of investment decision making. She has a strong interest in ESG and innovation in investment strategy.

Our conversation discusses her upbringing in Russia, her stint as an entrepreneur, her academic journey to London and her move into investment consulting and research. Luba speaks about what excites her most in the area of investment research today and her passion for stewardship and why she believes that this will be central to investment strategy going forward.

This podcast was supported by Alvine Capital, a specialist investment advisor and placement boutique, based in London, and the Guild of Investment Managers, which was found in 2015 by a group of investment managers, to combine the benefits of a modern, diverse and dynamic network organization with the traditions of the livery world.

We are absolutely delighted to be back with our 2021 series of The Fiftyfaces Podcast, which is like seeing a group of old friends - something long overdue for many of us.

In this first series we continue our exploration of some of the fascinating backgrounds behind some of our investment industry colleagues, and discuss their struggles, their triumphs and their guiding beliefs. We learn about the benefits of orthogonal thinking to address complex problems, comparing that ratio of what management does v. what it says, the imperative of improving financial literacy.

Shifting gears, we learn about the joys of bridge, how having a family can actually drive a career, why it is important to let your career breathe and the wisdom shared both by a London black cab driver and D. H. Lawrence. Tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on Twitter (@fiftyfacespod).

This series was produced by Fiftyfaces Productions Ltd., and was made possible by the kind support of Alvine Capital Management, a London-based specialist investment advisor and placement boutique.

In this very special bonus episode of The Fiftyfaces Podcast we provide a preview of our next spin-off series Fiftyfaces Focus - Inspiring People in the law.

The Honorable Judge Victoria Kolakowski, is a judge of the Superior Court of Alameda County, in the Bay Area of California and in November 2010 she was the first Transgender person to be elected a Trial Judge.

Judge Kolakowski is a committed advocate for transgender people and makes herself available throughout the United States and internationally for conferences, seminars and interviews acting as a role-model and providing support.

Her conversation with a new host, Patrick Devitt, goes back to her childhood, to her earliest days of wishing she were a girl, through adolescence, college and law school.

She talks about her transition, reactions to it, the support network that made it possible and how being transgender affected her employment opportunities and career path.

We hope you enjoy this profoundly moving interview that we are releasing to coincide with LGBT History Month in the UK. There is more information about Judge Kolakowski on the following links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Kolakowski

https://vkolakowski.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzPT40eaEGY&list=PLIsDBjtKYyJalB8rWNJqtKt-bAhhX2h6T

It seemed to be only fair that after the extraordinary generosity of the 58 guests of the first season of The Fiftyfaces Podcast I should open myself up to the same questions. To do this, I chose one of the best, Ted Seides, interviewer extraordinaire, and host of The Capital Allocators Podcast, which you can check out here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/capital-allocators/id1223764016

Our conversation is a bit of a hybrid of The Fiftyfaces Podcast and Ted's own format, so we discuss my investment journey, lessons learned, adversity faced and what drives me, and also some fun questions about my daily habits, learning from my parents and lessons I wish I had learned earlier. As a former entrepreneur I have more than a little experience in bootstrapping an organization, and discuss that, as well as the essential pivots that had to be made in 2008 following the financial crisis. I also talk about the origins of The Fiftyfaces Podcast, the journey of listening and learning that absorbed me during the summer of 2020, and the life lessons that I took away from that humbling experience.

Bola Tobun is Investments and Treasury Manager at the London Borough of Enfield. She is a frequent participant on the local government conference circuit, which is where we met, and she has a long history of experience in pension fund roles across local government and pensions administration businesses.

Our conversation starts with Bola's background in chemical engineering, and how this drove her deep knowledge of the science behind climate change and the energy transition. We move to her investment role, how it originally came about and how she developed her role to respond when her employer declared a "climate emergency". We hear how her pension fund panel was guided through workshops organized around the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and how the diverse panel settled on core goals to weave into their investment beliefs and process. We hear how they are engaging with managers now to push for change and measure ESG risks.

We then turn to diversity in the investment profession today, whether much progress has been made and the principles and core beliefs that Bola relies upon to guide her in her investment role, and in life.

Dr. Ylva Baeckstrom is a lecturer and researcher in finance at King’s College Business School in London, where she has a particular interest in behavioural finance, investment decision making and investment advice, with a special interest in gender and the interplay between advisors and their clients. She previously worked in banking for over 15 years, and also has a psychotherapy practice, which provides relationship support to individuals and couples. She has written extensively on gender bias, financial inclusion and the impact of economic equality and gender in entrepreneurship.

Our conversation traces Ylva's start in investment banking and what motivated her to pursue a PhD and transition to academic life. We also speak about her insights as a psychotherapist and how it complements her research.

When we turn to her current focus at King's College Business School, Ylva reveals some of the staggering insights of her research, such as the systemic underrepresentation of women in the media, and how this contributes to perpetuating stereotypes, discrimination and gender imbalances. We talk about the imposter syndrome, how it holds people back, and how the partnership of industry players, the media and the next generation of talent can make changes in the industry make-up.

Genia Diamond was most recently a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Merlyn Advisors, a special situations advisory and investment firm. She was previously a partner of Cantab Capital, where she headed up the business development area for over 8 years. She started her career in asset management in research and then held a series of business development roles at a range of asset managers. She has a Phd in linguistics and is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the STEM Inclusion Foundation, a charity that aims to increase the number of girls that continue the study of maths and physics beyond GCSE.

Our conversation follows her intriguing journey from a doctorate in linguistics into the world of investment, and how this taught her to think and dissect the way that we interact with others. She has had significant experience and success in building investment management businesses, and has a proven set of steps necessary to optimize this process for success. She notes figures from the industry who have motivated her over the years and the values that keep her grounded throughout the market ups and downs.

Kristin Finney-Cooke is an investment consultant based in Chicago, who works with a range of public pension plans across the Midwest, along with other institutional investors. She has a particular interest in promoting and encouraging diverse asset management firms, particularly those that are female and minority owned.

In this conversation we do a deep dive into her rich family history of academic achievement, and discuss in detail the experience of students attending HBCUs, and what they contribute to the national conversation as well as to preparing a body of talented black students to succeed in their careers and life. We then turn to Kristin's own experience in moving from what she expected to be a career in medicine to one of investment, and how she uses her platform to amplify minority-run businesses.

We talk about what really matters in life, and why we should all strive to make the "dash" - that little sign between the years of our birth and death - count for something. It is an inspiring conversation.

Connie Teska is principal and co-founder of Pluscios Management, a fund of hedge funds manager based in the Chicago area. Pluscios is a Greek term meaning wealth, abundance, and riches and the firm, founded in 2006, has two female founders. She has a long history in investment management, particularly in the area of alternative investments.

Our conversation returns to Connie's Greek roots, and what growing in a family of entrepreneurs and small business owners taught her about work ethic, resilience, and respect for knowing what goes on "in the weeds". We move to her banking career, and what inspired her to start a firm. The road to founding a firm had some challenges for the two female founders, and she reflects on how the landscape has changed for minority run firms now.

Kelli Schrade is an institutional consultant and director at Graystone Consulting, a Morgan Stanley company, and is based in Chicago. She has had a long career in manager selection and investment consulting and is a self-described “market junkie”, who is committed to making change through her work with clients and diverse investment managers, among other causes. She is a Board Member at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Deborah’s Place and involved in numerous industry bodies.

Our conversation goes back to Kelli's undergraduate degree in English, and how she transitioned from that to a role in manager selection. We discuss the benefits of flat corporate structures, and how they enable junior employees to thrive, and the work she is doing to elevate and amplify minority-run firms and to enable her clients to fulfill their missions.

When we turn to the issue of diversity, Kelli is frank about the experience of other senior women who have dropped out of the industry, and it is apt at this stage (mid-pandemic) to mention the recent McKinsey report (https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace) which noted that one in three professional women were considering downshifting their career due to the Covid-19 disruptions and additional pressures, including the "double shift" of childcare.

Sharmila Kassam is the founder of Aligned Capital Investing, as well as holding a portfolio of Board roles. She was previously Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, a public defined benefit plan with around $30 bn in AUM, where she held a series of roles for almost 12 years. She previously worked as an attorney and a venture industry professional. She is a Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute.

Our conversation starts with Sharmila's move from law into the world of investing, and the policies and priorities that were at the forefront of her mind in her role as Deputy CIO of a large public plan. Sharmila was an early trailblazer for the building and promotion of diverse portfolios in her role at Texas ERS, and the strong performance of these portfolios serves as a powerful proof statement of the win/win nature of diversity. Now, as she builds out her portfolio of Board roles she is committed to using this experience to pave the way for smaller and more boutique organizations to see and enjoy the benefits of diversity. We speak about the figures in her life who have inspired her, and her current agenda to promote change.

Kourtney Gibson is President of Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets, one of the largest privately-held investment banks in the country. After joining the company as an intern more than 20 years ago, she has held various roles at the firm, including spearheading its global equity division for more than a decade.

She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago and sits on the board of trustees of the University of Miami and Viterbo University as well on the board of Lululemon Athletica Inc., the MarketAxess Corporation, Dibia Dream Foundation and the Chicago Scholar’s Foundation. She is a frequent network contributor who provides commentary on market trends and events and is a trailblazer for women and minorities both in finance and more broadly.

Our conversation traces how Kourtney rose through the ranks of Loop Capital and the values that have always grounded her. We speak about sponsorship, why it matters so deeply, the importance of competing on a level playing field, and what she brings to her Board Roles as a female, an African American and a millennial. She shares her views as to how we can effect real progress on these metrics and continue to shape the conversation.

In this bonus series of the Fiftyfaces podcast we meet eight accomplished women who offer a frank assessment of their journeys into the investment world and their experience in it. We hear about being underestimated, and whose problem this is, really. We discuss the imposter syndrome, the high drop-out rate of senior women, and how a Board Director is using her position to drive inclusion and knowledge among private equity firms and boutique firms without grand plans and comprehensive policies.

There is a lot of "grandmother" wisdom in here, some motivation from faith, stories of advances in academia, and a discussion of the contribution to excellence of HBCUs. We hear from female founders who hit more than a few stumbling blocks and how the glass is both full and empty according to one's point of view.

Carrie Pickett has had a long career in asset management, and was recently a founder and principal of Blueprint Capital Advisors, having held a series of roles as Controller, director of operations, and marketing and investor relations in other asset management firms. She is a frequent contributor to the dialogue around the need for more diversity in the asset management industry.

Our conversation discusses Carrie's experience as a founder, which has taken many shapes and forms over the years, and is a shot of reality in terms of the kind of capital needed and type of trajectory that can be expected. She discusses her experience of diversity and inclusion, and the lessons learned in her journey.

Ariane Barker is CEO of Scale Investors Ltd, based in Melbourne, which invests patient capital in female-founded Australian early stage businesses. She has had a long career in global finance, including roles in investment banking in the US, Europe, Japan and Australasia, and in 2011 was identified as one of seventy high potential board-ready women after being awarded an AICD board diversity scholarship. She holds a variety of Board roles including the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation and at a variety of not-for-profits in the education, healthcare and the arts.

Our discussion begins with Ariane's early instincts for finance and investing, which started in high school, and how she translated that into a fast-paced global career. She talks about her move to Australia, and what motivated that, and how Scale Investors presented the perfect opportunity to unite her broad skillset to empower the next generation of founders. We talk about her passion for education and some of the exciting challenges ahead for that sector. And we have a frank discussion about juggling career and family, and how compromises take shape and pan out.

GuyLaine Charles and I met when we started on the same day as junior associates in a NYC law firm in the mid-90s. GuyLaine became a specialist in derivatives and recently launched her own firm, Charles Law PLLC, to represent clients in the negotiation of financial agreements including prime brokerage, futures and options, limited partnership and credit agreements - in fact anything that might represent the “plumbing” that is vital to the operation of the investment world. She also has a particular interest in documenting social impact investments.

For a change in this series we examine the experience of diversity in the legal profession, how it has evolved since the mid-1990s and some of the challenges that all working parents experience. We speak about the impact of a strong and engaged manager, the enduring importance of inclusion and representation and the challenges and opportunity in striking out on one's own.

Daniel Booth is Chief Investment Officer at the Borders to Coast Pensions Partnership, which manages assets on behalf of 11 partner funds within the UK Local Government Pension Scheme. He has extensive experience as a chief investment officer, and he has had a particular emphasis on alternative investments throughout his career, where he has spent time in Saudi Arabia, Frankfurt as well as the UK.

Our discussion traces Daniel's journey through finance and some pivots along the way that saw him build businesses and investment portfolios in far flung places. We discuss what these experiences taught him about knowledge sharing, trusting others, and not taking stability and predictability for granted. We move to what he looks for in a team, who has inspired him in his career and how he drives towards sustainability and longevity in an investment operation.

Elizabeth Burton is CIO at the Hawaii Employee’s Retirement System, a US public pensions plan with over $17 bn in AUM. Before moving to Hawaii in 2018 she was managing director of the quantitative strategies group at Maryland State Retirement and Pension System. Prior to that she ran her own strategy consulting business, and worked as an economist, in portfolio management at a fund of hedge funds and a as fixed income securities trader. Elizabeth is a recipient of the CIO Magazine’s 2019 Innovation Award, and was named as one of CIO’s Forty Under Forty in 2017, and was recently appointed to the Board of CAIA.

Our conversation reveals Elizabeth's passion for sports, and some of the inspiration she has drawn from elite athletes. We also talk about her love of statistics, and how she uses confidence intervals to inform her investment approach and navigate complex decision making. We discuss about diversity in the industry currently, how it enriches groups, and how sometimes taking a broad and inclusive approach to recruiting from various disciplines can further expand the candidate pool.

Ivory Day is Managing Partner at Ivory Day Clear Investment Consulting based in the Chicago area. He started his career close to 50 years ago and has held a long succession of investment consulting roles, during which he advised public, Taft-Hartley, corporate, endowment and foundation plans. He is a frequent participant on the industry conference circuit where he discusses his views on asset allocation and the active v. passive divide.

Our conversation covers his early career, when he juggled three jobs, including one as a cab driver, and how he learned the ropes of investment consulting. We spend some time on his long held investment beliefs, the use of passive v. active managers, and the importance of asset allocation v. manager selection. Ivory is not afraid to speak truth to power, and to tell clients what they need to know, not simply what they want to hear.

Erin Archer is Treasurer at Syracuse University, which she recently joined after a period as Treasurer and Director of Investments of DePaul University in Chicago, where she oversaw the endowment. She started her career in sell-side research and has had a global career including four years in London and two years in South Africa, where she focused on the consumer sector.

Our conversation covers Erin's time in investment banking and an adventurous period covering the consumer sector across Emerging Markets. That triggered a discussion of her views on using Emerging Market allocations in institutional portfolios. We move to discussing values, and some of the behaviors that work well in life, and should translate more to the business of finance.

Rod June is Chief Investment Officer of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System, (which has $19.5 bn in AUM), where he has spent over 8 years. He previously held the same title at the Hawaii Employees Retirement System, where he spent over 4 years.

In this podcast we discuss Rod's long history of public service in public pension funds, how he entered finance and some of the key influences on his decisions. We focus for a time on the issues at the forefront of his mind as a CIO of a public fund today, including where the decision making really resides, the need to maintain a long-term perspective and the importance of building a diverse and resilient portfolio. He talks about how he has shored up his team and approach amid pandemic disruptions and how he has carefully crafted a roadmap for inclusion. This is the most astonishing part of this podcast - the clear and systematic way that Rod builds an environment that fosters inclusion and enables "crossing over" into new communities. There is something in it for all of us.

Katie Wyatt is CIO of the endowment of Loyola University in Chicago, a role she has held for close to two years. She was previously director of investments at the pharmaceutical company Abbott, where she spent over 11 years, and prior to that held a range of roles in equity research. She recently became a member of the Board of Directors of the CFA Society of Chicago.

We discuss Katie's career journey, and how she was empowered to be interested in investing at a very early age. We discuss the mission and purpose that have guided her personally and professionally, and examine how in a university endowment it is possible to infuse the investment policy with principles of the organization. The mission of her Jesuit institution is to work to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice and faith, and this triggers a wide ranging discussion on the topics of investing with impact.

Kirk Sims is a Senior Investment Manager and Head of the Emerging Manager Program at the Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a public pension plan with over $150 bn in assets under management. He previously worked at the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois, where he spent close to 7 years, and where he had oversight of the $7 bn minority investment program and the $750 m emerging manager program. Prior to that he held a variety of financial services roles.

Our conversation returns to Kirk's days at Howard University, some of his mentors there and the role models he found during his early days in finance, and, later, business school at Columbia. Kirk has spent close to a decade working with minority investment programs, and has plenty of "at the coalface" insights into challenges that these managers face and how they can overcome them.

In Series 5 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast we talk to 10 investment professionals about their passions such as jazz, sport, faith and "speaking truth to power". We hear from a CIO who has thoughtfully mapped out how to create an inclusive workforce and industry, and from another CIO who works daily to incorporate the mission of her Jesuit institution in to her investment strategy.

We hear about global careers, a venture fund focused on female founders, why we need to pause to remember how lucky we in fact are with our work set-ups, and how some of the twists and turns of what can be a volatile profession open new windows, as other doors close.

Bev Durston is Managing Director of Edgehaven, an alternatives partner which works with mostly institutional clients to select alternative investments. She splits her time between her native Sydney and London and has over 30 years of experience in financial services.

She previously worked at a number of Superannuation Funds in Australia as well as the British Airways Pension Fund in the UK and has held a range of investment committee roles. Our conversation covers her long career in finance, and her experience in various global roles.

We talk about institutional appetite for alternatives, and how it varies, and touch on fee sensitivity and the role of performance fees and their complexity. We also discuss various choices that Bev made throughout her career - choices to travel or take global roles which involved more inherent change and risk, and how these have contributed to the richness that is her career journey.

Rendel Solomon, who recently worked in a Chicago-based private equity firm, is a leading voice for diversity in finance. He is the founder of the One Stock One Future, an initiative which aims to turn one million youth into public company shareholders. He serves on the Board of NASP and West Side Forward, and he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Latin School, which he himself attended.

In this wide-ranging discussion we discuss Rendel's roots in the West Side of Chicago, his path through education and his mentorship under the watchful eyes of some giants in the industry. We discuss minority-run firms and how their fortunes are not improving as they should, and discuss his bold vision to spread equity ownership more widely, and into some unlikely corners. This vision is grounded in the ABCs of his One Stock One Future initiative - Attitude, Behaviors and changing the Conversation. We see how this can be translated beyond share ownership into driving more inclusion and more opportunities in the financial services industry.

We talk about the wealth and opportunity gap, and how this thwarts progress and finally discuss the importance of creating a sense of belonging within the investment industry, and why all roads lead to inclusion.

Kristin Staffeldt is a Senior Portfolio Analyst in the Real Assets area at the University of Chicago endowment, which has around $8.5 bn in assets under management. She has spent most of her career in a range of roles in real estate, having focused on land economics in her university degree.

Our discussion covers the nuances of real estate investing, how it fits an institutional portfolio and how she became interested in it. We also touch on how the current Covid crisis is impacting the sector and how longstanding trends have been accelerated.

We then turn to Kristin's own journey, the people who have been mentors throughout her career, the networks she has found most useful and the skills that she has developed as her career has progressed.

Gary Greenberg leads the Emerging Markets Equity team at the international business of Federated Hermes. He has had the role of portfolio manager in the flagship fund for over 9 years, and recently passed the baton on this to his co-portfolio manager Kunjal Gala on September 1 of this year. He has had a long career in investment, but what has fascinated me most about Gary is his parallel focus on spirituality.

Our conversation traces Gary's somewhat unconventional path into investing, how his spiritual journey has guided him throughout his life and the people who inspired it. We speak in particular about his views on sustainability and investing through this lens and why he considers this to be the only path that makes sense.

We also discuss why a 1980 Chevrolet Camaro amped up as a muscle car may not in fact be the compelling investment it sounds.

Leslie Lenzo is Chief Investment Officer at Advocate Aurora Health, a hospital plan in Illinois with over $10 bn in Assets under Management. She has worked in asset management at hospital plans for over 16 years and has also spent time in equity research. She is an advocate for building both a diverse investment team within her own organization as well as for promoting more diversity within the investment world as a whole.

Our conversation covers how she grew up in a hog farm in Iowa, her early entry into stock investing thanks to the encouragement of her grandparents and her career in asset management. Leslie shares some particular challenges she has faced and overcome over the years as a busy working parent.

There are also particular challenges in investing a hospital plan, whether it be the cash flow and budget challenges that come with a public health emergency or the desire to invest in a way that is consistent with the mission of the institution. Leslie shares what she is doing in each of these areas as well as how she manages the growth of the plan through corporate acquisitions.

Tom Soto is Founder and Managing Partner at Diverse Communities Impact Fund, a Los Angeles based private equity fund focused on making impactful investments in local communities, which he founded in 2018. He has had a long career in asset management, and an expansive portfolio of board and committee roles, with a particular focus on raising the profile of the American Latino community.

His roles include new Energy Nexus, an international non-profit that supports clean energy entrepreneurs, New American Alliance, which is committed to building on American Latino success to forge a stronger America, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and the offical team charity of the LA Dodgers, among other roles. He is a passionate advocate for diversity within the investment arena.

Our conversation discusses Tom's upbringing in the Los Angeles, his iconic parents, and how he is continuing that legacy by getting "lost in the service of others". We discuss how one's roots don't necessarily determine destiny and why this makes sourcing talent and providing opportunity so critical.

Yvonne Bajela is an investor in early stage companies at Impact X Capital, which invests in start-ups across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She has worked across the globe in investment banking, corporate venture capital and in academia, and is a frequent speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and female empowerment. She was listed as a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30.

Our conversation covers Yvonne's early interest in markets and finance, her career journey, and how she identifies talent across the venture capital arena. We discuss what both her upbringing and her role in venture capital taught her about failure, and how she resorts to the lessons of some well-known figures to overcome imposter syndrome.

Yvonne is a thought leader for diversity in venture, female empowerment and entrepreneurship and is instrumental in efforts to create stronger, more broad reaching networks to provide support and mentorship globally.

Luke Ellis is the Chief Executive Officer of Man Group, and has had a long career in asset management, with a particular focus originally on fixed income and derivatives and later hedge funds. He is vice chair of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Greenhouse Sports, which focuses on developing young people through sport.

Our conversation starts with Luke's early embrace of odds through learning to play cards at the age of 3, and his move through the ranks of finance. We discuss his family dinner table discussions growing up, his avid love of sports, and how this has influenced his approach to business.

We turn to the question of leadership and the opportunity to increase diversity in the industry, and how this has to be approached in a way that grows the opportunity set instead of creating a zero sum game.

Machel Allen is President and Chief Investment Officer of Metis Global Partners, a firm she founded in November 2013. The firm, based in San Diego, is focused on global equity investment across the size spectrum from micro-cap to large cap. She previously spent time as an equity and research analyst at a range of asset management firms.

Our conversation covers the entry level roles that revealed to Machel the opportunity to develop a proprietary investment process, and the fragments of inefficiencies that she loves about the investment world. Her persistence in setting up her own firm and building it in a sometimes tough asset raising environment are testament to her tremendous grit, but as we discuss, Machel has been upsetting apple carts for most of her life.

We will hear why she is optimistic about the future for diversity in the investment world, and some of the mentors and influencers that have shaped who she is as an investor.

Greg Williams is a business development manager at Wellington Management Company, a Boston-based asset management firm. Greg is based in their Chicago office. Before pivoting to a career in finance he worked as a professional actor, and after business school spent time as an equity research analyst and has long experience in consultative selling and business development.

As an Alum of the Robert Toigo Foundation, Greg has firsthand experience of the impact of the organization on its fellows and now at Wellington he continues to work with Toigo as a corporate partner. Greg is also deeply involved with the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), another Wellington corporate partner and is a member of Wellington’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee as well as Vice Chair of the Wellington Management Foundation, which supports organizations that are focused on improving educational opportunities for youth from underserved and economically challenged communities. He is also a member of Shades Leadership Team - the Wellington business network focused on employees from Black heritage.

Our conversation traces Greg's upbringing in Cleveland Ohio and his unusual trajectory from a job in acting to business school and on to investing. We discuss the impact that the Toigo Foundation had on his career path, and how he is now committed to passing this on to future generations through his advocacy and interest groups.

In Series 4 of The Fiftyfaces Podcast we meet 10 more diverse investment professionals. One learned to play cards at the age of 3, and thus began his love of markets, one used to be a professional actor, one grew up on a hog farm in Iowa, and one low income on the west side of Chicago.

We meet the CIO of a large US hospital plan, a real estate specialist at a large US endowment, a female fund founder, a pathbreaking black female venture capitalist, the son of two iconic Latino figures in Southern California, an investor who weaves spirituality into his mission, and a private equity investor who has just left and dedicated his career to changing the profession, creating opportunity and spreading share ownership more widely.

Our guests share their experience of being working parents, of the challenges that have rocked them and how they have overcome them, and of how they wish to leave a mark.

Sorina Zahan is managing partner and Chief Investment Officer at Core Capital in Chicago, an asset manager focused on building specialty portfolios in the alternatives area, as well as Founder and CEO of Aiperion, a research development and fintech firm which aims to change the way we think about investment risk.

Before entering asset management she previously worked as an engineer and as a professor focused on AI. Sorina has a strong interest in innovation in investment management, in particular around portfolio construction and the allocation of risk.

We talk about her career journey from academia into finance, her "hobby" of thinking, and why she believes diversity is so key in a research team. We discuss academic research as a search, about how much is not known, and AI in particular, and whether it will be used for good.

Emanuel Arbib is the Chief Executive Officer of IAM Capital Group in London, an asset manager whose product range includes real estate, hedge fund of funds and green opportunity products. Prior to founding IAM he was a director at a NASDAQ listed company that controlled an Italian motorcycle manufacturer, and prior to that a director of a family office based in Jersey and Monte Carlo. He works extensively across Israel, Italy, the US and the UK.

Our conversation looks at what is key when winning and retaining the loyalty of family offices in wealth management and the wisdom what he has gained from working with some great financiers over the years. We also examine the role that internships plays in ensuring diversity of thought and fresh ideas within an organization.

Sorca Kelly-Scholte is Head of Pensions Solutions and Advisory for EMEA at a large asset management firm. She trained as an actuary, and spent time as an investment consultant before assuming her current role. She is a frequent writer on the topic of institutional asset allocation, strategy and portfolio construction.

Our conversation covers her undergraduate degree in Mathematics, and how it taught her to think. We return to this when we discuss her current approach to asset allocation, particularly against the backdrop of a crisis, and how she is coaching her pension fund clients by reference to different models of best practice.

We spend some time on how she embraced the challenge of speaking in public, and the people and habits that enabled her to build her confidence. We also turn to the question of gender diversity in finance and Sorca shares her experience as well as her vision for how things can be better.

Shawn Evans is an investment officer at a large corporate pension plan in Chicago and prior to that held a series of similar roles in Chicago-based public pension funds. He started his career as an accountant, and is a CPA as well as a CFA. He works as a volunteer leader with Chicago Cares, and has participated in college and high school mentor programs.

Our conversation covers how Shawn came into a career in finance, his early days in accounting and his transition onto the investment side. His career was predominantly self-driven, and he didn't participate in any mentorship and sponsorship programs that are sometimes offered. He is keenly aware of the importance of a personal brand, and prefers to focus on long-term sustainable solutions v. short term fixes when it comes to addressing diversity needs in firms.

Roxanne Martino is Managing Partner at OceanM19 family office in Chicago, and has had a long career in asset management. She founded Aurora Investment Management in 1988, a firm which provided hedge fund portfolio solutions to institutional investors for over 28 years. She is Co-Chairperson of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Council, Chairperson of the Boards of the Ann & Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Chair of its Executive and Governance Committees and holds a number of investment committee and board roles in educational institutions and charities. She is a published author and a frequent commentator on investment matters in the media and on the conference circuit.

Our conversation delves into her very early entry to college and the world of business, her rise through the hedge fund of fund business and the process of starting and growing her own firm, with particular focus on the diversity that she built into it from the ground up.

Now in her portfolio career, she holds a number of pivotal and influential roles in educational and health-care institutions that are in the cross-hairs of the current Covid-19 crisis. These are circumstances which test such roles to the limit, and Roxanne's experience has led to her having an exceptionally nuanced approach to how to best leverage her skills in these roles. Roxanne is a founder among founders - and has so many firsts to her name. She is a role model to many, and I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging conversation.

Saker Nusseibeh is Chief Executive Officer of the international business of Federated Hermes. He has previously headed equity teams in a range of asset managers, and is a passionate advocate for responsible investing and the integration of ESG factors into investment processes. He is a frequent contributor to industry dialogue on these topics and received the honour of Commander of the British Empire in January 2020 for services to responsible investing and the financial sector.

Our conversation traces Saker's journey from his childhood to his brush with academia through his study of Medieval History which resulted in a PhD. We discuss what this intensive immersion in history taught him about life, and how he continues to apply these lessons in the investment world.

We spend some time discussing sustainable investing as well as the challenge of increasing the diversity within the financial sector. It is a conversation that comes full circle to consider the absolute necessity of diversity as a requirement of sustainability, and why there really is no other way.

Judy Chambers is Managing Principal of Meketa Invstment Group, an investment consulting firm. She has had a long career in investment consulting and prior to that investment banking. Based in NYC, she is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Toigo Foundation, and sits on the Board of the Community Service Society of New York.

Judy had an exceptionally early start in the world of investing - starting as an intern at JP Morgan at the age of 15. She has not stopped since. Our discussion covers her moves through investment banking and then investment consulting, and some insights she gained along the way as to the power structures she would encounter as she built her career. Now, in an investment consulting role, she is instrumental in identifying promising minority led investment firms, and we discuss the enduring challenges that these firms face in getting a seat at the table.

Judy is currently Chair of the Advisory Board of the Toigo Foundation and we discuss the benefits that this program and affinity groups provide in nurturing diverse talent within the investment profession.

Tom Majewski is managing partner of Eagle Point Credit Management, which focuses on investments in CLOs – or Collateralized Loan Obligations - and CLO equity. Prior to founding Eagle Point he held a variety of roles on Wall Street, mainly in the fixed income area.

We talk about how he planned his career in 5 year increments, the chain of managers and mentors who influenced him and his thought process in establishing his own firm. We spend quite a bit of time discussing how the market backdrop has required building resilience and in particular examine how the investment management industry dismantles complexity for investors. This touches the importance of transparency and disclosure.

His philosophy is one of playing the long game and we will learn what this means in investments, in work relationships and in life. We discuss his emphasis on inter-personal dynamics and connecting with investors.

Dr. Christine Chow is global tech lead and head of Asia and GEMS in EOS, the engagement arm of the international business of Federated Hermes. She has had a global career, spanning Asia, the US and Europe, and is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence.

Christine pursued her PhD mid-way through her investment career and we talk about the challenges that that presented, in addition to her juggling work and family. She has a wealth of anecdotes gathered from her time in Asia and when moving through the ranks of finance, and she has been pivotal in shifting perceptions on interview panels and in seeking to eradicate bias within firms.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Christine's story is what happened when she conducted an experiment - she applied for some jobs using her Chinese name, and applied for other jobs using a non-Chinese name. What ensued was both surprising and disappointing. Tune in to find out more.

Tony Dalwood is Chief Executive Officer of Gresham House, an alternatives asset management business based in London. Its product range includes forestry, renewables, infrastructure, housing, private equity and strategic public equity funds.

Prior to this he spent time at a range of leading asset management firms where his investment activities included both public and private equity. He holds a number of investment committee and NED roles and is a former rugby player and current rugby coach.

Our conversation traces Tony's career in investing, the lessons he learned from his time playing rugby and how they transfer to finance and investment. We talk about how his interest in ESG and sustainable investing evolved and why the ability to adapt is a key skill to have in the world of investing.

In Series 3 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast we hear the stories of another 10 inspiring investors from around the world. Some started early - from an internship at JP Morgan at the age of 15, to another who attended Notre Dame university at the age of 16. One pivoted from a PhD in Medieval History to a career in investing, while one turned to one mid-career, and is brutally honest about the toll it took. One played professional rugby, another was a professor in AI.

Some careers are meticulously planned, some happen almost by accident. Five have built their own businesses. People and relationships are key - often parents, colleagues, and sometimes clients. Each story is rich with personal experiences, setbacks, learning and wisdom.

Theresa Boyd is a Principal in the Private Markets division of Invesco Ltd., where she constructs portfolios of venture capital funds for mainly institutional clients. Originally from Canada, she went to business school in the UK and now lives and works in the US.

Our conversation digs into the mindset required to select and build a portfolio of venture capital funds, and what this teaches one about risk, loss and innovation. We explore what it is that she loves about the world of private equity and venture capital, and why diversity in this area still needs a lot of work, and not just on the investment side of the equation, as tech itself has some notable shortcomings in this area too.

Ayo Ayodele and I got to know each other when he was working as an Assistant Treasurer and Deputy Chief Investment Officer at the City of Chicago. He now works in Global Wealth Management at a large firm in Chicago, and prior to his role at the City of Chicago worked in a series of investment banking roles, including 3 years at Afrinvest West Africa, based in both London and Lagos. He was educated in Nigeria, Harrogate in the UK and the University of Arizona.

Our conversation traces his journey from Lagos, to the UK, to Chicago, back to Lagos and back again, and discusses the secrets to success in building a rolodex in private wealth. We also discuss the right of passage of public service, and the insights that that provided.

Finally, we examine what it means to be an ally, and which allies are the most helpful, as well as mentors who have influenced him and encouraged him in his current field.

Elissa Bayer is a Senior Investment Director at a large wealth manager based in London, and has held a range of private wealth and investment roles throughout her career. Elissa was one of the first women to take a seat in the London Stock Exchange and blazed a trail through private wealth in London, where she is still active today.

Our conversation discusses her journey into investment, how she developed a client base, character traits that helped her to develop her extensive network and how it felt to be in such a minority in the profession.

Arun Kelshiker has held a series of roles in asset managers including head of Asset Allocation and Portfolio Strategy, across Europe and Asia. He is heavily involved in the CFA Society and committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within the investment profession. He has interests in behavioural finance and sustainable and impact investing.

Our discussion is very broadranging - touching on the differences between asset allocation in private wealth v. institutional investing and global differences in preferences and approaches. We look to the evolution of the asset management universe and forecast where innovation will lead it. Finally we discuss insights from behavioural finance, and how these can shape the asset manager of tomorrow.

Karen Shackleton is the founder and head of Pensions for Purpose, a collaborative initiative to promote understanding of impact investment for institutional investors. This is in addition to a portfolio career which includes roles as investment adviser to four local authority pension funds, as well as Chair and Non-Executive Director roles. She has spent most of her career in investment, including time as a fund manager, client relationship manager and chief executive of an Investment Advisory Firm. She is a frequent speaker on the institutional investor circuit and a passionate advocate for knowledge and action in impact investment.

Our conversation covers Karen's journey into investment, her investment beliefs and how she developed her portfolio career. We examine in particular how she came to be a passionate advocate for investing for impact, what impact investing means to her and the genesis of the Pensions for Purpose platform. Finally, we seek and fail to determine if computers are in fact "mañana or megabucks" . . . you'll just have to listen in to find out more about this conundrum.

Arthur Olunwa is an investment professional based in Chicago, whom I got to know when he worked as a senior fixed income allocator at a large corporate pension plan there. Prior to this he spent time in fixed income risk management as well as a portfolio manager in a multi-asset team. He sits on the advisory committee of the CFA Society of Chicago and is the Chairperson of the Chicago Investment Group as well as a Partner and Mentor of Youth Guidance.

Our conversation traces Arthur's career journey from Nigeria, through the United Kingdom and on to US, and discusses his experience in moving through different disciplines to his investment role. Arthur shares why he believes persistence is essential to developing a network, and why just "making the call" and going the extra mile to show a commitment to an opportunity pays dividends.

Justina Etteh is a transaction banking associate at a large global investment bank, based in London. She hails from Ghana and participated in a graduate training program sponsored by that bank that recruited her directly from Ghana. She spends a lot of her time mentoring young black students and colleagues in the world of finance and sharing her experiences in the workplace.

Our conversation traces her journey into a role in banking, and her early introduction to financial literacy. She describes how she is committed to passing on what she has learned while she is still young, and to "lifting" as she climbs. I hope you find her as inspiring as I did.

David Hickey is portfolio manager and responsible investment lead at the Lothian Pension Fund, a public pension fund based in Edinburgh. He previously was a fund manager for a European Small Cap Equity team among other investment related roles.

David is a prominent voice in furthering the cause of responsible investing and creating diversity within the financial services arena. Our conversation traces his journey from a Yorkshire pit village to his current role, how he transitioned from a sales to a front office investing role, and how he overcame a mid-career setback.

David has an extraordinarily nuanced view of the challenges faced by diverse members of the profession and believes in action, not just words, to address it. He also advocates a holistic approach to responsible investing, which we discuss in some detail, and in so doing imagine the investment landscape of the future.

Jenna Gerstenlauer is founder and managing partner of Sound Mark Partners, a commercial real estate investment firm based in Connecticut, which focuses on investing in real estate debt for an institutional client base. The firm is notable for its all female executive team.

Our conversation centers on her experience as a founder, and some of the nuances of real estate finance. She discusses the people who have inspired her and supported her along her journey and lists the challenging questions that need to be asked about diversity in the profession. She strongly believes in the importance of socio-economic diversity and cites how having this in her team enables them to invest with more understanding of the stakes and human impact of real estate, in particular in the area of affordable housing.

Dawid Konotey-Ahulu is an entrepreneur in financial services, technology and elderly care and the co-founder of Redington, the London-based independent pensions and insurance advisory group with $500 bn in assets under advisement, as well as mallowstreet.com, a social media platform connecting the pensions and insurance industry. He has had a long career in financial services and is a high-profile advocate for diversity within the financial services community and one of the leaders behind the recent initiative #100blackinterns.

He is also the founder of Partnership for Change, which is driving a social movement to help improve the lives of older people, and Spellbound!, which helps young people develop their public speaking skills so that they can be passionate, compelling and inspiring.

Our conversation traces Dawid's journey into investment, his experience as a founder, his passion for the financial services industry and his wide range of public interest projects.

In Series 2 of the Fifty Faces Podcast we speak with another 10 investors from areas as diverse as private wealth, investment consulting, public pension funds, real estate, venture capital and asset management.

We hear about their lived experience, what it was and is like to be a minority in our profession, and about their setbacks and what drives them now. We hear what they think of recent initiatives to improve diversity in the profession and what they think of them, and we hear what we can do better. With thanks to our outstanding guests on Series 2:

Dawid Konotey-Ahulu
Jenna Gerstenlauer
David Hickey
Justina Etteh
Arthur Olunwa
Elissa Bayer
Arun Kelshiker
Karen Shackleton
Ayo Ayodele
Theresa Boyd

Grainne Dooley was most recently Deputy CIO at ClearMacro Ltd, and previously ran fixed income portfolios at a large asset manager. She has extensive experience in the areas of fixed income, derivatives and a strong interest in innovation within financial services.

Our conversation discusses her journey into investment in London in the 1990s as well her experience as an investment committee member and chair of the investment committee of the endowment of Trinity College Dublin. We discuss innovation in financial services, the experience that females in finance might have had and how this is changing, and the importance of building financial independence from a young age.

Alison Major Lépine is Head of Research and Strategy at Absolute Return Partners, based in London, which she joined in 2015 after almost 10 years at the UK Railways pension scheme, where she was responsible for over £1bn in various absolute return strategies. Previously, she was an Investment Manager at IKANO across a number of asset classes. Prior to joining IKANO, she worked as an Associate at Russell and as a Senior Consultant at FactSet.

Alison started her career as a trainee at the European Commission and is a CFA Charterholder.

Our conversation discusses Alison's journey through investment and how she is using the current remote working environment to deepen and broaden her research and enhance her client offering. We also touch on work-life integration and the importance of networking for young professionals.

Mel Lindsey is Managing Partner of Nile Capital Group based in the Los Angeles Area. He is already a veteran of the asset management industry having established the US asset management arm of a Swiss Asset Manager in 2004 and grown it to a peak of $78 bn in AUM in 2008 before successfully launching an IPO in 2009.

In 2014 he set up Nile Capital Management, which is a company that takes strategic stakes in asset managers specifically at their growth phase. Our conversation discusses sales alpha, what it is, and how you learn to create it, some of the challenges facing emerging independent firms, and what the key features are to sustainable growth - such as the halo effect, ownership incentives and speed.

Patricia (Trish) Halper is a member of the Board of Advisors of Ativo Capital, a Chicago-based asset manager. Trish was previously CIO and Partner at Chicago Equity Partners, where she spent 21 years and most recently headed up the quantitative equity investment process.

She is a trustee of the La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, among other board and volunteer roles. Our conversation covers the experience of women in investing and in financial education, the importance of engagement and authenticity and how to communicate with clients during good and bad times.

Rahul Moodgal has been described as a “Master Fundraiser” and currently works in a business development for various asset managers, including hedge funds as well as having a rich portfolio career which includes various charities and a role as an angel investor. He describes himself as a Contrarian and a Humanitarian.

Our conversation discusses how to build a business in asset management, the central importance of relationships, resilience and learning to cope with rejection. He mentions the dangers of ESL - ego, speed and leverage, and lessons he has learned from a quarter century of building businesses in asset management.

Sally Bridgeland needs no introduction in London institutional investing circles. Following a long career as an actuary, investment consultant and investor, culminating in a role of CEO at BP Pension Trustees for the 19 BN GBP BP pension fund, she has pivoted to an extensive portfolio career. Since 2014 she has held roles at Nest, USS, Lloyds Banking Group, Avida International, RAF Central Fund, Nesta, the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, the Local Pensions Partnership, Impax Asset Management and Royal London.

Her portfolio is a very full one, but she still finds the time to commit to her passion for education in mathematics through the Royal Society and Loughborough University and is Honorary Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, No 601 Squadron.

Our conversation discusses Sally's journey into investment, the role that learning maths had in her story, and her lifelong passion for ensuring that maths is taught effectively and in a way that conveys its beauty. We also discuss her investment beliefs and lessons learned through a career in consulting and then as an asset owner.

Roy Kuo is team head of alternative strategies at the Church Commissioners for England, which has £8.5bn in assets under management, with £1.4bn in hedge fund strategies and £1.7bn in alternative private market strategies. He previously held a series of roles in consulting and asset management, and is an active participant on the conference circuit for alternative assets, as well as a thought leader for institutional investors.

Our conversation covers Roy's very early interest in investing, his journey to a role as an asset owner, how he strives to "always be learning" and his formula for improving productivity throughout his career. It is a stimulating and thought provoking discussion.

Angela Miller May is CIO at the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, a public defined benefit fund based in Chicago, which has $11 bn in assets under management. The fund is a leader in promoting the G in ESG – i.e. in ensuring that the
managers it does business with walk the talk in improving the diversity of their investment
teams.

The fund has an aspirational goal of investing 20% of its assets with minority owned firms and currently it invests 46% with minority owned firms and 41% of its trades are done with minority owned brokers.

Angela is a regular figure on the asset management conference circuit and has become a leading voice in promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry. We discuss her mission-driven approach to investing, and how she entered the area, how she has built a truly diversified team at the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund and what she does to further diversity in the industry.

Jan Nicholson is President of two private family foundations, The Nicholson Foundation in NJ and The Grable Foundation in Pittsburgh PA.
She recently retired from a Board Role at MDRC, a non-partisan research organization based in NYC, and has held Board Positions at Rubbermaid, Ball Corporation, and Radian Group, Inc. from 1990 to 2015.

She has an extensive background in finance having worked at Citibank and follow-on firms for 25 years and our conversation tracks how she transitioned from thinking like a banker to thinking like an investor.

Jan shares her experience in investing in emerging markets and lessons learned from investing through the years. She also shares what she brings to her Board and Committee roles and what makes an effective Board and Committee member in her view.

Jesus Amadeo is CFO and Senior VP at MDRC, a non-partisan research organization based in NYC and Oakland CA, and is a partner at an emerging venture capital fund focused on the defense and security industry.

He was born in Puerto Rico and came to study at Columbia University in New York City at the age of 17. In the early part of his career he traveled and worked extensively in Latin America and Central America, a phase that he approached with deep humility and cultural sensitivity in order to gain the trust of his new colleagues.

Our conversation covers the unique challenges of working in emerging markets and moves to his current role at a non-partisan research organization in NYC which evaluates the efficacy of certain social and educational programs. We explore the experience of running and working in a non-profit, and how returning to the underlying business reason is central to decision making.

The world of investment is volatile, complex and unpredictable. It is also full of captivating and richly experienced people. People who have navigated through multiple market crises. People who have lost it all and lived to fight another day. People with nerves of steel, people with missions that run generations deep.

This podcast series is about bringing you some of their stories. And while no one would argue with the notion that the investment world is not as diverse as it needs to be, one goal of this podcast is to showcase how diverse it is today and to amplify some voices that may be less well-known. Because, ultimately you can’t be what you can’t see and what hope do we have to diversify the pipeline of investment professionals of tomorrow if we don’t convey the huge appeal of this industry and the stories behind its people - fifty faces of the investment world.

We will hear from a range of investors about their journey into investment, and twists and turns along the way. Lessons they have learned and wished they had known sooner. We will learn who influenced them and how they seek to influence others. And, we will learn what they love about the world of investment. Please tune in to series 1 next week.