Guardians of Finance with Matt McLaughlin

This is the first episode in a series where we talk with the leadership of CFA Cleveland.  We start by talking to CFA Cleveland's full-time Executive Director Cindy Nace as well as CFA Cleveland's current President, Jon Dominy.  In his professional life outside of CFA Cleveland Jon is a Vice President with Alliance Bernstein.  We talk with Cindy & Jon about their backgrounds and...

In this episode, we talk with Matt Schlarb, CFA, Senior Director of Investor Relations at RPM International.  Matt has lived and worked all over the world before coming back to Ohio where he grew up and settling in Cleveland.  We talk with Matt about his experiences living abroad as well as his career path to Investor Relations, and about his involvement in a local organization that prom...

In this episode, we talk with Yoel Mayerfeld, Co-CEO of Chase Properties Ltd.  Yoel has a fascinating career path that started with him working through a temp agency to get his first job on Wall Street in New York City.  He then worked his way up a derivatives trading desk before he and his family relocated to Cleveland work in a private real estate investment firm.    We talk...

In this episode, we talk with Rich Veres, CFA, Co-founder & President of Highland Consulting Associates. Rich has a long and distinguished career in institutional investment consulting and has been a well-known figure in the NE Ohio investment community for quite some time. We talk to Rich about his journey from Akron to founding Highland, we dive into some of the changes he's seen in investme...

In this episode, we talk with Brent Zimmerman, CEO & Co-founder Saucy Brew Works. While on the surface CEO of Saucy Brew Works might not seem like a title of someone with a background in financial services, Brent tells us his story of how he began his business endeavors a provider of liquidity starting at age 8 and then he takes us through his career in buy-side investing, running a hedge...

In this episode, we talk with Danielle Williams, CFA, Managing Director and Equity Portfolio Manager at Wellington Management.  Danielle grew up in Cleveland before college and her career took her to the east coast where she now lives.  In this conversation, Danielle talks about how her work in credit underwriting and passion for deep research prepared her well for a career in buy-side i...

In this episode, we talk with Fred Cummings, President & Founder of Elizabeth Park Capital Management. Fred is a passionate supporter of everything NE Ohio. He grew up in Akron, went to Oberlin College where he played football, started his career at some well-known Cleveland firms and even named his current firm after a place close his childhood home. In this conversation, we to...

In this episode, we talk with Ryan Ruggaard, Director of Research at Ruggaard & Associates. Ryan has a fascinating background that has taken him from Hudson, to SW Ohio, and to Chicago with many trips and stops along the way. While Ryan is lives in Chicago, he maintains strong personal and professional connections to Cleveland. He has a wide range of hobbies and experiences and...

In this episode, we talk to Dan Bandi, CFA and Chief Investment Officer at Integrity Asset Management.  Dan’s story begins in Pittsburgh and takes him across the country before he settled here in Cleveland and helped build a successful buy-side investment firm.  We discuss Dan’s journey as well as many other topics such as the investment decision Dan’s son still holds against him. ...

In this episode, we talk to Richard Barone, Chairman of Arch Eagle Family Office. We discuss Richard growing up in South Euclid, his experiences in Washington D.C. in the 1960s, his views on inflation, and the many investment firms he's been involved with in Cleveland. Richard has had personal interactions with many well-known investors and he shares stories of those interactions. W...

In this episode, we talk to Corrie Menary, Partner at Kirtland Capital Partners.  We discuss Corrie’s deep eastside connection, what led her to start her career in commercial banking, her path from grad school into private equity, navigating a successful career and simultaneously starting a family, and misconceptions of private equity.  We also dive into her passions for community involv...

In this episode, we talk to Ben Mackovak, Founder and Managing Member of Strategic Value Bank Partners.  We discuss Ben’s eastside upbringing, what caused him to begin his pursuit of finance in college, his journey through the world of buy-side investing, and his successful and unsuccessful investment ventures.  Ben has been witness to the roller coaster of Cleveland sports moments of th...

Ready to connect with the investment community here in Cleveland?  Want to learn about the people, events, projects, and firms that are making a difference?  Want all of that but feel like you don’t have the time?   This is the show for you. Welcome to Guardians of Finance. Brought to you by the CFA Society of Cleveland and hosted by Matt McLaughlin, CFA and Portfolio...