Investment Management Operations

This Sponsored Insight features Hank Boughner, the CEO of Dynamo Software – an end-to-end platform for the alternative investment industry. Hank has been the CEO of Dynamo Software since 2017. His unique career path as an engineer, investment banker, and private equity investor gives him a unique perspective on what the future holds for investment technology. Hank shares his insights on why softwa...

Darshan Desai is the COO and Head of Risk at Beach Point Capital, a $15 billion credit shop based in Santa Monica, CA. Darshan and I discuss his career path, which began at York Capital, his move to Kansas City to works for BATS, and then finding his way to Beach Point in 2010. Darshan shares his experience and learnings from seeing two firms ramp up assets and people. I was curious to speak to Da...

Amy Knapp is the COO of Corsair Capital, a private equity firm that is focused on buyouts and infrastructure.      When we started the podcast, the goal was to share best practices among investment operations professionals, and my conversation with Amy fires on all cylinders.   Amy discusses her career path from public accounting to an unexpected opportunity to be a CFO early in her career, eventu...

This Sponsored Insight highlights Nasdaq’s Solovis, a multi-asset class portfolio, data, and risk management system for asset owners. We spoke with Jeff Manning of Verger Capital Management, a $2.8 billion OCIO that was created out of the Wake Forest University Office of Investments. Verger’s CIO, Jim Dunn, was an early guest on Capital Allocators, and that conversation is replayed in the feed. Je...

Jim Dunn is the CEO and CIO of Verger Capital Management, an Outsourced CIO business whose anchor client is Wake Forest University. Prior to forming Verger, he served as CIO of Wake Forest for five years. That transition from a sole client to an OCIO business, is a fascinating part of our conversation. Before joining Wake, Jim traveled the world as CIO of Wilshire Associates, where among other thi...

Karl Sprules is the COO at Alliance Bernstein, a global asset manager with $725 billion in assets and over 4,700 employees.    I really enjoyed speaking with Karl as he shows how you can be nimble at scale. We cover a lot of territory from his beginnings at Alliance Capital in the technology group, navigating the merger that created AB, and his evolution into the COO seat.     Karl shares how AB h...

Mike Lukasek is a Managing Director and the COO for the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments.   Mike has been the COO of Penn’s Endowment for over 14 years. Prior to that, he was a VP at Goldman Sachs for their private equity fund of funds business and a VP of Finance at Summit Partners.   Given his tenure at Penn, Mike brings perspective on the evolution of an endowment office. He t...

Lawrence Miller is the CTO of Wilshire, an independent investment management firm that offers consulting services, analytical products, and manages funds for a global client base. For many of us owning and understanding technology is critical for our business. However, many of us have come up through the ranks without hands-on training.  This is where Lawrence lends a hand. We cover Lawrence’s sta...

Ken Onorio is the Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer of Eagle Point Credit, a $9 billion credit-oriented investment firm. At some level, this is an interview about the softer skills in our space. Having spent time in hedge funds and a tour in fund administration, Ken shares his unique perspective with some key takeaways. Ken then discusses his career path and lessons learned while at JP M...

Terry Thompson is the Chief Operating Officer of Berkshire Partners, Boston-based private equity firm started in the 1980s before adding public equity capabilities in 2007.    Terry shares how his background across 8 different industries helped him land the role at Berkshire. We talk about how to quickly transition into a new industry, how to assess a career opportunity with limited information, a...

Jason Ment is the president and Co-COO of StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions, advisory and data services on behalf of clients representing $659B. I really enjoyed this wide-ranging discussion on what is just around the corner in private markets. We cover his career path from law school to his time at Citigroup, which event...

Today Sponsored Insight highlights Intelligo, a risk intelligence and background check platform that blends human analysis with cutting-edge AI to uncover facts in a fraction of the time.    I sat down with Brian Gaffney of Stonehaven Partners to discuss the common challenges with background checks and how Intelligo helps his team streamline and scale their due diligence process. We then turn to t...

Steve Baranowski is a Partner and Head of Client Operations at Adams Street Partners, a private investment manager with $58B in assets. Steve discusses his early career in public accounting and the nuances of transitioning to a client. He then shares what makes Adams Street unique and how their operations has evolved over time while striving to keep the culture intact. He shares his perspective on...

Stephanie Withers is the Head of Investment Operations at the WK Kellogg Foundation Investment Office, an $8 billion private foundation. I really enjoyed Stephanie’s authenticity to make the world and her investment office a better place. We cover their initiatives on DEI in what they call their Expanding Equity Program. This program is unique in that others can access it at no cost. We then to tu...

Today’s Sponsored Insight features Beth Gilje, the founder of Union Park Consulting, a leading investment operations consulting firm that provides operational and technical consulting to some of the world’s leading institutions and family offices. Prior to founding Union Park, Beth worked at the investment office of the University of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2020. Prior to Penn, Beth spent time a...

Shaun Ng is the Managing Director of Risk, Analytics, and Investment Operations at the Cleveland Clinic Investment Office. Shaun joined Cleveland Clinic in 2016 after working over 10 years at the World Bank. He shares how they created their investment office from scratch after the board opted to insource their investments from an OCIO. We later turn to how they partner with the hospital’s data and...

Frank Perez is a Managing Director and Head of Operational Due Diligence at Makena Capital, an OCIO whose roots emanate from Stanford’s Endowment. Prior to joining Makena in 2015, Frank was engaged in ODD efforts at Saguenay Strathmore Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBP where he focused on private equity, real estate, and hedge fund investments. Frank’s background is unique given his risk management...

Today’s Sponsored Insight features Dan Houlihan, the CEO of STP Investment Services, a global investment operations firm that provides complete front, middle, and back office services for investment managers. Dan joined STP in August 2022 after spending 11 years at Northern Trust as the EVP and Head of Asset Servicing. Prior to Northern Trust he was President of Citisoft, a management consulting g...

Ashok Raju is the Chief Operating Officer of VR Group, an alternative asset manager focused on distressed securities and special situations investments in emerging markets. Ashok joined VR Group in 2010 initially to create the firm’s client facing efforts before becoming the COO, where he now oversees operations, analytics, and business development. Ashok began his career in equity research at Deu...

Danielle Roseman is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Lazard Family Office Services, a multifamily office that started managing capital for some of the world’s most sophisticated families over 175 years ago. Danielle started her career at Goldman Sachs where she worked on the mortgage desk during the Great Financial Crisis.  Danielle joined Lazard following the acquisition of Truuvo Partners. If...

Bryan Corbett is the president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association, which represents the global alternative asset management industry. With offices in Washington DC, New York, Brussels, and London, MFA has over 170 members, including hedge funds, credit funds, and crossover funds that collectively manage over 3 trillion in AUM. Bryan joined the MFA in January of 2020 after spending 11 years i...

Maarika Paul is the Chief Financial & Operations Officer at CDPQ, a global investment firm that manages Quebec’s pension and insurance assets overseeing $424b billion Canadian in AUM. Prior to joining CDPQ in 2011, Maarika worked for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) for almost two decades overseeing various functions across investor relations, M&A, and corporate development. Maarika discusses her car...

Gordon Barnes is the Executive Vice President and the Head of Portfolio Group on the Bain Capital Partnership Strategies team, a group that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. Colin Campbell, the group’s co-head, was a previous guest on Capital Allocators, and that conversation is replayed in the fee...

Colin Campbell is a Partner at Bain Capital and co-head of the Partnership Strategies team that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. In its search for attractive, uncorrelated assets, the Partnership Strategies team became an early mover in environmental markets. Both Tom Steyer and Bill Orum cited ca...

Sean Arp is the Chief Operating Officer of the University of Wisconsin Foundation. He oversees all investment operations, analytics, reporting, technology, personnel, and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining UWF in 2022, Sean spent eight years at Washington University in St. Louis Investment Management Company (WUIMC) where he served as Chief Operating Officer. Before WUIMC he was Chief Operati...