The Fiftyfaces Podcast

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...

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...

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 fun...

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 follo...

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 start...

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 fina...

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...

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...

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 whe...

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 EWAAB Encouraging Women across All Borders, which helps college aged women and non-binary individuals build their confidence to enter ST...

Monika Mantilla is the President and CEO of Altura Capital, which provides institutional investors and strategic partners a mechanism of investing in underserved markets including high-performing small and diverse businesses. She is also a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Small Business Community Capital. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of Los Cidrines, based in Puerto Rico and Florida...

Last year we launched a podcast with Steve Butler of Puntall Southall Aspire which shone a light on ageism as one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination.  This received such a groundswell of a response that we wanted to dig deeper into this area to develop a special next chapter series around the problems of ageism, the importance of having access to meaningful productive work as we age an...

Tory Hyndman is a Partner at Charta Partners. She has had a career of 25 years in executive search focused on investment management, having spent time at Heidrick & Struggles as well as David Barrett Partners, where she established the London office and wider EMEA business. She is passionate about educating women about careers in the City and is a volunteer for Founders4Schools as well as Math...

Cathy Ulozas is Chief Investment Officer at Drexel University where she has just celebrated her 13th anniversary as CIO. She has had a long career in asset management, including stints as a bond trader and portfolio manager.  We start at the beginning of that career, trace its twists and turns and discover some of the unexpected areas that she found intense professional growth. We start with her t...

Libby Cantrill is a managing director in PIMCO's portfolio management group. In her role, she analyzes policy and political risk for the firm’s Investment Committee and leads U.S. policymaker engagement and policy strategy for the firm. She also works closely with PIMCO’s Global Advisory Board, led by former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2007, she served as a legisl...

Duncan MacInnes is an Investment Director at Ruffer LLP, where he has spent over a decade. He previously worked in wealth management. I have enjoyed listening to Duncan discuss positioning and multi-asset insights on the conference circuit and wanted to take this opportunity to discuss his views on the current macro backdrop as well as the state of play in finance circles as we wrestle with failin...

In Series 3 of the Fiftyfaces Podcast we start to dig deep – into sustainability standards, fintech, what impact actually means, and bust myths around hybrid working, the great resignation and entrepreneurship. We ask whether we are using the right terminology - especially with respect to the vexed topic of ESG - and as whether private wealth is serving the diverse client base appropriately. We lo...

Monisha Varadan works at Google focused on Privacy and Partnerships, and is a partner at Zephyr Ventures, an acquisition vehicle set up to invest in profitable, growth businesses. She is Director of the Start up Bootcamp and is Entrepreneur in Residence at INSEAD, my own alma mater, where she also completed her MBA. Our conversation starts with her upbringing in India - where she spent her childho...

Marah Curtin describes herself as a “catalyst on a mission to promote the empowerment of women and the next generation, financially or otherwise”.  Based in Dublin, Ireland, but originally from the US, she is a Director of Client Engagement at Davy, and has had a long career in financial planning.  She can be found on Instagram under @femolutionist, where she writes about money, careers and life f...

Robert Eccles describes himself – in a nutshell – as a dedicated weightlifter, capital markets activist and professional committed to improving corporate reporting and enhancing ESG integration by companies and investors. He is the Founding Chairman of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, one of the founding members of the International Integrated Reporting Council and a Visiting Profess...

Charlotte O’Leary is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Pensions for Purpose, which exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. She has had a long career in investment management, with a particular focus on pensions as well as ESG and impact investing. She is also a passionate participant...

John Harney is a senior consultant with AON where he focuses on helping pension scheme sponsors to manage pension risks and maximize potential upside. He is based in the Oxford area. I came across John through mutual friends in the industry and when I was drawn in particular to his LinkedIn posts that mentioned his joy in cooking and baking. This was initially very promising for our inaugural "Lov...

Sarah Whitley is Chair at Future Asset, an organization which connects girls, teachers and advisors to the diversity of opportunities in asset management.  Based in Edinburgh, she was previously Head of Japanese Equities at Baillie Gifford and currently holds a number of director roles, including as External Director at Rakuten, and Chair at the Edinburgh Festival Endowment Fund. We start with exp...

Afsaneh Beschloss is the Founder and CEO at RockCreek, an investment firm which invests across diverse sectors with a special focus on climate, affordable housing and education investments in developed, emerging and frontier markets. She is on the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Rockefeller Foundation and holds numerous other Board and...

Kate Nevin is President and Portfolio Manager at TSWII Capital Advisors, a role she has held for over 20 years.  She is active with many industry groups (such as The Academy of Institutional Investors and Nexus) and community organizations focused on conservation and gender equality. She was a Riley Diversity Fellow. Our conversation starts with an upbringing filled with books and the great outdoo...