The Fiftyfaces Podcast

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....

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...

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...

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 in...

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 i...

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 co...

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 w...

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 t...

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 T...

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 foun...

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 profes...

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 ext...

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 taug...

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...

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 & Ro...

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 Emp...

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 - starti...

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 proc...

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 presen...

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 nu...

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...

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 abo...

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...

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 d...

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 th...