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.
A specialist in gender equality and finance shares insights from her Ted talk and how things like press coverage confirm biases and impeded visibility for women and underrepresented groups.
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.
A discussion of family, expectation-setting, and why it is important to make the “dash” count in our lives.
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.
An empowering discussion of rising to excellence and the importance of people of under-represented backgrounds seeing themselves succeeding in a diverse set of careers.
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.
A trip back to GuyLaine’s Canadian roots, her decision to launch her own law firm and her views on diversity in the profession.
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.
A discussion of a remarkable journey into finance, and a pivot to ensure better equity and representation for all.
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.
A deep dive into the characteristics of the real estate asset class, how to approach it as an institutional investor and perspectives of the profession for a mid-level vantage point.
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.
A CIO shares her family history, what motivated her to enter into investing and the juggling of work and family that she does every day, and how she coaches her team to do the same.
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.
A discussion of this investor’s early interest in investing, risk-taking and how she learned the ropes of venture investing.
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.
A prominent city leader shares his passion for sport, how his interest in numbers originated and his vision for a more diverse asset management industry.
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.
A successful business development executive tells the story of how he started out as an actor and continues to draw upon that skillset today.