Pilar Gomez-Bravo is Co-Chief Investment Officer fixed income and portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management. She was previously a managing director at Neuberger Berman, and prior to that, spent a significant amount of her career at Lehman Brothers.

Jo Kempton is Head of Lincolnshire Pension Fund, where she has spent most of her career in various roles, including as the manager of an internal UK equity portfolio. She is an active participant on the local government pension scheme circuit. 

We are delighted to release as a bonus episode this conversation with long-time industry member, mentor and advocate Jennifer Strickland.  Over the course of Jennifer’s career she has held a series of roles starting out in the annuity space, moving into private wealth, hedge fund business development, alternative asset business development and most recently was Head of Business Development for Pretium, a $50 bn specialized asset manager focused on real estate, structured credit and legal opportunities. She is a Board Member of Women in Private Credit and an active advocate for mentorship and diversity within the financial services industry. 

Cathy Bevan is Head of Structured Credit at Benefit Street – Alcentra.  She has spent most of her career in credit structuring with roles on the sell side and buy side.

Sonali Pier is a Managing Director at PIMCO in Newport Beach, with a particular focus on Multi-Sector Credit.  She previously worked as a credit trader and was named recently to the Marketwatch 50 most influential people in markets.  Our conversation starts with her education, and a stock picking competition at the tender stage of sixth grade, which launched an interest in finance and economics.

Tony Dote, just recently retired from a role of Managing Director at Lazard Asset Management, where he spent over 40 years, focused on business development with a particular focus on large institutional investors including public pension funds. He started his career in insurance and later investment consulting. 

Ciara Hurley is an investment committee member at the Trinity College Dublin Endowment. Ciara recently retired from Quilter Cheviot, where she was a financial advisor for over 20 years.  She has worked as a portfolio manager, as well as serving in various director and Board roles. 

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.

Geri McMahon is a partner at AON and Co-head of Responsible Investment at the firm. She started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Sydney, and spent time as a fixed income trader before moving to a healthcare technology, business and ultimately moving to AON in 2018. She wrote a powerful LinkedIn post about returners, which led me to want to find out more about returnship programs and their value. 

Terri Duhon is an award winning educator, TEDx speaker, Board Director and speaker, who has over 25 years of experience in financial markets. She wrote the book “How the Trading Floor Really Works”, founded her own financial markets firm, and is an Associate Fellow at the SAID Business School in Oxford. She sits on the Board of Morgan Stanley International, which she is Chair of the Risk Committee, and also holds a number of additional independent director roles. She is now based in London but hails from the New Orleans area originally.