Dede Eyesan is Founder and CEO of Jenga Investment Partners, a firm that invests globally across growth, turnaround and cyclical equity opportunities. Our conversation starts with his home life and a particularly early introduction to investing. This sowed the seeds for a passion for stocks, investing and research and what ultimately led him to launch his own investment firm – Jenga Investment Partners – at an unusually young age
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144. LaRoy Brantley of Meketa Investment Group – Lighting a Fire through Education and Mentorship
LaRoy Brantley is a managing principal at Meketa Investment Group. He has over 20 years experience in an investment consulting capacity. We first met when we joined Cambridge associates earlier in our careers. He has had multiple public fund board positions and has a particular focus on raising awareness of diverse investment managers.
307. Cathy Bevan of Benefit Street Partners: Seeking structure and design in credit, careers and life
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.
303. Erik Hirsch of Hamilton Lane: Self-awareness at a firm and personal level as a key to driving meaningful change in private markets
Erik Hirsch is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Lane, where he is responsible for the firm’s strategic direction and operations. The firm currently has over $900 billion in assets under management and supervision and is committed to driving meaningful change in private markets for the institutions and other clients that it serves.
300. Chelsea Smith of Bernstein Private Wealth Management: Why Good Things Come in Threes
Chelsea Smith is Senior National Director, Family Office Services at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, based in Chicago. She started her career as an equity trader, and in recent years has been heavily involved in diversity initiatives designed to attract a more diverse pipeline into the finance industry.
292. Steve Neel of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board: Partnerships as a Pathway to the Future?
Steve Neel is Deputy Chief Investment Officer at the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board. He spearheads the substantial alternative investing program at the fund. Our conversation starts with Steve’s childhood in the wettest state in the US – Hawaii – and how he ended up in one of the driest – New Mexico
289. Carol Geremia of MFS Investment Management – Why Fiduciary Responsibility is always in Fashion
Carol Geremia is president of MFS Investment Management® (MFS®) and head of Global Distribution. She leads the firm’s worldwide client-facing teams as well as product and marketing strategy. Since joining MFS in 1984, Carol has held roles focused primarily on fiduciary responsibility, stewardship and sustainability, and she has actively engaged with clients at all levels to ensure that the firm builds products and services aligned with their needs. Carol is a member of the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors, the City Year Seven Generations Board, the MFS Charitable Oversight Committee and as an Advisory Council member for Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc.
Bonus Episode: Veena Aiyer of QRKIEZ – Get your quirk on – Connection, Community and Empowerment for Neurodivergent Individuals
Veena Aiyer has launched a community app for neurodiverse audiences called QRKIEZ. The goal of QRKIEZ is to be an innovative platform designed to support neurodivergent individuals by fostering social connections, providing mentorship and offering tailored professional services. She previously worked in a series of startups and tech companies.
276. Wendy Li of Ivy Invest: A Founder’s Journey, AI and the Human Touch
Wendy Li is the co-founder and CIO of Ivy Invest, a FinTech asset management firm. She previously worked in the investment office of the endowment of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. In our discussion we start with her immigrant background in Pennsylvania, and her ascent through studying finance to a role in an allocator.
275. Jennifer Ryan of Lazard Asset Management: The Art and Science of Distribution
Jennifer Ryan is Head of North American Distribution at Lazard Asset Management. She previously was Head of UK Institutional Sales at BlackRock and Head of the US Institutional Pensions at Blackrock, and started her career at Goldman Sachs.
In our conversation we tackle the craft of fund distribution, and Jennifer highlights the importance of understanding client ecosystems, building trust, and adapting to evolving client needs. She stresses the significance of team-based approaches and mentorship in her success.