Katie Wyatt is CIO of the endowment of Loyola University in Chicago, a role she has held for close to two years. She was previously director of investments at the pharmaceutical company Abbott, where she spent over 11 years, and prior to that held a range of roles in equity research. She recently became a member of the Board of Directors of the CFA Society of Chicago.

A CIO role at a Catholic university means that all investment occurs against a backdrop of a central mission, and we talk about how this is translated into the asset allocation role.

James Clark is senior managing director at Blue Owl and the Global Head of Institutional Capital. He has 26 years of asset management experience, and prior to Blue Owl, worked for Pimco, Golden Tree Asset Management and Landmark Partners.   We had met on the circuit during my time as an allocator with Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund, and I recently enjoyed listening to him on this podcast with Ted Seides of Capital Allocators. https://youtu.be/laLuf6XrrDw?si=uixmWOvMGnPNeydf

We are delighted to bring you Series 3 of our 2025 series, which we again are launching amid significant volatility in markets. However, as you will hear, the more things change, the more they stay the same. We start this series down under, hearing from Debby Blakey, CEO of Hesta, who describes what it means to be a “Super with Impact”, and a gutsy advocate for a fair and healthy community. 

Daniel Gore is a Founding Partner of Orthogonal Partners, a boutique asset manager investing in “next generation” alternative investment strategies. He has had an extensive career in investing, including time spent in angel investing, in a family office and in film finance. He is currently pursuing opportunities in small and mid market UK firms.

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. 

Kristina Blaschek, is Director of Business and Technology within the Investment Management division of William Blair, based in Chicago. She started her career in investment banking, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Auditorium Theatre.