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 & Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Chair of its Executive and Governance Committees and holds a number of investment committee and board roles in educational institutions and charities. She is a published author and a frequent commentator on investment matters in the media and on the conference circuit.
Our conversation delves into her very early entry to college and the world of business, her rise through the hedge fund of fund business and the process of starting and growing her own firm, with particular focus on the diversity that she built into it from the ground up.
Now in her portfolio career, she holds a number of pivotal and influential roles in educational and health-care institutions that are in the cross-hairs of the current Covid-19 crisis. These are circumstances which test such roles to the limit, and Roxanne’s experience has led to her having an exceptionally nuanced approach to how to best leverage her skills in these roles. Roxanne is a founder among founders – and has so many firsts to her name. She is a role model to many, and I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging conversation.