I met JSC Impact while I was working on my Radium governance/ESG startup. They wanted to expand their capabilities from pure consulting to analysis for actual investment potential and helping potential investors. I was offered the Head of Investment position to help fulfill that vision. My background and interests aligned perfectly with their mission of helping bring success to sustainable impact organizations, whether that be non-profits, for-profit, or some combination. My expertise in… Show more I met JSC Impact while I was working on my Radium governance/ESG startup. They wanted to expand their capabilities from pure consulting to analysis for actual investment potential and helping potential investors. I was offered the Head of Investment position to help fulfill that vision. My background and interests aligned perfectly with their mission of helping bring success to sustainable impact organizations, whether that be non-profits, for-profit, or some combination. My expertise in investments goes to helping those looking to improve the world with their capital from philanthropy to market rate opportunities. Impact investing is an ideal fit for my “Why”.I perform analyses on a wide swath of interesting potential impact investments. Some opportunities I have analyzed include, (1) Agri-science endeavors looking to enhance our treatment of the soil or minimize our impact raising crops, (2) sustainable industrial solutions to help clean up existing dirty industries, (3) sustainable alternative protein solutions that bring social as well as environmental impact, (4) waste impact concepts focusing on re-use, recycle, or more sustainable processes. I created the investment processes and framework for the organization, including due diligence guidelines and governance structures. We have assembled and invested in a few special-purpose vehicles for impact companies and worked with a variety of investors in the process.I continue to work to build out a presence and network within the impact investment community while monitoring and fostering our existing investments. I find it very inspiring to see the impact effort gain scale - I can’t wait to see the collective results on our world and society. Show less

Because of my great work with clients who were impacted by the 2008 financial crisis, I was recruited to Berkeley Research Group to take a senior position. It was a great opportunity to join a small team of seasoned and talented similarly focused professionals where we could support one another in the financial markets sector.The majority of my work focused on providing expert assistance as a capital markets practitioner to clients in need. I actively participated in several… Show more Because of my great work with clients who were impacted by the 2008 financial crisis, I was recruited to Berkeley Research Group to take a senior position. It was a great opportunity to join a small team of seasoned and talented similarly focused professionals where we could support one another in the financial markets sector.The majority of my work focused on providing expert assistance as a capital markets practitioner to clients in need. I actively participated in several high-profile matters involving securities due diligence, underwriting due diligence, damages, valuations, and investment issues across the entire spectrum of asset classes and structures. I brought my expertise to bear for clients such as investment and retail banks, insurance companies, pension funds, private equity firms, hedge funds, and individual investors in litigation involving asset management, trading, investment services, and securities issues, including derivatives, equities, bonds, private placements, and structured financial products of all types including RMBS, ABS, CDOs, and CMBS. I also testified in both state and federal court. Show less

As a pension asset owner, expert witness on securities and fiduciary matters, and institutional investor I possessed a front-row seat to analyze a macro problem costing companies and investors tens of billions every year. The problem was one of translation and communication between investor owners of companies and their management governance. The impact manifested in litigation, wasted resources, and frustration on both sides. I conceived Radium as a way to provide a platform for asset… Show more As a pension asset owner, expert witness on securities and fiduciary matters, and institutional investor I possessed a front-row seat to analyze a macro problem costing companies and investors tens of billions every year. The problem was one of translation and communication between investor owners of companies and their management governance. The impact manifested in litigation, wasted resources, and frustration on both sides. I conceived Radium as a way to provide a platform for asset owners to see their exposure to events and actions on companies they own, discuss, and collaborate with where appropriate. On the flip side, a live picture of the data on those issues and investors could be presented to companies so their boards and management they could see what environmental, social, or governance issues are most pertinent to them. Rather than suffering through inadequate ESG scoring, confusing proxy efforts, activism, or litigation they could be informed and proactive.I pursued the technical design, customers, and funding to bring the beta version to market but entrenched behaviors, staffing, funding, and Covid taught me firsthand the difficulty of bringing a new business to life. Show less

I helped their early stage litigation finance platform with direct capital formation, organization and execution while they were still known as Finnex.

After my town suffered significant investment losses as a result of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, I sought to lend my expertise to both recover the losses and aid in future governance and investing. I gained an appointment and happily served as a fiduciary and eventual Chairman of the town’s $500 million defined benefit and other post-employment benefit plans. My goal upon joining was to enhance the board’s expertise, improve governance, and improve transparency. It was tremendously… Show more After my town suffered significant investment losses as a result of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, I sought to lend my expertise to both recover the losses and aid in future governance and investing. I gained an appointment and happily served as a fiduciary and eventual Chairman of the town’s $500 million defined benefit and other post-employment benefit plans. My goal upon joining was to enhance the board’s expertise, improve governance, and improve transparency. It was tremendously fulfilling to be able to achieve all that and more by bringing together the right resources and people. I facilitated the selection and appointment of a well-qualified, diverse, and engaged volunteer fiduciary board. After bolstering the board through an education process, we created an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy to guide our investment decisions. I also engaged an actuarial firm to conduct an asset-liability review including cash flow projections and further board education. During my decade-plus of service, we held multiple strategic asset allocation reviews and corresponding analyses of market assumptions for setting our liability discount rate. We conducted multiple manager searches including hedge fund, private equity, multi-asset class, real estate, global fixed income, commodities, and emerging market equity. I served as the pension spokesperson to present to our finance board, legislative body, and the community at large in regular presentations. I also ensured we stayed cognizant of industry trends and issues by regularly participating and presenting in industry conferences and roundtables on pension issues.Towards the end of my tenure, I helped shift the advisory structure from consultancy to OCIO. I also helped the town by expanding the board’s fiduciary oversight to the town’s defined contribution plan to ensure its offerings and administration are appropriately serving current and retired employees. Show less

The Mesirow leadership team sought me out for my ability to solve complex problems and help others, particularly within the 2004-2008 financial sector’s use of creative financial engineering. I rolled up my sleeves and immediately began offering my skills and solutions to Mesirow’s wide array of clients such as regulators, lawyers, distressed companies, creditors, and institutional investors. I also built up the skill sets of those working alongside me to address the nuances of the fallout from… Show more The Mesirow leadership team sought me out for my ability to solve complex problems and help others, particularly within the 2004-2008 financial sector’s use of creative financial engineering. I rolled up my sleeves and immediately began offering my skills and solutions to Mesirow’s wide array of clients such as regulators, lawyers, distressed companies, creditors, and institutional investors. I also built up the skill sets of those working alongside me to address the nuances of the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis such as derivatives, structured vehicles, mortgages, valuations, and their specific processes and systems.I can happily say I enabled successful outcomes for many of those problems. As part of the monetary savings and recovery for clients, I was required to conduct analysis and report to participants via the courts in many cases. I have also been deposed and testified on behalf of my work for clients. Some specific projects at Mesirow involved bank and borrower disputes, securities litigation including section 10b-5 matters, fiduciary issues, investigating Ponzi schemes, real estate investments, hedge fund and private equity investments and operations, commodities exchange failures, as well as high-profile bankruptcy or corporate restructuring matters in the aftermath of the financial crisis such as Lehman, GMAC Financial, Ambac and FGIC insurance to name a few. Show less

It took a few months of networking and meetings to find someone similarly concerned with the housing market. Finally, I found a hedge fund in King Street that sensed an extended consumer who approved of my strategy and ability to execute.During the next few months, I initiated an MBS, ABS, and CMBS strategy for this multi-billion dollar hedge fund. I mentored and trained a small group of incredibly bright and talented people on the nuances of the mortgage market, consumer credit, and… Show more It took a few months of networking and meetings to find someone similarly concerned with the housing market. Finally, I found a hedge fund in King Street that sensed an extended consumer who approved of my strategy and ability to execute.During the next few months, I initiated an MBS, ABS, and CMBS strategy for this multi-billion dollar hedge fund. I mentored and trained a small group of incredibly bright and talented people on the nuances of the mortgage market, consumer credit, and the plethora of structured vehicles similar to those I created at GE Asset Management. I then led development of loan-level valuation models for subprime and alt-a loans to evaluate RMBS investments. I then proceeded to establish a sizable strategic short position using multiple techniques, including the effective use of CDS referencing CDOs and RMBS assets. Simultaneously, I also developed a monitoring system for the most actively traded bonds to identify investment opportunities.As the great financial crisis slowly unfolded, I presented strategic opportunities from my research and systemic understanding of the underlying market interconnections. This resulted in distressed investment analysis on multiple firms such as REITs, thrifts, insurance, and non-bank lenders for either lending, shorting, or equity acquisition. I also created a plan for staffing a distressed mortgage securities team to take advantage of the eventual opportunities. Ultimately, the firm decided not to go beyond the short strategy, and I joined a firm where clients needed my skills and sector knowledge, namely distressed restructuring, workouts, bankruptcy, and litigation. Show less

After a capital raising position for United Way of Snohomish County, WA, I joined GE Capital’s insurance roll-up initiative, GE Financial Assurance, now Genworth, in their investment division. I burnished my Navy Total Quality Management (TQM) qualifications by becoming a GE Six Sigma Blackbelt. I spent eighteen months teaching and leading both individuals and teams on process improvement projects in the investment shop. My favorite project was identifying embedded behavioral biases in… Show more After a capital raising position for United Way of Snohomish County, WA, I joined GE Capital’s insurance roll-up initiative, GE Financial Assurance, now Genworth, in their investment division. I burnished my Navy Total Quality Management (TQM) qualifications by becoming a GE Six Sigma Blackbelt. I spent eighteen months teaching and leading both individuals and teams on process improvement projects in the investment shop. My favorite project was identifying embedded behavioral biases in projecting weekly bond spreads and devising a solution that added millions in annual net income to the company. My contributions did not go unnoticed as I was soon recruited to join several teams.With just three portfolio managers for the $110 billion portfolio, we shouldered a broad set of responsibilities. Our broad mandate was to allocate, invest, and re-invest hundreds of millions of weekly cash flows, monitor risk, and interface with our clients who were the internal product managers and corporate management. We worked to optimize capital usage within a prudent risk/reward framework for insurance companies and products. That meant employing all aspects of asset management starting with asset/liability modeling and portfolio optimization.Making investments in corporate bonds, private placements, high yield, emerging markets, leveraged loans, treasuries, agencies, municipals, ABS, MBS, CMBS, interest rate and credit synthetics, private equity, venture capital, equities, and commercial real estate, I managed a positive spread on billion dollar portfolios backing long term care, auto, and life insurance. I enjoyed solving problems for clients such as how to invest against a 26-year duration, or floating rate liabilities. I found solutions by creating synthetic assets with derivatives and introducing leveraged loans. I also had fun devising a way to inform and educate clients by creating and publishing a daily market commentary that became incredibly popular. Show less

GE Capital merged all its asset management teams into its investment advisor in 2002, and following the move I took the opportunity to expand my skill set by joining the fixed income total return desk as a portfolio manager. I brought my credit and structured product experience to the team along with my newly earned CFA charter. I contributed to multiple fund strategies such as core, core plus, income, structured credit, as well as segregated account mandates including my old insurance clients… Show more GE Capital merged all its asset management teams into its investment advisor in 2002, and following the move I took the opportunity to expand my skill set by joining the fixed income total return desk as a portfolio manager. I brought my credit and structured product experience to the team along with my newly earned CFA charter. I contributed to multiple fund strategies such as core, core plus, income, structured credit, as well as segregated account mandates including my old insurance clients and pensions. I found it very rewarding to learn and strategize how to lock in alpha while also collaborating with a dedicated research group. This was also my first experience with socially responsible investing with some religiously oriented clients.After gaining comfort in the new team, my manager and I saw an opportunity to expand by leveraging our capabilities and initiating a CDO platform. Therefore, in 2004, we issued over $2 billion in Summer Street CDOs where I was the portfolio manager in charge of credit, trading, and structuring. I also coordinated with the investment banks, research, modeling, sales team, and rating agencies to make the business a success. Unfortunately, market forces created ominous dark clouds on the horizon shortly thereafter. While conducting housing market due diligence in California in the fall of 2005, I saw systemic issues both in the field and data that did not bode well for investors, which led me to seek alternatives to long-only strategies. Show less

Upon reaching the fleet, I quickly gained the trust of my Captain and crew. They appreciated my desire to help the team succeed by volunteering wherever needed and working tirelessly to quickly earn my qualifications to serve as an Engineering Officer Of the Watch (EOOW) in charge of running the nuclear main propulsion plant of the ship. Their confidence and support enabled me to achieve more than I would otherwise, as I became one of the fastest officers qualified and helped the boat succeed… Show more Upon reaching the fleet, I quickly gained the trust of my Captain and crew. They appreciated my desire to help the team succeed by volunteering wherever needed and working tirelessly to quickly earn my qualifications to serve as an Engineering Officer Of the Watch (EOOW) in charge of running the nuclear main propulsion plant of the ship. Their confidence and support enabled me to achieve more than I would otherwise, as I became one of the fastest officers qualified and helped the boat succeed at sea and in external examinations. Seeking even more responsibility, I was entrusted with a senior leadership role three years ahead of schedule serving as the Tactical Systems Officer on the USS Nevada SSBN 733(Gold) where I led a team of 30 sailors tasked with operating the sonar, fire control and torpedo systems to protect the ship and crew. We developed our own curriculum and testing to improve our capabilities and it served us well in staying prepared for Cold War undersea threats.I followed my three-year sea tour with a two-year assignment leading a tremendous group of sailors as the Waterfront Operations Officers at a Navy research and development facility. Our team was tasked with maintaining and operating the necessary support functions for seven undersea sonar test ranges. That included five ships, multiple remote recovery vehicles, 130 sailors, and a complete deep-sea dive team and hyperbaric chamber. By clearing obstacles to success and knowing when to lead by getting out of the way the team had zero safety casualties, minimal unavailability, and great morale.After seven years of active duty, I transitioned to the Navy Reserves and served in several roles supporting our submarine fleet from “topside”. I retired in 2012 after twenty-one years of service but continue to be active via the American Legion and the local Navy Port Auxiliary Unit. Show less