Gary Baker, CFA, is managing director of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at CFA Institute. He is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization in the EMEA region and for strengthening relationships with its 40 member societies, as well as with institutions, universities, regulators, and institutional partners. Mr. Baker is responsible for supporting CFA Institute policy development in EMEA, advancing the impact of advocacy efforts, and supporting EMEA member societies in delivering value to members and candidates. He has a focus on increasing charterholder commitment to continuing education and has management responsibility for research functions across CFA Institute, including the Financial Analysts Journal, the Future of Finance initiative, and CFA Institute Research Foundation. Mr. Baker has been engaged in financial market investment research for the past 30 years in a wide range of sell-side strategic, analytic, and management roles. Previously, he was deputy head of research at Jefferies, and he also worked at Merrill Lynch in a number of global roles, including managing director and chief European equity strategist. Mr. Baker earned a master’s degree in geography from Cambridge University.
Alex Brooks is senior equity analyst at Canaccord Genuity, the largest equity broker for the Canadian cannabis industry. He writes on a range of industries, from oil services to sustainability and cannabis to materials science and specialty chemicals. Mr. Brooks has worked in the finance industry for more than 20 years, on both the buy side and the sell side, covering large caps, emerging markets, and mid-caps, in Europe and globally, for a range of institutions, including UBS and J.P. Morgan. He has been involved with numerous capital-raising projects in steel, biofuels, mining, oil services, and cannabis, among others.
Bill Browder is founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management. He was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies. Mr. Browder has spent the last eight years conducting a global campaign to impose visa bans and asset freezes on individual human rights abusers, particularly those who played a role in the false arrest, torture, and death of his former lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. He wrote the New York Times bestseller Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice, which recounts his experience in Russia and his ongoing fight for justice for Sergei Magnitsky.
Diana Choyleva is chief economist at Enodo Economics, an independent macroeconomic forecasting consultancy she set up to untangle complexity, challenge the consensus, and give pointers to the future by making sense of today. Previously, she worked at Lombard Street Research as chief economist and head of research, setting the agenda for the firm’s team of economists and strategists while conducting her own global analysis. At Lombard Street Research, Ms. Choyleva also served as an executive director, headed the firm’s UK service, and oversaw the firm’s expansion in Asia. She is best known for her analysis of China, including the book she co-wrote, The American Phoenix—And Why China and Europe Will Struggle after the Coming Slump. Ms. Choyleva writes regular opinion pieces for the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s, among others. She has extensive global experience engaging with all manner of audiences and often makes television appearances, including on BBC’s Newsnight on the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed. Ms. Choyleva earned her master’s degree in economics at Warwick University.
Pablo Fernández is professor in the Department of Financial Management and holds the PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance Chair at IESE Business School. He is also visiting professor at the University of Piura (Peru), INALDE (Colombia), IAE (Argentina), IEEM (Uruguay), and IPADE (Mexico) Business Schools. In addition, Professor Fernández carries out extensive consultancy work for numerous firms and banks. Before embarking on a career in academia, he was the financial analyst and financial coordinator of Pepsi Cola for southern Europe in Spain, a position he also held in Rome, where he simultaneously was responsible for financial management for the Mediterranean region. Professor Fernández has authored many book chapters, working and research papers, case studies, technical notes, and journal articles on his curriculum. His book Valuation and Common Sense may be downloaded for free at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2209089, and he uses it with MBAs and executives.
Professor Fernandez earned a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Navarra in San Sebastian, an MBA from IESE, and a PhD in business economics (finance) from Harvard University.
Rishi Ganti, CFA, is founder of Orthogon Partners, a private investment fund focused solely on esoteric assets. He was the pioneer investor selected by Two Sigma Investments to start a group dedicated to investing proprietary capital in private investments on behalf of the firm’s principals. Dr. Ganti speaks several languages with professional competence. He received his BA (summa cum laude) from Emory University and his PhD, AM, and JD (cum laude) from Harvard University.
Paul Gordon runs the Bloomberg News team that covers the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Swiss National Bank. Based in Frankfurt, with frequent travel around the continent, he has had a close-up view of the euro zone’s attempts to steer itself away from deflation and back to sustained growth, as well as the United Kingdom’s battles with the economic complexity of Brexit. Previously, Mr. Gordon worked as a presenter for Reuters’ radio unit in London and as an anchor for 16 years in Hong Kong at RTHK and Bloomberg Television. He also ran a company advising business leaders on broadcast interview techniques and led a dot-com startup.
Olof Granstrom is a strategic advisor at Novus, where he provides insights around sustainable development and social entrepreneurship. He is a political scientist and economist who has worked most of his life to help others understand the world. Recently, Mr. Gränström worked as a project manager at the Swedish foundation Gapminder. The use of stories, frameworks, and visualizations are a common theme in his work, because he believes they are needed to transform facts into knowledge and understanding.
Bernardo Hernandez is a venture partner at the German venture capital fund e.ventures and CEO and president of Verse. He is a technology investor and entrepreneur. At the age of 29, after five years as an analyst and portfolio manager with such companies as Fidelity Investments, BBVA, and Putnam Investments, Mr. Hernandez started his first internet venture, idealista.com. Since then, he has participated as an angel investor in other online startups, such as Tuenti, index.com, Glovo, Fever, wallapop, Verse, floresfrescas.com, and 11870.com. Mr. Hernandez serves on the jury of the Princess of Asturias Awards for science and technology. Previously, he held various positions at Google, where he led the acquisition of Zagat and ran the Zagat team. Mr. Hernandez has also served as the head of Flickr at Yahoo. He is a member of the board of directors of MAPFRE USA and CornerJob and the advisory board for the 40th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution and the Ministry of Justice in Spain. Mr. Hernandez has served on the boards of the James Beard Foundation and Desigual. He graduated from Comillas Pontifical University’s ICADE Business School and received a master’s degree in finance from Boston College.
Mark Jackson is the scientific lead of business development at Cambridge Quantum Computing. He started his career researching superstring theory and cosmology, coauthoring almost 40 technical articles. To promote the public understanding of science, Dr. Jackson founded the science crowdfunding platform Fiat Physica and the non-profit Science Partnership Fund. He is an adjunct faculty member at Singularity University and a director of the BoldlyGo Institute and Astronomers Without Borders. Dr. Jackson received his PhD in theoretical physics from Columbia University.
Vitali Kalesnik is a partner and director of research for Europe at Research Affiliates, LLC. As a senior member of the investment team, he leads research and business strategy in the European region. Previously, Dr. Kalesnik led the equity research team at Research Affiliates, and he continues to perform general equity-related research. Articles he has co-authored have been recognized with two Graham and Dodd Scroll Awards, a Financial Analysts Journal Readers’ Choice Award, a William F. Sharpe Indexing Achievement Award, and a Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award. Dr. Kalesnik’s research strengthens and expands Research Affiliates’ products—in particular, RAFI Fundamental Index strategies—and supports the firm’s global tactical asset allocation products. He speaks fluent English, Russian, and French. Dr. Kalesnik earned a PhD in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a winner of the UCLA Graduate Division Fellowship.
Stephanie Kelton is professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University. She is a leading authority on “modern monetary theory,” a new approach to economics. Professor Kelton’s forthcoming book, But How Will We Pay for It? Modern Monetary Theory and the Deficit Myth, shows how to break free of the myths and misunderstandings about money and the role of taxes, debt, and deficits that have hamstrung policymakers around the world. Previously, she was chair of the department and professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Professor Kelton has served as chief economist on the US Senate Budget Committee (Democratic staff) and as a senior economic adviser to Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign. She is a visiting professor at the University of Ljubljana and the Geoff Harcourt Visiting Professor at the University of Adelaide. Professor Kelton is a regular contributor to Bloomberg Opinion, and she has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News & World Report, and CNN, among others. In 2016, Politico named her one of the 50 people most influencing the public debate in America. Professor Kelton received her PhD from the New School for Social Research.
Enrique Marazuela, CFA, CAd is the president of CFA Society Spain. He works now as Chief Investment Officer of BBVA Private Banking Spain. Mr. Marazuela has more than 30 years’ experience working in the financial sector, with a wide scope: insurance, asset management, private banking, research, etc. He teaches in Spanish universities and business schools on topics related to investments. He collaborated with media (TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc.) with interviews, articles, etc. He writes a monthly column in the magazine Inversión, where he is member of the Editorial Committee. Mr. Marazuela holds university degrees (Licenciado) in both Law and Business Administration. He is a CFA charterholder and Certified Advisor-CAd.
Lionel Martellini is a professor of finance at EDHEC Business School and the director of EDHEC-Risk Institute. He was a faculty member at the USC Marshall School of Business and taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University, where he was a visiting fellow in the operations research and financial engineering department. Professor Martellini is an editorial board member for the Journal of Portfolio Management, the Journal of Alternative Investments, and the Journal of Retirement. He conducts research on investment solutions for individual and institutional investors, portfolio construction, risk management, and derivatives valuation. His work has been published in leading journals and featured in such publications as the Economist, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has co-authored textbooks on alternative investment strategies, fixed-income securities, and goal-based investing. Professor Martellini has served as a consultant for large institutional investors, investments banks, and asset management firms. He earned master’s degrees in management (ESCP Europe), economics and statistics (ENSAE), pure mathematics (Paris 6 University), and probability and stochastic processes (Paris 6 University); a PhD in finance from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; and a PhD in relativistic astrophysics from Université Côte d’Azur.
Julia Meigh is a senior analyst at Neudata, an alternative data intelligence company. She specialises in ESG and macro research. Ms. Meigh is part of a team that is responsible for discovering and researching alternative datasets for a wide range of asset managers to use in their investing strategies. She also launched Neudata’s diversity and inclusion initiative and runs career development workshops for the company’s junior-level employees and minority groups. Ms. Meigh has over six years of experience as a research analyst and an account manager in consulting and financial services. Before joining Neudata, her research covered a broad range of topics, including responsible investing, consumer trends, and the global macroeconomy. Ms. Meigh earned a BA in economics, politics, and sociology from the University of Westminster and an MSc in economy, risk, and society from the London School of Economics.
Alicia Rubí, CFA, is chief operating officer in the Founding Partner group of Findango Finance. She began her career at Citibank in New York City in the Loan Syndications group and subsequently moved to Citibank’s Madrid office to help bolster its local Capital Markets team. After several years in bank-loan and capital markets origination and sales, Ms. Rubí launched and led Citibank’s listed equity warrants business in Spain. She was asked by a Spanish family to set up a family office for them and served as chief investment officer of Ardizia de Inversiones, the first Spanish SICAV to receive authorization from the CNMV (Spain’s National Securities Market Commission) to manage its own investments. Ms. Rubí also worked as senior investment adviser for another large Spanish family office. After completing two national certification exams, she joined the investment committee of Visao Prev, one of Brazil’s largest corporate pension providers. Ms. Rubí served on the board of CFA Society Brazil and is on the board of CFA Society Spain. She is a member of the selection committee for La Bolsa Social, an impact investment crowdfunding platform. Ms. Rubí is a Spanish–American dual national, born and educated in the United States.
Sylvia Sonnendrucker, CFA, is the managing partner and co-founder of Millennial Quest, a consultancy firm specializing in leadership development for 21st century executives. She is a consultant in leadership and mind training as well as a facilitator and executive coach, servicing her clients in English, French, and Spanish. Ms. Sonnendrucker is a member of the IESE Business School Coaching Unit and runs leadership, mind training, and executive coaching programs for senior and emerging leaders in Fortune 500 companies. As a senior consultant in mind training, she helps international organizations increase their performance, resilience, and creativity in partnership with Potential Project, a global organization providing customized organizational effectiveness programs based on mindfulness. Previously, Ms. Sonnendrucker worked for 20 years in the banking industry, managing assets, clients, and teams in various cities, including Chicago, Paris, Hong Kong, London, and Madrid. She has worked for such companies as China Asset Management, BBVA, BNP Paribas, and Crédit Agricole. Ms. Sonnendrucker is an International Coach Federation certified coach, and she trained in neuroscience at Nirakara Lab. She completed the Mindfulness Tools Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the University of Massachusetts. Ms. Sonnendrucker earned a degree in business administration at Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE).
Anne Tolmunen, CFA, is the lead portfolio manager for the AXA WF Women Empowerment Fund at AXA Investment Managers. She is also a portfolio manager for the AXA WF Framlington Talents Fund range. Previously, Ms. Tolmunen worked as an inspector at Société Générale. She started her career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen. Ms. Tolmunen earned a master’s degree from ESSEC.
Santiago Fernandez Valbuena is a partner at Investtech and deputy chairman of EBN Banco. He has been a professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad de Murcia, IE Business School, and Manchester Business School. Dr. Valbuena has served as head of equity research and sales at Beta Capital, managing director at Societe Generale Securities, and CEO of Fonditel, the pension fund manager of Telefonica. He later became global chief financial officer at Telefonica and CEO at Telefonica Latin America. Dr. Valbuena is chairman of the board at AEDAS Homes and a board member and chairman of the audit committee at Ferrovial. He was chairman and is now an honorary member of Fundación Consejo España Brasil, a public/private institution building bridges between Spain and Brazil. Dr. Valbuena is a member of the Spanish Institute of Financial Analysts (IEAF) and has been a board member for listed companies in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, and several other Latin American countries. He earned an MS and a PhD in economics from Northeastern University.
Yanis Varoufakis served as Minister of Finance of Greece in 2015, and in 2016 he co-founded DiEM25 (a pan-European movement for the democratisation of Europe) with the Croat philosopher Srecko Horvat. He has taught economics and econometrics at the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia and served as a fellow at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Varoufakis was also senior lecturer in economics at the University of Sydney and Professor of Economic Theory at the University of Athens. Dr. Varoufakis researched the virtual economy on the Steam digital delivery platform, specifically looking at exchange rates and trade deficits. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Varoufakis has written several books on game theory, microeconomics, and macroeconomics. He studied economics at the University of Essex and mathematical statistics at the University of Birmingham and has a PhD in economics.
Josh Wade works for Calastone, where he is responsible for leading engagement on the Distributed Market Infrastructure, the firm’s blockchain-enabled solution designed to reduce the frictional cost of trading and settling mutual funds globally. He is part of a team of industry experts who are working to develop new models and propositions for the mutual fund industry. Mr Wade earned a bachelor of arts degree in human, social, and political sciences from the University of Cambridge.
