Judges

Nicholas Anderson is a portfolio manager for Thornburg Investment Management. He joined the firm in 2016 as an equity research analyst, was promoted to senior equity research analyst in 2020, an associate portfolio manager in early 2021, and portfolio manager in late 2021.

Nick holds an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Robertson Scholar. Prior to joining Thornburg, Nick worked for Prudential plc and Eastspring Investments in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore. He is a CFA charterholder.

Sara Araghi is Senior Vice President, Co-Director of Equity Research for Franklin Equity Group. Ms. Araghi is a portfolio manager on the Franklin Growth Opportunities Fund and FTIF Franklin U.S. Opportunities Fund (SICAV), as well as related portfolios. She has equity research coverage responsibilities for private and public equity securities across the market capitalization spectrum within the softline and specialty retail industries. She earned her B.S. in business administration and graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Araghi is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder and member of the CFA Society of San Francisco and CFA Institute. Ms. Araghi was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business for 2021.

Madina Baikadamova is an Analyst with the Health Care Research Team. She is responsible for fundamental research on companies in the U.S. medical distribution sector. Before joining Brandes, Ms. Baikadamova was a Senior Analyst at Verno Capital, a Moscow-based hedge fund. Ms. Baikadamova earned her MBA at Columbia University’s Columbia Business School, her MA in economics from the New Economic School in Moscow and her BS in information technology from Bauman Moscow State Technical University. She is fluent in Kazakh and Russian. Her experience began in 2011 and she joined Brandes Investment Partners in 2018.

Mr. Balkin has over 35 years of capital market experience working with both public and private companies and is currently a Portfolio Manager at Rail-Splitter Capital Management, a Chicago-based asset management firm specializing in small cap stocks. He recently served as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of a public company called Foresight Acquisition Corporation, where he led the merger with a $2.2 billion-dollar private health care company.

Prior to Foresight, Mr. Balkin was a partner and formerly the co-Manager of the William Blair Small Institutional portfolio and the William Blair Small Cap Growth Fund, which he and his partners started in 1999. He and his team managed nearly $1.8 billion dollars in total assets and were named among the top small cap funds multiple times by publications such as Barrons, Morningstar, Lipper, and Institutional Investor Magazine. Mr. Balkin was also a frequent guest on CNBC and Bloomberg discussing his views on small cap stocks.

From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Balkin was a partner at Magnetar Capital, LLC, a multi-strategy hedge fund located in Evanston, Illinois. While at Magnetar, Mr. Balkin was the Portfolio Manager in charge of the small cap long-short strategy and was also the Chief Investment Officer of Magnetar Investment Management, a wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Magnetar Capital. He rejoined William Blair & Company in 2008. He originally joined William Blair in 1990, working in the sell-side institutional research sales group, specializing in small cap growth companies.

Prior to joining William Blair, he was the co-founder of Cityview Associates, Inc., a real estate firm specializing in “value-added” real estate transactions. Prior to starting Cityview Associates, Mr. Balkin had various roles at First Chicago and Bankers Trust. In addition to his work with William Blair, Mr. Balkin has helped dozens of small companies grow as an angel investor, mentor, and board member. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Performance Health Systems, LLC and is a member of the board of directors of Nasdaq-based Horizon Technology Finance Corporation “HRZN”. Mr. Balkin is also an advisor to several other public companies.

Mr. Balkin is active in many charities and is on the board of the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, Good Sports and is a major advocate and fund raiser for Cystic Fibrosis and the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Mr. Balkin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University, where he was an all-Big Ten player and two-year Captain of the team.

Chris Benway is Associate Director of Research at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2023. He also serves as a Research Analyst, since 2018, and is team leader of the Industrials & Materials Sector Research Team. Prior to Janus Henderson, he was a research analyst at Kayne Anderson Rudnick from 2014. Before that, he was a research associate with Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management from 2012 and an equity analyst with Palisades Investment Partners from 2010. Chris began his career with Liberty Mutual Group as a senior underwriter.

Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado – Boulder, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has 14 years of financial industry experience.

Karl W. Brewer, CFA, is the founder of Cervecero Investments.  Prior to that, Karl was principal, partner, and portfolio manager of William Blair Investment Management. He joined the firm in 1996 as an analyst and became a portfolio manager in 1999. Before joining William Blair, Brewer spent six years in the mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance departments at Lehman Brothers. He is a CFA® charterholder. Brewer received a B.A. in economics from Washington and Lee University in 1988 and an M.B.A in finance, accounting, marketing, and management and strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Heather serves as chief executive officer for Diamond Hill and joined the firm in 2019.

Heather brings more than 20 years of domestic and international investment industry experience to this role. Most recently, she served as chief executive officer, America’s with First State Investments.  Prior to that role, she spent 14 years with Morningstar where she served as global head of equity & credit research before advancing to chief executive officer, Morningstar Australasia.

Heather earned her MBA from the University Booth School of Business and has a degree in economics from Northwestern University.  She served on the board of the CFA Institute from 2013-2020 and was chair of the board in 2018-20.

Nathan is a Senior Portfolio Manager for Macquarie Asset Management’s (MAM’s) Ivy Mid Cap Equities Team, where he is responsible for making day-to-day investment decisions for the team’s strategy.

Nathan joined Ivy Investments as an Investment Analyst and was appointed Assistant Portfolio Manager in 2011 and Portfolio Manager in 2014.

Nathan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance (Honors) from the University of Iowa and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and accounting from Vanderbilt University. Nathan holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Ryan Burgess, CFA, joined Durable Capital Partners as an investment analyst in 2019. He has 17 years of investment experience. Burgess came to Durable from T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., where he was vice president and portfolio manager of the smaller companies equity strategy, an institutional stock portfolio focused on U.S. small- and midcap stocks. Before that, he was a portfolio manager at SouthTrust Bank and later, a portfolio manager at Evergreen Asset Management. Burgess is a CFA® charterholder. He received a B.S. in business from the University of Alabama and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Cynthia is a professional money manager, nonprofit leader, enthusiastic financial literacy advocate, educator, and accomplished public speaker.

She has been a leading light across the financial services industry for over 20+ years, including as a full-time finance faculty member  of the University of North Carolina Charlotte (“Charlotte”), one of NC’s largest public universities. While there, she led graduate and undergraduate courses, was faculty representative to various bodies and served as faculty advisor to student organizations.

Additionally, Cynthia enjoyed a 15+ year career with TIAA, one of the US’ largest private pension fund managers. During her tenure, she managed investments and was a member of the firm’s credit committee, which oversaw $25 billion of investments across the capital spectrum. Currently, Cynthia leads Pugh Capital’s Credit Committee and oversees financial sector investments.

Cynthia started her investment banking career as a London based expat while with Citibank, one of the global leaders in syndicated financings. She raised capital for European conglomerates contemplating mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures. Cynthia returned Stateside when she was recruited from Citibank to Chase’s New York investment banking group, where she led leveraged financing teams.

Cynthia has served on a myriad of nonprofit boards, mostly focused on education and the arts. She is the immediate Past President of Women Executives for Community Service and an advisory board member of the Cain Arts Center. Additionally, she is the former Chairman of the Board of The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, and the former president of alumni chapters of both her undergraduate and graduate institutions, Howard University and Columbia University Graduate School of Business, respectively.

Cynthia is a sought-after speaker on financial literacy and finance related topics. She is married with two children and is a long-suffering Washington football fan who is trying to elevate her tennis game. She enjoys reading biographies, attending theatrical productions, and boosting the financial literacy of youth, seniors and disadvantaged communities.

J. Brian Campbell, CFA, is a co-lead portfolio manager for the small-cap, small-mid cap, midcap, and all-cap 25 strategies and a member of The London Company’s investment team. Campbell has more than 15 years of industry experience, beginning his career in 2000 as an equity analyst at INVESCO-National Asset Management. Before joining The London Company, Campbell spent six years as a portfolio manager and director of research at Hilliard Lyons Capital Management He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Society Virginia. Campbell received a B.B.A. in finance, with honors, from the University of Kentucky, and an M.B.A. from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Chad Cleaver is the lead portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity strategy and a portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets Growth strategy. His idea generation, security selection, portfolio construction, and risk management responsibilities, and macro-level analysis, are leveraged across the two strategies managed by the Driehaus Emerging Markets Team.

Mr. Cleaver began his career with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and joined Driehaus Capital Management in 2004. He received his A.B. in economics from Wabash College in 2000 and his M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004. Mr. Cleaver is a CFA charterholder.

Jonathan Coleman is a Portfolio Manager on the US Small/Mid-Cap Growth Team at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2013. From 2006 to 2013, Jonathan served as chief investment officer, equities. He joined Janus in 1994. Prior to that, he was a Fulbright Fellow in Costa Rica researching economic integration in Central America.

Jonathan received his bachelor of arts degree in political economy and Spanish from Williams College, where he graduate Phi Beta Kappa.  He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has 30 years of financial industry experience.

As a credit analyst, Kira is responsible for coverage of the global investment-grade consumer, food, beverage, and tobacco sectors as well as the US investment-grade retail sector. She performs fundamental credit analysis and formulates investment recommendations on corporate bond issuers. She is a member of a team that manages the Fixed Income Credit Research portfolios.

Prior to joining Wellington Management in July of 2018, Kira was a credit analyst for Putnam Investments in Boston, where she was responsible for the consumer, retail, food, beverage, and tobacco sectors across investment-grade, high-yield, and leveraged loans (2012 – 2018). She started her career as a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (2007 – 2010).

Kira earned both her MBA (2012) and her BS in applied economics and management from Cornell University (2007). Additionally, she holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Bridget is a Wealth Advisor of Kayne Anderson Rudnick Wealth Advisors. She began her career in the wealth management industry in 2008. Before joining Kayne Anderson Rudnick in 2015, Bridget was a Portfolio Administrator, Assistant Vice President for One West Bank. Before that position, she was an Account Manager with Adviser Investments, where Bridget spent the first five years of her career. Bridget was recognized as a Leader of Influence, Wealth Manager by the Los Angeles Business Journal (2023). She earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Emmanuel College, where she graduated cum laude. Bridget also earned a Certificate in Financial Planning from Boston University and holds her Series 7, 63 and 65 licenses.
Outside of work, Bridget spends most of her free time with her animals. She owns a horse that she shows competitively, and has a mini Poodle, Teddy, who loves spending the weekend at the beach in Santa Monica. She’s originally from Boston and deeply appreciates the Southern California climate.

Jim is one of the founding partners of Stone Harbor Investment Partners and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. In his role as CIO and Head of Emerging Markets Debt at Stone Harbor, Jim heads a team that manages emerging markets and global high yield portfolios for institutions including public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, and insurance companies globally. Prior to helping found Stone Harbor in 2006, Jim served as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Debt, and as a member of the Investment Policy Committee at Citigroup Asset Management. He held similar positions at Salomon Brothers, which he joined in 1992, prior to it being purchased by Citigroup in 1998. Jim began his career as a fixed-income Trading Associate at Lehman Brothers in 1989. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society New York. Jim attained a BS in Finance from the University of Vermont in 1989 and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Grossman School of Business.

Dan Crowe, CFA, partner, is a portfolio manager on William Blair’s Small-Mid Cap Growth and Small-Mid Cap Core strategies. Previously, he was a portfolio manager on the firm’s Mid Cap Growth strategy, an associate portfolio manager on the firm’s Small Cap Growth strategy, and a research analyst, where he focused on all sectors across the U.S. small-cap space. Before joining William Blair as a generalist research analyst in May 2011, Dan was a portfolio manager at Pyramis Global Advisors and a portfolio manager and analyst at The Boston Company/Founders Asset Management. He began his career as a generalist analyst at Marsico Capital Management. Dan is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago. He received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Tarik Dalton joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 and is a Managing Director on the Firm’s investment team.

Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Dalton was a Managing Director and Head of Leveraged Finance Desk Research at Goldman Sachs.  Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in 2021, Mr. Dalton served as Managing Director and Head of Business Development for Silverback Asset Management, an alternative investment manager based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Prior to joining Silverback, Mr. Dalton founded Price Cameron Woods which provided advisory services to investment managers.  From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Dalton served as Senior Advisor to the CIO and Director of Multi-Strategy Investments at the North Carolina Department of the Treasury where he was responsible for a ~$3 billion portfolio of diverse alternative investments. Mr. Dalton served as one of the four members of the $100 billion pension’s investment committee, as well as on the asset and liability steering committee.  From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Dalton was a Director at Credit Suisse in the Leveraged Finance Group, where he was a distressed credit analyst performing fundamental analysis on stressed and distressed corporate credits with a focus on autos and industrials, lodging, leisure, and gaming.  Mr. Dalton began his career as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Dalton holds a BA in Economics-Philosophy from Columbia University and an MBA from The Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina where he also serves on the Next Generation Advisory Board.

Andrew Davis is senior vice president of strategy for Cox Enterprises. He oversees the strategic planning, new venture development, and sustainability teams.

Prior to joining Cox, Davis spent nearly 12 years with T. Rowe Price in the U.S. Equity Division. As an investment analyst at T. Rowe, he researched and managed public company investments in the North American transportation industry. During his last three years at T. Rowe, Davis was the Director of Private Investments, managing the firm’s $20B private venture investment portfolio. His responsibilities included management of sourcing, investment diligence, ongoing analysis, and external relationships.

Prior to his career as an investor, Davis spent seven years at Deloitte & Touche LLP where he was a manager in the business valuation services group. There he was responsible for client projects related to acquisition accounting, tax valuations, and bankruptcy reorganizations.

Davis has an MBA in Economics and Finance from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Berry College in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance

Dimitris is an Investment Analyst at American Century Investments on the U.S. large cap growth team. He is a generalist but also has an area of focus on MedTech, consumer discretionary and some technology hardware large cap companies. His prior work experiences include roles such as Investment Analyst for a private evergreen REIT and couple of years as a  professional athlete. He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, with a concentration in capital markets and investments and he also received his undergraduate degree from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Dan Draper (MBA ’99) is Chief Executive Officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P OJI), responsible for all aspects of the index business globally. S&P OJI is the world’s leading index provider and offers investment professionals around the world an array of products from core indices such as the S&P 500® to broad comprehensive benchmarks.

Before joining S&P OJI, Mr. Draper held asset management, wealth management, and investment banking leadership positions in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Jakarta with Invesco, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Lyxor Asset Management, iShares/Barclays Global Investors, Goldman Sachs, UBS Wealth Management, and Salomon Brothers.

Mr. Draper earned an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) charterholder and holds the Chartered Market Technician®, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Financial Risk Manager, Certified Financial Planner®, and Chartered Financial Consultant® designations.

Mr. Draper is the Chairperson for the Index Industry Association and Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development (CED) of The Conference Board. He is a chartered director and fellow at the Institute of Directors in the UK and a board leadership fellow at the National Association of Corporate Directors in the U.S. In addition, he is a fellow of the 2017 class of the Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Mr. Draper serves as a board director for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Delta Dental of Virginia. He is a member of The Board of Advisors, Center for Excellence in Investment Management at UNC Kenan­Flagler Business School, as well as The Board of Advisors of the Boehly Center at the Mason School of the College of William & Mary.

Mr. Draper is executive sponsor of Black Organization for Leadership & Development (BOLD), an S&P Global people resource group, and recipient of the Male Ambassador Award from Women in Derivatives (WIND) in 2022.

As an equity research analyst on the Small Cap Opportunities Team, Paul conducts fundamental analysis on small-cap investments, focusing on the industrial, materials, energy, and utilities sectors. His research supports the investment decision making for a range of portfolios managed for clients of the firm. He works in our Boston office.

Prior to joining the firm in 2016, Paul was a partner at Monarch Partners Asset Management (2010 – 2016), where he was a small-/mid-cap analyst covering industrials, materials, and energy and a co-portfolio manager of Monarch Partners’ micro-cap value strategy. Before that, he served as a small-cap generalist on the small-cap value team at Chartwell Investment Partners (2006 – 2010) and as a research associate at Federated Investors (2003 – 2006).

Paul earned his BS in finance and economics with Honors from Carnegie Mellon University (2003). Additionally, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Boston.

Peter Fauler, CFA, is a managing director and senior research analyst at Nuveen. In this role, he serves as a member of the leveraged finance team and is responsible for covering the services sectors. Previously, Fauler covered the automotive, metals and mining, transportation, aerospace and defense, non-bank financials, and industrials sectors. Before joining the leveraged finance team, he worked in structured finance and investment-grade research for global public fixed income. Before that, Fauler served in Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America’s private markets, where he invested in corporate private placements, lease finance, and private equity across a variety of industries. Fauler has 18 years of experience in the financial services industry and is a member of the CFA Institute and the North Carolina Society of Security Analysts. He received a B.S. in business administration and economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.S. in mathematical finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Jason Fernandez, is a senior investment associate at Ubiquity Management, which he joined in 2022, focused on private investments across digital infrastructure. Before joining Ubiquity, Jason worked as an investment banker at Truist and research analyst at Bank of America across equity and high yield securities where he covered digital and energy infrastructure. Jason received a B.S. from the University of Maryland and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he was a member of the investing program.

Quincy Field is an equity research analyst for Thornburg Investment Management. He joined the firm in 2023. Prior to Thornburg, Quincy served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Army. Quincy earned an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and received his BS with honors from Eastern Michigan University in Criminology.

Lori Finlay is Senior Managing Director, Head of Investment Strategy, at Unum Group (NYSE:UNM).  She leads the strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies for the $45B general account portfolio. She also oversees derivatives and risk analytics for the portfolios.  She joined Unum in 2005 as a credit analyst and has held a variety of investment positions, including credit research, trading, and portfolio management. Prior to joining Unum, Lori worked as a credit analyst at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Lori received her undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of the South (Sewanee) and holds an MBA  from Texas State University. She is a CFA charterholder.

David Foropoulos joined UNUM in 2011 and is currently a Vice-President and Head of Credit Research in the Investments Department. In addition to managing a team of credit analysts that support Unum’s $45B portfolio, David is a voting member of the Investment Committee and Private Asset Committee. Before coming to UNUM, David worked as a buy-side analyst/portfolio manager at Highland Capital Management in Memphis, TN. Prior to Highland Capital, David maintained sell-side equity research positions at several firms including Morgan Keegan, Hilliard Lyons and Cowen & Company. David has more than 25 years of experience as an investment professional. He received his B.S. in engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and his MBA from the Owen School at Vanderbilt University. David also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Mitchell Forss is a research analyst at Deepwater Asset Management. In this role, his primary research focuses on growth companies. Prior to joining Deepwater in 2024, Mitchell worked as a global equity research analyst for Principal Asset Management. During his time with Principal, he focused on mid- and large-cap technology companies after previously covering financials. He received a B.A. in history from the University of St. Thomas and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Jack Fraser co-founded Philadelphia-based Seamark Capital in 2000 and for the past 18 years has co-managed the Seamark Fund, a long/short public equities investment partnership focused on growth industries. From 1996 to 2000, Fraser was a team leader and officer at Friess Associates and the Brandywine Funds equity mutual funds. From 1985 to 1996, he was vice president of institutional equities at Credit Suisse First Boston. From 1983 to 1985, he worked at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, Institutional Equities. Fraser received a B.S.B.A in economics from Bowling Green State University in 1981 and an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University in 1983.

Paul Galat is a research analyst at William Blair Investment Management. In this role, he focuses on U.S. mid-cap industrials companies. Before joining the firm as a research analyst in 2019, he was the managing partner and founder of PDG Capital for three years. Before that, he was a managing director at Advisory Research, Inc. for four years. Paul received a B.S. in finance (with an emphasis on accounting) from Miami University and an M.B.A. (with an emphasis on finance) from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Jeffrey Germain, CFA, is director of the investments group at Brandes Investment Partners. In this role, he has analyst responsibilities on the basic materials research team and is a member of the international large-cap investment committee. He joined Brandes Investment Partners in 2001 and is a limited partner of the firm’s parent company. Previously, he was a financial analyst with Harcourt and CFO of Golf Destinations. Germain received a B.S.B.A. with a concentration in finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Phil is a global generalist equity analyst at Brandywine Global. Prior to joining Brandywine in 2024, he worked as a consumer sector analyst at Morningstar (2014-2024) in the Netherlands, before being promoted to regional Director of Equity Research in Japan and then Hong Kong. Prior to that, he was an investment analyst at Federated Investors, Inc. (2011-2013), and an equity analyst at Morningstar, Inc. (2008-2011). Phil earned an M.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and his B.A. in Business Economics from The University of Sunderland. He is a CFA charterholder and earned the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) charter.

Dennis C. Greenway II, CFA, is a senior analyst and portfolio manager on the Franklin Street Partners equity team. Before joining Franklin Street Partners in 2015, he gained extensive investment experience in research and portfolio management positions with Belltower Advisors, Proxima Alfa Investments, PENN Capital Management, and Wachovia Securities. Greenway is a CFA® charterholder. he received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999 and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2006.

Ms. Harsono is a Portfolio Manager of Putnam’s US Small Cap Growth Equity strategy. She joined Putnam in 2015 and has been in the investment industry since 2011. Previously at Putnam, Ms. Harsono served as an Analyst, responsible for conducting fundamental analysis, developing insights on material sustainability issues, assessing company valuations, and making buy/sell recommendations for small-cap companies across all sectors. Earlier, Ms. Harsono was as an Associate and a Sector Specialist, covering the global consumer sector. Prior to joining Putnam, she was an Institutional Equity Sales Associate at Sanford Bernstein from 2011 to 2015. Ms. Harsono earned a B.A. from Columbia University, and is originally from Vancouver, Canada.

Dane serves as a corporate credit senior research associate for Diamond Hill and joined the firm in 2021. Prior to joining Diamond Hill, Dane was a Senior Analyst, Commercial Card Portfolio Management for KeyCorp from 2019 to 2021. From 2018 to 2019, Dane was an Analyst, Enterprise Commercial Payments for KeyCorp.

Dane has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Ohio University and is a and is a Level II Candidate in the CFA Program.

Drew Johnson is an equity research analyst for Thornburg Investment Management. He joined Thornburg in 2022. Prior to Thornburg, Drew worked as an investment management consultant for FactSet Research Systems. He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, with a concentration in capital markets and investments. He received his BA in finance from the Love School of Business at Elon University. He is also an Alpha Challenge Alumni, finishing 2^nd and 3^rd in the 2020 competition.

Garrett Jones runs Orchard Brook Capital, a private investment fund with a short bias.  Prior to Orchard Brook, he spent nine years as an analyst at Greenlight Capital reporting to founder David Einhorn.  Earlier in his career, Garrett worked at Nicusa Capital, a L/S fund focused on micro-cap activism and shorting fraud, and in the Dallas and Dubai offices of the management consulting firm Booz & Company.  He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Dartmouth College.

Jim Jones, CFA, partner, is a portfolio manager on William Blair’s Mid Cap Growth and Small-Mid Cap Growth strategies. Previously, he was a research analyst focused on U.S. small-cap industrials companies for the U.S. growth equity team beginning in 2010 and also served as the team’s co-director of research from 2017 to 2019. Before joining William Blair in 2010, Jim was an investment analyst at Federated Investors. Before that, he was a research analyst at Credit Suisse and an associate at Ashton Partners. Jim has the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago. Jim received a B.S. in accounting from Miami University and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina.

Ellyn V. Korzun is an investment management leader with significant experience in: investment performance; bond portfolio construction and management; investment strategy communications and thought leadership; and recruiting and talent development. At TIAA, she led a top-performing team investment team that delivered consistent track records of outperformance for $5+ billion in fixed income assets across multiple strategies during varied market environments. As Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Investment Management Group, she oversaw all investment-related activities and support functions; guided risk management as well as human capital considerations. She participated in TIAA’s Emerging Leaders Program for top enterprise talent, and was nominated as an inclusive leader.

Previously, Ellyn advised clients within Goldman Sachs’ Investment Management Division, including constructing and managing fixed income separate accounts for its Private Wealth  Management clientele.  As a Recruiting co-captain, she contributed meaningfully to hiring efforts over a decade.  Other prior roles included institutional fixed income sales at Credit Suisse First Boston and Chemical Securities.

She graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with an AB in Economics and Spanish and obtained an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School.

Ellyn also formerly served as an Advisor in Residence at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, focused on career coaching, and participated in its AIM board.

Philip Kriger is a director at Liberty Mutual Investments (LMI), the investment arm of Liberty Mutual Insurance, with more than $90 billion in assets under management. He works with Liberty Mutual Investment’s global fixed-income research platform, analyzing and investing in healthcare and technology companies across the capital structure and in public and private markets. Kriger received a B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A., with a concentration in investment management, from University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Abhishek Kumar is an investment analyst and head of ESG at Hunter Capital Management. He began his career a decade ago as an ESG analyst at MSCI. Since then, Kumar’s experience has spanned ESG-driven fundamental investing, advisory, and operating roles at Arisaig Partners, Oberweis Asset Management, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper. He received a B.A. in physics and economics from Bates College and his M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Connor Leonard serves as president and board member of Arbour National, an insurance holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that is dedicated to the long-term ownership of specialty P&C carriers. Before forming Arbour National, Leonard was a development lead and shareholder at Investors Management Corporation (IMC), focusing on new acquisitions while also working closely with IMC operating companies such as Golden Corral and Hart Lumber. From 2016 to 2018, Leonard was the public securities manager at IMC, where he invested a dedicated public market portfolio utilizing a long-term, business owner mentality. He has guest lectured on investing at Google, Santangel’s Investor Forum, the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School, and on the “Invest Like the Best” podcast. Leonard received a B.S. in business administration, with a concentration in finance, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Serves as an Investment Strategy Analyst on the Asset Allocation Team at ISG. He played a pivotal role in helping FAS launch the All-Passive Dynamic ETF Model Portfolio, which attracted $1 Billion in AUM within its first year. Additionally, he was instrumental in developing the prototype for the VPCP platform, a groundbreaking initiative set to transform how Vanguard delivers advice to clients across various divisions, including IIG, FAS, and PRD. His recent research on “Personalized Inflation-Hedging Strategies” has been published in the Journal of Portfolio Management. Coming from a Corporate and Municipal bond trading background, Cheng began his career at Vanguard in 2020 through the MBA Development Program, where he gained diverse experience through rotations in the Fixed Income Group (FIG), Quantitative Equity Group (QEG), and Investment Strategy Group (ISG).

Joyce Lin is Senior Vice President, Co-Director of Equity Research for Franklin Equity Group. Ms. Lin is a portfolio manager on the Franklin Growth Fund and related portfolios. Her equity research responsibilities focus on companies in the industrials industry. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton Investments in 2014, Ms. Lin was a research associate at Cooke & Bieler. Her prior experience includes research in the telecommunications, midstream oil and gas, life science tools, and
technology industries. Ms. Lin earned her B.A. in government and psychology from Harvard University, an M.B.A. in economics, finance, and international business from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

Jonathon Luft is the Managing Director at Eagle Capital Partners in New York City. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School teaching Applied Value Investing. Jonathon received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Joe Maguire, CFA, has been with Penn Capital since 2005. As director of research, he is responsible for guiding the firm’s day-to-day global investment research process. He chairs the equity risk committee and serves as a senior portfolio manager for Penn Capital’s Small to Mid-Cap Equity strategy and Convertible strategy. Before joining Penn Capital, Maguire was a senior audit associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and conducted private equity research for AMS Inc. He received a B.B.A. in accounting from The College of William & Mary and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Scott Marolf is a Vice President, Portfolio Manager & Senior Investment Analyst for American Century Investments. In this role, Scott co-manages the U.S. Large Cap Growth and Sustainable Growth strategies, and provides fundamental equity research and analysis for the information technology and communication services sectors. Previously, Scott provided fundamental equity research and analysis for the U.S. Opportunistic Mid Cap Growth and U.S. All Cap Growth strategies.

Before joining American Century Investments in 2008, he worked as a senior auditor at Americo Life & Annuity and as an auditor at Sprint Corporation. Scott has worked in the industry since 2003. He received bachelor’s degrees in business administration and Spanish from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and an M.B.A. from Indiana University.

Michael Mazza is the chief operating officer of the Artisan Partners Credit Team. In this role, he is responsible for supporting the team’s investment process, technology, and data. Additionally, he will assist with managing broker-dealer relationships, team resourcing, and talent onboarding and development. Prior to joining the Credit team in September 2021, Mr. Mazza was a director in the Trade Operations group at Artisan Partners and oversaw middle office functions for the firm’s credit and alternative strategies. Before that, Mr. Mazza worked at Brandes Investment Partners where he managed fixed income operations. Earlier in his career, he was a senior vice president of investment operations at Zurich Investment Services Limited. Mr. Mazza holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Fordham University.

Antoine McIntosh serves as a senior research assistant for Diamond Hill and joined the firm in 2022.

Prior to joining Diamond Hill, Antoine was an Equity Research Analyst for Sterling Capital Management from 2014 to 2022. He also served in a number of positions for SEI Investments from 2010 to 2014.

Antoine has a Bachelor of Science, Economics from Susquehanna University.

Nathan Mendes, CFA, is a research analyst on the U.S. growth and core equity team at William Blair Investment Management. In this role, he focuses on large-cap core and value stocks across sectors. Before joining William Blair in 2022, Nathan worked at Balyasny, from 2021 to 2022, and Citadel, from 2011 to 2020, where he managed a factor neutral, long-short equity portfolio in the industrials sector at both firms. Before these roles, Nathan worked at Stephens, where he covered specialty retail for two years, and at RBC Global Asset Management, where he covered a small-cap portfolio for two years. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society Chicago. Nathan received a B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Matt Mildenberg is a Vice President at Axum and is primarily involved in sourcing, underwriting, deal execution and portfolio management at the firm.  Prior to joining Axum, Matt worked as a Senior Associate for Five Points Capital, where he assisted with lower middle market private equity and private credit investing in a range of industries. He previously worked as a Credit Analyst for Bank of America in its Leverage Finance group, where he assisted with underwriting large corporate loans for leverage buyouts, M&A and other debt financings in a range of industries. Outside of work, Matt enjoys travel, playing the piano, running and cycling. He raises money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and takes part in annual 100-mile Ride to Cure cycling events across the US.  Matt received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating in Finance, and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler School at the University of North Carolina, concentrating in Capital Markets and Investments. Matt is a CFA Charter holder.

Bill Monroe is the portfolio manager of the Putnam Small Cap Growth Fund. Previously at Putnam, he was an analyst in the equity research group, responsible for conducting fundamental analysis and valuation of small- and midcap companies in the industrials sector and making buy/ sell recommendations. Monroe joined Putnam in 2012 and has worked in the investment industry since 1996. Previously, he was a senior investment analyst at Federated Investors, an investment analyst at American Century Investment Management, an interdepartmental analyst at Ariel Capital Management, an investment analyst at Mercer Investment Consulting, and a fund accountant at Bisys Investment Services. He received a B.A. in finance from Miami University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Alexander Moore is the founder and chief investment officer of XM Capital Partners (XMCP), an investment management firm that specializes in concentrated single-asset investments in public and private equity. Since inception, XMCP has delivered substantial and uncorrelated returns through its public equity investments in Renewable Energy Group, Bunge Ltd., and ChampionX. Through its private equity vehicle, XMCP is a substantial investor in North American Helium (“NAH”). Moore is also a co-founder of XM Solar Finance (XMSF), a utility-scale solar development company. XMSF has been a partner in solar development projects in Texas and Puerto Rico and has a multi-billion-dollar pipeline of development projects in the mainland United States and Puerto Rico. Before founding XMCP and XMSF, Moore was a portfolio manager at Carlson Capital, where he gained over 15 years of direct investment management and event-driven expertise as a sector specialist in agriculture, renewable energy, chemicals, and niche commodities, with a specific focus in biodiesel, ethanol, RNG, and regenerative agriculture. Before that, Moore was an analyst at Brookline Avenue Partners, a multi-strategy hedge fund specializing in merger arbitrage, from 2006 to 2009. He began his career as a vice president in the Latin American research group at J.P. Morgan from 1999 to 2003. Moore received a B.A. in economics and Spanish from the University of the South and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Jack is a native of Greensboro, NC, and a lifelong Tar Heel. He holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (2011), as well as a Masters of Accounting from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (2013). Jack joined Anchor Capital in 2019 as an Associate before becoming a Portfolio Manager in 2024. Prior to joining Anchor Capital, Jack was an Assurance Manager for PwC, serving a wide variety of Financial Services clients in the Atlanta office and Healthcare and Life Sciences clients in the Raleigh office.

Jay Moore is Vice President of Timucuan Asset Management in Jacksonville, Florida.  As a principal of the Firm he is involved in all phases of a research effort and investment process focused on investing in a limited number of long equity positions.  Prior to joining Timucuan in 2005, he served as a Vice President in Marsh & McLennan’s Risk & Insurance Practice.

A CFA charterholder, Mr. Moore received an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.A. in English, with Honors, from the University of Florida.

Win Murray is director of research for Diamond Hill and joined the firm in 2022.

Prior to joining Diamond Hill, Winserved in a variety of roles at Harris Associates from 2003 to 2021, including director of U.S. research, co-portfolio manager of the Oakmark Select Fund, and research analyst.

From 1999 to 2003, Win was an equity analyst for Colonial Management/Fleet Bank, a senior portfolio manager at ASB Capital Management from 1997 to 1999, and an equity analyst at Federated Investors from 1996 to 1997.

Murray has a Backelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University.

Kevin Nicholson, CFA, is the chief investment officer of Boardage Partners. He has more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, 12 of them focused exclusively on basic materials, mining, and metals. In 2013, Nicholson founded Boardage Capital Management, an investment management firm focused on investing in the basic materials sector. Boardage uses fundamental research to identify investment themes both long and short to generate consistent returns through any market cycle. Nicholson leads the investment process and is responsible for managing all the firm’s assets. Before launching Boardage, Nicholson was a founding principal at Belltower Advisors, a long/short equity hedge fund that invested across the energy, materials, and mining sectors. Nicholson spent three years at Belltower, where he helped launch the fund and guide its growth to $600 million in peak assets. He oversaw the mining and metals portion of the portfolio. Before joining Belltower, Nicholson worked as an analyst with Proxima Alfa Investments, where he focused on the metals and mining industries. Previously, Nicholson was a portfolio manager at City National Asset Management, where he managed large-cap equity strategy and portfolios for foundations, pensions, and high-net-worth individuals. Nicholson began his career at Northwestern Trust and Investors Advisory, where he managed large-cap growth equities and fixed-income strategies. Nicholson is a CFA® charterholder. He received a B.A. in business from the University of Puget Sound and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business.

Konstantin Nikolaev is an Analyst on Vanguard’s High Yield Credit Research team where he covers Airlines, and Capital Goods sectors including Building Materials, Construction Machinery, and Diversified Manufacturing. Konstantin joined Vanguard in 2015 and previously held roles on the Investment Grade and Structured Finance credit research teams. Prior to joining Vanguard, Konstantin received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He holds a BA in Architecture from Yale University, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ted earned his undergraduate degree in Economics and Philosophy from Colgate University, graduating cum laude with honors. He served as a U.S. diplomat in Cuba and Guatemala prior to receiving his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1999. He then joined Cambiar Investors in Denver, Colorado where he worked for three years before joining Cooke & Bieler in 2002.

Nate Palmer is a Portfolio Manager of the Diamond Hill Long-Short Fund.  Nate joined Diamond Hill in 2009 and covered software and IT services companies as an Analyst. He also built and ran the firm’s technology sector team from 2012 to 2020.

Prior to joining Diamond Hill, he was a Tax Consultant with Deloitte from 2008 to 2009.

Nate has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from The Ohio State University (summa cum laude, with honors) and a Master of Accounting from The Ohio State University (with distinction).

Chris serves as President & Chief Investment Officer of Broyhill Asset Management. He leads the firm’s research and investment process, focused on idea generation, investment strategy, and portfolio construction.

Chris has over two decades of investing experience, beginning his career at JPMorgan where his work straddled JPMorgan Investment Management and JPMorgan Private Bank. In 2005, Chris joined the Broyhill Family focusing on managing the family’s equity exposure and asset allocation until 2022, when he became President and CIO of Broyhill Asset Management.

Chris received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from Penn State University. He is a CFA Charterholder, past President of the Board of the CFA Institute’s North Carolina Society, and current member of the CFA North Carolina Society Strategic Advisory Board.

Portfolio Manager/Research Analyst Fidelity Investments Clayton Pfannenstiel is a portfolio manager and research analyst in the Equity division at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

In this role, Mr. Pfannenstiel co-manages the Fidelity Select Aerospace and Defense Fund and covers the aerospace and defense industries.

Prior to assuming his current position in 2021, Mr. Pfannenstiel was a research analyst in Fidelity’s High Income and Alternatives division covering the airline, aerospace & defense, ground transports, maritime shipping, and packaging industries.

Before joining Fidelity in 2018, Mr. Pfannenstiel was a summer intern at Artisan Partners covering transports. He also served as a research associate at both Sirios Capital Management covering capital goods and Credit Suisse covering payment processors and IT services. Prior to that he worked at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch as a junior research analyst covering payment processors and IT Services. He has been in the financial industry since 2009.

Ms. Pieroni joined Yacktman in November 2022 as Partner and President. Prior to Yacktman, Molly founded MC2 Institute, an executive advisory firm serving major technology, industrial, financial services and business services companies. Prior to MC2, she served on the leadership team of Highside Capital, a $5B global equity long short hedge fund based in Dallas and New York. Before joining Highside, Molly was a co-founder of JatoTech Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in Texas and California. JatoTech’s portfolio companies were acquired by Broadcom, Silicon Labs, Intel and Qualcomm. Prior to JatoTech, Molly was a Principal at Boston Consulting Group, and she was part of the initial team that established the Dallas office for the firm. Molly began her career as an investment banking analyst in New York. Molly holds a BBA from William and Mary and an MBA from Harvard.

David Rowlett is the portfolio manager for the US Impact Equity Strategy. David’s has been with T. Rowe Price since 2008, beginning as an equity analyst covering multi-industrial companies, followed by over 10-years as portfolio manager on US Growth and Core strategies. Prior to joining T. Rowe Price, David worked in NYC first as an Investment Banker in the Financial Institutions Group at Merrill Lynch, before joining Neuberger Berman as an equity analyst, and all-cap Core portfolio manager.

Mr. Rudisill is a senior investment professional with over 25 years institutional investment management and capital markets experience.  Currently, the Managing Member of Spartan Capital Management, LLC, a Charlotte, NC based registered investment firm, Mr. Rudisill has managed long and long/short equity portfolios for several global investment firms and hedge funds.  Mr. Rudisill graduated from UNC-CH, with a bachelors degree in 1991 and received his MBA from the Owen School at Vanderbilt in 1995.

Susan Schmidt has over 20 years of experience in the asset management industry and throughout her career has been an active investor in small- and mid-cap companies, acting as portfolio manager and research analyst. Most recently she was Head of Public Equities at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, and her prior positions include leading the US equities business for both Aviva Investors and Mesirow Financial. Ms. Schmidt received an MBA in finance from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University,  a BA in economics from Smith College, and a degree in economic history from London School of Economics.  She is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA  Society of Chicago.

William E. Schramm, CFA, is a member of the credit team at MetLife Investment Management, focusing on municipal bonds. Before joining the firm, he was a foreign exchange trader in Ford Motor Company’s derivatives execution group. Schramm also spent over four years as a fixed-income analyst in the portfolio management group at RBC Global Asset Management, performing credit research and trading money market, corporate, government, and municipal securities. He began his career as an investment accountant at Thrivent Financial, where he supported the private equity and fixed income groups. Schramm is a CFA® charterholder. He received a B.S. in finance and a B.A. in economics from St. Cloud State University and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Schramm also serves on the Advisory Council for the School of Public Affairs at St. Cloud State University, and on the Foundation Board at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School.

Prior to founding Choice Equities Capital Management (CECM), Mitchell spent five years at KDI, a Barron’s 2015 top 100 hedge fund where he was an analyst and portfolio manager of FDS. Previously, he was a junior partner at Anchor Capital, a private investment management company focused on small to micro cap US equities. Mitchell graduated cum laude from Clemson University in 2003 and earned his MBA from the University of North Carolina in 2008. Mitchell has nine years of investment experience with primary areas of focus in small caps and distribution companies across various consumer and industrial verticals.

Renée Scott, CFA, is a research analyst at William Blair Investment Management. In this role, she focuses on U.S. mid-cap healthcare companies. Previously, she was an equity research associate on the U.S. growth & core equity team. Before joining William Blair in 2022, Renée was an investment analyst at Meketa Investment Group, a senior transaction advisory consultant at Kaufman Rossin, and an analyst at Rialto Capital Management. She is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society Chicago.

Lamar Small is an Investment Director at UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, leading portfolio strategy, portfolio management and investment selection for the Trust’s Private Credit portfolio as Asset Class Head, totaling approximately $8.5B in commitments.

Prior to UAW RMBT, Lamar was a Senior Hedge Fund Researcher at Mercer where he performed investment due diligence on hedge fund managers for potential inclusion into the firm’s multi-billion dollar direct portfolio. Before Mercer, he was a Quantitative Modeling Associate at Credit Risk Management where he created proprietary quantitative models for financial institutions and was an Analyst at NCM Capital where he performed equity research on the Industrials sector. Additionally, Lamar has three years of combined international experience living in Japan and Brazil and six years of engineering experience in the automotive industry.

Lamar has an MBA in Investment Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky with a minor in Japanese Studies. He is highly proficient in both Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese and is both a CFA Charterholder and a CAIA Charterholder.

Trey Snow, CFA, is the director of research and senior research analyst at The London Company, a long-only equity manager in Richmond, Virginia. In this role, he coordinates the firm’s research activities and manages the analyst team. Previously, he was a senior equity analyst for the Teachers and Employees Retirement System of Georgia, where he helped manage multiple domestic and international equity portfolios. Snow has worked in buy-side, sell-side, and hedge-fund roles as an equity analyst at IronOak Advisors (Ridgeworth Capital Management), Priority Capital Management, BB&T Capital Markets, and Mentor Investment Group. Snow began his investment career in 1995 as an analyst at the Virginia Tech Foundation. He is a CFA® charterholder and an active member of the CFA Society of Richmond. Snow received a B.S. in finance and an M.B.A. with a finance concentration, both from Virginia Tech.

Adam Sues is a partner and portfolio manager of the AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund at Yacktman Asset Management; he also co-manages the AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Fund, and AMG Yacktman Global Fund. Before joining Yacktman Asset Management in 2013, he founded and authored “Value Uncovered,” an investment website focused on value-oriented stock research and fundamental analysis. Sues received a B.A. in business administration from Mount Union College and an M.B.A from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Paul Tommerdahl, CFA, is the Director of High Yield Research at Thrivent, as well as a Senior Portfolio Manager.  He joined Thrivent in 2016 after nearly a decade in investment roles including private and public corporate debt at Securian.  He received a BA from Bethel University and an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He serves as the Chair of the Investment Committee for the Bethel University Foundation, as the Treasurer for Middle Ground Haiti, and the Treasurer for United Christian Academy.

Serena Perin Vinton is a senior vice president and portfolio manager with Franklin Equity Group and portfolio manager of Franklin Growth Fund and Franklin Select U.S. Equity strategies.

Ms. Perin Vinton joined Franklin Templeton Investments in 1991. She served as an analyst and portfolio manager in the international fixed-income group for four years, before joining the Franklin Equity Group in 1995. Her prior equity research responsibilities include analysis of the consumer products and household goods, specialty retail, apparel/footwear/textiles, paper and forest products, building materials and steel industries.

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Ms. Perin Vinton worked as a research assistant for a British member of Parliament in London.

Ms. Perin Vinton earned her B.A. in business economics from Brown University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute. Ms. Perin Vinton is a Trustee of the Scholarship Fund for the University Club of Palo Alto and serves on the Phillips Academy Andover Development Board. Ms. Perin Vinton was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times’ as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business for 2015.

Peter Wahlstrom is Managing Director, Investment Research at Front Barnett, A Mesirow Company and serves as a member of the Front Barnett Investment Committee. He joined Front Barnett in 2016 from Morningstar where he spent six years as a senior analyst, sector director, and a member of the firm’s Economic Moat committee, a group of senior members of the equity research team responsible for reviewing all Economic Moat and Moat Trend ratings issued by Morningstar. In 2012, Wahlstrom ranked third in the “Specialty Retail” industry in the StarMine Analyst Awards, presented by the Financial Times. Prior to joining Morningstar, Wahlstrom worked in the global investment research divisions of Goldman Sachs and RiverSource Investments (Ameriprise Financial).

Wahlstrom holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He is a board member of the Indiana University Reese Fund and Chiavacci Value Fund, and has been a guest MBA lecturer at Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame.

Bill earned his undergraduate degrees in Finance and English from Villanova University. He then worked at Cooke & Bieler for six years before receiving his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. While at Booth, Bill interned at T. Rowe Price Associates as an equity research analyst. He returned to Cooke & Bieler following his graduation in 2010.

Ben joined Anchor Capital full-time as an Associate in 2024 upon completion of his MBA program at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he was the recipient of a Tiger MBA Fellowship, having served as a summer intern and part-time Associate since 2023. His prior work experience includes roles as a financial analyst for Syneos Health and an account coordinator for Sealed Air Corporation. He holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science, with minors in Economics and Finance, from Guilford College.

Jessica A. Wilson, CFA, is a research associate at The London Company. Before joining the firm, she was an intern at Bank of America Merrill Lynch within their sales and trading division. She has three years of investment experience. Wilson is a CFA charterholder. She received a B.S.B.A. in economics and a B.A. in Italian studies, with honors, from the University of Richmond. There, Wilson was a member of the Student Managed Investment Fund, where the team managed a portion of the University’s endowment across two strategies.

Wiley has been a member of Chilton Investment Company’s Equity Research team for nine years. Previously, he was an Associate at HarbourVest Partners and an Investment Banking Analyst at Needham & Co. Wiley graduated from Harvard College in 2012 with a A.B. in Economics.

Shannon Wulff is a research associate at William Blair Investment Management on the U.S. growth & core equity team. In this role, she is a generalist for U.S. small and mid-cap companies. She holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, with a concentration in capital markets and investments. She received a BS in accounting and finance at Wofford College. She is also an Alpha Challenge Alumni, finishing 1st in the 2022 competition.

Dan Zoellick is an equity research analyst focusing on the healthcare and consumer sectors.  His research supports the investment decision making for a range of portfolios managed for clients at the firm.  Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2020, Dan completed an MBA internship at Apollo Global Management in the Private Equity Group. Before that, he served as a Navy SEAL Officer in a variety of leadership roles (2009 – 2018). Dan earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton, 2020), and his BS in political science from the United States Naval Academy (2009).