Robert Jackson

Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Robert J. Jackson Jr. was appointed by President Donald Trump to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was sworn in on January 11, 2018.

Commissioner Jackson has extensive experience as a legal scholar, policy professional, and corporate lawyer. He comes to the SEC from NYU School of Law, where he is a Professor of Law. Previously, he was Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and Director of its Program on Corporate Law and Policy. Commissioner Jackson’s academic work has focused on corporate governance and the use of advanced data science techniques to improve transparency in securities markets. He was the founding director of Columbia Law School’s Data Lab, which used cutting-edge technology to study the reliability of corporate disclosures. Commissioner Jackson has written more than 20 articles in the nation’s most prestigious legal and economics journals. His published work includes a study shining light on trading activity before the announcement of major corporate events, the first study of the effect of mandatory disclosure required by the JOBS Act on trading by individual investors, and the first comprehensive study of CEO pay in firms owned by private equity. In 2012, Columbia Law School students honored Commissioner Jackson with the Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He has testified on his scholarship before the U.S. Senate, and his work was previously the subject of rulemaking commentary before federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve and the SEC.

Before joining the Columbia Law School faculty in 2010, Commissioner Jackson served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Treasury, working with Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. In this role, he oversaw the development of policies designed to give shareholders a say on pay, improve the disclosure of executive bonuses, and encourage TARP recipients to more closely tie pay to performance. Earlier in his career, Commissioner Jackson practiced law in the executive compensation department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Commissioner Jackson holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business, a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He was born in the Bronx, New York, and is a lifelong Yankees fan.

Darrell Issa

Director-Nominee, United States Trade and Development Agency

Darrell Edward Issa is an American businessman and Republican politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2019, representing districts primarily covering north San Diego County, California. From January 2011 to January 2015, he served as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Issa served as CEO of Directed Electronics, which he co-founded in 1982. It is currently one of the largest makers of automobile aftermarket security and convenience products in the United States. Sporting a net worth of approximately 250 million dollars, Issa during his tenure was the wealthiest serving member of Congress.

On September 19, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Issa to be Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency.

Dana Hollinger

Board Member, CalPERS

Ms. Hollinger has 30 years of sector expertise in finance, insurance and healthcare. In finance, specifically in managing to a liability that is actuarially based. She has held senior executive positions in the insurance industry.

Ms. Hollinger was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to represent the insurance industry chair for the state of California on the Board of CalPERS and is serving her second term.

CalPERS invests and administers pensions for 1.9 million people and oversees a global investment portfolio of 350 billion dollars allocated to public and private equity, real assets and fixed income. CalPERS administers the second largest health system in the United States providing benefits to 1.3 million members.

Ms. Hollinger serves on the Investment Committee for the largest asset owner in the United States. One of the 10th largest asset owners in the world including Sovereign Wealth Funds. She was elected Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee which oversees system soundness, enterprise risk management, internal and external audits, privacy and information security, ethics, compliance and other independent reassurance activities. Additionally she currently Vice Chairs both the Governance and Performance and Compensation Committees.

Ms. Hollinger has thematic expertise in risk and audit, governance and executive compensation. Ms. Hollinger is serving her second term on the Board of International Corporate Governance Network. Led by investors responsible for assets under management in excess of US$34 trillion, the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) is a leading authority on global standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship. ICGN’s membership is based in more than 45 countries and includes companies, advisors and other stakeholders.

ICGN’s mission is to promote high standards of professionalism in governance for investors and companies alike in their mutual pursuit of long-term value creation contributing to sustainable economies world-wide.

Ms. Hollinger is a partner in ABG a global consulting investment advisory firm.

Josh Hoffman

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Zymergen

Josh is the CEO and cofounder of Zymergen. Prior to Zymergen, he was a Partner at Norcob Capital and before that a Managing Director in Merchant Banking at Rothschild, where he was a member of the Management Committee. He began his career at McKinsey & Company where he served industrial and technology clients on matters of strategy, operations and organization. He holds a BA from University of California, Berkeley and an MA and MPPM from Yale University.

Chris Hentemann

Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, 400 Capital

Chris founded 400CM in October 2008 and heads the Firm’s Investment and Operating Committees. Prior to 400CM, Chris was the Head of Global Structured Products at Banc of America Securities (“BAS”) where he led the strategy for lending, securitization, trading, sales, research and investment management of residential and commercial mortgage, asset-backed, CLO, tax and credit derivatives. Prior to joining BAS, Chris spent two years as at Salomon Brothers Inc. as a Vice President and senior trader in residential mortgage securities, CMO’s and derivatives. Chris began his career at CS First Boston where he was responsible for trading and structuring residential mortgage securities, CMO’s and derivatives. Chris serves on the Board of Directors for Renovate America, a private clean energy finance and technology company based in San Diego and chairs the Audit Committee, as well as the Board of Directors for InterNex Capital, a digital asset-based lender located New York City which provides working capital financing to small and medium sized businesses. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Boston College Wall Street Council and the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation. Chris graduated from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.

Keith Haydon

Chief Investment Officer, Man Solutions

Keith Haydon is Chief Investment Officer of Man Solutions and Chairman of Man FRM. He is also a member of the Man Group Executive Committee.

Before joining Man FRM in 2004, Keith held positions as a multi-asset macro proprietary trader at Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Deutsche Bank.

Keith holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Cambridge.

Mance Harmon

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Hedera Hashgraph

Mance is an experienced technology executive and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of strategic leadership experience in multi-national corporations, government agencies, and high-tech startups, and is Co-Founder and CEO of Hedera. His prior experience includes serving as the Head of Architecture and Labs at Ping Identity, Founder and CEO of two tech startups, the senior executive for product security at a $1.7B revenue organization, Program Manager for a very-large scale software program for the Missile Defense Agency, the Course Director for Cybersecurity at the US Air Force Academy, and research scientist in Machine Learning at Wright Laboratory. Mance received a MS in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts and a BS in Computer Science from Mississippi State University.

Bob Hariri, M.D., Ph.D

Chairman, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Celularity

Dr. Bob Hariri is an accomplished surgeon, biomedical scientist, high performance aviator and serial entrepreneur in two technology sectors, biomedicine and aerospace. He is the chairman, founder, and chief executive officer of Celularity, Inc., one of the world's leading human cellular therapeutics companies. Dr. Hariri was the founder and CEO of Anthrogenesis Corporation, and after its acquisition by Celgene Corporation, served as CEO of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics. Dr. Hariri also co-founded the genomic-based health intelligence company, Human Longevity, Inc.

Dr. Hariri pioneered the use of stem cells to treat a range of life-threatening human diseases, and continues today to make transformative contributions in the fields of immuno-oncology and cell therapeutics along with tissue engineering and functional regeneration. He is widely acknowledged for his discovery of pluripotent stem cells and novel immune cells derived from the human placenta, and as a member of the team that discovered the physiological activities of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). He holds over 170 issued and pending patents for discoveries including placenta-derived stem cells, which Nature recognized as one of the ten most important patent estates in the field. He has authored over 200 published chapters, articles, and abstracts.

Dr. Hariri twice received the Thomas Alva Edison Award for technological innovation, in 2007 and 2011, and is a recipient of the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation’s Fred J. Epstein Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Hariri was awarded the 2018 Pontifical Key Innovation Award by Pope Francis. Over the years, he has received numerous honors for his many contributions to the fields of biomedicine and aviation.

Dr. Hariri is an adjunct associate professor of pathology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is a former member of the board of visitors of the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Science & Technology Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is a member of the X PRIZE Foundation scientific advisory board for the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics. Dr. Hariri is a trustee and vice-chair of the Liberty Science Center. In 2010 he was appointed a Commissioner of Cancer Research by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Dr. Hariri serves on numerous public company and private foundation boards.

Dr. Hariri completed his undergraduate training at Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Columbia College. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University, where he was the recipient of both the Julian R. Rachele Award and the Doctoral Dissertation Award. He received his surgical and neurosurgical training at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center where he specialized in traumatic brain injury. Dr. Hariri is a member of the Association of Military Surgeons and an expert in battlefield medicine.

When he is not in the laboratory or the corporate boardroom, Dr. Hariri is a jet-rated commercial pilot with thousands of hours of flight time in over 60 different military and civilian aircraft. He has also produced several feature films, as well as documentaries on global societal issues.

Ivelina Green

Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Pearlstone Alternative

Ivelina Green is the Founder and CIO of Pearlstone Alternative, a London-based credit asset manager focused on special situations and distressed investing. Pearlstone seeks idiosyncratic opportunities with high execution complexity in companies which come under cyclical and structural pressure.

Prior to launching Pearlstone, Ivelina was a Partner at CQS, where she headed the Global Special Situations Group. In this capacity, Ivelina was a senior portfolio manager and built a global team of dedicated special situations analysts based in London, New York and Hong Kong.

Prior to CQS, Ivelina was a Head of European Distressed Trading and Investing at Goldman Sachs in London. She started her career at Goldman Sachs in 2004 in New York.

Ivelina has been actively involved in various female leadership and mentoring initiatives seeking to promote women in finance throughout her career at Goldman Sachs and later at CQS and Pearlstone. She was named to the Hedge Fund Journal’s Leading Women in Hedge Funds in 2018. Ivelina was recently named to the HFJ’s Global Report of Leading Portfolio Managers for 2021.

James Grant

Founder & Editor, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer

James Grant, financial journalist and historian, is the founder and editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, a twice-monthly journal of the investment markets. His book, The Forgotten Depression, 1921: the Crash that Cured Itself, a history of America’s last governmentally unmedicated business-cycle downturn, won the 2015 Hayek Prize of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. His new book, “Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian,” will be published in 2019.

Among his other books on finance and financial history are Bernard M. Baruch: The Adventures of a Wall Street Legend (Simon & Schuster, 1983), Money of the Mind (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992), Minding Mr. Market (Farrar, Straus, 1993), The Trouble with Prosperity (Times Books, 1996), and Mr. Market Miscalculates (Axios Press, 2008).

He is, in addition, the author of a pair of political biographies: John Adams: Party of One, a life of the second president of the United States (Farrar, Straus, 2005) and Mr. Speaker! The Life and Times of Thomas B. Reed, the Man Who Broke the Filibuster (Simon & Schuster, 2011).

Mr. Grant’s television appearances include “60 Minutes,” “The Charlie Rose Show,” “CBS Evening News,” and a 10-year stint on “Wall Street Week”. His journalism has appeared in a variety of periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs and The Claremont Review of Book. He contributed an essay to the Sixth Edition of Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis (McGraw-Hill, 2009).

Mr. Grant, a former Navy gunner's mate, is a Phi Beta Kappa alumnus of IndianaUniversity.He earned a master's degree in international relations from ColumbiaUniversity, began his career in journalism in 1972, at the Baltimore Sun, and joined the staff of Barron’s in 1975. He is a trustee of the New York Historical Society and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He and his wife, Patricia Kavanagh M.D., live in Brooklyn. They are the parents of four grown children.

Steve Glickman

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Develop

Steve Glickman is the Founder and CEO of Develop LLC, an advisory firm exclusively focused on building and supporting Opportunity Funds and the broader Opportunity Zones (OZ) marketplace. He is also the Co-Founder, and former CEO, of the Economic Innovation Group, the bipartisan organization that was the chief architect of the $6 trillion OZ program.

Steve previously served in the Obama Administration as a senior economic advisor at the National Security and National Economic Councils, where he managed international trade, investment, manufacturing and small business issues. He was also Chief of Staff for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. Prior to the Administration, Steve served in legal roles on Capitol Hill, as well as at the Justice Department and Democratic National Committee.

Steve received his B.A. and M.A. from Georgetown University, J.D. from Columbia Law School, and LL.M. from the London School of Economics. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown, and serves on the Board of The NewDEAL.

Steve’s work has been featured in the Atlantic, AP, Bisnow, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Impact Alpha, Inc., LA Times, Marketplace, NY Times, NPR, Politico, San Francisco Chronicle, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Vox, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

Michelle Girard

Co-Head of Global Economics, NatWest Markets

Michelle Girard is the Chief US Economist and a Managing Director for NatWest Markets (NWM). Overseeing the US Economics team, Michelle evaluates and identifies trends across all sectors of the US economy, utilizing econometric models to predict key economic indicators. She is responsible for developing forecasts for growth, inflation and interest rates, and monitoring Federal Reserve and Treasury actions. While coordinating and collaborating with economists and strategists in London and Singapore, Michelle provides synergistic analysis for NWM's global customer base and keeps the firm's sales and trading desks up-to-date on market moving developments. Michelle is a regular speaker and commentator on the US economic outlook on various print, radio, and television news media including CNBC, Fox Business Network, Bloomberg TV & Radio, and Yahoo! Finance.

Prior to joining NWM, Michelle held roles as Co-Head of the Fixed Income Strategy & Research Group at Prudential Securities, Chief Economist at Sanwa Securities (USA) and Economist with Bear Stearns. Michelle began her professional career as a Research Assistant for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC.

As a member of the US Management Committee, Michelle works with other senior leaders to set and implement business strategy in the region. She is also an Executive Sponsor for the NWM Women’s Network and has taken an active role in helping to create and strengthen the talent development offerings for women across the organization.

Michael Gifford

Supervisory Special Agent, FBI

A former US Army officer and combat veteran of Iraq, Mike began his FBI career in 2007 working National Security investigations with the New York Field Office. Following his move to Los Angeles in 2015, he joined the Press & Media section, specifically focusing on community outreach, Congressional liaison, and the recruitment value of long form media projects. A graduate of Union College, he's currently pursuing an MBA degree at Pepperdine University.

Ron S. Geffner

Founding Member, Executive Committee, Sadis & Goldberg

Ron S. Geffner is a founding member of the firm's Executive Committee and also oversees the Financial Services Group. He regularly structures, organizes and counsels private investment vehicles, investment advisory organizations, broker-dealers, commodity pool operators and other investment fiduciaries. Mr. Geffner also routinely counsels clients in connection with regulatory investigations and actions. His broad background with federal and state securities laws, and the rules, regulations and customary practices of the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Commodities Futures Trading Commission and various other regulatory bodies, enables him to provide strategic guidance to a diverse clientele. He provides legal services to hundreds of hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds organized in the United States and offshore.

Mr. Geffner began his legal career with the SEC, where he investigated and prosecuted violations of the federal securities laws with an emphasis on enforcement in connection with violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. He also assisted federal and state criminal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office, in their investigations of possible criminal violations of federal and state securities laws.

Prior to starting Sadis & Goldberg, Mr. Geffner was associated with two other New York City-based law firms, where he represented domestic and offshore private investment vehicles, as well as broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and registered investment companies.

He began his corporate legal career as in-house counsel in the Investment Management Industry Services Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he provided legal advice regarding investment advisers, registered investment companies and broker-dealers.

Mr. Geffner is often interviewed as a legal expert in the securities industry. He has appeared on Fox News, CBS Morning Show, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Squawk Box, Power Lunch and Closing Bell on CNBC, British Broadcasting Channel and Bloomberg Radio. He is regularly quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Barron's, Barron's Online, Reuters, Dow Jones, Financial Times, New York Newsday, London Daily News, TheStreet.com, Private Equity Week and other national and international publications.

Scott Gamm

Markets Reporter, Yahoo! Finance

Scott Gamm is a markets reporter for Yahoo Finance’s streaming video network, the Web’s largest business-news platform, with 75 million monthly visitors. Gamm provides stock market updates live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. 

Prior to joining Yahoo Finance, Gamm was a correspondent for TheStreet.com and hosted a live daily video segment with TheStreet’s founder and CNBC host, Jim Cramer, from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

As a journalist, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in business including billionaire investors Ray Dalio, Sam Zell, David Rubenstein and Ken Langone, along with politicians Carly Fiorina and Gov. John Kasich.

Gamm is a sought-after financial commentator and has appeared hundreds of times across outlets such as CBS News, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and others.

His first book, MORE MONEY, PLEASE: The Financial Secrets You’ve Never Learned in School, was released in 2013 by Plume/Penguin Random House.

He graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a degree in finance and marketing. 

Emanuel J. Friedman

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Chief Investment Officer, EJF Capital

Mr. Friedman co-founded EJF in 2005 following his retirement from Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (“FBR” ). Mr. Friedman is a founder and the former Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of FBR. Mr. Friedman has more than 40 years of capital markets and asset management experience. At FBR, Mr. Friedman designed and raised capital for numerous innovative property and mortgage REIT vehicles. Throughout the 1990s, Mr. Friedman was active in building out FBR’s alternative asset management platform. He was instrumental in the creation of hedge, private equity and venture capital funds at FBR, and maintains an extensive network of contacts within the CDO, hedge fund and private equity fund communities. In April 1998, Mr. Friedman was awarded the CEO of the Year Award by George Washington University. He was honored for his outstanding leadership skills, demonstrated ability to meet organizational goals in the most challenging business environments, dedication to the community, and commitment to education. Mr. Friedman began his career in the securities industry in 1973 at Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. He received his BA in Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from Georgetown University.

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

Editorial Director, InvestmentNews

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. is editorial director at InvestmentNews. He is an award-winning journalist who has served as both a reporter and editor for a number of financial publications over the past two decades. Mr. Gabriel has been recognized with numerous awards for his writing and reporting, including several by The Society of American Business Editors and Writers for his editorials and analyses of the financial services industry.

He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering with a concentration in Business Administration.

Matt Flannery

Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Branch International

Matt is the founder and CEO for Branch International, a leading machine learning-powered provider of fair financial services in emerging markets. Branch is one of the most popular financial apps in Africa and recently expanded to Latin America and Asia. Prior to launching Branch, Matt founded the ground-breaking microfinance non-profit Kiva.org, where he served as CEO for nearly a decade. Under his leadership, Kiva.org operated in 80 countries and lent more than $1B to low income entrepreneurs. Matt has been honored with The Economist “No Boundaries” Innovation Award and was named one of FORTUNE magazine’s “Top 40 under 40.”

Arnold Fisher

Senior Partner, Fisher Brothers

Arnold Fisher is Senior Partner at Fisher Brothers, a leader in NYC real estate. They constructed over 15 million square feet of space, such as 299 Park Avenue, 605 Third Avenue, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, Park Avenue Plaza, 50 Sutton Place South and more.

He was Chairman of the Fisher House Foundation until 2003. It has built 82 comfort homes for families of hospitalized military personnel and veterans on U.S. military bases around the country.

In 2000, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF), was created to provide financial support for spouses and children of fallen U.S service members. In 2007, IFHF constructed The Center for the Intrepid (CFI), a 65,000 square-foot, a state-of-the-art physical rehabilitation center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for military personnel with amputations and severe burns.

In 2010, IFHF built the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The 72,000 square foot facility treats service members suffering from the Invisible Wounds of War, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS).

IFHF built 7 “Intrepid Spirit Centers”, satellites of NICoE on home bases, with a success rate of 90%, returning service members to active duty or a normal lifestyle. IFHF will build 3 additional needed Centers.

In 2005, he was made an Honorary Knight of the British Empire recognizing his contribution to families of British Armed Forces personnel killed in action.

Jean-Yves Fillion

Chief Executive Officer, BNP Paribas; Chairman, CIB Americas

Jean-Yves Fillion is Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA, overseeing the bank’s wholesale and retail activities in the United States, and Chairman of Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) for the Americas.

Mr. Fillion has been with BNP Paribas for 33 years, 26 of which he has spent in the United States between Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. He serves on the Board of Directors of BNP Paribas USA and on the Boards of its subsidiaries: Bank of the West Corporation, BancWest Holdings and BNP Paribas US Wholesale Holdings, Corp. In line with the Bank’s worldwide commitment to tennis, Mr. Fillion is a member of the Board of Governors for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. A former member of the French National Sailing Team, he is also an active member of the New York Yacht Club and American Yacht Club.

Since joining the bank in 1984, Mr. Fillion has served the bank in a succession of executive positions. Previous to his current role, he served as CEO of CIB Americas, COO of BNP Paribas Fortis and Co-Head of BNP Paribas’ CIB European Platform. Previous to those roles, he spent the bulk of his career in the US as Head of Client Coverage in North America, Head of Structured Finance Americas, Head of Acquisition Finance and Head of Media & Telecom Finance.

Mr. Fillion received a Master’s degree from Dauphine University and his MBA from Hautes Études Commerciales in Paris. He also studied at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in Chicago.