Jimmy Dunne

Vice Chairman & Senior Managing Principal, Piper Sandler

Jimmy Dunne is vice chairman and senior managing principal of Piper Sandler. He was one of the founders of Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P., which was acquired by Piper Jaffray in January 2020. Under his leadership, Sandler O’Neill grew to become the largest independent full-service investment banking firm focused on the financial services sector.

Sandler was greatly affected by the events of September 11, 2001, when it lost 66 of its 171 employees in the World Trade Center attacks. In the aftermath, Dunne spearheaded the firm’s recovery process and rebuilt it into a market leader.

Dunne, based in the firm’s Palm Beach location, plays a very active role in many of Piper Sandler’s key client relationships and advises on a wide variety of the firm’s mergers and acquisitions. He has advised on some of the financial industry’s largest M&A transactions over the past three decades. Recent transactions he advised on include Cadence Bancorporation’s announced merger with BancorpSouth Bank, Century Bancorp’s announced merger with Eastern Bankshares, TD Ameritrade in its merger with Charles Schwab, Blackhawk Network Holdings in its acquisition by Silver Lake and P2 Capital Partners, Financial Engines in its acquisition by Hellman & Friedman, Virtu Financial in its acquisition of ITG, and FCB Financial Holdings in its merger with Synovus Financial Corp.

Dunne is a frequent financial industry commentator on CNBC and Bloomberg TV and is often invited to speak on leadership and management issues to business, academic and civic organizations.

He began his career on Wall Street after graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in economics. In May of 2021, Dunne served as the commencement speaker for Notre Dame and received an honorary doctor of laws degree. He is also a member of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees. Dunne is an avid golfer and active with numerous charitable organizations.

Lisa Diaz

Managing Partner & Founder, Turf Advisory

Lisa is the Managing Partner and Founder of Turf Advisory, a business development advisory firm that bridges the public and private sectors to build smarter and more human-centered cities. Turf works with next generation construction technology companies developing their go-to-market strategies, marketing narrative, capital raising and acts as an extension of the client's business development team. Turf also partners with both technology and constructions companies from around the world to bring their innovation solutions to the US market.

Prior to her focus on urban innovation, Lisa was President & CEO of Prince Street Capital Management, an emerging markets asset management company. She was also a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs spearheading the firm’s relationship with Sovereign Wealth Funds, global hedge funds and mutual fund complexes. Her nearly three-decade career on Wall Street
spanned capital markets, research, prime brokerage across the capital structure and globe.

Lisa received her BA Middlebury College and sits on the board of The Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon, Prince Street Foundation, and is on the advisory board of Dalia Empower, a women’s leadership and innovation platform.

Nathaniel David, PhD

Chief Executive Officer, Jupiter Bioventures

Over the past 22 years, Ned has co-founded four biotechnology companies that have collectively raised over $2 billion in financing and have given rise to three IPOs, two M&A acquisitions, and four FDA-approved medicines (ALOGLIPTIN, TRELAGLIPTIN, ZEMDRI, and KYBELLA). Ned cofounded Syrrx (acquired by Takeda), Achaogen (NASDAQ: AKAO), Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KYTH, acquired by Allergan), and UNITY Biotechnology (NASDAQ: UBX). Ned holds 46 allowed patents in fields as far flung as nanovolume crystallography, antibiotic resistance, aesthetic medicine, and cellular senescence. Ned has served on the board of directors of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, UNITY Biotechnology, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and is a member of the board of trustees of the University of California Foundation. Ned was named one of the Top 100 innovators in the world by the MIT Technology Review and received the Honorary Leadership Award from the American Federation for Research on Aging (AFAR). He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cellular Biology and an A.B. in Biology from Harvard.

John D'Agostino

Senior Advisor, Strategic Partners, Coinbase

John D’Agostino is Director of Institutional Sales at Coinbase, overseeing strategic partnerships for the business. John brings deep experience with sophisticated private investment vehicles characterized by complex strategies and asset classes, notably derivatives, structured credit, direct lending, high frequency/quant and similar strategies.

Prior to joining Coinbase, John was a Managing Director and part of the Governance leadership group at DMS, providing guidance and independent oversight to boards to ensure adherence to governance, regulatory and compliance requirements. Previously, he was a Managing Director of Alkeon Capital, focused on fundamental investment research across industry sectors, global compliance and regulatory management. John also worked with KPMG Consulting, where he was part of the firm’s global leadership for the Finance and Hedge Fund consulting groups, and lead advisory on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange acquisition of London Metals Exchange.

He began his career as Vice President and Head of Strategy with the New York Mercantile Exchange, where he helped transition the floor to electronic trading and was part of the leadership team building out the core systems to accommodate co-location, quant and HFT volumes. He also led the effort to develop the first Middle East energy derivatives exchange in partnership with the Dubai Government.

Michael J. Casey

Chief Content Officer, CoinDesk

Michael Casey is the Chief Content Officer at CoinDesk, the leading media platform for the blockchain and digital asset community, and the author of CoinDesk’s weekly Money Reimagined newsletter as well as a co-host of the podcast of the same name.

He is also non-executive chairman and cofounder of Streambed Media, a digital media data management platform.

Michael previously spent three years as a Senior Advisor to MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative and as a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Michael spent most of his career as a print journalist, including 18 years at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, where he was last a senior columnist covering global finance. He also hosted online TV shows for WSJ Live and appeared as a commentator on networks such as CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, and the BBC.

Michael has five acclaimed books to his name, including two on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology – The Truth Machine and The Age of Cryptocurrency – both co-authored with Paul Vigna.

Michael is a graduate of the University of Western Australia and has higher degrees from Cornell University and Curtin University.

Wences Casares

Founder & Chairman, XAPO

Wences Casares is the Founder and Chairman of XAPO Bank . He currently sits on the board of Diem. Previously, Mr. Casares founded Patagon, Wanako Games, Banco Lemon, and Lemon Wallet. Mr. Casares used to sit on the board of PayPal, and served on the board of Endeavor, a non-profit organization that promotes high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Mr. Casares studied at the University of San Andrés and completed the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard University.

Jolyne Caruso-FitzGerald

Divisional Vice Chairman, GWM, UHNW, UBS

Jolyne joined UBS in 2019 as a Divisional Vice Chairman in the firm's Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) division within Global Wealth Management. She oversees the Family Office Consultant business which consists of the firm's top wealth advisors who serve the largest, most sophisticated clients. With a long track record of working with wealthy families, Jolyne’s role is to expand the firm's efforts to develop and deepen new and existing UHNW client relationships around the globe.

Prior to joining UBS, she was Founder and CEO of The Alberleen Group, an investment advisory firm that works exclusively with family office investors to source and structure private direct investments.

She previously worked as Global Head of Absolute Return Strategies at Lehman Brothers and served on the firm's Management Committee. Prior to Lehman, Jolyne was Co-founder and President of Andor Capital Management, an equity long/short hedge fund. From 1992 to 2001, she was Managing Director and Head of Equities Americas at JP Morgan and was Chairman of JP Morgan Securities. She began her career in institutional equities at Bear Stearns.

Jolyne earned a B.A. with Honors from Barnard College, Columbia University, and is Chair Emerita of Barnard’s Board of Trustees.

Kevin T. Carter

Founder & Chief Investment Officer, EMQQ

Kevin T. Carter is the Founder & Chief Investment Officer of EMQQ. While he considers himself an active “value” investor first and foremost, he has collaborated with Princeton economist and indexing legend, Dr. Burton Malkiel, for more than 20 years. Their work together began in 1999 with the development of eInvesting, a pioneer firm in fractional share brokerage that was acquired by ETRADE in 2000. In 2002 they founded Active Index Advisors, a pioneer in so-called “direct indexing” that was acquired by Natixis Asset Management in 2005. In 2006, their efforts turned to China and Emerging Markets with Dr. Malkiel’s publishing of “Investment Strategies to Exploit Economic Growth in China” and the subsequent book From Wall Street to the Great Wall. Working with Guggenheim Partners, they launched several China focused ETFs on the NYSE.

Kevin launched EMQQ in 2014 after noticing how the smartphone was changing his personal consumption habits. He now lives in Lafayette, California with his wife and three children.

Tina Byles Williams

Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer & Founder, Xponance

Tina Byles Williams is Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of Xponance®, a $12 billion multiple strategy investment company which is one of the largest diverse and woman-owned investment firms in the United States. She founded FIS Group, the predecessor firm to Xponance®, 25 years ago and has over 36 years of investment experience. Tina is the Chief Investment Officer and Lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s active global equity strategies. As Chief Investment Officer, she chairs the firm’s Investment Committee and oversees the firm’s fixed income and equity platforms. As lead portfolio manager for the firm’s active global equity multi-manager strategies, she oversees all investment strategy, manager search and disposition decisions. Tina is widely regarded as a trailblazer in the field of identifying and investing with talented entrepreneurial investment management firms, many of which are diverse and women-owned. Prior to founding FIS Group, Tina was a principal and senior consultant with the investment consulting firm WHP, Inc.

Tina completed her undergraduate work at New York University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned her Master’s degree in Public Policy with an emphasis in Finance from Harvard University.

Leslie A. Brun

Co-Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Ariel Alternatives

Les is chairman and CEO of Sarr Group, LLC, a diversified holding company for his investments and is senior advisor of G100 Companies, a unique business partnership that combines the world’s best C-level learning communities with premier professional services firms. Les brings over 40 years of expertise in investment banking, commercial banking and financial advisory services. In 2019, he received the Industry Icon Award and was inducted into the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Business Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was recognized by NACD as one of America’s top 100 corporate directors. Previously, Les was a managing director at CCMP Capital Advisors. He also founded and was chairman emeritus of Hamilton Lane, the world’s leading private equity advisory and management firm. Currently, Les is chairman of the board of directors of CDK Global, a lead director of Merck & Co., Inc. and Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., where he had been chairman of the board. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors of Corning, Inc. and was formerly chairman of the board of directors of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and chair of the compensation committee at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Les is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He functioned as chairman of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s S.B.I.C. Advisory Council and had been a member of the Committee for the Reinvention of the S.B.A. Les sat on the board of directors of the Richcourt Group, a Hamilton Lane company specializing in hedge fund of funds management. Formerly, he was a trustee for the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc., Widener University, and Episcopal Academy in Merion, PA. Les graduated with a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo where he has been recognized as a distinguished alumnus.

Matt Brown

Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, CAIS

Matt Brown is the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of CAIS. He has spent over 30 years at the intersection of wealth management, alternative investments, and platform design. He began his career as a financial advisor at Shearson Lehman Brothers and Smith Barney. In 2009, Matt founded CAIS, the first truly open marketplace for alternative investments, where financial advisors and asset managers can engage and transact directly on a massive scale. Financial advisors, the professionals we designate to oversee our economic futures, do not have the same access to alternative investments in comparison to large institutions. CAIS is changing that. Matt believes entrepreneurship is the major driver of economic and social change. He’s spent the better part of two decades working with Endeavor, the world’s leading organization for high impact entrepreneurs. During his tenure, he had the opportunity to mentor dozens of entrepreneurs from around the world, including Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Matt is honored to have been on Endeavor’s South African and Turkish Boards which ultimately led to a position on the Global Board of Directors.

The experience deepened his belief that helping entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses promotes economic growth and prosperity. It’s Matt’s personal mission to ensure that anyone with a dream, and the drive to achieve it, have an equal opportunity to make it happen.

Pete Briger

Co-Chief Executive Officer, Fortress Investment Group

Mr. Briger is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Fortress Investment Group. Prior to joining Fortress in 2002, Mr. Briger spent fifteen years at Goldman Sachs, where he became a partner in 1996. Mr. Briger serves on the board of several charitable organizations including Princeton University, the UCSF Foundation and Tipping Point. In addition, Mr. Briger is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Chairman of the U.S. Soccer Investment Committee as well as a member of the PayPal Digital Advisory board. Mr. Briger received a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business.

Jeff Blau

Chief Executive Officer & Partner, Related Companies

Jeff T. Blau is the Chief Executive Officer and a partner of Related Companies, the most prominent privately-owned real estate company in the United States. Mr. Blau joined Related in 1990.

Mr. Blau also serves as Chairman and is a founding partner of energyRe, a leading independent company developing transformative clean energy projects across the country.

As Chief Executive Officer of Related, Mr. Blau is responsible for directing and overseeing new developments worth more than $60 billion in virtually every sector of the real estate industry. He is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, overall management of the firm, the pursuit of new development opportunities and corporate acquisitions and financing activities across all business platforms.

In his role as Chairman and Founding Partner of energyRe, Mr. Blau led the recruitment of the company’s executive management team, and continues to oversee the company's foundational, nation-leading renewable energy projects including Clean Path NY and Leading Light Wind. Clean Path NY is the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in the United States and is an $11 billion transmission-led development, comprised of a 175-mile underground transmission line and 3,800 MW of solar and wind generation. Leading Light Wind, is a $6 billion, off-shore wind project in the New York Bight.

Mr. Blau also serves on the Board of Directors of Equinox Holdings, Inc., the Central Park Conservancy, the New York City Partnership Fund, Robin Hood Foundation, Real Estate Roundtable, The Wharton Graduate School, Trinity School, Lincoln Center, and The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Over the years, Mr. Blau has received numerous honors for his business, civic and philanthropic activities and was named to Crain’s New York’s New Influentials list of 25 leaders reshaping New York.

Mr. Blau completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, RockCreek

Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss is Founder and CEO of RockCreek, one of the largest women- and diverse-owned global investment firms. Previously, she was Managing Director and Partner at the Carlyle Group, served as Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the World Bank, and worked at J.P. Morgan.

Afsaneh has been a pioneer in financial innovation to benefit emerging market economies,

international financial institutions, and multilateral banks. She created and led the World Bank's financial advisory services, which built human capital and helped develop capital markets for central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and treasury departments in OECD and emerging market economies. And she developed and led the World Bank’s investments and policy work on areas including sustainable investing, renewable energy, power, and infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions, as well as leading groundbreaking investments in wind and solar energy.

She regularly advises governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on financial policy and energy policy, and she helps lead organizations working toward a sustainable future and improved access to clean energy, health, education, and opportunity for all. She is Chair of PBS Foundation, a trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study, and serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations; the Rockefeller Foundation – where she chairs the investment committee; the Bretton Woods Committee, where she cochairs the Future of Finance Working Group; Georgetown University; the World Resources Institute; and the Center for Global Development.

Afsaneh holds an MPhil (Honors) in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she taught international trade and economic development.

Rye Barcott

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, With Honor

Rye Barcott is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan non-profit led by veterans focused on promoting and advancing principled veteran leadership to reduce polarization in the U.S. Congress. Previously, he co-founded and led the clean energy private equity firm Double Time Capital, and co-founded the public health non-governmental organization CFK in Nairobi, Kenya. His memoir written for students, It Happened on the Way to War, juxtaposes service in the Marines and social entrepreneurship. Bono called it a “wild ride.” Rye serves on the boards of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, NDI, and the U.S. Institute for Peace. He chairs the board of CFK.

Glenn Barber

Head of Sales & Business Development, Copper

Glenn Barber is the Head of Sales & Business Development, Americas at Copper.co.–a pioneering digital assets custody and settlement provider. Prior to joining Copper, Glenn led sales as a consultant at FalconX, an institutional digital asset brokerage, and he was also the Chief Institutional Officer at Voyager Digital, a publicly-traded holding company whose subsidiaries operate a crypto-asset platform to trade crypto assets. Glenn also has over 25 year’s experience in global capital markets, and was a Managing Director in Equities at Deutsche Bank and Barclays. Glenn holds a Masters in international Management and Finance from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BSc in Business Administration and Management

Sam Bankman-Fried

Chief Executive Officer, FTX

Before founding Alameda and then FTX, Sam was a trader on Jane Street Capital’s international ETF desk. He traded a variety of ETFs, futures, currencies, and equities, and designed their automated OTC trading system. He graduated from MIT with a degree in physics

Dmitry Balyasny

Chief Investment Officer & Managing Partner, Balyasny Asset Management (BAM)

Dmitry Balyasny is the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner of Balyasny Asset Management, L.P. (BAM), a global investment firm founded in 2001 focused on delivering consistent, alpha-driven returns through a multi-strategy, multi-PM approach. Dmitry is an active risk taker and chairs BAM's Investment Committee. He began his trading career with Schonfeld Securities in 1994. Dmitry holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Loyola University in Chicago. He is involved in a variety of philanthropic activities in Chicago, Illinois.

Gerard Baker

Editor-at-Large, The Wall Street Journal

Gerry Baker is Editor-At-Large of The Wall Street Journal. His weekly column for the editorial page, “Free Expression,” appears in The Wall Street Journal each Tuesday. Mr. Baker is also host of “WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker,” a weekly news and current affairs interview show on the Fox Business Network.

Mr. Baker previously served as Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013 - 2018. Prior to that, Mr. Baker was Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal from 2009 - 2013. He has been a journalist for more than 30 years, writing and broadcasting for some of the world’s most famous news organizations, including his tenure at The Financial Times, The Times of London, and The BBC.

He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, where he graduated in 1983 with a 1st Class Honors Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. You can follow him on Twitter at @GerardTBaker.

Delian Asparouhov

Principal, Founders Fund

Delian Asparouhov is a principal at Founders Fund and cofounder and President of Varda Space Industries, which is building the world's first space factories. Before joining Founders Fund, he was a principal at Khosla Ventures, head of growth at Teespring, and founder of a healthcare company called Nightingale.