Karl Sprules is the COO at Alliance Bernstein, a global asset manager with $725 billion in assets and over 4,700 employees.    I really enjoyed speaking with Karl as he shows how you can be nimble at scale. We cover a lot of territory from his beginnings at Alliance Capital in the technology group, navigating the merger that created AB, and his evolution into the COO seat.     Karl shares how AB has evolved over time and the rationale behind the bold decision to move their headquarters from...

Mike Lukasek is a Managing Director and the COO for the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments.   Mike has been the COO of Penn’s Endowment for over 14 years. Prior to that, he was a VP at Goldman Sachs for their private equity fund of funds business and a VP of Finance at Summit Partners.   Given his tenure at Penn, Mike brings perspective on the evolution of an endowment office. He talks about how Penn’s operations and technology has evolved overtime and shares his insights on...

Lawrence Miller is the CTO of Wilshire, an independent investment management firm that offers consulting services, analytical products, and manages funds for a global client base. For many of us owning and understanding technology is critical for our business. However, many of us have come up through the ranks without hands-on training.  This is where Lawrence lends a hand. We cover Lawrence’s start as a quant at JP Morgan, lessons learned launching a startup, and how his time as a...

Ken Onorio is the Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer of Eagle Point Credit, a $9 billion credit-oriented investment firm. At some level, this is an interview about the softer skills in our space. Having spent time in hedge funds and a tour in fund administration, Ken shares his unique perspective with some key takeaways. Ken then discusses his career path and lessons learned while at JP Morgan, Amaranth Advisors and Sailfish Capital to create a firm and culture built for the long...

Terry Thompson is the Chief Operating Officer of Berkshire Partners, Boston-based private equity firm started in the 1980s before adding public equity capabilities in 2007.    Terry shares how his background across 8 different industries helped him land the role at Berkshire. We talk about how to quickly transition into a new industry, how to assess a career opportunity with limited information, and building rapport with long-tenured team members. We cover Berkshire’s unique governance...

Jason Ment is the president and Co-COO of StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions, advisory and data services on behalf of clients representing $659B. I really enjoyed this wide-ranging discussion on what is just around the corner in private markets. We cover his career path from law school to his time at Citigroup, which eventually becomes part of StepStone during the great financial crisis. We then cover the growth of...

Today Sponsored Insight highlights Intelligo, a risk intelligence and background check platform that blends human analysis with cutting-edge AI to uncover facts in a fraction of the time.    I sat down with Brian Gaffney of Stonehaven Partners to discuss the common challenges with background checks and how Intelligo helps his team streamline and scale their due diligence process. We then turn to the unique screens Brian uses for assessing risk, dealing with yellow and red “flags” and how the...

Steve Baranowski is a Partner and Head of Client Operations at Adams Street Partners, a private investment manager with $58B in assets. Steve discusses his early career in public accounting and the nuances of transitioning to a client. He then shares what makes Adams Street unique and how their operations has evolved over time while striving to keep the culture intact. He shares his perspective on what it takes to be self-administered, as well as knowing when to outsource as the business...

Stephanie Withers is the Head of Investment Operations at the WK Kellogg Foundation Investment Office, an $8 billion private foundation. I really enjoyed Stephanie’s authenticity to make the world and her investment office a better place. We cover their initiatives on DEI in what they call their Expanding Equity Program. This program is unique in that others can access it at no cost. We then to turn to their tech stack, the importance of business process mapping, and how their annual...

Today’s Sponsored Insight features Beth Gilje, the founder of Union Park Consulting, a leading investment operations consulting firm that provides operational and technical consulting to some of the world’s leading institutions and family offices. Prior to founding Union Park, Beth worked at the investment office of the University of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2020. Prior to Penn, Beth spent time at Partners Capital before beginning her career at Lehman Brothers. As we all know upgrading your...

Shaun Ng is the Managing Director of Risk, Analytics, and Investment Operations at the Cleveland Clinic Investment Office. Shaun joined Cleveland Clinic in 2016 after working over 10 years at the World Bank. He shares how they created their investment office from scratch after the board opted to insource their investments from an OCIO. We later turn to how they partner with the hospital’s data and analytics team to build more than 200 dashboards of dynamic data sets for the investment...

Frank Perez is a Managing Director and Head of Operational Due Diligence at Makena Capital, an OCIO whose roots emanate from Stanford’s Endowment. Prior to joining Makena in 2015, Frank was engaged in ODD efforts at Saguenay Strathmore Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBP where he focused on private equity, real estate, and hedge fund investments. Frank’s background is unique given his risk management experience within several investment banks where he was responsible for conducting due diligence...

Today’s Sponsored Insight features Dan Houlihan, the CEO of STP Investment Services, a global investment operations firm that provides complete front, middle, and back office services for investment managers. Dan joined STP in August 2022 after spending 11 years at Northern Trust as the EVP and Head of Asset Servicing. Prior to Northern Trust he was President of Citisoft, a management consulting group to the investment industry. If you are currently outsourcing operations or exploring the...

Ashok Raju is the Chief Operating Officer of VR Group, an alternative asset manager focused on distressed securities and special situations investments in emerging markets. Ashok joined VR Group in 2010 initially to create the firm’s client facing efforts before becoming the COO, where he now oversees operations, analytics, and business development. Ashok began his career in equity research at Deutsche Bank and spent time at a multi-family office where he covered hedge fund and public equity...

Danielle Roseman is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Lazard Family Office Services, a multifamily office that started managing capital for some of the world’s most sophisticated families over 175 years ago. Danielle started her career at Goldman Sachs where she worked on the mortgage desk during the Great Financial Crisis.  Danielle joined Lazard following the acquisition of Truuvo Partners. If you work with family offices or want to learn more about it, this is the episode. Danielle...

Bryan Corbett is the president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association, which represents the global alternative asset management industry. With offices in Washington DC, New York, Brussels, and London, MFA has over 170 members, including hedge funds, credit funds, and crossover funds that collectively manage over 3 trillion in AUM. Bryan joined the MFA in January of 2020 after spending 11 years in private equity at The Carlyle Group. Before Carlyle, Bryan worked on Capitol Hill for the US...

Maarika Paul is the Chief Financial & Operations Officer at CDPQ, a global investment firm that manages Quebec’s pension and insurance assets overseeing $424b billion Canadian in AUM. Prior to joining CDPQ in 2011, Maarika worked for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) for almost two decades overseeing various functions across investor relations, M&A, and corporate development. Maarika discusses her career leading up to CDPQ, her current responsibilities and what makes CDPQ unique. We...

Gordon Barnes is the Executive Vice President and the Head of Portfolio Group on the Bain Capital Partnership Strategies team, a group that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. Colin Campbell, the group’s co-head, was a previous guest on Capital Allocators, and that conversation is replayed in the feed for context on the group’s approach to investing in esoteric assets. Prior to Bain Capital,...

Colin Campbell is a Partner at Bain Capital and co-head of the Partnership Strategies team that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. In its search for attractive, uncorrelated assets, the Partnership Strategies team became an early mover in environmental markets. Both Tom Steyer and Bill Orum cited carbon credits and offsets as a necessary and important near-term component to effect climate...

Sean Arp is the Chief Operating Officer of the University of Wisconsin Foundation. He oversees all investment operations, analytics, reporting, technology, personnel, and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining UWF in 2022, Sean spent eight years at Washington University in St. Louis Investment Management Company (WUIMC) where he served as Chief Operating Officer. Before WUIMC he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Temujin Fund Management and a Director at Thales Fund...

Byron Pavano is a Managing Director of Fund Strategy and Counsel for Audax Group, one of the most active private equity firms in North America with $36B in assets under management. Our conversation covers Byron’s path from outside counsel for private funds to inside counsel at Audax, insourcing vs outsourcing, the regulatory landscape across countries, and managing communications. We discuss AI disruption and use cases, the Audax deal process, and the operational interplay between the...

Ken Meister is a Founding Partner, President, and COO at Evanston Capital Management – a $4.3 billion hedge fund of funds focused on early-stage investment managers in complex, innovative strategy areas. Ken co-founded Evanston in 2002, and today oversees all business and operations of the firm plus operational due diligence. Before Evanston, Ken spent time at William Blair, Ameritech Corporation, and Northern Trust. Our conversation covers Ken’s path to Evanston, its operational makeup, and...

Today’s Sponsored Insight highlights Bipsync, the research management software that helps asset owners and managers optimize pre- and post-investment decision making. We spoke with Annie Kerns and Blake Fischer from the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, known as UVIMCO. Annie leads investment operations and Blake oversees technology at the $14 billion endowment. Annie and Blake offer a detailed case study on how investment technology decisions are made, the importance of...

Scott Pomfret has seen every angle of the investment fund regulatory landscape. Scott spent 8 years as a branch chief for the SEC Division of Enforcement, leading teams investigating traditional and alternative asset managers. After a brief stint at PwC thereafter, Scott was the Chief Compliance Officer at Highfields Capital Management, a $12 billion value-oriented investment manager. Today, Scott advises private funds and vendors on regulatory, legal, and business issues. Our conversation...