Board of Directors

Co-Chairman and Co-CEO,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Chairman

SEO Founder

Managing Director,
Morgan Stanley
Vice Chair

Amy is a Managing Director in the Senior Relationship Management Group. Her role is to drive the partnership between the firm and many of our top markets clients. She joined Morgan Stanley in 2015 after 22 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. At BAML, she held various roles including Global Head of Corporate Access, Head of Specialty Sales and Americas Corporate Access, Head of Fixed Income and Equity Middle Markets, and Head of Multi Product Sales. Amy began her career in the convertible bond business in 1993.

Amy is a board member and Vice Chair of the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Program, founder and Chair of the Three Sisters Scholarship Foundation and a member of the Executive Leadership Council. She has been a member of Black Enterprise’s 75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street in 2006 & 2011, 50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America, CNBC’s “Next” list and Crain’s 40 under 40.

Amy is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Managing Partner,
Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P.
Treasurer

Mr. Garcia received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University. After graduating in 1985, he joined Salomon Brothers in New York City where he became a Vice President specializing in mortgage-backed securities. In 1990, he joined former Mayor Henry Cisneros to build Cisneros Asset Management Company, ultimately becoming its President. In 2002, he joined Garcia Hamilton & Associates, and is the firm’s Managing  Partner. Under his leadership, the firm has reached almost $5 billion in assets under management (Nov. 2014) and was named 2014 Investment Grade Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor.

Mr. Garcia currently serves as Chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and is a member of the Board of Directors of Sanchez Energy [NYSE:SN]. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), a non-profit providing summer internships on Wall Street for minority undergraduates.

Previously, Mr. Garcia served as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Houston Downtown Management District, member of the Board of Directors of the Yale Club of Houston and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System. In addition, he is a Class X graduate of Leadership Houston. Mr. Garcia is married with four children and enjoys martial arts and
coaching youth soccer.

President,
Mark Bieler & Associates
Secretary

Mark Bieler is currently President of Mark Bieler Associates, Inc., a consulting firm advising top management of private and public sector organizations, on strategic human resources and organization development issues. Clients of Mark Bieler Associates have included a broad range of institutions, ranging from The Westfield Group (the world’s largest mall developer/manager), Morgan Stanley Retail, Ogilvy & Mather, Mercantile Trust, and work with the top management of the Central Intelligence Agency.

From 1985 to mid-1999, Mr. Bieler was Director of Human Resources for Bankers Trust Company, and Executive Vice President of the parent organization, Bankers Trust Corporation.

Mr. Bieler joined Bankers Trust in 1973 and managed the banks internal Management Consulting Group; subsequent to that he had Human Resources responsibilities for Banking Operations and for the International, United States and World Corporate Banking units. He also managed the Commercial Banking Training Program and the Compensation and Benefits Division.

A 1967 graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, Mr. Bieler began his career with Manufactures Hanover Trust Company, where he was head of the Manpower Planning and Development Division. Mr. Bieler also was the recipient of the 1989 Human Resources Professional of the Year Award from the New York Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management. Mr. Bieler was elected to the Personnel Roundtable in
1992.

Mr. Bieler speaks frequently in public forums about industry issues, most recently addressing the annual Conference Board Human Resources meeting and keynoting the annual Human Resources Planning Society sponsors convention.

Mr. Bieler is involved in numerous not-for profit activities and is currently serving as Chairman of the Edwin Gould Foundation.

Director of Client Engagement,
MarketCounsel
Chairman Emeritus

Walter K. Booker, Sr., is the Director of Client Engagement for MarketCounsel, the leading legal, compliance and business advisory firm for Registered Investment Advisor firms (RIAs) in the country. In this capacity, Mr. Booker serves as the ‘Chief Client Officer’ of the firm and is responsible for evolving its Client Experience to be as industry-leading as its trusted counsel is. He is also the (retired) former Group Vice President of the New Jersey Market Group of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., during which time he exercised overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the firm’s business throughout the state, including leading 400 Financial Advisors and 35 employee leaders and staff people who supported them in the service of over 55,000 clients. During his tenure at Ameriprise, he led his group to become a top performer, guiding it to finish in the top quartile of its peer group 12 out of 13 years. Mr. Booker joined Ameriprise Financial in August, 1995, after spending over a decade in senior management positions in the institutional sales, trading, and research divisions of Salomon Brothers Inc, Bear Stearns & Co., Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., and PaineWebber Incorporated.

Mr. Booker is a graduate of Harvard College and is active in numerous recruitment and fundraising activities for his alma mater, among many other community service investments. He is also the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Inc. (SEO), a not-for-profit educational and community service organization based in New York City that provides a range of academic, personal enrichment and mentoring services to underserved students from high school through college and throughout their careers. One of SEO’s programs, the Career Program, recruits, trains, and provides internship opportunities to talented underrepresented students of color from colleges and universities throughout the United States as well as in London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Vietnam and Ghana. For example, SEO’s impact on the financial services industry over the past thirty years has been profound – for many of its investment banking firm partners, it is the largest single source of entry-level professional Talent of Color and counts among its alumni dozens of partner-level  and executive leaders. In recent years, its Scholars Program has garnered national acclaim for its successful work in closing the Achievement Gap between Students of Color and their majority counterparts. Just as impressively, its College Scholars Program boasts an approx. 90% graduation rate for its College Scholars, who achieve an average GPA of more than 3.2 at schools that rank in the top three levels of competitiveness in the annual US News & World Report magazine rankings (which far, far exceeds the national average graduation rate of approx. 57% in six years for colleges at any level of competitiveness).

Additionally, while with Ameriprise, he was actively involved in the creation and leadership its Community Relations Program in the New Jersey Market Group. Among the most notable of this program’s accomplishments under Mr. Booker’s direction is that he personally led the company’s effort to provide leadership skill training to more than 450 senior community, not-for-profit, educational and governmental leaders. He was also tapped to lead American Express’s participation in the 9/11 United Services Group (USG) Financial Advice Referral Program, an unprecedented collaboration among six leading financial services organizations to provide support and state-of-the-art advice to those directly affected by this national tragedy. Mr. Booker is also a long-time leader in the community, including serving as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Harlem Engineering & Applied Sciences Charter School (HEACS) and in various leadership roles with his church, St. Luke’s Episcopal in Montclair, for which he has served as both the Clerk and a Warden of its Vestry as well as a founding leader of its Spiritual Enrichment Team and as the founder of its Spiritual Explorers Book Club.

He and his wife Candace live in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, and savor time with their ‘Brady Bunch’ family of six young adults.

President & CEO,
SEO

Since joining SEO as President & CEO in 2001, William and the SEO team have focused on steadily enhancing SEO’s programs targeting young people underserved and/or underrepresented at top colleges and in coveted industries.

SEO serves 3,500+ participants nationally each year and is widely recognized for developing best-in-class programs with exceptional results.  SEO major programs include:

– SEO Scholars is an eight-year program in New York City and San Francisco that academically prepares underserved high school students for college admissions and success—with a 90% college graduation rate.

– SEO Career, SEO Law, and SEO Alternative Investments are each a national program that prepares college students or young professionals to enter leading industries via summer internships or fellowships.  More than 80% of eligible interns and 90% of eligible fellows earn full-time positions in their chosen fields.

SEO’s success during William’s tenure has led to a 700% increase in young people served each year and the annual budget has grown by $20 million. William also guided The Campaign for SEO, which fully funded the purchase of a new headquarters.

From 1996 through 2001, William was Executive Director of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, which supports NYC Catholic schools serving children from low-income families.  Under his leadership, student scholarships and school capital repairs increased dramatically through more than $100 million raised in annual and endowment funds.

William began his career in advertising and sales management, including positions with Procter & Gamble and Corning Inc.

William is a trustee of the Altman Foundation and Partnership Schools.  In addition, he serves on advisory boards for Columbia University and the Federal Reserve Bank of NY.  He has also been appointed to a citywide commission and an educational task force by NYC Mayors Bloomberg and de Blasio, respectively.

William is former board President of the NYC Association of Fundraising Professionals.

William received his MBA from Columbia Business School and B.S. from American University.

Managing Director,
The Carlyle Group

Jim Attwood is a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm with more than $200 billion under management. Since 2000, Mr. Attwood has directed Carlyle’s private equity investments in the telecommunications and media industries globally. He presently serves on the Boards of Directors of CoreSite Realty Corporation, Insight Communications, The Nielsen Company and Syniverse Holdings, Inc. He also serves as a member of the Yale University Council, the Harvard Law School Dean’s Advisory Board, the New York State Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy, Friends of MVY Radio and the Board of Trustees for Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.

Before Carlyle, Mr. Attwood served as Executive Vice President for Strategy, Development and Planning at Verizon Communications, and held the same position at GTE Corporation prior to that. In these roles he was responsible for the oversight of all strategic planning, alliances, ventures, corporate strategy, development and M&A activities at each company. Mr. Attwood began his professional career as an investment banker with Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he worked in both New York and Tokyo.

He received his BA in Applied Mathematics summa cum laude and MA in Statistics from Yale in 1980. In 1985, he received both his JD and MBA degrees from Harvard. He currently lives in Bedford, NY with his wife Leslie.

Managing Partner,
Siris Capital Group, LLC

Mr. Frank Baker is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Siris Capital Group LLC (“Siris”), the predecessor fund of which was formed in 2006. Siris is a middle market private equity firm focused on deep value, control equity investments around special situations in the telecom, technology and technology-enabled business services sectors.

Prior to forming Siris, Mr. Baker was a Managing Director at Ripplewood Holdings LLC (“Ripplewood”), a global private equity firm. Mr. Baker started his career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs & Co. in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group.

Mr. Baker has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from the University of Chicago. He is a Trustee of The University of Chicago, on the SEO Board of Directors, a Director of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and as Advisory Board member of All Star Code.

Managing Partner,
Court Square Capital Partners

Mr. Civantos has been a member of the Investment Team since 2004. Prior to Court Square, he spent six years with the private equity firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst and several years with Morgan Stanley & Co. Mr. Civantos received his B.A. from Duke University and his M.B.A. with academic distinction from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He also holds an M.A. in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Mr. Civantos is currently a director of Encompass Digital Media, IWCO Direct, Mspark and Vestcom. He previously served on the boards of Mosaic Sales Solutions, MSX International and Southern Graphics.

Managing Partner,
Ophir Holdings, LLC

Joshua Fink is the Managing Partner of Ophir Holdings, his private investment company, which invests across a broad spectrum of industries including natural resources, agriculture, and manufacturing. Mr. Fink has a track record of both creating and unlocking substantial shareholder value in public and private companies globally.

Mr. Fink is Vice Chairman of the Electrum Group LLC. The firm primarily invests in the mining sector, with a focus on precious metals. Mr. Fink was instrumental in the restructuring of the group as well as the acquisitions of various mining assets globally. He works closely with Electrum’s experienced team of operating, technical and financial professionals. In addition, Mr. Fink is a member of ESAC Holdings, the sponsor of Electrum Special Acquisitions Corporation (ELECU US), which was formed for the purpose of acquiring a company operating in the metals and mining industry.

Mr. Fink serves as a senior business development advisor to the Aditya Birla Group, a premier global conglomerate based in India. It is a market leader in aluminum, cement, telecom, textiles, apparel, manufacturing, fertilizer, life insurance, and financial services.

Mr. Fink is a board member of Sulvaris, a sulfur fertilizer technology company. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Grupo Evya, a Mexican company that provides design, engineering, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure for the hydrocarbon industry.

Mr. Fink is a member of the Board of Directors of Panthera, which is dedicated to ensuring a future for the wild cats of the world. He is a Committee Member of the Fund for the Twenty-First Century at the Museum of Modern Art. He serves on the Board of Directors of SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity), a non-profit that provides academic opportunity, training, and mentoring services for underserved students.

Mr. Fink holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Vice Chairman,
Managing Director,
Morgan Stanley

Carla Harris is a Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She is responsible for increasing client connectivity and penetration to enhance revenue generation across the firm. She formerly headed the Emerging Manager Platform, the equity capital markets effort for the consumer and retail industries and was responsible for Equity Private Placements. Ms. Harris has extensive industry experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors.

For more than a decade, Ms. Harris was a senior member of the equity syndicate desk and executed such transactions as initial public offerings for UPS, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Ariba, Redback, the General Motors sub-IPO of Delphi Automotive, and the $3.2 Billion common stock transaction for Immunex Corporation, one of the largest biotechnology common stock transaction in U.S. history. Ms. Harris was recently named to Fortune Magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”, U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (2009, 2010, 2011), Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business (2010), to Black Enterprise Magazine’s “Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street” (2006 – 2011), and to Essence Magazine’s list of “The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World”, Ebony’s list of “15 Corporate Women at the Top” and was named “Woman of the Year 2004” by the Harvard Black Men’s Forum.

Ms. Harris began her career with Morgan Stanley in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in 1987. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Carla received from Harvard Business School an MBA, Second Year Honors and an AB in economics from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude. Carla has also received Honorary Doctorates of laws, humanities and business from Marymount Manhattan College, Bloomfield College, Jacksonville University, Simmons College and the College of New Rochelle respectively. Carla Harris is actively involved in her community and heartily believes that “we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to someone else.” As a result, Carla has funded the Carla Harris Scholarship at Harvard University and at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida.

She is the Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and sits on the boards of the Food Bank for NYC, The Executive Leadership Council, The Toigo Foundation, SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity), A Better Chance, Inc., The Apollo Theatre Foundation, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Xavier University, and is an active member of the St. Charles Gospelites of the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and the Mark Howell Singers. Ms. Harris is a member of the National Social Action Commission of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and was a member of the Board of Overseers’ Committee on University Resources, Harvard University. She has received the Bert King Award from the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association, the 2005 Women’s Professional Achievement Award from Harvard University, the Pierre Toussaint Medallion from the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, the Women of Power Award given by the National Urban League, the Bill and Camille Cosby Award given by Associated Black Charities, the Women of Influence Award from The Links, Incorporated and many other awards. In her other life, Carla is a singer, and has released her third gospel CD “Unceasing Praise” (2011) , her second CD, a gospel album entitled, “Joy Is Waiting”, was featured on BET Nightly News while her first CD entitled, “Carla’s First Christmas”, was a bestseller on Amazon.com in New York and in record stores, and was featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in his “American Dream” segment. She is also the author of the newly released book, Expect to Win (Hudson Press).

Managing Director,
BlackRock

Maybel Marte, Managing Director, is Head of Liquid Levered Credit Product Strategy within BlackRock’s Global Credit Group. As a product strategist, Ms. Marte focuses on developing credit solutions for both institutional and retail clients, across our Bank Loans, High Yield and CLO offerings. In this role, she is responsible for product development, marketing and client service.

Prior to joining BlackRock in September 2017, Ms. Marte was a Senior Vice President at PIMCO in the US Institutional Client Management group. While at PIMCO from 2010 to 2016, Ms, Marte was responsible for servicing and marketing to large corporations, multi-national agencies and non-profit organizations. As a client strategist, Ms. Marte focused on delivering customized investment solutions to institutional clients, including duration overlays/underlays, asset allocation optimization, interest rates and equity based tail-risk hedging programs, and multi-asset credit solutions.

Prior to joining PIMCO in early 2010, Ms. Marte held positions in fixed income institutional sales for over 9 years, of which 7 years was spent at Goldman Sachs on the High Yield-Distressed Bond desk and the balance at FBR Capital Markets.

Ms. Marte received her Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wellesley College.

Head of Orbis US,
Orbis Investments

Adam is head of Orbis US and a director of its parent company, Orbis Investment Management Limited. Prior to joining Orbis in 2002, Adam was a partner at Palladium Equity Partners, a private equity firm in New York. He started his career as a financial analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”).

Adam graduated with honors from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics and also earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1992, Adam was recruited by SEO and placed in a summer internship at DLJ. In 2005, he was elected to the SEO Board of Directors Adam has been an essential supporter, both individually and through Orbis Investment Management, of The Campaign for SEO and the SEO Scholars Program. Currently, Orbis Investment Management is underwriting the launch of the SEO Scholars Program in the Bay Area.

Adam and his wife, Tonia, have created and endowed several scholarships focused on providing support to students of color interested in teaching at inner city schools. In 2010, Adam was elected a Trustee of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees. He also serves as a director of Allan Gray Limited in South Africa as well as a trustee of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment.

Adam lives in California with his wife and their three children.

Member,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Chris Lee joined KKR in the Real Estate Group in 2012. He is responsible for KKR’s Real Estate business in the Americas, overseeing both equity and credit investing platforms in the region. Mr. Lee is also Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE: KREF). He sits on KKR’s Real Estate Equity and Credit Investment Committees in the Americas, KKR’s Real Estate Equity and Credit Portfolio Management Committees in the Americas, KKR’s Inclusion and Diversity Council and chairs KKR’s Real Estate Valuation Committee.

Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Lee spent three years at Apollo Global Management on their global real estate team where he focused on real estate acquisitions. He also worked at Goldman Sachs in the merchant banking division’s real estate principal investment area (REPIA) for over five years after spending two years in the investment banking division.

Mr. Lee earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Emory University. He is a former trustee of St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas, TX. Mr. Lee currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of SEO in New York, New York and as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, CRE Finance Council and the Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee for the Real Estate Roundtable.

Managing Director,
Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Ninon Marapachi is the head of Hedge Fund Origination & Product Management team within the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”) Alternative Investment Group. Her team is responsible for (i) sourcing, (ii) structuring, (iii) negotiating, and (iv) managing hedge funds and managed futures products on the BAML’s hedge fund platform. Before joining the Alternative Investments Group, Ninon was a senior member of the Structured Products Origination Group within Global Wealth & Investment Management where she was responsible for (i) the construction of innovative financial products across asset classes, including equity, fixed income, currencies and commodities and (ii) the development of delta-one open architecture platform offering retail clients at Merrill Lynch access to various asset classes.

Ninon graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2002 with a BA in Economics from Mount Holyoke College. She began her career at Merrill Lynch as summer intern in 2001 through the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Asset Management Career Program, and became a full-time analyst in 2002.

Member,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Ken Mehlman joined KKR in 2008 and is KKR’s Global Head of Public Affairs , helping the Firm assess and improve the companies in which it invests by better understanding and managing geopolitical risk and engaging with their key stakeholders. Mr. Mehlman also oversees the firm’s global external affairs activities, including corporate marketing, regulatory affairs and public policy & communications. Mr. Mehlman leads KKR’s Environmental Social Governance (ESG) programs for the firm and its portfolio companies. Before joining KKR, Mr. Mehlman led a bipartisan public policy and regulatory practice at the global law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Mr. Mehlman spent a dozen years in national politics and government service, including as 62nd Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Campaign Manager of President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign as well as in high level positions in Congress and the White House. Mr. Mehlman earned a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Mr. Mehlman is Chairman of the Private Equity and Growth Capital Council, the association representing the private equity and growth capital industries, a trustee of Mt. Sinai Hospital of New York, Franklin & Marshall College, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Sponsors of Educational Opportunity (SEO) and the Ideal School of Manhattan, Cochairman of the American Enterprise Institute’s National Council, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Founder and Managing Partner,
Arcadia Investment Partners, LLC

Mr. Moalemzadeh is the Founder and Managing Partner of Arcadia investment Partners. Arcadia is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor focused on deploying capital into private equity, real estate and special situations investments on behalf of its own balance sheet and limited partner capital from ultra-high net worth families and institutional investors. Prior to founding Arcadia, Mr. Moalemzadeh was a Managing Director at Mentmore Holdings and a member of the merchant banking division of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Mr. Moalemzadeh graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Senior Managing Director,
Blackstone

Verdun S. Perry is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and the Global Head of Strategic Partners Fund Solutions (“Strategic Partners”), Blackstone’s dedicated secondary fund manager, with over $25 billion of assets under management. Since 2000, Strategic Partners has been one of the market’s most prolific investors, having completed over 1,100 transactions focused on the purchase of private equity limited partnership interests and co-investments in leveraged buyout, real estate, venture capital, and infrastructure assets. Mr. Perry joined Strategic Partners when it was founded in 2000, and sits on the investment committee for each of Strategic Partners’ funds.

Prior to joining Strategic Partners, Mr. Perry worked in the strategic investments group at Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon and Eckhardt, Inc. and in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley & Co. Mr. Perry received a B.A. from Morehouse College in 1994, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 2000, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Mr. Perry serves on the boards of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), Morehouse College and the Apollo Theatre. Mr. Perry is also a member of the Advisory Board for the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and is a member of the Leadership Council for the East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP).

Vice Chairman of the
Board of Directors,
First Data Corporation

Joe Plumeri is vice chairman of the First Data Board of Directors. Plumeri was originally appointed to the Board and as a senior advisor to KKR in August 2013. Since then he also has been serving as senior advisor to First Data Chairman and CEO Frank Bisignano. He assumed the vice chairman role in May, 2014.

Since joining First Data, Plumeri has played a pivotal role in the company’s transformation from a transaction processor to a payments technology company and solutions provider to merchants and financial institutions. He has spearheaded company-wide efforts to become more client-centric, including realigning how the company delivers solutions to and serves its global and strategic accounts, national merchants and enterprise clients, financial institutions, small business clients, bank partners and agents and ISO clients. Creating a superior client experience is part of this effort to better serve clients, build stronger relationships that foster business growth for clients, and deliver innovative solutions, including the Clover™ Station, a transformational point-of-sale solution for small and medium sized businesses. Prior to joining First Data, Plumeri served as chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Willis Group Holdings plc. Under his leadership, Willis strengthened its position as one of the world’s leading insurance brokers through sector-leading organic growth and operating margins, strategic expansion, a dedication to transparency and passionate client service.

Appointed to lead Willis in 2000, Plumeri returned the company, which was privately held by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), to public ownership in 2001. When he assumed leadership of Willis, the company’s share price was $3, rising to $43 when he stepped down as chairman in 2013. Among Plumeri’s notable milestones while at Willis, in addition to the extraordinary return to shareholders, was his public leadership against conflicts of interest in the insurance industry. He also spearheaded Willis’ $2.1 billion acquisition of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH) in 2009, which was one of the largest transactions in the insurance industry in the last decade, and drove the deal to rename the Sears Tower as Willis Tower, then the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Before joining Willis, Plumeri had a 32-year career at Citigroup and its predecessor companies. As CEO of Citibank North America, he led the integration of the consumer businesses at Citicorp and Travelers Group. He also served as chairman and CEO of Travelers Primerica Financial Services, vice chairman of the Travelers Group, and president and managing partner of Shearson Lehman Brothers. A widely admired leader in the insurance industry, Plumeri was named to Treasury & Risk magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People in Finance” in 2009 and 2010. He was also recognized by St. John’s University School of Risk Management as Insurance Leader of the Year in 2006.

Plumeri’s generous philanthropy over the decades has drawn many accolades, including appointment as the Grand Marshal of the 2011 Columbus Day Parade by the Columbus Citizen’s Foundation. Plumeri also serves on the boards of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse; Mount Sinai Medical Center; the Jackie Robinson Foundation; New York Law School; and the Churchill Museum at the Cabinet Ward Rooms in London. An avid sportsman and baseball entrepreneur, Plumeri is an owner of the Trenton Thunder, the AAaffiliate of the New York Yankees, and the Trenton Blue Claws, the A-affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 2015 Plumeri published his first book, a national best seller, The Power of Being Yourself: A Game Plan for Success – by Putting Passion into Your Life and Work. In his book, based on his life experiences, Plumeri offers simple yet profound guidance on how to stay positive, motivate yourself and others and, achieve success in your life and work. All of the author’s proceeds from will be donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Born in Trenton, N.J., Plumeri received his Bachelor of Arts in history and education from the College of William and Mary and attended New York Law School. In 2011, William and Mary awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service in honor of his philanthropic endeavors, where Plumeri delivered a speech to the 2011 graduates, titled “Go Play in Traffic (and Follow the Signs Along the Road),” that was recognized as one of the best commencement addresses of the year by the New York Times. In 2015, New York Law School awarded him an Honorary Juris Doctorate, where Plumeri delivered the commencement speech to the graduates, titled “Principles for Success,” that was recognized by Time as one of the most motivating commencement speeches of the year

Entrepreneur and Technologist,
Ogon, LLC

Oscar Salazar Gaitan is a seasoned entrepreneur, senior executive, and investor in numerous successful technology firms.

Mr. Salazar was the Founding Architect of Uber. Through Uber he was instrumental in helping to redesign the architecture of on-demand transportation worldwide. Mr. Salazar provides his telecommunications and engineering expertise in the design and architecture of innovative products and systems to make positive impact in people’s lives.

As founder and CEO of Citivox (2010-2013), Mr. Salazar helped create technology to enable non-governmental organizations and individuals to monitor and report electoral fraud, crime and infrastructure problems that needed attention in Mexico.

In 2013, Mr. Salazar co-founded Pager Inc., a telemedicine company that connects patients with high quality care providers through innovative technology applications. Mr. Salazar has recently launched Ogon LLC, an advisory company through which he provides strategic, technical and marketing advice to entities such as Rubicon Global Inc., ALEX AND ANI, Sontra Cargo and many others, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Mr. Salazar sits on the board of many companies and NGOs. He is greatly committed to support philanthropic endeavors on education, fight against extreme poverty and gender equality throughout the world.

Mr. Salazar holds a B.S. in Telematics (University of Colima, Mexico), a M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (University of Calgary, Canada) and a Ph.D. in Telecommunications (Paristech, France).

Managing Director,
HPS Investment Partners, LLC

Ed Tam is a Managing Director of Highbridge Principal Strategies. Mr. Tam’s responsibilities include origination and execution of transactions for the private debt funds including Senior Loan Fund, Mezzanine Fund and various managed accounts.

Prior to joining Highbridge in June 2008, Mr. Tam spent four years as a partner for the publicly traded mezzanine fund, Apollo Investment Corporation (“AIC”). AIC is a $4 billion fund investing primarily in private mezzanine debt, public subordinated debt and private equity. Prior to joining Apollo, Mr. Tam worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/Credit Suisse from 1991 to 2003. During his tenure with the firm, Mr. Tam focused primarily on corporate finance transactions including mergers and acquisitions transactions, debt and equity fund raisings, restructurings and private equity. In 1999, Mr. Tam joined DLJ Investment Partners LP, a $1.6 billion mezzanine fund and focused on sourcing, diligencing and structuring investments. Mr. Tam is a graduate of Cornell University and has a B.S. in Operations Research/Industrial Engineering and an M.B.A. in Finance.

President & CEO,
Partnership for New York City

Kathryn Wylde is President and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, the city’s leading business organization. Its mission is to work with government, labor, and the civic sector to build a stronger New York, with a focus on education, infrastructure and the economy.

Prior to taking over the Partnership presidency in 2001, Ms. Wylde was the founding CEO of both the Partnership’s housing and investment fund affiliates. She was responsible for developing and managing affordable housing and economic development programs that contributed to the renaissance of blighted urban neighborhoods across the five boroughs. With the investment fund, she developed a network of business leaders and investors that nurtured the growth of the city’s “innovation economy,” creating thousands of jobs and promoting entrepreneurial business initiatives across the five boroughs.

An internationally recognized expert on urban policy, Ms. Wylde has been awarded honorary degrees from Fordham University and St. Francis College and serves on the boards of many nonprofit institutions, including the Lutheran Medical Center, NYC Economic Development Corporation, The Fund for Public Schools, Manhattan Institute, and the Governor’s NYC Regional Economic Development Council.