Patric de Gentile-Williams, COO
FRM Capital Advisors

Patric de Gentile-Williams joined FCA in August 2007 as Chief Operating Officer to focus on assisting new managers in establishing their businesses.

Previously, Patric was Chief Executive Officer of PCE Investors Ltd, a European based Hedge Fund Platform. As founder of the business, Patric was responsible for business strategy, manager assessment and selection as well as risk management and day to day implementation of the company’s business plan. From Launch in Jan 2004, PCE grew to $1bn AUM spread across 16 Hedge Funds.

In August 2000 Patric became a partner and Chief Operating Officer of Liquid Capital, a derivatives market making company where he established the infrastructure of the firm. Prior to this, in 1997, Patric was CEO of TARMS an Australian software company specialising in Fixed Income and FX trading and risk management systems. 

Following a brief period as Chief Executive Officer of CSFB UK Ltd between 1991 and 1992, Patric was a Managing Director of Banque Indosuez, responsible for helping transform the European Equity division from a research driven agency business to a full derivatives operation. This involved establishing the Listed and OTC Options Trading desk, the Warrant and Convertible Arbitrage desk and the Stock Index Arbitrage Books in Europe. He was also responsible for establishing a sales team to market these desk products to institutional and corporate clients. 

Patric began his career in 1984 as a Trainee Equity and Derivatives Trader with Morgan Grenfell Securities.  In 1987 he became Senior Executive for James Capel & Co, where he was responsible for creating several trading and derivative businesses for the company.  

Patric studied Engineering and Mathematics at Cambridge and London Universities.

John Cunningham, President
WR Capital Management

John Cunningham is the President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of WR Capital Management.  From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Cunningham served as Senior Vice President and the Financial and Operations Principal of Knight Securities, L.P. and Knight Capital Markets.  From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Cunningham was an officer at Greenwich Capital Markets and was responsible for issuer risk and counterparty risk management on fixed income, asset backed, derivative, and foreign currency products.  From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Cunningham practiced at the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP where he earned his CPA while specializing in the capital markets group.  Mr. Cunningham earned his MBA from Cornell University and his B.S. from the State University of New York at Albany. Telephone: (203) 504-5083   E-Mail: JC@WRInvestments.com

Maria V. Tarhanidis, Director, Alternative Investments
MetLife

Maria Tarhanidis is a Director in the Hedge Fund Unit of MetLife Investments.  Her primary responsibilities include identifying investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, and monitoring investments in non-equity hedge funds.  Prior to joining MetLife, Maria was a Portfolio Manager in the Absolute Return Strategies Group of General Motors Asset Management, where she was a senior member of the team managing hedge fund investments.

Prior to joining GMAM in 2005, Maria spent nearly nine years at Deutsche Bank.  From 2003 to 2005, Ms. Tarhanidis was a Vice President in DB Advisors/Deutsche Bank Alternative Trading, where she was responsible for proprietary capital investments in long/short equity managers.  Ms. Tarhanidis spent the prior six years in the Equity Derivatives group of Deutsche Bank, where she structured and marketed strategic equity transactions for corporations and high net worth individuals.  Ms. Tarhanidis began her career as an Assistant Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  Ms. Tarhanidis received a BS in Finance from Rutgers University and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Randal Goldsmith, Director, Fund Research
Standard & Poor’s

Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s in 1997, Randal spent 11 years working in broking and fund management, specialising in UK equity, property and investment strategy. Randal has a BSc in Accounting & Finance from Warwick University, and M.Phil in Economics from Cambridge University.

Sector specialty: Funds of Hedge Funds
Email: randal_goldsmith@standardandpoors.com

Robert Teeter, Founding Partner and Managing Director, Alternative Investments
Ten-Sixty Asset Management
13 years of institutional investment experience

Mr. Teeter began his career when he was hired by Mr. Cannistraro at Amivest Capital Management (“Amivest”) after completing an Economics degree at Bucknell University. Mr. Teeter worked with Mr. Cannistraro to develop the fund of funds program and create a sophisticated risk management system. Mr. Teeter later served as an Equity Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Amivest. When Amivest was sold in 1998, Mr. Teeter embarked to New York University to obtain his MBA degree in Finance. He then joined Tower Capital in 2001, a $2.3 Billion fund of funds firm, where he developed a sophisticated alternative investment process that was based on his prior work with Mr. Cannistraro. Mr. Teeter served as Portfolio Manager at Tower Capital, where he invested in over 75 hedge funds and managed a team of Analysts. He also co-developed and launched a specialized fund of funds with a major asset management organization. After continuing to work closely with Mr. Cannistraro over the last ten years, Mr. Teeter joined Ten-Sixty Asset Management in 2004.

Jason Scharfman, Managing Partner
Corgentum

Jason A. Scharfman holds the position of Managing Partner of Corgentum. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in the field of hedge fund operational due diligence. Before he founded Corgentum, Scharfman oversaw the operational due diligence function for a $6 billion alternative investment allocation group called Graystone Research at Morgan Stanley. While at Morgan Stanley, Scharfman was also a senior member of a team that oversaw all of Morgan Stanley’s hedge fund operational due diligence efforts allocating in excess of $13 billion to a firm-wide platform of over 300 hedge fund managers across multiple investment strategies. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he held positions that focused primarily on due diligence and risk management within the alternative investment sector at Lazard Asset Management, SPARX Investments and Research and Thomson Financial.

Jason is also the author of the recently released book Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence .

Christianna Wood, Chief Executive Officer
Capital Z Asset Management

Christianna Wood is the Chief Executive Officer of Capital Z Asset Management. Previously, Ms. Wood was the Senior Investment Officer for the Global Equity unit of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) for five years, responsible for over $150 billion, including $100 billion internally managed in developed and emerging markets, $37 billion in external managers, $8 billion in hedge funds and $7 billion in activist / corporate governance managers.

Ms. Wood’s experience spans more than 25 years in equity and fixed income investment portfolio management. Prior to CalPERS, Ms. Wood worked for Colorado-based Denver Investment Advisors where she served as a Principal, Portfolio Manager, Director of Value Strategies and a member of the Management Committee. Prior to Denver Investment Advisors, Ms. Wood was a Principal and Portfolio Manager at two other organizations where she managed investment teams and institutional equity and fixed income portfolios.

Ms. Wood earned an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University’s Graduate Business School and a B.A. in Economics cum laude from Vassar College. She also attended London School of Economics and University College of the University of London. Ms. Wood is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

She is a Trustee of Vassar College and serves on the Investment, Audit and Social Responsibility Committees of the Vassar College Board of Trustees. Christy is also a member of the Boards of H&R Block, the International Corporate Governance Network, Capital Z Asset Management and Cevian Capital Limited. She chairs the Audit and Accounting Practices Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network. She is also a member of the Consultative Advisory Group of The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and a former member of the Standard Advisory Group of The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Scott Carpenter, Senior Managing Director
IFS, State Street

Scott Carpenter is a Senior Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer with IFS, a State Street Company. Mr. Carpenter has been with IFS in the New York office since 2007.  Prior to joining IFS, Mr. Carpenter spent 14 years with IFS' parent company State Street Corporation where he served a variety of operational, accounting, and customer servicing roles including expatriate assignments in State Street’s Luxembourg, Sydney, and Tokyo offices.  Leveraging this experience, Mr. Carpenter led State Street's client consulting practice from 2000-2003 working closely with global investment managers requiring insights on how to optimize their internal operations for accounting, administration, middle office, and transfer agency.  In 2004 Mr. Carpenter accepted a position as Department Head in Global Business Development responsible for new business opportunities with State Street’s multi-product, multi-jurisdictional customers.  In 2006 Mr. Carpenter began to work with State Street’s Alternative Investment Solutions business, focusing on integration opportunities with IFS which ultimately led to his relocation to New York to head the IFS operation.

Mr. Carpenter holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Entrepreneurial Studies from Babson College in Wellesley, MA.

Anthony Scaramucci, Managing Partner
SkyBridge Capital, New York

Anthony Scaramucci is the Founder and Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital, which is focused on partnering with emerging managers. The fund now has 9 managers and $1.4 billion in assets.

Mr. Scaramucci was a Partner and Founder of Oscar Capital Management LLC, responsible for overseeing compliance and research for four hedge funds and separately managed accounts with assets totaling over $1 billion. In November of 2001, Oscar Capital was sold to Neuberger Berman. Mr. Scaramucci, a Managing Director of Neuberger Berman/Lehman Brothers, served from 2003 – 2005 on the Investment Committee of Neuberger’s Premier Portfolio, which his group originated, and worked on the Neuberger Berman/Lehman integration team. He was also responsible for distributing Private Asset Management products into Lehman’s private client service division. Prior to that, Mr. Scaramucci was a Vice President in Goldman Sach’s Equities Division.

Mr. Scaramucci earned a BA in Economics, summa cum laude from Tufts University in 1986. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society. He graduated with a JD from Harvard Law School in 1989. He is a Board Member of The Lymphoma Foundation, and The Brain Tumor Foundation. He is also on the Board of Overseers for the school of arts and sciences at Tufts University.

Ron S. Geffner, Corporate and Financial Services Partner
Sadis & Goldberg LLP

Ron S. Geffner is a member of Sadis & Goldberg LLP and 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. Mr. Geffner's broad background with federal and state securities laws and the rules and regulations of the 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 several hundred hedge funds and private equity funds organized in the United States and offshore.

Mr. Geffner began his legal career with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, where he investigated and prosecuted violations of the Federal securities laws. He also assisted federal and state criminal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office, in connection with their investigations of possible criminal violations of federal and state securities laws.

Prior to joining 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 to the Investment Management Industry Services Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. He provided legal advice to the Group regarding investment advisers, registered investment companies and broker-dealers.

Mr. Geffner is often interviewed as a legal expert in the securities industry and has been interviewed on television on Fox News, CBS Morning Show, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Squawk Box and Power Lunch on CNBC, British Broadcasting Channel, Bloomberg Radio, and 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. On April 6, 2005, Mr. Geffner was invited to speak to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington D.C. as a panelist on the CPO and Commodity Pool Roundtable in connection with recent developments in the hedge fund industry. In addition, he has published a number of leading industry and legal articles.

Mr. Geffner received his J.D. in 1991 from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and received his B.A. degree in 1988 from Rutgers University. He is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bars. 

Other Distinctions

Listed in:
“Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Private Funds Lawyers,” Law Business Research Ltd. (2008)
“Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers,” Law Business Research Ltd. (2008)

Edward Smith, Portfolio Manager
Providence Investment Management

Edward Smith has been a senior member of Providence's investment team since September 2005.  He is responsible for assisting in portfolio and risk management.

From January 2000 to September 2005, Mr. Smith served as an Associate Portfolio Manager for Watch Hill.  From July 1995 to January 1999, Mr. Smith was a Managing Director in the MBS Sales Group at Merit Capital.  Prior to working at Merit Capital, Mr. Smith was a Vice President of MBS Sales at Nikko Securities from July 1993 to November 1994.  From January 1990 to July 1993, he served as a MBS derivative trader at Prudential Securities, a large primary dealer in MBS.

George Lucaci, Managing Director
Channel Capital Group LLC

Mr. Lucaci is a Managing Director overseeing the entire Capital Markets Group at Channel Capital Group LLC and has twenty-five years of experience profitably marketing new businesses and products. He ran and developed Chemical Bank’s first FX Corporate Desk and headed up a proprietary FX Futures Arbitrage Trading Desk at Citibank. Later, at Citibank, he was part of the Mortgage Securitization Group that issued Citicorp’s first CMO. Mr. Lucaci was the National Product and Sales Manager at Merrill Lynch’s Mortgage Backed Sales Group and served as National Fixed Income Sales Manager for Nomura Securities. With his own company, he issued a high yield deal as well as a CBO and raised private equity for a storage company that was acquired by a public company. He was also CEO of a distressed company that was purchased by a public company. Mr. Lucaci has a BA from Duke University and an MBA from George Washington University. Licenses: Series 7, 63, 4, 8, and 24.

Robert C. Lieber, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development
New York City

Robert C. Lieber is Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. In February 2007, Lieber was named President of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and became Deputy Mayor in January 2008. Lieber has responsibility for agencies including EDC, Department of Small Business Services, Department of City Planning, Department of Finance, NYC & Company among others. Initiatives he has overseen include the river-to-river rezoning of 125th Street in Harlem, the comprehensive rezoning plan for Coney Island and the City’s efforts to create a new mixed-use neighborhood in Willets Point as well as the development of Moynihan Station. He spearheads the effort to support a more vibrant and diverse City economy by growing varied sectors including bioscience, fashion, maritime support, film, television, and tourism among others.

Lieber previously served as Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, where he was Global Head of Real Estate Investment Banking as well as Real Estate Private Equity where he was responsible for originations for a $2.8 billion real estate merchant banking fund. In 1999, and again in 2003, Lieber was recognized by Institutional Investor Magazine for “Deal of The Year,” and he was named “Financier of the Year” in 2005 by Commercial Property News. Lieber holds a BA from the University of Colorado and a Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Vice Chairman of the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School, and Trustee of the Urban Land Institute.

Nick Thomas, Specialised Sales
HSBC Securities Services

Nick is responsible for global business development in HSBC Securities Services with specific emphasis on providing fund client solutions related to securities financing, cash and derivative market execution, collateral management, foreign exchange and liquidity management services. Nick’s mandate is to link HSBC’s alternative and institutional fund services with HSBC's global markets products into a seamless client offering that emphasizes the full extent of HSBC’s global product and client reach.

Dick Del Bello, Senior Partner
Conifer Securities

Based in Conifer's New York office, Mr. Del Bello brings over 25 years of prime brokerage experience to Conifer. He was most recently Head of Prime Brokerage for the Americas at UBS, responsible for Prime Brokerage, Swaps, and Securities Lending for the region, and also sat on the Equities Division Operating Committee ( Americas). Mr. Del Bello joined UBS as part of the PaineWebber acquisition, where he initiated and ran their Prime Brokerage businesses. Prior to UBS, he began his career at the New York Stock Exchange and currently continues to serve as a member of the NYSE Hearing Board. Mr. Del Bello received his Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Georgetown University.

Willa Cohen Bruckner, Partner in the Financial Services and Products Group
Alston & Bird LLP

Willa Cohen Bruckner is a partner in the Financial Services and Products Group in our New York office. She concentrates on derivatives, structured products, and alternative investments and brings to her practice over 25 years of experience as a financial services attorney. Ms. Bruckner has worked extensively in new product development and in negotiation and documentation of a wide variety of derivatives products and complex financial transactions. She works with clients on the preparation and implementation of legal and compliance policies and procedures related to investment and trading businesses. Ms. Bruckner draws on experience in a broad range of financial transactions, investments, and services, including derivatives, structured notes, securitizations, hedge funds and private equity funds, debt financings, investment management, credit support, and corporate trust.

Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Ms. Bruckner was general counsel for a family investment office and fund of funds. Before that, she was a partner at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP. She has also served as the lead capital markets attorney at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York, as a capital markets and lending attorney for The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. and as an international lending attorney for Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company.

Ms. Bruckner received her J.D. from The University of Pennsylvania Law School, her M.A. in economics from Yale University and her B.S. with highest honors in mathematics from The University of Michigan. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey.

Gerald H. Ranzal, CPA-Tax and Audit Partner
Anchin

Gerald Ranzal is a tax and audit partner at Anchin and the Partner-in-Charge of the firm's Financial Services Group. Gerry has more than 35 years of experience giving tax, business and operating advice to investment advisors, investment partnerships, family offices, brokers/dealers, and mutual funds. He specializes in structuring investment partnerships and partnership agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations. He consults on inbound or outbound international transactions.

Gerry lectures frequently and has contributed to The CPA Journal, The Journal of Taxation, The Hedge Fund Review, The Journal of Real Estate Development and various other industry publications. He is the author of Amacon's Tax Deferral for Foreign Corporations, was formerly on the advisory board of editors of The International Tax Journal, and is listed in Who's Who of American Business Leaders.

Additionally, he has created and chaired FAE's Investment Partnership Conference for 10 years, and has been chairperson of IIR's Tax, and Financial Reporting Practices for Hedge Funds for the past 5 years. He is also the chairperson of the tax committee of the Wall Street Hedge Fund Forum.

Gerry is a member of the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society for Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA).

Education
Bernard Baruch College, M.B.A., Taxation
Bernard Baruch College, B.B.A., Public Accounting

William Gordon, Managing Member
Dix Hills Partners, LLC

Mr. Gordon is a founder and Managing Member of Dix Hills Associates, LLC and its affiliate management company, Dix Hills Partners, LLC and serves as the company’s Client and Business Manager. He had been focused on developing investments for institutional and high-net worth investors before founding the companies in July 2003. Until January of 2001, Mr. Gordon was a Managing Director, Institutional Business Unit at Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management, a subsidiary of UBS/PaineWebber. Prior to UBS/PaineWebber, he held positions at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets for over 15 years, working with Fortune 500 Corporation and institutions in pension/cash management, private equity and traditional asset management. Additionally, he has held positions at Merrill Lynch in Institutional Marketing, Prime Brokerage/Securities Lending, and working with hedge funds and alternative investment strategies. A significant part of his career has been advising institutions, pension funds and high net worth clients regarding investments and portfolio strategies. He has held several management positions overseeing business teams. Mr. Gordon holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

David Hu , Managing Partner
International Investment Group LLC

Prior to co-founding IIG, Mr. Hu served as Managing Director-Head Trader of Emerging Markets Fixed Income at Smith Barney, Inc. and Nomura Securities International, Inc., and Senior Trader of LDC debt at American Express Bank Ltd. In these capacities, he had significant involvement in the trading and sales of emerging markets debt and related instruments and the management of substantial proprietary portfolios. Mr. Hu also played a significant role in the underwriting of numerous transactions on behalf of corporations, financial institutions, and government entities. Previously, Mr. Hu started his banking career at Mellon Bank N.A., where he structured cross-border trade transactions and served as an analyst in the bank's Metals and Mining Credit Group.

Fluent in Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Mr. Hu holds an MBA in international management from The American Graduate School of International Management and an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.

Matthew Luckett, General Partner
Balestra Capital

Matthew Luckett is a general partner with Balestra Capital, a global macro-economic asset management firm.  At Balestra Capital, he is responsible for portfolio research and construction, overall firm management and is a member of the firm’s investment committee.  Mr. Luckett began his career as an industry analyst at Gartner Group, where he helped launch several successful research practices, advising Fortune 500 enterprises on software licensing and pricing issues, as well as tracking emerging software companies.  Mr. Luckett was a Principal and Senior Research Analyst at SoundView Technology Group (NASDAQ: SNDV), where he was responsible for research coverage of software, internet and business services companies. In 2000, he was named to the Wall Street Journal “Best on the Street” analyst team.  Upon the successful sale of the firm (to Wit Capital, then to Charles Schwab), he became a venture capitalist and senior operating executive for three years.

Mr. Luckett was a George F. Baker Scholar at Georgetown University where he graduated with honors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies with a minor in Japanese.

James R. Burritt, CFA, Managing Director
Thomas H. Lee Capital, LLC

Mr. Burritt joined Thomas H. Lee Capital, LLC in July 2002.  Mr. Burritt is responsible for daily management of the Blue Star and Lee Enhanced Offshore hedge fund of funds portfolios.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Burritt was a Vice President in Merrill Lynch Investment Managers’ Alternative Strategies Group where he was responsible for hedge fund research and due diligence.  From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Burritt was an investment analyst as well as assisted in the development of corporate strategy around alternative investments at XL Capital.  From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Burritt was an investment analyst at Trout Trading Management Company.  Mr. Burritt earned a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University in 1997, Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies from Bucknell University in 1992.

Peter D. Greene, Member of the Firm
Lowenstein Sandler

Peter D. Greene is a member of the firm’s Corporate Department and the Investment Management and M&A and Corporate Finance Practice Groups. He has experience in the formation of investment funds, securities regulation, trading issues, investor relations matters, compliance, employment relationships and general corporate matters.

Mr. Greene was previously the General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer at a hedge fund specializing in Private Investments in Public Equities (PIPEs).

Robert A. Picard, Senior Advisor
Navigant Consulting

Robert A. Picard is a Senior Advisor for Navigant Consulting and provides services for the firm's Financial Institutions Restructuring Solutions Team ("FIRST TM"), part of Navigant Capital Advisors (NCA), the dedicated corporate finance business unit of Navigant Consulting. The team provides a full suite of services to stressed and distressed financial institutions. Mr. Picard most recently served as Chief Investment Officer at Optima Fund Management, overseeing $6.5 billion in hedge fund of fund investments. Prior to joining Optima, Mr. Picard was a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, where he built and managed the process and portfolio of an innovative hedge fund business that provided an institutional platform for institutions investing in alternative investments. Previously, Mr. Picard also served as Managing Director at RBC Capital Risk Advisors, working with the Global Equity Derivatives Group of Royal Bank of Canada, as European Manager, Structured Equity Products for RBC Dominion Securities Inc., as European Product Manager, Global Equity Derivatives for Kidder, Peabody in Europe and earlier worked for Bank Nomura (Suisse) S.A. trading and selling multicurrency, Japanese and South-East Asian convertible and warrant products. Mr. Picard graduated from College de Geneve and attended the University of Geneva School of Law.

Stephen J. De Groat, Managing Director
Channel Capital Group, LLC

Prior to joining Channel Capital, Stephen J. DeGroat was the Chairman and CEO of New York-based broker dealer, Jesup&Lamont from 2002 through May of 2008. In early 2002, DeGroat along with Apex Venture Partners of Chicago merged the assets of a predecessor firm, Broadmark Capital, into Jesup&Lamont Securities Corporation. In the next five years while he was a principal owner and managed the firm, the revenues of Jesup grew from approximately $3.0MM in 2002 to over $18.0MM in 2006. Growth was both organic and by acquisition. Jesup acquired several parts of small broker dealers, including Oftring Securities of Worcester, Mass in 2004; the Southeast Research Partners Group in Boca Raton, FL in 2005; and the Independent Portfolio Consultants (IPC) group of Boca Raton, FL. At that time, IPC managed over $2.0 Billion in AUM. During his tenure at Jesup the firm built execution capability in the reverse-merger, PIPE, and SPAC businesses. In late 2006, Jesup&Lamont was acquired by Empire Financial Holdings, (EFH, AMEX) of Longwood, FL. Mr. DeGroat stayed on to manage the Jesup&Lamont division until May of 2008.

Elizabeth McCaul, Partner-in-charge, NY
Promontory Financial Partners

Ms. McCaul provides broad strategic financial and regulatory advisory services throughout the United States and Europe.

Previously, she served as the Superintendent of Banks of the State of New York. Ms. McCaul served as Chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors in 2001 and 2002, and was a member of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council in 2002 to 2003, and participated in the Joint Forum for Financial Conglomerates. She was an instructor on Corporate Governance at the Financial Stability Institute at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.

As New York Bank Supervisor, Ms. McCaul was responsible for supervision of some of the world’s largest institutions, most of the foreign banks operating in the United States, as well as community banks, mortgage companies, and the overseas banking activities of investment banks and insurance companies. Total assets subject to NYS supervision were approximately $2 trillion. She is well recognized for her safety and soundness and risk management credentials. She introduced capital markets specialists to the examination teams, established targeted hedge fund reviews, opened a Tokyo office, and helped banks and securities firms comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act.

In addition, Ms. McCaul directed a $22 billion banker’s bank following its liquidity problems. After the attacks on September 11 th, she worked with banks, securities firms and the Federal Reserve to get the U.S. markets reopened and functioning properly. She subsequently worked with the federal regulators and top law enforcement officials to create mechanisms to help guard against the use of the U.S. banking system for financial terrorism.

Ms. McCaul was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co. from 1985 to 1995. She graduated from Boston University with a B.A., and had a scholarship to the Common Market Program at the Institute of European Studies in Frieburg, Germany.

Duncan P. Hennes, Co-Founder/Partner
Atrevida Partners LLC

Duncan is currently a Co-Founder and Partner of Atrevida Partners, LLC, an alternative asset management firm. Prior to Atrevida, Duncan was a Co-Founder and Partner of Promontory Financial Group, an investment and advisory firm focused on the financial services sector. Duncan is currently a Senior Advisor of Promontory.

Prior to Promontory, Duncan was the Chief Executive Officer of Soros Fund Management, one of the largest and well-known hedge fund management companies, managing over $20 billion in capital. Duncan’s responsibilities at Soros included management of the firm’s investing and operational infrastructure, expansion of the firm’s business platform, management of specific trading areas, including arbitrage activities, and selection of third party managers.

Prior to Soros, Duncan was at Bankers Trust Company for 12 years. He held a number of positions, including Executive Vice President in charge of the Trading, Sales and Derivatives division and Treasurer. He was a member of the firm’s Management Committee, Asset Liability Committee, and Capital Commitment Committee. He was also a Member of the Board of Directors of BT Alex. Brown Inc.

The Trading and Sales division of BT, consisting of 750 professionals, was one of the most profitable divisions of Bankers Trust with over $1 billion in revenues. It included Proprietary Trading and Arbitrage, Treasury and Funding, Securities Finance and Prime Brokerage, Client Structured Tax Products, Global Foreign Exchange, Fixed Income, Equity, Currency and Energy Derivatives, Municipal Capital Markets and U.S. Treasury Dealership.

While at Bankers Trust, Duncan was the Chairman of the Board of Oversight Partners I, the consortium that took over control of Long Term Capital Management.

Prior to Bankers Trust, Duncan was a Certified Public Accountant and an Audit Manager with Arthur Andersen and Co. He was employed at Arthur Andersen & Co for eight years.

Duncan received his Bachelor of Science degree, Summa cum Laude, from the Wharton undergraduate division of the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. In 1979, he received an MBA degree, with distinction, in Finance from the Wharton Graduate Division.

Duncan’s other activities include membership on a number of local, charitable and other Boards, including:

• Member of the Board of Directors, Finance Committee and the Research, Education and Patient Care Committee of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
• Member of the Board of Syncora Guarantee Services Inc. 
• Member of the Board of Trustees and Finance Committee of Manhattanville College
• Vice Commodore of the American Yacht Club
• Former Chairman of the Fairfield and Westchester County Chapter of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Former member of the Board and Treasurer of the Rye Country Day School
• Former Rye City Councilman

Duncan is married and has three children (William 25, DJ 22, and Andy 21).

Thurstan Bannister, Head of Business Development
Atrevida Partners

Thurstan Bannister has a background in energy trading software, and derivatives trading and marketing. From 1999 to 2008, he was partner and CEO at Sakonnet Technology, a private software company, where he was responsible for business planning, raising capital, sales and marketing, licensing and client relationships. Sakonnet provides energy trade capture and risk management applications and related services to European utilities and other energy market participants.

Before that, he was a Vice President at J.P. Morgan, where he led the start-up and expansion of several new derivatives businesses, including reinsurance, emerging market and equity derivatives. These roles included responsibility for relationships with U.S. family offices and institutional investors. He started at Morgan as an analyst in the Eurobond underwriting group, and then joined the derivatives group as a trader and marketer of interest rate and currency swaps, and was for several years head trader of the firm's US interest rate swap book.

Mr. Bannister graduated from Oxford University with an M.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1982.