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Our Board of Advisors and Corporate Partners
make our work possible.

Instructor, New York Institute of Finance

Ralph Acampora

One of Wall Street's most respected technical analysts, Ralph has been consistently ranked by Institutional Investor for more than 10 years. With 47 years of experience, he is a pioneer in the development of market analytics and has a global reputation as a technical analyst and market historian.

Ralph is a Senior Managing Director at Altaira Ltd., which offers wealth management services to family offices and high net worth individuals. He is regularly consulted for his market opinion by CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and others. Ralph is a trustee on the board of the Security Industry Institute and is involved in the establishment of the Securities Traders Association University. He is also the founder of the Chartered Market Technicians Association, which today has more than 80 chapters and 5,000 members globally. He also founded and was the first chairman of the International Federation of Technical Analysts.

A former director of technical research at Knight Equity Markets, Ralph worked for 15 years at Prudential Equity Group as director of technical analysis. He worked at several of the financial industry's top firms, including Kidder Peabody & Co. and Smith Barney.

He is the Co-author of the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) examination and author of The Fourth Mega-Market, Now Through 2011: How Three Earlier Bull Markets Explain the Present and Predict the Future.

Founding Partner, Ramp Catalyst Network

Matthew Collier

Matt is currently a founding partner of Ramp Catalyst Network, an early-stage digital health-focused venture fund, as well as acting Senior Advisor to Yellowstone Holdings helping to bring an advanced cybersecurity offering to the health market-place.

In 2014 Matt joined Accenture as the head of the Global Health Strategy practice. In 2018 he moved over to stand-up a new practice focused on the convergence of industries into health. While there he helped clients across the landscape including payers, providers, distributors, life-sciences, pharma and Med-Tech to address the disruptive changes currently affecting the healthcare industry in addition to having served those players from adjacent industries seeking health market entry. He has also worked extensively around the world including Europe, North and South America and APAC.

Prior to joining Accenture, Matt was a Partner at Bain & Co. where he developed and led Bain’s Global Medtech growth initiative from nascent to market leading in 5 years and drove the growth of their APAC health practice from Shanghai in 2011-14. He has also consistently supported PE funds in both front-end diligence and portfolio optimization. Prior to his stint at Bain he spent a decade as a serial-CEO running 3 privately backed companies and sitting on 4 boards in the med-tech, pharma and health services sectors. He originally developed his passion for healthcare while at McKinsey where he spent 5 years working across the payer/provider, pharma and med-tech sectors.

Former CEO, U.S. Bank

Richard Davis

Davis is the President and Chief Executive Office of Make-A-Wish America. Davis is the former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Bancorp, parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. He served as Executive Chairman from December 2007 to April 2018, Chief Executive Officer from December 2006 to April 2017, President from October 2004 to January 2016, and Chief Operating Officer from October 2004 to December 2006. Davis was an Executive Vice President at Bank of America and Security Pacific Bank prior to joining Star Banc Corporation, which was one of U.S. Bancorp’s legacy companies.
During his career, he has served as Chairman of the Financial Services Roundtable, Chairman of the Consumer Bankers Association, Chairman of The Clearing House, and representative for the Ninth District of the Federal Reserve, where he was President of its Financial Advisory Committee. Additionally, he currently serves as a director of the Mayo Clinic. He was also one of three executive co-chairs of the 2018 Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee.

Davis brings global business and leadership experience as a former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of a public company, particularly in industries subject to extensive regulation. He has extensive experience and knowledge of international business operations, financial services and capital allocation which is particularly important given the global presence and financial aspects of the company. Davis has additional public company board experience across the financial services and medical industries resulting in additional corporate governance and compensation experience, financial expertise and board leadership experience.

Davis also serves on the Mastercard Incorporated Board of Directors (since June 2018). Davis served on the Xcel Energy Board of Directors from March 2006 to May 2020, the DowDuPont Inc. Board of Directors from July 2018 to April 2019, the DowDuPont Materials Advisory Committee from September 2017 to April 2019, and The Dow Chemical Company Board of Directors from 2015 to August 2017.

Lecturer, Princeton University

JC de Swaan

JC de Swaan is a lecturer in the economics department at Princeton University, where he is affiliated with the Bendheim Center for Finance. He teaches courses on ethics in finance and on Asian capital markets to undergraduate and graduate students. He also teaches at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. In the past he has taught at Yale University, Hong Kong UST, and Cheung Kong Business School in Beijing.

Separately, JC de Swaan is a Partner at Cornwall Capital, an investment fund based in New York. Prior to Cornwall, he was a senior advisor on China at a global macro fund and an investment professional at an Asia-dedicated hedge fund. Prior to that, JC de Swaan worked at McKinsey & Company.

At Princeton, JC de Swaan also hosts speakers on the topic of ethics in finance and acts as a faculty adviser to first-year and sophomore students.

JC de Swaan received his B.A. from Yale University in Political Science, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an Associate Fellow of Ezra Stiles College, Yale University.

Former CEO and Chairman, Piper Sandler Companies

Andrew Duff

Andrew S. Duff served as the chairman of Piper Sandler Companies from 2003 - 2018 and was previously the firm's chief executive officer from 2000 through 2017.

Duff joined Piper Sandler in 1980 in the institutional fixed income sales group. He was later promoted to manager of institutional sales and trading in 1994, and then served as president of the individual investor services and capital markets areas until 1996. During the time period that Piper Sandler was owned by U.S. Bancorp (1996 through 2003), Duff served as president of Piper Sandler and vice chair of U.S. Bancorp for the wealth management group.

Duff currently serves on the board of directors of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the University of St. Thomas board of trustees and the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business strategic board of governors. He is a longstanding member of the Walker Art Center board of trustees, and an advisor to the board of directors of Great Clips, Inc. He is a former board member of Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).

CEO, charity: water

Scott Harrison

Scott Harrison is the founder of charity: water, a nonprofit organization that brings safe drinking water to developing countries. He was recognized in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 list, the Forbes Magazine Impact 30 list and was recently #10 in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business issue. He is currently a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and the New York Times bestselling author of Thirst.

After spending two years on a hospital ship off the coast of Liberia, Scott saw the effects of dirty water firsthand, and came back to New York City on a mission. Upon returning to NYC in 2006, Scott turned his full attention to the global water crisis and the (then) 1.1 billion people living without access to clean water. He established a small core team in a tiny Manhattan apartment and created charity: water.

Fourteen years later, with the help of more than 1 million supporters worldwide, charity: water has raised over $539 million and funded over 64,000 water projects in 29 countries. When completed, those projects will provide over 12.6 million people with clean, safe drinking water.

Managing Director, BlackRock

Daniel Hibbert

Daniel Hibbert is a Managing Director at BlackRock for
Alternative Investments Head of Transformation and Platform Strategy.

Prior to working at Blackrock, he had a long history of experience at Goldman Sachs, previously acting as Managing Director for Global Head of People Experience and Transformation.

Daniel is a proud graduate of Tennessee State University (an HBCU in Nashville, TN).

Board Member, Microsoft

Teri List

Teri List currently serves as a Board Director for Microsoft and formerly served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Gap, Inc., where she oversaw its finance, real estate and information technology organizations.

Teri also served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., where she oversaw the finance and legal organization.

Before this, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Kraft Foods Group. As CFO of Kraft, she led the finance, information services and business process excellence organizations.

From 1994 to 2013, she was with Procter & Gamble, progressing to Senior Vice President and Treasurer. Before this, she spent over nine years at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where she provided financial counsel to large multinational companies.

Teri also serves on the Board of Directors of Danaher Corp. and Double Verify. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting from Northern Michigan University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

CFO, Point72

Tony Paquette

Anthony “Tony” Paquette joined the Scholars of Finance Board of Advisors in 2019, and has joined Point72, an Asset Management firm based in Connecticut, as their Chief Financial Officer.

Tony has spent 20 years in the financial services industry, serving in many leadership roles across various countries and disciplines, including investment research, investment strategy, trading, portfolio management, asset liability management (ALM) and running entire businesses.

Prior to joining Point 72 in 2020, Tony was at SoFi, a leading FinTech in Sillicon Valley as a Business Unit Leader overseeing International, New Business, Treasury, Regulatory Operations, and led the firms application for their bank charter. Before SoFi, Tony was at J.P. Morgan Chase in New York City, where he was a Managing Director and the Global Head of Funding & Liability Management for the company. Prior to this, he held portfolio management roles in the Chief Investment Office at J.P. Morgan, and in Treasury & Corporate Investments at Bank of America. He began his career as a research analyst covering the Technology sector at Goldman Sachs.

In addition to serving in formal leadership roles, Tony has been a consistent member of committees and organizations supporting employee recruiting, leadership training, corporate cultural development and military veterans affairs.

Tony holds a B.A. from Brown University, with a double major in Business Economics and Organizational Behavior & Management, and sits on the President’s Advisory Council on Athletics for the University. He has been a CFA Charterholder since 2003.

Tony is originally from Minnesota, and together with his wife, Amber, has been directly involved with several leading non-profit organizations over the last 20 years. Tony and Amber currently live in California with their three children Stella, Allegra and Rex.

Partner, KKR Credit

Daniel Pietrzak

Daniel Pietrzak (New York) joined KKR in 2016 and is a Partner of KKR. Mr. Pietrzak is a portfolio manager for KKR's private credit funds and portfolios and a member of the Global Private Credit Investment Committee, Europe Direct Lending Investment Committee and KKR Credit Portfolio Management Committee. Mr. Pietrzak is Chief Investment Officer of the KKR / FS Investments joint venture and Co-President and Chief Investment Officer for each of the business development companies managed by the joint venture, including FS KKR Capital Corp., which trades on the NYSE. He also serves of the board of directors of several KKR Credit portfolio companies, including Home Partners of America, Oodle Car Finance, Pepper and Toorak Capital Partners. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Pietrzak was a managing director and the co-head of Deutsche Bank’s structured finance business across the Americas and Europe. Previously, Mr. Pietrzak held various roles in the credit businesses of Societe Generale and CIBC World Markets. Mr. Pietrzak started his career at Price Waterhouse in New York and is a CPA. Mr. Pietrzak holds an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Accounting from Lehigh University. Mr. Pietrzak serves on the Advisory Board for the Lehigh University Center of Financial Services.
President, Piper Sandler Companies

Deb Schoneman

Deb Schoneman serves as president of Piper Sandler, and is a member of the firm’s board of directors. She joined Piper Sandler in 1990 in the accounting department, and has held several senior management positions, including global head of equities, chief financial officer, finance director of both equity and fixed income capital markets, and treasurer.

Schoneman serves on the board of directors of SIFMA. She also serves as vice chair of the board of directors of Allina Health, a not-for-profit health care system based in Minneapolis, MN, and is chair of its finance committee, and is a director emeritus of BestPrep, a nonprofit organization focused on business, career and financial literacy skills, and was its chair for two years. She has completed three mission trips to Haiti through the organization, Healing Haiti, and was awarded "CFO of the Year" by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal in 2014.

Schoneman earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Minnesota State University Mankato and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.

Vice Chairman, Baird

John Taft

John Taft is Vice Chairman of Baird and a member of the firm's Executive Committee. Prior to joining Baird, he served as CEO of RBC Wealth Management, a full-service brokerage firm with nearly 2,000 financial advisors and over $280 billion in assets, for more than 10 years (2005-2016). He is a past chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), where he advocated for responsible financial reform.

John's other past roles include president and CEO of Voyageur Asset Management; president and CEO of Dougherty Summit Securities; a member of the board of directors of Segall Bryant & Hamill, The Clifton Group and Columbia Threadneedle Funds; and a managing director at Piper, Sandler & Hopwood. Investment Advisor magazine named him to its 2013 IA 25 list of the most influential people in the financial industry and he made the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business list by Trust Across America in 2014 and 2015.

John is a frequent public speaker and media contributor, and has authored two books, "Stewardship: Lessons Learned from the Lost Culture of Wall Street" and "A Force for Good: How Enlightened Finance Can Restore Faith in Capitalism."

Deeply committed to community involvement, inclusion, diversity and many other important issues, John credits his family, including his great grandfather, 27th U.S. President William Howard Taft, for instilling strong core values that shape his definition of business success and belief in the importance of treating all people with dignity.

Managing Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

Scott Kupor

Scott Kupor is an investing partner focused on growth-stage companies building in the bio and healthcare industries, he manages the firm's investor relations team, and is responsible for the firm's growth initiatives.
Scott was the first employee at Andreessen Horowitz and managed the firm's growth from $300 million in AUM to more than $30 billion. Prior to joining the firm, Scott worked as vice president and general manager of software-as-a-service at Hewlett Packard. Before that, he held numerous executive management positions at Opsware, including senior vice president of global field operations, vice president of financial planning and vice president of corporate development. Prior to Opsware, Scott represented software companies in both financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers.

Scott is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It, and serves on the boards of Cedar, Headway, Foursquare, Labster, Ultima, and SnapLogic. He also served as chairman of the board for the National Venture Capital Association.

Scott graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy with honors and distinction. He also holds a law degree with distinction from Stanford University and is a member of the State Bar of California.

Managing Director, Techstars

Vijay Tirathrai

Vijay is a serial entrepreneur, mentor and a seasoned C-level executive. He has over 30 years of international experience in start-ups, business development and transformation roles covering several industries; namely retail, manufacturing and associations management. Respected by his peers and colleagues for its visionary drive, business strategy acumen and his inspiring leadership-style. He has operated and conducted business in over 25 countries and enjoys an expansive global network of peers.

As the former CEO and Chairman of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, he now seeks to nurture and invest in start-ups and early stage companies to grow through mentor-ship, access to global networks and venture capital.

Our Corporate Partners

We’re grateful to have top financial institutions supporting our growth. The top executives at these firms coach our team, send their CEOs and other top executives to our events, are our go-to recruiting partners, and support us with generous financial support.

U.S. Bank, the fifth largest bank in the United States, is our Founding Partner. U.S. Bank was also named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® for the past four years by the Ethisphere® Institute. The company’s former CEO and Chairman, Richard Davis, was one of the first executives to strongly encourage us to bring Scholars of Finance to more students, in more cities and in more ways. U.S. Bank’s current President and CEO, Andy Cecere, was a panelist at our inaugural symposium and 3rd symposium. Executives across the bank, from the Corporate Social Responsibility, Recruiting and Ethics teams are helping support our organization.

Piper Sandler is a leading publicly traded middle-market investment bank that was named one of Forbes’ 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies in 2015 and 2017. While one of the co-founders was working at Piper Sandler, Andrew Duff, former CEO and current Chairman, became the first executive to support Scholars of Finance. The firm’s executives have provided guidance to our team for years as we informally put on leadership symposia and they were our first corporate financial supporters.

Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base. Founded in 1869, the firm maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world. Recently, Goldman Sachs has signed on to be the Founding Sponsor of our first two HBCU chapters at Florida A&M University and Spelman College, as a part of their broader ambition to be an employer of choice for all diverse professionals. With this commitment, they will become a stronger part of our mission to inspire character and integrity in the finance leaders of tomorrow.

Charles Schwab is a leading provider of financial services and, through its operating subsidiaries, provides a full range of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. Schwab was founded on the belief that investing can help individuals create a better tomorrow and has been recognized as one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies and as one of Forbes Best Employers for New Graduates. Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Joe Martinetto has supported Scholars of Finance since its establishment, and as a Founding Sponsor, Charles Schwab will deepen its commitment to breaking down barriers to careers in financial services.

Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager with more than $900B assets under management. The firm invests across alternative assets classes on behalf of institutional investors and individuals. Blackstone is also a leader in integrating ESG principles and DEI across the firm and its broader portfolio of companies. Our partnership launched in January 2022, featuring Christine Anderson, Global Head of External Relationships at Blackstone as a special guest on our podcast, “Investing In Integrity.” Additionally, the firm is a Founding Sponsor of the Scholars of Finance chapter at Howard University, an HBCU.

SoFi is a rapidly growing fintech company headquartered in San Francisco dedicated to helping its members achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. Their all-in-one personal finance app was ranked as the best stock trading app in the 2020 Fintech Breakthrough Awards. Our CEO and Co-Founder, Ross Overline, is a SoFi alum and several executives at the firm have volunteered with our students.

North Equity is a venture equity firm that specializes in acquiring and investing in digital brands and technology with high growth potential and ESG impacts. North’s investment team has extensive experience as private investors and operators at the intersection of technology, data, media, and social responsibility. Its investment portfolio includes Recurrent, the parent company of best-in-class digital media brands such as Popular Science, The Drive, and Saveur; and Organic Ventures, a media SaaS platform. Co-Founders Matt Sechrest and Andrew Perlman have been long-time supporters of our mission. They are firm believers that a diverse and representative work environment is additive to a successful company and that everyone benefits from an inclusive and equitable culture.

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services and investment management firm centered around a culture of integrity, putting clients first, innovation, diversity and inclusion, and giving back. As a Founding Partner, Morgan Stanley will partner with our chapters to host DEI and recruiting events, as well as sponsor our Symposia. We are proud to collaborate with top executives such as Peter Akwaboah, Chief Operating Officer for Technology & Head of Innovation, who has previously served as a speaker, and Mandell Crawley, Chief Human Resources Officer, who was featured on our podcast, “Investing In Integrity,” as well as many of their colleagues who are engaged as speakers, mentors, and donors.

Founded in 1919, Baird is an international financial services firm with a fundamental commitment to integrity providing Private Wealth Management, Investment Banking, Trust, Asset Management, Capital Markets and Private Equity services to clients in the United States, Europe and Asia. As employee-owners with a strong client-centric culture, Baird has cultivated their reputation and recognition in the industry by managing for the long term and continuously building capabilities to best serve clients. Baird’s generosity as a Founding Partner of Scholars of Finance will help further our mission to inspire character and integrity in the finance leaders of tomorrow.

BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, and has a notable track record of sustainability and social impact. As a global investment manager and fiduciary to their clients, BlackRock’s purpose is to help everyone experience financial well-being. BlackRock’s generosity as a Founding Partner of Scholars of Finance will support our mission to inspire character and integrity in the finance leaders of tomorrow. We are grateful to have the support of BlackRock Executives including Ray Cameron (who serves on our Board of Directors), Anne Ackerly, Bill Dunigan, Rick Flynn, and Daniel Hibbert at BlackRock.

If you’re interested in joining our Board of Advisors or becoming a Corporate Partner, we’d love to hear from you and about why you’re passionate about our mission.

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