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Speaking is highly rewarding, deeply impactful, and easy to engage with as an executive.

Speakers participate in a virtual fireside chat and open Q&A with college students to inspire them to be ethical and trustworthy future leaders in finance. This is an opportunity for you to share your story, values, and principles that led to your career success, all while remaining ethical and doing the right thing.

Audience

As a speaker, you interact with a diverse undergraduate student body from across the country, including students from universities ranging from NYU, Princeton, Stanford, and many more.

Format

Speakers begin by sharing their story and answering prepared questions sent in advance asked by our moderator. Sessions last approximately one hour and are currently held in person or over Zoom depending on the chapter and speaker's location.

Flexibility

We can be flexible around your schedule and work with you or your executive assistant to find a date and time that works best.

Benefits for Speaking

Speaking is an opportunity to give back and guide future leaders in finance as well as to inspire integrity, character, and ethical leadership among undergraduate students. The experience allows you to connect with our community both in-person and online.

1

Lead

Leverage your values in your career to make a difference in the finance industry.
2

Learn

Do research on our programs and uncover the different ways you can get involved as a speaker.
3

Share

Leverage our speaking opportunities to share what values lead you in your career.

Be A Speaker

SPEAK TO CHAPTERS

Each of our chapters hosts speaking events each semester in order to foster community and learn from values-based professionals.

JOIN THE NATIONAL SPEAKER SERIES

The NSS is a program put on by SOF’s National Team and features titans of the finance industry.

PANELS

Each of our symposia features a panel of esteemed finance professionals that share their values and partake in thoughtful discussions.

SYMPOSIUM KEYNOTE

Each of our Symposia features a keynote from a values-based leader in the finance industry.

Past Speakers

Head of the Retirement Group, BlackRock

Anne Ackerley

Anne Ackerley, Managing Director, is Head of the Retirement Group at BlackRock. Anne leads the firm’s US defined contribution business, serving millions of retirement investors through their 401(K) or other workplace savings plan. Together with the retirement insurance business, her team aims to tackle the industry’s toughest challenges. She is one of the founding members of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network and the Financial Inclusion Network and was recently recognized by Barron’s as one of the 100 most influential women in finance for the fourth year in a row.

Over her 30 years in the financial services industry, Anne has held numerous leadership positions and has been with BlackRock since 2000. She has a proven track record of integrating teams and businesses, including three critical acquisitions made by BlackRock. Anne is a recognized leader and frequent speaker and writer about retirement readiness and women’s leadership. She is a member of the advisory board for the Aspen Institute Forum on Retirement Savings, serves on the World Economic Forum’s Longevity Economy Steering group and is a board observer for Human Interest. Outside the industry, she is a trustee of the Mosaic Mental Health Association.

Anne has an MBA and a BA from Harvard University and resides in New York.

Listen to Anne’s episode on Investing In Integrity

COO, Morgan Stanley

Peter Akwaboah

Peter Akwaboah is Morgan Stanley’s Chief Operating Officer for Technology, Operations & Firm Resilience and a member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s (FRB) Payments Risk Committee. In the COO role, Peter is responsible for driving the strategic agendas of Operations, Technology and Firm Resilience, with a focus on transitioning the way Morgan Stanley delivers products and services on a global scale. As COO, Peter partners with all areas of the organization to support the firm’s PACE initiatives, and ultimately deliver the end-state operating model for Technology and Operations.

In addition, Peter serves as the co-head of the Morgan Stanley Black Employee Network Group (BENG). In this role, he supports and advocates for the development and advancement of our Black employees and communities. Prior to his role as COO, Peter was the Global Head of Shared Services and Banking Operations, as well as the COO for Global Operations.

Prior to joining the firm, he worked at Royal Bank of Scotland for 10 years with his most recent role in Asia Pacific as Chief Operating Officer for Operations, Technology and Corporate Service for the Asia Pacific region. Prior to RBS, Peter held a number of senior roles in both Operations and Technology at Deutsche Bank, KPMG and IBM.

Peter holds various degrees in Civil Engineering from The University of Birmingham, UK, and is on the Board of the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS). He has been a member of the Museum's Board of Trustees since 2021.

CIO, Cartica

Emily Alejos

Emily Alejos, CFA is a Senior Managing Director and the Chief Investment Officer of Cartica. She is also a member of the Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Cartica, Ms. Alejos was with Tradewinds Global Investors from 2007 to 2016. She started her tenure at Tradewinds as a Consumer Analyst and Portfolio Manager and was promoted to Co-Chief Investment Officer and Executive Managing Director in 2012. As Co-CIO she was responsible for leading and managing the investment side of the $3.5 bn in AUM business. She was a member of the Executive team and served on the Board of Directors reporting to Nuveen Investments.

Prior to joining Tradewinds, Ms. Alejos was with Credit Suisse Asset Management in New York from 1997 to 2006. From 2004 to 2006, Ms. Alejos was a Director and Portfolio Manager/Analyst on the firm’s International Focus team. For the seven years prior to that, she served as Portfolio Manager and Head of Latin American Equities, in addition to serving as a senior member of the firm’s Global Emerging Markets team. She began her career as an Equity Analyst at GT Capital in San Francisco then as a Portfolio Manager/Analyst at Bankers Trust in New York.

Ms. Alejos earned a BA degree with honors in Economics and Development studies from Brown University and an MBA and a Certificate in Public Management from Stanford Graduate School of Business. She also studied economics at Instituto di Tella in Buenos Aires as a Rotary Scholar and at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. Ms. Alejos is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Asia Society and the CFA Institute. She is conversant in French and Spanish. Ms. Alejos serves on the Global Management Board of the Women’s Circles at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She also mentors graduating senior women at Brown University as part of the Women’s Launchpad program. Emily is married and has two children.

Global Head of Corporate Affairs, Blackstone

Christine Anderson

Christine Anderson is the Global Head of Corporate Affairs, overseeing Blackstone’s Public Affairs, Marketing, and ESG functions.

She leads Blackstone’s efforts related to Environmental, Social and Governance issues and she serves as the primary spokesperson for the firm, advising Blackstone’s senior leaders and business groups, as well as companies across Blackstone’s portfolio.

Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Ms. Anderson served as Communications Director and Director of Marketing to the former Governor of New York as well as Communications Director on the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Before working in state government, Ms. Anderson was an Associate Director of Corporate Communications at UBS AG supporting U.S. media relations and serving as a spokesperson for the company’s Wealth Management division. During the 2004 U.S. Presidential election cycle, she served as a Deputy Press Secretary on the Kerry-Edwards campaign. Ms. Anderson also previously worked as an Account Director at the public relations firm Brunswick and as a Segment Producer for ABC News’ “Good Morning America” after starting her career in the Press Office of the Clinton White House.

Ms. Anderson received a BA from The College of the Holy Cross, and serves on the boards of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Bumble, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Diligent.

Former Chair, FDIC

Sheila Bair

Sheila Bair has had a long and distinguished career in government, academia, and finance. Twice named by Forbes Magazine as the second most powerful woman in the world, she is perhaps best known as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011, when she steered the agency through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

A former finance professor and college president, Ms. Bair has been nationally recognized for her innovative initiatives to make college more accessible and affordable to all students. She is a frequent commentator and op-ed contributor on financial regulation and the student debt crisis, as well as author of the NY Times Best Seller, Bull by the Horns, her 2012 memoir of the financial crisis.

She is a founding director of the Volcker Alliance, established by Former Federal Reserve Board Chair Paul Volcker to build trust in government and is the founding chair of the Systemic Risk Council, which advocates for financial stability.

President, Goldman Sachs Gives

Anne Black

Anne Black is a creative and entrepreneurial philanthropy leader with more than ten years of executive experience at Goldman Sachs Foundation and Goldman Sachs Gives. She focuses on driving change and new ideas that benefit society while also building the firm's brand and culture. Anne Black worked at the forefront of strategic philanthropy and social impact at a time of great change in our world and in this sector. CSR and ESG initiatives have become essential in business, and she has collaborated with top corporate executives, clients and thought leaders who have sought her expertise to understand the trends shaping society and how philanthropy can create a better future and have lasting impact.
CFO, General Mills

Kofi Bruce

As the CFO of General Mills, I’m proud to lead a passionate team committed to supporting the business and our brands across the globe. I joined General Mills in 2009 and have held Finance leadership positions throughout my tenure. I received my MBA from the University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business and completed my undergraduate studies at Stanford University.
CEO, U.S. Bank

Andy Cecere

Mr. Cecere is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Bancorp. Mr. Cecere, 57, has served as President of U.S. Bancorp since January 2016, Chief Executive Officer since April 2017 and Chairman since April 2018. He also served as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer from January 2015 to January 2016 and was U.S. Bancorp’s Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer from February 2007 until January 2015. Until that time, he served as Vice Chairman, Wealth Management and Investment Services of U.S. Bancorp since the merger of Firstar Corporation and U.S. Bancorp in February 2001. Previously, he had served as an executive officer of the former U.S. Bancorp, including as Chief Financial Officer from May 2000 through February 2001.
Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

Frank Chen

Frank Chen currently leads the a16z Seed Program, which helps early stage (typically pre-seed, seed, and Series A) founders build great companies on their way to their next fundraise.

Prior to this role, Frank helped launch a16z’s Talent x Opportunity (TxO) Initiative to discover and support cultural geniuses in building large, enduring businesses around their cultural breakthroughs. At a16z, Frank also built and scaled the firm’s deal and research team whose goals were to find and invest in great entrepreneurs and build a comprehensive knowledge base of trends, technologies, products, and people along the way.

Prior to Andreessen Horowitz, Frank held a series of product management, user experience design, developer relations, and executive roles at HP Software, Opsware, Loudcloud, Respond.com, Netscape Communications, Oracle Corporation GO Corporation, Apple, and IBM Research.

Frank holds a B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University where he graduated with distinction. Back in the stone age when he did this, AI was going through a deep winter, but he was too clueless to know this. But he’s now enjoying a Revenge of the Nerds moment given how critical artificial intelligence is to so many different startups solving the world’s most challenging and important problems.

CHRO, Morgan Stanley

Mandell Crawley

Mandell Crawley joined Morgan Stanley in October 1992 as a High School Intern and now serves as Chief Marketing Officer for the Firm. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Crawley was Head of National Business Development and Talent Management for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (MSWM) where he led an organization responsible for driving revenue and asset growth across the firm’s industry leading platform and improving the proficiency of our financial advisors, sales support, and field leadership talent.

Mandell held a succession of roles within the Business Development Organization as both a Regional and Divisional Business Development Manager for several key geographical markets across the wealth management unit. He was also Head of U.S. Fixed Income Sales and Distribution for MSWM’s Capital Markets Group, overseeing a large coverage team specializing in Interest Rates, Credit, Asset Back, Structured Products, and Municipal Bond Securities. In aggregate, Mr. Crawley spent 14 of his 22 years working within Fixed Income Capital Markets in various producing and managerial capacities.

He is a member of MSWM’s Management Committee, Field Management Operating Committee, Private Banking Advisory Board, Global Product Review Committee and the Multicultural Client Strategy Committee. Mr. Crawley received an MBA with honors from Fordham University and a B.A. in Economics from Northeastern Illinois University. He resides in Westchester County, NY with his wife Alison, and twin daughters, Jordyn and Jaedyn, and is a proud native of Chicago.

CFO, U.S. Bank

Terrance Dolan

Mr. Dolan is Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Bancorp. Mr. Dolan, 56, has served in this position since August 2016. From July 2010 to July 2016, he served as Vice Chair, Wealth Management and Investment Services, of U.S. Bancorp. From September 1998 to July 2010, Mr. Dolan served as U.S. Bancorp's Controller. He additionally held the title of Executive Vice President from January 2002 until June 2010 and Senior Vice President from September 1998 until January 2002.
Chief Investment Officer, Crossmark

Bob Doll

Bob Doll is chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Crossmark Global Investments, a faith-based management firm. He previously held leadership roles at Nuveen, BlackRock, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Oppenheimer Funds, and Citigroup Investment Management. He appears regularly on Fox Business News, Bloomberg, CNBC, and MoneyWise to discuss the economy and financial markets.

He also serves as choir director at his local church and sits on a number of boards, including the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Cairn University, Christianity Today, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Kingdom Advisors, Movement.org, New Canaan Society, Princeton Healthcare System, The Lausanne Movement, and Word of Life Fellowship.

Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author

Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" and "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life."

He has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. His writing on technology, psychology, and business, appears in the Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today.

Nir blogs regularly at NirAndFar.com. Subscribe to his Free Weekly Newsletter at http://bit.ly/2VPgTmd

Nir is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies. Some of his past investments include: Eventbrite, Anchor.fm (acquired by Spotify) Product Hunt, Pantry, Kahoot!, Refresh.io (acquired by LinkedIn), Happy Bits, Presence Learning, 7 Cups of Tea, and Pana.

EVP, General Manager, Small Business and Financial Services Group, PayPal

Michelle Gill

Michelle currently serves as the EVP, General Manager, Small Business and Financial Services Group, PayPal. Prior to joining Intuit, Michelle was SoFi’s EVP and Group Business Unit Leader for Lending & Capital Markets, and previously served as Chief Financial Officer. She joined SoFi from TPG Sixth Street Partners. Previously, Michelle spent 14 years at Goldman Sachs & Co., where most recently she was a Partner co-heading the Structured Finance business. She received her JD from Cornell Law School and her BA from the University of California at Los Angeles.
CEO, Eventide

Robin John

Robin John is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eventide, a Boston-based investment advisor. Eventide strives to honor God and serve its clients by investing in companies that create compelling value for the global common good, which the company refers to as “investing that makes the world rejoice®.” He is responsible for the overall leadership of the organization, including strategy and growth, aligning team culture with mission and values, and the general operations of the company. Under his leadership, the firm has grown into a leader in values-based investing.

Prior to founding Eventide, Mr. John held leadership roles for Bank of New York Mellon. He also served as a business consultant for Grant Thornton. He has a degree in Economics from Tufts University.

Robin and his wife Jaunita co-founded Dil Se Foundation and, through the work of the foundation, founded Darsha Academy, a girl's school in Southern India. The school is committed to educating and empowering young women so that they can pursue career opportunities in the fields of science and fulfill their maximum potential.

Executive Chairman, Ripple Labs

Chris Larsen

Chris Larsen is Executive Chairman of Ripple’s board of directors and former CEO and co-founder of Ripple. Prior to Ripple, Chris cofounded and served as CEO of Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace, and E-LOAN, a publicly traded online lender. During his tenure at E-LOAN, he pioneered the open access to credit scores movement by making E-LOAN the first company to show consumers their FICO scores.
COO, Charles Schwab

Joseph R. Martinetto

Joseph R. Martinetto is responsible for operations, infrastructure, and products for The Charles Schwab Corporation. This includes Charles Schwab Investment Management, Legal Services, Client Solutions, Community Services, Schwab's registered investment advisor affiliates and market strategists, and the Schwab Center for Financial Research. In addition, he leads Technology Services, Digital Services, Operational Services, and the Schwab Affiliated Banks.

Martinetto joined Schwab in 1997 as Senior Vice President and Treasurer. While he assumed the role of Senior Vice President of retail finance in 2001, Martinetto returned to the treasurer role in 2003, assuming incremental responsibility for financial planning and analysis and management information systems. He became the company's Chief Financial Officer in 2007 and held that position until May 2017.

Prior to joining Schwab, Martinetto was senior assistant treasurer at Transamerica Corporation, overseeing the asset/liability management function. Earlier, Martinetto worked at First Interstate Bancorp in a variety of positions, spanning treasury and financial management. At the time of First Interstate's acquisition by Wells Fargo, he was Senior Vice President and manager of the asset and liability management department.

Martinetto has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and economics from Claremont McKenna College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

CEO, Citi

Jim O'Donnell

Jim O'Donnell is Head of Global Wealth Management. Previously, he was Managing Director and Global Head of Investor Sales and Relationship Management at Citi Markets and Securities Services. In this role, Jim was responsible for client distribution for equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities. Prior to that, he was Co-Head of Global Investor Sales, appointed in November 2007.

Previously, Jim served as Head of Equities, Americas at Citi. He joined the firm in July 1999 as Head of Equities, EMEA. Prior to joining Citi, Jim was President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Securities Inc. in New York. He was responsible for all equity, debt, futures and investment banking operations for HSBC in the U.S. and was CEO of HSBC James Capel, HSBC's global equity business.

Prior to HSBC, Jim was President and CEO of NatWest Securities in the United States. He held various roles at Drexel Burnham Lambert from 1986 to 1990, including Head of Sales and Trading for International Equities and Co-Head of Global Equity Trading. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative religion from Princeton University.

Executive Vice President & General Auditor, State Street

Diana Pagliarini

Diana Pagliarini is executive vice president and general auditor at State Street Corporation. In this role, she establishes, manages and evolves the company-wide corporate audit plan to ensure that risk is appropriately managed and governed. To maintain independence, which is a critical component of the general auditor role, she has a direct reporting line to the Board of Director’s Examining and Audit Committee. She has a dotted reporting line to the Chief Executive Officer. She also participates in the company’s Management Committee and Operating Group meetings.

With 32 years of experience in the banking industry and 14 years in board-visible roles, Diana’s transformational leadership in developing and executing strategic plans has improved processes, functions and departments while influencing policy changes and risk practices at the enterprise level. Through routine interactions with executive leadership and the board of directors, she has a credible voice in challenging process vulnerabilities, designing risk management strategies and driving improved compliance results. She is known for her leadership impact, process effectiveness and passionate commitment to career and performance coaching.

Commissioner, SEC

Hester Peirce

Hester Maria Peirce is an American lawyer who serves as a Commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She previously served as the director of the Financial Markets Working Group at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

Peirce was confirmed by the United States Senate in December 2017 to fill a Republican vacancy on the SEC. She was sworn in on January 11, 2018, for a term ending in 2020, and her second term expires in 2025. Peirce is a former staff member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and of the SEC. In 2016, she was nominated by President Barack Obama for Commissioner on the SEC, but the United States Senate did not act on her nomination.

Senior Managing Director, Blackstone

Jack Pitts

Jack Pitts is a Senior Managing Director in the Legal & Compliance Group, where he serves as General Counsel of BAAM. Mr. Pitts is a Co-Chair of the Blackstone Diverse Professionals Network Task Force and a member of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation Leadership Council. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Pitts has been involved in the legal structuring of BAAM’s customized multi-manager portfolios as well as the review, analysis and negotiation of investments by BAAM’s Special Situations investing group and other direct trading platforms and investment opportunities.

Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Pitts was an Associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP where he focused on advising sponsors of and institutional investors in private investment funds.

Mr. Pitts received a B.S. in Financial Management from Hillsdale College and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law, where he served as the Managing Editor of the Howard Law Journal.

Head of Citi Ventures, Citi

Arvind Purushrotham

Arvind heads Citi Ventures, Citi's Strategic Investing group. As a founder and leader of the group, Arvind grew Citigroup's investing activities significantly to deliver strategic impact and insights to Citi's business units, IT and Functions by building a best-in-class corporate venture unit. He has led investments in Fintech, Payments, Security and Enterprise Infrastructure. Under his leadership, the group has invested in category defining companies such as Plaid, Square, DocuSign, Honey, HoneyBook, Betterment, Netskope, Tanium, Braze and DataRobot among others.

Additionally, Arvind helped setup and advises the Citi Impact Fund, a $500MM double-bottom-line program to invest in tech startups working in areas of positive social impact.

Prior to Citi, Arvind was a Managing Director at Menlo Ventures for over nine years. At Menlo Ventures, he led or sponsored investments in 15 companies in enterprise applications, infrastructure and semiconductors.

Arvind started his career as a chip designer working on low power versions of the Pentium Processor® in the Mobile Group at Intel Corporation. Later he became the Program Manager of the Mobile Pentium II® Processor effort and contributed to several successful product launches.

Arvind has an MBA with Distinction from Harvard, an MS in EE from Case Western Reserve University and his BTech in EE from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Chairman, Co-CEO & CIO, Ariel Investments

John Rogers

John’s passion for investing began at age 12 when his father started buying him stocks as Christmas and birthday gifts. His interest in equities grew while in college and over the two-and-a-half years after graduation he worked as a stockbroker at William Blair & Company. In 1983, John founded Ariel to invest in undervalued small-and medium-sized companies. While our research capabilities have since expanded, his patient approach still anchors the firm today.

He received an AB in economics from Princeton University, where he was also captain of the varsity basketball team. John is active civically and professionally based on his belief that these engagements make him a better leader and a better investor. Beyond Ariel, he is a member of the board of directors of NIKE, The New York Times Company, Ryan Specialty Group Holdings and the Obama Foundation, and was a board member of McDonald’s for over 20 years. John also serves as Vice Chair of the board of trustees of The University of Chicago.

Partner, Founders Fund

Trae Stephens

Trae Stephens is a Partner at Founders Fund, where he focuses on startups operating in the government space.

Previously, Trae was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, where he led teams focused on growth in the intelligence/defense space as well as international expansion, helping large organizations solve their hardest data analysis problems. He was also an integral part of the product team, leading the design and strategy for new product offerings. While at Palantir, Trae also served as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University.

Prior to Palantir, Trae worked as a computational linguist building enterprise solutions to Arabic/Persian name matching and data enrichment within the United States Intelligence community. He began his career working in the office of then-Congressman Rob Portman and in the Political Affairs Office at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. immediately following the installation of Hamid Karzai’s transitional government. Trae graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Founder and CEO, MeydenVest Partners

Michelle Seitz

Michelle Seitz is a veteran CEO, investor and expert on global financial markets. She is the Founder and CEO of MeydenVest Partners, LLC., a private investment and strategic advisory firm.

Michelle served as Chair and CEO of Russell investments from 2017-2022. In 2022, Russell was one of the largest advisors in the world with over $300 billion in AUM and $1.2 trillion under advisement for clients in 31 countries. During her five year tenure as Chair and CEO, she reset the firm's vision and strategic direction, strengthened the executive team, modernized client offerings by adding leading-edge capabilities around private markets and ESG investing, and elevated diversity and inclusion programs. Michelle expanded the company around its purpose to improve people’s financial security.

Michelle is a frequent keynote speaker on global markets, financial security, inclusive capitalism, diversity and inclusion, leadership, and innovation. With over three decades of success as an investor and CEO, she consistently appears on Barron’s list of "The Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance," and American Banker’s list of the "Most Powerful Women in Finance." She was awarded an ‘Alumni Fellow’ by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in 2017.

Partner, Goldman Sachs

Yassaman Salas

Yassaman is a partner in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group and runs the medical device coverage effort. She served as the group's business unit manager in 2008. Yassaman is co-head of the Georgetown University undergraduate and MBA recruiting efforts for the Investment Banking Division. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2005 as an associate and was named managing director in 2013 and partner in 2020.

Prior to joining the firm, Yassaman worked in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley and in the Corporate Development group at Avaya. Yassaman earned a BS in Foreign Service and an MBA, both from Georgetown University.

Founding Partner, Riverwood Capital

Chris Varelas

Chris Varelas is a founding partner of Riverwood Capital, a private equity firm focused on high growth technology and technology-related companies in need of capital and expertise to scale on a global basis. Notable Firm investments include Alog, ForgeRock, Globant, GoPro and Vacasa. Notable personal seed and venture stage investments include FIGS, Berkeley Lights, Forge Global and Elemental Cognition.

Prior to establishing Riverwood, Chris worked at Salomon Brothers/Citi as Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecom Investment Banking, Head of Citi’s National Investment Bank, member of Citi’s Global Operating Committee and Culture Czar for all of Citi. As an investment banker, Chris’ primary focus was Mergers & Acquisitions, working on many of the landmark transactions that shaped the technology industry including Compaq/HP, Peoplesoft/Oracle and IBM/PWC. In addition, he was the lead team member for the Chapter Nine reorganization of the County of Orange, California. Chris was selected as one of the 100 most important deal makers by the New York Times and was named top “rainmaker’ in the technology sector by Dealmaker Magazine.

He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute for which he is a senior moderator and for which he co-founded the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship program, created to produce effective enlightened leaders in the financial services industry. He also sits on the boards of Nextdoor, for which he serves as Lead Director, and Insider.com, and the Advisory Boards for Braidwell, Elemental Cognition, Expansion Capital, Global Ventures, Streamlined Ventures and the RAND Corporation’s Center for Global Risk and Security.

Chris earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. Chris was selected as the 2020 Occidental SEAL Award recipient for Professional Achievement.

Chris is the author of How Money Became Dangerous, the inside account of our turbulent relationship with modern finance.

Vice Chair, Consumer and Business Banking, U.S. Bank

Tim Welsh

Timothy A. Welsh is vice chair, Consumer and Business Banking (CBB), for U.S. Bancorp. In this role, Tim leads a team of more than 26,000 to drive the company’s overall consumer and small business strategy. This includes the branch network, product management functions, mortgage, auto, deposits, and related operations. CBB represents about half of the loans and deposits of the bank.

Prior to joining U.S. Bancorp in 2017, Tim spent more than 26 years at McKinsey & Co., specializing in financial services and the consumer experience. Serving as senior partner, Tim was elected by his colleagues to the McKinsey’s Shareholders Council, led McKinsey’s global learning and development function, and co-led the firm’s people strategy.

Throughout his career, Tim’s work has focused on finding and leveraging purpose to connect with consumers and small businesses to develop strategies that generate significant growth. In addition, his work in other industries focused on understanding consumer behavior and creating strategies to respond to consumer preferences.

Tim is active with many non-profit organizations, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Y of the North, the Constellation Fund, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Ordway. He is the board chair for GREATER MSP, vice chair of the board of Allina Health, and lead independent director for the GHR Foundation. He is also a member of the board of directors for Operation HOPE.

In addition, Tim is a founder of the Itasca Project, a dedicated team of business, government and not-for-profit leaders who are working to improve the quality of life in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Tim is also a founding board member of Upside Foods, a food technology company, and was recently elected as a director of Xcel Energy.

Tim holds a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in social studies from Harvard University.

Whether you’re interested in building this program or being a part of our current iteration, drop us a note and we can discuss what’s possible.

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To make a direct donation in Zcash send ZEC to the address below.
t1XFGudFg5Hx1uQjFfU8oZ9P97ZdMtffxfK t1XFGudFg5Hx1uQjFfU8oZ9P97ZdMtffxfK
Send your donation
To make a direct donation in Zcash send ZEC to the address below.
t1XFGudFg5Hx1uQjFfU8oZ9P97ZdMtffxfK t1XFGudFg5Hx1uQjFfU8oZ9P97ZdMtffxfK
Send your donation
To make a direct donation in Ethereum send RTH to the address below.
0xa6E72617C51581D25F04151F156d913988d6cAcF 0xa6E72617C51581D25F04151F156d913988d6cAcF
Send your donation
To make a direct donation in Ethereum send RTH to the address below.
0xa6E72617C51581D25F04151F156d913988d6cAcF 0xa6E72617C51581D25F04151F156d913988d6cAcF
Send your donation
To make a direct donation in Ripple send XRP to the address below.
XRP Address:
rw2ciyaNshpHe7bCHo4bRWq6pqqynnWKQg rw2ciyaNshpHe7bCHo4bRWq6pqqynnWKQg
XRP Tag:
914351319 914351319
Send your donation
To make a direct donation in Ripple send XRP to the address below.
XRP Address:
rw2ciyaNshpHe7bCHo4bRWq6pqqynnWKQg rw2ciyaNshpHe7bCHo4bRWq6pqqynnWKQg
XRP Tag:
914351319 914351319