The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Afsaneh Beschloss is the Founder and CEO at RockCreek, an investment firm which invests across diverse sectors with a special focus on climate, affordable housing and education investments in developed, emerging and frontier markets. She is on the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Rockefeller Foundation and holds numerous other Board and Trustee roles. Our conversation starts with Afsaneh's upbringing in Iran and the differences that were in place then in terms of access to education for women. We trace her move to Concord Massachusetts, and the serendipity that attracted her to a role in finance. One of her earliest roles was in the World Bank, where she was encouraged to become an expert on the energy industry, and we discuss her foray into emerging markets from that unique vantage point.We move then to her founding of RockCreek and the concept of partnership with investors that has characterized the firm until this day.  We speak about the adaptation it has undergone in light of changing client needs and expectations. Our discussion of diversity is an essential part of our conversation and we discuss the ongoing challenge that raising capital presents, even as an established firm.  We look also at the venture capital landscape and how diverse managers are starting to gain more traction there, even if progress is slow. Turning to personal reflections Afsaneh notes that fulfillment that followed when her mission and her career started to converge, and similarly reflects on experiences where work environments did not allow for growth. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Kate Nevin is President and Portfolio Manager at TSWII Capital Advisors, a role she has held for over 20 years.  She is active with many industry groups (such as The Academy of Institutional Investors and Nexus) and community organizations focused on conservation and gender equality. She was a Riley Diversity Fellow.Our conversation starts with an upbringing filled with books and the great outdoors, and we trace that all the way through to Kate's undergraduate study of creative writing and her early career as a writer. We move then to her pivot into finance during the years leading up to the GFC and her switch to private office investment that coincided with a move back to her roots in Charleston, SC. Kate is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and our discussion is laced with statistics around the gender pay gap and current statistics regarding female founders.  Both in her work at TSWII and as a diversity fellow, Kate has ensured that female founders have access to mentoring, networks and coaching in order to thrive. We end with a some inpiration from a Native American Healer who exhorted that she should Show Up, Deliver and Move On. This dynamic podcast just that.Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Adam Saron is Founder of Clara-Pensions, a member-first consolidator of defined benefit pension schemes. He previously ran Black Ant Investment Management, a long-biased value investor, which invested in both public equities and corporate credits.  Our conversation traces Adam's childhood in South Africa, his pursuit of law and reluctant rejection of certain more adventurous career choices such as Karate. We cover his move to London and time in asset management, which saw him not only learn to take risk but also strike out with a founder when he was handpicked to help him run a value investment firm.  Value investing has had its ups and downs, and the lessons learned amid this volatility have been hard won - Adam shares some of them, and the importance of professional detachment (at times) and the focus on the long term. We talk then about the challenges facing DB schemes currently and the potential that consolidation will bring.  We discuss trustees, governance, the importance of challenge and second opinions.  We also discuss the issue of engagement and the difficulty in generating it - a theme we raised earlier in this series in our discussion with Jonathan Hollow. Finally we return to some of the reflections that Adam has at this stage of his career, about the importance of stopping and taking pride in what has been achieved and analytical about how success is defined. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Maneesha Ghiya is Managing Partner and Founder of FemHealth Ventures, a firm focused on providing investment capital to entrepreneurs focused on women’s health. Investing in healthcare since 2000, Maneesha has invested via public equities, private equities and as a hedge fund specialist.  She is a Senior Advisor to ExSight Ventures, an ophthalmology-focused venture capital fund and serves on multiple boards.  Our conversation starts with Maneesha's background and her early interest in the intersection of healthcare, engineering and business.  We then move to the personal experience when delivering her child that catalyzed her interest in FemHealth and the venture fund that she founded with this as its focus.  There is a startling disparity in funding, awareness and the profile attached to female health issues and we list some of these - the lack of participation by women in drug trials, the low level of research dollars applied to health conditions that traditionally affect women and the low level of knowledge regarding disparities in how certain illnesses - e.g. cardiac arrest - present. Maneesha lists some of the innovative solutions being sourced to solve some of these problems and what kind of commercial potential they could have.  Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Barry Massarsky is a partner and co-practice leader - music economics andvaluation services at Citrin Cooperman,  and was the founder of Massarksy Consulting, which he sold to Citrin Cooperman early in 2022. He is credited with pioneering the economics of royalty cash flows in the early 1990s. And together with his business partner Nari Matsuura developed a model to guide banks lending to music investors. Last year Massarksy Consulting valued over 400 catalogs totaling more than $9 billion.We start with Barry's path into this somewhat esoteric area of finance, his experience studying at Cornell and how he first developed an interest in valuing music cash flows.  The rather unusual place for this to start was an internship on Capitol Hill and an anti-trust case.  Since then, his career has had ups and downs and we talk about one such "down" which required him to start again, and how he used his network to do so. We dive in then to the dynamics of the music industry today, the impact of streaming and the innovation that essentially saved the industry from cannibalization.  We speak about recent music deals, such as the valuation of prominent music catalogs and the different dynamics that is driving demand today - such as the abundant production of content. We end with paying homage to some of the extraordinary artists and leaders that Barry has worked with and distill some of their wisdom into some takeaways from the podcast. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Jennifer Grancio is Chief Executive Officer at Engine No. 1,  an investment firm that identifies value creation opportunities in once in a generation systems changes the economy is now going through. She is based in the San Francisco area. She previously founded and ran her own firm advising CEOs and accelerating revenue growth. Prior to that was a Managing Director at Blackrock where she led businesses and global distribution teams for close to 20 years. She is a Board Member   of the MannKind Corporation and Ethic Investments.Our conversation starts with Jennifer's upbringing on the East Coast, her pursuit of International Relations at Stanford and how this turned her towards management consulting. We analyze the skillset that that discipline brought to her later move to the investment world. In particular management consulting involves a deep analysis of company business models, supply chains and drivers.  This ability to dissect the drivers of a business would prove to be helpful later when the focus turned to the sustainability of those drivers and ultimately the business. We move then to Engine No. 1 and its focus and dig in to many complex issues such as the future of ESG, whether the name and umbrella title is still fit for purpose, how different companies are navigating the energy transition and how collaboration and activism can work together to further this.  We also discuss the importance of Board Representation, what it means to have a climate confident or climate competent board and the likely future evolution of this branch of governance. The discussion on the integration of sustainability targets with sustainable business models is a detailed one, and we turn to whether there is a case for optimism in this area, where the stakes are high and sometimes overwhelming. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Eddie Welch is an alternative asset specialist at Nuveen, a role he has held since April 2021.  He previously worked as an Associate at CIM Group, focused on real estate investing, and prior to that and his degree at Ohio State University worked in a wide variety of roles and played college football.Our conversation starts with Eddie's upbringing, the influence his grandparents had on him and the lessons he learned through youth sports, in particular football, which he pursued all of the way to college.  We hear how he did not love the sport initially, and how it taught him to persist in the face of adversity.  When an injury forced him to retire from football his life took a detour away from college into the public sector.  He worked in the prison sector for a period, first in a low security men's setting and then in a high security women's setting and we talk about the lessons that he learned from that experience - the humility, the reminder of the complexity of all people and of their potential.We turn then to his return to school to complete his degree and how that experience was as a mature student and then his entry into finance.  Eddie's story is one laced with rich experiences and insights.Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Between Series 1 and series 2 of 2023, we kicked off a brand new focus series – the Love Series – in celebration of love in February 2023.  This had a great response – reminding us of what made people human.  It sent one listener back to his old photo album to remind himself of his showjumping days, and others felt motivated to take up hobbies again.   Now we are back to our main series focused on investment professionals but love runs through it like a golden thread.  Love, discipline, lessons from parents.  Our guests include a former college football player, who spent time working as a prison guard before returning to university and ultimately entering the investment industry, an expert on music valuation, multiple ESG and pensions specialists and founders of fund companies - large and small.  Our Series 2 guests are:Eddie Welch, who is an alternative asset specialist at Nuveen, a role he has held since April 2021.  He previously worked as an Associate at CIM Group, focused on real estate investing, and prior to that and his degree at Ohio State University worked in a wide variety of roles and played college football, all of which we discuss in our podcast. Jennifer Grancio  is Chief Executive Office at Engine No. 1.  Engine No. 1 is an investment firm that identifies value creation opportunities in once-in-a-generation systems changes the economy is now going through. She is based in the San Francisco Area.  She previously founded and ran her own firm advising CEOs on accelerating revenue growth and prior to that was a Managing Director at Blackrock, where she led businesses and global distribution teams for close to 20 years.  She is a Board Member of the MannKind Corporation and Ethic investments. Barry Massarsky is a Partner and Co-Practice Leader, Music Economics and Valuation Services at Citrin Cooperman.  The Founder of Massarsky Consulting, which he sold to Citrin Cooperman early in 2022. He is credited with pioneering the economics of royalty cash flows in the early 1990s and together with his business partner, Nari Matsuura, developed a model to guide banks lending to music investors. Last year Massarsky Consulting valued over 300 catalogs totaling more than $6.5 billion.  Maneesha Ghiya is Managing Partner and Founder of FemHealth Ventures, a firm focused on providing investment capital to entrepreneurs focused on women’s health. Investing in healthcare since 2000, Maneesha has invested via public equities, private equities and as a hedge fund specialist.  She is a Senior Advisor to ExSight Ventures, an ophthalmology-focused venture capital fund and serves on multiple boards.   Adam Saron is Founder of Clara-Pensions, a member-first consolidator of defined benefit pension schemes. He previously ran Black Ant Investment Management, a long-biased value investor, which invested in both public equities and corporate credits. Afsaneh Beschloss is the Founder and CEO at RockCreek, an investment firm which invests across diverse sectors with a special focus on climate, affordable housing and education investments in developed, emerging and frontier markets. She is on the Board of Directors of the Global Advisory Council of the Bretton Woods Committee, a Member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds numerous other Board and Trustee roles.Kate Nevin is President and Portfolio Manager at TSWII Capital Advisors, a role she has held for over 20 years.  She is active with many industry groups (such as The Academy of Institutional Investors and Nexus) and community organizations focused on conservation and gender equality and was a Riley Diversity Fellow. She is passionate about aligning value and investing in diversity. Sarah Whitley is Chair at Future Asset, an organization which connects girls, teachers and advisors to the diversity of opportunities in asset management.  Based in Edinburgh, she was previously Head of Japanese Equities at Baillie Gifford and currently holds a number of director roles, including as External Director at Rakuten, and Chair at the Edinburgh Festival Endowment Fund. John Harney,  is a Senior Consultant with AON, where he focuses on helping pension scheme sponsors to manage pension risks and maximise potential upside.  He is based in the Oxford area.  I cam across John through mutual friends in the industry and because I was drawn in particular to his Linkedin posts that mentioned his joy in cooking and baking, which we discussed as part of the Love series as a bonus episode.  Charlotte O’Leary is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Pensions for Purpose, which exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. She has had a long career in investment management, with a particular focus on pensions as well as ESG and impact investing. She is also a passionate participant in fitness competitions, which we discussed as part of the Love series as a bonus episode. Series 2 of 2023 is kindly sponsored by Beach Point Capital Advisors, an investment manager that believes in investment beyond the traditional.  It specializes in credit investments and employs a flexible, value-oriented, risk-controlled focusing on complex and less well-followed opportunities.  You can find all of our podcasts on The Fiftyfaces Hub, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Charlotte O’Leary is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Pensions for Purpose, which exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. She has had a long career in investment management, with a particular focus on pensions as well as ESG and impact investing. She is also a passionate participant in fitness competitions - particularly those organized under the Hyrox Brand. Our conversation starts with Charlotte's upbringing, where her determination took root, and we chart her course into investing and ultimately Pensions for Purpose.  She describes the satisfaction she derives from this bridge between pension funds and their advisers and how it enables them to put their mission and purpose into action.We move then to her passion for fitness, and talk about how this arose and how pushing her own physical limits drives her and the satisfaction she gains from the improvements that she sees every time she competes. This podcast is appearing as part of our Love series but will also be re-released later in March as part of Series 2 of 2023.  

Our global Women in Tech series is an exciting collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and Monumental Me, an organization committed to wellness including resilience, mental fitness and strength designed to help you thrive in life and your career. It also hosts The Mindshare Podcast. In this first series of the collaboration, host Liana Slater talks to four senior female tech executives about what drove their success, how the tech industry is changing and advice they wish they had learned sooner.  Our first podcast is with Jessica Kosmowski, a Managing Principal at Deloitte, where we start by discussing the most exciting tech trends surrounding us today and Jessica reflects on how she has treated not being well represented as a senior woman in tech. We hear then from the venture capital investor Katie Jacobs Stanton. Katie is the founder and general partner of Moxxie Ventures, She talks about areas that excite her today- particularly climate tech and healthcare, and shares the tips she believes will get more women the skills they need to get funded by investors like her.  She talks about hiring talent, and the imposter syndrome that is felt universally.Our next guest, Alicin Reidy Williamson, also believes in networks.  She is the chief diversity and culture officer for Yahoo.  She describes the importance of having a personal board of directors, but also believes in the importance of strong leadership, of a very particular kind - feminist leadership. Alicin also believes in creating a culture of belonging, and she gave an example of what that means.  Our final guest in the series, Fiona McDonnell, a tech executive of Booking.com describes what it is to have full self awareness and how we can learn it. She discusses her recent book, and reflects on what it was that stopped her from bringing her whole self to work.  You can follow our series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  You can find all of our content on the Fiftyfaces Hub - fiftyfaceshub.com, and this series is featured on the Monumental Me website at www.monumentalme.com/podcast.