The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Geri McMahon is a partner at AON and Co-head of Responsible Investment at the firm. She started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Sydney, and spent time as a fixed income trader before moving to a healthcare technology, business and ultimately moving to AON in 2018. She wrote a powerful LinkedIn post about returners, which led me to want to find out more about returnship programs and their value. In 2019, she was awarded the Most Inspiring Returner at the Professional Pensions, Women in Pensions Awards after her first year returning. Our conversation starts with her upbringing, which spanned Hong Kong and Sydney, and the advice she received as a teenager to focus on becoming financially independent. We then trace her early career in finance and how the lack of other women and role models led her to feel less included and why she is now so passionate about inclusion.  After various career pivots and breaks, when Geri wished to return to finance, she had a varied experience with recruiters and executive search firms as well as the application process.  One particular recruiter, though, changed the game, by selectively matching Geri, as an experienced returner, with a group of employers seeking the level of experience she brought and willing to offer a returnship program along with the skills training that would address any gaps.  She relates how one senior partner advised her to never underestimate the value that she brought to the firm just because she had had a different path.  She talks about impostor syndrome she felt, and how the support she received enabled her to overcome that.  Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Blair Smith is Senior Director of the Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute, where he leads the Center’s Access to Capital and strategic innovative financing initiatives to enhance economic and social impact.   Prior to joining Milken he was an adjunct professor at the Columbia Business School. He is the former Chief Investment Officer for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, a CDFI and was the Founder and CEO of Promethean AB Strategies LLC, a strategic consultancy focused on helping diverse led Asset Management firms achieve their goals. He is a member of the Real Estate Executive Council and is a 2019 Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Finance Catalyst recipient. We start with Blair's upbringing which saw him split his time between Annapolis and Baltimore in Maryland  - a shift between big city and small town life.  He took what his friends describe as the "weedy path" into finance, starting out in journalism and ultimately moving in to impact investing.  We speak about the field of journalism and how it is evolving, and the lessons he learned there that he imported into his role in finance. We discuss then his role at the Milken Institute, and how it is set up as not just a Think Tank but at Think and Do Tank.  We dive into defining the concept of inclusive capital: Inclusive Capital is a belief in the concept that diversity creates long term value that benefits all stakeholders. So not just businesses and investors but also employees, customers, governments and communities. The second aspect of inclusive capitalism is that it produces equitable, measurable and sustainable growth that empowers others while addressing many of society's needs. And then finally, that inclusive capitalism enables stakeholders to participate in the capital markets structure to support both the end beneficiary as well as keeping an eye on the bottom lineThe Milken institute believes in convening the right people in the room.  We move to the imperative of ensuring more diversity in the workplace, not just because diverse teams perform better, but because they are likely to more nimble, more adaptable and more able to pivot two the dynamic changes happening in the workplace today. Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto. 

Emma Jane Joyce is a sustainability specialist at the National Treasury Management Agency based in Dublin. She spent most of her career at the Agency holding roles such as Head of Responsible Investment and Investment Director. She's a member of the Ireland steering committee of the CDP Global Environmental Reporting System. We start with Emma Jane's university education which was in the field of science and genetics.  Although she didn't know it then, it would end up preparing her well for a career in investing that quickly started to move in the direction of sustainable investing and ESG standards.  After a stint in investment consulting Emma Jane came to the National Treasury Management Agency and we discuss the leadership role that that organization has held in implementing policy and setting the standard in terms of divestment and ESG integration. We speak about the organization's goals, how they are evolving and how they are measuring progress against them. We speak about the characteristics that are required to pursue a career in sustainability, which often has long-dated goals and challenging aspirations. Emma Jane describes these as patience, stubbornness, resilience and optimism. She acknowledges the role played by Eugene O'Callaghan, another guest in this series, with whom she overlapped at the NTMA, and how he encouraged her in her career as well as the influence of her mother - a climate warrior who made an impression from a very early stage. Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

James Brooke Turner is Director of Yoke and Co and Investment Director of the Nuffield Foundation. He was voted one of the inaugural four Inspiring Leaders in the Voluntary Sector and writes about financial governance for charities. Our conversation starts with his study of art history, how he found that discipline and the perspective and insight it gave him for his ultimate career in finance.We spend some time diving into the dynamics of investing as a charity, and differentiate it from managing a pension.  Whereas in the realm of pension fund investing the focus is on the future and liabilities, in the case of a charity the focus is on the past and on staying true to the historic mission. We talk about how that translates into an extremely long time horizon, which enables the group to have a strong equity focus and make extensive use of private assets. Given James's extensive involvement in different committees, I asked him what it takes to be a good chairman or board member.  He responded by referring to the ancient Greeks, where characteristics valued included things like curiosity, the ability to argue with each other and to disagree in a non confrontational way, the enjoyment of argument and discussion. Other traits included laughter because of its ability to diffuse situations and overall curiosity, respect, enthusiasm, and enjoyment. We finish with a description of an incident that was a reminder of the basic good in people, and James describes a time he participated in an art installation at Trafalgar Square. Standing there, vulnerable, and on display, he realized that most people are good and wish for the success of others.Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.

Terri Duhon is an award winning educator, TEDx speaker, Board Director and speaker, who has over 25 years of experience in financial markets. She wrote the book "How the Trading Floor Really Works", founded her own financial markets firm, and is an Associate Fellow at the SAID Business School in Oxford. She sits on the Board of Morgan Stanley International, which she is Chair of the Risk Committee, and also holds a number of additional independent director roles. She is now based in London but hails from the New Orleans area originally.Our story starts there - with Terri's upbringing in Louisiana, in the South of the US and how this was an additional reason that she felt like an "other" when she came to studying math at MIT and then Wall Street and a career on the trading floor of a major investment bank. This sense of being from a different socio-economic group was more visceral than being one of few women on the floor.  She spent close to 10 years in similar roles, and describes herself as mastering the art of reinvention - in that to date she has reinvented herself approximately every 10 years.Terri moved from the trading floor to founding her own firm, and then to her current chapter, which is in a series of board and committee roles.  She explains how challenging it was to break into this field initially, and how she almost gave up hope, and then experienced a breakthrough.  We spend some time on the question of what makes an effective board member and chairperson, and Terri delivers a mini-masterclass in the art (listen in particular from 6.21 to 9.09). Our conversation then turns to the industry and its "brand" and how it doesn't always appeal to a diverse set of candidates, sometimes because it emphasizes traits that aren't universal. Terri uses her vantage point in a business school to give insights into the current priorities of graduates entering the field.  She shares stories of her failures, and her triumphs, but always her humanity, and stresses how it is always our humanity we must stress in order to demystify the world of finance and make it more accessible. 

David Holmgren is Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Healthcare, based in Connecticut, and has had over 30 years of experience in running both internal and external investment portfolios in a range of settings. Aside from being a nonprofit CIO, David also serves on the investment board for the Hartford Community Foundation. Our podcast starts with David's journey into investing, his early work in education and what that taught him about communication, conveying complex concepts and patience. We hear about various detours his career took, and his reflections on these. He discusses the sense of duty he feels as CIO of a Non-Profit that is one of the largest employers in the area, and the pressure to perform, because an operating budget is depending on it. We spend some time discussing how the changing needs of a healthcare institution impact the portfolio and how he has had to flex the portfolio in the current macro environment.  He discusses adding to private credit to enhance income, and the kind of inflation protection that he has built through investing in asset-based infrastructure. We move then to examining the current mix of internal and external managers in the portfolio and how David has managed to achieve high-performance while pursuing certain responsible investing goals.  This gets us to a broader discussion of fees and governance, as well as team motivation and retention, and diversity across the investment world as a whole.We end by returning to some personal reflections and we look at the overlap between parenting skills and tending a portfolio. There are more than you may think!

As we bring our third series and second full year of podcasting to a close we have assembled a library of over 170 diverse role models in this series.  As the macro backdrop churns these dynamic personalities are our touchstones, our human constants, through the market noise.  In Series 5 of 2022 we hear from leaders from large institutions, a charity, a sovereign wealth fund, as well as a strategist at a global asset manager, a purveyor of inclusive capital, a partner at a consulting firm who successfully came back as a "returner", a financial journalist and an ex navy aviator.The guests in Series 5 are: David Holmgren is Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Healthcare, based in Connecticut, and has had over 30 years of experience in running both internal and external investment portfolios in a range of settings. Aside from being a nonprofit CIO, David also serves on the investment board for the Hartford Community Foundation. James Brooke-Turner is director of Yoke and CEO and investment director of the Nuffield Foundation, based in the UK. He was voted one of the inaugural for inspiring leaders in the voluntary sector, and writes about financial governance for charities.Geri McMahon is a partner at AON and Co-head of Responsible Investment at the firm. She started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Sydney, and spent time as a fixed income trader before moving to a healthcare technology, business and ultimately moving to AON in 2018. She wrote a powerful LinkedIn post about returners, which led me to want to find out more about returnship programs and their value. In 2019, she was awarded the most inspiring returner at the professional pensions, women and pensions awards after her first year returning.Blair Smith is senior director of the Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute, where he leads the center's access to capital and strategic innovative financing initiatives to enhance economic and social impact. Prior to joining Milken, he was an adjunct professor at the Columbia Business School. He's the former Chief Investment Officer for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, a CDFI and was the founder and CEO of Prometheus AB strategies, LLC, a strategic consultancy focused on helping diverse lead asset management firms achieve their goals. He's a member of the Real Estate Executive Council and is a 2019 Council of Urban Professionals Finance Catalyst recipient.Emma Jane Joyce is a sustainability specialist at the National Treasury Management Agency based in Dublin. She spent most of her career at the agency holding roles such as Head of responsible investment and investment director. She's a member of the Ireland steering committee of the CDP global environmental reporting system.Terri Duhon is an award winning educator, TEDx speaker, Board Director and speaker, who has over 25 years of experience in financial markets. She wrote the book "How the trading floor really works",  founded her own financial markets trading firm, and is an Associate Fellow at the Said Business School in Oxford. She sits on the Board of Morgan Stanley International, where she is Chair of the Risk Committee, and also holds a number of additional independent director roles. Dr. David Kelly is Chief Global Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, a position he has held for over 14 years.  He lives in Massachusetts. He was previously economic advisor at Putnam Investments, and prior to that held a range of roles in the financial services industry.  Originally from Dublin, like myself, he's a PhD in Economics from Michigan State University. Eugene O"Callaghan is a business and investment advisor based in Dublin, where he advises a range of asset managers and sovereign wealth funds on strategic initiatives. He was formerly Director of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and prior to that Director of the National Pensions Reserve Fund of Ireland. He started his career as an accountant.Preeti Singh was until recently an LP reporter in the private equity area at the Wall Street Journal. She graduated from the Graduate School of journalism at Columbia University, and has worked in a range of roles and financial journalism. She has spent time as a Content Manager for publishing company in executive search prior to entering journalism, and is known for her ability to cultivate deep relationships across the industry, and to get the first scoop and industry moves. Julie Cane is CEO of Democracy Investments.    The firm uses a proprietary algorithm to drive capital flows toward the economic growth of democratic countries and away from authoritarian states. She has had an over 20 year background in financial services where she has developed market leading innovations at Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab Advisor Services, SEI Investments and Autodesk Ventures.  She began her career as a US Naval Aviator flying the SH03 Sea King helicopter.  Among her other roles, Julie is Chairman of the Board of Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit helping over 3000 military veterans, and she is currently Captain in the California State Guard. 

Steve Kim is a partner in investment strategy and risk management at Verdis Investment Management in the Philadelphia area. He has focused over 30 years in his career in implementing and managing operating infrastructures. Prior to his role at Verdis held various Chief Technology Officer roles. He now focuses on integrating his insight from systems modeling and data analysis into an investment approach, particularly in the venture capital arena. We start with Steve's upbringing and early education and ask how his various Chief Technology Officer roles evolved over time to embrace data and AI, and what the key challenges for such roles are today.We move then to discuss the insights he brings from this background into investment management, and how he initially underestimated the randomness of returns and the degree to which modeling was a challenge.  His philosophy on life - as well as venture capital - is that variance is where the unicorns lie, that it is only by focusing on achieving maximum variance that we can hope to happen upon true winners.  This is just as true for the value of diversity within organizations. We focus then on how to achieve scale and efficiency while also achieving variance, which can be a challenge. Our conversation turns to ESG and Steve's view that technology has greatly accelerated engagement, transparency and the integration of an ESG lens when investing. This is an alluring concept, and one that has not been particularly well developed in the current debate.Our conversation ends, as usual, with reflections - the reminder to stay humble, and to avoid overly-simplistic reductionist thinking. This is an exceptionally rich and multi-layered discussion like a complex operating system, but one that bears scrutiny, for the many areas of utility it can touch. Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital.  Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments.  It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Matthew Sherwood, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WeVidIt Media, a video streaming platform that leverages data and analytics for a more inclusive and profitable entertainment industry. We met while he worked as an asset allocator, where he headed up public market investments for MMBB Financial Services.  He has spent time as a guest lecturer and an appointed professor at Columbia University and The King’s College in New York, and has authored a textbook on the topic of ESG Investing. He is a board member of the Guide Dog Foundation and American Vet Dogs and serves on the Lavelle Fund’s Investment Committee.Matt lost his sight at the age of 24, and became legally blind within a matter of days.  We discuss how he pivoted from a practical perspective, which enabled him to continue his career and to thrive there.  We discuss the inclusion of people with similar disabilities in the professional world, and examine the massive advances in technology which are making access more seamless.  Biases and prejudices however are less  dynamic in changing and Matt reframes the term “persons with disability” as “persons with determination”.We discuss many of the organizations and advocacy groups that are furthering better inclusion and then move to discuss Matt’s current passion for WeVidIt, democratizing access to this form of investment and the fundamentals that underlie it.This podcast was previously released as a bonus in recognition of April 27 being International Guide Dog Day.Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital.  Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments.  It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market

Jason Mitchell is co-head of responsible investments at MAN Group, and the host of a Sustainable Future Podcast at the MAN Institute, a podcast that he has hosted since 2018, which has now passed its 55th episode. He writes and speaks widely on sustainability issues, as well as serving on a number of committees such as the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.Our rich and multi-layered discussion starts with his early interest in literature and Indian poetry in particular. We hear how he majored in English but how serendipity led him to choose a career using his coding rather than an MFA at a prestigious US institution.  So commenced a fascination with finance and sustainability issues in particular, which saw him gain a bird's eye view into infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and work alongside policymakers at the highest level. Jason's vantage point as an investor, podcast host and writer leads him to synthesize issues that may seem to be complex and multi-layered, and in particular he speaks about policy makers and governments facing an energy trilemma - the three-pronged challenge of how to make energy sustainable, affordable and secure. He integrates the imperative of not creating a class of "energy poor" with the challenges of pursuing a de-carbonizing and net zero agenda with the fluency of a poet. Jason concludes with an exhortation to focus on breadth and not depth, and to slow down to allow our careers to breathe a little. Series 4 was sponsored by Alvine Capital.  Founded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a specialist advisor and placement boutique focusing on assisting European Institutional Investors within Alternative Investments.  It partners with best in class managers, adding value to investors by helping to navigate this very fragmented market