Finance Investment Dinner

Mark W. Yusko is the CEO & Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management. He is also Managing Partner for Morgan Creek Digital Assets. Prior to forming Morgan Creek, Mr. Yusko was President, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of UNC Management Company (UNCMC), the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He led UNCMC from inception in 1998 to 2004 and was responsible for all investment activities including strategic and tactical asset allocation, investment manager selection, manager performance evaluation, spending policy management and performance reporting. Prior to his tenure at UNCMC, Mr. Yusko was the Senior Investment Director for the University of Notre Dame Investment Office where he joined as the Assistant Investment Officer in October of 1993. He worked with the Chief Investment Officer in all aspects of Endowment Management. Mark received his Bachelor of Science Degree, with Honors, in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from the University of Chicago.

From 2001 to 2008, Richard served in various senior investment positions at AIG, including as chief investment officer, insurance portfolio management. From 1998 to 2001, Richard served as chief investment officer of American General Corporation in Houston, Tex., and from 1994 to 1998 he served as vice chairman, general counsel, and chief investment officer of Western National Corporation. Richard was a practicing attorney from 1977 to 1994, initially with Sullivan & Cromwell in N.Y., and then with Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston, where he was a partner specializing in corporate finance.
Richard holds an A.B. in economics from Duke University and also graduated from Duke University Law School.

Rick Gerson is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Falcon Edge. Prior to Falcon Edge, Mr. Gerson was a Founding Member and Managing Director of Blue Ridge Capital, a New York-based investment firm started in 1996, where he was for 15 years. Mr. Gerson graduated from the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce with a B.S. in Commerce with a concentration in finance. Mr. Gerson is a member of the Cleveland Clinic International Leadership Board, a founding member of the Board of Trustees of PAVE (a charter school in Brooklyn), a member of the Panthera Conservation Council, a founding board member of the Josh Waitzkin Art of Learning Foundation (JWF) and is a member of the board of 92nd Street Y (a leading cultural institution and community center in New York). Mr. Gerson is a member of the Belfer Center's International Council at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Anthony Keizner joined Odyssey Search Partners as a Partner in 2016. He has been finding talent for the buy-side for over ten years. He has successfully placed portfolio managers, analysts and traders in public and private investment firms, and has experience placing other professionals in buy-side roles including data scientists, IR professionals and HR Heads. He edits Odyssey’s Quarterly Newsletter and Compensation Studies, and is involved with candidate mapping and other retained headhunting assignments.

Previously he ran the Hedge Fund practice at a boutique search firm and was a senior vice president at GLG, the networking platform. He started his career at Citibank and rose to become a VP in corporate banking. Anthony holds a Bachelors from the University of Oxford and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He lives on the Upper East Side, enjoys helping iMentor, a NY-based mentoring organization for underserved high school students, following English soccer, and chasing his pre-school children around the park.

Arielle Koganski, CFP is an Associate at Treasury Partners, a wealth management firm that is part of the Hightower Advisors group. She specializes in trading portfolios, working with clients and expanding the financial planning practice at Treasury Partners. Arielle is a graduate of Bentley University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance, and a Master of Science in Financial Planning. In her free time, Arielle enjoys traveling, skiing and going to the beach.

Brett Mermelstein is an Investor Relations Associate at JP Morgan, with a focus on Hedge and Private Equity Funds. He graduated from Temple University - Fox School of Business and Management in 2011 with a BBA in Economics. Brett believes in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Outside of work, he enjoys yoga, basketball, traveling, and reading.

Lindsay works in the Real Estate group of Ares Management where she focuses on corporate-level financial and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Ares in 2016, Lindsay was a member of the Financial Advisory group at Deloitte where she advised financial services clients on company and intangible asset valuation.

Lindsay graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a degree in Accounting and received her Master's in Finance and Accounting from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Outside of work she enjoys cycling, reading and traveling.

Michael Karfunkel is a second year analyst at National General Insurance, specifically focusing on the Accident, Health, and Lender Services divisions. Michael received a bachelors in Business Management and Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Lander College of Arts and Sciences after spending two years abroad studying Talmud in Israel. Outside of work, Michael founded The Jr. Executive, a platform for young, future executives to get involved in both business and economics. In his free time Michael enjoys listening to podcasts, reading and writing both fiction and non-fiction books, and bingeing the latest shows on Netflix!