Gene Simmons, Co-Founder, Simmons Abramson Marketing
Gene Simmons co-founded KISS more than 34 years ago.
KISS continues to be the juggernaut of licensing/merchandising, with over 2,500 licenses.
KISS has broken BOX OFFICE RECORDS set by the Beatles and Elvis and continues stronger than ever.
KISS has been AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE GOLD RECORD AWARD WINNING GROUP of all time. (RIAA).
KISS COFFEEHOUSE - in Myrtle Beach. The first of a brand, new franchise.
KISSOLOGY 6 Hr DVD - the most recent release, debuts at #1 and racks up 5x Platinum sales.
KISS ALIVE CD BOX SET is a smash at 3x Platinum
KISS/Cannon camera – debuted in Japan…with TV commercial, billboards and posters.
KISS COMICS GROUP/Platinum Studios - KISS' own comic book line...featuring KISS - 4K and KISS GIRLS...
KISS NASCAR – continues its association for a fifth year.
KISS NHRA – continues its association for a third year.
KISS PEPSI COLA – TV commercial.
KISS COCA COLA – has put Gene’s face on their bottles in France.
KISS HOLIDAY INN – TV commercial.
KISS VISA CARDS – in association with various banks.
GENE SIMMONS has:
A Gene Simmons US Postage Stamp available at your local Post Office.
SIMMONS ABRAMSON MARKETING, which just took over Worldwide Marketing & Branding of the INDY RACING LEAGUE, the people who bring you Nationwide Indy Races, including the legendary INDY 500!!!
GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS - Gene's A&E reality television show, featuring his businesses, his life and his family. SEASON I Box Set out now!!! Season II Box Set out in August, '07.
Season III begins shooting in August.
Gene Simmons MONEYBAG - his own clothing line: a joint venture with DUSSAULT Custom Ink.
SIMMONS RECORDS, his own record company, with new artist BAG released.
SIMMONS BOOKS, which published his LA Times Best Seller, SEX MONEY KISS.
SIMMONS AUDIO VISUAL, which released his SPEAKING IN TONGUES lecture Tour of Australia.
Published his own magazine, GENE SIMMONS TONGUE (Sterling/McFadden).
GENE SIMMONS ROCK SCHOOL (VH1) his reality show.
GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS (A&E) his other reality show.
SIMMONS COMICS GROUP- a joint venture with IDW Pub, features 4 new comic books created by Gene: DOMINATRIX comics, ZIPPER comics, INDY: RACE OF THE GALAXIES comic and his anthology comic book Gene Simmons HOUSE OF HORRORS.
NICK SIMMONS also debuts with his own written/drawn comic book, SKULLDUGGERY on IDW Pub.
MY DAD THE ROCK STAR (Nickelodeon) created/exec prod of smash cartoon
MR. ROMANCE (Oxygen) created the show.
Discovered VAN HALEN and produced their 15 song demo.
Managed the recording careers of, among others, LIZA MINNELLI.
Produced New Line Pictures’ DETROIT ROCK CITY.
Acted and co-starred in movies such as RUNAWAY (Tristar) and WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE (New World), NEW GUY (Revolution) and television series such as THIRD WATCH (NBC), MIAMI VICE (NBC) and scores of others.
Written two New York Times Best Selling Books, KISS AND MAKEUP (Crown) and SEX, MONEY, KISS (Simmons Books/New Millenium).
Gene Simmons was born in Haifa, Israel in 1949 and is the only child of his mother, a German Nazi Concentration Camp survivor.
He has always attributed his ethics, morals and drive to his mother's notions about life. "Every day above ground, is a good day," his mother is apt to say. Every day above ground, indeed.
He came to America at eight and a half years of age.
He graduated State University (NYSU) and City University (CUNY) and got a Bachelor of Education degree.
He taught sixth grade in Spanish Harlem in New York City.
He then became the Assistant to the Director of the Puerto Rican InterAgency Council, a government funded research and demonstration project.
He worked at Glamour and then at Vogue, as the assistant to the editor, Kate Lloyd.
Gene speaks a few languages: English, Hungarian, Hebrew, German and is getting better at Japanese every day. At present, he is becoming fascinated by Mandarin Chinese and has every intention of becoming fluent in it.
Make no mistake about it. He will.
Gene Simmons has never been married.
He has had live in relationships with Cher and Diana Ross.
He has been happily unmarried for 23 years to Shannon Tweed, the mother of his two beautiful children.
Gene Simmons lives in Beverly Hills, California.
Richard Abramson, Co-Founder, Simmons Abramson Marketing
Richard G. Abramson graduated from Syracuse University with both a B.A. in Radio/Television and Film and a Masters in Communications. Following graduation, he created a film and commercial production company in Washington, D.C. and after winning several awards for advertising campaigns and documentaries (including the successful concert film, Banjoman), he sold the company and relocated to Los Angeles to establish a career in motion picture and television production and marketing.
Mr. Abramson’s first feature film was THE LAST WORD, (released in Europe as FORT TRAVIS), starring Richard Harris and Karen Black. Following the film's release, he founded ASPEN PROMOTIONS, Inc., to manage the promotional operations of features released in the United States. The company became the most successful venture of its kind, directing marketing campaigns of many films for both Universal Studios and Warner Bros. (among these, THE JERK, DR. DETROIT, DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID and THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS.)
In 1984, Mr. Abramson sold the enterprise to concentrate on motion picture production and personal management. He embarked upon sole management of Paul Rubens, creating "PEE-WEE HERMAN". In 1983, the gross value of Pee-wee Herman's business was about $35,000 and a year later it rose to $1.65 million. By 1985, the total business generated by Pee-wee reached an astounding $53 million.
Mr. Abramson secured a deal with Warner Bros. to finance a feature film convinced the studio that PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE should be directed by the unknown, 26 year old Tim Burton (Burton went on to become one of the world's most creative and successful directors; his credits include BATMAN, BEETLEJUICE, and the much-lauded ED WOOD). In addition to his producing duties, Richard took on the marketing and promotion of the film. Mr. Abramson also co-created and produced PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE, a Saturday morning children's program, which became America 's top-rated children’s show (four years in a row) and was nominated for over 50 Emmy awards, winning more than twenty, including two for Mr. Abramson. As a result of this success, total Pee-wee business passed the $150 million mark.
Richard next served as Executive Producer of BIG-TOP PEE-WEE, the sequel (produced for Paramount) and then Executive Produced THE BIG PICTURE (for Columbia Pictures), starring Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Jason-Leigh and John Cleese. He also arranged $35 million in independent financing for THEODORE REX, starring Whoopie Goldberg (a New Line release).
In 1995, Mr. Abramson developed a new form of underwriting the costs of producing and distributing motion pictures utilizing efficacy insurance policies. Working closely with a major insurer, Mr. Abramson put together a $125 million Prints and Advertising facility.
The development of this facility, the first of its kind in the motion picture business, inspired a wave of insurance backed financings which have now become plentiful, and, in fact, a device that has allowed scores of films to be produced. Mr. Abramson’s reputation as a knowledgeable expert and provider of financial services for the film industry has attracted the interest and support of a wide range of motion picture banks (including Comerica, CIBC/Oppenheimer, and The Lewis Horowitz Organization), as well as other producers and entertainment figures.
In May of 2000, Richard became President and Chief Operating Officer of Miracle Entertainment, Inc., a diversified public entertainment company, arranging over $100 million in equity financings and setting up a major foreign sales unit before leaving to join East West Resort Development in early 2001, as Chairman. At EastWest, Richard used his motion picture financing experience to develop a new form of Real Estate Pecuniary Insurance, which is now called Hotel Mortgage Indemnity Insurance. Recently he expanded the company’s range by developing financing facilities for Life Insurance Policies using the trademarked brand --- NO SURRENDER.
He also is on the board of NGTV, a new online entertainment site, and serves as Chairman of its executive committee.
Mr. Abramson resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Greg Kulka, Director – Private Equity & ETI Programs, New Mexico State Investment Countil
Mr. Kulka is currently the Director – Private Equity & ETI Programs at the New Mexico State Investment Council (NMSIC) and has held that position for almost six years. He currently oversees a National Private Equity Program with $1.9 billion in commitments and a New Mexico Private Equity Program with commitments of $300 million.
He also manages the New Mexico Film Investment Program which invests in projects that are filmed in New Mexico and hire New Mexicans as a majority of their production crew. This program has an allocation of $285 million and currently has outstanding investments of $170 million in fifteen film and television projects. Over the life of the film investment program, twenty-one projects totaling almost $200 million have been financed.
Mr. Kulka has a BA in physics from the University of Colorado and a Master’s in finance, accounting and economics from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He also holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
Moctesuma Esparza, Vice President, Board of Administration, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System
Moctesuma Esparza currently serves as Vice President of the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS) Board of Administration.
A Los Angeles native, Mr. Esparza is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, entrepreneur, and community activist. As a partner of Esparza-Katz Productions, he has worked with such notable stars as Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Smits, Martin Sheen and Halle Berry. His production credits also include Selena, Gettysburg, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, and The Milagro Beanfield War.
In addition, he is a founder and board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and serves on the board of the National Latino Media Council. He is an overseer for the Claremont University Consortium, a trustee of California State University and the American Film Institute, and a member of the Los Angeles County Latino Coalition Against AIDS. He is also the founder and chair of the Marathon Club and the Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise, a charter school. In the past, Mr. Esparza was the chair founder of the New America Alliance, a national business organization.
Mr. Esparza studied theatre arts, motion pictures and television at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Fine Arts.
Scottie Bevill, Senior Investment Officer, Global Bonds and Real Return, Teachers Retirement System of Illinois
Scottie D. Bevill is the current Senior Investment Officer for Global Bonds and Real Return for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, responsible for $11 billion of the nearly $41 billion of fund assets. His duties include overseeing fixed income, inflation-linked assets, global macro and commodity strategies. During his 15 years of public service to the teachers of Illinois, Mr. Bevill has and currently performs a number of roles outside of the fixed income and real return realm including responsibility for the emerging and minority-owned investment manager and broker programs instituted by TRS. A native southerner, Mr. Bevill graduated from Illinois College with a B.S. in Economics and Business Administration and received his M.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois.
Steve Cochrane, Chief Investment Officer, North Dakota State Investment Board
Steve Cochrane is the Chief Investment Officer of the North Dakota State Investment Board (NDSIB). Steve is responsible for the administration of the agency as well as overseeing a $5.3 billion diversified investment portfolio. Steve has been with the NDSIB since 1997 and has 26 years of institutional investment experience. He earned his BSBA and MBA degrees from the University of Florida and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. The NDSIB was selected as a nominee for Money Management Letter’s 2007 Savviest Public Plan of the Year.
Bryan Decker, Principal, Chief Investment Strategist, Director of Alternative Research, Evaluation Associates
In his role as Chief Investment Strategist, Bryan serves as the chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee. The role of the investment committee is to develop both short-term and long-term views regarding market opportunities.
As Director of Alternative Research, Bryan continues to oversee Evaluation Associates’ efforts in the alternatives arena, including private equity, real estate, hedge funds (fund-of-funds) and commodities. In this capacity, he engages in due diligence on managers, evaluates market opportunities and makes recommendations to clients.
Previously, as Director of the firm’s Research Department, Bryan managed and coordinated activities across the various asset class teams, ensuring consistency in the firm’s investment manager due diligence process, market evaluation and manager search process.
Bryan joined Evaluation Associates in 1993 as an analyst covering alternative strategies for Evaluation Associates Capital Markets, and subsequently joined the consulting practice in 1997.
He earned his BA from Vassar College, majoring in Physics and Economics, and his MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Glenn Ezard, Senior Consultant, SEGAL ADVISORS
Current Position/History with Segal – Mr. Ezard joined Segal Advisors, Inc. as a Senior Consultant in 2003. He is responsible for client service and business development for the West Region.
Industry Involvement – Mr. Ezard has more than 19 years of experience in investment management and investment consulting. He has managed both fixed income and equity portfolios. Prior to coming to Segal Advisors, Mr. Ezard was Senior Vice President and Director of Equities, with responsibility for trust service delivery in the western United States, for Amalgamated Bank. Mr. Ezard began his career as a securities analyst at J.P. Morgan in New York.
Mr. Ezard has a wide range of client service responsibilities in the western United States, providing assistance with the deployment of assets in retirement and health benefit plans. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and financial industry gatherings.
Education – Mr. Ezard graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Political Science from Temple University. He also earned a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration
Michael Humphrey, Managing Principal, Courtland Partners, Ltd.
Michael J. Humphrey, Managing Principal, is a co-founder of the firm. He has over 19 years of real estate investment experience as an attorney, a workout consultant and an advisor.
Mr. Humphrey began his career in the national office of Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young) and, following law school, was an associate with the law firm of Baker & Hostetler. He then acted as a legal counsel and financial analyst for a real estate workout firm specializing in the liquidation of distressed real estate assets. That firm's clients were primarily financial institutions (e.g., Banc Texas and The Bank of New England) requiring the disposition of non-performing mortgage loans and real estate owned. Prior to starting Courtland, Mr. Humphrey was a Senior Consultant with The Townsend Group for over four years where he was responsible for a number of state and other pension fund clients. He is a member of Courtland's Investment Committee.
Mr. Humphrey holds a B.A., summa cum laude, in Economics from Wittenberg University and a J.D. from Columbia University Law School, where he was a Stone Scholar. He has spoken at a number of real estate seminars and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries.
Milbrey "Casey" Jones, Trustee, Marin County Employees Retirement Association
Mr. Jones is a Trustee on the Marin County Retirement System, where he chairs the Investment Committee. Casey is a member of SACRS and is the former President. SACRS (State Association of County Retirement Systems) has twenty counties as members and some $70 billion pension fund assets all located in the State of California. He has been a featured speaker on hedge funds, issues of defined benefit pension plans, and alternative investments at numerous pension fund conferences.
Mr. Jones is a partner of Salus Capital Management, an investment firm specializing in a long/short market neutral strategy. Prior to joining Salus, Casey was a vice pres- in charge of Marketing and Client Servicing for Alliance Capital Management. He joined Alliance through the 1993 merger with Equitable Capital Management.
He spent six years as a Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing for Siebel Capital Management specializing in Taft-Hartley and public fund pension fund assets.
In 1979 Mr. Jones started his career as head of marketing and senior vice president of McMorgan & Company, a firm that specializes in managing the assets of Taft-Hartley pension plans.
He is currently a member of CALAPRS, the CFA Institute, the Investment Management Consulting Association, San Francisco Society of Analysts, and the Olympic Club of San Francisco. Mr. Jones is a patron of the arts and a collector of rare wines.
Mr. Jones graduated from San Jose State University receiving a B.S. in Industrial Management. He was the recipient of the Wall Street Journal Award his senior year at SJSU. He also completed courses in Advanced Money Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Entering the United States Military, Casey worked on saving the world for democracy. However, that was before he started his business career and is another story.
Don Kendig, CPA, Trustee, Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System
Responsibilities:
General Member elected trustee on the Board of the Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System (SBCERS)...has served as Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary of the Board. Is currently serving as Secretary.
Career Path:
Chaired California Association of Public Retirement Systems (CALAPRS) Trustee Round Table Meetings...Member of the Council of Institutional Investors...serves as Chair of the Audit Committee of the State Association of County Retirement Systems (SACRS) as well as facilitates SACRS Trustee educational break-out sessions...at the County of Santa Barbara, is the Air Pollution Control District’s Business Manager...a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1999, was previously a Financial Systems Analyst with the Santa Barbara County Auditor-Controller's Office, and worked for the Santa Barbara County Superior Court and County Executive Office...also serves as a director for the Santa Barbara County Federal Credit Union... is a member of the California Society of Certified Pubic Accountants and Government Finance Officers Association.
Education:
Graduated from Palomar Community College with honors, and an AA in Liberal Arts & Sciences and from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with high honors, and a B.A., Business Economics with an Accounting Concentration...graduate of the prestigious Wharton Business School, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University retirement courses.
Personal:
Donald spends his free time with his wife, Marcia, daughter, Savannah (age 5 born 06/2002), new baby girl, Sierrah, (born 12/2006), three cats, and humble garden of roses, fruit trees and other plants. His interests include good governance, environmental sustainability, public political participation, child development, continuous learning, financial planning, multi-cultural enrichment, food, finances, and computers.
Lisa Laird, CFA, Senior Consultant, Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting
Lisa Laird is a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting in the Los Angeles office. Lisa’s areas of expertise include investment policy and program structure development, manager and custodian selection, performance monitoring and transition management. Lisa is the head of custody research in the U.S. and a member of the global team focusing on custody research. She is also a member of Watson Wyatt’s investment consulting team focusing on defined contribution best practices.
Prior to joining Watson Wyatt in 2005, Lisa was with Wilshire Associates where she worked with the firm’s fiduciary outsourcing relationships. Previously, Lisa held positions at Agilent Technologies and IBM. In these positions, she gained a solid understanding of many of the issues facing plan sponsors.
Lisa holds an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a B.S. from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona. She earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles, Inc. Lisa also serves on the advisory board of the Seva Foundation.
James Maloney, Trustee, Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund
James “Jim” Maloney is an elected Trustee for the Chicago Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund. Jim serves part-time on the Fund and continues to work on the Chicago Police Department assigned as the Commanding Officer of the Financial Crimes Investigations Section. Jim also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Police Lieutenants Association.
He has a B.S from Western Illinois University. He has a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Illinois Institute of Technology, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Masters Certificate in Financial Fraud from St. Xavier University.
He also is an Illinois licensed Real Estate Agent and an Illinois licensed Private Detective. He is the owner of J.Maloney and Associates, an investigative firm.
Paul E. Owens, CEO, Plan Manager, CAAT Pension Plan
Paul Owens is Plan Manager and Chief Executive Officer for the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) Pension Plan. He is responsible for the strategy, design and implementation of the Plan’s asset and liability functions. Prior to joining the CAAT Pension Plan in 1995, he spent 13 years at The Bank of Nova Scotia where, as director of pensions, he was responsible for the design and administration of the bank’s worldwide pension programs. He has made presentations, written articles, and taught extensively in the areas of pension asset and liability management, administration and governance. He is a former Chair of WorldatWork (formerly the American Compensation Association). He has an MBA from Queen’s University, a BBA from the University of New Brunswick and certificates in compensation and benefits from WorldatWork and Humber College.
John Richter, Trustee, Minnesota State Retirement System
John Richter is the elected retiree on the Minnesota State Retirement System Board with nine years on the board. As a Minnesota State University graduate, most of his career was spent as an auditor, teacher, and speaker for the Minnesota Department of Revenue. John's mission in life is correcting political wrongs using his faith base. As a professional union member, John served his fellow members in many elected capacities from labor contract negotiator to Board of Directors. But, John says, his most difficult life task has been chairing a committee where he brought both conservative and liberal church members together in agreement to build a fellowship hall.
Robbie Robertson, Trustee, Professional Firefighters of Georgia
Robert is a Retired Captain from DeKalb County Fire-Rescue Services with twenty-eight years of service. He served two terms as an employee elected trustee and served as the Vice-Chairman of the DeKalb County Pension Board from 2000 to 2004. He was one of two employee elected trustees that represented 6500 employees.
He served as President of the Professional Fire Fighters of Georgia, which is the state organization of the International Association of Fire Fighters and as the field service representative for the same IAFF for eight years. In this capacity, He advised and held educational events for all the fire fighter locals across the state. And he was granted the status of President Emeritus for my many years of dedicated service to the fire fighters across the state.
He also serves as Secretary Treasurer Emeritus of the DeKalb Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local # 1492 and he is the sole advisor on all pension matters. He served in the position of Secretary Treasurer for 12 years.
He also served as Secretary Treasurer of the Metro Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters Council, which is a more localized organization to serve the locals in the Metro Atlanta area. In this capacity he serves as an advisor on pension matters due to his experience and longevity with pensions. He served in this position for 12 years.
George A. Tarlas, CFA, Managing Director, Asset Consulting Group
George is a Managing Director and Senior Consultant at Asset Consulting Group, Inc. with overall responsibility for the Institutional business of ACG. Asset Consulting Group (ACG) provides comprehensive investment advisory services to institutionally sized asset pools. George brings value to our clients' portfolios through his strategic work in the areas of asset allocation/asset class modeling and analysis, investment policy creation and revision, and investment manager evaluation for traditional and non-traditional asset classes. As a Managing Director, he is one of the three members of ACG’s Executive Committee, which sets the course and direction of the firm. George is also a member of Asset Consulting Group's Investment Committee, which is comprised of the senior members of the firm and whose primary task is to ensure continuity and consistency in the investment recommendations to our clients. Prior to joining ACG in 1996, George was a Vice President for Gershman Investment Corp. in St. Louis. He brings a background in finance and real estate and earned his Finance Degree from the University of Colorado. George is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts.
Dory Wiley, Trustee, Chairman Alternative Assets Committee, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Dory Wiley is a Principal and President of SAMCO Capital Markets, Inc., an investment banking firm and broker/dealer specializing in financial services. The firm’s capabilities include merger and acquisition advisory, capital raising, stock valuations and fairness opinions, financial and strategic planning, regulatory advisory, and fixed income securities transactions. In addition to investment banking activities, the firm created and manages several Private Equity and Private Investment Funds, of which Mr. Wiley serves as Portfolio Manager. Mr. Wiley is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, a $100 billion pension fund, for which he also serves as Chairman of the Alternative Assets Committee. He additionally serves on the Board and Investment Committee of Independent Bankers Capital Fund.
Prior to joining SAMCO Capital Markets, Mr. Wiley was Vice President and Manager of the Financial Institutions Group at Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, now RBC Capital Markets. He has also worked for a financial institution in asset/liability management and investments.
Mr. Wiley often lectures on bank related topics at universities, seminars and conferences. He has testified as an expert witness on bank and securities valuation, has written articles for various banking periodicals and has been quoted extensively in the media. He is a member of the AICPA, Texas Society of CPAs, the Dallas Society of Financial Analysts, the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, and the CFA Institute. He also serves on several charitable boards.
Mr. Wiley received a BBA in Finance and Accounting from Texas Tech University, an MBA from Southern Methodist University and holds multiple securities licenses.
Micolyn Yalonis, Principal, The Townsend Group
Ms. Yalonis is a Principal with The Townsend Group. Ms. Yalonis has been with Townsend since 1998 and is responsible for the management and oversight of the San Francisco office. Ms Yalonis is the consultant to various city/county and state pension plans ranging from $1 billion to $35 billion in total assets. Ms Yalonis has primary responsibility for Strategic Planning, Portfolio Analysis, Investment Planning, Manager and Fund due diligence, Performance Measurement and Client Relations. As the lead Principal on these accounts, Ms. Yalonis provides program structuring across a broad range of risk/return objectives, manager selection and oversight as well as performance analytics. Programs include a range of structures including separate accounts, commingled funds, and co-investments working with traditional and emerging managers as well as public companies. Ms. Yalonis also maintains primary responsibility for the firm's expertise with regard to Latin America.
Prior to The Townsend Group, Ms Yalonis was a founding member of the Real Estate Consulting Group at Callan Associates where, during her ten (10) year tenure, she provided similar consulting services to direct real estate as well as general consulting clients leaving Callan as the manager of real estate consulting services.
Ms. Yalonis is an active member of the State Association of County Employees' Retirement Systems (SACRS) and the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA); represents investors on various Advisory Committees and holds an Editorial Board seat for a number of industry publications. In addition, Ms. Yalonis has been a speaker at SACRS, PREA and numerous industry conferences.
Ms. Yalonis is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Brad Young, Partner, Head of North America, Altius Associates
Mr. Young has over eleven years of private equity and venture experience. He is currently a Partner and Head of the US Office for Altius Associates Ltd., a global private equity advisory firm with over USD 8 billion under advice and management. Altius has offices in Richmond, VA, London, and Copenhagen. Mr. Young is a Director of Altius Associates and a member of its investment committee. Prior to joining Altius Associates, Mr. Young was a Director of Private Equity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, he was one of a three-member team that managed a multi-billion dollar global private equity fund portfolio and had investment responsibilities that included Europe, Israel, Asia and South America. Prior to joining MIT, Mr. Young was the Director of Private Equity at the University of Richmond Endowment where he managed a $300 million private equity portfolio. Mr. Young sits (or has been on) advisory boards for life science and technology ventures and US and European buyout funds. Prior to the University of Richmond Mr. Young was with SunTrust Bank.
Mr. Young has an MBA from Wake Forest University and a BA from Hampden-Sydney College.
