Archives: Ambassadors

Herb Blank is a Senior Consultant for Global Finesse LLC, heading the product strategy practice.  He provides ESG, ETF, enhanced indexing and alternative data expertise.

 

During the past 35 years Herb has been involved in quantitative risk management, ESG modeling, ETF product development, portfolio management, product strategy, and business development. He served as Portfolio Manager for the Deutsche Bank CountryBaskets, the first ETFs launched on the NYSE, and assisted in planning the launches of iShares, GLD, and CountryBaskets.

 

Herb is a frequently published author and a well-recognized name from his 22 years helping to guide QWAFAFEW, a global society of investment quants.  He holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a BA in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Nell Minow has worked in the field of corporate governance and shareholder advocacy for more than 30 years, currently as Vice Chair of ValueEdge Advisors, and previously as co-founder and board member of GMI Ratings (formerly The Corporate Library), which was sold to MSCI in 2014.

 

Before GMI, she was a principal in the governance investment firm LENS (where Business Week online called her “the queen of good corporate governance” and Fortune called her “a CEO killer”) and general counsel and president of Institutional Shareholder Services.

 

She is co-author with Robert A.G. Monks of three books, including five editions of the leading textbook on corporate governance, and she taught MBA students at George Mason University for five years.  In 2008, she received the highest award in the field from the International Corporate Governance Network and in 2013 she received a lifetime achievement award from Corporate Secretary Magazine.

 

Her past service on non-profit boards includes the advisory council and board of WETA, Washington DC’s public television and radio stations, and as a board member of Reading Is Fundamental, a national literacy organization and the Center on Media and Public Affairs/STATS, the leading organization monitoring the media’s political coverage and assisting journalism organizations with statistical reporting.

 

She was a columnist for the Huffington Post and wrote the Risky Business column for BNet (owned by CBS) and continues to write for a number of outlets on business and culture.

 

Ms. Minow is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Chicago Law School.

Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford Global Projects Center. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford and a Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California.

 

Dr. Monk has a strong track record of academic and industry publications. He was named by aiCIO magazine as one of the most influential academics in the institutional investing world. His research and writing has been featured in The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Institutional Investor, Reuters, Forbes, and on National Public Radio among a variety of other media.

 

His current research focus is on the design and governance of institutional investors, with particular specialization on pension and sovereign wealth funds.

 

He received his Doctorate in Economic Geography at Oxford University and holds a Master’s in International Economics from the Universite de Paris I – Pantheon Sorbonne and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Princeton University.

David H. Webber is the author of The Rise of the Working-Class Shareholder: Labor’s Last Best Weapon, published by Harvard University Press in April 2018. Webber has toured extensively for the book, and has published op-eds about it in theNew York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, In These Times, and elsewhere. The book has been reviewed or otherwise covered in the New York Review of Books, twice by the Financial Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Bloomberg Radio, CSPAN’s BookTV, Forbes, Nightly Business Report, NPR’s Marketplace, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, the Harvard OnLabor blog, Cornell University’s ILR Review, Rorotoko, de Volkskrant, Calcalist, the Majority Report with Sam Seder,the David Pakman Show, Knowledge@Wharton Business Radio, Splinter News, Dissent, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and others.

 

Webber co-edited a second book, Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation (Elgar), published in November 2018. He has published scholarly articles including “The Use and Abuse of Labor’s Capital” in the New York University Law Reviewand “The Plight of the Individual Investor in Securities Class Actions” in the Northwestern University Law Review, with additional work forthcoming in the Vanderbilt Law Review and elsewhere. Webber has presented his research at the Harvard Stanford Yale Junior Faculty Forum, the Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, and the American Law and Economics Association conference, among others.

 

Webber is the winner of Boston University School of Law’s 2017 Michael Melton Award for Teaching Excellence. He also co-teaches the Pensions and Capital Stewardship course for the Harvard Trade Union program at Harvard Law School. He is a graduate of Columbia and NYU Law School, where he was an editor for the law review.

Gary N. Kleiman is a pioneer and recognized expert in the field of global emerging economies and financial markets. He founded the first consulting firm dedicated to providing independent analysis and advice to public and private sector clients in 1987, and research coverage and firsthand experience reached seventy-five countries in all developing regions. For three decades the company provided written reports and verbal briefings to banks, fund managers, institutional investors, and corporations to guide portfolio allocation and risk management. The firm also offered technical assistance and training to government and international lending agencies on financial sector and capital markets strategy and development. Mr. Kleiman was simultaneously responsible for content delivery, business outreach, and thought leadership, and his multifaceted entrepreneurial and substantive skills can apply to complex board assignments.

 

He was chosen as the overall financial sector strategist for the IMF-World Bank’s original First Initiative strengthening program, and was involved in private sector industry group formation such as the Emerging Markets Traders Association.  In Washington he advised government bodies on global economic and financial vulnerability issues for twenty years, and has been an expert witness in international sovereign debt cases. He has spoken at dozens of professional conferences and events worldwide, and is often cited and featured in the media. He has been a regular writer and commentator throughout his career, launched a website blog in 2008, and contributes to international outlets including Asia Times, BNE Intellinews and Financial Times.

 

Mr. Kleiman was an adjunct professor and developed an emerging market finance course for the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he graduated magna cum laude, and has been a longtime student mentor. He also completed advanced studies at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Paris) and the London School of Economics, and worked in Asia and the Middle East prior to starting his firm in New York before relocation to Washington. He is a senior member of non-profit advocacy groups like the Bretton Woods Committee, where he led specific poor country and refugee support efforts, and served on project task forces for the Council on Foreign Relations and World Economic Forum.  Mr. Kleiman is conversant in several languages, and has been an active political campaign volunteer and policy adviser, and competitive runner with age group placement.  He is listed in “Who’s Who in America” and has been married to Elizabeth Morrissey, who co-founded Kleiman International Consultants, for twenty-five years and has a teenage son Dylan.

 

Website: www.kleimaninternational.com

Jim is the director of the wealth advisory practice for Toroso Advisors, a division of Toroso Investments, LLC. Toroso is an ETF research and investment management company, developing and launching ETFs in addition to managing client wealth, both corporate retirement plans and families.

 

He is focused on advising corporations and people on all financial planning matters and has spoken to industry groups on the need for transparency in Retirement Plans.

 

Before joining Toroso, he was with Rothschild as Vice President, Senior Institutional Consultant and Corporate Retirement Consultant. Previously, he was at Salomon Brothers and Morgan Stanley covering large institutional portfolios.

 

Jim has an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, is a graduate of the Certified Investment Management Analyst program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) program at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Certified Retirement Planning Specialist.

 

Jim is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Board of Trade, Home Federal Bank, Highland Park Hospital, Blythedale Children’s Hospital, the Executive Board of The Forward Association, and a current chairperson of FINRA Dispute Resolution.

William Jannace has worked nearly 30 years in the securities industry at the American and New York Stock Exchanges and FINRA. As a senior counsel at Ross PLLC, he advises clients across a range of applications and compliance needs. Currently he is also focused on blockchain industry related broker-dealer and ATS advice, FinHub referrals, and related matters.

 

He is also an adjunct professor/lecturer at Fordham School of Law, Wharton Business School, Georgetown Global Education Institute, the Global Financial Markets Institute, Baruch University, The TABB Group, and the Financial Markets World, where he teaches courses covering:

 

• Capital Markets/IPOs/Exempt Offerings/ADRs
• Securities/SRO/Mutual Fund/Investment Adviser/Broker-Dealer Regulation
• Broker-Dealer Operations/Net Capital/Customer Protection/Prime Brokerage/Short Selling/Clearance and Settlement.
• Corporate Governance/Proxy/Activism/Corporate Social Responsibility/Environmental, Social, Governance/Impact Investing/Climate Change/, State Capitalism/Family Firms/ Sovereign Wealth Funds/Geopolitics/Geoeconomics.

 

He has also taught courses at The U.S. Army War College, New York Law School, Wharton Business School, Drexel University, New York University, Pace University, Securities Training Corporation, New York Institute of Finance, New York Society of Security Analysts, and the Securities Industry Institute/Wharton Business School on the above topics.

 

He was an account executive at Georgeson and D.F. King serving as liaison for corporations/institutional shareholders regarding corporate governance issues; assisted on proxy fights/tender offers for corporate raiders/listed companies; liaison with trading floor and arbitrageurs to provide market color to listed companies; monitored trading versus 13F filings to determine changes in shareholder ownership. He was also Series 7/63 licensed at Drexel Burnham/Paine Webber and was also a consultant for The World Bank.

 

International Experience

 

Mr. Jannace also conducted overseas training programs for the: Russian Securities Commission/Stock Exchange; The Capital Markets Authorities in : Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya; Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority; Securities and Exchange Board of India; Ukrainian Securities Commission/Stock Market; Romanian Securities Commission; Jordanian Securities Commission; Capital Markets Authority of Turkey; Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority; New York Institute of Finance- Beijing/China, the Taiwan Stock Exchange and for IOSCO in Spain.

 

Primary Practice Areas

 

In managing FINRA’s Sales Practice Policy department William Jannace and his staff responded to interpretive, policy and disposition requests, covering capital markets, research, books and records, supervision, outsourcing, bank sweeps, outside business activities/private securities transactions and conflicts of interest. Mr. Jannace also worked in the Enforcement Department where he investigated violations of federal securities laws/SRO rules, conducted OTRs, drafted reports of investigation/statement of charges/settlements and conducted contested/settlement proceeding.

 

As a regulator, Mr. Jannace interfaced with the SEC, NASD, state regulators/trade associations (SIFMA) in shepherding proposals for approval; and helped draft reports on research analyst conflicts; secondary trading of private companies; transparency enhancements to the securities lending marketplace; and on mutual regulatory recognition. He participated in the Compliance Advisory Group, OSRC, and IOSCO initiatives. He also worked with OFAC and the SEC to help firms identify potential money laundering issues and to restrict terrorist financing post 9/11.  He led a FINRA initiative to rewrite its membership rules. Rule proposals/guidance included:

 

• SRO Rule Harmonization/Business Continuity/Contingency Planning
• CEO Certification/Internal Controls/Supervision/
• Review/Supervision of Electronic Communications
• AML/Patriot Act/OFAC/SDNs
• IPO Allocations/Research Analyst Conflicts/Qualification Examination
• Portfolio Margin/Capital

 

He also worked at TD Securities and Smith Barney Shearson, providing legal advice on/reviewed or responsible for:

 

• Regulation D/S offerings/144A/144 resales/10b-18 share buybacks
• Offering Memorandums/Underwriting and Prime Brokerage Agreements
• Research reports and trading approvals for new issues/secondary offerings
• Ensured trade reporting/Control Room/employee/firm trading compliance

 

Dispute Resolution Experience and Training

 

William Jannace is a CIArb Fellow, a FINRA Non-Public arbitrator, a member of the New York International Arbitration Center, a judge for the FINRA Annual Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon, and arbitrator for the Willem C. Vis Moot Court at Fordham Law School. He also attended Mediation Training at the NYCBA and received a Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from Columbia Law School/Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.  He is also a research affiliate with the Fletcher Network for Sovereign Wealth and Global Capital. Mr. Jannace received his JD from New York Law School in 1992, his LL.M. in Corporate, Banking, and Finance Law from Fordham Law School in 1996, is a member of the State Bars of New York and Connecticut; received a Certificate in Global Affairs at New York University and Environmental, Social and Governance investment training from the International Corporate Governance Network.

 

International Experience

 

Mr. Jannace also conducted overseas training programs for the: Russian Securities Commission/Stock Exchange; The Capital Markets Authorities in: Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya; Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority; Securities and Exchange Board of India; Ukrainian Securities Commission/Stock Market; Romanian Securities Commission; Jordanian Securities Commission; Capital Markets Authority of Turkey; Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority; New York Institute of Finance- Beijing/China, the Taiwan Stock Exchange and for IOSCO in Spain.

 

Publications, Speaking Engagements and/or Professional and Civic Associations

 

He has also volunteered for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the Asset Owners Disclosure Project, UNICEF and served as a judge for the SIFMA Foundation InvestWrite Competition. Mr. Jannace is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and the NGO Committee To Stop Trafficking in Persons. He is also active in raising funds and awareness for humanitarian assistance and an active supporter of education through the establishment of the Anthony E. Jannace scholarship at New York Law School and the Susan M. Jannace scholarship at Fordham University.

 

He has contributed to the following publications:

 

“Bretton Woods 4.0 Finding New Relevance in a New World Order,” By Dr. Paul Tiffany and William Jannace, Bretton Woods@75 Blog and Compendium, February 2019.

 

“Cautionary Notes for Supply Chain Managers and Others Involved in Global Sourcing & Partnerships (Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery Conditions Raise Reputational Risks),” Governance & Accountability Institute, January 2018).

 

“Sustainability Disclosures in the EU,” Insights, The Corporate and Securities Law Advisor, Volume 31, Number 8, August 2017.

 

“Sustainability Disclosures in the EU: Implementation of the 2014 EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive,” ABA, Spring 2017.

 

“Accounting for Trade: President Trump and the Geopolitical Balance Sheet,” NYU-Global Affairs   Perspectives on Global Issues, Spring 2017.

 

“NASD/NYSE Rule Harmonization: What Do the Changes Mean in Practice, “The Journal of Securities Compliance, Volume One, October 2007.

 

His speaking engagements include: Securities Regulation/Corporate Governance/Capital Markets, Impact Investing/ESG, and Broker-Dealer Operations/Market Structure/Clearance and Settlement for:

 

• Skytop ESG Investing Conference
• Skytop Impact Investing Conference
• Skytop Strategies-Compliance Conference
• UNICEF-Human Trafficking Podcast
• Skytop Strategies-Impact Investment Conference
• Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission
• China Construction Bank
• Iraq Stock Exchange
• Securities and Exchange Bureau of India
• Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance
• Kenyan Capital Markets Authority
• El Salvador Securities and Exchange Commission
• Ghana Stock Exchange
• Mexican Banking and Securities Commission
• Sarajevo Stock Exchange/Securities Commission
• Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority
• Central Bank of Kosovo
• Malaysian Securities Commission
• SEC Annual Institute for Securities Market
• US State Department Foreign Delegation
• Hong Kong Securities Commission
• Philippine Dealing System Holdings
• Treasury Department of Argentina
• Ontario Securities Commission
• Securities Operations Forum
• ALI-ABA Compliance and Enforcement Conference
• SIFMA lAD and Fixed-Income Conferences
• FINRA Spring Conference
• NYSE Regulatory Conferences
• SIFMA Equity Capital Markets and Research Management Conferences
• BD Week Annual Compliance Conference
• SIFMA Annual Legal and Compliance Conferences
• NASD Institute for Professional Development
• ABA Conference.

Bar Admissions: Member of the New York and Connecticut Bars

Stefan Pagacik’s career has spanned several industries and roles, most recently as co-founder of AI4Impact, an artificial intelligence platform focused on building next generation impact financial products. Previously, he built two impact themed cloud and mobile platforms (8 of 9 LLC and my4) for retail and institutional investors interested in aligning their values and criteria with their portfolios. His prior entrepreneurial experience involved starting a marine science accelerator in Southeastern Massachusetts (the Regional Technology Development Center of Cape Cod) that commercialized scientific developments in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the Marine Biological Laboratory.

 

Transitioning from managing the investment committee of an angel fund (Bay Angels), he focused on building a model for an energy transition solution from fossil fuels to biofuels for the government of Chile. He also designed a social enterprise plan for the city of Detroit aligning entrepreneurs and city agencies to stimulate business opportunities for blighted areas of the city.

 

His technology background includes retail sales consulting for Apple Computers in the Northeast and building a channel strategy for an emerging leading-edge motion graphics software company (The Company of Science and Art) that was later acquired by Adobe. He opened the Boston office of IT consulting firm Eclipse Information Systems that was later acquired by Century Services of Washington, D.C.

 

Stefan has a B.A. in English from Harvard College and an MBA from Suffolk University.