Board of Directors

David Allen, CFA, was former chair of CFA Society New York, and is also the Managing Director at Octane Investments, a firm he founded to invest in traditional energy companies. Prior to this, he served large institutions at Schroders and served in a similar position at AB, for nearly a decade at each of those firms. He also has founded and ran two FinTech startups and he traded FX in the 1990s. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Economics and completed the Value Investing executive education curriculum at Columbia University. Allen is Chair of the NY Society’s Programming Committee, and recently passed the CFA Institute’s ESG certification.

Andrew Auslander, CFA, FRM, has over 25 years of experience in the global financial markets. He has spent half his career as an enterprise risk manager experienced in developing risk frameworks to support overall business strategy for asset management, private banking, and investment banking. During this time, he managed market, traded credit, counterparty credit, liquidity, operational, vendor, and model risks. He was a repo and securities lending trader for twelve years for global firms Salomon Brothers and BNP Paribas.

Andrew earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Merchant Marine Academy. He holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Information Systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and studied Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Andrew is a CFA Charterholder and a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals. Mr. Auslander holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Thomas Brigandi, CFA, is a Managing Director at RisCura, the largest emerging & frontier market-dedicated investment consultancy by assets under advisement (AUA), with over US$200 billion. RisCura also manages / administers roughly $10 billion in assets. Prior to joining RisCura, Brigandi served as a Vice President in the Global Investor Management Team at Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), where he was responsible for building and maintaining senior level institutional investor relationships. Prior to serving in the Global Investor Management Team, Brigandi served for nearly a decade in the Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Group at MIS, where he was a Lead Analyst responsible for a portfolio of 34 power, toll-road, airport, port, water, wastewater, natural gas pipeline and project finance credits that collectively had over $15 billion of debt outstanding. While a Lead Analyst, Brigandi served on Moody’s public pension steering committee, ESG Americas working group and veteran recruiting sub-committee. Prior to Moody’s, Brigandi worked at the ~$250bn NYC Pension Fund, where he focused on energy and natural resources and reported directly to the chief investment officer.

Brigandi was Chair of the Board of Directors of CFA Society New York (CFANY), one of the largest CFA Institute Societies. Brigandi, the CFA Institute Inaugural Global Outstanding Young Leader & 2021 Americas Volunteer of the Year, has organized over 90 in-person CFA Society conferences globally that were attended by over 17,000 investment professionals, in addition to over 50 virtual conferences that reached many thousands of participants. These events featured over 400 senior asset owner and investment consultant speakers who represent organizations that collectively oversee or advise on more than $75 trillion in fiduciary assets. Brigandi, the founder of CFANY’s Asset Owner Series, Global Policymakers Series, Emerging and Frontier Market Series and Putting Beneficiaries First Series, leads a team of several hundred investment professional volunteers globally.

Brigandi maintains over 14,000 connections on LinkedIn and holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance, Accounting and Economics from the Macaulay Honors College (MHC) at the City University of New York. Brigandi received the college’s inaugural Alumni Pioneer Award and serves on the MHC Foundation Board of Directors as Treasurer. Brigandi serves as a Board Member of The Ocean Foundation, an Advisory Board Member of the Singapore Economic Forum, a Bretton Woods Committee Member and a Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association.

Stacey Bro serves as Managing Director and Co-Head of OCIO at Russell Investments, based in New York. She plays a central role in defining and executing the firm’s global OCIO strategy and leads the New York Client CIO team.

As a senior member of the Client CIO team, Stacey advises institutional investors on investment policy, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and ongoing program oversight. She partners closely with boards, investment committees, and senior leadership teams to define long-term objectives and implement disciplined governance frameworks. Her experience spans defined benefit and defined contribution plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutional asset pools.

As Co-Head of OCIO, Stacey is responsible for driving go-to-market strategy and commercial execution across the firm’s OCIO platform. She works cross-functionally to align investment, distribution, and operations teams globally. She also plays a lead role in shaping the firm’s consultant relations strategy for OCIO and manages engagement with key search consultants, strengthening the firm’s competitive positioning and growth across the institutional market. She is a member of Russell Investments’ North America Institutional Executive Committee.

Stacey joined Russell Investments in 2008. Prior to that, she was a Relationship Manager with Artio Global Investors (formerly Julius Baer Investment Management), serving institutional investors. She began her career at Safeco Asset Management in Seattle, WA, providing investment education to retirement plan participants. She later joined Meketa Investment Group, advising institutional clients on investment policy, asset allocation, manager selection, and oversight. She has also held positions at PIMCO and Deutsche Bank.

Stacey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Spanish from Tufts University and a Master of Business Administration from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She is a CFA charterholder and member of the CFA Institute, serves on the Board of Directors of the CFA Society New York, and is an Advisor to the Brooklyn Youth Charitable Investment Group.

Arthur Fliegelman is a senior financial analyst in the Research & Analysis Center of the Office of Financial Research, a unit of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Mr. Fliegelman has previously been associated with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Moody’s Investors Service, Salomon Brothers, CIGNA Corporation and Hay Associates. He has an MBA from the Wharton School and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He was awarded the Benjamin Graham Distinguished Service Award by CFA NY in 2018 and has twice been named a CFA NY volunteer of the year for his CFA NY activities.

Katie Kolchin is Head of Equity & Options Market Structure at SIFMA. In this role, she analyzes trends and structural shifts in markets, assesses the intersection of traditional financial institution business models and emerging financial technologies, and monitors how changes in regulations could impact market structure.

Prior to this role, Ms. Kolchin was Head of Research at SIFMA. She was previously a senior equity research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, covering exchanges and capital markets firms on a global basis. Prior to that she held other roles as a senior investment research analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, covering exchanges, clearing houses, and other market infrastructure firms and launching on clearing industry coverage, a senior research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a global equity research analyst at UBS Securities.

A CFA® Charterholder, Ms. Kolchin is a Member of the Board of Directors, CFA Society New York, and she previously served on the Nominations Committee. She holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a BA in Economics from Lehigh University.

Marya Ann Savola, CFA, MBA, is a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Customers Bank (NYSE: CUBI) in the Fund Finance team providing credit financing and treasury management solutions to alternative investment sponsors. Prior to Customers Bank, she worked at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from 1999 (starting at Bank One in Chicago) to 2020 within client relationship teams in corporate banking, capital markets, middle market banking, and business banking providing treasury solutions, credit financing, capital markets and asset management capabilities. Her sector experiences include healthcare services, alternative investment management, and professional services. Prior to JPMorgan Chase & Co., she worked at investor relations agency, The Financial Relations Board Inc. in Chicago, as a Market Intelligence Specialist from 1994 to 1997. While studying at Northwestern University as an undergraduate student, she worked during summer internships, at Bear Stearns & Co. (now JPMorganChase & Co.) in Chicago in 1991, and at The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 1992.

Marya earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Northwestern University in 1993 and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester, in 1999. She is a CFA charterholder, a member of CFA Institute, and on the Board of Directors of the CFA Society of New York. She serves as secretary and as chairperson of the Graham Center Committee of the CFA Society of New York. She is also a member of China Institute in New York.

Leo Schmidt, CFA was volunteer of the year for the CFA Institute for the Americas in 2023. In 2020 and 2022, he was volunteer of the year for the CFA Society New York. Starting in 2015, he was the Chair of the Institutional Asset Management group. He developed the Market Outlook series of events and frequently has been a mentor for the CFA Research Challenge.

Leo has been an institutional investor for over 20 years. Most recently for 11 years, he was a Senior Equity Analyst at the Chubb Corporation, a large public insurance company where he was responsible for all analysis on a $2 billion, 70+ stock portfolio (total corporate investment assets of $45 billion). The Chubb equity portfolio had an outstanding record with close to 300 basis points of outperformance versus the S&P 500 for over 10 years. Prior to Chubb, he worked at Advent Capital Management in Convertibles Strategies, at a $20 billion Nuveen managed accounts fund, and at Reich & Tang Capital Management. He graduated from Columbia University, with a BA in Economics and History and earned an MBA from NYU Stern. Before college, he worked in show business for 10 years mainly as dancer where the highlights include the 1980 revival West Story, a night club act at Rockefeller Center Rainbow Room for nearly three years, and several ballet companies including the New York Dance Theater. Currently, Leo is semi-retired and CIO at River Eddy Capital Management, a family office.

Arun Manansingh is Chief Executive Officer of CFA Society New York, one of the largest and most influential member societies within CFA Institute’s global network of financial centers. In this role, he oversees all aspects of the Society’s operations, strategy, and staff, advancing its mission to promote the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence within the investment management industry.

Prior to joining CFA Society New York, Arun served as Executive Director, Corporate Services for the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), a global organization comprising more than 300 World Trade Center businesses and iconic properties dedicated to fostering international trade and economic development. In this capacity, he led the organization’s day-to-day operations, including business planning and budgeting, business development, information technology, and human capital management. During his tenure at WTCA, he also held the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer.

Earlier in his career, Arun served as Chief Information Officer at Judlau Contracting, a leading heavy construction firm specializing in large-scale public infrastructure projects, where he directed enterprise technology strategy and innovation initiatives. He also held the role of Senior Vice President at SMBC Leasing and Finance, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Group, where he oversaw mission-critical technology systems supporting the company’s financial operations.

Arun holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the New York Institute of Technology.