The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Rahul Moodgal has been described as a “Master Fundraiser” and currently works in a business development for various asset managers, including hedge funds as well as having a rich portfolio career which includes various charities and a role as an angel investor. He describes himself as a Contrarian and a Humanitarian.Our conversation discusses how to build a business in asset management, the central importance of relationships, resilience and learning to cope with rejection. He mentions the dangers of ESL - ego, speed and leverage, and lessons he has learned from a quarter century of building businesses in asset management.

Sally Bridgeland needs no introduction in London institutional investing circles. Following a long career as an actuary, investment consultant and investor, culminating in a role of CEO at BP Pension Trustees for the 19 BN GBP BP pension fund, she has pivoted to an extensive portfolio career. Since 2014 she has held roles at Nest, USS, Lloyds Banking Group, Avida International, RAF Central Fund, Nesta, the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, the Local Pensions Partnership, Impax Asset Management and Royal London. Her portfolio is a very full one, but she still finds the time to commit to her passion for education in mathematics through the Royal Society and Loughborough University and is Honorary Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, No 601 Squadron. Our conversation discusses Sally's journey into investment, the role that learning maths had in her story, and her lifelong passion for ensuring that maths is taught effectively and in a way that conveys its beauty. We also discuss her investment beliefs and lessons learned through a career in consulting and then as an asset owner.

Roy Kuo is team head of alternative strategies at the Church Commissioners for England, which has £8.5bn in assets under management, with £1.4bn in hedge fund strategies and £1.7bn in alternative private market strategies. He previously held a series of roles in consulting and asset management, and is an active participant on the conference circuit for alternative assets, as well as a thought leader for institutional investors. Our conversation covers Roy's very early interest in investing, his journey to a role as an asset owner, how he strives to "always be learning" and his formula for improving productivity throughout his career. It is a stimulating and thought provoking discussion.

Angela Miller May is CIO at the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, a public defined benefit fund based in Chicago, which has $11 bn in assets under management. The fund is a leader in promoting the G in ESG – i.e. in ensuring that themanagers it does business with walk the talk in improving the diversity of their investmentteams. The fund has an aspirational goal of investing 20% of its assets with minority owned firms and currently it invests 46% with minority owned firms and 41% of its trades are done with minority owned brokers. Angela is a regular figure on the asset management conference circuit and has become a leading voice in promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry. We discuss her mission-driven approach to investing, and how she entered the area, how she has built a truly diversified team at the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund and what she does to further diversity in the industry.

Jan Nicholson is President of two private family foundations, The Nicholson Foundation in NJ and The Grable Foundation in Pittsburgh PA.She recently retired from a Board Role at MDRC, a non-partisan research organization based in NYC, and has held Board Positions at Rubbermaid, Ball Corporation, and Radian Group, Inc. from 1990 to 2015. She has an extensive background in finance having worked at Citibank and follow-on firms for 25 years and our conversation tracks how she transitioned from thinking like a banker to thinking like an investor. Jan shares her experience in investing in emerging markets and lessons learned from investing through the years. She also shares what she brings to her Board and Committee roles and what makes an effective Board and Committee member in her view.

Jesus Amadeo is CFO and Senior VP at MDRC, a non-partisan research organization based in NYC and Oakland CA, and is a partner at an emerging venture capital fund focused on the defense and security industry. He was born in Puerto Rico and came to study at Columbia University in New York City at the age of 17. In the early part of his career he traveled and worked extensively in Latin America and Central America, a phase that he approached with deep humility and cultural sensitivity in order to gain the trust of his new colleagues.Our conversation covers the unique challenges of working in emerging markets and moves to his current role at a non-partisan research organization in NYC which evaluates the efficacy of certain social and educational programs. We explore the experience of running and working in a non-profit, and how returning to the underlying business reason is central to decision making.

The world of investment is volatile, complex and unpredictable. It is also full of captivating and richly experienced people. People who have navigated through multiple market crises. People who have lost it all and lived to fight another day. People with nerves of steel, people with missions that run generations deep.This podcast series is about bringing you some of their stories. And while no one would argue with the notion that the investment world is not as diverse as it needs to be, one goal of this podcast is to showcase how diverse it is today and to amplify some voices that may be less well-known. Because, ultimately you can’t be what you can’t see and what hope do we have to diversify the pipeline of investment professionals of tomorrow if we don’t convey the huge appeal of this industry and the stories behind its people - fifty faces of the investment world.We will hear from a range of investors about their journey into investment, and twists and turns along the way. Lessons they have learned and wished they had known sooner. We will learn who influenced them and how they seek to influence others. And, we will learn what they love about the world of investment. Please tune in to series 1 next week.