In Memoriam: Mamak Shahbazi

July 8, 2025 |
2 minute read
|

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Commonfund Board Member, Mamak Shahbazi. Mamak was a dedicated and talented board member and a great friend to the firm, its clients, and employees.  

img-headhot-1x1She joined the Commonfund board in 2019 as a seasoned investment executive with a 35-year track record of raising assets, building and managing high-performance marketing and client service teams, developing business, maintaining key client and consultant relationships, overseeing and delivering impressive growth and ROI. A Founding Member of Colchester Global Investors, which provides a complete range of investment management services for global and emerging market bonds, Mamak was the company’s President, Director and Global Head of Marketing From 2001 to 2019. She was responsible for growing assets under management from $15 million to $43 billion since inception. Mamak brought those skills and more to her time on our board – she was always willing to provide advice and counsel to our marketing and sales teams. Sometimes, she even role played the “grumpy board member” so our marketing and client service teams could hone their presentation skills.  Through it all, she brought a keen determination to provide clients with optimal solutions to their investment needs, combined with a background in engineering and years of experience in fixed income research and analysis, which made Mamak extremely effective as a solution provider to institutional investors.   

Mamak was a frequent invited guest speaker at various prominent investment conferences and was a Founding Angel Member of 100 Women in Finance, a global network of investment professionals working to assist women at every stage of their careers. Prior to Colchester, Mamak built an impressive record in the investment community. She served as Director of Institutional Marketing at the hedge fund firm Zweig-DiMenna Associates, where she was responsible for building the institutional marketing and client services effort. She raised over $500 million in assets under management despite stressed market conditions and performance. Before Zweig-DiMenna, Mamak served as Director of Global Bond Marketing and Client Service at Delaware Investment Advisors. She was responsible for building the Global Bond marketing effort for the Delaware International Advisors subsidiary. Starting with $50 million in assets, she built the enterprise to over $5.6 billion during her seven-year term. Prior to that, she served as Director/Vice President of Fixed Income Investments at Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. for eight years. She began her career at Arthur D. Little Valuation, Inc., as an Analyst, where, as an early technologist, she wrote Fortran-based computer programs to analyze bank and savings and loan institutions and assisted in writing mathematical formulas to ascertain market values of deposit accounts and loan books.   

In addition to serving on the Commonfund Board, she was Chairman of the Board of Colchester Global Investors, Inc., and a Member of the Board of Colchester Global Investors Limited, Mamak also served on other boards, including Freeman and Company’s Advisory Board and New York University College of Arts and Science’s Advisory Council. Previously, Mamak served as a Board Member of the Miller Howard High Income Equity Fund and as an Advisory Board Member of Proctor Investment Management. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Mamak held a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with an emphasis in mathematics and computer science. Mamak leaves behind her loving husband, Bill, and two adult children. She will be missed greatly and remembered fondly by all of us in the Commonfund community.  

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Mamak introduces guest speaker at Commonfund Forum 2023.
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Mamak speaks on a panel at the Investment Stewardship Academy. 

 

Commonfund

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Commonfund

Disclaimer

Certain information contained herein has been obtained from or is based on third-party sources and, although believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified. Such information is as of the date indicated, if indicated, may not be complete, is subject to change and has not necessarily been updated. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given by The Common Fund for Nonprofit Organizations, any of its affiliates or any of its or their affiliates, trustees, directors, officers, employees or advisers (collectively referred to herein as “Commonfund”) or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in any third-party materials. Accordingly, Commonfund shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on any statement in, or omission from, such third-party materials, and any such liability is expressly disclaimed.

All rights to the trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property listed herein belong to their respective owners and the use of such logos hereof does not imply an affiliation with, or endorsement by, the owners of such trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property.

To the extent views presented forecast market activity, they may be based on many factors in addition to those explicitly stated herein. Forecasts of experts inevitably differ. Views attributed to third-parties are presented to demonstrate the existence of points of view, not as a basis for recommendations or as investment advice. Market and investment views of third-parties presented herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Commonfund, any manager retained by Commonfund to manage any investments for Commonfund (each, a “Manager”) or any fund managed by any Commonfund entity (each, a “Fund”). Accordingly, the views presented herein may not be relied upon as an indication of trading intent on behalf of Commonfund, any Manager or any Fund.

Statements concerning Commonfund’s views of possible future outcomes in any investment asset class or market, or of possible future economic developments, are not intended, and should not be construed, as forecasts or predictions of the future investment performance of any Fund. Such statements are also not intended as recommendations by any Commonfund entity or any Commonfund employee to the recipient of the presentation. It is Commonfund’s policy that investment recommendations to its clients must be based on the investment objectives and risk tolerances of each individual client. All market outlook and similar statements are based upon information reasonably available as of the date of this presentation (unless an earlier date is stated with regard to particular information), and reasonably believed to be accurate by Commonfund. Commonfund disclaims any responsibility to provide the recipient of this presentation with updated or corrected information or statements. Past performance is not indicative of future results. For more information please refer to Important Disclosures.

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Disclaimer

Certain information contained herein has been obtained from or is based on third-party sources and, although believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified. Such information is as of the date indicated, if indicated, may not be complete, is subject to change and has not necessarily been updated. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given by The Common Fund for Nonprofit Organizations, any of its affiliates or any of its or their affiliates, trustees, directors, officers, employees or advisers (collectively referred to herein as “Commonfund”) or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in any third-party materials. Accordingly, Commonfund shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on any statement in, or omission from, such third-party materials, and any such liability is expressly disclaimed.

All rights to the trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property listed herein belong to their respective owners and the use of such logos hereof does not imply an affiliation with, or endorsement by, the owners of such trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property.

To the extent views presented forecast market activity, they may be based on many factors in addition to those explicitly stated herein. Forecasts of experts inevitably differ. Views attributed to third-parties are presented to demonstrate the existence of points of view, not as a basis for recommendations or as investment advice. Market and investment views of third-parties presented herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Commonfund, any manager retained by Commonfund to manage any investments for Commonfund (each, a “Manager”) or any fund managed by any Commonfund entity (each, a “Fund”). Accordingly, the views presented herein may not be relied upon as an indication of trading intent on behalf of Commonfund, any Manager or any Fund.

Statements concerning Commonfund’s views of possible future outcomes in any investment asset class or market, or of possible future economic developments, are not intended, and should not be construed, as forecasts or predictions of the future investment performance of any Fund. Such statements are also not intended as recommendations by any Commonfund entity or any Commonfund employee to the recipient of the presentation. It is Commonfund’s policy that investment recommendations to its clients must be based on the investment objectives and risk tolerances of each individual client. All market outlook and similar statements are based upon information reasonably available as of the date of this presentation (unless an earlier date is stated with regard to particular information), and reasonably believed to be accurate by Commonfund. Commonfund disclaims any responsibility to provide the recipient of this presentation with updated or corrected information or statements. Past performance is not indicative of future results. For more information please refer to Important Disclosures.