Our Teams

Dr. David A. Thomas is President Emeritus Morehouse College. Dr. Thomas took office as the 12th President of Morehouse College on Jan. 1, 2018, ushering in a new era of progressive leadership for the nation’s largest and most prestigious liberal arts institution for men. With more than 30 years of experience in the business of higher education, Thomas is a visionary leader who is nationally respected as an expert in organizational change. He is the former Dean of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and is Professor Emeritus Harvard University Business School. He also served as a business school professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Under Thomas’ leadership at Morehouse, the college has increased enrollment and philanthropic giving. Morehouse made history in higher education in May 2019 when a chief executive officer that he invited to serve as Commencement speaker surprised the graduating class by offering to pay off their student loans. Thomas holds a doctorate in Organizational Behavior Studies and a Master of Philosophy degree in Organizational Behavior, both from Yale University. He also has a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Administrative Sciences degree from Yale College. He is the co-author of three books.

Mark Anson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonfund and Chair of the Boards of CF Private Equity and Commonfund OCIO. Previously, he was the President and Chief Investment Officer for the Bass Family Office of Ft. Worth, Texas which was recognized as Family Office of the Year for 2014 & 2015. He was the President and Global Head of Investment Management at Nuveen Investments, a full-service asset management company with over $900 billion in assets under management. Prior to Nuveen, Mark served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for the British Telecom Pension Scheme (BTPS), the largest institutional investor in the UK with assets of £55 billion. In addition, Mark was the CEO of Hermes Pensions Management in London, a £60 billion asset management company that is wholly owned by the BTPS. Prior to joining BTPS, he served as the Chief Investment Officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest institutional investor in the United States with over $400 billion in assets. Mark is currently a Trustee, member of the Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee of the $65 billion UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. He also serves on the Law Board of the Northwestern University School of Law, Board of PanAgora Asset Management and the Board of Directors of the Toigo Foundation. He is the only person to serve on the Board of Governors for both the CFA Institute and the CAIA Association. He was an inaugural member of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee and the Chairman of the Board for the International Corporate Governance Network. Mark has published over 90 investment articles in professional journals and has won three Best Paper Awards. He is the author of five financial textbooks including the Handbook of Alternative Assets, which is the primary textbook used for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst program. Mark earned a B.A. in Economics and Chemistry from St. Olaf College, a Ph.D. and Masters in Finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, all with honors. He has also received several industry awards in recognition of his leadership in asset management including the Lifetime Achievement Award in Pension Fund Management from Plan Sponsor and the CAIA Leadership Award from the CAIA Association. Last, Mark has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Certified Public Accountant, and Chartered Global Management Accountant professional degrees, and he is a Member of the Law Bar of New York and Illinois.

Ms. Nicole Arnaboldi is currently a Partner at Oak Hill Capital, a mid-market private equity firm, and an independent director of Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC), Commonfund, NextEra Energy, Inc. and Merit Hill Capital. She previously served as Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse Asset Management and earlier as Head of Credit Suisse’s Illiquid Alternatives businesses, which included a wide range of private equity, real estate, and credit products. She also served on the boards or investment committees of private equity joint ventures in the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Ms. Arnaboldi joined Credit Suisse in November 2000 when it merged with DLJ, where she was a Managing Director in the Merchant Banking area. Before the merger, Ms. Arnaboldi spent 15 years at DLJ, mainly in the private equity and venture capital groups. Ms. Arnaboldi is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at Harvard Law School and a member of the Advisory Board for Harvard’s Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning. She serves as Investment Committee Chair and Vice President of Prep for Prep and is a member of the board of Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC). She previously served on other boards including the Harvard University Corporation Committee on Finance, the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets, and New Yorkers for Children. Ms. Arnaboldi holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard College, a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, and an M.B.A. with high distinction from the Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.

Jessica Hoffman Brennan is a seasoned executive and independent board director with over two decades of experience leading strategic growth, capital formation, business development, and investor engagement across premier global financial institutions. She currently serves on the boards of Commonfund, Raymond James Private Credit, and Siddhi Acquisition Corp., as well as on the Executive Board of the Wharton School and the Dean’s Advisory Council of the University of Michigan.

Ms. Brennan most recently served as Partner and Head of Strategy and Investor Relations at Kohlberg & Co., a $15 billion private equity firm, where she rebuilt the firm’s global fundraising platform, led enterprise-wide strategic initiatives, and closed more than $5 billion across flagship and first-time strategies. Prior to Kohlberg, she was a Partner and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, responsible for leading capital formation for the firm’s most significant global clients, including sovereign wealth funds, pension plans, and insurers.

Her earlier roles include serving as Head of Client and Product Solutions at Onex Corporation, where she built a 20-person global capital formation team and led product strategy across private equity and credit. She also spent over a decade at Credit Suisse’s Private Fund Group (formerly DLJ), helping to raise capital for more than 200 private market funds. Throughout her career, Ms. Brennan has raised tens of billions in capital across 400+ investment strategies and is recognized for her ability to build and lead high-performing teams, develop institutional partnerships, and drive innovation in alternative investment distribution.

She holds an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Economics and Literature from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kent Daniel is the Jean-Marie Eveillard/First Eagle Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. In 2017-18 Professor Daniel served as the Chair of the Finance Division, and from 2019 through 2022 he served as Senior Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs at Columbia Business School. Professor Daniel is a member of the academic advisory board of Martingale Asset Management. From 1996 to 2007, Professor Daniel was on the faculty of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he was the John and Helen Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Finance (on leave from 2005-2007). He also served on the faculties of the University of Chicago and the University of British Columbia. His work, both theoretical and empirical, has been primarily in the areas of asset pricing and behavioral finance. Between 2004 and 2010, he was with the Quantitative Investment Strategies group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. In 2005, he became a managing director and head of equity research effort in 2005 and became a co-chief investment officer in 2009. In addition to other awards, his papers received the 1997 and 1999 Smith-Breeden awards for the best paper in the Journal of Finance. His papers have been reprinted in several books. He received the Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award for 1996-1997 and 2000-2001 at the Kellogg School, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Columbia Business School in 2016. Professor Daniel's academic research, both theoretical and empirical, has been primarily in the areas of behavioral finance and asset pricing. Kent is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Finance, and as director of both the American Finance Association and the Western Finance Association. Professor Daniel holds a B.S. with honors in physics from the California Institute of Technology, an M.B.A. from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in Finance from UCLA.

Susan E. Manske is Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the John D. and Catherine T.  MacArthur Foundation.

In this position, Ms. Manske is responsible for the management of the Foundation’s $8.9 billion endowment and is a member of the senior management team that advises the President on strategic and policy matters.

Ms. Manske joined the Foundation in May 2003 after having served as Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Trust Investments at the Boeing Company since 2001. At Boeing, Ms. Manske was responsible for managing the firm’s defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. Prior to joining the Boeing Company, Ms. Manske spent 13 years with the Ameritech Corporation in Chicago. She joined the firm in 1987 as Manager, Fixed Income and moved through successive positions in Ameritech’s investment group including Director, Capital Markets and Director, Risk Management, ultimately serving for two years, 1998-2000 as Chief Investment Officer. Earlier in her career she worked as a Portfolio Manager for the Ford Motor Company.

She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with an MBA from Marquette University. Ms. Manske is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.  She has held multiple board positions, most recently with the Pritzker Family Foundations  and with the Chamberlin Group.  She joined the Commonfund board in 2024.

Tobias "Toby" Moskowitz currently holds the Dean Takahashi ’80 B.A., ’83 M.P.P.M. Chaired Professorship in Finance at Yale University at the Yale School of Management, for which he is the inaugural chair holder (in 2016). He was previously the Fama Family Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he taught from 1998 to 2016. Professor Moskowitz was recognized by the American Finance Association with its 2007 Fischer Black Prize, which is awarded biennially to the top finance scholar in the world under the age of 40 in years when one is deemed deserving. The award cited his "ingenious and careful use of newly available data to address fundamental questions in finance." Moskowitz also won the Ewing Marion Kauffman Medal in 2012 for the top research in entrepreneurship for scholars under the age of 40. His research papers have received numerous awards, including the Smith-Breeden Prize for the best paper published in the Journal of Finance, the Brattle Prize for the best non-asset pricing paper published in the Journal of Finance, two Fama-DFA Prizes for the best paper published in the Journal of Financial Economics, two Michael Brennan Awards for the best paper published in the Review of Financial Studies, the Swiss Finance Institute Outstanding Paper Award, and the Bernstein-Fabozzi and Jacobs-Levy Award for the best paper in the Journal of Portfolio Management, two Harry Markowitz prizes for the best paper published in the Journal of Investment Management, the Whitebox Prize for best financial research, and multiple Q-Group Best Paper Awards. His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Financial Times, US News and World Report, Money magazine, and a 2005 speech by then Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He has also appeared on CNBC's Closing Bell and Squawk Box, CNN, FOX, Bloomberg, as well as ESPN, Sport Illustrated, HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Professor Moskowitz serves as a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research and is a former editor of the Review of Financial Studies, an associate editor of the Journal of Finance, and an associate editor at the Journal of Financial Economics. His research studies financial markets and investments, including the behavior of prices and investors. He has explored topics as diverse as momentum in stock returns, biases in investment portfolios, the return to private business ownership, financial contracting in commercial real estate, mutual and hedge fund performance, the political economy of financial regulation, and the economics of sports. He has presented his research at many academic, corporate, and government institutions worldwide. Professor Moskowitz spent the 2007-2008 and 2014-2015 academic years on leave at AQR Capital Management, LLC a hedge fund in Greenwich, CT, with which he has an ongoing consulting relationship. He was made a principal at the firm in 2015, where he contributes to research on asset pricing and investments for AQR’s domestic and international investment strategies. In collaboration with David F. Swensen, the CIO of the Yale Investments Office, Professor Moskowitz founded the Yale School of Management’s Master’s program in Asset Management, for which he serves as the Academic Director and whose inaugural class will graduate in 2022. The one-year program seeks to train Master’s students in the theory and practice of asset management, with a curriculum that is tailored for that aim. In 2011, he wrote the New York Times best-seller "Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won," (Crown Archetype, Random House) co-authored with L. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated, that uses economic principles to explain the hidden side of sports. He and Wertheim are also authors of the children’s book “The Rookie Bookie” in the Fall of 2015 (Little Brown). Born in West Lafayette, IN, Moskowitz earned a bachelor's degree in industrial management and industrial engineering (with distinction) in 1993 from Purdue University, a master's degree in management from Purdue in 1994, and a Ph.D. in finance from UCLA in 1998.

Michael Warren is Managing Director of Albright Stonebridge Group, part of Dentons Global Advisors. Mr. Warren brings many years of leadership in financial services, international business, and government policy. He advises clients on international growth strategies, stakeholder management issues, and economic and geopolitical issues affecting global markets. He also leads strategic growth initiatives, which includes oversight of sectoral teams and client work in the United States and Canada. He served as ASG’s Managing Principal from 2013 to 2017 and as Principal from 2009 to 2013. Mr. Warren serves on the boards of a number of institutional investors. He serves on the Board of Directors of MAXIMUS, an American government services company, the Board of Directors of Ripple, a blockchain network solution U.S.‐based technology company and the Board of Directors of Brookfield Business Corporation (BBUC), a Canadian corporation and paired entity with Brookfield Business Partners.. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Commonfund, a Connecticut‐based institutional investment firm that manages $24 billion in assets. He formerly served as a Trustee of Yale University, and a member of the Yale Corporation Investment Committee. Mr. Warren formerly served as a Trustee of the District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB). During the first term of the Obama administration, Mr. Warren served as Senior Advisor in the White House Presidential Personnel Office, overseeing the appointments process for the economic agencies in the U.S. government. He was also a member of the Obama‐Biden Presidential Transition as co‐lead for the Treasury and Federal Reserve agency review teams. In 2010, Mr. Warren was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. development finance institution, where he chaired the Audit Committee until his term ended in 2019. During the Clinton administration, Mr. Warren served in the White House as Executive Director of the National Economic Council and at the U.S. Department of Labor in the Office of the Secretary. Previously, Mr. Warren worked at McKinsey & Company, where he was based in the U.S. and South Korea, both as a strategic consultant in the technology and financial institutions practices and as a fellow of the McKinsey Global Institute. He has also held senior operating positions at two high‐ growth companies. A native of Indiana, Mr. Warren graduated from Yale University and from Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is based in Washington, D.C.

Mark Hoeing is President and CEO of CF Private Equity, Head of the firm’s Buyout and Growth Equity investment practice, a member of the Investment Committee and Senior Executive Group of CF Private Equity and a member of the Operating Committee of Commonfund Group. As President and CEO, Mark’s responsibilities include the strategic direction of the firm and oversight of investment solutions in buyouts, growth equity, venture capital, and real assets and sustainability. As Head of Buyouts and Growth Equity investments, his responsibilities include managing due diligence, investment selection, portfolio construction, monitoring, and fundraising for the firm’s buyout and growth equity strategies that include primaries, secondaries and co-investments. Prior to joining CF Private Equity, his experience includes positions at Deutsche Bank, evaluating third-party managers in the private capital funds division, as well as direct private capital investing with DB Capital Partners, Deutsche Bank’s merchant banking subsidiary. Part of Mark’s work at Deutsche included the bank’s coverage of the Asia-Pacific basin. Mark began his career as a credit analyst and commercial lending officer with Citizens Financial Group. He is presently a member of the advisory boards of several private equity limited partnerships. Mark has a B.S. in Health Policy and Management and an M.B.A. from Providence College.

Elaine Mizer is responsible for executing Commonfund’s business and strategic plan from a human capital perspective. She leads Commonfund’s human resources practice to develop talent and leverage it effectively for consistency with our business strategy and plans for growth while overseeing all other human resources functions and facilities management. Elaine serves as Chair of the Commonfund Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office and is also a member of the Commonfund Operating Committee. Prior to Commonfund, she was Head of Human Resources and Administration at Aquiline Capital Partners. Previously, Elaine held roles in Human Resources at Citigroup and Securitas Capital, and began her career in Human Resources at Smith Barney. She earned a B.A. degree in Human Resources from Western Connecticut State University.

Dana Moreau has firm-wide oversight and responsibility for risk management, investor services, information technology, operations, and human resources and oversees the financial management of Commonfund, creating and maintaining all financial policies and procedures for the firm. He has over 20 years’ experience in finance and operations and serves as a member of the Commonfund Operating Committee. Prior to joining Commonfund, Dana worked at State Street Bank & Trust where his primary responsibilities were portfolio accounting and administration for the bank’s hedge fund clients. He has a B.A. in Economics from Assumption College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Sharad Samy serves as the General Counsel and Secretary of Commonfund. He has extensive transactional and litigation experience, having served as the general counsel of two prominent investment management firms; as a partner of the international law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; and as counsel to both plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation and arbitration matters. He has worked extensively in Connecticut, New York and the United Kingdom on matters involving jurisdictions in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Sharad was a Judge Advocate for the U.S. Army Reserve from 1997 through 2008, having served in the Horn of Africa in connection with Operation Enduring Freedom, and he currently serves as a Major in the Connecticut Army National Guard. In addition to his professional activities, he is active in the veteran community, serving as a Trustee of the State of Connecticut Board of Veterans Affairs and as the Judge Advocate for Post 6933 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also active in the non-profit community, serving as a Director of the Karam Foundation, an aid organization supporting young Syrian refugees, as Treasurer of the Connecticut Bar Association, and as a director and pro bono volunteer for Lawyers for Children America. Sharad was awarded the Game Changer Award from the Connecticut Law Tribune in 2020, the Modern 100 Governance Award by Diligent in 2019 and the Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award by the Stamford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2018. He is a graduate of Columbia College with an A.B. in Political Science and of Columbia University Law School with a J.D. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Connecticut and the State of New York and is a solicitor in England and Wales.

Tim Yates heads Commonfund OCIO and is responsible for managing all aspects of Commonfund OCIO's business, which focuses exclusively on non-profit institutions. In this role, he leads a team of professionals that advise, implement and monitor custom investment solutions for institutions with total assets under management of more than $15 billion. Tim is a member of the Commonfund OCIO Executive Group and serves on both the Commonfund Asset Allocation and Operating Committees. Tim joined Commonfund as an associate in the CF Private Equity Associate Program. In 2003, he was a founding member of Commonfund's OCIO platform, where he was responsible for the design, tailoring and implementation of total portfolio solutions. Additionally, he held several roles with CF Private Equity including having responsibility for custom accounts and serving as a senior member of the firm’s emerging markets private equity portfolio leadership team with a focus on Latin America. Before joining Commonfund, Tim was an instructor of Spanish and Italian at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, NY. He holds an M.B.A. in Finance with a designation in International Business from Fordham University and a B.A. in Modern Languages from Trinity College. Tim is a member of the investment committee for St. Paul’s Church in Fairfield, CT, the Advisory Board of Girls Who Invest, a member of the Trinity College Board of Fellows, and the Board of Directors of Caroline House—a non-profit in Bridgeport, CT, focused on enabling women and children to reach the fullness of their potential through education in English language and life skills.

Anita Hariton is President and CEO of Commonfund Securities, Inc. and Head of Client Engagement for Commonfund OCIO, providing oversight to the sales, service and RFP teams and processes. She is a member of the Commonfund OCIO Executive Group where she contributes to the overall strategic and operational direction of Commonfund’s OCIO business. Prior to joining Commonfund OCIO, Anita served as Head of Investor Services for CF Private Equity where her team was responsible for investor portfolio reviews, investor communications, client reporting, RFP responses, and special projects. Prior to moving into this role, she held a series of positions across the Commonfund organization, serving on the operations, treasury, and client relationship teams and leading clients through decisions on asset allocation, investment policy, treasury management and governance. Anita previously served eight years as a Trustee for Temple Israel, Westport, four as Executive Vice President. She has a B.M. from Susquehanna University and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from Fairfield University. Anita is a member of the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network.

Kristofer Kwait formulates and communicates strategic market views, economic perspectives, and investment themes to clients and internal constituents for Commonfund OCIO. He serves on the Commonfund OCIO Executive Group and is a member of the Investment Committee and Commonfund Asset Allocation Committee. Prior to his current role, Kris was head of the Hedge Fund Strategies Group and previously served as head of hedge fund research with responsibility for overseeing the design and implementation of proprietary models for manager selection, portfolio construction, and risk management. Before joining Commonfund, Kris was a proprietary trader at both Andover L.L.C. and A.B. Watley, where he managed relative value equity strategies. Prior to his experiences as a trader, he was a stockbroker at Smith Barney. Kris attended pre-college at Juilliard School of Music, has a B.S. from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.

Julia is the Chief Investment Officer of Commonfund OCIO, where she oversees the development and management of a comprehensive and diversified global investment program, implemented across nonprofit client accounts and investment portfolios, and spanning a wide range of asset classes. She also serves as Chair of Commonfund OCIO’s Investment and Asset Allocation Committees and as a member of the Commonfund OCIO Executive Group. Prior to joining Commonfund, she served as Deputy Chief Investment Officer for Tulane University’s Investment Management Office, where she played a pivotal role in managing the University’s $2.4 billion endowment. Her responsibilities included leading the development and oversight of public market investments, encompassing global equity, marketable alternatives, and core fixed-income portfolios. She also spearheaded the creation of Tulane’s ESG policy, with a particular focus on advancing environmental sustainability initiatives. Prior to her tenure at Tulane, Julia was an Investment Officer at AI International, a New York-based family office, where she co-managed a multi-asset class portfolio with significant allocations to alternative investments. Earlier in her career, she worked on the Portfolio Trading Desk at Jefferies & Company and began her professional journey in Ernst & Young’s Strategic Advisory Services Group. Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). 

Amy Harlacker is the Head of Operations. She oversees the delivery of operational and investor services to OCIO advisory clients and fund solutions investors and she manages the fund operations and portfolio accounting teams. As a member of the Commonfund OCIO Executive Group, Amy is responsible for delivering operational leadership, direction and support for the organization’s strategic plans and initiatives. In the past, Amy held a series of roles within the Commonfund organization across the Financial Operations, Client Service and Information Technology groups. Prior to joining Commonfund, Amy was a business analyst at Energy East Corporation. She serves on the Board of Directors for Aspetuck Land Trust and 203Squash. Amy holds an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University.

Ethan Levine is Head of Secondaries, Co-Head of Real Assets and Sustainability, a member of the Investment Committee and Senior Executive Group of CF Private Equity. His primary responsibilities include overseeing the origination, evaluation, structuring, and negotiation of secondaries transactions as well as the portfolio construction, monitoring, and fundraising of the firm’s secondary funds. Additionally, his responsibilities include due diligence, investment selection, portfolio construction, monitoring, and fundraising for the firm’s real assets and sustainability programs. Ethan originally joined CF Private Equity through CFPE’s Associate Program in 2007 as a Senior Analyst. Prior to CFPE, Ethan specialized in energy markets at Charles River Associates in Boston, M.A. While at business school, Ethan worked at Rockland Capital in The Woodlands, TX, where he conducted due diligence on asset acquisitions and managed portfolio investments. Ethan is a member of the advisory boards of several private equity limited partnerships. He is the treasurer and former chairperson of the Board for Hillel at Dartmouth College. Ethan received a B.A., B.E. and an M.E.M. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Cari Lodge is a member of the CF Private Equity Investment Committee, Board of Directors, and Senior Executive Group. She oversees the origination, evaluation, structuring, and negotiation of secondaries transactions as well as the portfolio construction, monitoring, and fundraising of the firm’s secondary funds. Additionally, Cari contributes to the firm’s buyout, growth equity, venture capital, and real assets and sustainability strategies. Cari has over 24 years of secondaries experience and has closed over 425 secondary transactions for approximately $3.3 billion in total exposure. She began her career at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (which merged with Credit Suisse in 2000) as an Associate in Investment Banking. She spent 12 years with Credit Suisse’s Secondary Team, Strategic Partners, since its founding in 2000, and served as a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining CF Private Equity, Cari was at Tulane University’s Investment Management Office where she was responsible for overseeing the private equity and private real assets investments for the endowment. She is presently a member of the advisory board of several private equity limited partnerships. Cari is also a member of the Investment Committee of her alma mater, The Hotchkiss School. In 2022, she was recognized by PEI as one of the top ten women of influence in private markets¹. In 2024, the WSJ Pro Private Equity named Cari as a “Woman to Watch²”. In 2025, Cari was recognized as one of the "Twenty Most Influential in Secondaries 2025" by Private Equity News³. Cari received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in both Economics and Government and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

1. Private Equity International is not affiliated with Commonfund or its affiliates. Commonfund did not pay a fee to be included in this report. For more information about the selection criteria and process, please visit PrivateEquityInternational.com. This award was given in July 2022 and was based upon information provided of the honoree’s career achievements and impact on the private markets industry.
2. WSJ Pro Private Equity is not affiliated with Commonfund or its affiliates. Commonfund did not pay a fee to be included in this article. For more information about the selection criteria and process, please visit WSJ Pro’s newsletter. This award was given on November 17, 2024 and was based upon information provided of the honoree’s career. 
3. Private Equity News is not affiliated with Commonfund or its affiliates. Commonfund did not pay a fee to be included in this article. For more information about the selection criteria and process, please visit the Private Equity news article. This award was given on January 6, 2025, and was based upon information provided of the honoree’s career. Employee recognition should not be construed as endorsement of the advisor’s investment activities.

Paul McKiernan is Head of CF Private Equity Business Development and leads a team responsible for the management and development of private market mandates across endowments, foundations, healthcare organizations, family offices, insurance companies and pensions. Prior to rejoining CF Private Equity, Paul lead the Institutional Business Development and Consultant Relations effort at QS Investors, LLC. Prior to QS Investors, Paul had worked with Commonfund’s clients in the Midwest. Paul also served as a Vice President of Institutional Sales and Relationship Management at Deutsche Asset Management, a portfolio analyst at Nicholas Advisors and an assistant trader on Morgan Stanley’s fixed income proprietary trading desk. Paul received his B.A. from Catholic University.

Aaron Miller is Head of Global Venture Capital, a member of the Investment Committee and Senior Executive Group of CF Private Equity. His primary responsibilities include due diligence, investment selection, portfolio construction, monitoring and fundraising for the firm’s venture capital platform. In addition, Aaron oversees sourcing, screening, execution and monitoring of the venture growth direct investment practice. He also contributes to the firm’s buyout, growth equity, emerging markets, real assets and sustainability strategies. Aaron brings over 20 years of private equity, M&A, capital markets and management consulting experience. Prior to joining CF Private Equity, Aaron was a senior banker at Lazard Frères & Co. in the mergers and acquisitions department in New York. During his tenure at Lazard, he counseled companies and institutions in technology, media and telecom industries (TMT) advising on strategic, financial, takeover defense and capital structure matters. As an investment banker, he completed investments and executed transactions in North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Aaron also worked in the corporate finance department at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers. Prior to investment banking, Aaron began his career as a management consultant, where he advised a broad range of clients on strategy, sales force effectiveness and organizational design matters. Aaron serves on the advisory boards of several venture capital partnerships. Aaron earned a B.A. from University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Yale University.

Miriam Schmitter is Head of Buyout and Growth Equity investments outside the United States, a member of the Investment Committee and Senior Executive Group of CF Private Equity. Miriam is based in Munich, Germany, at CF Private Equity Gmbh. Miriam's primary responsibilities include due diligence, investment selection, portfolio construction, monitoring and fundraising for the firm’s buyout and growth equity programs that are constructed with primaries, secondaries and co- investments. She also contributes to the firm’s venture capital and real assets and sustainability strategies. Before joining CF Private Equity, she was with Cambridge Associates (“Cambridge”) where she served as Managing Director and Head of International Private Equity Research in London. Miriam was also a member of the internal Investment Committee at Cambridge. She started with Cambridge in Boston in 2005 and was responsible for due diligence on investment opportunities and research published by the firm on private equity funds which resulted in significant client commitments to private capital managers, overseeing consultants and associates in the Boston, London, and Singapore offices. Prior to 2005, she was an investment manager of private equity fund investments at APEP (Allianz Private Equity Partners), where she researched and selected private equity investment opportunities. Prior to that, Miriam was an investment professional at DB Capital Partners/ DB Investor, the direct private equity investment division of Deutsche Bank, where she evaluated buyout investment opportunities. She also worked as a consultant for Deloitte & Touche performing financial analysis and valuations and conducting financial due diligence for clients. She is presently a member of the advisory boards of several private equity limited partnerships. Miriam has a PhD from the University of Darmstadt and a Diplom-Kauffrau (an M.B.A.) from the University of Mannheim.

George Suttles leads Commonfund’s educational, thought partnership, and professional development activities as Executive Director of Commonfund Institute. He serves on multiple advisory boards and steering committees, including Intentional Endowments Network’s (IEN) steering committee which provides strategic guidance to the network and chairs the steering committee for the Impact Finance Center’s Diverse Manager Initiative. Prior to joining Commonfund, George was a Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation, an independent, national private foundation focused on improving care for older adults. Before joining the foundation, he was a Vice President, Senior Philanthropic Relationship Manager at U.S. Trust/Bank of America. In this role he worked with private and institutional clients on issues related to best practices in governance and strategic grantmaking. He is a member of numerous nonprofit boards and investment committees including Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Auburn Seminary, and the New York Foundation, where he currently serves as Board Chair after previously serving as Treasurer and chair of the investment committee. He also serves on the board of BoardSource, the recognized leader in national nonprofit board research and support. George is frequently asked to speak on topics concerning fiduciary duty and stewardship, philanthropy, investment governance, Diversity Equity and Inclusion and values aligned investing, among other topics. Currently, he is on the Adjunct Faculty at the New York University (NYU) School of Professional Studies, teaching classes on private and corporate philanthropy. George received a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (IUPUI) and an M.P.A. from Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY), Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. George is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) at New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, with a focus on leadership and innovation. 

Allison Kaspriske develops and manages programs and research initiatives for Commonfund Institute, including the Commonfund Benchmarks Studies®, the Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations® (CCSF) and is also involved in developing and maintaining strategic partnerships. She manages the Institute's educational initiatives such as Commonfund Institute Online and the Investment Stewardship Academy and is actively involved in all other educational programs that Commonfund provides. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

Amanda Novello is a member of the Commonfund Institute team and is responsible for thought leadership creation and data analysis across all Institute activities, including benchmarks studies, DEI initiatives, and ESG. Prior to working at Commonfund, she was an economic policy researcher for various nonprofit organizations, producing analyses of economic and labor market trends, and the distributional impacts of public policy. Amanda earned an M.A. in Economics from the New School for Social Research and a B.S. in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Southern California.

Kiyana Campbell is a member of the Commonfund Institute team and supports all Institute activities, including benchmarks studies, DEI initiatives, governance research in the nonprofit institutional investor space, and ESG. Prior to working at Commonfund, she was an Associate at G4 Capital Partners, a commercial real estate investment firm. Kiyana earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Herbert H. Lehman College.