Event Speakers

Go Back

Greg Brown’s research centers on alternative investments, including hedge funds and private equity funds. He also is a leading expert on financial risk and the use of derivative contracts as risk management tools. He is the founder and research director of the Institute for Private Capital, faculty director of the Hodges Scholars Program and a member of the Private Equity Research Consortium (PERC) advisory board. Dr. Brown served as the executive director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise from 2015-2023. His research has been published in leading academic and practitioner finance journals, including The Journal of Finance, The Journal of Financial Economics, The Review of Financial Studies, The Journal of Derivatives, The Journal of Portfolio Management and The Financial Analyst Journal. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Alternative Investments. He previously served as director of research for Amundi Smith Breeden, a global asset management firm specializing in fixed income investments. He has served as a consultant on financial risk and portfolio management for money management firms, the U.S. government, non-profits and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining UNC Kenan-Flagler, he worked at the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System in the division of research and statistics. He received his PhD in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and his BS with honors in physics and economics from Duke University.

Elena Manola-Bonthond, PhD, MBA, CAIA, is Chief Investment Officer of the Pension Fund of CERN. She is responsible for investment of over CHF 4 billion in assets across public and private markets using a risk driven investment approach. Prior to joining the CERN Pension Fund in 2011, Elena worked in CERN's engineering sector where she was responsible for safety and risk management systems of the Large Hardon Collider (LHC). Elena started her career as a research physicist at CERN, specializing in Higgs research and in neutrino physics. Elena is a member of the Pension Fund Committee of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and also serves on the Investment Committee of UNESCO as an external member. Elena is a Trustee of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments. Elena earned a PhD in Particle Physics from the University of Savoie, France, for a research conducted at CERN. Elena holds a MBA from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a dipl.ing. degree in physics from the University of Zagreb, Croatia.