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Thomas Brigandi, CFA, is a Lead Analyst in the Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service, where he is responsible for a portfolio of 34 power, toll-road, airport, port, water, wastewater, natural gas pipeline and project finance credits that collectively have over $15 billion of debt outstanding. Brigandi also serves on Moody’s public pension steering committee, ESG Americas working group and formerly served on the veteran recruiting sub-committee. Brigandi previously worked at the ~$200bn NYC Pension Fund, where he focused on energy and natural resources and reported directly to the chief investment officer. Brigandi is a Board Director of the roughly 12,000 investment professional member CFA Society New York (CFANY), the largest CFA Institute Society globally. Brigandi, the CFA Institute Inaugural Global Outstanding Young Leader and CFANY’s 2016 Benjamin Graham Distinguished Service Award recipient, has organized 89 CFA Society conferences globally that were attended in-person by over 16,000 investment professionals. These events featured over 400 senior asset owner and investment consultant speakers who represent organizations that collectively oversee or advise on more than $72 trillion in fiduciary assets, in addition to over 200 senior asset manager speakers who represent firms that collectively manage in excess of $30 trillion in assets. Brigandi, the founder of CFANY’s Asset Owner Series, Emerging and Frontier Market Series, Investment Employment Outlook and Professional Development Series, Putting Beneficiaries First Series and Global Infrastructure Conference Series, leads a team of over 500 investment professional CFA Society volunteers globally. While serving as the Director of Global Volunteers of the American Foundation for African Children’s Education, Brigandi organized the NASDAQ Closing Bell Ceremony on September 23, 2011, hosted for the President of Sierra Leone. Brigandi maintains over 13,000 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.

Robert Discolo, CFA, CAIA, is CEO and CIO of River Partners Family Office, a $1 billion+ registered investment advisor, whom he joined in 2016. Previously he was Executive Vice President, Investments, at Permal Group (a $22 billion alternative investment firm) and prior to that he spent 14 years working at Pinebridge Investments (formerly AIG Investments) where he was Managing Director and Head of Hedge Fund Solutions Group, ultimately responsible for managing $10 billion+ in proprietary and client assets in hedge funds and other alternative asset classes. Prior to joining AIG, Mr. Discolo spent seven years at Bank Julius Baer where he was Head of the Public/Private Funds Group, and before that was at Merrill Lynch in Partnership Financing, having started his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in their Fund Services Group. He has authored and co-authored several papers and magazine articles on alternative investing and is a frequent speaker at investment conferences. Mr. Discolo is a CFA® and CAIA Charterholder, and holds an M.B.A. from Pace University, Lubin School of Business, New York, and a B.S. in Accounting from St John’s University, Jamaica, New York.

As managing director of the Americas region, Stephen M. Horan, PhD, CFA, CIPM, CAIA, leads a dedicated team focused on our most established region with over 92 societies and more than 90,000 members across the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Atlantic Islands. Horan is responsible for delivering value to CFA Institute stakeholders by strengthening relationships with CFA member societies, financial institutions, universities, and regulators throughout the region. Previously, Horan was managing director of Credentialing, where he led the development of CFA Institute designation and certificate programs, including the CFA Program and the CIPM Program. He also serves as leadership sponsor for the organization’s internal diversity and inclusion council. Horan brings a unique combination of industry and academic experience to CFA Institute. He previously served as an expert witness in securities litigation, a forensic economist in private practice preparing economic impact studies, a principal of a financial advisory firm, a financial analyst, and as a buy-side account manager and sell-side stockbroker. On the academic side, Horan served as a professor of finance and is a recognized researcher in wealth management, tax efficient investing, and derivatives. He has received numerous research grants and awards, including the 2012 Graham and Dodd Readers’ Choice Award, and his research has been profiled in leading publications. Horan has authored or co-authored several books, including the highly regarded book Strategic Value Investing (which has been on Warren Buffet’s Recommended Reading five consecutive years) and The New Wealth Management: A Financial Advisers Guide to Managing and Investing Client Assets. His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, and the Financial Analysts Journal. He has been a frequent invited speaker at professional, academic, and CFA Institute events. Before joining CFA Institute, he was an active volunteer both locally and globally with CFA Institute. Horan holds a PhD in finance at the State University of New York/Buffalo and a BBA degree in finance at St. Bonaventure University. He earned the CFA charter in 1993, the CIPM designation in 2011, and the CAIA designation in 2018.

Rich is President of Mercer’s Wealth Business, and a member of Mercer’s Executive Leadership team. During the past 25 years Rich has provided investment advice to clients in more than 20 countries, including many of the world’s largest institutional investors. In prior roles, Rich was the President and Global Business Leader for Mercer’s investment management business, global Chief Investment Officer for Mercer’s investment management business, and held a variety of other leadership roles while based in Tokyo, Singapore and later New York. Rich holds an MBA with High Honors in Analytic Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago, and a BA with Honors in Mathematical Sciences and Mathematical Economic Analysis from Rice University. Rich also did graduate work in international economics at Tokyo University. Rich is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute. Rich has repeatedly been named to CIO Magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential investment consultants, and received CIO Magazine’s 2017 Industry Innovation Award as “Consultant of the Year”.