Financial Advisor Summit October 2023

Making the Most of Economic Uncertainty

While the economy has improved in many ways this year, persistent challenges remain – inflation risks, fears of a possible recession in 2024, the possibility of more central bank rate hikes. But as many advisors know, remaining resilient – having the capacity to not only withstand but recover quickly from difficulties – is the key to long-term success. It’s not just about weathering storms but being ready to come back strong when they pass.

In this edition of the Financial Advisor Summit, CNBC will talk with top advisors, investors, market experts, technologists, and economists about what advisors can do now to position their clients for the best possible outcomes as we head into the last quarter of 2023, and face the unknown in 2024.

This event has been approved for 4.5 CFP Continuing Education Credits.

To read more about CNBC’s list of top-rated financial advisory firms, visit us here.

Speakers

Jeff Smith

Jeffrey Smith is a Managing Member, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Starboard Value LP. Prior to founding Starboard Value LP, Mr. Smith was a Partner Managing Director of Ramius LLC, a subsidiary of the Cowen Group, Inc., and the Chief Investment Officer for the funds that comprised the Value and Opportunity investment platform. Mr. Smith was also a member of Cowen’s Operating Committee and Cowen’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ramius in January 1998, he served as Vice President of Strategic Development and a member of the Board of Directors of The Fresh Juice Company, Inc. Mr. Smith began his career in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Société Générale. Mr. Smith is currently on the Board of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated. Mr. Smith was formerly Chair of the Board of Papa John’s International, Inc., Starboard Value Acquisition Corp., Advance Auto Parts, Inc., Darden Restaurants, Inc. and Phoenix Technologies Ltd. and formerly on the Boards of Cyxtera Technologies, Inc., Perrigo Company plc., Yahoo! Inc., Quantum Corporation, Office Depot, Inc., Regis Corporation, Surmodics, Inc., Zoran Corporation, Actel Corporation, Kensey Nash Corp., S1 Corp and the Fresh Juice Company. Mr. Smith graduated from The Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in Economics.

Cathie Wood

Cathie registered ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. With over 40 years of experience identifying and investing in innovation, Cathie founded ARK to focus solely on disruptive innovation while adding new dimensions to research. Through an open approach that cuts across sectors, market capitalizations, and geographies, Cathie believes that ARK can identify large-scale investment opportunities in the public markets resulting from technological innovations centered around DNA sequencing, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology. As Chief Investment Officer (“CIO”) and Portfolio Manager, Cathie led the development of ARK’s philosophy and investment approach and has ultimate responsibility for investment decisions.

Prior to ARK, Cathie spent twelve years at AllianceBernstein as CIO of Global Thematic Strategies where she managed over $5 billion. Cathie joined Alliance Capital from Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund she co-founded, which in 2000, managed approximately $800 million in global thematic strategies. Prior to her tenure at Tupelo Capital, she worked for 18 years with Jennison Associates LLC as Chief Economist, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Director. She started her career in Los Angeles, California at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist. Cathie received her Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Southern California in 1981.

Cathie has been recognized as an influential fund manager across various outlets. In 2018, editors at Bloomberg acknowledged Cathie by selecting her to its second annual Bloomberg 50 list of people across business, entertainment, finance, politics, technology, and science who have defined global business. Additionally, Fortune named Cathie to its exclusive roundtable of experts in the annual Fortune Investors Guide: The Best Investing Advice for 2019 From Fortune’s Experts. In 2016, Cathie received the “Women in Finance – Outstanding Contribution Award” from Market Media. Cathie also has been a featured speaker at the World Economic Forum (China) in 2016 & 2017, the World Strategic Forum (Miami) in 2017, The Sohn Hearts and Minds Investment Leaders Conference (Australia) in 2018 and 2019, and Singularity University’s Exponential Finance in 2017 and Global Summit in 2019.

In 2018, Cathie launched the Duddy Innovation Institute at her alma mater, Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles. The institute offers a challenging educational experience for young women eager to stretch their learning beyond the boundaries of traditional acquisition of knowledge, while influencing a new way of thinking and learning throughout campus.

Leon Cooperman

At the end of 1991, following 25 years of service, Leon Cooperman retired from his positions as a General Partner of Goldman Sachs & Co. and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management to organize and launch an investment-management business, Omega Advisors, Inc.

At Goldman Sachs, Cooperman spent 15 years as a Partner and one year (1990-1991) as of-counsel to the Management Committee. In 1989, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Chief Investment Officer of the firm's equity product line, managing the GS Capital Growth Fund, an open-end mutual fund, for one-and-a-half years. Prior to those appointments, Cooperman had spent 22 years in the Investment Research Department as Partner-in-charge, Co-Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee and Chairman of the Stock Selection Committee. For nine consecutive years, he was voted the number- one portfolio strategist in Institutional Investor Magazine's annual "All-America Research Team" survey.

As a designated Chartered Financial Analyst, Cooperman is a senior member and past President of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Saint Barnabas Development Foundation, a member of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, a member of the Board of Directors of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a member of the Investment Committee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Board Chairman of Green Spaces, a committee organized to rebuild 13 parks in Newark, NJ.

Cooperman received his MBA from Columbia Business School and his undergraduate degree from Hunter College. He is a recipient of Roger Williams University's Honorary Doctor of Finance; a recipient of Hunter College's Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters; an inductee into Hunter College's Hall of Fame; and a recipient of the 2003 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Wall Street Human Relations Award, the 2006 Seton Hall Humanitarian of the Year Award, the 2009 Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark Award for Caring, and the 2009 UJA-Federation of New York's Wall Street and Financial Services Division Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, Cooperman was inducted into Alpha Magazine's Hedge Fund Hall of Fame and was honored by the AJC at their 50th anniversary with the Herbert H. Lehman Award for his professional achievements, philanthropic efforts, and longstanding support for AJC. In 2014, Columbia Business School awarded Lee its Distinguished Leadership in Business Award, and Bloomberg Markets named him to its fourth annual "50 Most Influential" list (one of only ten money managers globally to be so honored, selected "based on what they're doing now, rather than past achievements"). He was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association in April 2015.

Cooperman and his wife, Toby, have two sons and three grandchildren.

Paula Campbell Roberts

Paula Campbell Roberts (New York) joined KKR in 2017 and is the Chief Investment Strategist for the firm’s Private Wealth business and a Managing Director on the Global Macro, Balance Sheet and Risk (GBR) team. As Chief Investment Strategist, Ms. Roberts advises the firm's wealth management partners on macroeconomics and asset allocation, with a focus on the role that private assets, including private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and credit, can play in individual investor portfolios. As a Managing Director on the GBR team, Ms. Roberts also works with KKR’s investment teams on the identification and evaluation of macro considerations as it relates to both deployment and monetization opportunities. Ms. Roberts is a member of the firm’s Private Wealth Executive Committee, the GBR Senior Leadership team, and is a member of the Americas Inclusion and Diversity Committee. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Roberts was an economist at Morgan Stanley, providing views on the economy and the consumer sector to asset management clients, using big data to predict inflections in key sectors of the economy, and advising Fortune 500 CEOs on their consumer strategy. Before Morgan Stanley, Ms. Roberts was a management consultant leading case teams and advising Fortune 500 companies at Bain & Co. She is one of fifteen members of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Economic Advisory Panel. Ms. Roberts earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Yale University. She is currently a Lincoln Center Leadership Fellow, and also serves on the Boards of the New York City Ballet and the American Friends of Jamaica.

Lazetta Rainey Braxton

Lazetta Rainey Braxton MBA, CFP®, Co-CEO of 2050 Wealth Partners and CEO of Lazetta & Associates, is on a mission to transform human capital to equitable financial capital through holistic financial planning for underserved households and consulting for financial advisory firms who value Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She provides access to financial planning for “the rest of us” while also advising C-Suite financial services leaders who are accustomed to the 1%.

Lazetta, a nationally-recognized financial expert, has appeared on NBC Nightly News with Lestor Holt and CNBC’s Closing Bell. She is a member of the CNBC Digital Financial Advisor Council and a Wall Street Journal Financial Experts blog contributor.

Recognized for her leadership and dedication to the financial planning profession, Lazetta was named one of Investment News’ inaugural Women to Watch and Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion recipients. She also received the Association of African American Financial Advisors’ Leadership Legacy Award and the Heart of Financial Planning award from the Financial Planning Association. She currently serves as Chair of the Board for the Association of African American Financial Advisors (AAAA) and President of AAAA Foundation.

Jay Clayton

Jay Clayton, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission from May 2017 to December 2020, is a Senior Policy Advisor and Of Counsel to Sullivan & Cromwell. Mr. Clayton’s practice centers on corporate governance and financial regulatory matters, economic policy and government relations, and investigations.

Jo Ann Corkran

Jo Ann Corkran is Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Golden Seeds, an investment organization that invests exclusively in early-stage, women-led companies in the United States. With more than 325 member investors, Golden Seeds is one of the largest and most active angel networks in the country. The organization is a recognized leader in the movement to fund women entrepreneurs and for its advocacy of gender diversity and commitment to the education of angel investors.

Since 2005, Golden Seeds has invested over $175 million in more than 240 women-led companies. Those companies have gone on to raise over $2 billion. Jo Ann manages the deal flow and post-investment processes at Golden Seeds. She is also a General Partner of three Golden Seeds venture funds that invest in early-stage companies with gender-diverse management teams. These funds have committed capital of $48 million and enable more people to invest in the Golden Seeds investment thesis of gender diversity.

Previously, Jo Ann was Managing Director at Credit Suisse Asset Management, Credit Suisse, and First Boston.

Jo Ann currently serves on the board of directors of Work Truck Solutions, a commercial vehicle inventory and marketing solutions company, and EliseAI, a machine learning/AI technology company providing accurate, conversational assistance for clients in property management and healthcare. She is also currently the Chair of the non-fiduciary board of Common Cause New York, a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy.

Dan Doonan

Dan Doonan is the executive director of the National Institute on Retirement Security. With the Board of Directors, Doonan leads the organization’s strategic planning, retirement research and education initiatives.

Doonan has more than 20 years of experience working on retirement issues from different vantage points including an analyst, consultant, trainer and even a plan trustee. In these various roles, the consistent theme has been his belief that Americans have a shared interest in creating and maintaining a resilient retirement infrastructure that provides adequate financial support in an efficient manner.

Doonan holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Elizabethtown College and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

George Farra

George S. Farra, CFA
Co-founder and Principal
Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management, Inc. (1995)
• Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst. Chairman of Research Committee

Senior Vice President, Trust Investment Advisors (1992 – 1995)
• Senior Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst, Chairman of Marketing Committee

Vice President, INB National Bank (now JPMorgan Chase, 1990-1992)
• Managed an asset-based portfolio of secured loans and highly leveraged transactions

Senior Vice President, Ryan, Beck & Co. (Investment banking firm, 1985-1990)
• Directed and participated in all phases of bank and thrift mergers/acquisitions and capital financings (40 transactions totaling $350 million in consideration), Director of Research

American Fletcher National Bank (now JPMorgan Chase, 1982 – 1985)
• International Banking Officer responsible for banking relationships in Canada and Western Europe
Bachelor of Science (Finance), Indiana University, 1982

CFA Charterholder, 1989

Mary Beth Franklin

Mary Beth Franklin is one of the country’s leading experts on Social Security and Medicare.

An award-winning journalist and Certified Financial Planner, Mary Beth writes a column on retirement issues for Investment News, a publication for financial advisors. In 2021, she received an EPPY award from Editor and Publisher for best business blog. She is also author of the eBook, Maximizing Social Security Benefits, available for purchase at her website www.MaryBethFranklin.com.

Previously, Mary Beth served as the tax and retirement editor for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and editor of Kiplinger’s annual Retirement Planning Guide. Earlier in her career, Mary Beth was a Capitol Hill reporter for United Press International. She is a frequent guest on numerous radio and television programs and hosts her own podcast, The Retirement Repair Shop, now in its seventh season.

Previously, Mary Beth served as the tax and retirement editor for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and editor of Kiplinger’s annual Retirement Planning Guide. Earlier in her career, Mary Beth was a Capitol Hill reporter for United Press International. She is a frequent guest on numerous radio and television programs.

Tracy Kasper

Tracy Kasper (AHWD, C2EX, CIPS, CRS, GRI, SFR®), a REALTOR® from Nampa, Idaho, is the 2023-2024 National Association of REALTORS® President.

Tracy is the broker-owner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Silverhawk Realty in the Boise Valley and a majority owner in two other Idaho real estate companies. With 30 years of experience in real estate, Tracy still lists and sells both residential and commercial real estate in addition to her broker-owner duties.

At the national level, Tracy has served on the NAR Board of Directors since 2016, and has chaired the 50th Anniversary of RPAC Implementation Group in 2018. She was a member of the Future of the REALTOR® Party Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) in 2017 and the RPAC State Fundraising Partnership Goal PAG in 2016.

Tracy has been a dedicated member of the Idaho Association of REALTORS® since 1997. She was honored to serve as their president in 2016 and was awarded REALTOR® of the Year that same year.

At the local level, Tracy belongs to five local Idaho associations. She is a past president of the Nampa Association of REALTORS®, and is a past REALTOR® of the Year for both the Nampa (2001) and Caldwell (2011) boards.

Tracy served for many years on her local chamber, was Chairman of the Board for the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce in 2009, and is a former Honorary Commander for the Idaho Air National Guard in Boise.

Tracy and her husband, Mike, have seven grown children, four of whom are married. And between them, they have 6 grandchildren. In her spare time, Tracy has helped to raise more than $500,000 for a variety of youth charities in the Boise Valley.

Holly Newman Kroft

Holly Newman Kroft, Managing Director, joined the firm as a Wealth Advisor in 2005. Holly works closely with ultra-high net worth families to help develop customized investment solutions and address estate planning needs. Holly also focuses on addressing the unique investment needs of endowments and foundations, from managing cash flow requirements to proper risk assessment, asset allocation and portfolio manager implementation. After receiving her BA from the University of Michigan, Holly began her career as an investment banking analyst at Oppenheimer & Company and held investment banking positions at various boutique media advisory firms. Barron’s has consistently recognized Holly as a top advisor; rankings include #2 for Top 100 Women Financial Advisors, #33 for Top 100 Financial Advisors, #5 for New York, and #5 for Top 100 Independent Advisors. Holly was named one of the 50 Most InfluentialWomen in Private Wealth by Private Asset Management magazine in 2015. She is a regular contributor on "CNBC" and has participated on FOX Business’s “Wall Street Week”, “Barron’s Roundtable”, Yahoo Finance’s “On the Move” and Bloomberg’s Inspired Investing Conference. Holly serves on the Board of the Jewish Communal Fund, and the Advisory Committee for the Hassenfeld Foundation.

Accolades referenced are issued by independent third-parties and may be based on a wide-range of criteria, which may include assets under management, revenue generated and satisfaction/quality assessments. Information regarding specific criteria is available upon request and generally may be found on such third-party’s website. Third-party accolades referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Neuberger Berman client and readers should not view such information as representative of any particular client’s experience or assume that they will have a similar investment experience as any previous or existing client. Third-party accolades are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Neuberger Berman product or service.

Sarah Levy

Sarah Levy is the CEO of Betterment, the largest independent digital investment advisor. Sarah brings over 25 years of brand building, customer loyalty, corporate strategy and operational excellence to her role, and she has a passion for taking businesses to the next level.

Sarah started her career at Disney and then spent over 20 years at Viacom, home to beloved brands including Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, and Comedy Central. Through a series of senior leadership roles, culminating in Chief Operating Officer, she led global strategy, finance and operations while shepherding global media phenomena, from SpongeBob to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Previously, Levy served as the Chief Operating Officer at Nickelodeon for over a decade, and drove expansion of the brand and business both organically and through acquisitions. This passion for brands and consumer experience is critical in today’s financial services environment where investors have many more choices of where to entrust their resources than they did even a few years ago. Their desire to work with companies that understand them and reflect their values is central to the value proposition that embodies Betterment. Levy is also a Board Member for The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Inc. (2012 to Present), ACON S2 Acquisition Corp (September 2020 to Present) and Funko (2019 to Present).

David Rea

David Rea is President of Salem Investment Counselors. He received his JD degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1979 and in 1981 earned his MBA from Indiana University. He is a graduate of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. David became a CPA in 1982 and was employed as a senior tax accountant at Deloitte, Haskins & Sells before joining Salem in 1984. In 1987 David was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has been active in the Clemmons and Winston-Salem communities and has served on numerous boards and community organizations.

Nancy Tengler

Nancy Tengler is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Laffer Tengler Investments. Nancy is responsible for active equity management research and portfolio management as well as leading the firm.

Tengler is a committed advocate of financial literacy for women as the leader of Laffer Tengler’s Women & Wealth initiative, which encourages and informs women on how to take charge of their own financial and investment planning. The second edition of her book, “The Women’s Guide to Successful Investing” will be out later this year.

As one of the most dynamic women in the investment management industry today, Nancy is a sought-after TV and print financial commentator on local and national media outlets.

Prior to joining Laffer Tengler, Nancy had a distinguished investment management career in several senior leadership roles. Most recently, she served as Chief Investment Officer at Heartland Financial where she was also a Director of Arizona Bank & Trust. Nancy has also served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Fremont Investment Advisors in San Francisco. Prior to that, she founded Global Alliance Value Investors. She also worked for UBS Asset Management as Head of the Value Equities Group and with Spare, Tengler, Kaplan and Bischel, Ltd. as President and Senior Portfolio Manager.

Joe Veranth

Joseph (Joe) Veranth, CFA, joined Dana Investment Advisors in 1994 as a Portfolio Manager and is currently the Chief Investment Officer. He is involved in setting firm wide investment policy and allocation decisions for all Dana investment strategies. Prior to Dana, he spent ten years at the Bank of New York as an Investment Liaison and Relationship Manager in the Master Trust and Investment Technology departments. He has appeared on Bloomberg television and radio, CNBC, and has been quoted in the New York Times and the Boston Globe. He has served as Treasurer of Holy Communion Church and as President of the Racine Symphony Orchestra. He is currently a Trustee and Treasurer of The Prairie School. Joe graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Humanities and earned an MBA in Finance and International Business from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Joe is a CFA® charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Milwaukee.

Rodney Williams

Rodney Williams is the Co-founder of SoLo Funds, the largest community finance platform in the US. Since 2018, SoLo has surpassed 1M loans funded and redefined access to capital and returns for 1.5 million users. As the U.S.’s only Black led Certified B Corp fintech, SoLo continues its leadership, but grounded in the same hope and mission: to build a community that enables financial autonomy for all. Prior to founding SoLo, Rodney founded LISNR and led the company to over $40M in funding, numerous awards and partnership across retail and financial services. Rodney’s career started at Procter & Gamble in brand management where he was a critical catalyst in the company’s digital strategy and started in eCommerce & social media. Rodney has been recognized with numerous awards, including Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 in 2012; Cannes Gold Lion award in 2015; and CNBC Disruptor 50 List in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2023 to name a few. Rodney is a graduate of West Virginia University and Howard University. Rodney is a member of the 2019 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

Deirdre Bosa

Deirdre Bosa is anchor of CNBC’s tech-focused franchise, “TechCheck,” based out of the network’s San Francisco Bureau. Previously, she was anchor of the network’s daily program, “TechCheck,” that ran from April 2021 to February 2023. Before that, Bosa served as a technology reporter, owning stories on the biggest names in tech from Amazon to Alphabet, key players in China’s tech scene like Alibaba and Huawei, and Silicon Valley’s largest disruptors from Airbnb to Uber to WeWork. Prior to that, she was a frequent presence on air and online as a CNBC contributor, reporting out of Vancouver, Canada.

Bosa joined CNBC in 2012 covering the markets and economies of London and Singapore. She has co-anchored morning programs including “Squawk Box Asia,” “Squawk Box Europe,” and “Worldwide Exchange.”

Prior to CNBC, Bosa was an anchor and reporter for CCTV News International based in Beijing, as well as a contributor to Fox Business News. Deirdre also worked for several multinational corporations including Barrick Gold in Toronto and Rio Tinto in Shanghai.

She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada and University of Hong Kong’s Masters of Journalism program.

Morgan Brennan

Morgan Brennan is co-anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” (M-F, 4PM-5PM ET), which broadcasts live from CNBC’s global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Previously, she was co-anchor of the 10AM ET hour on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” and co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” She joined the network in December 2013 as a general assignment reporter based at CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and continues to cover a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, and defense and space. She is also host of the CNBC podcast, Manifest Space.

Prior to joining CNBC, Brennan was a staff writer and reporter for Forbes Media where she reported for Forbes Magazine, ForbesLife Magazine and Forbes.com, most recently covering real estate. She began her career at Forbes in 2009, holding several positions including anchor/reporter and producer for the Forbes Video Network, covering a wide range of business and finance topics.

Previously, Brennan was a regular guest on a variety of networks discussing business and economic stories and also interned at Newsweek International, where she was a fact-checker and contributing writer.

Brennan has interviewed billionaires, heads of state, thought leaders and chief executives of multibillion-dollar corporations and her profile story on Equity Group Investments chairman Sam Zell was one of five magazine covers featured on the 2013 Forbes 400 issue.

Brennan is a board member of the non-profit City Year New York. She graduated summa cum laude from New York University, majoring in Social Science with a double concentration in Anthropology and Media Studies.

Sara Eisen

Sara Eisen is anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell” (M-F, 3PM-4PM ET). She is known for her deep expertise in financial markets and the global economy as well as regular news making interviews with some of the most prominent names in the financial world, including Phil Knight, Leon Black, Janet Yellen and Christine Lagarde, among others.

Previously, Eisen was co-anchor of the 10AM ET hour on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET), which broadcasts from Post 9 at the New York Stock Exchange. Before that, she was co-anchor of CNBC’s “Power Lunch” (M-F, 2PM-3PM ET) and co-anchor of CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” (M-F, 5AM-6AM ET), both of which broadcast from CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. She joined CNBC in December 2013 as a correspondent, focusing on the global consumer.

Prior to CNBC, Eisen was co-anchor of “Bloomberg Surveillance” as well as a correspondent for Bloomberg Television, where she covered global macroeconomics, policy and business. During that time, she covered the European debt crisis, the tsunami aftermath and Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan. Eisen also hosted the Bloomberg Radio program, “On the Economy.”

She is the editor of “Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System” published by McGraw-Hill in Jan. 2013.

Eisen holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism with a concentration in business reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Sharon Epperson

Sharon Epperson, named one of “12 to Watch in TV News,” can be seen regularly on CNBC television and other media platforms.

As CNBC’s senior personal finance correspondent, Epperson covers the many facets of how people manage, grow and protect their money. Her expertise includes saving and investing for retirement, paying for college, managing mortgage, student loan, credit card and other debt, and building a financial legacy through estate planning.

Preparing your finances for the unexpected is another critical (and personal) aspect of her reporting. In September 2016, Epperson sustained a ruptured brain aneurysm and she nearly lost her life. She has become a staunch advocate for health and wellness issues, raising awareness about brain aneurysms and funding for research. In September 2018, she and her family established “The Sharon Epperson Chair of Research” through the Brain Aneurysm Foundation to provide grants for research on early detection and innovative treatments.

Epperson is a lead contributor to “Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow.,” a multi-platform financial wellness and education initiative at CNBC in partnership with the micro-investing app Acorns, and developed its companion 8-week learning course and weekly newsletter, “Invest in You: Money 101.” She also contributes to NBC’s TODAY and NBC Nightly News as well as Today.com and NBCNews.com.

Her book, The Big Payoff: 8 Steps Couples Can Take to Make the Most of Their Money-and Live Richly Ever After, was a finalist for the Books for a Better Life Awards, honoring works that have “changed the lives of millions.” She also was a contributing writer for The Experts’ Guide to Doing Things Faster. Her personal finance expertise has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USA Weekend, Self, Essence, Ebony and TIME, where she had covered business, culture, social issues and health as a correspondent prior to joining CNBC.

Epperson has numerous industry and civic awards, including the Special Achievement Award from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the Savvy Inspiration Award from the non-profit, financial empowerment group Savvy Ladies. She won an Alliance for Women in Media’s Gracie Award for Outstanding Online Host for her “Financial Advisor Playbook” video series on CNBC.com. She has received the Vanguard Award for her distinguished career in business and personal finance reporting from the National Urban League Guild, and the All-Star Award from the Association of Women in Communications. She also has won awards from the New York Festivals, the New York Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists.

Epperson is committed to improving financial literacy, particularly in underserved communities. She was invited to the White House during President Obama’s administration to speak about financial literacy and to moderate a public meeting of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability at the U.S. Treasury Department. She also speaks frequently at conferences and events for local and national organizations, colleges and universities about many facets of personal finance.

An adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Epperson has also taught courses at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. She enjoys teaching the importance of budgeting and building long-term savings as part of her professional development courses for graduate students.

Epperson received her bachelor’s in sociology and government from Harvard University, a master of international affairs degree from Columbia University, and an honorary doctorate from Carlow University in Pittsburgh. A Pittsburgh native, she has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame at Taylor Allderdice High School, her alma mater.

She currently lives with her husband and two children in Westchester County, N.Y.

Kelly Evans

Kelly Evans is the anchor of CNBC’s “The Exchange” (M-F, 1PM-2PM ET), the newsroom-based program for today’s investor. She is also co-anchor of CNBC’s “Power Lunch” (M-F, 2PM-3PM ET), which broadcasts from the network’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

She joined the network in February 2012 as an on-air correspondent, reporting across CNBC’s Business Day programming. Evans was most recently co-anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” and earlier, “Squawk on the Street” and “Worldwide Exchange” based in London.

Prior to CNBC, Evans was an economics reporter and “Heard on the Street” columnist for The Wall Street Journal. She also hosted the daily “News Hub” program on WSJ.com. Evans joined the Journal in 2007 after graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA.

Melissa Lee

Melissa Lee is the host of CNBC’s “Fast Money” (Monday-Thursday, 5PM-6PM ET; Friday, 5PM-5:30PM ET), which originates from the Nasdaq’s MarketSite studio in New York’s Times Square. “Fast Money” gives you the information normally reserved for the Wall Street trading floor, enabling you to make decisions that can make you money. She is also the host of “Options Action,” (Friday, 5:30PM ET), a weekly half-hour program that explains the advantages of options trading.

In addition, Lee is a member of the ensemble cast of CNBC’s “Power Lunch” (M-F, 2PM-3PM ET).

Previously, Lee was co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” and host of “Money in Motion Currency Trading” and "Option's Action". She also covered investment banking, hedge funds and private equity for the network.

Lee has reported one-hour documentaries for the network, including “Rise of the Machines (2013),” “Code Wars: America’s Cyber Threat”(2011), ”Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing” (2009) and ”Porn: Business of Pleasure” (2009). In 2008, Lee reported and anchored a one-hour documentary, “Made in China: People’s Republic of Profit,” from Beijing and Shanghai. She reported extensively for the network on China from the country’s growth to its challenges to the opportunities for U.S. businesses.

Lee received a 2010 Gracie Award for Outstanding Host-News and a Gerald Loeb Award nomination in 2009 for a CNBC Special Report: “Is Your Money Safe? The Fall of Lehman Brothers,” for which she co-anchored. Lee also has been nominated for two Emmy awards in Business News. In 2007, she was recognized for her report, “The $50M Con,” about a college student-turned scammer who ran a fake hedge fund and was ultimately caught by the FBI. And in 2003, she was nominated for her reporting on the proxy voting of mutual funds.

Prior to joining CNBC in 2004, Lee worked for Bloomberg Television and CNN Financial News.

Before her career in television, Lee was a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting. Her cases focused on the banking and credit card sectors.

Lee graduated with honors from Harvard College with a bachelor of arts in government. She also served as Assistant Managing Editor of the Harvard Crimson.

Tyler Mathisen

Tyler Mathisen co-anchors CNBC's "Power Lunch" (M-F, 1PM-3PM ET), one of the network's longest running program franchises. He is also Vice President, Events Strategy for CNBC, working closely with the network's events team to grow the rapidly expanding business.

Previously, Mathisen was co-anchor of "Nightly Business Report," an award-winning evening business news program produced by CNBC for U.S. public television. In 2014, NBR was named best radio/TV show by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW). Since joining CNBC in 1997, Mathisen has held a number of positions including managing editor of CNBC Business News, responsible for directing the network's daily content and coverage. He was also co-anchor of CNBC's "Closing Bell."

Mathisen has reported one-hour documentaries for the network including "Best Buy: The Big Box Fights Back," "Supermarkets Inc: Inside a $500 Billion Money Machine" and "Death: It's a Living." Mathisen was also host of the CNBC series "How I Made My Millions."

Prior to CNBC, Mathisen spent 15 years as a writer, senior editor and top editor for Money magazine. Among other duties, he supervised the magazine's mutual funds coverage, its annual investment forecast issue and its expansion into electronic journalism, for which it won the first-ever National Magazine Award for New Media in 1997.

In 1993, Mathisen won the American University-Investment Company Institute Award for Personal Finance Journalism for a televised series on "Caring for Aging Parents," which aired on ABC's "Good Morning America." Mathisen served as money editor of "GMA" from 1991 to 1997. He also won an Emmy Award for a report on the 1987 stock market crash that aired on New York's WCBS-TV.

A native of Arlington,Va., Mathisen graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia.

Diana Olick

Diana Olick is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, currently serving as CNBC’s senior climate and real estate correspondent. She also contributes her climate and real estate expertise to NBC News NOW, MSNBC, NBC’s “Today” and “NBC Nightly News.” She is a regular guest speaker and does guest segments on NPR and C-SPAN. Her work on CNBC.com won the Gracie Award for “Outstanding Blog” in 2015.

Soon after joining CNBC in 2002, Olick recognized the quick run-up in the housing market, fueled by investor flipping, and consequently launched the network’s real estate beat. She covers both commercial and residential real estate as well as the mortgage market. Olick was at the forefront of reporting on the housing boom, the subprime mortgage collapse, the resulting housing crash and the ongoing recovery. She also launched the real estate page on CNBC.com and is its primary author.

In 2018, Olick envisioned a new series for the network called “Rising Risks,” which examines all aspects of the growing risk to real estate from climate change. The series grew beyond real estate and in 2021, Olick began covering climate full-time across all sectors. That same year, she covered the COP26 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, reporting on government, corporate and private sector investments in the fight against climate change.

In early 2022, Olick launched an additional climate series, Clean Start, which follows venture capital money into climate startups. The series airs weekly and has its own page on CNBC.com/clean-start.

Prior to joining CNBC, Olick spent seven years as a correspondent for CBS News. Olick began her career as a local news reporter at WABI-TV in Bangor, Maine; WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and KIRO-TV in Seattle. She joined CBS in 1994 as a New York-based correspondent for the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather” and “The Early Show.” She also contributed pieces to “48 Hours” and “Sunday Morning.”

At CBS, Olick worked in the New York, Dallas and Washington, D.C. bureaus, covering such stories as the World Trade Center conspiracy trial, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the JonBenet Ramsey murder mystery and was the exclusive correspondent for the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols. She also took a temporary assignment in CBS’ Moscow bureau, where she chronicled the brief presidential campaign of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Olick has a B.A. in comparative literature with a minor in soviet studies from Columbia College in New York and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

Follow Diana Olick on Twitter @DianaOlick on Instagram @DianaOlick and on Linkedin.

Jim Pavia

Jim Pavia is a senior editor at CNBC digital, overseeing two key pillars, the Financial Advisors Hub and personal finance.

Pavia, an award-winning journalist, was formerly the editor/editorial director of InvestmentNews where he worked for 10 years.

In 2014, he was the recipient of the Malcolm S. Forbes Public Awareness Award for Excellence in Advancing Financial Understanding Among the Public. He has won several awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors, including five for Editorial Excellence in Editorial writing.

Pavia has also worked at the New York Daily News and The National Sports Daily. He got his start as a sports reporter at the Staten Island Advance in 1982.

When not thinking or talking about long-term financial planning, Pavia is focused on the New York Rangers. He is still waiting for another Stanley Cup to get hoisted at Madison Square Garden.

Becky Quick

Becky Quick is co-anchor of "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET). Quick is also anchor of the nationally syndicated "On the Money."

Quick is known for her hard-hitting interviews and profiles of some of the world's richest and most influential investors, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Alan Greenspan, T. Boone Pickens, Jamie Dimon, Charlie Munger and many others. She also has interviewed three U.S. presidents and has hosted panels at some of the most prestigious conferences in the world such as the Microsoft CEO Conference, Fortune's Most Powerful Women's Conference and the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Media Conference. Quick also authors a regular column for Fortune magazine as well as contributes to CNBC.com.

Previously, Quick, a seven-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal, covered the Wall Street beat for CNBC as part of the network's partnership with Dow Jones.

Prior to joining CNBC in February 2001, Quick covered various beats for The Wall Street Journal, including retail, e-commerce and the Internet. She also played a crucial role in the launch of The Wall Street Journal Online, while serving as the site's International news editor.

She graduated from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and previously served on the board of The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

AGENDA

*Agenda subject to change

10:00AM ET

Welcome

Embracing a New Enforcement Ethos

Credit and capital, fraud and financial crime – U.S. regulators face a myriad of enforcement hurdles in the year ahead. Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton joins us to share his thoughts on the current environment, the state of the markets, and what advisors should consider amid what he has called a “fundamental shift” in regulation.

Jay Clayton, Sullivan & Cromwell Senior Policy Advisor; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Former Commissioner; CNBC Contributor
Interviewer: Kelly Evans, CNBC “The Exchange” Anchor and “Power Lunch” Co-Anchor

Building a Better Portfolio

Uncertainty about the economy and the possibility of a recession in 2024 has some investors wondering the best way to position themselves for short-term gains and long-term financial security. We speak to KKR Private Wealth Chief Investment Strategist Paula Campbell Roberts on how she’s preparing for what’s next.

Paula Campbell Roberts, KKR Chief Investment Strategist, Private Wealth
Interviewer: Melissa Lee, CNBC “Fast Money” Host

Balancing a Better Portfolio

Positioning yourself for the possibility of a recession is just the beginning. A “higher for longer” interest rate environment means 60/40 investors can generate income from their bond sleeve without having to take additional equity risk — especially important for retirees who still need to keep up with inflation and be mindful of stock exposure. Neuberger Berman’s Holly Newman Kroft joins us with her take on ways to reallocate portfolios as the tried and true 60/40 portfolio makes a comeback.

Holly Newman Kroft, Neuberger Berman Managing Director and Senior Wealth Advisor
Interviewer: Melissa Lee, CNBC “Fast Money” Host

Is Gen X Prepared for Retirement?

According to a recent report by the National Institute on Retirement Security, the typical Gen X household only has $40,000 in retirement savings in private accounts; and most Gen Xers—roughly defined as those born between 1965 and 1980—are failing to meet retirement savings targets. How can advisors take what they know about this generational cohort and create plans to help them reach their goals?

Lazetta Braxton, 2050 Wealth Partners Co-Founder and Co-CEO
Dan Doonan, National Institute on Retirement Security Executive Director
Moderator: Sharon Epperson, CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent

The Evolution of Automated Advising

So-called “robo-advising” has been available to financial advisors and managers for the better part of 20 years, but the pace of technological change in recent years has revolutionized the field and put more sophisticated tools into the hands of FAs. We’ll talk with Betterment CEO Sarah Levy about the impact of generative AI, and what she sees as the next potential breakthrough for automated advising.

Sarah Levy, Betterment CEO
Interviewer: Morgan Brennan, CNBC “Closing Bell: Overtime” Co-Anchor

The Empowered Investor

According to recent statistics, 40% of angel investors are women, an indicator that women are eager to put their money to work outside of traditional portfolio offerings. Combine this with a rising number of women-led startups, and the opportunities for investing by, and in, women are on the rise. We’ll talk with two investing experts about how advisors can better position clients to take advantage of this growing women-led market opportunity.

Jo Ann Corkran, Golden Seeds Co-Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner
Nancy Tengler, Laffer Tengler Investments CEO and CIO
Moderator: Sharon Epperson, CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent

Retirement Changes Abound

Social Security may be undergoing some big changes—from a higher cost-of-living adjustment to an increase in payments for higher earners—that advisors should be aware of. Mary Beth Franklin, one of the country’s leading experts on Social Security, explains the consequences of these potential changes and what future retirees and their advisors need to know, now.

Mary Beth Franklin, Social Security Expert & CFP
Interviewer: Tyler Mathisen, CNBC “Power Lunch” Co-Anchor & Vice President, Events Strategy

12:00pm

Breakout Sessions

Wealth Building at Any Age

Financial health can mean different things to different people and can also look different depending on your financial goals. This session will cover the ways to build wealth and financial stability at any age and at any stage to sure up your financial future.

Rodney Williams, SoLo Funds Founder
Mary Elena Lagomasino, WE Family Offices CEO and Managing Partner
Moderator: Sharon Epperson, CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent

*Additional sessions to be added

12:30pm

Mainstage Returns

The Art of the Activist

Starboard Value’s Jeff Smith has been one of the busiest activist investors over the last two decades, best known for his proxy fights in the restaurant space. The Starboard Value CEO is relentless in calling for changes at corporations, targeting Humana, Kohl’s, Mercury Systems, and other companies during the Covid pandemic. We sit down with one of Wall Street’s most feared and creative activist investors to discuss how the current market environment is influencing his top picks.

Jeff Smith, Starboard Value CEO
Interviewer: Sara Eisen, CNBC “Squawk on the Street” Co-Anchor

Navigating Today’s Housing Market

With mortgage rates high and housing inventories low, the market for home buyers and sellers is a tricky one. Should buyers pounce on available opportunities? Should sellers hold on to existing homes with the potential cost of financing a new home too high? Advising clients on what might be the biggest sale and purchase decisions they ever make is tough in the best of times. We’ll talk to one of the foremost experts on the housing market to make sense of it all.

Tracy Kasper, National Association of Realtors President
Interviewer: Diana Olick, CNBC Senior Climate and Real Estate Correspondent

The Omega Man: Leon Cooperman and the Market Outlook

Legendary investor Leon Cooperman returns to our FA Summit with his thoughts on current interest rates, the slowing economy, the 2024 elections and why capitalism is always good.

Leon Cooperman, Omega Advisors Chairman and CEO
Interviewer: Becky Quick, CNBC “Squawk Box” Co-Anchor

1:30pm

FA Exchange: Tips From the Top-Rated Firms

Now in its 5th year, CNBC’s annual Financial Advisor 100 list recognizes the top advisory firms helping clients grow and protect their wealth. FAs who have topped CNBC’s annual list take your questions and share their insights on what it takes to be a top-rated firm.

David Rea, Salem Investment Counselors President
George Farra, Woodley Farra Manion Partner
Mason King, Luther King Capital Management Vice President
Joe Veranth, Dana Investment Advisors CIO & Portfolio Manager
Moderator: Jim Pavia, CNBC Senior Editor, Personal Finance

2:00pm

Event Concludes

WHAT

Premier financial advisors discuss the risks ahead, potential buying opportunities, and tools advisors can use to generate consistent returns while minimizing downside

WHO

Top advisors, investors, market experts, technologists, and economists

Register

Past Speakers

Heidi Heitkamp

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013-2019.

Senator Heitkamp grew up in a large family in the small town of Mantador, North Dakota. Alongside her six brothers and sisters, she learned the value of hard work and responsibility, leading her to choose a life of public service.

During her six years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Heitkamp quickly became a proven senator who worked across the aisle to fight for North Dakotans. Senator Heitkamp personally showed that if senators work together, it can lead to real solutions. She also came to work every day fighting for rural America and made sure others in the Senate understood the needs of rural communities.

Former Republican Senator Bob Corker called Senator Heitkamp “stronger than battery acid.” Democratic Senator Jon Tester said “she has been incredibly effective” in the Senate.

Senator Heitkamp courageously voted against Justice Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court after hearing testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanuagh’s response testimony. Following the vote, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said Senator Heitkamp had, “become a bit of a feminist icon.”

Throughout her time in public service, Senator Heitkamp has stood up for tribal communities and worked to improve outcomes for Native American children, women, and families. The first bill she introduced in the Senate, which became law in 2016, created a Commission on Native Children. Her bill with former Senator John McCain became law to create Amber Alerts in Indian Country. She introduced Savanna’s Act to help address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. And she worked to help address the detrimental impact exposure to trauma can have on children and families – particularly those in Native communities.

Senator Heitkamp also worked to combat human trafficking in North Dakota, across the country, and around the world. She helped write legislation, which was signed into law, to crack down on human trafficking online, which led to the closure of Backpage.com.

A strong advocate for working families, Senator Heitkamp has fought to support North Dakotans throughout their lives. She helped introduce legislation to create a federal paid family and medical leave policy. She led the effort to get the Export-Import Bank up and running to boost American manufacturing and support American workers and businesses. She strongly backed legislation to prevent discrimination in the workplace against LGBTQ individuals. And she fought for retirement security for families and seniors by working to solve the pension crisis facing many retirees.

Senator Heitkamp has pushed to make health care more affordable and accessible. She fought back against efforts to repeal the health reform law and tried to make the law work better for families and businesses. She halted attempts to slash Medicaid and Medicare or privatize Social Security. She voted against the Republican tax bill and has called for a fairer tax system that doesn’t drastically increase the nation’s debt and deficit.

As a former director of the one-of-a-kind Dakota Gasification synfuels plant,Senator Heitkamp has a long record with energy development in North Dakota. She continued those efforts in the Senate, working to responsibly harness North Dakota’s energy resources, and successfully pushed to lift the 40-year old ban on exporting U.S. crude oil while expanding support for renewable energies, like wind and solar energy development.

Senator Heitkamp sat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, where she fought for North Dakota’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities to make sure they got the resources and support they need to continue to feed North Dakota, the country, and the world. She helped write, negotiate, and pass two long-term, comprehensive Farm Bills which Congress passed.

Through her leadership on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Heitkamp pushed to reform the nation’s housing finance system, make housing more affordable, and provide relief to small financial institutions.

On the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Senator Heitkamp pushed to provide training and resources for first responders to keep North Dakota’s communities strong and safe, improve mail delivery and service in rural communities, help recruit and retain a strong federal workforce, and cut red tape to make the federal government more efficient and effective for North Dakota families and small businesses.

Senator Heitkamp previously served as North Dakota’s Attorney General, and prior to that as the state’s Tax Commissioner. She serves on numerous boards including the McCain Institute and the Howard Buffett Foundation. She is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America.

Senator Heitkamp received a B.A. from the University of North Dakota and a law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School.She lives in Mandan, North Dakota with her husband, Dr. Darwin Lange, a family practitioner. They have two children, Ali and Nathan.

Barry Sternlicht

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman & CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the private alternative investment firm he formed in 1991 that is focused on global real estate, hotel management, oil and gas, and energy infrastructure. Mr. Sternlicht also serves as Chairman of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), a leading diversified finance company.

For the past 31 years, Mr. Sternlicht has structured investments with an asset value of $235B+. Starwood Capital’s investment vehicles have invested in approximately 285,000 residential units, 4,000 hotels, 103M SF of office properties, 73M SF of Industrial, 56M SF of retail and 70,000 lots of land in residential subdivisions. The Firm currently manages approximately $125B of assets on behalf of its high net worth and institutional partners. Starwood Capital, its affiliates and externally managed public companies encompass over 4,500 employees. The Firm maintains offices in Arlington, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Greenwich, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., and affiliated offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Sydney and Tokyo.

From 1995 through early 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, a company he founded in 1995. During his tenure, he built Starwood Hotels into one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, employing more than 120,000 people with 895 properties in 100 countries. Mr. Sternlicht created W Hotels, perhaps the world’s most successful “boutique” brand, and built the St. Regis Hotels brand from a single hotel to a global brand.

In 2008, Mr. Sternlicht founded SH Group, his new hotel management company. SH Group is the owner and manager of Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels brands.

In 2016, Mr. Sternlicht was the recipient of PERE’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he was named the Global Industry Figure of the Year by PERE, received the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hotel Investment Forum. In 2013, Mr. Sternlicht was named the Most Important Person in Commercial Real Estate Finance by The Mortgage Observer. In 2010, Mr. Sternlicht was named Executive of the Year and Investor of the Year by Commercial Property Executive. Mr. Sternlicht was also named America’s Best Lodging CEO by Institutional Investor Magazine. He is a member of the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame. He has received the Preston Robert Tisch Distinguished Industry Leadership Award from New York University, the CEO Diversity Award from Diversity Best Practices/Business Women’s Network, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, the Hospitality Heritage Award from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the Marketer of the Year Award from Brandweek. Mr. Sternlicht’s humanitarian efforts have garnered prestigious national honors such as JDRF’s Man of the Year, JDRF’s Living and Giving Award and JDRF’s Chairman’s Award.

Mr. Sternlicht serves on the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies and the Real Estate Roundtable. Additionally, he formerly served as Chairman of the Board and is currently a Board member of The Robin Hood Foundation, and also serves on the Boards of the Dreamland Film & Performing Arts Center, and the Executive Advisory Board of Americans for the Arts. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation Trustee Council, the World Presidents Organization and the Urban Land Institute.

Barry Sternlicht received his BA, magna cum laude, with honors from Brown University. He later earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.