Board of Directors
Stephen
E. Hessler
Chairman
Steve is a partner in the Restructuring Group of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice involves representing debtors (including public, portfolio, and privately-held companies), creditors, and investors in complex corporate chapter 11 cases, out-of-court restructurings, acquisitions, and related trial and appellate litigation. Member of the New York City Bar Committee on Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization.
James Stone
Vice-Chairman
Vanessa Wilson
Treasurer
Vanessa is a finance professional with 25 years of experience on Wall Street and in the insurance industry, with particular expertise in investments, the public markets, and corporate finance. Vanessa retired in 2007 from Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., where she had been a Managing Director and equity research analyst with primary responsibility for the U.S. life insurance industry. She had previously held senior positions in equity research at Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Vanessa was ranked on the Institutional Investor "All-American Research Team" for 10 years and in The Wall Street Journal's "All Star Analysts' Survey" for 7 years. She is also past-president of the Association of Insurance and Financial Analysts. Vanessa also spent three years in the insurance industry practice of the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse. Prior to Credit Suisse, Vanessa worked in the insurance industry with Marsh & McLennan, initially as an insurance broker and then as a property-casualty credit analyst.
Vanessa currently serves on the Board of Directors of Protective Life Corporation, a publicly traded company based in Birmingham, Alabama. In the nonprofit arena, she sits on the advisory board and created an after-school program for St. James School, an inner city parochial school located on Manhattan's lower eastside. As a former trustee of The Ethel Walker School, an all girls' secondary school in Connecticut, Vanessa served on the Finance and Audit Committees and was the Chair of the Investment Committee for the endowment. Vanessa also invests in early stage companies as a Managing Director of Golden Seeds, an angel investor group that provides private equity capital across all sectors to women entrepreneurs. Vanessa sits on the advisory boards of privately held Oyster Digital Media, Inergy Group, and Renovata.
Vanessa graduated cum laude from Amherst College with a B.A. in economics and biology in 1981. She received her MBA in finance from New York University's Stern School of Business in 1987.
Janet Mannheimer
Secretary
Janet is Founder and President of Publishing Experts. Since starting Publishing Experts 17 years ago, Janet has helped some of America's publishers prosper with complete management services in production, and manufacturing. For blue-chip clients like Hallmark Magazine, Metropolis, Hearst, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bloomberg, Inc., Fast Company and Primedia, Publishing Experts develop and analyze print bids; and negotiates print contracts and operational assessments and implementations. Janet saves established clients time and money with comprehensive audits of personnel, processes and vendors. As an independent contractor before launching Publishing Experts, Janet
earned a stellar reputation for achieving high-quality, cost-effective results for clients like Tiffany, Neiman Marcus, Leaders, Science, the IEEE Communications Society, and the American Journal of Nursing Company. Prior to that Janet helped lead IEEE Spectrum to win three consecutive National Magazine Awards as director of art and production.
Janet has served on the board of directors of the Society for the National Association Publications, and is a sought-after speaker on publication production and manufacturing. She is a graduate of Parsons School of Design, New York City.
Directors
Rob Anderson
Anne Benedict
Anne is the Senior Vice President of Talent Management at Mediabrands. She has global responsibility for ensuring that Mediabrands, Interpublic Group's network of media agencies, is able to attract, select and manage the people required for the business and its clients. She designs and implements global talent management programs to promote performance management, succession planning, leadership and high potential development. Her experience includes 10 years of international HR consulting at Mercer HR Consulting, organizational and leadership development work at Disney ABC Television Group, and now over a year at Interpublic Group (IPG).
Anne has worked across a broad range of industries but most recently focuses on media, entertainment and advertising. Her international experience and global role have given her insights into how to operate effectively on a global scale. Her breadth of experience across HR disciplines, such as operations and compensation, brings a holistic approach to managing talent.
Anne holds a Bachelor's Degree in Science from McGill University and a Master's Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from University of Waterloo.
William H. Ernest
Bill Ernest is a Director in Wells Fargo's Financial Sponsor Group and is based in New York. He is responsible for investment banking coverage of private equity firms providing such clients and their portfolio companies with debt financing, equity market transactions and M&A advice. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Bill worked in the Financial Sponsors Group at Credit Suisse.
Bill received a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Yale University School of Management.
Jerry Faust
Jerry Faust holds the position of Vice President – Print for Time Inc. In this role, Jerry is responsible for overseeing Time Inc. Production's central print purchasing and field operations (magazine distribution and manufacturing support) processes. He manages a combined staff of eleven and an annual budget of ~$3MM. Initiatives led by the Print department returned annualized cost savings in excess of $5MM in 2010.
Jerry joined Time Inc. in August 2004 as Director of Quality with responsibility for directing all aspects of Time Inc. Production's materials quality program, including paper quality assurance, grade evaluations and new product developments with supplier partners, as well as, Production's internal quality process improvement initiative. He was promoted to his current position in September 2007.
Prior to Time Inc., Jerry had a 22 year career in the paper industry. His last position was with International Paper managing the marketing and product development initiatives of their coated papers business. Jerry received his B.S. degree in Paper Science and Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point in 1982.
Jerry is an active member of IDEAlliance, a not for profit print industry organization, and a former board member and 2008/2009 education committee co-chair of P3, Partnership in Print Production, (P3 became a division of IDEAlliance in September 2009). Jerry co-chaired the IDEAlliance Print Predictability Task Force in 2006/2007, co-chaired the 2009 IDEAlliance Primex Summit and served on the 2010 Technology and Trends committee.
Ephraim Fields
Ephraim manages Echo Lake Capital and Clarus Capital which invest in and consult with companies that are publicly traded in the U.S. He is especially active with Chinese companies that are publicly traded in the U.S. Previously, Ephraim was an investment banker at CSFB, DLJ and Wasserstein Perella where he worked on a variety of private equity, M&A, high yield debt and equity transactions. Ephraim received his MBA from The Wharton School at the U. of Pennsylvania and his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
Colin Hannaway
Colin Hannaway is a Managing Director in the Capital Markets Group at Cortview Capital, a portfolio company of Warburg Pincus. Previously, Mr. Hannaway was a Managing Director in the Global Investment Banking Division at HSBC Securities, where he headed the US Media Investment Banking Group and executed M&A, financing and private equity transactions for Media-sector clients worldwide. Mr. Hannaway also oversaw the formation of HSBC's US Financial Sponsors Group, and managed the bank's relationships with more than 30 large financial sponsors and middle-market private equity firms. While at HSBC, Mr. Hannaway advised on financing, M&A and direct investment transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $45 billion. Prior to HSBC, Mr. Hannaway oversaw all private equity investing for Sterling Grace LLC, a family investment office from the W.R. Grace & Co. lineage, where he completed private equity investments in the financial services, shipping and communications sectors. Mr. Hannaway served as a member of the firm's Investment Committee, and held several public and private company Board directorships. Previously, Mr. Hannaway worked in the Investment Banking Division at JP Morgan, where he focused on the broadcasting, publishing, entertainment, data services and cable television sectors. Mr. Hannaway earned an MBA from Georgetown University and a BA from Tulane University.
Michael Kaminer
Michael Kaminer is a writer and editor whose work appears in the Forward, the Washington Post, Vegetarian Times, Where, IN New York, the Jewish Week, and others.
He is also the originator and curator of Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women, an exhibit of cartoon art touring North America.
In 1992, Michael founded the public-relations agency MKPR. By the late '90s, MKPR represented clients like Bloomberg, Time Warner, and A & E, as well as many cause-related organizations. To focus on writing full-time, Michael sold the firm in 2006.
Michael is vice-chair of the board of AIDS Service Center NYC and advises Jewish social-justice advocates The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring.
Michael lives in Manhattan's Union Square neighborhood.
Ketan Kapadia
Ketan Kapadia is a partner at Acquis Consulting Group, a boutique consulting firm focused on helping companies prepare for and execute their growth strategies. As one of four partners in the firm, he is jointly responsible for furthering client relationships, business development, talent management, and firm direction. He has worked with premier early stage and Fortune 1000 organizations on strategic challenges related to organizational performance, market entry, partnership development, and profitability uplift / cost management. Ketan's experience as a trusted advisor to over 25 clients spans diverse sectors such as Nonprofit, Life Sciences, Education, Professional Services, and Technology. Prior to Acquis, he started his career with PwC Consulting, where he led operational and strategy engagements for seven years. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University.
As a first generation American, Ketan became connected to Futures and Options upon recognizing the significance of their work in changing the livelihood and direction of underserved teens. His own childhood participation in a high school internship at Bellcore serves as a reminder as to why access for the next generation must be a priority. He has a passion for the philanthropic community, having served as a hands-on mentor for a number of charities and providing pro-bono advisory with organizations such as the Children's Aid Society.
Richard T. Kennedy
Richard T. Kennedy serves as a Senior Director of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., a global provider of real estate services. The firm represents corporations and institutions of all sizes, in the United States and in more than 40 countries around the world. Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.'s core services include the following: Asset Services, including property and facilities management and agency leasing; Brokerage Services, including landlord and tenant representation and sales and financing of institutional properties; Research Services; Strategic Advisory Services; Corporate Services; and Valuation Services.
As an office leasing specialist, Mr. Kennedy has over 25 years of experience in representing the interests of both owners and tenants of commercial office space and has been involved with some of the most significant transactions in the Downtown market, while being actively involved in the Lower Manhattan community.
His commitment to Downtown Manhattan includes serving on the Boards of the Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc., New York Downtown Hospital, The Battery Conservancy and the South Street Seaport Museum.
Melissa Kern
Melissa Kern is an investor relations professional at The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager. She supports all fundraising, marketing and investor communication efforts for the Global Market Strategies group. Prior to joining Carlyle, Melissa worked as an investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. in the Industrials group. She focused on the Transportation and Infrastructure sectors and throughout her tenure at Deutsche Bank, worked on numerous corporate transactions including mergers & acquisitions, high yield debt offerings and equity offerings.
Melissa joined the Futures and Options board in April 2011. She also volunteers with the Good Dog Foundation in New York City. Previously, she volunteered as a young professional mentor to students enrolled in F&O's internship programs and as a "Big" for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Melissa received her B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College with a minor in Psychological & Brain Sciences.
Courtney Hall Leimkuhler
Courtney Hall Leimkuhler is a Senior Vice President and co-head of Corporate Strategy at NYSE Euronext, where she partners with senior leadership across business lines to develop and execute the company's strategy. Ms. Leimkuhler has helped to launch various organic growth initiatives for NYSE Euronext and also evaluates and executes all M&A and other investment opportunities. She is a member of the company's U.S. operating committee, investment committee, and steering group for college recruiting. She also serves on the boards of three NYSE Euronext joint-ventures in the futures, options and environmental markets. Ms. Leimkuhler reports to the company's Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to joining NYSE Euronext, Ms. Leimkuhler worked for Goldman Sachs in the Equities Division, focused on the firm's electronic trading business and investments, and then in the Principal Investments Area.
Ms. Leimkuhler graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Government, where she was also inducted to Phi Beta Kappa and was an Academic All-American on the women's lacrosse team. She received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School where she was a Baker Scholar. For her professional accomplishments she has been honored by the Women's Bond Club of New York and the YWCA of New York City. Ms. Leimkuhler joined the Futures and Options board in July 2011. She has also been a volunteer mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters for nearly ten years, and she serves on the Board of the Friends of Harvard Lacrosse. She and her husband live in Manhattan.
James T. Liu
James T. Liu is an associate of WL Ross & Co. LLC. Mr. Liu is primarily responsible for evaluating and analyzing distressed private equity opportunities. Prior to joining WL Ross & Co. LLC, Mr. Liu worked at The Blackstone Group where he focused on private equity transactions. Previously, he was in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at JPMorgan Securities Inc.
Mr. Liu holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from New York University's Stern School of Business.
Cynthia A. Marian
Cynthia A. Marian is an attorney, currently employed as Tax Counsel in Morgan Stanley's finance division, where she works with many of the firm's business units to maximize the tax efficiency of a broad range of financial products. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Ms. Marian was an associate in the Tax department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she worked on a variety of transactions, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, domestic and cross-border joint ventures, LLC and partnership formations, bankruptcies, debt restructurings, debt and equity offerings, and other securitizations, in addition to advising tax-exempt and not-for-profit organizations on topics ranging from formation to dissolution. Before she became an attorney, Ms. Marian worked as an investment banker at Banc of America Securities, and later as a consultant at Deloitte, thereby gaining experience with a wide array of corporate transactions and assisting clients with the strategic decisions and financial analysis germane thereto.
Ms. Marian graduated with honors from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Thereafter, Ms. Marian earned a Doctor of Law from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was a Baker Scholar, and an L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law.
Stephen P. Musante
Stephen is a Senior Manager in the Special Acquisition Services group of Deloitte Tax LLP were he specializes in mergers and acquisitions for one of the world's leading private equity firms. In this role, Stephen has worked on numerous acquisition, disposition and restructuring transactions, including the largest leveraged buyout on record.
During his 8 years at Deloitte, Stephen has served in numerous functions within the firm including two years in Deloitte's Washington National Tax office where he specialized in corporate taxation. Stephen has a B.S. in Accounting from Fairfield University and an M.S. in Taxation from Bentley College. Stephen is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts. Stephen and his fiancée, Maria, live in New York City.
Stephanie L. Perry
Stephanie Perry is a Managing Director in Deutsche Bank's Leveraged Finance Group based in New York. Stephanie focuses on the media and financial services sectors as well as middle market sponsors. Previously Ms. Perry worked in Deutsche Bank's Financial Sponsors Group in New York. In her current and former capacities, Stephanie has advised clients on debt financings including public and private bond issues, non-investment grade syndicated loans and equity-linked securities.
Stephanie received a Bachelor of Science degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Accounting and Finance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
Pauly Rodney
With a background in targeted messaging in industries ranging from professional sports to politics and now advertising - Pauly brings management versatility and a fresh perspective to the media world in his role as Mediabrands Global Chief of Staff. As Global Chief of Staff, Pauly works closely with Global CEO Matt Seiler to manage global projects and assist with global operations. He also collaborates closely with the chief officers and senior executives of each of Mediabrands' agencies to ensure that the Global CEO's initiatives are implemented consistently. Pauly serves as the CEO's proxy in attending many events that the CEO cannot make it to. Pauly served in a similar role under Seiler when both were at UM, prior to being asked to accompany Seiler to Mediabrands in February 2011.
Prior to joining UM, Pauly was a Government Affairs Director at Moore & Van Allen, PLLC in Charlotte, NC. He oversaw strategy, messaging, and field personnel of issue advocacy campaigns in several states. He helped to grow, manage, and train a public affairs department comprised of grassroots advocacy teams and state lobbyists. Before that, Pauly was involved in the last two Presidential Election cycles in various capacities including speechwriting, constituency targeting, and grassroots messaging in primary states in 2004- to recruiting, training, and managing entry level personnel nationwide in 2008. In-between election cycles, Pauly has been a spokesperson, communications director, and strategy consultant to local and statewide campaigns in the northeastern states.
Pauly began his career as a market research analyst with the National Basketball Association (NBA) before becoming a community relations manager for the NBA/WNBA and their minor league brand extension, the National Basketball Development League (NBDL).
Pauly graduated from Princeton University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in Politics and quantitative independent research in Public Opinion. He is a volunteer with and offers branding advice to the leadership of the Greater New York Salvation Army.
Richard X. Simon
Mr. Richard Simon is a Senior Manager at Accenture LLP aligned to the Advanced Systems and Technology arm of Accenture's consulting practice. He focuses on driving transformational growth by leading large $100M+ technology programs at fortune 500 Financial Services companies. Over the last few years, Rich has focused his management and technical expertise in the Banking and Insurance sector focusing on delivering higher quality solutions, innovative technology trends, and lowering cost to serve while increasing productivity. Mr. Simon has long been involved in volunteerism and the Non Profit sector. Over the last few years, he's been involved as a coach and mentor working with Managing Executives to streamline their internal organizational structure, improve their back office processes, and identify additional fundraising opportunities. Being a 'born and bred' New Yorker, he is passionate about working with local Non Profits and using his passion and motivational skills to better the communities he grew up in. Richard graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from New York Institute of Technology.
Stev
en Sperber
Steve joined the Board of Futures and Options in January, 2010. His primary focus is increasing the number of internship sites that employ, and benefit from, Futures and Options students.
Steve is a commercial real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis, the largest commercial real estate services firm in the world and only real estate firm in the Fortune 500. Based in New York City, Steve represents tenants in all facets of commercial real estate in New York City and markets globally.
Steve currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Stevens Cooperative School and The United Synagogue of Hoboken where he heads the real estate committees for both organizations. Steve lived in Hong Kong from 1994 to 2007 and was a member of the Board of the United Jewish Congregation and also served a term as the Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce's Real Estate Committee in Hong Kong.
Steve, his wife, and teenage son reside in Hoboken, New Jersey. His son represents the sixth generation of their family to live in Hoboken and his wife cooks the best Thai food in Hoboken. Steve graduated from The School of Public Affairs of The American University in Washington, D.C. in 1993.
Scott Stuart
Christian Sullivan
Meena Theever
Paul Wasinger
Paul is a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division and is responsible for coverage on a global basis of companies in the payments, processing and data/analytics services spaces. In his current capacity, Paul advises clients across a broad range of corporate finance, including mergers & acquisitions, equity and debt financings.
Paul joined Morgan Stanley in 2006. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Wasinger was a Vice President with JPMorgan in the Technology, Media and Telecom group. Before joining JPMorgan, Mr. Wasinger worked for EDS, a global IT Services firm, in consulting and business development both in the U.S. and in Europe.
Paul graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in History and graduated with honors from the University of Michigan Business School with a Masters in Management.
Paul, his wife, and their son live in Manhattan.
Justin Wroe
Justin is VP, Group Media Director for UM. Justin knows what it takes to meet the needs of clients that demand the best and expect the Yes &. He is constantly challenging the status quo to move beyond what is expected to achieve creative solutions to marketing challenges. Whether in the realm of financial institutions, pharmaceuticals and consumer products, or luxury automotive, Justin understands how to forge connections between brands and consumers and has been an integral part of UM's growth in recent years.
Justin's extensive background in media planning and communications strategy was key to one of UM's critical U.S. new business wins in 2009, helping to secure the BMW account. After playing a pivotal role on the pitch team, Justin transitioned into a full time position on the account, where he currently manages all of the planning, strategic oversight, and media communications for BMW.
Earlier in his tenure at UM, Justin was part of the team that constructed a new model for Johnson & Johnson, leading to the creation of the J3 stand-alone unit. While serving as a VP Associate Strategy Director for J&J, Justin spearheaded the company's switch of the Zyrtec brand from prescription to over the counter (OTC), one of the largest moves in J&J history. Justin often breaks new ground with digital partners to create content solutions delivering on unmet consumer needs. He also is constantly looking to drive innovation through media partner relations.
Prior to arriving at UM, Justin spent time at MGP, where he worked on accounts for Children's Hospital Boston and Citizen's Bank. He was part of the team that led the media surrounding Citizen's acquisition of Charter One Bank. Justin began his career at Hill Holiday.
