BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Patrick Galley, CFA
CEO & CIO, RIVERNORTH
Paul Hatch
FOUNDING PARTNER, CONVERGENCY PARTNERS
Michele F. Robertson
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, DBV
Collin Bhojwani
INVESTOR, ALLIANZ LIFE VENTURES | Board Observer
Frank Polefrone
SVP, BROADRIDGE | Board Observer
Patrick Galley, CFA
CEO & CIO, RIVERNORTHPatrick has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of RiverNorth since 2004. Patrick is responsible for strategic planning and business development and oversees all portfolio management activities at RiverNorth. In addition, Patrick serves as the President and Chairman of all RiverNorth proprietary funds.
Prior to joining RiverNorth, Patrick was Vice President at Bank of America in the Global Investment Bank's Portfolio Management group where he specialized in analyzing and structuring corporate transactions for investment management firms in addition to closed-end and open-end funds, hedge funds, fund of funds, structured investment vehicles and insurance/reinsurance companies.
Patrick graduated with honors from Rochester Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Finance. He is a CFA Charterholder and member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.
Paul Hatch
FOUNDING PARTNER, CONVERGENCY PARTNERSPaul is the Founding Partner at Convergency Partners. Paul began his career as an officer in the US Navy after having graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. He served aboard the USS Coontz for three years and spent the remainder of his time in the Navy as a Political Military analyst responsible for briefing the President, Vice President, and various other senior legislators on the situation in the Middle East.
Following his service, Paul joined EF Hutton as a financial advisor and began a 25+ year career at the firm that would become Shearson Lehman Hutton, Smith Barney, and eventually Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Along the way, Paul continued to rise through the organization, eventually becoming National Sales Manager. From there, Paul was made the Head of all Products and Services, which included the advisory industry’s leading platform. While in that capacity, Paul led the development of Smith Barney Advisor which raised over $20B in its first 18 months. He also negotiated the purchase of Legg Mason’s UMA business. Paul also launched the Greystone Consulting Group at Morgan Stanley, a widely recognized leader in Institutional Consulting.
Michele F. Robertson
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, DBVMichele serves as Chief Legal Officer and is a member of DBV’s Executive Committee. Michele acts as lead corporate counsel for DBV and is responsible for legal, compliance, and intellectual property activities. She brings more than 15 years of experience in legal and strategic business development in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries. She most recently served as a member of the Executive Leadership Team at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, where she served as the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Commercial Operations, and Chief Compliance Officer. Previously, she held positions in the legal department of Ikaria Inc. and Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals.
Michele holds a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Rutgers College. She is a native English speaker and conversational in French.
Collin Bhojwani
INVESTOR, ALLIANZ LIFE VENTURES | Board ObserverCollin has been at Allianz since 2018 and is currently an investor for Allianz Life Ventures. He is responsible for sourcing, diligence, investment recommendations, market research, and portfolio management for the early-stage Corporate Venture Capital group. His areas of focus include insurtech, fintech/wealthtech, and enterprise technology startups. He previously held a derivatives trading role on Allianz Investment Management’s hedging team.
Collin is a graduate from the University of Southern California where he studied business administration and computer programming and is a current MBA candidate at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management majoring in finance.
Frank Polefrone
SVP, BROADRIDGE | Board ObserverAs Senior Vice President of Broadridge’s Data and Analytics Business, Frank has been responsible for a team of business experts that provide Broadridge’s Data and Analytics clients with market insights, commentary, and research from across the globe. Frank also oversaw product strategy for Broadridge’s Data and Analytics business and was instrumental in the acquisition of multiple businesses.
Frank also held multiple senior roles in the asset management industry over a 40-year career. He started his career with Federated Investors in 1982. After leaving Federated at the end of 1996, Frank joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management as Vice President of Financial Institutional Sales.
Frank earned a B.A. in Economics from Bucknell University and a Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration from North Carolina State University.
ADVISORY BOARD
Kimberly Beck
DIRECTOR OF CLIENT MARKETING STRATEGY, JANNEY
Bobby Colon
SVP, GLOBAL WEALTH SOLUTIONS, RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL
John Cooper
ADVISOR/CONSULTANT
Nate Dalton
FOUNDER, DAYBREAK INVESTMENTS; CO-FOUNDER & CEO, SORA UNION
Darlene T. DeRemer
FOUNDER, GRAIL
Frank McCarthy
ADVISOR/CONSULTANT
Dan O'Lear
ADVISOR/CONSULTANT
Arlen Oransky
EVP, Chief Membership Officer, Money Management Institute
Jerry Raio
PRESIDENT & CEO, ARBOR LANE ADVISORS, INC.
Tom Sholes
Advisor/Consultant
Don Stohrer, Jr.
CEO, ARLA FOODS U.S.
Brett Wright
ADVISOR/CONSULTANT
Kimberly Beck
DIRECTOR OF CLIENT MARKETING STRATEGY, JANNEYKimberly is Director of Client Marketing Strategy at Janney, leading a team of marketing communication specialists, designers, and content and client experience specialists who deliver marketing communications and Janney’s brand and digital strategy.
Kimberly has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently serving as Chief Marketing Officer for YieldX, which was acquired by FNZ. She is experienced in marketing strategy, client experience, product marketing, digital marketing, communications, public relations, and events, and has developed award-winning thought leadership and advisor education programs. Previously, Kimberly was with Envestnet, where she led Wealth Marketing. She was also Co-Founder and Chair of the Envestnet Women’s Initiative Network. Additionally, Kimberly has held notable marketing leadership roles at BlackRock and Nuveen.
Kimberly has served on the Board of Governors for the Money Management Institute and has been a member of the Knowledge for Practice Advisory Board for the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning.
She holds an MBA in Marketing from LaSalle University and a B.A. in English and Communications from Cabrini University, where she has been an Adjunct Professor of Integrated Marketing and served on the Advisory Board for the Marketing & Communications Department.
Bobby Colon
SVP, GLOBAL WEALTH SOLUTIONS, RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIALBobby is currently Senior Vice President, Global Wealth Solutions at Raymond James Financial. In this role, he oversees the Partner Relations, Mutual Fund Research, Offshore Mutual Funds, ETFs, and 529 & Education Savings Plan groups. Bobby joined Raymond James Financial in 2006 as part of the Corporate & Executive Services Group and has spent time as an Alternative Investments Product Specialist, Director of Product Partner Relations, and Vice President of Investment Solutions.
Bobby earned a B.S. in Finance cum laude from the University of South Florida (USF) as well as an MBA from the Hough Graduate School of Business at the University of Florida. He currently holds the Series 7, 55, 63, and 79 securities licenses and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®), and Certified ETF Advisor® (CETF®).
John Cooper
ADVISOR/CONSULTANTJohn has held senior leadership roles in all aspects of the investment distribution business for some of the largest and most respected firms in the industry. He was previously Head of U.S. Intermediary Distribution at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (President of MSIM Distributors), Head of US Sales at Invesco (President & CEO of Invesco Distributors), Head of Retail National Accounts at Legg Mason and held several roles at Putnam Investors. John serves on three other advisory boards, involving AI and Robotics Process Automation, Voice Recognition, and an AI Hedge Fund Platform.
He holds a B.S. from Boston College, where he double majored in Marketing and Human Resources Management, was a standout athlete in football and baseball, and was inducted into its Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame.
Nate Dalton
FOUNDER, DAYBREAK INVESTMENTS; CO-FOUNDER & CEO, SORA UNIONNate is the Founder of Daybreak Investments and the Co-Founder and CEO of Sora Union. Previously, he was a co-founder and the former President and CEO of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG). Over his more than 25 years at AMG, he held a range of executive positions, including General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, President, and Chief Executive Officer. In addition to other responsibilities, while at AMG he led the creation and growth of its cross-affiliate global institutional and retail distribution platforms.
Nate is a Trustee of Boston University where he serves on the Executive Committee and the Investment Committee for its Endowment. He also serves on the Board of Overseers of Scripps Research, the world's largest independent nonprofit biomedical research facility, and the advisory boards of the Institute for Global Sustainability and the Impact Measurement and Allocation Program.
Nate received a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Darlene T. DeRemer
FOUNDER, GRAILDarlene was a founder of Grail and today serves as special advisory partner to the firm. Previously, she was an investment banker at Putnam Lovell NBF and for 25 years was a leading advisor to the financial services industry specializing in strategic marketing, planning, product design, and the implementation of innovative service strategies. Prior to that she was founder of DeRemer + Associates, the first consultancy focused on the US mutual fund industry.
Darlene is a trustee of Syracuse University and chairs the Investment and Endowment Committee. She also chairs the board of ARK Invest, a $13 billion active ETF trust, and serves on the Board of Confluence Technologies and the advisory board of Vestigo Venture.
Darlene earned a B.S. in Finance and Marketing (summa cum laude) and an MBA from Syracuse University.
Frank McCarthy
ADVISOR/CONSULTANTFrank is an accomplished financial services executive experienced in product distribution, product firm relationship management, effective contract negotiations, driving strong P&L results, and compliance and regulatory matters.
Frank served as Senior Vice President & General Manager External Products at Ameriprise Financial Services where he built a large multi-product, multi-asset class platform of third-party (non-proprietary) products, substantially improving the product offering for Ameriprise's advisors and clients. He added many high-quality investment solutions to help Ameriprise advisors meet their clients' needs, gather assets, attract and retain clients, and attract advisors. The firm’s third-party product offering grew from a small product set to doing business with over 250 high-quality product firms across 17 product lines. He negotiated industry-leading product economics for the firm with a strategy of prosperous results for high-quality product firms through powerful distribution by Ameriprise's 10,000+ advisors.
Frank served on the Board of Directors of American Enterprise Investment Services, Inc., Ameriprise’s clearing broker-dealer, on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA), the trade association for the portfolio diversifying investments industry, and served as Chairman of the IPA. He also served on the Board of Directors for both the Insurance Federation of Minnesota and the Consumer Credit Insurance Association, a national trade association.
He holds a B.S. in Marketing from St. Cloud State University and a J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.
Dan O'Lear
ADVISOR/CONSULTANTDan is a successful and respected distribution executive with almost 40 years of experience leading distribution teams at large asset management companies. As President of Franklin Templeton Distributors, Dan was responsible for the sales/distribution of Franklin Templeton’s investment solutions, including mutual funds, insurance trusts, sub-advised accounts, separately managed accounts, and collective investment trusts. He was also a long-term member of the Franklin Templeton management committee made up of global leaders across the company that helped lead and drive the corporate vision.
Externally, he created and maintained relationships with senior management executives at all major clients including broker/dealers, bank-dealers, registered investment advisors, and state agencies for college savings plans. These relationships led to significant gross sales growth during his 25-year tenure at Franklin Templeton from a low of $39B to a high of $87B.
He holds various FINRA licenses, including General Securities Principal, General Securities Representative, and the Uniform Securities State Law license (Series 24, 7, and 63). He was a long-term member of both the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the Money Management Institute, where he served on its Board of Governors. Dan is also an active volunteer in the community coaching and mentoring youth sports, particularly ice hockey and lacrosse.
Dan earned a B.S. in Business Economics from the State University of New York, Oneonta.
Arlen Oransky
EVP, Chief Membership Officer, Money Management InstituteMr. Oransky is Executive Vice President and Chief Membership Officer for the Money Management Institute (MMI), the organization representing financial services firms that provide advice and investment advisory solutions to investors. He leads the organization's membership acquisition and retention initiatives. He has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry working with asset managers, wealth managers, and financial advisors in the U.S. and overseas. Mr. Oransky has served as Vice President and Product Manager for TIAA and as Senior Vice President of Investment Services for Weiss, Peck & Greer Investments. He is co-author of the New Managed Account Solutions Handbook with Stephen D. Gresham published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mr. Oransky holds a Bachelor's Degree from The State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Master's Degree from Loyola College in Maryland. He is a 9/11 Memorial Site Volunteer and a volunteer for New York Cares.
Jerry Raio
PRESIDENT & CEO, ARBOR LANE ADVISORS, INC.Jerry is the President and CEO of Arbor Lane Advisors, Inc., a consulting firm focused on the financial services sector. His career on Wall Street spans over 30 years and has been mostly focused on the retail distribution of Equity Capital Market products to financial advisors and investors. Most recently he was Head of Retail Origination at Wells Fargo Securities where he worked closely with asset management clients to structure, market, and execute new closed-end fund offerings. Prior to joining Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) in 2005, he worked on the retail equity syndicate desk at both Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.
Jerry earned a B.S. from the State University of New York at Albany and an MBA from the Frank Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University.
Tom Sholes
Advisor/ConsultantTom has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, holding leadership roles across product management and strategy functions. He has also held executive management roles with profit and loss responsibility for advisory, data management, and mutual fund servicing businesses.
His most recent experience was with BNY Mellon | Pershing, where he was a member of the executive committee and held several leadership roles including Chief Strategy Officer/Head of Global Strategy and Product Management. In this position, he was responsible for all facets of strategy and product management and oversaw a product portfolio of investment, wealth, lending, retirement, advisory, and data solutions. His tenure at Pershing also included serving as the President and Chairman of Lockwood Advisors and overseeing its data management business, Albridge Solutions. In addition, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Money Management Institute.
Prior to his time at BNY Mellon | Pershing, Tom was an executive with PNC Global Investment Servicing where he initiated and developed the Financial Advisor Services division. This division provided managed account services, data management, and business intelligence solutions. He began his career at Federated Investors, where he led their mutual fund services business, Edgewood Solutions, and had several product management roles of increasing responsibility.
He holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper School) and a B.S. in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University, where he graduated with honors.
Don Stohrer, Jr.
CEO, ARLA FOODS U.S.Don is the CEO of the U.S. division of Arla Foods, a Danish Dairy Cooperative which is the world’s fourth largest. As head of the U.S., Don is responsible for driving Arla’s long-term ambitions in the market, which includes accountability for both the Commercial and Operations arms of the business.
Over the course of his 25-year career in consumer-packaged goods, Don has led marketing departments, executive leadership teams, and organizations to consistently deliver top- and bottom-line results, most notably for international CPG companies in the U.S. such as Arla and Ferrero. His leadership experience spans people development, change management, organizational structure, and individual mentorship.
Don earned a B.A. from Muhlenberg College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Brett Wright
ADVISOR/CONSULTANTBrett most recently held the position of Head of Client Solutions for the Americas for Macquarie Group. In addition, he served as Trustee and Chief Executive Officer for the Optimum Fund Trust and was a member of the Macquarie Asset Management Public Investments’ Executive Committee. Brett also brings extensive experience with industry associations, having served on the Board of Governors for the Money Management Institute and the Board of Directors for the Investments & Wealth Institute.
Brett earned a Bachelor’s degree from The Pennsylvania State University, where he served as captain of the football team.