AIF GLOBAL - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Executive Director, AIF Global and the AIF Institute

Andrew Messer joined AIF Global in 2022 and serves as the Executive Director of the AIF Global Institute. Prior to joining AIF Global, he served as Deputy Treasurer for the state of Oklahoma. During his time in the State Treasurer's Office, he served in many capacities including, overseeing state debt as the State's Bond Advisor, serving as Chair of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, and serving as the head of public policy for State Treasurer's Office. He has also been actively involved with the National Association of State Treasurers for nearly a decade and was instrumental in supporting the creation of the National Institute of Public Finance at Pepperdine University. Andrew earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Oklahoma State University in 2007 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma School Of Law in 2010 and a Certificate in Public Treasury Management from Pepperdine University in 2017.

Job Titles:

• Program Director
• Senior Program Director, AIF Global and the AIF Institute

Barbara is a Program Director at AIF Global focusing on the production and management of all U.S. and international forums. She works with the AIF team on the content and development of each program as well as the execution of all in-person and virtual events. Barbara is also the co-founder of B.A.S. Ventures Inc., a consulting firm that works with the institutional investment management community to organize educational symposiums and programs. In addition to organizing their own events, B. A.S. Ventures has also worked as the program consultant for RFK Compass and the Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM). Prior to that, Barbara was Senior Director at Information Management Network (IMN) and the President of the Special Events Divison for the Institute for International Research (IIR) where her main responsibility was producing large-scale investment conferences for public and corporate pension plans and Taft Hartley funds. She currently is a Board Member of the Tuxedo Park School and has sat on the board of the Imperial House Association in New York City. She received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Job Titles:

• Founder and CEO, AIF Global and the AIF Institute
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Public Finance

Brant Maller founded AIF after having served on committees overseeing the U.S.'s three largest pension plans' investments programs and as an officer of one of the world's largest family offices. That service enabled him to see the need for a neutral forum through which the world's largest institutional investors could exchange best ideas, practices and information with each other and with its leading finance academics, investment consultants and asset managers. He executed on that vision in forming AIF in 2005. Mr. Maller is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Public Finance (NIPF), which is the educational arm of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) Foundation. He is also the Chair of the NIPF's Investments Track. He has served as a member of the California Controller's Advisory Council on Investments and the New York State Common Retirement Fund investment committee. Mr. Maller has been ranked one of the nation's leading investment lawyers by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Super Lawyers, among other ranking services, and as one of the world's leading investments lawyers by Chambers Global. Mr. Maller received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a joint M.C.R.P.-J.D. degree from Harvard University-Boston University.

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Program Director
• Associate Program Director, AIF Global and the AIF Institute

Britta Henry joined the AIF team in 2023 as the Associate Program Director with main responsibilities in administration and forum execution. Britta is wrapping up her final year of her MBA program at Johnson & Wales University in Event Leadership. Prior to working with AIF, Britta worked for 6 years as a legal assistant at a prestigious Oregon law firm for several attorneys. Additionally, Britta was a Community Board Member of Events and Programs for her local Parks & Recreation District.

Job Titles:

• Program Director
• Research Director for the AIF Institute
• Research Director, AIF Institute

Imogen Rose-Smith is the Research Director for the AIF Institute. She is also co-founder of Combinate Capital, a financial services firm focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves as an advisor to investment managers and asset owners on sustainable investments, business development, and communications. And is an affiliate partner of IoTask, a Boston based management consulting company focused on technology and innovation. Imogen was a 2017 - 2019 fellow of the Office of the Chief Investment Officer, University of California Regents, where she worked on ESG and sustainability issues. An award-winning journalist, Imogen has over 15 years' experience covering institutional asset management as a Senior Writer with Institutional Investor magazine. As a journalist her areas of expertise include: institutional investors, hedge funds, venture capital, impact investing, diversity and inclusion, government policy and long-term asset ownership. She is a contributing editor to the impact investment industry publication Impact Alpha, where she writes the Institutional Impact column and is a regular podcast contributor. Imogen served on the inaugural Advisory Board of Girls Who Invest, a not-for-profit focused on increasing the number of women in investment management roles. She is a former co-chair of the Impact Investment committee for High Water Women, a not for profit focused on the economic empowerment of women and girls. She is a co-founder of the Maui ESG Investment Project, an initiative to bring sustainable investment capital into Maui and diversify the Hawaii economy, and a member of the Orient Association board.

Job Titles:

• Program Director
• Executive Director, Technology and Communications, AIF Global and the AIF Institute
• Founder and CEO of Orange Reef Sustainable Business Results

With 20+ years of experience leading successful communications, brand strategy, and technology initiatives, Jason serves as Executive Director of Technology and Communications for AIF Global and the AIF Institute, overseeing and implementing innovative technologies to support and provide added value to AIF's forums, educational symposia, and program offerings. In addition, he provides brand, design, and communications strategy and work product across all of AIF's initiatives. Since 2010, Jason has served as Founder and CEO of Orange Reef Sustainable Business Results, providing consulting and solutions to diverse organizations, primarily in the financial, healthcare, and government spaces. In other fractional capacities, he serves as Chief Communications Officer (CCO) for Balanced Pharma, Inc. and is the Executive Director of Brand and Technology for the National Institute of Public Finance (NIPF). He has worked with over 20 Fortune 500 corporations (including 3M, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Duke Energy, Ingersoll Rand, Volvo, and Wells Fargo), along with leading government, finance, and healthcare organizations, providing a unique blend of marketing, communications, and technology solutions. Jason has been featured as a thought leader by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) and is the recipient of the 2020 Technology and Brand Management Excellence Award by the AIF Institute, as well as the Innovation Award and Treasurer's Challenge Coin by one of the leading state treasuries in the United States. His educational background includes studies in marketing, communications, and ROI methodology at Columbia Business School and Villanova University, along with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Job Titles:

• President of the AIF Institute
• President, AIF Global and the AIF Institute

Melissa Waller serves as President of the AIF Institute, and is the former Deputy Treasurer and Chief of Staff for the North Carolina Department of State Treasury, where she successfully oversaw Department strategic planning, operations, and public-policy implementation, along with a staff of more than 400 employees. The North Carolina Retirement Systems, the pension fund for the state, is the tenth largest public pension fund in the United States, with assets in excess of $90 billion. Melissa's background includes over 20 years of private and public-sector financial industry experience, including 15 years in the banking sector with Wachovia/Wells Fargo. She has served as Chair of the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer's Corporate Governance Committee, as well as on the Council of Institutional Investors Board of Directors and the Governor's Board of Innovation for the North Carolina University System. She currently serves as Executive Program Director for the National Institute of Public Finance, as well as Director of Public and Private Partnerships for the Kenan Institute.

Job Titles:

• Head of AIF APAC, AIF Global and the AIF Institute
• Professor of Finance at the School of Business - Long Island University

Dr. Chung has been a Professor of Finance at the School of Business-Long Island University, NY. He is currently the program chair of Artificial Intelligence & Fintech at Yonsei University's Graduate School of Information in Korea. He had been an academic advisor of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA) and an editorial board member of the Journal of Alternative Investments. Dr. Chung has also advised Korea Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Services regarding the nation's Alternative Investments regulatory policies since 2012. He has had 20+ years of experience as a researcher, advisor, and senior portfolio manager in both the U.S. and Korea. Dr. Chung received his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Master of Finance from Boston College, and M.B.A from Illinois State University.

Job Titles:

• Program Director
• Senior Technology and Communications Consultant, AIF Global and the AIF Institute

Sherry Dekker brings 25+ years of information technology and web development experience, and has worked with leading financial services, technology and government organizations. Prior to joining AIF, Sherry worked with the North Carolina Department of State Treasury, providing information, services, and support to over 800,000 members and constituents. She served as a key developer and technology trainer for key Department websites, including unclaimed property, the State Health Plan, and state and local government, and supported Department-wide collaborative project team sites. For more than 15 years, Sherry worked with Wachovia Bank as a key resource in the implementation and support of large-scale initiatives, including the Mortgage intranet, and numerous websites within the Business Technology division. She also served as a software developer for Mortgage application software. Sherry holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina State University.

Job Titles:

• Program Director
• Co - Program Director
• Senior Program Director, AIF Global and the AIF Institute

Susan is the co-program director at AIF Global with main responsibilities in managing and producing all forums. She has nearly fifteen years of experience producing a full spectrum of programs for the institutional investment community in the U.S. and globally. Prior to working with AIF, Susan co-founded BAS Ventures, Inc. with Barbara Lambroza and together they curated their own symposiums as well as consulted for organizations including RFK Compass, National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) New York chapter and the Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM). Susan holds a Bachelor in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.