The purpose of the Burridge Center Advisory Board is to further the mission, vision, and goals of the Burridge Center for Finance and the Leeds School of Business. The Burridge Center commits to engage board members in a mutually beneficial relationship, focusing on thought leadership and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. The Burridge Center acts as a forum for academics and practitioners to gather and deliberate on current issues in finance and the future of the industry.
The Burridge Board is made up of business executives, leaders of organizations and industry influencers who support Burridge by strategically advising and working with the Executive Director, Burridge staff and Leeds School constituents.
Current members of the board are:
Dick Burridge, Sr. (Emeritus)
Dick Sr. ('51 Finance) has been involved in the investment business for over 50 years, first as an analyst, then as a money manager. Currently, he serves in both capacities at RMB Capital Management, LLC in conjunction with his son’s book of business. He has served as head of investment research at Northern Trust Co.; Treasurer of the University of Chicago and manager of the University’s endowment assets; Vice Chairman of Alliance Capital Management and manager of its Chicago office; and founder of the Burridge Group, an investment management organization specializing in mid- and small-capitalization companies. He also serves on the boards of several philanthropic organizations. He is the former Chairman of the Blue Cross of Illinois. In 2006, he was the recipient of the University’s Norlin Award.
Dick Burridge, Jr.
Dick is a founding partner, CEO, and CIO of RMB Capital. His career spans more than 25 years in the financial industry, including tenure as one of the top advisors of a Fortune 100 company. It was Dick's outstanding record of investing and unrelenting commitment to his clients' best interests that served as the foundation of the RMB philosophy and approach. In 2005, Dick made the visionary move to co-found RMB as an independent investment firm. This allowed him to gain freedom from corporate conflicts of interest and make the best investment decisions for each individual client while serving them with the highest level of care. At RMB, Dick sets investment policy, oversees all portfolio management activity, and directs clients' asset allocations. Dick and RMB have received remarkable accolades from several prominent publications, including Forbes, Chicago Magazine, and Barron's Top 100 Investment Advisors. Dick earned a BS degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Frank Beardsley
During his more than thirty-year career in the financial services industry, Frank developed a proven track record of successfully growing assets under management for multiple companies. Today, he primarily manages his personal investments and real estate portfolio, while taking on various specialized engagements. Frank retired from Guggenheim Partners Investment Management in 2022 as a Senior Managing Director- Insurance Portfolio Management. Over his twelve-year career at Guggenheim, he was instrumental in growing their third-party insurance asset management business from a handful of firms to over one hundred insurance companies. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Frank was President of XL Life & Annuity. Under his leadership, XL’s institutional product business grew organically to over $6 billion in five years. Frank was also previously President of Transamerica’s Asset Management Division and was a member of Transamerica Corporation’s Senior Management Council. His division included the Financial Products, Stable Value, and Structured Settlements lines of business. He was responsible for facilitating over $20 billion in asset growth over five years. Frank also spent time with NatWest Capital Markets in their Derivative Products Group. He began his career in a proprietary trading group on Wall Street as an option arbitrage trader. Frank has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado-Boulder with a major in Finance. In addition to serving on the Advisory Board for the Burridge Center of Finance, Frank is on the Board of Directors of Greenhouse Scholars, a not-for-profit based in Boulder.
Angela Bricmont
Angela Bricmont is the CFO of Denver Water. She manages the financial resources of the Board of Water Commissioners, a 100+ year-old water utility serving 1.5 million customers in the City of Denver and surrounding suburbs. Angela is responsible for accounting, financial planning and performance, treasury, rates and customer care in addition to managing the retirement plan. Since joining Denver Water in 2010, Angela has overseen a credit rating upgrade to AAA, implementation of a new water rate structure, issuance of Green Bonds, and funding a lead line removal program at no direct cost to customers.
Prior to Denver Water, Angela worked for several consulting firms focused on financial planning and rates for public utilities. Angela also served as Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Matters for Comcast. Angela has a bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA from the University of Denver. Angela was appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority Board, and she was appointed to serve on EPA’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board.
Lance Campbell
Lance has over 25 years of finance and operations experience leading top professionals who support business operations, global institutional investors, and corporate strategy. He is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Intech Investment Management LLC, an independent quantitative asset manager, and a founding partner of Intech’s parent company following a management buyout from its public-company parent in 2022. Lance is a member of the firm’s Executive Management Committee as well as the Risk & Compliance, Compensation, Investment Risk, and Corporate Strategy committees. He has also held financial services and oversight roles with Invesco Funds Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Berger Financial Group, and Trust Company of America. Lance graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder Leeds School of Business with a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting. He also has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Colorado.
Bessie Conty
Bessie Conty is the Assistant Director of Fixed Income at Colorado PERA. She has been managing fixed income assets for Colorado PERA since 2003. She is the senior portfolio manager for PERA’s Corporate Bond portfolio and is on the team which directs asset allocation for PERA’s $11 B Fixed Income portfolio. In her role she oversees the external fixed income managers for COPERA’s Defined Contribution assets and leads PERA’s counterparty committee. She began her finance career at Northwestern Mutual, managing assets on the private placement/equity team. In addition to the Burridge Center, she serves on the Colorado Gives Finance Committee. Mrs. Conty holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Colorado.
Elyse Dolph Foster
Elyse is the founding partner and CEO of Harbor Wealth Management, an independent wealth management and financial advisory firm located in Boulder CO. Elyse founded Harbor 35 years ago with the belief that personalized financial advice provided in a comfortable atmosphere where client goals are a priority was possible. Elyse’s role includes client acquisition, client relationship management, strategic planning, and investment direction for the firm. HWM is known for educating next generation investors and hosting interactive client events creating a forum for learning and effective communication. Topics include intergenerational wealth transfer, charitable planning, educating your children about money, effective private equity investment, impact investing and women and investing. In addition to serving the Burridge Board Elyse is the past chair of the Boulder Humane Society and remains on the investment advisory committee for the group. A lifelong Boulder resident, she has served in many volunteer capacities throughout the region. Elyse earned her BA in Political Science with an emphasis in Economics from the University of Colorado and holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
Ben Hart
Ben Hart is a partner at Adams Street Partners. Ben focuses on the development of institutional client and consultant relationships and works with other members of the investor relations team to serve the needs of Adams Street Partners’ clients. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at Capital Dynamics as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Asia, overseeing the firm’s business development efforts in Asia and North America. Before Capital Dynamics, Ben served as Managing Director at Aircom International, focused on improving regional business performance. He also held senior business development positions at Convergys Corporation, Alliance Digital, Inc., and the JM Network. Ben graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business, with a B.S. in Business Administration. Ben is a member of Adams Street’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Ben Paull
Ben Paull is a Partner and Chief Financial Officer at Ribbit Capital, where he oversees the firm’s finance function across all aspects of the business. Prior to joining Ribbit in 2021, Ben was the Chief Financial Officer of TPG Growth & Rise Funds. Before that, from 2008 to 2019, he held senior level positions (including CFO) at Magnetar Capital, a $10 bn+ hedge fund in Evanston, IL. Earlier in his career, Ben worked in the investment banking financial institutions group at Lehman Brothers, where he advised alternative asset managers on M&A and capital markets transactions. Ben graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business, with a B.S. in Business Administration. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Greg Savage
Greg is CFA and Managing Director at BlackRock, is the Head of iShares Equity Portfolio Management team within BlackRock's Beta Strategies Portfolio Management Group. He is responsible for overseeing the management of the Americas listed iShares equity funds. Greg's service with BlackRock dates back to 1999, including his years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. At BGI he was a senior portfolio manager and team leader in the iShares Index Equity Portfolio Management Group and was previously a transition manager in the Transition Management Group. Prior to BGI, Greg worked at Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) from 1997 to 1999 in various roles. Greg earned a BS in Accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Cindy Schatz
Cindy Schatz is the Region Manager for the Corporate Banking Relationship Management team at Silicon Valley Bank overseeing the group for most of the country. In this role she is helping the leaders in each market support our technology clients with their debt and treasury needs. Prior to that Cindy was the Head of Credit Review reporting to the Board of Directors and helping monitor the $120B loan portfolio. In this role Cindy rebuilt the function and its objectives and processes to be Large Financial Institution compliant. Previously, Cindy was a Senior Credit Officer overseeing and managing the bank’s portfolio in the technology sector, specifically in the areas of software, e-commerce, marketplace, and gaming supporting credit decisions on the portfolio. Prior to that, Cindy was the Head of Structured Products for the central United States. Cindy and her team focused on providing customers with creative working capital solutions. Earlier in her career, she launched and oversaw SVB’s Global Fund Banking team helping venture capital and private equity firms with their capital needs. Cindy earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she specialized in finance and entrepreneurship and competed on the women’s tennis team; she also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Outside of SVB, Cindy is the CO-Chair for the Burridge Center at the University of Colorado, which bringing together academia, students, and industry. In her free time, Cindy enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Peter Stutz
Pete has over 25 years of institutional investment industry experience as a fixed income analyst, trader, and portfolio manager. He was most recently a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Guggenheim Partners, where he was responsible for the management of a variety of insurance company portfolios. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Pete was a Portfolio Manager at Western Asset Management where specialized in global interest rate and derivative strategies and managed inflation-linked bond portfolios.
Pete received his BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Pete earned Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1996 and is currently the President of the CFA Society of Los Angeles.
George Tarlas
George co-manages and oversees ACG Institutional business. As a Senior Managing Director, he helps set the strategic direction of the firm. George is a member of ACG’s Investment Committee, which is comprised of senior members of the organization and whose primary task is to ensure continuity and consistency in the investment recommendations to clients. George works with a broad array of client relationships and brings value to clients through his strategic advisory, portfolio modeling and evaluation, and ongoing education. Prior to joining the firm in 1996, George was a Vice President for Gershman Investment Corp. in St. Louis. He brings a background in finance and real estate, and earned his BS in finance from the University of Colorado. George is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society of St. Louis and the CFA Institute.
Margarita Vacanti
Margarita Vacanti is the Senior Vice President of Payments Middle Market West Region Business Development. She and her team of Payment Advisors and Client Managers are responsible for delivering payments solutions to over 1,300 clients across the West Region, from Alaska to Colorado. Since joining KeyBank in March 2018, Margarita has focused on driving and building more strategic engagement of Payments earlier in the client prospecting process, expanding cross-selling of automation and merchant into the existing portfolio, and expanding and upskilling Payments talent within the West Region.
Margarita began her career with Accenture, providing consulting services across the financial services, insurance, telecommunications, and high-tech industries. Her consulting experience spanned project delivery, project and program management, client account management and local business development. She defined the cross-product enterprise sales process for a Fortune 100 technology provider, and her business development activities included local market new client acquisition in Silicon Valley. She developed and executed relationship development strategies with Accenture’s largest financial services client teams to grow annual recurring revenue from an average of $30million to more than $50 million per account.
Following Accenture, Margarita managed NTT DATA Services' North America financial services and insurance (FSI) industry marketing and business development programs. She developed and implemented industry-specific solution and content marketing, thought leadership programs, new client inside sales support and sales enablement programs.
Margarita is also co-founder of Vacanti Wine Glasses LLC, makers of the Spirale Wine Glass. Margarita attended University of California, Berkeley and earned a Bachelor of Arts.
Tim Wolf
Tim is President of Wolf Interests, Inc., the investment entity that he established after he retired as Chief Integration Officer of MillerCoors Brewing Company in June, 2010. Prior to MillerCoors, Tim was CFO of Coors Brewing Company where he helped drive the company’s $1.9 billion acquisition of Bass Breweries. Prior to coming to Colorado, Tim spent time with PepsiCo, the Walt Disney Company, and Euro Disney. Tim graduated from Harvard College in 1974 with a BA in economics, and an MBA in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.