Chief Executive Officer
DISTRIBUTION
David Conrod is Chief Executive Officer of FocusPoint. Prior to founding FocusPoint in 2010, he was a Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners, LLC, as well as Head of the Private Fund Group, the distribution arm of Guggenheim. From 1999 to 2010, Mr. Conrod and his team were responsible for raising over $13 billion institutional and private investor capital for Guggenheim Partners, LLC-sponsored and third-party private equity, real estate and hedge fund investment partnerships, representing 11 funds and six distinct strategies/management teams. From 1992 to 2000, he was Director of Sales & Marketing at HSBC Asset Management (Americas), Inc., where he was responsible for raising HSBC’s Asian, Indian and European private equity funds, in addition to a significant separate account business in long-only investment products. Mr. Conrod graduated with an A.B. from Kenyon College and received an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Managing Principal
DISTRIBUTION
Robert Mortimer is responsible for marketing and raising capital from family offices globally. Prior to joining FocusPoint in 2010, he was a Managing Director in the Private Fund Group at Guggenheim Securities, LLC where he initiated and oversaw joint marketing arrangements with leading Wall Street investment firms. Mr. Mortimer attended New York University and the Venture Capital Program of the Haas Business School at the University of California.
Managing Principal
DISTRIBUTION
Cheryl Rogers is responsible for marketing to and raising capital from institutions and family offices in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the U.S., as well as parts of Canada. Prior to joining FocusPoint in 2010, Ms. Rogers was Vice President in the Private Fund Group at Guggenheim Securities, LLC. Before joining Guggenheim in 2005, she was a Project Manager at Penn, Schoen, & Berland Associates, a political consulting and marketing strategy firm. Prior to Penn, Schoen, & Berland Associates, Ms. Rogers worked at East Gate Capital Management & Private Equity. She graduated with a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.
Managing Director
DISTRIBUTION
Laura Hill is responsible for marketing to and raising capital from institutions and family offices on the West Coast and select investors in other geographies in North America. Prior to joining FocusPoint in 2014, Ms. Hill was a Director in the Corporate Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. Before joining the Council on Foreign Relations in 2013, she was a Vice President in the Capital Formation Group at Fortress Investment Group. Prior to Fortress Investment Group, Ms. Hill worked at The Blackstone Group in their Private Equity fundraising team and was a Project Manager in the Private Equity team at The Park Hill Group. Previously, she worked at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Cohen Klingenstein & Marks, Inc. and Merrill Lynch. She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College.
Managing Director
DISTRIBUTION
Russell Boggess is responsible for coverage in North America with emphasis on the Midwest, and some East Coast clients. Prior To Focus Point, Mr. Boggess ran his own consulting firm which advised a number of private equity, private credit and hedge funds on business development and was affiliated with R6 Capital. Before then, he was Director of Marketing for two New York based hedge funds: Kingdon Capital Management and Sandell Asset Management in New York. Mr. Boggess began his finance career at Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco in where he served as a vice president in the Venture Capital Service Group working with institutional investors. He holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado.
Executive Director
DISTRIBUTION
Camilla Thomas is responsible for marketing and capital raising from institutions and family offices in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. Prior to joining FocusPoint, Ms. Thomas was a Vice President at CAIS, an alternatives investment platform to the wealth management industry. Prior to CAIS, she worked at the Credit Suisse Private Bank in London in their Client Advisory Group from 2010 to 2011 where she was responsible for cross-selling the Private Bank’s products and services to the Investment Bank and their clients. Previously, Ms. Thomas worked as a Junior Investment Advisor at Credit Suisse Private Bank covering High Net Worth finance professionals from 2007 to 2010. She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology, Art History and Theory from The University of Sydney.
Associate Director
DISTRIBUTION
Erica Boyd is responsible for marketing to and raising capital from consultants, prior to which she was a member of the Project Management team. Previously, Ms. Boyd was a Financial Advisor Associate in Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management division where she represented ultra-high net worth families. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Art History from Tufts University.
Director
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Akrati Agarwal is a member of the Project Management team where she is responsible for various deal management activities associated with the group’s mandates including due diligence and preparation of marketing and transaction management materials. Prior to joining FocusPoint, Ms. Agarwal was an Investment Banking Associate in UBS’s Financial Institution Group where she advised clients on various M&A and debt advisory transactions. Previously, Ms. Agarwal was a Consultant at Capgemini in the Capital Markets Group, managing large engagements across multiple geographies. Ms. Agarwal is a Series 79 and 63 registered person with FocusPoint Private Capital Group, which is a member of FINRA and a securities broker-dealer in the United States. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from Duke University.
Associate Director
CAPITAL PLACEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
Sarah Kowarski is on FocusPoint’s Origination, Fundraising, and Distribution team. She takes an active role in pursuing and enhancing relationships as part of our capital placement and distribution team, and is responsible for identifying differentiating mandates with both existing and emerging General Partners. She supports the project management team from a corporate and business development perspective, providing real time updates and feedback from both General and Limited Partners. Sarah is a Series 7 and 63 registered person with FocusPoint Private Capital Group, which is a member of FINRA and a securities broker-dealer in the United States. Prior to FocusPoint, Sarah participated in Guggenheim Securities’ first-ever Capital Markets Associate class, based in New York City, where she started as an Equity Sales Associate and transitioned across asset classes to source bank debt from commercial banks on the Leveraged Loan desk. She holds a bachelor degree in Finance from Virginia Tech.
Associate Director
DISTRIBUTION
Kevin Pizzolo is responsible for marketing and capital raising from RIAs and family offices across the US. Prior to joining FocusPoint, Mr. Pizzolo was a Financial Consultant with AXA where he held his financial advisory practice servicing both individuals and institutions. Mr. Pizzolo currently holds his FINRA Series 7, 63, & 65 licenses and has completed the Certified Financial Planner designation course through Fairleigh Dickinson University. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Fairfield University.
Chief Operating Officer
GENERAL OPERATIONS, COMPLIANCE AND FINANCE
Gaurang Vyas is responsible for enhancing operations, diversifying growth initiatives, and expanding our manager seeding business. Additionally, he acts as a strategic advisory to the firm’s capital placement business. Mr. Vyas is also Chief Operating Officer of our parent company, LANDC Investment, LLC. Prior to joining FocusPoint and LANDC, Mr. Vyas was a Managing Director at Enhanced Capital, a private investment firm. At Enhanced, Mr. Vyas sourced and evaluated investment opportunities in specialty finance with a focus on commercial finance. Prior to joining Enhanced, Mr. Vyas was Co-Chief Investment Officer and Partner at a $1 billion + family office in New York where he was a member of the initial team and played a key role in developing the firm’s investment program across a broad range of asset classes. Mr. Vyas led investments in traditional and alternative assets across credit and equity strategies, co-investment, and directs. Before joining the family office, Mr. Vyas held positions in the financial institutional group at UBS Investment Bank and in software engineering and consulting firms. Mr. Vyas holds a BS in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Chief Financial Officer
GENERAL OPERATIONS, COMPLIANCE AND FINANCE
Paul Szep serves as the FINOP for FocusPoint. With over 20 years of experience in public and private accounting, Mr. Szep has developed specialized skills in Accounting, Tax, and Operations for hedge funds, private equity funds, and broker dealers. Paul is also a FINRA Series 27 FINOP. Prior to joining FocusPoint in 2014, he held accounting manager titles for PEF Services, a private equity administrator, and Rothstein Kass & Co., and audit and administration firm for alternative investment funds. In the private market, he served as the Controller and Chief Financial Officer for a multi-billion dollar NY-based hedge fund from 2004- 2010. He graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Montclair State University.
Assistant Controller
GENERAL OPERATIONS, COMPLIANCE AND FINANCE
Michael Wychozowycz serves as the Assistant Controller for FocusPoint. Prior to joining the FocusPoint in 2014, Mr. Wychozowycz worked as a staff accountant for PEF Services, from 2011 to 2014, where he administered the back office accounting and reporting for multiple private equity clients.
Chief Compliance Officer
GENERAL OPERATIONS, COMPLIANCE AND FINANCE
Louis Mattielli has held senior legal, compliance and administrative positions in several financial services firms over a lengthy career. He holds the Series 7, 10 and 24 FINRA licenses. He is a graduate of Saint Peter's College and New York Law School.
General Counsel
GENERAL OPERATIONS, COMPLIANCE AND FINANCE
Rashi Dhir is a Senior Consultant to FocusPoint. He is a Partner at DMD Advocates where he served as outside counsel to FocusPoint on its management buy-out. From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Dhir was Managing Director and General Counsel at Guggenheim Partners, LLC where he worked with David Conrod. Prior to Guggenheim Partners, LLC, he was Senior Associate at Clifford Chance US LLP and Senior Associate at Clifford Chance (Rogers & Wells). Mr. Dhir graduated from Delhi University where he was valedictorian and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Associate
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Steven Curtis is a member of the Project Management team where he is responsible for deal management activities associated with the group’s mandates including due diligence and preparation of marketing and transaction materials. Prior to joining FocusPoint, Mr. Curtis was an Investment Banking Analyst in Lazard’s Middle Market Group where he advised clients on various M&A transactions. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Drexel University.
Sales Analyst
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Catherina Marku works closely with the Distribution and Project Management team where she provides support with sales data analysis. Prior to joining FocusPoint, Catherina was a Financial Analysis Intern responsible for researching potential investment opportunities based on market and competitor analysis. She holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Fordham University.
