Monique Dahler
Worldwide Director for the Financial Services Industry and Head of Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft
Monique Dahler is the Worldwide Director for the Financial Services Industry and Head of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Microsoft. Responsible for innovation strategy, business development, and providing strategic guidance directly to clients, sales teams, and partners globally. Financial Institutions continue to be impacted by business and economic factors while dealing with the consequences of game-changing technologies that are fueling transformation and enabling a wave of innovation to meet new client expectations, improve transparency and create new profitable business models while building sustainable competitive advantage. Working closely with business leaders in financial services to provide cutting edge AI solutions for the always-on customer in a digital world that make the greatest difference and help financial institutions to accelerate their transformation journey to a digital business.
Based in Amsterdam, she has more than 23 years of experience in the financial services industry, where she has held a number of national and international senior management positions with leading financial institutions and technology companies. She has broad consultative selling and marketing expertise as well as substantial knowledge of business operations in banking, capital markets and insurance.
Stephanie Giroux
Regional Managing Director &Team Leader, BNY Mellon Wealth Management
Stephanie Giroux is the Regional Managing Director and Team Leader for Portfolio Wealth Management in BNY Mellon’s White Plains office. In this role, Stephanie is responsible for overseeing and building effective advisory teams, delivering high-touch, customized client solutions and growing BNY Mellon’s wealth management business in the Tri-State region.
Stephanie brings over 25 years of wealth management experience, most recently as a Regional Investment Manager and Senior Investment Strategist at Wells Fargo Private Bank. In that capacity, she was responsible for growing the Investment and Fiduciary business in New York and New England and advising some of the bank’s most complex clients. Previously, Stephanie held leadership positions as the Head of Investments for Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, as Chief Investment Strategist for TD Ameritrade and as Director of Research for US Trust Company.
Stephanie earned her undergraduate degree from Tufts University, holds the CFA designation and is a member of the CFA Institute, the New York Society of Securities Analysts and the Stamford CFA Society. Stephanie, her husband Leigh, and their three daughters live in Rye, New York.
Lisa Huang
Director of Quantitative Investing, Betterment
Lisa Huang, Ph.D., is the Director of Quantitative Investing at Betterment. In her role at Betterment, she heads a team responsible for portfolio optimization, investment fund selection, risk modeling and trading strategies design. She holds a degree in mathematics and biochemistry from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Harvard University. Prior to Betterment, Dr. Huang was a quantitative strategist at Goldman Sachs, leading research collaborations and building models for fixed income strategies.
Christopher Lengle
Chief Strategy Officer, Invessence, Inc.
Christopher Lengle is the Chief Strategy Officer of wealth management technology provider Invessence. His firm has designed, developed, and successfully launched robo-advisor platforms for RIAs and Broker-Dealers in the U.S. As the CSO, Chris sets the strategic vision, builds the company’s partnerships, and leads the sales & marketing team. Chris has over 15 years of experience in leading the strategic launch of investment products, transforming the sales approach, and generating long term value for global financial firms. He started his career at Merrill Lynch, responsible for the sales & marketing of structured products to financial advisors. He has held senior sales positions as the Regional Vice President at Advisors Asset Management and Associate Director for trading technology firm Aritas Group. A Greenwich resident, Chris earned both a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University.
Nalika Nanayakkara
Partner / Principal, Financial Services Advisory, Ernst & Young
Nalika is a Partner / Principal that leads EY’s Wealth and Asset Management business consulting practice in the US.
Over the last 15+ years, Nalika has worked extensively with many of the top 10 global Wealth and Asset Management firms, leading a broad array of programs ranging from strategy to execution focused on growth, efficiency and innovation. Nalika’s areas of expertise include client acquisition and retention, financial advisor growth and productivity and digital platforms. Nalika is a frequent speaker on topics such as WM growth agenda, digital disruption and operational improvements.
Nalika has an MBA from Columbia Business School. Nalika also sits on the board of Fortune Society whose mission is to support successful reentry from incarceration and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.
Mac Sykes
Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager, Gabelli & Company
Mac Sykes is a Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Gabelli & Company. He was previously ranked #1 in Investment Services, by the Wall Street Journal’s, “Best on the Street Analyst Survey,” and a runner-up in the annual StarMine analyst awards for stock picking. Macrae began his business career as an institutional trader at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/CSFB. Just prior to joining Gabelli, Macrae was a partner in a seeder platform for emerging hedge funds.
He graduated from Hamilton College with a B.A. in Economics and received an M.B.A in Finance from Columbia Business School. Macrae has appeared on CNBC television and Bloomberg radio and has been quoted extensively in publications including Barron’s, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Pensions & Investments, Value Investor and the Wall Street Transcript.
