Alex Lesch
Partner, Operational Due Diligence & Portfolio Monitoring, Adams Street Partners
Alex is a partner at Adams Street, a private markets investment advisor and leads the operational due diligence and portfolio monitoring efforts across the firm’s investment strategies. She structures and routinely enhances the firm’s approach to pre- and post-investment operational risk review. Prior to joining Adams Street, Alex was an audit team leader in the Treasury and Investment Management area of Northern Trust. Prior to Northern Trust, she worked at KPMG LLP as a senior associate performing audits and regulatory reporting with the Assurance and Business Advisory Services practice. She also worked in the State and Local Tax practice, conducting research and supporting client projects related to tax products and services. Alex is a member of Adams Street’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee. She received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from DePaul University and her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. Alex speaks fluent Spanish.
Christopher Sandberg CPA
Principal, Finance, Grosvenor Capital Management
Mr. Sandberg is a member of the Operational Due Diligence Team. Mr. Sandberg is responsible for operational due diligence matters, including the operational and internal controls review and ongoing operational monitoring of investment managers. Prior to joining GCM Grosvenor, Mr. Sandberg spent eleven years in public accounting with a focus on auditing public and private companies in the financial services industry. Previously, he worked at Ernst & Young, L.L.P., most recently as Senior Manager, with extensive experience in the asset management industry and two years’ experience in the hedge fund practice of the Cayman Islands office. Mr. Sandberg began his career at Arthur Andersen, L.L.P. He graduated from Trinity International University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Kristin Staffeldt
Senior Portfolio Analyst – Real Assets, University of Chicago, Office of Investments
Kristin is a senior portfolio analyst with the University of Chicago Office of Investments. Her responsibilities include researching the real estate and natural resources investment universe, conducting due diligence on fund managers, and analyzing the construction, performance, and risk level within the real assets portfolio. Prior to joining the Office of Investments in 2015, Kristin worked as an analyst in the real estate investments department at Northwestern Mutual and in the sustainability group at Transwestern. Kristin earned her BBA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in real estate and urban land economics and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business.
Deborah Hill
Senior Product Manager, Morningstar Inc.
A Chicago native who enjoys non-technical climbing and blues music, Deborah helps stakeholders design and develop software supporting investment advisors. Currently, she works at Morningstar as a Senior Product Manager. Previously, she had executive and board positions with several FinTech firms. Deborah holds a BA in Economic Theory, an MBA and is a CAIA Level 2 candidate.
