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Karen Barr
President and CEO, Investment Adviser Association
Karen is president and chief executive officer of the IAA. Before assuming the role of president and CEO in 2014, she served as the IAA’s general counsel for 17 years, with responsibility for the wide range of legal and regulatory matters affecting the investment adviser industry. Prior to joining the IAA, Barr was in private practice at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale), where she represented clients in SEC investigations, securities class action litigation, internal corporate investigations, and securities regulatory matters. She received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Jillien Flores
Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Head of Global Government Affairs, Managed Funds Association
Jillien Flores serves as Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Head of Global Government Affairs at MFA. Jillien Flores leads MFA’s Global Government Affairs. In this role, she develops and executes MFA’s advocacy strategies to advance the ability of alternative asset managers to raise capital, invest, and generate returns for their beneficiaries. Flores’ deep understanding of the industry, strong relationships with policymakers, and keen political instincts have delivered positive results for the industry and its investors, like pensions, foundations, and endowments. Since joining MFA in 2021, Flores has created a more favorable public policy environment for alternative asset managers in the U.S., U.K., and E.U. In the U.S., Flores informs policymakers and their staff about the industry’s significant contributions to local communities and the global economy and push back against proposals that would harm managers, investors, and everyday Americans. Abroad, she spearheaded MFA’s expansion in Brussels to push back against harmful EU rules and in London to shape the future of the U.K.’s capital markets post-Brexit. Flores joined MFA after six years at Vanguard, one of the world’s leading asset managers. There, she advocated on a range of issues related to US capital markets, tax, and retirement policy. In leadership roles at Vanguard, Flores advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization and the financial services sector. Prior to joining Vanguard, Flores represented clients before Congress and federal financial regulators as a Director of Government Relations at Porterfield, Lowenthal, Fettig & Sears. She was involved in the legislative and rule-writing process for several financial services laws and regulations, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act.
Jacqueline Mesa
Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Global Policy, Futures Industry Association
Jacqueline Mesa joined the FIA in June 2013 to lead the FIA’s global policy work. In 2019, Mesa was appointed Chief Operating Officer at FIA. As COO, Mesa advises the CEO on all strategy, policies and operations of FIA and serves as a liaison with the FIA Board. In her role as SVP, Global Policy, Mesa is responsible for helping develop, implement and manage FIA’s global regulatory, government relations and policy agenda. Mesa works with the FIA policy teams in the US, Europe and Asia to implement consistent global policy positions for members worldwide and works with regulators and policy-makers on cross-border policies that impact members. Mesa also leads FIA’s work on capital requirements for cleared derivatives and clearinghouse risk. Prior to joining FIA, Mesa served in various positions at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including as Director of International Affairs from 2006-2013. As director, she was the principal advisor to the Commission on international policy. She also represented the CFTC in international groups, such as the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and in bilateral fora, such as the US-EU Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue (FMRD) and the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. Mesa served as IOSCO’s Chair for the Committee 7 on Commodity Derivatives Regulation and IOSCO’s Chair for the Monitoring Group for the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Consultation and Cooperation and the Exchange of Information. Mesa is a board member of Women in Derivatives. She holds a J.D. degree and is a member of the Bar in Washington, DC and Missouri.
Cheryl Isaac
Partner, K&L Gates LLP
Cheryl Isaac is a partner and a member of the Asset Management and Investment Funds practice, where she concentrates on derivatives and commodities law. Cheryl advises a broad range of derivatives market participants – energy and commodity traders, financial institutions, brokers, asset managers, and derivatives exchanges, among others – on legal and regulatory matters under the Commodity Exchange Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and related US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA) rules and regulations. She works with clients to apply for registration with the CFTC and NFA, or to determine if there are any applicable exemptions from registration. She also advises clients on security-based swaps and applicable US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. In addition to traditional finance, she also counsels derivatives and commodities market participants on a variety of emerging asset classes with evolving regulatory frameworks, including digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and voluntary carbon credits. Cheryl has significant experience negotiating bespoke derivatives transactions in a variety of asset classes (interest rates, FX, digital assets, and commodities), including ISDA Master Agreements and related documentation. Prior to joining the firm, Cheryl practiced law at other US and international law firms, where she represented clients in a variety of complex financial transactions, including interest rate swaps and other derivatives products, venture debt financings, digital asset transactions, and also advised on compliance with related derivatives laws and regulations.
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