Leadership
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Christopher Laing, CFA, Senior Managing Director Toggler
Chris serves as CIO and Portfolio Manager for a subset of CornerStone's clients and is a member of the Investment Committee, Risk Committee and the firm's Management Committee. He has over 20 years of global investment and portfolio management experience. Prior to joining CornerStone Partners in 2008, he worked with Lloyd George Management in Hong Kong as a senior manager of Asian equity portfolios. Before working for Lloyd George, he was a senior portfolio manager in the Global Asset Management Division of INVESCO, where he served on the investment team that managed global developed and developing equity markets. Chris was one of six portfolio managers who oversaw all investment recommendations and trading execution, and established asset allocation and individual security weightings for INVESCO’s global equity portfolios. He was also an equity portfolio manager and analyst in the firm’s US Institutional Group. Chris serves on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Greater Charlottesville and is a member and former Chairperson of its endowment committee. Chris graduated from the University of Virginia and is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Virginia.
David Russell, Senior Managing Director Toggler
David serves as CIO and Portfolio Manager for a subset of CornerStone's clients, Co-Head of the Private Investments Team, and is a member of the Investment Committee, Risk Committee and the firm's Management Committee. Before joining CornerStone Partners, David served as a Managing Director of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), which manages the University’s globally diversified endowment portfolio. As a member of the Investment Committee, David oversaw asset allocation, risk management and manager selection across all asset classes. Prior to UVIMCO, he worked for Forest City Enterprises, a national real estate developer, and as a member of the Acquisitions team at Starwood Capital Group, a global private investment firm. He also worked in private equity for UBS Capital Asia Pacific in Hong Kong, and in mergers and acquisitions for J.P. Morgan. David has served on the Board of Directors for ReadyKids, a nonprofit organization in Charlottesville, Virginia. David earned an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Kevin Schuyler, CFA, Senior Managing Director Toggler
Kevin serves as CIO and Portfolio Manager for a sub-set of CornerStone clients. Kevin currently serves on CornerStone’s Investment Committee, Risk Committee, and the firm’s Management Committee. His prior roles at CornerStone included responsibilities in risk management and investment manager research. Before joining CornerStone Partners in 2006, he was the chief investment officer at The Nature Conservancy, the world's largest not-for-profit conservation organization. Kevin began his professional career working at the Chicago Board of Trade with Louis Dreyfus Corporation and later was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. Kevin serves on the Investment Committee of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies and is on the Board of Directors for The U.S. Endowment for Forests & Communities and The Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture. A member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Washington DC, Kevin graduated with honors from Harvard College and received an MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.
Shane Galie, CFA, Managing Director Toggler
Shane serves as Co-Head of the Public Investments Team and is a member of the Investment Committee and the firm's Management Committee. He has over 15 years of experience in sourcing, due diligence, and allocating to traditional and alternative investment managers. Shane joined CornerStone Partners after serving the Dartmouth College Investment Office as a senior investment analyst. He also worked at the University of Virginia Investment Management Company for several years, analyzing hedge fund and long-only public equity manager exposures and performance attributes, calculating and monitoring valuations of private equity and real asset investments, and conducting due diligence on prospective managers. He has an advisory, non-voting role on James Madison University Foundation’s Investment Committee, is co-chair of the Next Wave Sohn Hong Kong conference, and is a member of the CFA Institute. Shane was University Valedictorian and graduated summa cum laude from James Madison University.
Pete Knerr, Managing Director Toggler
Pete serves as Co-Head of the Public Investments Team and is a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining CornerStone Partners, Pete worked in Equity Research for RBC Capital Markets, where he primarily covered oilfield service companies, along with master-limited partnerships and royalty trusts. Pete also previously worked for Ernst & Young, LLP, where he was responsible for planning and producing financial audits for asset management clients, such as hedge funds and private equity groups. Pete earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Accounting from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
Jerry Polk, CAIA, Managing Director Toggler
Jerry serves as Co-Head of the Private Investments Team and is a member of the Investment Committee. He has over 18 years of experience working with institutional investment portfolios. Prior to joining CornerStone Partners, Jerry served as a Director in the Office of Investments at The Ohio State University, which is responsible for managing the University's endowment. He was primarily responsible for managing the illiquid investment portfolio including private equity, natural resources, real estate and private credit, and was also involved in formulating global investment strategy, portfolio construction, and manager selection across all asset classes. Before Ohio State, Jerry was the Director of Private Investments at Southern Methodist University, and was an Investment Officer at the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System. He served on the Finance Committee for The 2nd & 7 Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Columbus, OH with a mission to promote reading and literacy by providing free books to kids. Jerry earned a BS and an MBA from Louisiana State University and holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation.
Laura Roller, Managing Director Toggler
Laura is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Private Investments Team, and she serves on our Investment Committee. Laura joined CornerStone in 2018 after five years at Investure, an OCIO managing assets on behalf of endowments and foundations. There she was a member of the investment team, evaluating both public market and private market investment opportunities. Prior to that, she worked for the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), which manages the University’s globally diversified endowment portfolio. Laura serves on the Board of ReadyKids, a nonprofit that supports kids and families in the Charlottesville area with counseling, family support, and early learning opportunities. Laura has a BS from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce.
Peter Harbilas, CFA, Managing Director Toggler
Peter is a Managing Director and member of the Investment Committee and serves as Co-Head of the Portfolio Management Team. Peter serves on the Board of Directors for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and is Chair of the Investment Committee. He also served as co-Chair for his 10th reunion from Washington and Lee. Peter is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Virginia and joined CornerStone upon graduation from Washington and Lee University where he received a BA in mathematics and economics, magna cum laude.
Carrie Davis, CPA/ABV/CFF, Managing Director, Investment Operations Toggler
As Co-Head of the Operations Team, Carrie serves clients in the areas of performance reporting, portfolio administration, and audit and tax support. Carrie worked for a large regional accounting firm in investor/performance reporting, accounting, auditing, and taxation for seven years before joining CornerStone in 2013. Her responsibilities included financial recording and analysis for investment funds and providing valuation services for financial entities. She received the Virginia Business Magazine’s Super CPA – Young CPA award and maintains Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) certifications. She has served on the board of the Bethany Early Childhood Education Center and as President of the PTO at Hugh K. Cassell Elementary. Carrie earned BS and MS degrees in Commerce and Accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
Kristin Henningsen, CPA/ABV/CFF, CIPM®, Managing Director, Investment Operations Toggler
Kristin serves CornerStone’s clients primarily in the areas of performance reporting, portfolio administration, and audit and tax support. Prior to joining the firm in 2011, Kristin was in public accounting for over a decade and was responsible for financial statement audits and accounting, tax compliance, and consulting for clients including investment companies and not-for-profit entities. Before public accounting, she was a senior accountant in the real estate division of PaineWebber, working in fund accounting, tax compliance, and SEC reporting. Kristin is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) through the AICPA. Her expertise in business valuations and litigation support led to her professional recognition as a “Super CPA” for eight years from Virginia Business magazine. She holds the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement™ (CIPM) designation through the CFA Institute® and is a member of the CFA Society of Virginia. Currently a Governing Board Member and on the Executive and Investment Committees of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, she is also a Board Member of the UVA School of Education and Human Development. She was Chair and Board Member of the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority for many years, past Treasurer of Service Dogs of Virginia, is a graduate of Leadership Charlottesville, and a former member of the Central Virginia Estate Planning Council. Kristin earned a BS in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
Maria Rolph, Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer Toggler
Maria leads the firm's regulatory compliance program with respect to its status as an SEC-registered investment adviser, oversees corporate finances, and directs information technology and cyber security initiatives. Before joining CornerStone Partners in 2002, Maria served on active duty in military intelligence as a cryptologic linguist and analyst for the U.S. Air Force and lived and traveled extensively overseas. A graduate of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence's Board Academy, she served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Wildrock, a nonprofit organization in Albemarle County, Virginia, and was Chair of the Friends of Piedmont CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for several years. Maria maintained the Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional® designation and graduated with honors from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California.