Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Strategist, Permal Group
Isaac R. Souede is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Strategist for the Permal Group. He is also Director of Permal Group Inc, a role he has held since April 1987. He was appointed Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Permal Asset Management Inc. in April 2003, and Director of Permal Group Ltd. in July 2005. Mr. Souede serves as a director of the Steinhardt Fund as well as other funds within the Permal Family of Funds. Mr. Souede holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan (1977) and a B.S. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1973). Mr. Souede was a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Permal Group Inc.
François Becquaert is Executive Vice President, co-Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Permal Group. He was previously the Deputy Director of Sequana Capital (formerly known as Worms & Cie), an industrial and services group listed on the Paris Bourse and the former parent of the Permal Group. Mr. Becquaert joined Worms & Cie in 1996 responsible for corporate development and control of Worms & Cie's investments in the financial sector (Permal Group and Pechel Industries) and the verification/certification sector (Société Générale de Surveillance). Prior to this position, he worked for Demachy Worms Investment Bank where he participated in a number of M&A deals in Europe. Before the Worms Group, Mr. Becquaert was with BNP Paribas in Dublin in its structured finance practice. François Becquaert graduated from the Université Paris Dauphine with a Master in Corporate Finance.
Executive Vice President of Business Development and Investment Advisory, Permal Group Inc.
Richard Cordsen rejoined Permal in 2012 as Executive Vice President of Business Development and Investment Advisory. Previously, Mr. Cordsen was a founding member of Woodbine Capital Advisors, where he was Director of Investor Relations. Before joining Woodbine, Mr. Cordsen spent nine years at Permal as Regional Director (Americas), with responsibility for product distribution. Prior to that he was with Kuwait Projects Company for 16 years as head of their private equity practice. He is a member of the board of Permal Capital Management, LLC, the Permal Group's private equity subsidiary, a position he has held since 1989. Mr. Cordsen holds an MBA from Columbia University (1977) and a B.S. from the University of Colorado (1975).
Senior Executive Vice President & Vice Chairman, Permal Group Inc.
Thomas DeLitto is Senior Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Permal Group, focusing on corporate strategy and policy and is a member of the Group's Executive Committee. He is also Chairman and a Director of Permal Capital Management, LLC, the Permal Group's private equity subsidiary, and has been overseeing Permal's private equity investment activities since October 1990. Prior to being appointed Senior Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman, he was Chief Operating Officer of the Group, responsible for finance, operations, administration, legal and compliance. Before joining the Permal Group in 1990, Mr. DeLitto held a series of positions with Condec Corporation, a defense contractor, including an appointment as Executive Vice President of Operations and General Manager of its Condiesel Mobile Equipment Division. Mr. DeLitto was also Controller of the Avco Lycoming Division of Avco Corporation. Mr. DeLitto is a graduate of Lehigh University.
Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Permal Asset Management Inc.
Javier Dyer is Deputy Chief Investment Officer and the lead Portfolio Manager for Permal Fixed Income Holdings, N.V. and co-portfolio manager for Permal Investment Partners LP and Permal MMF (Lux) Advantage Multi-Strategy Fund. In addition, his responsibilities include quantitative and qualitative due diligence on prospective hedge fund managers, especially those who manage fixed income and credit related strategies. He has been with The Permal Group since 2003. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Dyer was a credit analyst for Atlantic Security Bank (now known as Credicorp Securities Inc.) in Miami where he supervised $300 million in emerging markets and high yield debt securities. Prior to that time, Mr. Dyer was a credit analyst at Banco de Credito del Peru in Lima, Peru. Mr. Dyer holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (2003). He also holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in finance from Universidad de Lima, Peru (1996).
Executive Vice President, Permal Group Inc.
Thomas Evans is Executive Vice President of the Permal Group, responsible for product, marketing and distribution strategy. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Permal Group's emerging markets operations. Prior to joining Permal in 1994, Mr. Evans was Chief Financial Officer and Director of Wolverine Tube Inc, a publicly traded U.S. company, where he served as an outside director from 1996 through early 2005. Mr. Evans was also Chief Financial Officer of Mr. Coffee Inc., held various management positions at Textron Corporation and was an auditor at Arthur Young & Company.
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, Permal Group Inc.
Bruce Gimpel is Executive Vice President, co-Chief Operating Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, principally responsible for the implementation of the strategic objectives of the firm and is involved in the legal, regulatory, operational, product development and distribution activities of the organization. Prior to joining the Permal Group in 1998, Mr. Gimpel was a Senior Tax Manager at Ernst & Young, LLP responsible for developing and servicing clients in the financial services industry. Mr. Gimpel is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York and holds a M.S. degree from the State University of New York at Albany and an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
President and Chairman of the Investment Committee, Permal Asset Management Inc.
James R. Hodge is President of Permal Asset Management Inc. and Chairman of the Investment Committee and is responsible for asset allocation as well as performance monitoring and research and analysis of fund managers. Prior to joining the Permal Group in 1987, Mr. Hodge spent four years with the New York Stock Exchange, holding a number of positions including Director of Cost Accounting. Beforehand he was the Controller of Biolectron, Inc., a privately held medical products company, for four years. Mr. Hodge is a director or alternate director of a number of independent offshore investment funds. Mr. Hodge holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (1979) and a B.S. with highest distinction from Indiana University (1974).
Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President, Permal Asset Management Inc.
Robert Kaplan is an Executive Vice President and the Chief Investment Officer, responsible for ongoing asset allocation, performance monitoring and research and is a member of the Permal Investment Committee. He joined the Permal Group in 1996, focusing on the discovery and identification of independent, investment managers including the analysis of their styles and strategies. Before Permal Group, Mr. Kaplan was an audit manager at Ernst & Young in their financial services division. Mr. Kaplan holds an M.B.A. with honors from Columbia University in New York (2005) and a B.S. in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany (1988). Mr. Kaplan was a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.
President, Permal Group
Omar Kodmani is President of the Permal Group, managing all day-to-day aspects of the business. He was previously Senior Executive Officer, responsible for monitoring Permal's international investment activities as well as asset gathering initiatives. Before joining Permal in 2000, Mr. Kodmani spent seven years with Scudder Investments in London and New York where he developed the firm's international mutual fund business. Prior to Scudder, Mr. Kodmani worked for four years at Equitable Capital (now part of Alliance Bernstein). He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, an MBA in Finance (Beta Gamma Sigma) from New York University Stern School of Business, a BA in Economics from Columbia University and a GC Certificate from the London School of Economics.
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Permal Group Inc., Permal Investment Management Services Limited
Michael McDonough is Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Permal Group Inc. He joined the Permal Group in August 2006 having been one of Permal's external counsel since 2001. From September 1997 to July 2006, Mr. McDonough was a member of the Financial Services Group of Dechert LLP, practicing first in Washington, D.C. and, from March 2000, in their London office. He was elected to the partnership of Dechert in January 2005. Mr. McDonough holds a J.D., with honors, from George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics. He also holds an M.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and a B.A., with honors, in International Studies and German from Bridgewater College in Virginia. Mr. McDonough is admitted to practice before the Courts of Appeals of Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Head of Risk Management, Permal Investment Management Services Limited
Julian Shaw is Head of Risk Management for the Permal Group, responsible for all risk management activities, fund derivative structuring and strategic portfolio advice to Permal clients, especially institutions such as pension funds and asset management companies. He joined the Permal Group from Barclays Capital in 2004 where he was Global Head of Market Risk. Prior to Barclays, Mr. Shaw was the quantitative analyst at Gordon Capital (market makers for Canadian stock index futures and options). He later joined CIBC as Vice President for New Products on the fixed income derivatives desk. Mr. Shaw has a Master's degree in Mathematics and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Executive Vice President, Permal Asset Management Inc.
Judy Tchou is an Executive Vice President and Portfolio Manager and is responsible for interviewing potential and existing money managers and analyzing and monitoring performance of existing fund managers, including performing ongoing due diligence. Ms. Tchou also monitors fund cash flows and oversees the execution of investment transactions. She joined The Permal Group in 1991. Ms. Tchou holds a B.S. in Finance from New York University (1991).
Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Permal Asset Management Inc.
Christopher Zuehlsdorff is Deputy Chief Investment Officer and manages the Permal MMF (Lux) Natural Resources Fund, Legg Mason Permal Global Absolute Fund and Legg Mason Permal Tactical Allocation Fund. He joined The Permal Group as a Senior Financial Analyst in 2003, responsible for discovering and screening both potential and existing investment managers. Prior to that time, Mr. Zuehlsdorff was an IT consultant at Computer Sciences Corporation. Mr. Zuehlsdorff holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Carnegie Mellon University (2003). He also holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Saint Olaf College (1998). He is a CFA Charterholder.
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Business Development, Permal Investment Management Services Limited
Roberto Giuffrida is Head of Global Business Development for Permal Group, responsible for developing and implementing Permal's regional sales strategies, developing new business opportunities and initiating new products to capitalize on business opportunities. Prior to joining Permal in 2000, Mr. Giuffrida was with Scudder-Threadneedle Investments in London where he was in charge of Business Development and Clients Servicing in Southern Europe. Mr. Giuffrida holds a B.A. Summa cum Laude in Economics & Business Administration from the University of Rome, Italy.
Senior Vice President, Regional Director, Head of Retail Distribution - Americas, Permal Group Inc.
Michael Kearns is a Regional Director, responsible for sales, marketing and distributor relationships within Canada, the U.S., Central and South America. Before joining the Permal Group in 2000, he served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing for BNP Paribas, Latin America division. Mr. Kearns also held various sales and product development positions at Merrill Lynch, both in U.S. Retail and International Marketing. He is a licensed registered representative (series 7, 63 and 24) and a graduate of Hofstra University.