
Paul E. Viera
CEO & Founding Partner
Paul E. Viera is the Chief Executive Officer and founding partner of EARNEST Partners, a global investment management firm advising on more than $50 billion in assets for a diverse range of clients. He is the architect of Return Pattern Recognition®, the firm's proprietary investment methodology. Mr. Viera's prior experience includes serving as Vice President at Bankers Trust in New York and London, and as a Global Partner at Invesco. He currently serves on several corporate, academic, and nonprofit boards, contributing to initiatives in economic policy, sports, education, and the arts.
MBA - Harvard Business School
BA in Economics - University of Michigan
Board Member and Minority Owner, San Antonio Spurs
Board Director, Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)
Board of Dean's Advisors for Harvard Business School,
Board of Directors for the University of Michigan Alumni Association,
External Advisory Board for the University of Michigan School of Information,
Member, Council on Foreign Relations
Patmon Malcom, CFA
Partner
Mr. Malcom leads Product Management. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked for J.P. Morgan Chase in New York. He was a member of the Global Investment Bank providing corporate finance coverage to natural resource companies. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds an MBA from Emory University, where he was a Donald Keough Scholar. Mr. Malcom led the Varsity Football team at West Point in scoring for three consecutive years. In his senior year, he was named the "Chevrolet Player of the Game" in the annual Army-Navy game. He also served as a helicopter pilot in the United States Army for more than seven years, an experience that included commanding a Blackhawk Helicopter Company along the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Mr. Malcom is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta.
MBA - Emory University
BS - United States Military Academy at West Point
Member, CFA charterholder
Member, CFA Society Atlanta
Former Blackhawk helicopter commander
Chris Hovis, CFA
Partner
Mr. Hovis co-heads the equity investment team. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he served as a Senior Analyst with Morgan Keegan where he was an analyst in US Software. His extensive background also includes experience in the information technology industry as well as in Equity Research with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and CQ Partners. Previously, he was VP of Marketing and Business Development at Lancope, and a senior software engineer at Intel and Alliance Semiconductor.
MBA - The Wharton School of Business; BS in Electrical Engineering - Georgia Tech; BS in Physics - Centre College
CFA charterholder
Dinkar Singh, Ph.D.
Partner
Dr. Singh co-heads the equity investment team. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked at the IBM Watson Research Center in the Silicon Technology group. Leading a team of Ph.D.s/engineers, he helped develop semiconductor technology for next-generation electronic chips, resulting in the first demonstration of an advanced memory and world record chip speed and was awarded five U.S. patents with four additional patent applications pending.
MBA - University of Chicago; Ph.D. in Applied Physics - Stanford University; B.Tech. - Indian Institute of Technology
Five U.S. patents
Fluent in Hindi
Leticia Lazaridis
Partner
Ms. Lazaridis leads Client & Business Insights, steering firmwide strategic initiatives. With 20+ years in investments, data analytics, and consulting, she leverages advanced technologies to streamline operations, enhance client service, and develop innovative investment solutions.
Ms. Lazaridis is a former member of EARNEST Partners’ investment team. She also served as COO of a data analytics company, where she launched AI-driven investment tools. Earlier, she founded a healthcare enterprise that evolved from an analytics platform to a multi-service provider. Her thought leadership is highlighted by a published chapter on value-based payment models for Brazil's National Health Agency.
Ms. Lazaridis holds an MBA from The Wharton School, where she received the Fundação Estudar Scholarship and Kaiser Grant. Outside of work, she is active on the board of the Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association, mentors emerging leaders, and enjoys golfing in her downtime.
MBA - The Wharton School
Master of Business Science in Information Technology - Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Board member, Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association
Carsten Fiege
Chief Operating Officer, Partner
Mr. Fiege is the Chief Operating Officer at EARNEST Partners. With nearly twenty years in financial services, he has managed fund distribution, negotiated client agreements, advised on corporate governance, designed systems, and overseen regulatory issues across multiple jurisdictions. Earlier in his career he served as senior counsel at William Blair & Company and as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb in New York. He also sat on the board of an Irish UCITS fund and is fluent in German.
LL.M. - University of Chicago Law School;
JD - University of Konstanz Law School
Fluent in German
Former board member of an Irish UCITS fund
Chris Fitze, CFA
Partner
Mr. Fitze is the head of the fixed income investment team at EARNEST Partners. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Economics from Emory University, where he was an Academic All-American golfer and a member of the International Economics Honor Society. His graduate studies concentrated on the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on interest rates along with other areas of finance and economics. He is also a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta.
MBA - University of Chicago Booth School of Business; BA in Economics - Emory University
Academic All-American golfer
CFA charterholder
Trey Greer, CFA, CPA
Partner
Mr. Greer is a member of the investment team with more than twenty years of experience that began in public accounting and later included Investment Manager roles for AMVESCAP in London, Houston, and Atlanta. He is active in the CFA Society Atlanta and the AICPA.
MBA - Emory University
Master of Accounting - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
BS in Business Administration - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Member, CFA Institute
Member, CFA Society Atlanta
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Becky Do
Chief of Staff, Partner
Ms. Do is the Chief of Staff at EARNEST Partners. She brings over three decades of experience in the financial sector, having started her career as an equity analyst at the Retirement Systems of Alabama. She later joined a global investment management firm, where she held senior responsibilities across research, trading, and portfolio management. At EARNEST Partners, Ms. Do oversees internal operations, aligning people and processes to support the firm's strategic objectives.
MBA in Finance, Auburn University
Member, The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
Member, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Sunna Choi
General Counsel, Partner
Ms. Choi is the General Counsel at EARNEST Partners. She is responsible for the legal affairs of EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Ms. Choi was a senior vice president and associate general counsel at Pathway Capital Management, LP, where she was responsible for various legal and compliance issues on behalf of Pathway and its investors, including structuring and negotiating fund formations, direct credit investments and other private equity investment transactions. Previously, Ms. Choi was a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, LLP and practiced at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. She also practiced at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, focusing on finance, corporate and capital markets transactions. Ms. Choi received a JD from Vanderbilt Law School, an MBA from the University of Southern California, and a BA in Sociology from Yonsei University in South Korea. Ms. Choi is fluent in Korean.
MBA - University of Southern California
JD - Vanderbilt Law School
BA - Yonsei University
Fluent in Korean
James "Jay" M. Wilson, CFA, CIPM, CPA, CSCP
Director, Chief Compliance Officer
Mr. Wilson is the Chief Compliance Officer at EARNEST Partners. He has over twenty years of financial experience. He began his career working for KPMG Peat Marwick (KPMG) in its Tax Practice. He then joined Deposit Guaranty National Bank (Regions) as a credit analyst and he later joined the Bank’s Asset Management Group, where his responsibilities included the accounting, valuation, and reporting of fixed income and derivative portfolios. He holds a BS in Accounting from Belhaven College and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the National Society of Compliance Professionals.
BS - Belhaven College
Holds CFA, CIPM, CPA, and CSCP designations
Pavel Sokolov, Ph.D., CFA
Director
Dr. Sokolov is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he specialized in interest rate risk modeling, credit research, liability modeling, and evaluation of new bond issues for various financial institutions. His experience also includes an analyst role where he evaluated balance sheet strength, cash flow generation, return on invested capital and other metrics on corporate entities for trading strategies at a broker-dealer firm. Most recently, he was a managing director, risk officer and portfolio manager at a global tactical asset allocation firm. He is a former winner of the Russian regional Olympiads in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Mr. Sokolov completed his undergraduate studies in Russia, holds an MBA in Finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Business, and a Doctorate in Engineering from Cleveland State University. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta. Dr. Sokolov is fluent in Russian.
Ph.D. in Engineering - Cleveland State University
MBA - UCLA Anderson School of Business
Fluent in Russian
Member, CFA Institute
Member, CFA Society Atlanta
Richard Burgess, CFA
Director
Mr. Burgess is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Mr. Burgess served as an Artillery Officer in the United States Army, with duties ranging from tactical planning for combat operations to intelligence gathering and dissemination. His military experience includes a combat tour in Iraq, during which he earned the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. A graduate of the Army Ranger School, he also commanded a stateside detachment, where he was responsible for logistical planning and support for a deployed 900-person infantry battalion, as well as for training 200+ soldiers in battlefield survival skills. He holds a BS in Engineering Physics from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was ranked in the top 3% of cadets in terms of academic standing and was awarded the Lieutenant General Leslie R. Groves Memorial Award for the highest overall achievement in Nuclear Physics. Mr. Burgess also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta.
MBA - Harvard Business School
BS in Engineering Physics - United States Military Academy at West Point
Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service
Member, CFA Institute
Member, CFA Society Atlanta
Yugeng Sun, CFA
Director
Mr. Sun is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. He is an honor graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Financial Mathematics and Economics. During his tenure at the University of Michigan he worked with two asset management firms with duties including the use of statistical methods such as multi-factor linear regression and Monte Carlo simulations to identify and understand the drivers of mutual fund performance. Mr. Sun has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he serves as a Booth Ambassador and a member of the Admission Committee. Mr. Sun is fluent in Mandarin. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta.
MBA - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BS in Financial Mathematics and Economics - University of Michigan
Fluent in Mandarin;
Member, CFA Institute
Jeffrey Jackson
Director
Mr. Jackson is a member of the product management team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked for the global investment bank, Evercore, in New York where he helped lead their Real Estate advisory practice as a Managing Director. His extensive background also includes experience in acquisitions, development and debt restructuring within Real Estate. He is a graduate of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth where he holds an MBA and was a Consortium Fellow and he holds a BS in Finance from Hampton University where he was a Presidential Scholar. Mr. Jackson was a member of the SEO Career Program and later served as a member of the SEO Junior Leadership Board. Mr. Jackson is a former collegiate basketball player and maintains an active lifestyle with his passion for cycling.
MBA - Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
BS in Finance - Hampton University
Former board member, SEO Junior Leadership
Thomas Venezia, CFA
Director
Mr. Venezia is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners he was a professional in energy trading, risk management and business valuation advisory. His responsibilities included financial statement analysis, financial risk modeling, portfolio risk monitoring, derivative valuation, and the development of hedging strategies. He holds an MBA from Emory University and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of South Carolina. He is a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals, having completed the first of two sections of the Financial Risk Manager examination. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta.
MBA - Emory University;
BS - University of South Carolina
Member, CFA Institute
Marcia Abbott
Director
Ms. Abbott is a member of the client results team at EARNEST Partners. She holds a BS in Business Administration from Mississippi College and has over eleven years of financial industry experience. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, she was an Assistant Vice President and Trust Officer for Trustmark National Bank. She later joined an investment management and consulting firm as an Operations Manager. She also taught English as a foreign language in Stuttgart, Germany.
BS - Mississippi College
Ralph Saturné
Associate Director
Mr. Saturné is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. He holds an MBA from Babson College’s Olin Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science from Babson College. He has extensive experience across a wide breadth of structured products that include explicit and implicit government-guaranteed, commercial mortgage-backed, and asset-backed securities. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Mr. Saturné spent nearly a decade on the investment team at Income Research and Management, and prior to that, Mr. Saturné spent several years at US Bank’s Corporate Trust division covering primarily non-agency residential mortgages. Mr. Saturné is fluent in English and French.
MBA - Babson College
BS - Babson College
Fluent in French
Michael Auzenne
Associate Director
Mr. Auzenne is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Mr. Auzenne was a Senior Director of Brand Insights and Analytics for Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) and Baskin Robbins (BR). In this role, he managed stakeholder relationships and led the analysis of internal and external data to generate insights for improving business performance. In 2021, he was named one of the 28 Young Restaurant Leaders to Watch by QSR Magazine. Previously, Mr. Auzenne worked for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). on consulting engagements. Mr. Auzenne was also an Investment Banker in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. Mr. Auzenne holds a BA in Mathematical Economics from Colgate University where he played on the varsity football team. He also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. In his spare time, Mr. Auzenne enjoys running and non-profit work, including PowerUP, an organization he co-founded to serve at-risk Atlanta youth, and Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS).
MBA - Harvard Business School
BA in Mathematical Economics - Colgate University
Named 2021 Young Restaurant Leader to Watch
Haley Moskal, CFA
Associate Director
Ms. Moskal is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Her responsibilities include continuing research on government, municipal, mortgage and corporate issuers, including relevant ESG updates. Ms. Moskal brings experience using R for statistical analysis to the team with potential portfolio applications. She graduated magna cum laude from Wake Forest University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Honors and a minor in Statistics. She is also listed as a co-author on a published psychological study related to her senior thesis. Ms. Moskal is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Atlanta.
BA in Psychology - Wake Forest University
Member, CFA Institute
Damaris P. Hodge
Associate Director
Ms. Hodge is a member of the compliance team at EARNEST Partners. Her responsibilities include investment guidelines maintenance and compliance, code of ethics administration and compliance, regulatory reporting and client reporting. She holds a BS from Duke University and has ten years of experience with wrap asset management. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, she was an Assistant Manager of Investment Operations for a global money management company.
BS - Duke University
Derek Tubbs
Associate Director
Mr. Tubbs is a member of the product management team at EARNEST Partners. He has extensive experience in the institutional financial services industry serving in institutional business development and client service roles with both institutional “buy-side” asset managers and “sell-side” investment banks. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked for an Atlanta based boutique asset manager to build the firm’s institutional business as a senior relationship manager and product specialist. Early in Mr. Tubbs’s career, he worked on the sell-side for both CIBC and Prudential with increasing responsibilities and management roles covering institutional managers of all types. Mr. Tubbs received his MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University before starting his career in investments and earned his undergraduate degree with honors from Texas A&M. In his spare time, he enjoys trail running, backpacking and cooking.
MBA - Indiana University Kelley School
BS - Texas A&M University
Nadia Barnes
Associate Director
Ms. Barnes is a member of the client results team at EARNEST Partners. Having begun her career as a mutual fund specialist with Deposit Guaranty National Bank and later joining Right Management Consultants as a Client Service Associate, she has more than 15 years of industry experience. She holds an Associates of Arts degree from Hinds Community College and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Belhaven College.
BA in Business Administration - Belhaven College
AA - Hinds Community College
Phyllis (Xinxuan) Guo
Associate Director
Ms. Guo is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. She is responsible for conducting market research and analysis, executing trades and implementing strategies to optimize fixed income portfolios. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Ms. Guo was a mortgage trading analyst at Goldman Sachs where she worked on U.S. residential whole loan bids by providing loan pricing and analytics to the mortgage trading desk. She was also involved in monthly Agency CMO issuance structuring and deal management. Ms. Guo holds a BS in Quantitative Sciences with high honors from Emory University. She is fluent in Mandarin. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and playing tennis.
BS in Quantitative Sciences, Emory University, with High Honors
Fluent in Mandarin
Christopher Lee, Ph.D.
Investment Management
Dr. Lee is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he was a Scientific Strategy Analyst at CytoAgents, a clinical-stage biotechnology company that has leading pharmaceutical products in clinical trials for treatment of “cytokine storm” associated with COVID-19 and oncology CAR-T cell therapy. In that role, Dr. Lee led executive discussions of scientific strategy, analyzed market opportunities, developed value propositions for treating candidate diseases, and helped raise capital to fund pre-clinical and Phase I trials. Prior to that, Dr. Lee worked as a consultant advising the CDC, where he developed protocols for automated high-throughput neutralization assay for its Viral Vaccine-Preventable Branch.
Dr. Lee holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Pittsburgh, where he co-authored multiple scientific publications, developed programs to computationally analyze RNA sequencing and imaging datasets; designed and established scientific procedures and spearheaded collaborative projects with the Baylor School of Medicine, Cornell University, and the Spanish National Center for Biotechnology. Dr. Lee also holds a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Georgia. He speaks fluent Korean and enjoys cycling, cooking, fantasy football and piano in his spare time.
Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology - University of Pittsburgh
BS in Microbiology - University of Georgia
Fluent in Korean
Eric Peterson
Investment Management
Eric is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Eric was a Director of Treasury & Capital Management at Santander, where he led capital forecasting and capital stress testing and conducted strategic analysis. He also oversaw financial modeling for the firm’s securitizations and led the analysis for the firm’s capital allocation and balance sheet optimization strategies. Eric previously held roles in Capital Planning, Finance and Accounting, and Financial Analysis, at Santander, and spent time with the Global Internal Control team in Madrid.
Eric holds a BS in Business Management from Babson College where he was a member of the lacrosse team, earning all-conference honors. He also holds an MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Business. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, running, skiing, and traveling with family. He is also a music fan and plays the electric guitar.
MBA - Boston University Questrom School of Business
BS in Business Management - Babson College
Former collegiate lacrosse athlete
Naomi Lynch
Investment Management
Ms. Lynch is a member of the investment team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, she worked at Nike as a strategist within the Footwear and Apparel Innovation team where she guided the development and launch of several footwear and apparel products. Previously, Ms. Lynch worked at the ticketing platform Eventbrite where she leveraged analytics to generate customer acquisition and retention insights. She also served as a technology consultant at Accenture and technology innovation researcher within the Accenture Labs. Ms. Lynch holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as a MS in mechanical engineering and a BS in aerospace engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, Ms. Lynch enjoys weight lifting and live music.
MBA - Harvard Business School
MS in Mechanical Engineering - MIT
BS in Aerospace Engineering - MIT
Ben Surasky
Client & Business Insights
Mr. Surasky is a member of the client & business insights team. He holds dual BBA degrees in Economics and Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia. Mr. Surasky is experienced in data analytics and visualization. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he gained experience as part of a deal advisory team, focusing on industry-specific insights using custom workflows, databases, and procedures. Outside of work, he enjoys playing music, mainly the guitar, traveling, and playing golf.
BBA in Economics;
BBA in Management Information Systems - University of Georgia
Hunter Straus, CFA, CIPM
Client & Business Insights
Mr. Straus is a member of the product management team at EARNEST Partners. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin where he majored in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Mr. Straus also holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, with a focus in finance. Mr. Straus started his career at a software company that provided meteorological solutions for on-air weather reporting. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked as an equity analyst conducting research on initial public offerings, bankruptcy reorganizations and equity spin-offs. Mr. Straus is an avid runner.
MBA - University of Pittsburgh
BS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences - University of Wisconsin
Member, CFA Institute
Member, CFA Society Atlanta
Rafaela Bastos-Costa
Client & Business Insights
Ms. Bastos-Costa is a member of the client & business insights team. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, she developed data pipelines to streamline workflows across organizations. She played a key role in the design and implementation of data warehouses and ETL pipelines. Ms. Bastos-Costa holds a Bachelor of Science in Computational Sciences with concentrations in Data Sciences & Statistics and Contemporary Knowledge Discovery from Minerva University.
BA in Computer Science
Fluent in Portuguese
Minjeong Seoks
Client & Business Insights
Ms. Seok is a member of the client & business insights team. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, she worked at Kraft Heinz on the People Zero-Based Budgeting and Analytics team, where she led the People Analytics function. In this role, she designed and implemented Power BI dashboards to deliver actionable insights for business leaders. Ms. Seok graduated summa cum laude from Emory University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics. She also earned a Master of Analytical Finance degree from Emory University's Goizueta Business School. She is fluent in Korean and enjoys reading, baking, and knitting in her spare time.
Master of Analytical Finance (MAF) – Emory University, Goizueta Business School
BA in Economics & Mathematics – Emory University
Fluent in Korean
Jordan Krueger
Client & Business Insights
Mr. Krueger is a member of the client & business insights team at EARNEST Partners. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with minors in Data Analytics and Business Administration from Berry College, where he served as captain of the men’s basketball team. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked as a portfolio analyst, supporting investment reporting, client account analysis, and financial modeling. Outside of work, he enjoys playing basketball and golf, traveling, and cooking.
BS in Economics
Jack Brabant
Senior Associate
Mr. Brabant is a member of the client results team at EARNEST Partners. He holds a BA in Economics from St. Lawrence University and an MBA from Pace University. Mr. Brabant has over 15 years of financial operations experience. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he worked as a portfolio analyst at MetLife Investment Management providing performance and attribution analysis across an array of financial products. Mr. Brabant is a former college football player and maintains an active lifestyle.
BA in Economics - St. Lawrence University
MBA - Pace University
Former college football player
Karen Mulloy
Client Results
Ms. Mulloy is a member of the client solutions team at EARNEST Partners. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and received an Honorary Award for Departmental Distinction. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Ms. Mulloy spent over 20 years in the financial services industry including over a decade with State Street Corporation in Boston where she held positions in Retail Banking and Global Trade Processing. During her time in Boston, Ms. Mulloy also volunteered throughout the greater Boston area to support community awareness programs and initiatives that focus on mentoring at-risk youth.
BA in Sociology - University of Massachusetts
Anna Kovalevska
Client Results
Ms. Kovalevska is a member of the client results team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining the firm, she worked in finance at a German automotive company and brings over six years of experience in the global travel industry. Ms. Kovalevska was born and raised in Ukraine, earning Master's degrees in Management and Linguistics from Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Hryhorii Skovoroda State Pedagogical University. She is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian and is intermediate in German. Ms. Kovalevska enjoys hiking, biking, and traveling to exciting and novel places in her spare time.
Master's in Management;
Master's in Linguistics - Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Hryhorii Skovoroda State Pedagogical University
Fluent in Ukrainian and Russian
Brad Heath
Head of Information Technology
Mr. Heath is Head of information technology at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining the firm, he was a technology Manager at RBM of Atlanta, a group of Mercedes-Benz dealerships, where he led a team that supported 600 employees. He managed help desk operations, designed and maintained the IT infrastructure, and consolidated processes to reduce operating costs. Throughout his career, Mr. Heath accumulated substantial experience in the management of network infrastructure, end-point security, and software implementations. Mr. Heath earned his AA in Computer and Electrical Engineering Technology as well as several industry certifications including Comptia Sec+ and CYSA+, ITIL foundation and Fortinet NSE level 3.
AA in Computer and Electrical Engineering Technology
Certifications, CompTIA Sec+; CYSA+; ITIL; Fortinet NSE3
Joshua Atuahene
Information Technology
Mr. Atuahene is a member of the information technology team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he obtained experience in information technology and cybersecurity through internships with Raytheon Technology and Cox Automotive. He received his BS in Cybersecurity from Kennesaw State University. During his tenure at KSU, Joshua was an honors ambassador and a member of the Offensive Security Club where he participated in cyber competitions. Mr. Atuahene has also obtained industry certifications: CompTIA Network+, Security+, and CYSA+. In his spare time, Mr. Atuahene enjoys running, boxing, and watching movies.
BS in Cybersecurity - Kennesaw State University
Certifications, CompTIA Network+, Security+, CYSA+
Patrina Thomas
Logistics
Ms. Thomas is a member of the administration team at EARNEST Partners. She attended West Virginia University and The Boyd School, where she obtained her travel industry certification. With more than twenty years industry experience, she has been responsible for implementing and managing travel management operations for major financial and technology companies. Prior to her work with EARNEST Partners, Ms. Thomas was instrumental in migrating various General Electric owned companies into a centralized travel management program. She is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents.
Travel Industry Certification - West Virginia University and The Boyd School
Member, American Society of Travel Agents
Susan Muthee
Accounting
Ms. Muthee is a member of the accounting team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Ms. Muthee worked for Atlanco, a military personal equipment manufacturing company as an accountant and data analyst. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Kennesaw State University and also obtained a Data Analytics Certificate. Ms. Muthee is passionate about traveling and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Ms. Muthee is a Kenyan native and fluent in Swahili.
BBA in Finance - Kennesaw State University
Fluent in Swahili
Chris Blake
Trading
Mr. Blake is a member of the trading team at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Blake worked at Macquarie Group as an Institutional Equity Trader. There he covered equity execution, risk trading, and the management of electronic trading platforms for both local and international clients. Born and raised in South Africa, he earned his Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of Cape Town. Mr. Blake enjoys traveling and trail running in his spare time.
BCom in Accounting - University of Cape Town
Native of South Africa
Nal Umrao
Trading
Mr. Umrao is a member of the trading team at EARNEST Partners. He holds a BA in Accounting from Baruch College and has extensive experience in wrap asset management. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, he was a lead trader and Senior Portfolio Manager for more than fifteen sponsor firms at a major global management company. He is a member of the Cricket League of Atlanta.
BA in Accounting - Baruch College
Member, Cricket League of Atlanta
Xinyi (Sophia) Xue
China Division
Ms. Xue is a member of the China Division at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Ms. Xue was Senior Director at FTI Consulting and Vice President at AlixPartners focusing on enterprise improvement and conducting commercial due diligence for private equity funds. She received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a Master of Project Management from Northwestern University, and a BE in Investments from the Central University of Finance & Economics in Beijing, China.
MBA - University of Chicago Booth
MPM - Northwestern University
BE in Investments - Central University of Finance & Economics
Guohong (Lynn) Dai
China Division
Ms. Dai is a member of the China Division at EARNEST Partners. Prior to joining EARNEST Partners, Ms. Dai was a core member of a start-up autonomous driving company in China where she was responsible for leading corporate management, securing grants and investor financing, and maintaining government relationships. Before her start-up experience, she was a news editor for a city government near Beijing and was responsible for interviewing government officials, editing government communications, and organizing media coverage during leadership transitions. Ms. Dai studied both in Mainland China and in Taiwan earning her bachelor’s degree in Communication.
BA in Communication
We are EARNEST PARTNERS
A seasoned team with decades of experience, investing through cycles to identify fundamentally sound, long-term opportunities.
