Cliff Asness
Managing and Founding Principal, AQR
Cliff Asness is a Founder, Managing Principal, and Chief Investment Officer at AQR Capital Management. He is an active researcher and has authored articles on a variety of financial topics for many publications, including The Journal of Portfolio Management, Financial Analysts Journal, The Journal of Finance, and The Journal of Financial Economics. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including five Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Awards from The Journal of Portfolio Management.
Frank Blake
Former Chairman and CEO, The Home Depot
Frank Blake served as Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot from January 2007 through November 2014, and then as chairman through January 2015. Frank joined The Home Depot in 2002 as executive vice president, business development and corporate operations. Frank previously served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to that, he served in a variety of executive roles at General Electric, including senior vice president, Corporate Business Development. Frank’s public sector experience also includes having served as general counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, deputy counsel to Vice President George Bush and law clerk to Justice Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. Frank serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Aquarium, Macy’s and is currently serving as Chairman of the Delta Air Lines board. Additionally, he sits on the Board of Trustees at Agnes Scott College and recently completed tenure on the Proctor & Gamble and Grady Hospital Boards. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a jurisprudence degree from Columbia University School of Law.
Marilyn G. Fedak
Vice Chair Emeritus, AllianceBernstein
Founder, Marilyn G. Fedak Capitalism Project
Marilyn Fedak is vice chair emeritus of AllianceBernstein, founder of the Marilyn G. Fedak Capitalism Project, and co-founder of the Adam Smith Society. Her Wall Street career spanned 40 years including 30 years at AllianceBernstein (AB). Marilyn held many senior roles at AB including the head of Global Value Equities and Chief Investment Officer for US Value Equities, among others. She has a BA from Smith College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Eugene B. Meyer
President, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer is the President of the Federalist Society, where he has served in leadership roles for more than 30 years. He is responsible for growing the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 50,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. He earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Mr. Meyer currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master. Gene lives in McLean, Virginia, with his wife, Lori, and their son, Samuel.
James Piereson
President, The William E. Simon Foundation
James Piereson is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and president and trustee of the William E. Simon Foundation. During 1985–2005, he was executive director and trustee of the John M. Olin Foundation. Previously, Dr. Piereson served on the political science faculties of Iowa State University, Indiana University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught government and political thought. He holds a B.A. and a Ph.D. in political science from Michigan State University. He is author, co-author, or editor of five books dealing contemporary American policy issues and American political thought and practice. His articles and reviews on higher education and political ideas have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and newspapers.
In addition to service on the Adam Smith Society's Advisory Board, Dr. Piereson also serves on the boards of the Pinkerton Foundation, Thomas W. Smith Foundation, Center for Individual Rights, Philanthropy Roundtable (where he was chairman, 1995–99), Foundation for Cultural Review (as chairman), American Spectator Foundation, and DonorsTrust.
Reihan Salam
President, Manhattan Institute
Reihan Salam is Manhattan Institute’s fifth president. Since joining MI in 2019, Mr. Salam has overseen the creation and launch of a number of new initiatives, including the Policing and Public Safety Initiative, dedicated to addressing the nation’s crisis of urban violence. He has recruited a number of the nation’s leading scholars, journalists, and civic leaders to help foster economic opportunity, educational excellence, individual liberty, and the rule of law in America and its great cities.
Jeff Yass
Founding Partner and Managing Director, Susquehanna International Group
Jeff Yass is the founding partner and managing director of Susquehanna International Group, LLP, a private global securities firm. His responsibilities include the management and trading of the firm’s portfolio. He received a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute and is an avid golf and poker player. He and his wife, Janine, have four adult children.