Finance

Finance Advisory Council

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Allen Hamood
Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer
Transunion Corporation
Chicago, IL

Mr. Hamood is responsible for overseeing TransUnion's financials and helping it achieve its strategic growth goals. Prior to joining the company in 2008, he was CFO for the U.S. Region of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), providing a broad portfolio of business and technology solutions. His professional experience includes roles within EDS as a vice president of investor relations and senior director of corporate strategy and planning. He also held the role of corporate director of finance and business development for Walt Disney International and managerial roles within the audit practice of Deloitte and Touche. A graduate of The University of Iowa, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, Mr. Hamood also earned his Juris Doctorate, with Distinction, from Southwestern University School of Law.

James Dixson
Vice President, Corporate Strategy
Nasdaq OMX
New York, NY

Tim Larsen
Senior Vice President
Houlihan Lokey
Chicago, IL

Mr. Larsen is a member of the Consumer, Food & Retail Group, focusing on food & beverage. He has worked on a variety of engagements, including sell-side and buy-side merger and acquisitions transactions, other corporate finance assignments, fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, and company valuations. Tim first joined Houlihan Lokey's Consumer, Food & Retail Group nearly nine years ago. He also previously worked for Goldman Sachs in New York. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with honors, and a BBA in finance from the Tippie College of Business, where he graduated with distinction. He is registered with FINRA (formerly the NASD) as a General Securities Representative (Series 7 and 63) and a Limited Representative – Investment Banking (Series 79).

Eric Malchow
Managing Director and Co-President
Lincoln International, LLC
Chicago, IL

Mr. Malchow joined Lincoln International during its founding in 1996. He is a member of the firm's Management Committee and co-heads the Global Industrial Group. Additionally, he is very active in coordinating the firm's activities with the private equity community. Eric manages key client relationships, leads global deal teams and is active in marketing the services of Lincoln International. Eric has approximately 20 years of transactional experience focused in middle-market mergers and acquisitions assignments. Eric's clients include leading private equity groups and publicly-traded corporations. His experience includes advising on the sale and acquisition of companies which are market-leading, overleveraged, distressed or proceeding through the bankruptcy process. His experience includes advising on numerous cross-border transactions. Eric's intense client focus and passion for mid-market transactions has led to deep long lasting client relationships and numerous repeat clients. Prior to founding Lincoln. Eric worked as an Associate for two years with Peers & Co., an international mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. Prior to Peers, he was an officer at Heller Financial, Inc.'s (now GE Antares) Corporate Finance Group. At Heller he concentrated on leveraged buyout financings of middle-market companies on behalf of private equity groups. Eric earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from The University of Iowa.

Sridip Mukhopadhyaya
Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Strategies
AEGON USA Investment Management
Cedar Rapids, IA

Mr. Mukhopadhyaya joined AEGON in 2008 and is the Lead Portfolio Manager for all funds, sub-accounts and strategies managed by the Quantitative Strategies team. His primary responsibilities involve developing and managing quantitative portfolio strategies that provide solutions for specific investment objectives. His responsibilities also include maintaining and enhancing the quantitative models and management of operational and financial risk in relation to the quantitative strategies. Prior to joining AEGON, Sridip held various positions in India and Tanzania ranging from Credit Research to Public Accounting. Sridip received his Chartered Accountancy degree in India and his MBA in finance from The University of Iowa.

Daniela Spassova
Managing Director, Global Projects
Consultant
Principal Capital Management
Des Moines, IA

Ms. Spassova's responsibilities encompass a wide array of large scale projects involving new product development, operational improvements and business management of some of the boutiques that comprise Principal Global Investors. Previously, Daniela was a fixed income portfolio manager managing multi-sector total return, liability driven, investment-income oriented strategies for external clients. Daniela joined the firm in 1999. She received an MBA from The University of Iowa and a Master of Arts from Sofia University. Daniela has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI). She is a member of the CFA Institute. She is also a member of the independent advisory board of The Henry Fund, an endowed equity portfolio managed by MBA students from the Tippie School of Management.

Mark Traster
Vice President, Portfolio Manager
Nuveen Asset Management
Minneapolis, MN

Mr. Traster is the co-manager of the Small Cap Core strategy and related institutional portfolios. He joined the team managing Small Cap Core in 2004 and was named co-manager in 2008. He was previously an equity research analyst for the same team. Mark began working in the financial industry in 1992. Prior to joining the firm in 2004, Mark served as a large- and mid-cap industrials and materials analyst for Principal Global Investors and as a small-cap analyst for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board covering the biotechnology, telecommunications, energy, financials, media and entertainment, and materials industries. Mark earned a BBA and an MBA in finance from The University of Iowa. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Minnesota.