Events
We have a number of phenomenal events held throughout the year.
In the 2023 What’s Important Now (WIN) Series we will interview CIOs of leading organizations in a series of virtual fireside chats. You will gain insights into the current environment, including the investment opportunities and challenges. Additionally, you can expect to learn about the various career paths that these remarkable women followed to earn the CIO title.
“Viewpoints: the Environment, the Role, the Opportunity”
Join our Chicago Women Investment Professionals 2023 WIN Series Fireside Chat with Aiofinn Deviit, CIO of the Moneta Group, and moderated by Ashwini Apte, Institutional Defined Contribution Lead, BlackRock as they discuss CIO viewpoints. Topics will include the current investment landscape, evaluating risk, retirement, professional development and DE&I.
Aiofinn Deviit
Chief Investment Officer
Moneta Group
With more than two decades of financial industry experience and a diverse international background, Aoifinn Devitt plays an integral role in establishing Moneta’s long-term investment vision, philosophy and strategies. As the firm’s first female Chief Investment Officer, she aligns Moneta’s investment programs with broader firm goals while also overseeing the research, evaluation and selection of asset classes and investment vehicles.
Devitt values knowledge sharing and education, which motivates her to ensure investors are informed as possible. She strives to reduce complexity and demystify the world of investing for them by educating rather than just giving advice.
Devitt joined Moneta in 2021 with extensive experience working with institutional clients and alternative investments as well as overall portfolio oversight functions. Her global career – with stops in London, Hong Kong, New York City and now Chicago – helped open her mind and introduce her to new investing perspectives while stimulating creativity, innovation and adaptability. She has also seen a wide range of investment manager talent and has developed a robust network of industry contacts.
Originally from Ireland, Devitt spent her early career working in London as an investment banking associate at Goldman Sachs International and a specialist consultant at Cambridge Associates Limited. Devitt also founded Clontarf Capital, a pan-alternatives research and consulting firm. More recently, she served as CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago and head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers Ireland Limited.
Devitt is also a licensed attorney who has been a member of the New York Bar since 1996. She earned her law degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. She also earned her MBA from INSEAD in France and MSc in Applied Neuroscience from Kings College London.
In addition to her work at Moneta, Devitt hosts and produces The Fiftyfaces Podcast, which showcases diversity and inclusion within the investments industry and other professions. She has run 38 marathons, is fluent in both German and French, and enjoys traveling.
Moderator:
Ashwini Apte, CAIA, CIMA, AIF, AIFA
Defined Contribution Institutional Consultant Relations Lead
BlackRock
Ashwini Apte, CAIA, CIMA, AIF, AIFA, has served 18 years in the defined contribution industry. She is a senior member of the Institutional Distribution team within BlackRock’s US & Canada Defined Contribution Group. Ashwini is primarily responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with institutional DC consultants in North America, and is also responsible for overseeing some relationships with direct institutional plan sponsor clients.
Ashwini was previously with NEPC, where she was a Senior Consultant within the Defined Contribution Practice Group. She worked with DC plans in all aspects of plan evaluation consulting. Prior to joining NEPC in 2005, Ashwini was a retirement financial advisor at Morgan Stanley where she constructed and implemented comprehensive retirement portfolios through the use of strategic asset allocation techniques and risk performance analytics.
Ashwini earned a Masters in International Finance from Brandeis University and a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University. She became a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designee in 2009, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designee in 2015, and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA) in 2018, and a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) in 2019. She also holds both Series 7 and Series 63 licenses.
Career Freedom – Let’s get REAL
Our careers are not just boxes checked and endless emails sent, they are real life, dynamic experiences with challenges, twists and turns, unexpected circumstances, and joyful successes. This year the Professional Development Committee will focus on reinventing the traditional perception of networking, reflect on how to maximize career opportunities, and explore how to rejuvenate and recharge our careers. Across all of these topics, we will get real and share our actual stories, drawing inspiration from our collective experiences.
Networking Reinvented
Networking is vital and can have a major impact on all of us, in and out of the workplace, but sometimes can be viewed as a challenge rather than an opportunity. Let’s dive into the many different ways to network and its benefits. We will explore internal and external networking, relationship building, and other impactful interactions. Let’s change our perception of networking and reinvent it together.
Barbara Best
Founder and Principal
CAP STRAT
Barbara Best is a Founder and Principal of CAP STRAT, and Founder of the CAP STRAT Women’s Forum. Her primary focus is to cultivate awareness and business opportunities for their firm’s asset management, institutional investment advisory, and private wealth advisory services; and she co-leads their Women’s Forum. Barbara also co-leads their Women’s Forum, empowering women to create successful and fulfilling lives – personally, professionally, and financially.
Barbara is recognized as one of Chicago’s Most Influential Women by the Chicago Business Journal and Rotary International Woman of the Year for her broad personal and professional support of others, her community service and leadership. In addition to her past leadership roles chairing and serving on non-profit boards, Barbara is currently on the board of Housing Forward and the Chicago advisory board of CareerSpring, and an active member of Women Leaders in Philanthropy for the OPRF Community Foundation.
Barbara received her B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Boston College and studied at London School of Economics and Faculte des Lettres in France; received a Business Certificate in Finance from the Professional Program of New York University. Barbara has also received the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) and PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional (PRP) designations.
Barbara raised her daughter Cate in Oak Park and River Forest, IL. She and her partner Tom Turk currently live in Oak Park.
Elise Powers
Founder
Eleview Consulting
Elise has specialized in making communication skills and emotional intelligence concrete and actionable for over a decade. She founded her first company while in college to help students secure internships through networking. After working at Kimberly-Clark and in management consulting, she founded Eleview Consulting. In founding the firm, she interviewed hundreds of partners and executives to understand what qualities make someone a superstar. This insight is the foundation of the firm’s programming. Eleview Consulting helps law firms and companies harmonize communication and understanding across their organization through interactive professional development workshops and resources. Their most popular workshop topics include personal branding, navigating critical conversations, improving communication, and strategic relationship-building.
Elise has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and ABC News. She is LinkedIn’s leading expert on career acceleration and networking. Elise is a sought-after speaker at universities, companies, and conferences.