Governance and Trustee update. Commonfund Board of Trustees welcomes three new members. Bids farewell to two.
The Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees has nominated the following individuals to become Trustees of Commonfund. These nominations came after an exhaustive national search conducted by an international search firm. The nominees were ratified by the membership of Commonfund and effective at the annual meeting of members on December 8, 2005 became Trustees of Commonfund.
Leslie E. Bains - Partner, Raycliff Investments, a firm specializing in financial services and asset management companies based in New York City. From 2004 until she joined Raycliff Investments, Ms. Bains was the President of AFS International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to international multi-cultural exchange that maintains offices in more than 50 counties. Prior to that, Ms. Bains had a career as a senior executive in banking and investment banking organizations, having served as Senior Executive Vice President at HSBC Bank, USA; Managing Director, Global Private Banking at Citibank; and Senior Vice President and Group Executive, The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A.
Ms. Bains also serves on several nonprofit boards including Chair of the Board of Visitors of the Duke University Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy; a member of the Board of Visitors of Duke University Health Systems; a member of the Board of Trustees of Junior Achievement of New York and Chair of that Board’s Finance Committee; a member of the Board of Trustees of the Roundabout Theatre Company and of that Board’s Operating Committee; a member of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Museum; and a member of the Board of Trustees of American University of Sharjah.
She also until very recently served as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of American University in Washington.
Bradford K. Gallagher – Founder and President, Spyglass Investments LLC, a private investment firm based in Newbury, Massachusetts. Before founding Spyglass in 2001, Mr. Gallagher was the President and CEO of Cypress Holding Company, which focused on the acquisition of investment management firms and the investment management of senior bank loans and other structured products. In addition, Mr. Gallagher was President of Allmerica Financial, and on the Operating Committee of Fidelity Investments, where he founded and led the institutional business (including Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company and other Fidelity affiliates) during an 11-year tenure.
Mr. Gallagher also serves on several Boards. Until recently he served of the Board of Trustees of Emerson Hospital in Massachusetts.
David M. Barrett, M.D. – President and CEO, Lahey Clinic, a nonprofit healthcare organization based in Burlington, Massachusetts that is one of the largest health care systems in New England. Prior to joining the Lahey Clinic in September 1999, Dr. Barrett was the Chief of Urology, and also a teacher and administrator at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He served as Vice Chair of the Mayo Clinic’s Board of Governors, and also as a Trustee of the Mayo Foundation and a member of the Foundation’s Executive Committee. Along with his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Barrett continues to work as a physician and teacher, and is a professor of urology at Tufts University School of Medicine, as well as a past president of the American Board of Urology.
Dr. Barrett also serves as member of the faculty of the Tufts University School of Medicine, and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Albion College.
Dr. Barrett also serves as Chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts High Technology Council.
Commonfund is very fortunate to have found such three highly qualified and experienced people who are willing to take their time to advance our mission and the mission of our clients. The identification and selection process was thorough and enlightening. We started with over twenty potential candidates and reduced the number down to three. During the process it was very gratifying to see the level of interest of these very successful people in being involved with our organization.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank two long serving Board members who have reached the end of their terms. Norman Herbert and Ernie Stern have served Commonfund tirelessly during their tenure. Their contributions were significant and will endure far into the future. They will be missed for the insights and critical strategic thinking they have provided Commonfund.
Verne O. Sedlacek