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Beneficient

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Management Team

BEN's management team includes industry veterans with broad fiduciary, investing, and operating experience in both the credit and alternative asset markets. Our senior management team enjoys longstanding relationships with investors, general partners, and advisors of alternative asset funds.


Management Team - Brad K. Heppner 2

Brad K. Heppner

  • Senior Partner Director
  • Chairman of the Board
  • CEO, Ben
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Brad K. Heppner

  • Senior Partner Director

  • Chairman of the Board

  • CEO, Ben

  • Expertise: 30+ years alternative asset and financial institutions experience

  • Chairman of the Board and CEO, Ben; Chairman of the Board, GWG Holdings, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, PEN Indemnity Insurance Company, Ltd.

  • MBA, Kellogg at Northwestern University; BBA, BA, BS, Southern Methodist University

  • Prior: Founder of The Beneficient Company Group; Founder and CEO of The Crossroads Group (sold to Lehman Brothers and now held by Neuberger Berman); Founder of Capital Analytics (now held by Mitsubishi Union Financial Group); previously with Bain & Company, MacArthur Foundation and Goldman Sachs

Management Team - James Silk

James Silk

  • Executive Vice President
  • Chief Legal Officer
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James Silk

  • Executive Vice President

  • Chief Legal Officer

  • Expertise: alternative asset management, financial services, M&A and capital markets transactions, and securities regulation

  • 20+ years of experience in the investment management and financial services industry

  • BS Finance, University of Virginia; JD, St. John’s University Law School, summa cum laude

  • Prior: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP

Management Team - Derek Fletcher

Derek Fletcher

  • President & Chief Fiduciary Officer
  • Wealth Strategies Director
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Derek Fletcher

  • President & Chief Fiduciary Officer

  • Wealth Strategies Director

  • Expertise: trust & estates, fiduciary services, fiduciary income taxation, estate, gift and GST taxation

  • 25+ years of sophisticated estate planning, wealth structuring and fiduciary advisory services

  • Certified Public Accountant; Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; JD, University of Texas School of Law; BBA, Accounting, Texas Tech University

  • Prior: US Trust - Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Winstead, PC; Coopers & Lybrand

Management Team - Jeff Welday

Jeff Welday

  • Global Head of Originations & Distribution
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Jeff Welday

  • Global Head of Originations & Distribution

  • Expertise: originations and distribution leadership, selling and marketing private market and traditional asset management products and vehicles

  • 25+ years of investment management experience

  • BBA, Baylor University; Certified Investment Management Analyst, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

  • Prior: Invesco, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase

  • Mr. Welday is a Registered Representative of and Securities Products are offered through Emerson Equity LLC. Member FINRA SIPC. The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. and Emerson Equity LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities.

Management Team - Greg Ezell

Greg Ezell

  • Chief Financial Officer
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Greg Ezell

  • Chief Financial Officer

  • Expertise: technical accounting, accounting and reporting for public and private entities, budgeting

  • 20+ years of accounting and finance experience

  • Certified Public Accountant; BBA, Henderson State University

  • Prior: Pure Gen Holdings, Inc., Homeward Residential Holdings, Inc., KPMG LLP

Management Team - Scott Wilson

Scott Wilson

  • Chief Underwriting Officer
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Scott Wilson

  • Chief Underwriting Officer

  • Expertise: private equity investing, corporate strategy

  • 15+ years of experience, primarily in the alternative asset investment space

  • MBA and BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

  • Prior: Highland Capital Management, McKinsey & Company

Management Team - Yuri Mushkin

Yuri Mushkin

  • Chief Risk Officer
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Yuri Mushkin

  • Chief Risk Officer

  • Expertise: portfolio risk and analytics, structured product valuation and enterprise controls

  • 19+ years of risk management and financial services experience

  • MS, The London School of Economics; BS, NYU Stern School of Business

  • Prior: McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs

Management Team - Art Damoulakis

Art Damoulakis

  • General Counsel
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Art Damoulakis

  • General Counsel

  • Expertise: financial services, alternative asset management, corporate transactions and securities regulation

  • 13+ years of experience in the financial services industry

  • BA, University of Maryland, College Park; MBA, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; JD, The George Washington University Law School

  • Prior: EJF Capital LLC; Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Management Team - Arnold L. Greene

Arnold L. Greene

  • Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer
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Arnold L. Greene

  • Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer

  • Expertise: HR Strategic Leadership, Culture/Employee Engagement and Diversity & Inclusion

  • 20+ years of human resources management experience

  • BS, Cornell University ILR School

  • Prior: Extended Stay America, McDonald's Corporation, Dunkin' Brands, Yum! Brands

Management Team - Maria S. Rutledge

Maria S. Rutledge

  • Managing Director
  • Information Technology
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Maria S. Rutledge

  • Managing Director

  • Information Technology

  • Expertise: systems development, infrastructure management, security, audit/compliance, operations, and strategy for CRM/sales platform systems, financial systems, online portal applications, and data solutions in high tech industries including financial services, retail, telecommunication, and energy

  • 20+ years of crafting next generation strategic technology solutions to operationalize business roadmaps including the adoption of cloud technology, advanced data analytics, and advancement of Agile and DevOps tools and principals

  • Masters of Science in Information Services, MBA in International Management, Bachelor’s in Political Science, University of Texas at Dallas; certifications: ITIL, six sigma, PMP, AWS, and CSM

  • Prior: Executive Director & Chief of Staff of Information Technology Business Services, MUFG; Michaels Stores, Inc., XO Communications, Siebel Systems

Directors

BEN's Board of Directors includes industry leaders with direct market experience in the key aspects of BEN's business.


Directors - Brad K. Heppner

Brad K. Heppner

  • Senior Partner Director
  • Chairman
  • Executive Committee Chair
  • Nominating Committee Chair
  • Credit Committee
  • Enterprise Risk Committee
x

Brad K. Heppner

  • Senior Partner Director

  • Chairman

  • Executive Committee Chair

  • Nominating Committee Chair

  • Credit Committee

  • Enterprise Risk Committee

  • Expertise: 30+ years alternative asset and financial institutions experience

  • Chairman of the Board and CEO, Ben; Chairman of the Board, GWG Holdings, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, PEN Indemnity Insurance Company, Ltd.

  • MBA, Kellogg at Northwestern University; BBA, BA, BS, Southern Methodist University

  • Prior: Founder of The Beneficient Company Group; Founder and CEO of The Crossroads Group (sold to Lehman Brothers and now held by Neuberger Berman); Founder of Capital Analytics (now held by Mitsubishi Union Financial Group); previously with Bain & Company, MacArthur Foundation and Goldman Sachs

Directors - Thomas O. Hicks

Thomas O. Hicks

  • Senior Partner Director
  • Vice Chairman
  • Executive Committee
  • Compensation Committee Chair
  • Nominating Committee
  • Enterprise Risk Committee
x

Thomas O. Hicks

  • Senior Partner Director

  • Vice Chairman

  • Executive Committee

  • Compensation Committee Chair

  • Nominating Committee

  • Enterprise Risk Committee

  • Expertise: private equity industry pioneer with 30+ years private equity investment experience; acquisitions across US, Europe and Latin America, private equity funds

  • Founder and Chairman, Hicks Holdings, LLC

  • MBA, University of Southern California; BBA, University of Texas, Austin

  • Prior: Founder of Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst; Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Hicks & Haas; Board of Directors, Carpenter Technology Corporation

Directors - David H. De Weese

David H. De Weese

  • Audit Committee
  • Credit Committee
  • Nominating Committee
x

David H. De Weese

  • Audit Committee

  • Credit Committee

  • Nominating Committee

  • Expertise: 30+ years business management, private equity, credit evaluation, investment experience

  • Partner of Paul Capital Advisors; Chairman of the Board, Capacitor Sciences, Inc.

  • MBA, Harvard Business School; BA, Stanford University; attended Stanford University Law School

  • Prior: Founder, Medical Innovations; Co-Founder, President & CEO, M6 Pharmaceuticals; President & CEO, Cygnus Therapeutic, Siga Technologies and Machine Intelligence Corporation; Board of Directors, OSE Immunotherapeutics SA

Directors - Richard W. Fisher

Richard W. Fisher

  • Senior Partner Director
  • Credit Committee
  • Compensation Committee
  • Enterprise Risk Committee
  • Community Reinvestment Chair
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Richard W. Fisher

  • Senior Partner Director

  • Credit Committee

  • Compensation Committee

  • Enterprise Risk Committee

  • Community Reinvestment Chair

  • Expertise: 30+ years banking experience, trade agreements

  • President and CEO, RWF Financial, Inc.; Senior Adviser, Barclays PLC; Board of Directors, AT&T, PepsiCo and Tenet Health Care

  • MBA, Stanford University; BS, Harvard University

  • Prior: President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Member of the Fed's Open Market Committee; Founder of Fisher Capital Management

Directors - Bruce W. Schnitzer

Bruce W. Schnitzer

  • Senior Partner Director
  • Executive Committee
  • Compensation Committee
  • PEN Indemnity Insurance Company Lead Director
  • Enterprise Risk Committee Chair
x

Bruce W. Schnitzer

  • Senior Partner Director

  • Executive Committee

  • Compensation Committee

  • PEN Indemnity Insurance Company Lead Director

  • Enterprise Risk Committee Chair

  • Expertise: 30+ years private equity investment experience, insurance and other specialty financial services

  • Chairman, Wand Partners; Chairman, The Institute of Human Origins; Director, The Litchfield Land Trust; Director & Treasurer, Seherr-Thoss Foundation

  • MBA, University of Texas, Austin; BBA, University of Texas, Austin

  • Prior: President and CEO of Marsh, Inc.; CFO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.; Vice President & Head of M&A for Morgan Guaranty Trust Company (J.P. Morgan)

Directors - Peter T. Cangany, Jr.

Peter T. Cangany, Jr.

  • Audit Committee Chair
  • Enterprise Risk Committee
x

Peter T. Cangany, Jr.

  • Audit Committee Chair

  • Enterprise Risk Committee

  • Expertise: insurance entities, audit and accounting

  • Board of Trustees, Finance Committee Chair (previously Audit Committee Chair), Franklin College

  • MBA, Texas A&M University; BA, Franklin College

  • Prior: Partner of Ernst & Young, LLP, 1993 - 2017 (with EY, including various leadership positions, from 1980 - 2017)

Directors - Derek Fletcher 2

Derek Fletcher

  • Director
  • Community Reinvestment Committee
x

Derek Fletcher

  • Director

  • Community Reinvestment Committee

  • Expertise: trust & estates, fiduciary services, fiduciary income taxation, estate, gift and GST taxation

  • 25+ years of sophisticated estate planning, wealth structuring and fiduciary advisory services

  • Certified Public Accountant; Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; JD, University of Texas School of Law; BBA, Accounting, Texas Tech University

  • Prior: US Trust - Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Winstead, PC; Coopers & Lybrand

Directors - Dennis P. Lockhart

Dennis P. Lockhart

  • Credit Committee Chair
x

Dennis P. Lockhart

  • Credit Committee Chair

  • Expertise: Private equity investment experience, financial services, international finance

  • Board of Directors, St. Joseph's Health System, PrimeRevenue, Invesco Mortgage Capital, and Pensare Acquisition Corp; Faculty, Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Tech

  • MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management; MA, Johns Hopkins University; BA, Stanford University

  • Prior: President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Member, Federal Open Market Committee; Managing Partner, Zephyr Group; President, Heller Financial; Chairman, Advisory Committee of U.S. Import Export Bank; senior corporate officer, Citibank

Directors - James Silk 2

James Silk

  • Director
  • Executive Committee
x

James Silk

  • Director

  • Executive Committee

  • Expertise: alternative asset management, financial services, M&A and capital markets transactions, and securities regulation

  • 20+ years of experience in the investment management and financial services industry

  • BS Finance, University of Virginia; JD, St. John’s University Law School, summa cum laude

  • Prior: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP

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  • What We Do
    • Liquidity
    • Custody Administration
    • Markets
    • Insurance
  • Who We Serve
    • Individual Investors
    • Institutions
    • Wealth Managers
    • General Partners
  • About Ben
    • Our Team
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Citizenship
  • Insights
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
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© 2011-2021 The Beneficient Company Group, L.P.

Securities Products are offered through Emerson Equity LLC. Member FINRA SIPC. The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. and Emerson Equity LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities.

Ben does not provide investment advisory services or tax, accounting or legal advice. The products and services described on this website may not be suitable for all users and you should consult with your legal, tax or other advisors prior to taking any action relating to the subject matter contained on this website. The contents hereof do not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities, financial instruments, products or services.

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