MFA Ops: Human Capital & Talent Infrastructure 2025 - Speakers
November 6, 2025
Conference
New York, NY
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Katie Maier
Managing Director, Human Capital
AB Carval
Ms. Katie Maier is a managing director of human capital at AB CarVal where she is responsible for leading regional human capital and talent strategies, the executive administrative function, and is a key member of the global compensation team.
Ms. Maier serves as Co-Chair of the Global Diversity Champions Council and holds positions on the Human Capital and Compensation Committee as well as the AB CarVal Foundation. Prior to joining AB CarVal in 2007, Ms. Maier worked in a human resources role within the aerospace industry. Ms. Maier holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Arts in Human Resources and Industrial Relations, from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.
Radhika Arora
Head of Talent Acquisition
AlphaQuest
Radhika Arora currently serves as Head of Talent Acquisition at AlphaQuest where she leads the firm’s end-to-end talent strategy encompassing recruitment, compensation, performance management, workforce planning, and employee relations, supporting the firm’s mission as a research-driven alternative investment firm trading across 100+ global markets.
Prior to AlphaQuest, Radhika held multiple leadership roles at Schonfeld where she built and scaled high-performing teams across various technology initiatives. Radhika began her career at Open Systems, a leading recruiting agency, where she focused on partnering with various buy side firms helping them find and attract the best talent.
Radhika earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Cornell University.
Mark McNamara
Head of People Systems and Operations
Balyasny Asset Management L.P.
Joanna Albright
Co-Chief Operating Officer
Coatue Management LLC
Joanna Albright is Co-COO at Coatue. Prior to joining Coatue in 2010, Joanna held positions as Vice President at Glocap Search and Morgan Stanley. Joanna graduated with a B.A. from Brown University.
Brandon Kaufman
Head of Compensation, Benefits and HRIS
Elliott Investment Management
Arpita Mazumdar
Head of HR and Workplace Strategy Consulting
Goldman Sachs
Arpita (Arpi) Mazumdar leads HR Consulting for the U.S. Prime Services Consulting Team in the Global Markets and Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. In her role, she guides fund managers through the process of starting a hedge fund, and provides on-going strategic guidance and support across the HR discipline, focusing on large-scale global change initiatives, people management and communication strategies.
Prior to assuming her current position in March 2020, Arpi held various roles within Goldman Sachs including that of chief operating officer for U.S. Regional Sales within the Franchise Strategy Group in Global Markets from 2017 to 2020, chief of staff to the Global COO of the Global Markets Division from 2015 to 2017, Americas Franchise Manager for Fixed Income Sales from 2010 to 2015 and Compensation Specialist within the Equity Compensation team in HCM from 2004 to 2010. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2004.
Arpi received her BS in Business Administration from the University of Albany – SUNY and is a 2014 Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Fellow and Executive member. She is also a member of Chief, the new and well coveted private network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders. She is very engaged in women’s rights and is currently a sponsor for “Women for Women International,” a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides practical and moral support to women survivors of war.
Joseph Schwartz
Vice President and Senior Counsel, Regulatory Affairs
MFA
Joseph Schwartz is MFA’s Vice President & Senior Counsel, Regulatory Affairs.
In his position, Joseph advocates on and shapes legislative, regulatory, and administrative policies affecting the alternative investment industry, including, principally, U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax policy.
Prior to joining MFA, Joseph was a Senior Associate in the Tax practice of a “Big 4” public accounting firm, where he advised clients on tax planning, compliance, and controversy, including multistate taxation.
Joseph received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation, magna cum laude, from The University of Alabama School of Law. Joseph is a member of the Georgia and D.C. bars.
Barbara Bernstein
Chief Human Resources Officer
Magnetar Capital LLC
Barbara Bernstein manages human resources, office services, and philanthropy at Magnetar, a multi-strategy and multi-product alternative investment manager with approximately $19B assets under management as of January 1, 2025. She is a member of both the Management and Operations Committees and serves as secretary to the Magnetar Foundation. Since joining in 2008, Barbara is responsible for supporting and advising the firm on all aspects of people, culture and organizational change. She oversees talent acquisition and retention, inclusion, professional development, and compensation and benefits.
Throughout her time with Magnetar, Barbara has focused on creating a firm-wide culture where employees feel empowered to grow both personally and professionally. Today, approximately 60 pe percent of Magnetar employees have been with the firm for over five years, Barbara has initiated several educational and culture-centric projects at the firm, including a robust summer college internship program that has educated and inspired more than 400 students to explore careers in the industry. She also played an instrumental role in establishing and implementing Magnetar University, an internal initiative with dedicated programming to provide professional
development opportunities to employees.
Barbara has been central in establishing the Magnetar Foundation’s philanthropic mission to enhance financial literacy among high school students through quality tools and resources. This includes the development of the finEDge curriculum, which has reached over 30,000 students across 13 U.S. states since its creation in 2016. Before her tenure at Magnetar, Barbara held senior human resources positions at JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor, Bank One. She holds a BA in International Relations from Syracuse University.
Martin L. Schmelkin
Partner
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Marty is a Partner in the Employment Law practice with McDermott Will & Schulte in New York City. He has over 30 years of experience in employment law, representing clients in all aspects of the employment lifecycle, including counseling on recruitment, hiring, employment agreements, compensation, promotions, leaves, disciplinary action, terminations and separation agreements.
Marty has experience conducting workplace investigations on harassment and discrimination, litigating, arbitrating and mediating disputes, advising on restrictive covenants including garden leaves, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, coordinating the implementation of employment policies and programs across multiple global jurisdictions, and leading workplace training programs.
Marty has a wealth of experience with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, practices and programs, including conducting risk assessments to mitigate employment law risk. He also counsels employers on regulatory filings, pay equity analyses and diversity demographic disclosures.
Marty brings a unique perspective to his clients, informed by his work for 15 years in the legal department of a global financial institution, where he was a managing director and associate general counsel in the employment law group in New York City and Hong Kong. He has a particular in-depth experience with financial services firms, including investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, and asset managers.
Marty received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR), and his law degree from the New York University School of Law. He is a Faculty Affiliate at Columbia University where he teaches a course on “Foundations of Labor & Employment Law” in the Human Capital Management masters program.
Shawn Butte
Senior Employment Counsel
The Voleon Group
Liz Maughan
Director of Talent and HR
Whale Rock Capital Management LLC
Liz Maughan is the Director of Talent & HR at Whale Rock Capital Management, a Boston-based asset manager investing globally in public and private technology companies. In her role, Liz leads the firm’s strategic and operational human capital initiatives, including talent acquisition, development, engagement, and retention. She brings over a decade of experience in human resources and professional development within the asset management industry. Prior to joining Whale Rock, Liz served as Director of Human Resources at Taconic Capital Advisors, a global event-driven hedge fund. She previously held the role of Senior HR Associate at TriNet Ambrose, and began her career at EF Education First, an international education company. Liz earned a BA in Human Services from Villanova University in 2010
Mark Russo
General Counsel
ZAIS Group, LLC
Mr. Russo serves as General Counsel and a Managing Director at ZAIS Group, LLC. Mr. Russo was appointed General Counsel in April 2017. Before joining ZAIS in February of 2007, Mr. Russo was an attorney at Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP in the Structured Finance Practice Group from 2004 to 2007. He received a B.S. with distinction from The Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.
