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Executive Director

Dr. Klaas Baks, PhD

Klaas P. Baks PhD is a recognized thought-leader in the alternative investments industry. Dr. Baks is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Emory Center for Alternative Investments and a Professor in the Practice of Finance at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

 

Dr. Baks serves as director or advisor for over 13 companies and investment funds with over $1.5 billion in assets under management, including American Virtual Cloud Technologies (NASDAQ: AVCT), Buckhead One Financial (fixed Income), Peachtree Hotel Group (real estate), TWO Capital Partners (real estate), and Vistas Media Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: VMAC). An active member of the Atlanta community, Dr. Baks serves on the board of the Michael C. Carlos Museum and is a former member of the Investment Committee of the Westminster Schools Board of Trustees.

 

Dr. Baks studied at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (PhD in Finance), Brown University (Master’s in Economics), Groningen University (Master’s in Econometrics, cum laude) and Leiden University (Diploma in Japanese Language and Business Studies). He spent two years at Harvard University as part of his doctoral research at Wharton on the performance of actively managed mutual funds.

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Managing Director

Jim Fountain

Jim graduated in 2016 from the Executive MBA program at the Goizueta Business School. He is an Associate Broker with Metrobrokers in Atlanta. He has been working in real estate brokerage and investments for over 22 years.

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MBA President

John Schellhase

John is an evening MBA student at the Goizueta Business School with a focus in Finance and Real Estate. He currently works at IHG Hotels and Resorts in Development Asset Management.  He also co-founded
Sanctuary Capital Advisors that delivers bespoke real estate solutions to family offices focused on development and investment activities.  At Emory, he is President of the Goizueta Real Estate Group and is a board member of the real estate private equity fund with ~ $500K AUM.  He co-founded the inaugural Goizueta Real Estate Conference which attracted Sam Zell as a keynote speaker with over 600 attendees.  Outside Goizueta, he is Young
Executives Board for the Atlanta Police Foundation.

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BBA President

Nicholas Trimble

Nicholas is a senior at the Goizueta Business School concentrating in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He currently works as an Investor at Accel-KKR focused on sourcing and executing emerging buyout transactions. Last summer, he worked at Centerview Partners in the Palo Alto office and will be returning full-time after graduation. His past experience includes software investing at JMI Equity and corporate development at Qualcomm. At Emory, Nicholas is the President of the Goizueta Finance Group and co-founder of Goizueta Venture Capital. He previously ran the Goizueta Investment Management Group, Emory’s undergraduate investment fund with ~$400k AUM. He is also a lead coach in Goizueta’s Career Management Center.

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Fellows

Matthew Wein

Program: BBA

Year: 2025

Experience: Lafayette Square, Tech Square Ventures, STORD 

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Alex Saladna

Program: MBA

Year: 2023

Experience: WickedFile, Splunk, Citi

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Bernard Clevens

Program: MBA

Year: 2022

Experience: Bridge Logistics Properties, Prologis, Northstar Commercial Partners

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Mouammar Seck

Program: MBA

Year: 2023

Experience: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Kalllista Energy, Schneider Electric

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Jeremy Williams

Program: MBA

Year: 2024

Experience: Truist, Autozone

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Jake Bash

Program: BBA

Year: 2025

Experience: Brean Asset Management, TI Partners, Square

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Rita Miao

Program: BBA

Year: 2024

Experience: The Carlyle Group, Schroders, China Securities

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Will Farren

Program: BBA

Year: 2024

Experience: Morgan Stanley, Peakstone Group, Amgen

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Amough Das Guru

Program: MBA

Year: 2025

Experience: GMR Group, Intercoil International LLC

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Hunter Dye

Program: MBA

Year: 2023

Experience: Brookwood Associates, 12 South Capital Partners

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Zach Pearlstone

Program: BBA

Year: 2024

Experience: Blackstone, Klein Enterprises

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Scott LeVine

Program: MBA

Year: 2023

Experience: Home Depot, Brookwood Associates

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Spencer McHugh

Program: MBA

Year: 2023

Experience: Vanguard, Truist Securities

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John Mittiga

Program: BBA

Year: 2025

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Mason Johnson

Program: BBA

Year: 2023

Experience: Sunrun, Rockline Equity, Garden City Companies

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Faculty

Lawrence M. Benveniste

Academic Director, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Finance

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Roy Black

Director Real Estate Program, Professor in the Practice of Finance

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Kevin Crowley

Adjunct Professor of Finance

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Clifton Green

Faculty Advisor, Professor of Finance

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Mark Bell

Head of Private Capital and Family Office, Balentine

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Kathryn Furman

Partner, King & Spalding

Joel Holsinger

Co-Head of Alternative Credit, Ares Management Corporation

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David Panton

Chairman, Panton Equity Partners

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