TO: Clients and Friends of Ariel Investments, LLC
FROM: John W. Rogers, Jr. Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer
DATE: February 2, 2021
RE: People Update
Recognizing and rewarding talent is the best way to keep great people engaged and inspired. To that end, we are delighted to update our valued clients and friends on a number of exciting promotions in our research and investment teams. More specifically, Ken Kuhrt has been appointed Executive Vice President. In a world where the herd mentality seemingly dominates and influences markets, it takes courage and independence to go against the grain. Ken displays both of these unique attributes and has proven himself to be a true independent thinker. His contrarian stance is based on extensive fundamental research and industry expertise. Ken’s calm demeanor, clear head and unwavering focus on the gap between short-term price and long-term intrinsic value are simply extraordinary. He sets himself apart with the thoughtful questions he asks of both portfolio management companies and his Ariel teammates. Furthermore, Ken has repeatedly demonstrated incredible conviction in the face of challenging investment environments. His deep and measured resolve as Co-Portfolio Manager of Ariel’s Small Cap Value and Small Cap Value Concentrated strategies enabled us to double down on some of our most unloved names and find fresh new ideas during the pandemic-induced equity meltdown and financial crisis. The decisions Ken has made during his seventeen year tenure at Ariel have ultimately driven results for our investors. We are delighted to recognize Ken’s contributions as we continue to watch his pursuit of that ever-elusive line of investment excellence.
With nearly seven years at the firm, and three leading Ariel’s efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance factors within our domestic investment analysis, we recently named John Oxtoby, Senior Vice President, Director of ESG Investing. Ariel’s forward-thinking and rigor around ESG investing under John’s leadership has gained the attention of academia embodied by his recent appointment as an instructor on the topic at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, alongside key teammate Leah Yablonka.
On the International and Global side of the house, John Rowley was named Senior Vice President, Client Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst. John is a non-consensus thinker and a strong team player. John’s intellectual agility, as well as his qualitative and quantitative assessments on intrinsic value considerations, continue to prove invaluable. Moreover, he believes in and articulates our investment philosophy with as much passion and conviction with which we practice it.
Additionally, Kevin Buttigieg, who assists in covering Technology was promoted to Senior Research Associate and Yury Monakov was named Portfolio Analyst/Trader on the International and Global team.
Meanwhile, we are pleased to report 17+ year Ariel veteran, Malik Murray has been promoted to Head of Business Development. Malik started with us as a young associate and has risen through the ranks to lead our institutional marketing efforts. Tall in stature and in talent, he personifies Ariel’s commitment to being world-class. We are excited to see how Malik furthers Ariel’s competitive positioning in the marketplace across the business channels that Ariel serves.
Beyond these wonderful promotions, we have other people news. Adam Hodge, who joined us last year to serve as our Senior Vice President for External Affairs, has been tapped to be the next Assistant United States Trade Representative for Media and Public Affairs in the Biden-Harris administration. We are incredibly proud of Adam’s appointment and fully support his decision to return to public service at this critical time in our country’s history. Arielle Patrick, our firm’s Chief Communications Officer, will assume his duties and responsibilities.
We will also be saying goodbye to Amy Yong, who joined us eighteen months ago to focus on institutional business development on the east coast. Amy has accepted an offer to lead Investor Relations at Live Nation Entertainment (LYV). We wish her the very best and will be running a search for her replacement.
As Socrates said, “the secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve you and welcome any questions you might have.
