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MFA welcomes new staff, announces promotions

Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Opalesque Industry Update - Managed Funds Association (MFA), a trade association for the global alternative investment industry, announced new members of its Executive Management Team. Each of these individuals will report directly to MFA's President and CEO Richard H. Baker and serve on the Management Team alongside general counsel Stuart J. Kaswell, head of public affairs D. Brooke Harlow, head of communications and marketing Anthony D. Coley, and head of international affairs Michael N. Pedroni.

"With record assets under management, the hedge fund industry is poised to help even more investors diversify and manage risk and deliver reliable returns over time. At this important time for our industry, I am especially proud of the team we have in place to help advance our Members' policy priorities, educate stakeholders and communicate the value of an industry that creates opportunities and economic growth," said MFA President and CEO Richard H. Baker.

Peter Donovan, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Donovan begins his tenure at MFA today. He is responsible for MFA's operations and finance, including accounting, budgeting, human resources and technology. He will also lead and direct all efforts related to membership retention, development and growth. Mr. Donovan will divide his time between MFA's Washington D.C. and New York offices.

Mr. Donovan is a respected industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience. He joins MFA from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he has served since 2004 in a variety of leadership roles in Fixed Income Prime Brokerage, sales and relationship management. He was previously co-head of U.S. prime brokerage sales at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Donovan holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance from Lehigh University and a M.B.A. from Fordham University.

Lou Costantino, Jr., Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Government Relations
Mr. Costantino joined MFA in February 2009 as Vice President and now co-directs MFA lobbying activities with federal and state governments. Working closely with MFA leadership and its substantive policy committees, Mr. Costantino plays a key role in the development of MFA's legislative priorities and advocacy strategy.

Mr. Costantino has more than 25 years of experience in financial services public policy at the federal and state levels. He has served as senior policy and legislative staff for two major trade associations and one of the country's largest financial services companies. He has also worked on two congressional campaigns. Mr. Costantino holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from The Catholic University of America and is a native of Washington, D.C.

David M. Landers, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Government Relations
Mr. Landers joined MFA in February 2009 as Vice President and now co-directs MFA lobbying activities with federal and state governments. Working closely with MFA leadership and its substantive policy committees, David plays a key role in the development of MFA's legislative priorities and advocacy strategy.

Mr. Landers has more than 30 years of experience in financial services public policy at the federal and state levels. He has served as senior policy and legislative staff for a leading alternative investments trade association, one of the country's largest investment banks, and one the largest life insurance underwriters. Mr. Landers also worked as outside counsel at a major law firm and for four Members of Congress. He holds a Bachelor's degree in History from Duke University and a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.

Mr. Baker also announced that, in addition to her current responsibilities leading the Association's relationships with the institutional investor and allocator communities as well as other key stakeholders, managing MFA global conferences and seminars, and serving as Executive Director of the Center for Alternative Investment Education, Ms. Harlow will also play a critical role in expanding MFA's Membership base and business development initiatives. In addition, she will be responsible for developing and executing MFA's best-in-class leadership forums.

Mr. Coley will also take on additional responsibilities as Senior Advisor to the President and CEO. In this new position, Mr. Coley will provide counsel to Mr. Baker, while helping the association work efficiently to advance its mission and achieve its long-term strategic objectives. He will also play a key role with membership services and retention. Finally, Mr. Baker announced that Sarah Morgan, a 10-year veteran of MFA, has been promoted to Vice President, Government Relations. In this capacity, Sarah is responsible for assisting in the development and implementation of MFA's political and advocacy outreach efforts with the Executive Branch, Congress and relevant regulatory agencies.

Before joining MFA, Ms. Morgan worked both for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services and the office of former House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach. Sarah received her B.A. from Trinity College in Washington, D.C.

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