20^th Annual Opportunity Forum

Gustavo Alberelli is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Sunstone Partners. Gustavo currently serves as a member of the Board of Avertium, EverService, Knowtion, UserTesting, and Vcheck Global. Prior to founding Sunstone Partners, Gustavo was a Managing Director at Trident Capital, which he joined in 2012. Before Trident Capital, Gustavo was a Director at Kennet Partners where he led or participated in growth equity investments across the technology sector. Gustavo began his investment career in 2003 at Trinity Ventures, where he primarily worked with early-stage technology companies. Prior to becoming an investor, Gustavo held several business development and marketing positions at Saltare, a venture-backed enterprise software company. He started his career as an analyst in the technology investment banking group of Robertson Stephens. A few of Gustavo’s prior investments include NetSPI (acquired by KKR), UserZoom (acquired by Thoma Bravo), Outmatch (acquired by Rubicon Technology Partners) and Prolexic (acquired by Akamai). Raised in Miami, Gustavo earned a BA from Swarthmore College, where he was a Swarthmore Scholar, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Jose Gonzalez heads the Emerging Manager Program for the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS). Since being established in 2005, the Emerging Manager Program has committed $2.5 billion to emerging managers with $3.5 billion currently managed by Emerging Manager Program graduates. Recognizing the need to expand on the Program’s success, in late 2020, the TRS Board of Trustees approved an increase to the Program’s commitment from $750 million to $1 billion. This dedicated evergreen pool of capital is designed to identify and invest in emerging and diverse investment managers across all asset classes. TRS is the largest public pension plan in the state of Illinois, with an investment portfolio of $64 billion. Mr. Gonzalez joined the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois on Feb 16, 2015. Prior to joining TRS, Mr. Gonzalez was employed by the Illinois State Treasurer's Office where he was responsible for the management of the Illinois Funds Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) and the ePay Program. Prior to the Treasurer’s Office, Mr. Gonzalez served as an Assistant Futures Commodity Broker with the LIT Division of First Options, CBOT. Mr. Gonzalez holds a B.A. degree in History/Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and an MBA degree from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Ben currently serves as Senior Investment Officer – Global Equity Strategies for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, where he oversees portfolio construction across global public & private equity strategies for the pension fund. Ben’s experience prior to joining TRS in 2016 includes roles in private wealth management and investment banking. Ben holds a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Washington & Lee University and an MBA from Northwestern University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.

Nick currently serves as Senior Investment Officer – Private Equity for the $73 billion Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, where he oversees portfolio construction across private equity buyout, growth equity, and venture capital strategies for the pension fund. He also leads the plan’s private equity co-investment program. Nick’s experience prior to joining TRS in 2021 includes equity research analyst roles at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and Jefferies. Nick holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Missouri. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Patrick currently serves as Investment Officer – within the System’s Private Equity Program, where he oversees portfolio construction across various private equity strategies as well as co-investment. Prior to joining TRS, Patrick worked as a Manager in Deal Advisory (Transaction Services) practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he participated in 50+ deals of M&A as well as other types of transactions for PE and Corporates and the Assurance department at Ernst & Young. Patrick holds a bachelor’s degree of double major in Commercial English & Finance (minor) from the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, China and a master’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Patrick is a chartered CFA and holds the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation

Mr. Freres serves as a Senior Investment Officer – Global Income Strategies for the $70+ billion Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Mr. Freres’ team is responsible for all global fixed income and debt-oriented portfolios (i.e., public, private, custom Funds of One). They manage $18-20 billion including broad exposures to private credit strategies. The team also assists with the Diversifying Strategies portfolio. He previously worked in Investments, focused on public and private credit, at State Farm Insurance. Freres has worked at The Vanguard Group and a mid-sized law firm. He taught through Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta. Mr. Freres has a joint JD/MBA, MS, and BA. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Katie DellaMaria has joined The Teachers’ Retirement System of IL as an Investment Officer focusing on Global Income Strategies, including investments in public and private credit. Before joining TRS, Katie spent the last decade as a portfolio manager at Aviva Investors and BMO Global Asset Management focusing on short duration fixed income strategies. Prior to that, she spent five years at Pacific Investment Management Company on the institutional client service team. She also held positions at Nuveen and JPMorgan. Katie earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame. She is also a CFA® charterholder and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Mr. Karn is a Senior Investment Analyst with the Global Income Strategies for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (“TRS”). In his role, he is involved in sourcing and evaluating new potential managers and structures for the Global Income portfolio on behalf of TRS’s ~$69.5B defined benefit pension plan while also providing oversight for existing investments with separate account and commingled fund managers. Global Income Strategies has a long-term target of 26% of the total portfolio and has a current NAV of $15.9 billion. Prior to joining TRS in 2024, Mr. Karn was a Senior Associate at LAGO Asset Management where he evaluated and executed investment across capital stack (Direct Lending, Venture Equity, and Venture Debt). Prior to LAGO, Mr. Karn was at Hercules Capital executing investments in venture backed companies in the Life Sciences and Technology sectors. Mr. Karn started his career in Real Estate Private Capital Advisory at Wells Fargo Securities.

Chloe’s role includes underwriting, market and portfolio analysis, and reporting across public and private investment managers. She is a current member of Women in Private Credit. Prior to joining TRSIL, Chloe interned at Partners Enterprise Capital, a Chicago-based private equity real estate firm with $20 billion in AUM, where she assisted with valuations, conducted research on new and existing investment opportunities, and wrote economic reports. As an undergraduate, she managed the Consumer Discretionary equities sector for Northern Illinois University’s Student Managed Portfolio. Chloe earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a Minor in Business Analytics from Northern Illinois University.

Sam Odeleye is currently a Rotational Investment Analyst at TRS. He joined TRS November 2023 and previously worked at Allstate Investment LLC in Investments Pricing and Valuation. Prior to that, he worked at KPMG LLP(US) in Corporate Finance and Accounting and Northern Trust Asset Management.

Mr. Thomas has worked on the plan’s public equity portfolio since he was hired in 2007. His roles include performing due diligence on existing public equity mandates, and also researching prospective strategies to enhance the public equity composite. Prior to joining the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Mr. Thomas was employed at Robert Baird as an equity portfolio analyst. Mr. Thomas is a CFA charterholder. He holds a Master of Science degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also has received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

James is a senior investment analyst covering Quantitative Analytics and Global Public Equities. James started his career in 2016 with Wells Fargo Advisors, working from their headquarters in St. Louis, MO. While there, he held roles as an analyst with their investment products group and as a financial advisor. He joined Capital Group in 2020 as a lead data scientist responsible for firm strategy, forecasting and model development for American Funds Service Company. James joined TRS in November of 2023 as an investment analyst with the public equity group. James has a BA and MA in Economics from Southern Illinois University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Mr. Sanert is a Real Assets Senior Investment Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (“TRS”). In his role, he is involved in sourcing, researching, and managing alternative real estate and real asset investments and relationships on behalf of TRS’s ~$69.5B defined benefit pension plan while also providing oversight for existing investments with separate account and commingled fund managers. Real assets has a long-term target of 18% of the total portfolio and has a current NAV of ~$12.6B. Prior to joining TRS in 2008, Mr. Sanert was VP of Operations and Loan Officer for Alliance Community Bank. Mr. Sanert received a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000 and earned his M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 2007. Mr. Sanert, a native of central Illinois, currently resides in Sherman with his wife Theresa and two boys (Gavin – 13, Brody – 8).

Mr. Runnalls has worked on the plan’s real assets portfolio since he was hired in 2023. His roles include performing due diligence on existing real asset mandates, and also researching prospective strategies to enhance the real asset composite. Prior to joining the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Mr. Runnalls was employed at Ascension Investment Management as a Managing Director of Investments. Mr. Runnalls is a CFA charterholder. He holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

Ann Stone is an Investment Analyst for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS). Mrs. Stone is responsible for conducting primary due diligence on prospective and existing Investment Managers across all asset classes for the Emerging Manager Program. Prior to joining TRS, Mrs. Stone was an Underwriting Assistant at Markel Surety. She also has a background in banking. Mrs. Stone holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Illinois in Springfield and received a Bachelor of Management and Organization Development from Benedictine University in Springfield, IL. She also holds the CFA Certificate.

Charlie Hirner is a Private Equity Investment Analyst at the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, where he assists in manager due diligence and evaluates co-investment opportunities. Prior to joining TRS, he managed the Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors within the University of Missouri’s Investment Fund Management program. Charlie graduated with honors from the University of Missouri, earning a BSBA with an emphasis in Finance and Banking.

Lily Wetzel is a Rotational Investment Analyst at the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois. She began her tenure with the system in 2023 as an intern with GIS and is currently contributing to the Private Equity team following a rotation with the Real Assets/Real Estate team. Lily holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a bachelor's degree in finance, and her master’s degree in finance from Northern Illinois University. Additionally, she has earned certifications in Marketing, Digital Marketing, FinTech, and Philosophy. Prior to her current role, she served as a Marketing Coordinator for the Kishwaukee Special Recreation System. In her free time, Lily enjoys playing the drums and taking care of animals.

Tyler Kalata is currently a Rotational Investment Analyst within Diversifying Strategies (DS) team at TRS Illinois. In this role, he contributes to the development of a risk mitigation framework aimed at positioning the DS portfolio as a reliable source of liquidity for the System. Prior to joining TRS in June 2024, Tyler interned as an Investment Analyst at Shelter Insurance, where he focused on public equity research within the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis on Finance from the University of Missouri.

Rocco Di Leo is an Investment Officer on the Real Assets team at the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS). Before joining TRS, he worked at Equity Residential, where he was involved in the company's nationwide disposition strategy and renovation initiatives. Mr. Di Leo holds an A.B. in Government from Dartmouth College and an MSc in Management from Durham University Business School.

Ashleigh is an associate on the Pan-Alternatives team at Aksia. She works with the Pan-Alternatives team to support investors’ alternative investment portfolios across private credit, hedge funds, private equity, real assets, and infrastructure. She primarily focuses on assisting with day-to-day investment program needs. Ashleigh joined Aksia in 2022 and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University with a BBA in Finance and a minor in Advertising.

Sonia joined RVK in 2010 and is located in our Portland office. As Head of Sustainable Investments and ESG Lead, Sonia leads RVK’s Sustainable Investment Solutions Group (SISG), a team responsible for identifying priorities and evaluating investment opportunities in ESG asset management. The team works closely with client teams to source, evaluate, and review asset managers that meet high standards for sustainable, ESG-integrated, or impact investing. Sonia and the SISG works in tandem with a client’s consulting team to complete projects ranging from aligning investment policy and portfolios with organizational values and missions, finding high-quality sustainable investment managers, and staying current on global sustainable investing developments. Sonia earned a BS degree in Finance from Seattle University. She is a shareholder of the firm.

David is a Managing Director and has over 18 years of experience in alternative investments. He is responsible for overseeing various investment programs and focuses on portfolio construction and manager selection, providing customized investment recommendations and regular portfolio updates. Prior to joining Aksia in 2018, David was a Senior Manager Research Analyst at Man FRM, focused on sourcing and evaluating alternatives strategies, as well as active portfolio management. Prior to Man FRM, David was a Vice President within the Institutional Sales and Trading business at HSBC, and before that he worked at Morgan Stanley, where he covered institutional clients across the hedge fund, asset management, and sovereign wealth fund universe, with a focus on fixed income and foreign exchange. David graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Economics and holds an MBA from Columbia University. In 2023, David was recognized as a Knowledge Broker by Chief Investment Officer. In 2024, David was named Institutional Consultant of the Year by Institutional Investor.

Mr. True is a member of the private equity team, focusing on small-market buyouts and secondary funds. He is also a member of the StepStone Charitable Giving Program. Prior to joining StepStone, Mr. True was an analyst at The Carlyle Group's AlpInvest Partners where he sourced and performed due diligence on private equity funds focusing on North American GPs. Previously, Mr. True was an investment analyst at Cornell University Investment Office where he assisted in managing the university's endowment by sourcing and conducting due diligence on prospective managers. Mr. True graduated with honors with a BS in financial economics from Binghamton University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Micah Bloom is an associate on the StepStone real estate team and focuses on various investment and portfolio management activities. Prior to joining StepStone, Mr. Bloom was a Research Intern for CoStar Group in Richmond, Virginia. He also held internships with family office investment firms in industrial, office, and multifamily real estate. Mr. Bloom received his BS from The Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.