Magnetar AI Ventures

Alan Shaffran has been a Senior Portfolio Manager in Magnetar's Alternative Credit and Fixed Income group since 2008 and heads the firm's London office, overseeing the European portion of the ACFI portfolio across strategies such as synthetic risk transfer transactions, growth capital and specialty finance. He sits on Magnetar's firm-wide Management Committee. Before joining Magnetar, he was global head of structuring at Rabobank in London and spent over 19 years at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup, including as head of European credit derivatives. He holds degrees in Systems Science and Engineering and in Economics (Finance) from the University of Pennsylvania.

David Snyderman is Managing Partner at Magnetar and Global Head of the firm's Alternative Credit and Fixed Income business, overseeing investment sourcing across corporate credit, mortgages and real estate, consumer and specialty finance, and energy and transportation assets. He chairs the Investment Committee and sits on the Management Committee, having joined Magnetar in 2005 with nearly 25 years of fixed income experience. Earlier he was head of global credit and a senior managing director at Citadel Investment Group, worked on convertible and special situations portfolios at Koch Industries, and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Devin Dallaire is Head of Products for Magnetar's Quantitative Investing business, leading its research efforts and serving as a Portfolio Manager for business-specific funds, with over 25 years of experience in quantitative research and investments. Before joining Magnetar in 2010, he held roles as a senior investment researcher at Bridgewater Associates, Head of Risk Management and Quantitative Research at Third Point Management, and led global equity quantitative research at Citadel Investment Group; he began his career at Stafford Trading in 1994. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and completed coursework toward a Ph.D. in Econometrics there.

Erik Falk is Head of Strategy at Magnetar, where he helps guide firm strategy, evaluates and implements new investment strategies, and is involved in day-to-day investment and portfolio management for the firm's Alternative Credit and Fixed Income business. Before joining Magnetar in 2017, he was a Partner and Global Head of Private Credit at KKR & Co. and earlier spent eight years at Deutsche Bank, where his roles included founding the special situations group and co-heading the global securitized products group. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.

Jim Prusko is a senior Portfolio Manager at Magnetar with roughly three decades of experience in fixed income markets. He is a member of the firm's Investment and Management Committees and a senior member of the Alternative Credit and Fixed Income team, where he has managed structured fixed income strategies spanning intellectual property, transportation, music royalties, solar energy, and recycling investments, and has helped develop the firm's technology and AI investing initiative. Before joining Magnetar in 2005 he was Head of Fixed Income at OTA Asset Management and previously spent eleven years at Putnam Investments, ultimately as a Managing Director and team leader of high-grade credit. He holds an MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and MS and BS degrees in chemical engineering from MIT.

Karl Wachter is General Counsel at Magnetar, where he has led the firm's global Legal and Compliance functions since 2010 and sits on its Management, Valuation, and Operations Committees. Before Magnetar, he was General Counsel at Diamond Lake Investment Group and Amaranth Group, and held an Assistant General Counsel role at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, having started his career as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He holds a JD from the University of Chicago Law School, an MA in International Affairs from George Washington University, and a BFA from New York University.

Lavonne Harris is Co-Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Magnetar's funds, where she oversees fund finance operations, management company finance, and COO support and analytics, and coordinates with IT and HR leadership across the firm. Before Magnetar, she spent 23 years at Koch Industries, holding controller roles for Koch Supply & Trading's crude oil, feed and structured products group and for Koch Investment Group, and working with the minerals, oil, and audit groups. She holds a B.A. in Accounting from Kansas State University and passed the CPA exam.

Michael Henriques is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Magnetar with three decades of experience in fixed income, structured securities, and real estate. Within the firm's Alternative Credit and Fixed Income business, he focuses on specialty finance, mortgage and real estate, and structured securities investments. Before joining Magnetar in 2007, he was Managing Director in the Special Situations Group at Deutsche Bank and previously spent over ten years at Goldman Sachs & Co. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Princeton University.

Tom Sherwood is Co-Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development at Magnetar, where he leads business development, capital formation, and new strategy execution, and oversees Risk Management, Market Executions, and Liquid Strategies Operations. He joined the firm in 2013 from Barclays Capital, where he was a Managing Director in Fixed Income Sales, having previously worked at Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch in fixed income sales and trading roles. He holds a BA in Political Economy from Princeton University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Amira Amin is COO for Magnetar's Liquid Strategies, where she oversees middle and back office functions and manages the evaluation and onboarding of new liquid businesses, strategies, and products. She joined Magnetar's Fund Accounting group in 2007 and has since held roles including Deputy COO of Business Operations and Finance and Deputy COO of Business Development before moving to the Office of the COO in late 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Barbara Bernstein is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Magnetar, where she oversees human resources, office services, and the Magnetar Foundation's philanthropic work, and serves on the firm's Management and Operations Committees. She joined Magnetar in 2008 after holding senior human resources roles at JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor firm, Bank One. She helped establish the Magnetar Foundation's financial education mission and holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Syracuse University.

Hayley Stein is Chief Compliance Officer of Magnetar and a member of the firm's Management and Operations Committees, overseeing compliance and regulatory matters across the firm. She previously served as CCO of Magnetar's Alternative Credit & Fixed Income and Liquid Strategies businesses, and before joining in 2022 was General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at ITE Management LP. Earlier in her career she spent 13 years at The Blackstone Group as a Managing Director and CCO of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group, and began as an associate at Dechert LLP. She holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a BA in Economics from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Jeff Harris is Chief Risk Officer at Magnetar, where he oversees quantitative risk modeling, monitoring and reporting, and contributes to strategy evaluation, portfolio optimization, mathematical modeling, AI implementation and signal research. Before joining Magnetar in 2016, he was a Principal at Riley Creek Capital Management and previously a Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of the Quantitative Strategies Fund at Black River Asset Management. He holds a PhD in Physics from Princeton University and a BS in Physics from Brigham Young University.

Lianna Gao is Chief Operating Officer of Business Development & Strategic Initiatives at Magnetar, where she oversees execution of strategic client and capital formation initiatives across existing and new product launches. She joined Magnetar in 2016 after six years at Goldman Sachs on the Fixed Income Derivatives team, where she analyzed interest rate, FX, and credit risks in the banking and specialty finance sectors. She holds a B.S. in Economics from Duke University.

Michael Turro is Head of Enterprise Risk at Magnetar, where he advises the firm and oversees processes for reviewing and resolving conflict issues. He previously served as Magnetar's Chief Compliance Officer from the firm's founding in 2005 through 2024, and earlier held roles as Director of Equity Business Management and compliance officer at UBS AG, with prior experience at Pricewaterhouse (now PwC) and the National Futures Association. He holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and a BBA in Public Accounting from Loyola University Chicago, and is a CPA.

Naomi Gunasekaran is Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Magnetar's funds, where she oversees fund finance operations including accounting, investor reporting, and audit functions across the firm's business lines. She joined Magnetar in 2015 as an Accounting Associate, having previously worked at Empyrean Capital Partners and spent six years at Ernst & Young as an Audit Manager focused on alternative asset management and insurance clients. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from the University of Sydney and completed the CPA exam.

Nate Raschke is CFO of Magnetar's Management Company and leads the firm's Portfolio Finance function, overseeing financial infrastructure, treasury management, and credit and equity financing operations. He also sits on the firm's Asset Diligence and Investment Oversight team. He joined Magnetar in 2007 in Fund Accounting and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

A member of Magnetar's investment team who discussed his path from aspiring biomedical engineer to venture investor on a healthtech podcast, sharing views on AI trends and healthcare business models.