Global Alts Miami

J. Kyle Bass is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management, an investment manager of private funds focused on global event-driven opportunities, and the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Conservation Equity Management, an impact and natural capital private equity firm. Mr. Bass is also the Co-Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Rochefort Management, a private credit firm focused on the Critical Technology Initiative – a joint effort between the Small Business Administration and Department of Defense to attract private investment into technology areas deemed critical to national and economic security.

Mr. Bass is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the recipient of the 2019 Foreign Policy Association Medal for his responsible internationalism. Mr. Bass has testified as an expert witness before the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

Mr. Bass has lectured on global economics, national security, geopolitics, and the architecture of the Chinese financial system at various universities, including Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Texas, and the University of Virginia. Mr. Bass is the former Chair of the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), which manages approximately $75 billion.

Formerly, he was a Managing Director at Legg Mason and a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns. He graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in finance. Bass is an Advisory Board member of the Hudson Institute’s China Center, an Executive Advisory Board member of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, and an Investment Advisory Board member to RIA NewEdge Wealth. He also serves on the boards of the Texas Wildlife Association Foundation, Texas Department of Public Safety Foundation, and Melinda’s Foods.

Seth is the Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of Baupost and has overseen the firm’s investments since its inception. Seth is the author of “Margin of Safety,” a book that outlines his value investment philosophy, and the editor of and contributor to the Benjamin Graham and David Dodd classic “Security Analysis, Seventh Edition.” He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a B.A. in Economics and was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA. Between his undergraduate and graduate studies, Seth worked in an analyst capacity for Mutual Shares Corporation. He is a member of Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Broad Institute. He also serves on Beth Israel Hospital’s Board of Managers and as a member of their Board of Trustees. In 2020, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also the co-chairman of The Klarman Family Foundation. Seth regularly teaches in investment classes at leading colleges and business schools and speaks at various industry gatherings.

Since the formation of Oaktree in 1995, Mr. Marks has been responsible for ensuring the firm’s adherence to its core investment philosophy; communicating closely with clients concerning products and strategies; and contributing his experience to big-picture decisions relating to investments and corporate direction.

From 1985 until 1995, Mr. Marks led the groups at The TCW Group, Inc. that were responsible for investments in distressed debt, high yield bonds, and convertible securities. Previously, Mr. Marks was with Citicorp Investment Management for 16 years, where from 1978 to 1985 he was Vice President and senior portfolio manager in charge of convertible and high yield securities. Between 1969 and 1978, he was an equity research analyst and, subsequently, Citicorp’s Director of Research.

He also serves as a Director of Brookfield Corporation, and is the Chair of Brookfield’s Investment Solutions Group. In this role, he provides strategic oversight in delivering innovative solutions to global institutional, private wealth and family capital clients by developing tailored multi-asset portfolio solutions that leverage Brookfield’s full suite of investment capabilities.

Mr. Marks holds a B.S.Ec. degree cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a major in finance and an M.B.A. in accounting and marketing from the Booth School of Business of the University of Chicago. He is a CFA® charterholder. Mr. Marks is a Trustee and Member of the Investment Committee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a member of the Investment Committee of the Royal Drawing School in London. He is a member of the Shanghai International Financial Advisory Council. Howard is an Emeritus Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, where from 2000 to 2010 he chaired the Investment Board.

Stephen M. Ross is the Chairman and CEO of Related Ross, Founder of Related Companies, Owner of the Miami Dolphins and a devoted philanthropist. Through Related Ross, Mr. Ross is driving transformational inclusive growth across South Florida, particularly in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.

Mr. Ross founded Related Companies in 1972, building it into a global leader with more than $70 billion in assets spanning residential, office, retail and mixed-use developments. The firm is also among the nation’s largest owners and preservers of affordable housing and was recently named one of Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Beyond real estate, Mr. Ross is an investor in Equinox Fitness Clubs, Equinox Hotels and SoulCycle, reflecting his long-standing commitment to wellness and lifestyle innovation.

In sports and entertainment, Mr. Ross owns the Miami Dolphins, chairs the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix and played a pivotal role in bringing the Miami Open Tennis Tournament to Hard Rock Stadium. Mr. Ross is also Chairman and Co-Founder of RSE Ventures, a multi-national technology, sports and entertainment venture firm. 

Mr. Ross’s philanthropic contributions span education, healthcare and urban sustainability. He established the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, founded the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) and is the largest single donor to the University of Michigan, supporting the Ross School of Business. Through the Giving Pledge, Mr. Ross has committed more than half his estate to philanthropic causes worldwide.

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman & CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the private alternative investment firm he formed in 1991 that is focused on global real estate. Mr. Sternlicht also serves as Chairman & CEO of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), a leading diversified finance company.

For the past 35 years, Mr. Sternlicht has structured investments with an asset value exceeding $280 billion. Starwood Capital’s investment vehicles have invested in approximately 300,000 residential units, 4,000 hotels, 104 million sf of office properties, 97 million sf of industrial, 56 million sf of retail and 85,000 lots of land in residential subdivisions. The Firm currently manages approximately $130 billion of assets on behalf of its high net worth and institutional partners. Starwood Capital, its affiliates and externally managed public companies, employ approximately 7,000 professionals across 21 offices in 9 countries.

From 1995 through early 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, a company he founded in 1995. During his tenure, he built Starwood Hotels into one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, employing more than 120,000 people with 895 properties in 100 countries. Mr. Sternlicht created W Hotels, perhaps the world’s most successful “boutique” brand, and built the St. Regis Hotels brand from a single hotel to a global brand.

In 2008, Mr. Sternlicht founded SH Group (now called Starwood Hotels), his new hotel management company. Starwood Hotels is the owner and manager of 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, and Treehouse Hotels brands.

In 2016, Mr. Sternlicht was the recipient of PERE’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he was named the Global Industry Figure of the Year by PERE, received the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hotel Investment Forum. In 2013, Mr. Sternlicht was named the Most Important Person in Commercial Real Estate Finance by The Mortgage Observer. In 2010, Mr. Sternlicht was named Executive of the Year and Investor of the Year by Commercial Property Executive. Mr. Sternlicht was also named America’s Best Lodging CEO by Institutional Investor Magazine. He is a member of the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame. He has received the Preston Robert Tisch Distinguished Industry Leadership Award from New York University, the CEO Diversity Award from Diversity Best Practices/Business Women’s Network, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, the Hospitality Heritage Award from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the Marketer of the Year Award from Brandweek. Mr. Sternlicht’s humanitarian efforts have garnered prestigious national honors such as JDRF’s Man of the Year, JDRF’s Living and Giving Award and JDRF’s Chairman’s Award.

Mr. Sternlicht serves on the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies and the Real Estate Roundtable. Additionally, he formerly served as Chairman of the Board and is currently a board member of The Robin Hood Foundation, and also serves on the boards of the Dreamland Film & Performing Arts Center, and the Executive Advisory Board of Americans for the Arts. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation Trustee Council, the World Presidents Organization and the Urban Land Institute.

Barry Sternlicht received his BA, magna cum laude (with honors), from Brown University. He later earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.