Speaker

Byron Wien

Vice Chairman of Blackstone Advisory Partners

Byron Wien is Vice Chairman of Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions group where he acts as a senior adviser to both the Firm and its clients in analyzing economic, social and political trends to assess the direction of financial markets and thus help guide investment and strategic decisions. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Wien was Chief Investment Strategist for Pequot Capital and before that served for 21 years as Chief (later Senior) U.S. Investment Strategist at Morgan Stanley.

In 1995, Mr. Wien co-authored a book with George Soros on the legendary investor’s life and philosophy, Soros on Soros – Staying Ahead of the Curve. In 1998 he was named by First Call the most widely read analyst on Wall Street and in 2000 was ranked the No. 1 strategist by SmartMoney.com based on his market calls during that year. Mr. Wien was named to the 2004 Smart Money Power 30 list of Wall Street’s most influential investors, thinkers, enforcers, policy makers, players and market movers. He appeared in the “Thinker” category.

In 2006, Mr. Wien was named by New York Magazine as one of the sixteen most influential people in Wall Street. The New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) presented Mr. Wien with a lifetime achievement award in 2008.

Mr. Wien received an AB with honors from Harvard College and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Investment Committees of Lincoln Center. He is a trustee of the New York Historical Society, and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the JPB Foundation.

Speaker

Joe Zidle

Chief Investment Strategist at Blackstone

Joe Zidle is a Senior Director and the Chief Investment Strategist in the Private Wealth Solutions group. Previously, he worked at Richard Bernstein Advisors, an independent investment advisor, where he was responsible for portfolio strategy, asset allocation, investment management and marketing to major wealth management firms and independent RIAs. Zidle previously spent nearly a decade at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently serving as Head of Investment Strategy for Global Wealth Management and Deputy Director of the Research Investment Committee, where he was responsible for creating and communicating global investment strategies to the firm’s private client division across all major investment disciplines. Mr. Zidle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and History from Emory University. From 1993 to 2001, he served as a specialist in military intelligence for the U.S. Army Reserves.

Moderator

Hemali Dassani, MBA 1999

Hemali Dassani, MBA 1999, is an experienced fundraiser and investor relations professional within the alternative investments space and is currently a placement agent at CapLink Securities and consultant to multiple Private Equity funds. Hemali was previously Director of Investor Relations for Argand Partners and Castle Harlan, middle market private equity funds. Hemali was also a Managing Director with Old City Investment Partners, a multi-family office dedicated to finding high quality investments for the firm’s clientele of family office investors. Ms. Dassani has an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University. She was President of the Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York and currently sits on the Board of the Club. Ms. Dassani is a published author of “Marketing Alternative Investments: A Comprehensive Guide to Fundraising and Investor Relations for Private Equity and Hedge Funds” (https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Alternative-Investments-Comprehensive-Fundraising/dp/1264627645). The book was released by McGraw Hill on October 18, 2022 and had been the #1 New Release in Private Equity and Venture Capital for two months.