Ricardo Bekin - Director of Research

I am a quant with a vision. As a Finance major in Brazil, I knew I had an affinity for numbers. I started applying financial theory at Credit Lyonnais and Du Pont in Brazil and was then recruited to join FMC Corporation in Chicago. With FMC's support, I entered the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business and earned an MBA in Finance. I was invited into the PhD program and completed the coursework in 1990.

At the instigation of my advisor, Professor Robert Aliber, I joined Callard, Madden & Associates. There I gained extensive experience in stock valuation, quantitative modeling and portfolio construction. I remain the Director of Research for Ativo Research, the successor firm to Callard Madden.

In 2001, I had integrated this knowledge and began applying it to the management of portfolios and founded Ativo Capital Management LLC.

James Stuart - Chief Operation Officer

I emphasize structure and order. My start as an engineer, coupled with a University of Chicago MBA in Accounting, affirms an order orientation. Whether for accounting, legal, regulatory, tax, information technology, or human resources, my goal has been to ensure organizational cohesion and minimize non-investment risk in growing firms.

I have been the Chief Financial Officer at a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, and an international software firm that provided trading software. I was the co-founder of an institutional broker-dealer and was the Chief Operating Officer of an international proprietary trading firm. I've consulted with a major LaSalle Street bank, an Internet Web publisher to the financial services industry, a major venture capital firm, and others.

I earned my MBA at Chicago in 1977, became a Certified Public Accountant and gained an MS in Financial Markets and Trading at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1997. I was pleased to become Ricardo's partner in 2005.

Daniel T. Allen - Director of Business Development

I am a catalyst for change. Throughout my career I have sought to connect and integrate different resources and people to create new and better opportunities for businesses.

After graduating from Georgia State University and proudly serving my country as an officer in the U.S. Army, I eventually found myself at Structured Management & Equity, Ltd. where I spent fifteen years consulting on business development work for companies throughout the U.S.

Upon leaving Structured Management, I joined Smith Barney where I became very interested in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and how they should be integrated into financial decisions. Today, understanding the intelligent integration of ESG is a passion that I bring to Ativo in my role as Director – Business Development.

Ram Gandikota - Associate Director of Research

I have an affinity for data and anything analytical. My background in engineering and finance has provided me with analytical skills in computer programming, finance and statistics which are directly applicable in quantitative analysis of securities.

I have a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in India and a Masters Degree in Financial Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology. I joined Ativo as an intern in 2005 and became a full-time employee upon graduation.

At Ativo I deal with data analytics as it applies to equity research. I work closely with Ricardo Bekin to enhance Ativo's quantitative valuation framework.

Kiat Tang - Equity Research Programmer

I am about data precision and automation. My computer engineering background ensures that I efficiently integrate different technologies to process a variety of data and create meaningful information.

I received my Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL in 2004. I immediately joined a process automation company as a software developer. I worked with pharmaceutical industry clients to design control system software used for the automation of their production plants.

I joined Ativo in 2005. I develop and maintain Ativo's business applications based on the securities research methodologies developed by the analysts. I am also responsible for company-wide computer issues.