Meet Our People

Ricardo has over 25 years of financial and investment management experience. He led Callard, Madden & Associates through the creation of their asset management firm, which ultimately became Ativo Capital Management, LLC. He oversees all investment management activities at Ativo. Ricardo is responsible for establishing processes and procedures for stock valuation, financial modeling, and portfolio construction. Prior to founding Ativo, Ricardo held positions for financial institutions in Brazil and the United States, including Credit Lyonnais, Dorchester Capital and our predecessor firm, Callard, Madden & Associates. He serves on the Boards of Directors of New America Alliance, Inc. and NewbergerHillel Center at the University of Chicago and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from the FundacaoGetulioVargas in Brazil and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.

Ram is a senior portfolio manager at Ativo. He joined the firm in 2005. Ram is also our director of research, working to continuously enhance the firm’s proprietary alpha model. Ram is involved in quantitative modeling, factor research, and overseeing our risk management framework. He holds a master’s degree in Financial Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering from JNTU, India. Ram is on the Board of Advisors of the investment club at IIT’s Stuart School of Business and co-chairs the school’s alumni organization.

Adan is a senior portfolio manager at Ativo. He joined the firm in 2006.  In addition, Adan is our head trader and, as such, has responsibility for all trading activity for the firm. Adan is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago’s Social Advisory Group. He has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Rice University and an MBA in Finance from Loyola University.  Adan is a CFA^® charter holder and Certified FRM^®.

Fan joined Ativo in 2018. He is responsible for conducting research related to portfolio optimization, risk management and portfolio implementation, as well as providing analytical support to the investment and research team to enhance existing the research framework. Prior to joining Ativo, Fan was a Vice President at MSCI and responsible for assisting institutional asset management clients with portfolio construction and risk management needs. Fan graduated with distinction from University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce as well as a master’s degree in Financial Economics. He is a CFA® charterholder, a CAIA® charterholder and a Certified FRM®.

Athang supports the investment team by ensuring the accuracy of worldwide company financial data received from multiple data vendors. He is also responsible for creating and updating portfolio attribution reports. Athang holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management, as well as an MBA from Dominican University. He was hired by Ativo as an intern in 2013, while completing his master’s degree, and became a full-time employee after two years.

Jeremy is responsible for supporting and producing reports for the investment team. He also manages strategy-specific information within pitchbooks, factsheets and RFPs. Prior to joining Ativo in 2017, he worked as a Google Street View trusted account manager at LCP360. Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree in Information and Decision Sciences with a concentration in Management Information Systems and a minor in Business Analytics from University of Illinois at Chicago. He also passed Level I of the CFA ®program.

Michael is responsible for all institutional business development and client relations for the firm. Prior to joining Ativo in September 2005, he was Assistant Vice President at Bank of Ireland Asset Management and responsible for institutional client service. From 2000 to 2003 he was a Portfolio Analyst at Concord Asset Management and responsible for AIMR Performance and Presentation Standards compliance. From 1990 to 2000 he worked at Northern Trust and held a number of positions within their Large Corporate and Institutional Services division. He is Vice President of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) and he holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Loyola University and an MBA and a master’s in Finance from St. Xavier University – Chicago.

Kelly contributes to Ativo’s client and new business development efforts, focusing on specific regions of the United States. She joined the firm in 2015. Prior to joining our firm, Kelly worked at UBS Global Asset Management (“UBS”), where she covered institutional clients and prospects, within the Asset Allocation Advisory and Outsourced-CIO space. Prior to UBS, Kelly worked on quantitative equities at Chicago Equity Partners. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in finance and economics from University of Illinois at Chicago. Mrs. O’Malley is a regular member of the CFA Institute, CFA Society of Chicago, Women Investment Professionals, and serves on the Corporate Advisory Board for La Rabida Children’s Hospital.

Maria manages the data gathering and population process of multiple global investment and consultant databases, supports the completion of RFPs, and develops competitive analysis reports through software and research. She also collaborates in client service and new business development efforts. Prior to joining Ativo in 2012, she spent four years auditing investment portfolios as Senior Portfolio Accounting Analyst within Northern Trust’s Operations & Technology division. Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a minor in Economics from DePaul University.

Eric has been with Ativo since 2014. He manages our compliance activity and oversees operations. Prior to joining the firm, Eric was Director and Senior Compliance Officer of UBS Global Asset Management. He also served as Securities Compliance Examiner and Staff Accountant for the broker-dealer examination program in the Chicago regional office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Eric is an Illinois-registered CPA, a CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), has completed Level I of the CFA^® program, and is an IACCP^® (Investment Advisor Certified Compliance Professional). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy and a master’s degree in Accounting Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Shirley has been with Ativo since 2014, she oversees all aspects of the firm’s accounting operations, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, bank reconciliation, budgeting, financial statements, annual audit, and tax returns. She has more than 20 years of accounting and finance experience within the banking, investment, and education industries. Shirley earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Xiamen University, China and a master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her CPA designation in 1997.

Maria has been with Ativo since 2013 and oversees the daily office operations of the company. Her responsibilities encompass many areas of the firm including IT support, accounts payable and receivable, client service, organization and filing, and facilities management. She has received her certificate on Microsoft Office Specialist with focus on Microsoft Outlook, as well as completion of certificates in Microsoft SharePoint and Teams. Before joining Ativo, Maria worked in property management as a bookkeeper and in printing as an office manager.

Patrick joined the firm in 2015. He oversees all aspects of operations at Ativo, including account reconciliation, reporting and performance measurement. He has over 20 years of Investment Operations experience, having worked with Keeley Asset Management, Gardner Lewis Asset Management, Advent Software, Morgan Stanley, Bankers Trust and The Vanguard Group. Patrick holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Dayton and a master’s degree from Eastern University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Jonathan joined Ativo in 2019. He is responsible for trade operations, portfolio administration, reporting and commission-sharing arrangements. Prior to joining Ativo, Jonathan worked at Milliman in their financial risk management department as an Operations Analyst, where he processed daily client money movements as well as reconciling intraday trades. Prior to Milliman, he worked at Northern Trust Company as a Senior Analyst and was responsible for executing mutual fund trades and trading support. Jonathan graduated from Chicago State University with a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems.

Ram is a senior portfolio manager at Ativo. He joined the firm in 2005. Ram is also our director of research, working to continuously enhance the firm’s proprietary alpha model. Ram is involved in quantitative modeling, factor research, and overseeing our risk management framework. He holds a master’s degree in Financial Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering from JNTU, India. Ram is on the Board of Advisors of the investment club at IIT’s Stuart School of Business and co-chairs the school’s alumni organization.

Kiat joined Ativo in 2005. He develops and maintains Ativo’s business applications based on the securities research methodologies developed by the investment team. He is also responsible for company-wide computer maintenance. Kiat holdsa bachelor’s degreein Computer Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology. After graduation, he  joined a process automation company as a software developer. He worked with pharmaceutical industry clients to design control system software used for the automation of their production plants. In 2018, Kiat received his MCSA on SQL Server.

Fan joined Ativo in 2018. He is responsible for conducting research related to portfolio optimization, risk management and portfolio implementation, as well as providing analytical support to the investment and research team to enhance existing the research framework. Prior to joining Ativo, Fan was a Vice President at MSCI and responsible for assisting institutional asset management clients with portfolio construction and risk management needs. Fan graduated with distinction from University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce as well as a master’s degree in Financial Economics. He is a CFA® charterholder, a CAIA® charterholder and a Certified FRM®.