ARK Disruptive Innovation

Cathie registered ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. With over 40 years of experience identifying and investing in innovation, Cathie founded ARK to focus solely on disruptive innovation while adding new dimensions to research. Through an open approach that cuts across sectors, market capitalizations, and geographies, Cathie believes that ARK can identify large-scale investment opportunities in the public markets resulting from technological innovations centered around DNA sequencing, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology. As Chief Investment Officer (“CIO”) and Portfolio Manager, Cathie led the development of ARK’s philosophy and investment approach and has ultimate responsibility for investment decisions.

Prior to ARK, Cathie spent twelve years at AllianceBernstein as CIO of Global Thematic Strategies where she managed over $5 billion. Cathie joined Alliance Capital from Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund she co-founded, which in 2000, managed approximately $800 million in global thematic strategies. Prior to her tenure at Tupelo Capital, she worked for 18 years with Jennison Associates LLC as Chief Economist, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Director. She started her career in Los Angeles, California at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist. Cathie received her Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Southern California in 1981.

Cathie has been recognized as an influential fund manager across various outlets. In 2018, editors at Bloomberg acknowledged Cathie by selecting her to its second annual Bloomberg 50 list of people across business, entertainment, finance, politics, technology, and science who have defined global business. Additionally, Fortune named Cathie to its exclusive roundtable of experts in the annual Fortune Investors Guide: The Best Investing Advice for 2019 From Fortune’s Experts. In 2016, Cathie received the “Women in Finance – Outstanding Contribution Award” from Market Media. Cathie also has been a featured speaker at the World Economic Forum (China) in 2016 & 2017, the World Strategic Forum (Miami) in 2017, The Sohn Hearts and Minds Investment Leaders Conference (Australia) in 2018 and 2019, and Singularity University’s Exponential Finance in 2017 and Global Summit in 2019.

In 2018, Cathie launched the Duddy Innovation Institute at her alma mater, Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles. The institute offers a challenging educational experience for young women eager to stretch their learning beyond the boundaries of traditional acquisition of knowledge, while influencing a new way of thinking and learning throughout campus.

*The Adviser did not pay a fee to be considered for or granted any awards. The Adviser did not pay a fee or was required to be a member of an organization to be invited as a speaker at any of the noted events. For full Award Disclosure please go to our Terms & Conditions page. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Brett joined ARK in February 2014 and has worked alongside Cathie for almost 15 years since their time at AllianceBernstein. As Director of Research, Brett guides and manages the proprietary research of ARK’s investment team. The team recognizes that disruptive innovation demands a dynamic and universal approach. By researching across sectors, industries and markets, ARK’s investment team seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the convergence and market potential of disruptive innovations, and thus size investment opportunities more appropriately.

Prior to ARK, Brett served as a Vice President and Senior Analyst on the Research on Strategic Change team at AllianceBernstein. In that role, Brett conducted thematic research, served on the thematic portfolios strategy committee under Cathie Wood’s stewardship, and advised portfolio managers across asset classes. His research topics included Global Energy in the Face of Carbon Dioxide Regulation; Social Media and the Rise of Facebook; the Reformation of the Financial Services Landscape; and the Emergence of Electric Vehicles. He also is the Founder and Principal at iamB Consulting, providing strategy consulting to early stage startups. Prior to 2007, Brett worked in business development in the Radio-Frequency Identification industry after serving as a founding teacher at a charter high school in Los Angeles. Brett earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Renato “Ren” joined ARK in October 2018. As ARK’s Client Portfolio Manager, Ren works directly with ARK’s investment team to communicate in-depth knowledge of investment-level detail to internal and external clients.

Prior to ARK, Ren was Vice President and Director of Investment Research & Due Diligence at Capital One’s Wealth & Asset Management division. He was responsible for leading the expansion of investment research, third-party investment manager platform, strategic asset allocation framework, and portfolio construction. He also worked as a client-facing portfolio manager, developing and maintaining institutional and high-net-worth client relationships. Prior to Capital One, Ren held various portfolio management, investment due diligence and analyst roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, Nomura Holdings, and Legg Mason, Inc. Ren is a CFA® and CAIA® charterholder, and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Master of Science in Finance from Loyola University Maryland.

Tasha joined ARK in January 2014 and is an Analyst for ARK’s Autonomous Technology and Robotics strategy. She covers autonomous cars, additive manufacturing, infrastructure development, and innovative materials.

Previously, Tasha spent almost three years as a management consultant for Applied Value, working primarily with manufacturing and automotive clients. Tasha is a graduate of Boston University’s Collaborative Degree Program with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Finance concentration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Statistics with a Pure and Applied Mathematics concentration.

Tasha frequently appears on CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, and Fox Business. She has been quoted and her research has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wired, the Verge, Bloomberg, CNNMoney, and Marketwatch, among other publications. She has been a featured speaker at the Annual Meeting for the Transportation Research Board, a division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for the United States and at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on autonomous driving.

Sam joined ARK in July 2015. As Associate Portfolio Manager, Sam works directly with Cathie Wood and the investment team to drive ARK’s investment process and make investment decisions. Sam joined ARK as an Analyst on the Autonomous Technology and Robotics strategy and still assumes these responsibilities. In this capacity, Sam focuses on automation, robotics, energy storage, alternate energy, and space exploration.

Prior to ARK, Sam was a business development intern at Graphiq, a knowledge graph and visualization company. Prior to Graphiq, Sam worked as a captain for Sail Caribbean. Sam graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied Cognitive Science with a concentration in Computation and Cognition.

Sam has appeared on CNBC, BNN and Cheddar TV, and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.

Simon joined ARK as an Analyst on the Genomic Revolution strategy in October 2018. His focus is on next generation DNA sequencing, molecular diagnostics, bioinformatics, and synthetic biology.

Prior to ARK, Simon was an engineering intern at Tissue Analytics—a software firm that utilizes computer vision and machine learning to analyze chronic wounds. Previously, Simon was a research intern at South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START) and Oncopath Laboratory, where he focused on novel anticancer agents and molecular tissue profiling, respectively. Simon graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a focus on computational biomedicine.

Simon has appeared on Cheddar TV, Investor’s Business Daily, and TD Ameritrade.

Max joined ARK as an Analyst for ARK’s Fintech strategy in December 2018. He focuses on payments, digital wallets and the venture capital space.

Prior to ARK, he spent nearly two years at Redstone, a Berlin-based venture capital firm. Max also was Research Assistant at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) where he studied the syndication behavior of venture capitalists and subsequent effects on their portfolio companies. Max obtained his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Heidelberg.

Max has appeared on TD Ameritrade Network and has been quoted in Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC, among other publications.

Alexandra “Ali” joined ARK as an Analyst on the Genomic Revolution strategy in February 2020. She focuses on gene editing, stem cell and novel immunotherapy technologies.

Prior to ARK, Ali conducted clinical cancer research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Montefiore Medical Center; and was a Senior Research Program Manager at IBM Watson Health. Ali incorporated her own consulting firm in 2018.  Ali has a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and a Masters in Epidemiology and Community Health from New York Medical College. She has additional training from the MIT Labs in Human-Computer Interaction for User Experience Design.

Ali has published over 25 articles spanning cancer research, AI and space medicine. She has three filed patents and received the Manager’s Choice Award in 2017 and 2018, and the Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 from IBM Watson Health.

Nick joined ARK in July of 2018. As Associate Portfolio Manager, Nick works directly with Cathie Wood and the investment team to drive ARK’s investment process and make investment decisions. Initially, Nick served as ARK’s Trading/Research Associate. Afterwards, he transitioned into the role of an Analyst on the Next Generation Internet strategy and still assumes these responsibilities. In this capacity, he focuses on digital media, streaming technology, and online gaming.

Prior to ARK, Nick worked at York International Insurance and Vestorly, a New York-based tech start-up. He also interned at Deutsche Bank, and Gamma Real Estate – a boutique commercial real estate firm. Nick graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

Nick has been quoted by Business Insider for his research on video streaming services.

Yassine joined ARK in July 2018. As ARK’s Blockchain/Cryptoasset Analyst, his research focuses on cryptoasset portfolio allocation, cryptoasset institutionalization, and Bitcoin mining.

Prior to ARK, Yassine was a Summer Analyst at Rembrandt Venture Partners, a SaaS focused early stage venture capital firm; and Arena Investors, a registered investment adviser that originates investments with borrowers and other counterparties who need access to financing and are otherwise not able to access conventional sources. Yassine graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Wharton and a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from The School of Engineering.

Yassine has been quoted on Yahoo, Yahoo Finance, Coindesk, Bitcoin Magazine, and Asia Times, among other publications. Additionally, Yassine was a featured speaker at The Fidelity Mining Summit and has been a guest on notable crypto-focused podcasts, including Marty Bent’s Tales from the Crypt, Laura Shin’s Unchained, Bitcoin Magazine, and Anthony Pompliano’s Off The Chain.

Dan joined ARK in February 2021. As ARK’s Client Portfolio Specialist, he partners with ARK’s investment team to create and deliver insight and analysis to internal and external clients.

Prior to ARK, Dan was Vice President and Investment Strategist at Bank of America. His primary responsibilities were investment manager due diligence and portfolio construction for the model portfolios offered at Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust Private Bank. Dan is a CFA Charterholder, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Rhode Island.