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USC Marshall Center for Investment Studies (CIS) Appoints Prominent and Successful Investor David Iben as New Board of Advisors Chair

USC Marshall Center for Investment Studies (CIS) Appoints Prominent and Successful Investor David Iben as New Board of Advisors Chair

The USC Marshall School Center for Investment Studies is pleased to announce the appointment of David Iben as the Chair of its Board of Advisors.

03.06.24
USC Marshall Center for Investment Studies (CIS) Appoints Prominent and Successful Investor David Iben  as New Board of Advisors Chair

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David Iben is the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Kopernik Global All-Cap and Global Unconstrained strategies, and the Co-Portfolio Manager of the Kopernik International and Global Long-Term Opportunities strategies. With over 40 years of investment experience, Dave specializes in identifying undervalued securities, globally. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Kopernik Global Investors. He also serves as the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Member.

Prior to founding Kopernik, Dave managed the $2.7 billion Global Value Long/Short Equity portfolio at Vinik Asset Management, where he was a director and head of the Global Value team from July 2012 to March 2013. From 1998 to 2012, Dave was lead portfolio manager, co-founder, chief investment officer, and co-president of Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC, a $38 billion (at February 2012) investment firm. He was the sole portfolio manager of the firm’s Global All-Cap strategy, North American All-Cap strategy, and Global Long/Short strategy, directly managing more than $20 billion assets at the time of his departure. Prior to that, Dave was a co-founder and lead portfolio manager of Palladian Capital Management. He was a senior portfolio manager at Cramblit & Carney from 1996 to 1998.

I have long supported the Center's work in applying academic theory to real-world investing and I look forward to collaborating with the exceptional minds of the CIS board and at Marshall to prepare the next generation of global investors

— David Iben

Board Chair for Center for Investment Studies / Chief Investment Officer and Lead Portfolio Manager, Kopernik Global Investors, LLC.

Dave began his career with Farmers Group, Inc. Over the course of 14 years, he worked his way up from securities analyst/trader to portfolio manager and eventually to director of research and lead portfolio manager for both equity and fixed income strategies. At the time of his departure in 1996, Dave was acting as Farmers’ chief investment officer, responsible for $16 billion of investable assets.

Dave earned his bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis, and his MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

As Board Chair, Dave advises the Center Director in providing strategic insights and direction to help guide the Center's mission of advancing investment knowledge and experiential learning through academic research, student education, and industry engagement. Dave succeeds Larry Tashjian, CEO at CAM Capital Advisors, who led the CIS board in achieving tremendous growth of the SIF program along with increased visibility and reputation within the investment community since the inception of the Center.

"I have long supported the Center's work in applying academic theory to real-world investing," said Dave Iben. "I look forward to collaborating with the exceptional minds of the CIS board and at Marshall to prepare the next generation of global investors."

We are honored to have Dave chair our board. Dave has been a very active member of the CIS advisory board. He and his wife Nancy seeded the SIF’s Global Equity Fund (GEF), which has grown considerably since its launch. GEF is a key component of the USC Marshall SIF experiential learning experience. The students and alumni have continued to benefit greatly from Dave’s advice, mentorship, and involvement. We look forward to working with Dave in his new role.