Friday, March 23, 2007 8:19 AM

9th Annual Wall Street Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Gala NYChapter – National Association of Securities Professionals The Ritz Carlton Hotel, NY, NY
February 28, 2007

The Wall Street Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment in opening the doors for people of color in the world of finance.  On February 28, 2007, at the prestigious Ritz Carlton-Battery Park Hotel, the New York Chapter of the National Association of Securities Professionals or NASP-NY, inducted into the NASP-NY Wall Street Hall of Fame, Fred R. Buenrostro Jr., Chief Executive Officer, California Public Employees’ Retirement System, William M. Lewis, Jr., Co-Chair Investment Banking, Lazard Ltd., Tina Byles Williams, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, FIS Group; and Kneeland Youngblood, Managing Partner, Pharos Capital Group. 

The Annual Wall Street Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Gala began with an extravagant cocktail reception followed by the invocation, dinner, presentations and inductions into the Hall of Fame.  Reginald Scantlebury, President, NASP-New York and Senior Vice President, Jackson Securities, Inc. welcomed the guest and recognized the contributions made by those that were to be honored and inducted into the 2007 Hall of Fame. Dyce Ellis-Beckham, Vice President, NASP-NY, Chair NASP-New York Foundation, and Senior Vice-President, Lehman Brothers Asset Management, provided an overview of the NASP-NY Foundation and the Finance and Scholastic Training (FAST) Track Program.  The FAST Track Program is a mentoring program sponsored by NASP-NY which exposes talented high school students to the financial services industry by providing them with opportunities for skill and career development and placing them on the FAST Track to a career on Wall Street. Lesley Nettles, Chair NASP-New York Event Committee and Principal, Fairview Capital Partners introduced the Mistress of Ceremonies after congratulating the 2007 Honories and recognizing the former inductees in attendance. 
The Mistress of Ceremonies was Jacque Reid, Journalist and News Correspondent for the Tom Joyner Morning show. She acknowledged and congratulated the young recipients of the FAST Track scholarships. 

The first inductee into the 2007 Wall Street Hall of Fame was Fred R. Buenrostro, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The Honorable William C. Thompson, Jr., Comptroller, City of New York, former inductee, made the presentation.  In his current position Mr. Buenrostro, Jr. administers the nation’s largest public pension fund. He oversees CalPERS employees, budget and operations, spanning investments, health, and retirement benefits administration, actuarial and employer services and other supplemental programs. CalPERS provide retirement and health benefits to more than 1.4 million current and retired California public employees and their families. In addition, Mr. Buenrostro, Jr. serves as the First Vice President of the California Association of Public Retirement Systems (CALAPRS) and as a Board Member of the United Way California Capital Region. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Buenrostro, Jr. spoke of the lack of integration in the finance field and that although improvements have been made; more is needed to continue the progress.  

Carla Harris, Managing Director, Global Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley and also a former inductee, presented to William M. Lewis, Jr., Managing Director, Lazard Ltd.  Mr. Williams joined Lazard Ltd as a Managing Director and C0-Chairman of Investment Banking in 2004. Since joining Lazard, Mr. Lewis has advised Maytag in the sale to Whirlpool, Silver Lake Partners in its strategic investment in Thomson, Texas Instruments in the sale of its Sensors and Control Business to Bain Capital, Muehlstein in its sale to Ravago, Whirlpool in its divestitures of Amana and Dixie-Narco and the special Committee of Emmis Communications in its consideration of a leverage buyout.  Mr. Lewis is the recipient of numerous honors including the Outstanding Community Service Award form the National Urban League, the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award from the Boy Scouts of America, the Joseph Rapp Racial Harmony Award from the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the Professional Achievement Award from the African American Student Union of the Harvard Business School, the Corporate Co-Chair Award from the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, the Corporate Leadership Award from SEO and the Benjamin E. Mays Award from a Better Chance. Upon accepting this esteemed honor, Mr. Lewis joked of how his sons, who are sports enthusiasts, thought his induction into the Hall of Fame was sports related.  He decided not to provide ‘Full disclosure”.   

The Honorable Denise L. Nappier, Connecticut State Treasurer, presented to Tina Byles-Williams, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, FIS Group. Ms. Byles-Williams credited and thanked her family, friends, colleagues and early clients for her success.  She stated that without their support and involvement she would not have made it in the business. MS. Byles-Williams is the Chairperson of the firm’s Investment Committee and closely oversees all investment strategy, manager search and disposition decisions.  Ms. Byles-Williams is the recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award for Excellence in Business and sits on several boards, including the State of Pennsylvania’s $50 Billion Public Schools Employees’ Retirement System and the Methodist Home for Children Foundation.  She is also a former board member of NASP and the former Chairperson of the annual Pension Conference sponsored by NASP. 

The last inductee, Kneeland Youngblood, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Pharos Capital Group was introduced by Obie L. McKenzie, Managing Director, Black Rock. Mr. Youngblood has extensive investment experience, having served from 1993 to 1999 on the board of the $100 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) where he was involved in hiring investment advisors, determining asset allocations and formulating investment/benefit policies.  Mr. Youngblood is also the Chairman of the board of the American Beacon Funds, serves on the boards of Burger King, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and the City of Dallas Employee Retirement System. He is a Director Emeritus of iStar Financial, a Director Emeritus of U.S. Enrichment Corporation, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. After gracefully accepting the honor Mr. Youngblood jokingly compared the private equity world to his stint as a physician where he had to remove bullets, pump stomachs, and give comfort to those in need. The difference being he no longer has to handle blood. 
 
 
We at Liberty News Online Like to thank Ms Kathy Gainer for her kind invite.
For more information on the New York Chapter of the National Association of Securities Professionals go to their website at www.nasp-ny.org.

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