Chicago, January 10, 2006 – Falcon Global Funds Group (“Falcon
Global”), a boutique investment advisory and distribution firm that
specializes in alternative investments, today announced that Kevin
Pilarski, a 20-year veteran in alternative asset management and
financial derivatives markets, has joined the firm as President and CEO.
Mr. Pilarski, 43, joins from Dow Jones & Co. where he was most recently
Director-Alternative Strategies and Global Derivatives, initiating the
firm’s development and management of the industry’s first investable
hedge fund index product, and pioneering the first consolidated U.S. and
emerging market credit default swap index.
At Falcon Global, Mr. Pilarski is responsible for the identification
and development of innovative alternative investment vehicles, portfolio
construction and structuring, and marketing and business development.
“Kevin brings a wealth of experience to our firm and his skill set
complements our core strengths,” said David Wolf, Chairman of Falcon
Global. “Kevin has demonstrated his ability to identify and build
creative and unique derivative and hedge fund tools that access global
markets.”
Mr. Wolf and Mark de Souza, Vice-Chairman, co-founded Falcon Global in
2005. Mr. Wolf brings 30 years of international trade and distribution
experience to the firm, notably in India and the Middle East Gulf
States, where the firm has long standing relationships and exclusive
distribution rights to develop structured alternative investment
products for some of the largest institutions in the region. Mr. de
Souza, a 23-year veteran of the Futures Industry as a member of the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, brings a
wealth of experience in futures clearing and execution, as well as
operating global broker/dealer networks that offer a broad range of
services in the derivatives arena including clearing, execution and
custody.
“I was drawn to Falcon Global’s unique, big picture and
forward-looking approach to this business and their deep footprint and
access to leading institutions in the Gulf,” said Mr. Pilarski.
Prior to Dow Jones, Mr. Pilarski held senior business development
positions with STOXX Ltd., Cantor Fitzgerald and the Chicago Board of
Trade. He also managed proprietary global derivatives portfolios for
Cooper-Neff, LFG, LLC and JSS Investments. He holds an M.B.A. from the
University of Chicago and a B.S. in Finance from Miami University
(Ohio).
Falcon Global Funds Group is a boutique investment advisory and
distribution firm specializing in providing customized alternative
investment solutions to institutional clients. In addition, Falcon
Global offers clients education, hands-on training and ongoing support
by leveraging relationships with leading global exchanges and academic
institutions. Based in Chicago, the firm is chaired by David Wolf, a
member of both the Executive Board of the US-India Business Council and
the President’s Circle of the Council on Foreign Relations.
