OUR TEAM
Maryann Fernandez, Managing Director & Co-Founder
Throughout her career, Maryann Fernandez has been an industry leader in creating substantial opportunities for multiple stakeholders to convene, explore and solidify ways to work together.
As an independent consultant, Maryann brings decades of experience and insight from both the private and public sectors to her work with a diverse set of clients, ranging from wealthy families to US-based non-profits to large multi-national organizations. The primary focus of her consultancy includes partnership development, resource mobilization, organizing/refining complex processes, donor engagement, strategic planning and philanthropic advisory.
Prior to her consultancy, Maryann served as Senior Partnerships Officer for the Regional Bureau for Asia & the Pacific for the UN World Food Programme, developed custom philanthropic learning journeys for Philanthropy Indaba, and produced many wealth management industry events in multiple roles including VP Family Education Services at Harris Private Bank.
David Kersnar, Managing Artistic Director & Co-Founder
David Kersnar is a Founding Ensemble Member of Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company where he has served as Artistic Director and head of its Education and Community programs.
As our group’s artistic influence and leading practitioner, David has written and directed several interactive case studies for the financial services industry and managed several educational workshops using theatrical techniques in problem solving exercises.
Additionally, David has designed, directed and performed in over 50 productions with Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Children’s Choir, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, has also appeared with the Goodman, Steppenwolf and Remains Theatre companies, and performed critical roles in numerous television, radio and film productions.
He received a BS in Theatre and Performance Studies and an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University.
The Board of Directors
Stephen McCarthy, Chairman of the Board
Stephen McCarthy is an Executive Producer at Quixotic Endeavors. He is responsible for working with investors in QE productions and advising on business related issues. He is also the Managing Director of KCG Capital Advisors, a family investment office/foundation administration venture that he co-founded with his late father, John M. “Jack” McCarthy, a former Co-Managing Partner/CIO of Lord Abbett ($136 billion AUM partnership est. 1929).
Stephen has over forty years of diversified professional experience in both the financial services and foundation management sectors. Before establishing the family run entity in the mid 1990’s, for almost a twenty-year period.
Stephen is trustee of his family’s 30-year-old private foundation, represented his clan as a long-time member of the Institute for Private Investors (IPI), is a founding member/original trustee of The Greenwich Roundtable (GR) and a cofounder of The Gotham Triangle (TGT).
Don Kozusko, Vice Chairman
Don Kozusko provides tax and legal advice to family offices, businesses, investors, and philanthropists. He has also served as a mediator, an advocate, and an expert witness in trust and business disputes.
Don graduated from Villanova University and Harvard Law School. After practicing as a partner in two multi-national law firms for over twenty years in litigation, private capital markets, and tax and trust planning, Don became a founding partner of Kozusko Harris Duncan in 2000.
The partners of Kozusko Harris Duncan have advised wealthy families for over 30 years. Afterworking in inter-disciplinary teams, and reflecting back on his career experience, Don has been drawn to the study of risk management, with particular emphasis on scenario planning, cognitive bias, family dynamics, and structural evolution in governance.
Mindy Rosenthal, Board Member
Mindy F. Rosenthal is a senior content and engagement strategist specializing in bridging the wealth management goals and challenges of high-net-worth families to actionable solutions. Mindy is a valued writer, journalist, and speaker, who provides wide-ranging educational thought leadership across multiple platforms including proprietary research; experiential educational salons and conferences; digital and print white papers; presentations; webinars; and video.
Most recently Mindy was National Managing Director of the PNC Center for Financial Insight. Mindy joined PNC in 2016 to create PNC’s center of educational excellence focused on developing content and experiential learning opportunities on a full range of wealth management topics for individuals and families of wealth and the professionals who serve them. Prior to joining PNC, she served as Managing Director, N.A. of Campden Wealth, responsible for building Campden’s North American division, and President of its subsidiary, the Institute for Private Investors, a private membership for ultra-affluent families focused on wealth management education
Paul McKibbin, Co-Founder & Board Member
Paul McKibbin is an Executive Director in the Ernst & Young LLP’s Americas Family Office Advisory practice. He has more than 20 years of experience in advising families on the creation, management and optimization of family office services tailored to their unique needs.
Prior to joining EY in 2016, Paul was a Managing Partner of Family Office Metrics, a firm that provides targeted business consulting on management, operations and technology applications for family offices. Previously the director of GPFN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guggenheim Partners (GP), he developed its highly secure “Virtual Family Office” websites which provided a blueprint for knowledge management while enhancing the overall interaction of family members, trustees, staff and various advisors.
Before his firm’s acquisition by GP in December 2004, Mr. McKibbin was the founder and president of Private Family Networks (PFN), a vice president with SEI and a consultant with The Metropolitan Group. An entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience creating financial software solutions, he received a BA in English and MA in organizational behavior from the University of Pennsylvania.