Business Operations Team

Scott Seaman

senior Partner

Co-Chief Operating Officer
40 Years Experience | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Seaman has 40 years of business management experience. He has executive oversight of the firm’s business areas including accounting, operations, legal, risk management and compliance, technology, cybersecurity, human resources and administration. Mr. Seaman is a member of Gramercy’s Management Team and Co-Chair of Gramercy’s Risk Management Committee. Further, he is a member of Gramercy’s Valuation Committee and Compliance Committee.

Prior to joining Gramercy in June 2002, Mr. Seaman spent 16 years at J.P. Morgan in several management and control roles. He was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management’s Hedge Funds Group and Real Estate Investment Group from 2000 to 2002, where he was responsible for business growth and operational integrity. From 1998 to 2000, he was the Manager of the Emerging Markets Strategic Planning Group at J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and responsible for building a global office network. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Seaman was head of Emerging Markets Business Analysis and Development at J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. where he was instrumental in building new products and managing a complex control structure. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., he was a Vice President in the J.P. Morgan & Co. Audit Group where he specialized in management consulting to new and rapidly growing sales and trading businesses. From 1984 to 1986, he was a Senior Audit Analyst at Ernst & Whinney.

Mr. Seaman received a MBA in Finance from New York University – Stern Graduate School of Business and a BS in Accounting with a minor in Economics at Long Island University – CW Post Center School of Professional Accountancy where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Bob Joannou, CPA

Partner

Co-Chief Operating Officer
22 Years Experience | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Joannou has 22 years of financial management and control experience. As part of Gramercy’s succession plan, Mr. Joannou will lead the oversight of the firm’s business areas as Co-Chief Operating Officer alongside Scott Seaman. Mr. Joannou’s oversight will include business areas such as accounting, operations, legal, risk management and compliance, technology, cybersecurity, human resources, and administration.

Mr. Joannou also served as Gramercy’s Chief Financial Officer from 2014 through 2023 and was responsible for managing Gramercy’s financial reporting and the SSAE 18 Soc 1 Type II compliance team. Further, he is a member of Gramercy’s Management Team.

Lastly, Mr. Joannou is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.

Dennis Wilson, CPA

Partner

Chief Financial Officer
24 Years Experience | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Wilson joined Gramercy in May 2011 and has 24 years of accounting and industry experience. He is responsible for the oversight and management of fund accounting, management company and fund tax and operational matters, implementation and structuring of new accounts and special purpose vehicles and manages the relationship with Gramercy external administrators, auditors and financial support service providers. He has extensive experience in all accounting and tax matters of fund products, investments and managed accounts.

Prior to Gramercy, Mr. Wilson served as CFO of Quattro Global Capital, Vestry Capital and was the CFO/CCO of Emerging Sovereign Group. He started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Investment Management Assurance Group auditing 1940 Act funds, hedge and private equity funds.

Mr. Wilson has a BS in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University. Additionally, he is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.

Mike Harris

Partner

Chief Technology Officer
27 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Harris has 27 years of industry experience, 18 of which have been spent at Gramercy. Mr. Harris runs all aspects of the technology department. His understanding of the company’s business enables Mr. Harris to lead a team of developers that design and build applications to support both the front and back office efforts as well as to meet clients’ needs. Mr. Harris researches, implements and administers new technologies ensuring that Gramercy’s technology is both SOC1 compliant and cutting edge. He works directly with the CISO to ensure the company maintains the highest level of security and compliance with industry standards. On a daily basis, Mr. Harris collaborates with his team on various help desk issues, building and customizing computers, as well as designing and supervising all networks on a global level.

Prior to joining Gramercy in July 2002, Mr. Harris worked at LiveTechnology, Inc. He developed company intranets, extranets, and other web sites for many leading companies, such as Coca-Cola, Omnicom, and Shell/Texaco. He also created web sites and web applications at UGO.com. Mr. Harris worked at Internet Security Systems, Inc. (ISS) where he deployed ISS security products across large corporations’ networks. He started his career at American Management Systems, Inc. as a programmer and database administrator.

Mr. Harris received a BS in Computer Science from Binghamton University.

Rob Lanava

Partner

Chief Compliance Officer
28 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Lanava has 28 years of compliance and investment operations experience and a 24 year tenure at Gramercy. As Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. Lanava is responsible for implementing Gramercy’s compliance program, including ensuring that the firm’s policies and procedures are up to date and that employees are operating within the boundaries set forth by the firm’s compliance manual. He is the Chair of the Compliance Committee and the Conflicts Committee and a member of the Valuation Committee.

Prior to joining Gramercy in March 1999, Mr. Lanava was the Operations Manager for Van Eck Capital, Inc., a broker-dealer focused on emerging markets. At Van Eck Capital, Inc. he was responsible for daily operational duties including the settlement of trades and net capitalization computations. He was also responsible for opening new accounts and setting up lines of credit. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Lanava was the Settlements Officer for NCH Capital Inc., a family of hedge funds focused on Russia and the former Soviet Union, where he was responsible for the settlement of trades and custody of positions. From 1995 to 1997, he was the Operations Specialist for First Cambridge Securities Corp., where he performed back office operational duties including margin and trade correction.

Mr. Lanava received a BA in Economics from Saint Anselm College.

Lacie Smith, JD

partner

Head of Investor Relations
16 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Ms. Smith has 16 years of industry experience. At Gramercy, she is a primary contact person for current and prospective investors. Ms. Smith manages new investor onboarding and is responsible for marketing collateral. Additionally, Ms. Smith works on strategic projects aimed at organizing and optimizing client materials and interfaces with service providers such as legal counsels and administrators to ensure regulatory compliance and client-facing process efficiencies.

Prior to Gramercy, Ms. Smith completed her Juris Doctor at Seton Hall University School of Law. From 2006 to 2008 she was employed at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft where she fulfilled the responsibilities of senior paralegal on a team that handled complex CDO and commercial paper transactions. She also gained valuable writing, research and project management skills working with a New Jersey Superior Court Judge and a New Jersey based law firm.

Ms. Smith received a JD from Seton Hall University School of Law and a BA in Political Science and Communications from Muhlenberg College.

Josh O’Melia, JD

partner

Chief Legal Officer
18 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. O’Melia has 18 years of legal experience. At Gramercy, he is responsible for managing all aspects of Gramercy’s legal affairs, including new business development initiatives related to fund formation and client on-boarding, legal aspects of public and private portfolio transactions, and risk management. In addition, Mr. O’Melia advises on regulatory and compliance matters, third-party relationship management and documentation, and various strategic initiatives.  Further, he is a member of Gramercy’s Management Team.

Prior to joining Gramercy, Mr. O’Melia was an associate in the Investment Management group of K&L Gates LLP for approximately five years where he represented managers and sponsors in connection with private fund formations, restructurings, capital raising and ongoing regulatory and compliance matters. Prior to joining K&L, Mr. O’Melia was a corporate associate at Moses & Singer LLP.

Mr. O’Melia received a JD from Seton Hall University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude, and a BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland.

Ed Beshlian

partner

Head of ESG
31 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Beshlian has 31 years of industry experience. At Gramercy, Mr. Beshlian is responsible for updating clients on their investments and responding to client inquiries. He is a senior member of a team of investor relations professionals who maintain marketing collateral, consultant databases, standard reporting efforts and RFPs. Mr. Beshlian also serves as Gramercy’s Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) Officer. In this capacity he works with our investment team to ensure our ESG policies and procedures are systematically applied to the research process.

Prior to joining Gramercy in October of 2007, Mr. Beshlian was employed by Jennison Associates for 12 years where he was a Vice President of Client Development responsible for strengthening their client service efforts with consultants and institutional clients. Prior to that, he held positions in Jennison’s marketing and communications and operations departments. From 1994 to 1995, he worked at Pershing and from 1992 to 1994 he worked at First Chicago Trust Company of New York.

Mr. Beshlian received a MBA from Fordham University and a BS in Accounting from Villanova University.

Gene Farberov

Partner

Chief Information Security Officer, Head of Cybersecurity
20 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Farberov has 20 years of technology experience. He is responsible for leading Gramercy’s global and diverse information security and IT risk strategy. Mr. Farberov works closely with the CTO to architect, maintain, and improve all aspects of IT infrastructure.

Prior to joining Gramercy in May 2011, Mr. Farberov worked at Eze Castle Integration where he was responsible for providing IT services for various financial clients. His work included working on servers, storage, networks and various other software applications. Prior to that, Mr. Farberov worked as a Systems Administrator for both GKH Law Offices and the Israel Defense Force.

Mr. Farberov attended the Open University of Israel where he studied Management and Computer Science, Systems & Applications. Additionally, he holds a CISSP certification.

Ross Rosen

managing director

Head of Operations
17 Years Exp. | Located in Greenwich

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Mr. Rosen has 17 years of industry experience. At Gramercy, Mr. Rosen is primarily responsible for the facilitation of trade settlement process for both public and private, performance calculations, treasury and trading compliance. Additionally, he maintains and monitors trading systems and assists with the supervision of the Firm SOC1 procedures.

Prior to joining Gramercy in 2017, Mr. Rosen was an Operations Manager with Monarch Alternative Capital LP where he was responsible for managing the daily operations functions, including trade processing, cash flow management, and maintaining relationship with prime brokers. Previously, he was employed at Elliott Management Corp. where he was an Operations Analyst and was responsible for reconciliations, and daily trade settlements and confirmations. Mr. Rosen began his career at Bear Sterns as a Government Operations Analyst.

Mr. Rosen received a BBA in Finance from Hofstra University.

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