Team

Michael Robbins | Director

Michael Robbins, CFA, is Director at The Blythestone Corporation, USA. As a leading member of the Board of Directors of Blythestone, Michael provides oversight and offers advice on governance, strategy, and investments. He started his career in nuclear science at RTI & later worked at ASD (a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman) from 1988 until 1992. He then joined Oppenheimer/CIBC, with assets at $350 billion, as a trader and managed portfolios, generating substantial profits and no losing years. He then moved on to ECR Capital Management (Advisory) from 2007-2008 as a co-founder, starting a hedge fund with a macroeconomic perspective. He became Chief Investment Risk Officer at Utah Retirement Systems (State Pension Systems) with $16 billion in assets. At ECR, he worked closely with the senior management of National Australia Bank (NAB had $685 billion in assets), advising on asset management and risk analysis. From 2009 to 2015, he became Chief Investment Officer of ECR Capital Management, advising family offices, major banks, and other large financial institutions. He then joined Spruce Private Investments from 2015 to 2017 as Chief Investment Officer, managing billions in funds. Spruce then was nominated for Best Global Equity Fund & Best Global Macro Fund. From 2017 until 2018, he was the Interim Chief Investment Officer of Bleakley Financial Group with $4.5 billion under management. In 2018, he became Interim Chief Investment Officer of FNB (FirstRand), a South African bank and a largest in the continent. In 2020, he joined The Blythestone Corporation, USA. Michael studied nuclear engineering and nuclear physics and is a Professor teaching graduate courses in investment and asset allocation at Columbia University. His new book, Quantitative Asset Management, was published by McGraw-Hill in 2023.

Michael Orlandi | Director

Michael Orlandi is Director at The Blythestone Corporation, USA. As a pioneering member of the Board, Michael brings tremendous expertise in real estate investments, economics and legal structures and issues. Michael began his career as an economic consultant at Charles River Associates, a leading global consulting firm where he primarily performed quantitative economic and financial analysis between 1999 and 2001. After receiving his JD from law school in 2004 and until 2006, he practiced as a real estate attorney within the Real Estate Group of Kaye Scholer LLP, a successful law firm with a large practice in real estate which, following a successful merger, is now known as Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. At Kaye Scholer, he represented lenders in all types of loan structures, preferred equity and construction financings as well as opportunity funds and developers in real estate acquisitions and financings. In 2006, he joined Hamlin Ventures, LLC, a real estate development and consulting firm that is focused on prospering enterprise, design as well as improving urban life in New York City. In 2007, he became an Investment Director and Counsel at GDC Properties, LLC, a successful real estate investment firm that specializes in the acquisition, development, and management of residential and commercial properties. He joined The Blythestone Corporation, USA, in 2021. Michael received his BA in Business Economics from Brown University in 1999, his JD from Harvard Law School in 2004 and his MS in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 2007.

John McKenna | Director

John McKenna is Director at The Blythestone Corporation, USA. As a senior member of the Board of Directors of Blythestone, John provides oversight and advice on finance and investments. He started his career as an Auditor at Ernst & Young from 1988 until 1990. He joined JPMorgan & Co. in 1990 within finance until 1996. Subsequently, he became Vice President at JPMorgan where he held various roles within operations from 1996 to 1998. He was promoted to Managing Director in 2005 and held various roles within the front office of JPMorgan, from 1998 to 2016, dealing with equity finance and prime services, and from 2016 to 2020, dealing with project management within prime services. During his 30-year career at JPMorgan, John managed various global teams and provided numerous and vital financing, clearing and advisory services to a large number of prominent hedge funds, asset managers and institutional investors helping them meet their targets and objectives in rapidly evolving and challenging markets. In 2021, he joined The Blythestone Corporation, USA. John received his BBA from Pace University and his MBA from New York University. He also received a New York State CPA license in 1991.

John Elliott | Managing Director

John Elliott is a Managing Director at The Blythestone Corporation, USA, dealing with corporate and structural matters. He started his career as an Analyst and was promoted to Vice President at ABN AMRO Bank Asset Management with $200 billion assets under management between 1997 and 2004 in the Netherlands and the United States. He joined Atlanta Capital Management, a $10 billion asset manager, from 2004 to 2007 as Vice President and Principal. He returned to Europe to become a Senior Portfolio Manager at ING Investment Management/NN Investment Partners with $300 billion assets under the management in both Brussels and The Hague between 2007 to 2017. He joined Public Sector Pension in Canada with $150 billion assets under management as a Senior Director from 2017 to 2019. He joined The Blythestone Corporation, USA, in 2020. He earned his BA and MA from Duke University as well as his MBA from Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University, ranked among the top business schools in Europe.