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2024 Groundbreakers Speakers
Huma Abedin
New York Times Best-Selling Author - "Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds”
MSNBC Contributor; Co-Host - "Morning Mika”
Consulting Producer - HiddenLight Productions
Keynote Exchange
Huma Abedin is a New York Times best-selling author of "Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds.” She is also an MSNBC
contributor, co-host of "Morning Mika," and a consulting
for HiddenLight Productions. She serves as Vice Chair of the
annual Forbes 30/50 mentorship Summit in Abu Dhabi.
Huma began her career in public service as an intern in First Lady Hillary Clinton’s office in 1996. After four years in the White House as Special Assistant to the First Lady and Trip Director, she worked in the U.S. Senate as Senior Advisor to Senator Clinton and went on to be Traveling Chief of Staff for the Clinton 2008 presidential campaign. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of State under President Obama where she oversaw long-term strategic planning and operations for the Secretary of State, which resulted in nearly a million travel miles over four years. Her work earned her recognition as one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and on TIME magazine's 40 Under 40 list. She served as Vice Chair of Hillary for America in 2016, an effort that resulted in the first woman to be elected as nominee of a major political party. Her work with Secretary Clinton continues today and she is advisor to the Hillary Rodham Clinton Leadership Institute at the Clinton Foundation.
In addition to her long career in public service, Huma’s passion for storytelling led her to write her memoir “Both/And” in 2021 as well as contributing to “Listening in the Dark: Women Listening to their Intuition,” edited by Amber Tamblyn and published in 2022. As a consulting producer for HiddenLight Productions, she helps bring untold stories from diverse voices to a global audience. Her role as a regular MSNBC contributor and co-host of "Morning Mika" allows her to draw on her expertise in government and politics to provide unique insights into current domestic and global events.
Huma also plays a key role as Vice Chair of the annual Forbes 30/50 Summit, bringing together leading female voices in policy, the arts, NGOs, and business to share their experiences to rooms filled with powerful icons from Forbes' 50 Over 50 List and barrier-breakers from the 30 Under 30 List, which provides an important framework for long-term mentoring and networking partnerships.
Huma serves on the board of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an NGO which has been investing in women leaders for 25 years as they seek to address the world’s greatest challenges. In 2022, Huma received the Golden Heart Award for Outstanding Leadership from God's Love We Deliver, an organization dedicated to fighting hunger and malnutrition. In 2023, Huma was awarded the Celebrating Women Award from the New York Women’s Foundation.
Huma was born in the United States and raised in Saudi Arabia. She graduated from George Washington University with a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science. She lives in New York with her son Jordan.
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Magalie René
Confidence & Compassion Expert and Executive Coach
Host - The "C" Word mini series
Self Defined: Cultivating Confidence & Compassion To Become a Woman of Influence
As a Compassionate Leadership and Confidence Expert and CEO of Workplace Catalyst, Magalie René empowers professionals to unlock exceptional performance through compassion and authenticity.
She and her team of facilitators at Workplace Catalyst™ deliver powerful programming ranging from leadership training and retreats to team-building and motivational speaking.
Magalie has been featured on Good Morning America, CBS News, ABC News, Forbes, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and more. An inspiring speaker, master facilitator, and transformational coach, she teaches leaders how to access unshakeable confidence to take big leaps, enjoy the journey of success, and lead with impact.
She helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned organizations elevate wellbeing, belonging, engagement and retention. Her clients include Citigroup, Publicis Groupe, Senator Mark Kelly, Live Nation, California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), Kaiser Permanente, Havas, Fictiv and many more.
When she’s not speaking, writing, show-hosting or coaching, you can find the native Brooklynite on a walk in her vibrant communities of residence (Los Angeles and Palm Springs) with her loyal canine companion, Prince.
Nicole Pullen Ross
Partner | Goldman Sachs, NY Private Wealth Management Region Head | Head of Sports & Entertainment Solutions
Toigo Alumna
Welcome
Nicole Pullen Ross is region head of the New York Private Wealth Management (PWM) business and also leads the PWM Sports and Entertainment Solutions (SES) offering, which her team launched in 2018. She serves as co-chair of the Americas Inclusion and
Diversity Committee (IDC), and is a member of the Global IDC. Prior to her current role, Nicole was head of the Mid-Atlantic PWM business. She joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 as a private wealth advisor in PWM in New York and continues working with clients today as part of her overall responsibilities. Nicole was named managing director in 2011 and partner in 2020. Prior to joining the firm, Nicole worked at JP Morgan in New York. Nicole serves on the Board of Trustees for the Charter School Growth Fund and Hampton University, where she also serves as the head of the Investment Committee. Nicole earned a BS in Accounting from Hampton University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Maybel Marte
Head of US Private Credit Product Strategy at BlackRock
In the Lead
Maybel Marte, Managing Director, is Head of Liquid Leveraged Credit Product Strategy within BlackRock’s Global Credit Group. As a product strategist, Marte focuses on developing credit solutions for both institutional and retail clients, across our Bank Loans, High Yield and CLO offerings. In this role, she is responsible for
product development, marketing and client service.
Prior to joining BlackRock in 2017, Marte was a Senior Vice President at PIMCO in the US Institutional Client Management group. While at PIMCO from 2010 to 2016, she was responsible for servicing and marketing to large corporations, multi-national agencies and non-profit organizations. As a client strategist, Marte focused on delivering customized investment solutions to institutional clients, including duration overlays/underlays, asset allocation optimization, interest rates and equity-based tail-risk hedging programs, and multi-asset credit solutions.
Prior to joining PIMCO in early 2010, Marte held positions in fixed income institutional sales for over 9 years, of which 7 years was spent at Goldman Sachs on the High Yield-Distressed Bond desk and the balance at FBR Capital Markets.
Marte received her Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School where she was a Toigo Foundation Fellow, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wellesley College.
Linda Magara Horner
Partner at Uplifting Capital
In the Lead
Linda Magara Horner is a Partner at Uplifting Capital, an impact investments firm serving high-net-worth individuals and institutions. She serves on the investment team and Investment Committee, chairs the firm’s Sustainability Committee, and leads corporate strategy initiatives. Linda is a Toigo Alumna and was named one of Toigo’s 2024 Top 35 Rising Leaders.
Previously, Linda was Director of Corporate Strategy at SCAN Health Plan, a $4 billion Medicare Advantage organization focused on improving healthcare for older adults. She has held roles in product strategy and M&A at Medtronic, investment banking at Credit Suisse, and finance at Aetna, beginning her career as a CPA at Deloitte.
Linda earned her MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, where she was the class graduation speaker and received the Julia Stell Award for outstanding leadership. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Business Administration from The Master’s University and holds a CFA Institute Certificate in impact investing.
Beyond her work, Linda lectures on healthcare strategy at UCLA, coaches in Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA personal leadership program, serves as Vice Chair of the Board for Action in Africa, and is an Advisory Board member for the National Black MBA Association – Los Angeles Chapter. A proud Ugandan immigrant, first-generation college graduate, and mother of two, Linda’s life passion is to “empower others to walk untrodden paths,” just as she has.
Reena Ninan
Television Journalist, Media Executive and Entrepreneur
In the Lead and Keynote Interviewer
Reena Ninan is a television journalist and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Good Trouble Productions, a media company focused on amplifying causes through producing, distributing, and hosting engaging content. Reena created and hosts two top-rated podcasts, Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting and HERO: The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women.
She has served as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East—reporting from Baghdad to Beirut to Jerusalem—as well as a White House Correspondent for ABC News. She also anchored the CBS Weekend news in New York. Reena is most passionate about foreign affairs, female entrepreneurship, economic inclusion, mental health/wellness, and creating thriving communities.
Taffi Ayodele
Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Emerging Manager Strategy for the New York City Bureau of Investment
Welcoming Dolly Chugh | Activate Your Growth Mindset: How to Make Mistakes Count Workshop
Taffi Ayodele has been appointed director of diversity, equity and inclusion and emerging manager strategy for the New York City bureau of asset management, which handles investments for the $242.4 billion New York City Retirement Systems.
Ms. Ayodele's role will be to guide the strategy "to expand engagement with and allocations to minority- and women-owned business enterprises and emerging investment managers" for the pension system.
Ayodele was also a principal for more than 11 years at TW Advisory, a New York-based boutique small business advisory practice. She also previously served as director of the Office of Executive Initiatives at the New York State Dormitory Authority, the state’s public finance and construction authority. There, she is credited with developing diversity programs and initiatives to broaden procurement opportunities and increase the use of women- and minority-owned businesses in financial and professional services.
Ayodele started her career at Blaylock Van, the longest continuously operating African American investment banking and financial services firm on Wall Street. She earned a BA in economics from New York University and an MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
Dolly Chugh
Award-winning Social Psychologist and New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business Professor
Activate Your Growth Mindset: How to Make Mistakes Count Workshop
Dolly Chugh (she/her, hear my name) is a social psychologist and management professor at the New York University Stern School of Business where she teaches MBA courses in leadership and management. Because of Dolly’s teaching skills, she was one of
six professors chosen from thousands at New York University to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2020 and one of five to receive the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award in 2013.
Dolly is best known for her two books The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias (HarperCollins, 2018) and A More Just Future: Psychological Tools for Reckoning with our Past and Driving Social Change (Simon & Schuster, 2022).
Dolly’s TED Talk was named one of the 25 Most Popular TED Talks of 2018 and currently has almost 5 million views.
Isa Watson
Founder & CEO of Squad
Get Real Panel
Isa Watson is the founder & CEO of Squad, a fan engagement and data platform licensed to professional sports teams & leagues. Isa was named Top 100 MIT Alumni in Technology and is a Toigo Alumna. She is of the very few women to hold a technology patent in the United States for her invention around “interactive calling systems and methods.”
Formerly an executive at JPMorgan Chase, she led the development of new businesses and products that amount to ~$5bn in business annually to the firm each year. Prior to that, she was a metabolic diseases chemist, and data scientist at Pfizer. Isa is also the author of the bestselling book, Life Beyond Likes: Logging Off Your Screen and Into Your Life.
Agata "Aggie" Rzamek Praczuk
Director, Private Equity at MetLife Investment Management
Get Real Panel
Agata Praczuk is a Director in the Private Equity group. She is responsible for the management of the Emerging Mangers Program and Client portfolios. Prior to joining MIM in 2011, Agata worked as a hedge fund research analyst for the Millburn Ridgefield Corporation, a boutique alternative investment firm.
She began her career in 2004 at BNP Paribas managing hedge
fund client relationships. She received her BS from Northeastern University and her MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Agata is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. She’s been recognized by Institutional Investor as a Hedge Fund Rising Star (2016) and received the Insurance Investor of the Year (2018) and PEWIN Limited Partner of the Year North America (2022) awards on behalf of MetLife.
Catherine "Cathie" Magee
Global Head of Human Resources at I-Squared Capital
Get Real Panel
Catherine Magee is the Global Head of Human Resources at I Squared Capital, and part of ISQ’s Operating Committee. Catherine is responsible for overseeing the firm’s human capital strategy, talent development, and organizational culture across ISQ’s international offices. She works closely with senior leadership and investment teams to align human capital initiatives with the firm's
long-term strategic objectives, ensuring that talent and culture are integral drivers of organizational success.
With over 20 years of experience in human resources, Catherine is an expert in global employee relations, compensation, talent management, diversity and inclusion, and performance optimization. Prior to joining I Squared Capital in 2022, she served as the Head of Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion at First Reserve, an international private equity firm. While at First Reserve she also was a key member of the Compensation Committee, Associate Development Committee, ESG Committee, and DEI Committee.
Earlier in her career, Catherine held key leadership positions at Diamondback Capital, where she managed recruitment, employee development, and benefits as Director of Human Resources, and at Purdue Pharma, where she served as Project Manager, overseeing cross-functional teams in the drug development process. She also has experience in the venture capital and pharmaceutical sectors from her roles at Fordyce and Gabrielson, LLC, and Oak Investment Partners.
Catherine holds multiple certifications, including Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), and certifications in PMP, MBTI, and Co-Active Coaching and graduated from Peirce College.
Jennifer Kopylov
Head of Consumer Retail Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) at Goldman Sachs
Closing Speaker
Jennifer is head of Consumer Retail Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) in Investment Banking. She is a member of the Investment Banking Fairness Committee and leads principal investing efforts for the Consumer Retail Group. Jennifer serves as head of the Firmwide Americas Black Network, co-chair of the Investment
Banking Council for Advancement of Racial Equity and is a member of the Americas Inclusion and Diversity Committee. She joined Goldman Sachs as an associate in 2009, was named managing director in 2017 and partner in 2022. Prior to joining the firm, Jennifer worked at General Mills, where she held various roles in the Information Systems division. Jennifer serves on the National Board of Directors of the Posse Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Jennifer earned a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science, summa cum laude, from Dillard University, where she was valedictorian. She also earned an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was designated a Palmer Scholar