Managing General Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Applied Real Intelligence
As Managing General Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Applied Real Intelligence (“A.R.I.”), Zack Ellison is responsible for leading the firm’s management and investment activities, including sourcing, due diligence, structuring and execution, and portfolio management.
Previously, Mr. Ellison was based in Boston as Director, U.S. Fixed Income at Sun Life Investment Management, one of the world’s largest asset managers. At Sun Life, he was responsible for corporate credit investing and contributed to the firm’s credit investment strategy and processes, portfolio construction and management, investment execution, and risk management practices.
Prior to joining Sun Life, Mr. Ellison worked in New York within the Global Credit Trading division of Deutsche Bank, the largest bank in the world, by assets, at the time. At Deutsche Bank, he traded crossover-rated corporate bonds, credit default swaps, hybrid securities, and preferred stock across banks, non-bank lenders, insurance, energy, utilities, autos, and diversified industrials.
Preceding Deutsche Bank, and during the global financial crisis, he was a banker focused on leveraged loans within the media and telecom sectors at Scotia Bank in New York. During this tumultuous period, Scotia Bank, Canada’s third largest bank in total assets, was one of the world’s top performing global financial institutions in terms of fewest loan losses.
Mr. Ellison began his career in the financial services industry in New York at Thomson Reuters within the firm’s Corporate Advisory Services division, where he served the majority of Fortune 500 energy and utility companies as an investor relations advisor.
Currently, Mr. Ellison is a Board Member of both CFA Society of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Chapter of the CAIA Association. Additionally, he is the Chair of the CIO Advisory Council, Chair of the University Relations Committee, and a member of the Alternative Investments Advisory Council of CFA Society Los Angeles. He sits on various leadership sub-committees of Tech Coast Angels (TCA), the largest angel investing group in the United States.
Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Ellison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College while majoring in Economics. He holds an MBA with concentrations in Analytic Finance and Economics from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business along with an MS in Risk Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Additionally, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations and previously held FINRA Series 7, 55, and 63 licenses.