Bob Rice
Bob has been the financial industry’s most recognized educator about private markets investments for individuals since 2013, when he wrote the best-seller “The Alternative Answer” and became the daily on-air Alternatives Editor for Bloomberg TV. Today he keynotes events for thousands of FAs each year; is the Lead Expert for IWI’s new Private Markets Certificate Course; and teaches the subject as an adjunct Professor of Law at FSU. His other current roles include being: the managing partner of Tangent Capital, a broker-dealer specializing in private investments; a Senior Advisor for Macquarie Asset Management and for Wilshire Associates; an Advsior to Nasdaq Fund Secondaries; a Director of the Value Line funds’ investment manager; and a consultant to several Wall Street institutions on product design and distribution. He also serves on the investment committee of the FSU Foundation.
Bob’s unique perspectives derive from an exceptionally diverse career. He was a trial lawyer for the US Department of Justice and then a partner with the global law firm Milbank. From there the became a tech entrepreneur and the CEO of the public company that acquired his startup. He then returned to Wall Street as a venture investor and banker before founding Tangent.
Kelsey Syvrud, Ph.D.
Dr. Kelsey Syvrud is a finance professor at FSU and the Director of Investments for a family office. She teaches graduate students — and financial advisors — how to use academic theory in hands-on portfolio construction and manager selection across public and private assets. At FSU, Dr. Kelsey Syvrud developed a financial data analytics course for the M.S. in Finance program, designed to conduct financial analysis using the R and Python programming languages. Kelsey previously worked for Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm specializing in expert witness support for corporate litigation and was the Assistant Director of the BB&T Center for Free Enterprise at FSU. Recently, she has been expanding her knowledge in the area of responsible investing, having passed the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing, and received certificates for completing the UN CC’s Introduction to Sustainable Finance and the US SIF’s Fundamentals of Sustainable and Impact Investment courses.
Kelsey’s work has been published in the Journal of International Business Studies and in a chapter contained within Commodities: markets, performance, and strategies.Her research interests span international corporate finance, responsible investing, politics, law & finance, entrepreneurship, and government contract procurement.
Adrienne Yost Hart
Chief Compliance Officer Adrienne Hart brings a wealth of experience in the capital markets to her role as a financial services executive. Her 35 year career has included senior positions in investment banking, sales and trading and investment management in addition to working as a regulator. Ms. Hart is often called on by her clients, both broker-dealers and investment advisers, to manage their compliance programs as an outsourced chief compliance officer. This work includes evaluating the efficacy of compliance programs, creating more comprehensive solutions to managing compliance issues within the requirements of the current regulatory framework, providing education about compliance to team members as well as addressing regulator concerns.
Over the past decade she has focused on issues related to the sales and distribution of alternative securities such as business development companies, real estate investment trusts, private offerings and index-based products. She is knowledgeable about the issues associated with managing internal and external sales teams and developing training, communications and marketing programs for these securities. Ms. Hart also assists financial services companies with projects that may focus on risk management, corporate governance practices or compliance training. These projects take the form of evaluating a compliance or corporate governance program, addressing conflict management or determining the impact of new compliance requirements on an existing program.
In connection with her work in the securities industry, Ms. Hart currently holds Series 7, 24, 27 and 63 licenses. She has also held Series 4, 53 and 65 licenses during her career. Ms. Hart received a Juris Doctor degree from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and is an inactive member of the Pennsylvania bar.
Dmitry Paperny
For more than 20 years, Dmitry Paperny has worked at the intersection of design, storytelling, and technology. As Creative Director and Managing Partner of Cohere Studio, he leads the visual design, branding, UX, and development work the firm provides to financial institutions, private-markets platforms, venture firms, and investment advisors. Dmitry is known for his rare mix of design precision, creative problem-solving, technical fluency, and business insight. Working closely with his team, he transforms dense data, complex strategies, and nuanced industry narratives into refined, intuitive, and visually compelling digital experiences. Prior to founding Cohere Studio, Dmitry served as Creative Director at Time Inc. Interactive, where he guided digital design and content experiences for some of the world’s most influential media brands — including People, Time, InStyle, and LIFE — reaching audiences in the billions of monthly page views.
His work has earned numerous industry honors, including MIN Web Designer of the Year, the Time Inc. President’s Award, MPA Entertainment and Fashion Sites of the Year, multiple Webbys, a CODiE, a Golden Eddie, and a medal from the Society of Publication Designers. As an adjunct professor at NYU’s School of Publishing, he created and taught a foundational graduate course in web design. Dmitry holds several patents across online advertising, energy storage, and virtual reality, and earned his BFA with Honors from the School of Visual Arts.
