ARTHUR BAVELAS, Member of the Board

Arthur Andrew Bavelas, an internationally known entrepreneur, family office investor, founder of Family Office Insights peer-to-peer gatherings, and is the originator of the Fortune’s Fortress process of safeguarding family wealth over multiple generations. He is a frequent speaker to the hedge fund, private equity and family office communities.

Arthur is the author of numerous articles, white papers, focused on family offices, legacy wealth preservation and asset protection. His insights have been featured in international publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Investment Advisor, Gatekeeper, Opalesque, Dow Jones and Elite Traveler. Arthur has co-authored several books, his most recent being Fortune’s Fortress: A Primer on Wealth Preservation.

 

ERIC SAUCEDO, Director

Mr. Saucedo is a Partner at The Polaris Group. He has extensive experience in both investment banking and private equity investments and has many years of experience in the due diligence and execution of numerous public and private transactions, including many private equity investments in the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Mr. Saucedo previously served as Director of Business Development at UBS, where he was responsible for business development of institutional and corporate clients in asset management and investment banking. Prior to UBS, Mr. Saucedo served as a Principal with Compass Capital LLC in New York, a private equity fund and affiliate of JP Morgan Partners, where he led private equity investments in start-up and early-stage companies in Latin America. In addition, he was previously a Vice President in the Emerging Markets Group at Apax Partners & Co., a private equity and merchant banking firm, where he was one of the original professionals in the firm’s Latin America group. Prior to Apax Partners, Mr. Saucedo was an Associate in the Emerging Markets Investment Banking and Mergers & Acquisitions groups at JP Morgan Chase & Co. Mr. Saucedo also served as an Associate with Kroll Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm with a specialization in due diligence research and corporate intelligence. Mr. Saucedo has experience in a wide range of transactions, including private equity, mergers and acquisitions and leveraged finance. He has completed numerous transactions both domestically and throughout Latin America in such industries as biotechnology, education, media, telecom, technology, retail, and manufacturing.

Mr. Saucedo holds a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, where he served as President of the student body and was recipient of the Dean’s Citation Award. He is a Director at Granite Intelligence, a due diligence and investigations firm based in New York, and a Director at The KidSmart Company, a supplemental learning and education company based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

 

LOU HALSTEAD, Partner

Lou Halstead has worked in the association management field for 17 years and started GMW Management (GMW) in 2008. Lou recently sold her business but remains an advisor.

Prior to starting GMW Lou worked for the Academy Group, an association management firm, and was the account executive for ACG New York, ACG Connecticut, VIANY and CT Venture Group.

Prior to association management, Lou worked at a private school in Connecticut. During her tenure there, Lou started a Summer Camp and was director of the camp for 10 years. Lou also developed a computer curriculum and taught computer to grades K – 8. While at the school, Lou started the school newspaper, developed the school’s database system and taught photography, and was the advisor to the Upper School and to the year book. During her later years at the school, Lou was director of development and was responsible for Public Relations, Annual Giving and the Capital Campaigns.

Lou received the ACG President’s Award for Excellence and Achievement as an ACG Chapter Executive in 2013 at their annual InterGrowth Conference. Lou was also honored in June at the ACG NY Champion’s Awards and received the inaugural Lou Halstead Woman of Leadership award in recognition of her 15 years of service to ACG New York as Chapter Executive.

Lou served 2 terms on the Easton Country Day School board of directors and served 2 terms as assistant treasurer on the Lake Hills Association board of directors. She currently sits on the board of ACG Cares – New York Chapter.

Lou went to Northfield School in Massachusetts and Syracuse University. She lives in Fairfield, CT and has 3 grown children, 2 granddaughters, and 3 grandsons.

 

RON IDRA, Partner

Ron Idra has nearly 10 years’ experience producing, strategizing and providing powerful and engaging online and digital media for law firms, financial practices, and technology & industrial companies.

Combining marketing and legal experience with a passion for the arts, Ron has designed/developed and project managed over two dozen websites, written marketing content, directed corporate photoshoots, and produced videos, often in integrated multimedia packages. Recent clients include law firms in Manhattan, New Jersey, and White Plains including The Fleischman Law Firm, Morgan & Melhuish Abrutyn, The Alcott Law Group, Denlea & Carton, and Ostrager Chong Flaherty & Broitman, P.C. He has also worked on new digital media for Zober Industries, a 160 employee manufacturer located in Croydon, Pennsylvania.

As a former practicing attorney, Ron was an associate at the Manhattan firms of Dewey Ballantine and Pennie & Edmonds, LLP, in litigation and transactional intellectual property. He consulted as in-house counsel at Fortune 500 companies such as J.P. Morgan & Co. and MetLife Insurance, as well as for solo attorneys and small law firms, protecting the rights of businesses, inventors, and writers.

He is the author of two editions of a book on intellectual property licensing for the layperson: The Complete Licensing Kit, published by Sourcebooks in 2005, available on amazon and bookstores nationwide. Most recently, he co-presented a CLE at the New York County Lawyers Association (April, 2013) on recent trends in social media and the law.

Ron holds a JD from New York University School of Law where he was an editor on the N.Y.U. Law Review. He holds a BA in philosophy from Brooklyn College, with Phi Beta Kappa honors.