Matt Fong, former California state treasurer, joined venture capital firm Zero Stage Capital as a special general partner. Mr. Fong is the founder and president of Strategic Advisory Group and a member of the board of advisers to RAND Center for Asia-Pacific Policy and Toffler Associates. He is also an independent director for TCW and a regent at Pepperdine University, where he serves on the investment committee. As state treasurer, Mr. Fong was a trustee of the $180.3 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System and the $118.7 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System, both in Sacramento. He was also named chairman of the PBGC Advisory Committee in 2001.
Eric Nelson, Robert Formisano and Anthony Williams were hired as sales executives by Schroder Investment Management North America as part of an initiative to focus on its institutional business, said Martin Luz, Schroder spokesman. All three are new positions. Messrs. Nelson and Williams will work out of the New York office, while Mr. Formisano will be based in San Francisco, Mr. Luz said. Mr. Nelson will be a director and cover East Coast institutional sales; he had worked independently as a marketing consultant for hedge fund firms since 2000, when he left his position as managing director of East Coast institutional sales at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Mr. Formisano will be a senior vice president and handle sales on the West Coast; he was a director covering West Coast institutional sales at West LB Asset Management. Mr. Williams will be a senior vice president and cover public funds; he was vice president, sales manager at AMSouth Bancorp. Connie Kain, a West LB spokeswoman, said Mr. Formisano will not be replaced because the office where he worked has been closed. An official at AMSouth said the firm is looking for Mr. Williams' replacement.