Session Details
Date:
4:30 PM
More Information
Manna Tree Partners’ CEO Ellie Rubenstein to discuss: Wall Street’s appetite for healthy eating; the rise of female and next-gen investors; and lessons learned from the fundraising trail.
SPEAKERS:
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Gabrielle Rubenstein doesn't just walk the walk; she skis, fishes, hikes, and hunts it, too. Her interest in nutrition and health, combined with her passion for philanthropy, shaped her professional interests that have now blossomed into the Manna Tree investment firm.
Ellie's education directly reflects how her interests support the work she does with whole-body wellness. She acquired her MS-MBA in Food and Agribusiness Management from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. She completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University, where she received a BA in Sociology with an honors thesis on Philanthropy and was a Varsity ski racer. She also earned a graduate certificate in Mind-Body-Wellness from UCLA's Center for East-West Medicine and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
Since college, Ellie has been an active philanthropist who donates her time, money, energy, effort, and ideas to promote positive health outcomes and wellbeing through movement and nutrition. Ellie's Donor Advised Fund, Mission: Ingredients, partners with organizations to help create programs that support military medical wellness. She also actively supports the military population to expand the Red Cross SAF mission and supports Federal Nutrition Funding efforts led by the Tufts School of Nutrition.
As CEO of Manna Tree, Ellie now drives an influential culture toward its billion-dollar vision to revolutionize the food supply chain. She leads the firm's fundraising efforts and is a member of the investment committee. Her expertise in global food systems and international networks helps increase value to Manna Tree's investors.
Ellie is an avid hunter and angler and spends much of her free time on the shores or in the woods pursuing protein sources and a chance to recharge in nature. As a self-described "foodie," she enjoys sharing the nutritious food she has harvested with family and friends.
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John D’Agostino is the Managing Director and Global Lead Investor Engagement for DMS’ Governance, where he provides guidance and independent oversight as a board member to ensure adherence to governance, regulatory and compliance requirements. John has served as a director in a wide range of industries, with notable expertise is in technology driven companies and investment vehicles characterized by complex strategies and asset classes including finance (derivatives, structured credit, direct lending, high frequency/quant and similar strategies), consumer (credit scoring, transportation) and general technology enabled companies. John manages the firm’s institutional LP and regulatory relationships and works with large global pension funds and global regulators to share information and determine industry best practices for governance.
John began his career as Vice President and Head of Strategy of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where he helped transition the floor to electronic trading and was part of the leadership team building out the core systems to accommodate co-location, quant and HFT volumes. He also led the effort to develop the first Middle East energy derivatives exchange in partnership with the Dubai Government and became the subject of two NY Times bestselling books on the effort (Rigged by Ben Mezrich and the Start Up Of You by Reid Hoffman).
A cum laude graduate of Williams College, John received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and he also studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. He has lectured at INSEAD University and guests lectures at MIT Sloan Business School and develops research notes with the MIT Media Lab around Fintech. In 2019 he was named Chairman of the UK Government’s Asset Management Working Group at request of the UK Consul General in NY.