Badgers in Finance | Chicago

Badgers in Finance – Chicago

Schedule of Events 

Dan Drexler (BBA ’96) currently works at Longview Asset Management, the in-house investment vehicle for the Crown Family of Chicago, as Chief Investment Officer – Public Securities. Drexler is responsible for portfolio construction and analyzing public investments and shares responsibility for overseeing an internal fund of funds. 

Drexler also serves as a senior advisor to Right Line Industries, a diversified industrial holding company. Additionally, Drexler serves on the board of directors of Albany Bank & Trust, of Albany Park, Illinois, and the advisory boards of Timber Hill Group and Seven Isles Capital. 

Drexler is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in accounting. He is married with three children and resides in Highland Park, Illinois.

Mike Knetter is an international economist who was CEO of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) from 2010–2024, and now serves as a senior advisor for WISIMCO, WFAA’s investment division. During his tenure, Knetter led a variety of initiatives, including the $4.2 billion All Ways Forward campaign, the 2014 merger of the UW Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Association, and the modernization of technology and the business model of WFAA. Prior to leading WFAA, Knetter was dean of the Wisconsin School of Business, where he orchestrated the novel school naming gift, the expansion of Grainger Hall, and the restructuring and improved national standing of the MBA program. Prior to UW–Madison, he was a professor of international economics and associate dean at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He also served as senior staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers for former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Knetter is currently a board member for American Family Insurance and Neuberger Berman Funds. Knetter completed his undergraduate studies in economics and mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his PhD in economics at Stanford University.

Alan Myers (BBA ’92) graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in finance. He has over 30 years of experience in the securities industry in various capacities with global banks and brokerage firms. He began his career with Bear Stearns in 1994 on the institutional side of both fixed income and equities in Chicago and New York. In 1997 he joined Mesirow Financial in Chicago as a trader in the fixed income department specializing in government, corporate, and municipal bonds. From there, Myers traded risk arbitrage for proprietary firms, concluding with his own firm, Virgin Trading, until 2003.

At that point, Myers decided to focus his career in wealth management by building relationships with business owners, corporate executives, retirees, and families in need of assistance with holistic asset allocation, focusing on traditional stocks and bonds, as well as alternatives including hedge funds and private equity. From 2003 through 2018, Myers’ investment management experiences were vast, including time with Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and most recently, Wells Fargo. After spending over 15 years in a traditional brokerage environment, Myers decided his clients would be much better served in a fiduciary capacity and founded Trails Edge Wealth Advisers RIA in 2018.

Michael Nicolas (BBA ’02) is a partner, portfolio manager, and U.S. investment analyst at Harris Associates, where he manages the Oakmark Fund, the Oakmark Equity and Income Fund, and the Oakmark U.S. Large Cap ETF. He is also a portfolio manager of the U.S. Equity Strategy and a vice president of the Oakmark Funds. Prior to joining Harris Associates in 2013, Nicolas was a managing director at Lakeview Investment Group from 2005–2013 and a senior analyst at Stratford Advisory Group from 2002–2005. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a chartered financial analyst.

Ricky C. Sandler (BBA ’91) is the founder, chief executive officer, and chief investment officer of Eminence Capital, LP, which he founded in 1999. Today, Eminence is a nearly $7 billion global investment management organization, investing client capital across global financial markets. As CEO and CIO of Eminence, Sandler is responsible for setting the firm’s strategic direction as well as directly managing its 20+ person investment team and diversified investment portfolio.

Prior to launching Eminence, Sandler was co-founder and co-general partner of Fusion Capital Management, a firm that managed a long/short hedge fund focused on global equity securities. Prior to that he was a research analyst at Mark Asset Management, where he began his investing career in 1991.

Sandler received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance, graduating with honors from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Ricky developed and teaches a Capstone Finance course at Wisconsin, Applied Equity Markets Research, and launched Badgers in Finance: a professional and recruitment network for UW–Madison students and alumni across financial services. Sandler also serves as an advisor on the Investment Committee for the University of Wisconsin Foundation and is a chartered financial analyst.