Kenneth J. Kaplan, CFA

Chairman

Mr. Kaplan is Chairman and a founding member of SKBA. He has been in the industry since 1965 and joined SKBA when the firm was founded in 1989. Previously, Mr. Kaplan worked at Merus Capital Management/The Bank of California, First Chicago Corporation and then as a partner in an investment counseling firm. Mr. Kaplan is a member of the Investment Strategy team. Mr. Kaplan received both his undergraduate degree and MBA from Northwestern University. He is a past President of the CFA Society of San Francisco and a member of the CFA Institute. He has taught Finance at San Francisco State University.

Andrew W. Bischel, CFA

CEO, Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Bischel is CEO, Chief Investment Officer and a founding member of SKBA. He has been in the industry since 1976 and joined SKBA when the firm was founded in 1989. Mr. Bischel is the lead member of the Investment Strategy team. Previously, Mr. Bischel worked at Merus Capital Management/The Bank of California. Mr. Bischel earned his BS in Mathematics and BA in Economics from the University of California at Davis, and his MBA from California State University at Sacramento. He is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco and the CFA Institute.

Josh J. Rothé

President, Director of Research

Mr. Rothé is President and Director of Research. He has been in the industry since 1991 and joined SKBA in 1994. Mr. Rothé is a member of the Investment Strategy team. Previously, Mr. Rothé worked at Lehman Brothers and Kemper Securities. Mr. Rothé received his BS in International Business and his MBA with an emphasis in Finance from the University of San Francisco. Mr. Rothé has passed the Series 65 examination administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers. He is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco and the CFA Institute.

Shelley H. Mann

SVP, Director of Trading

Ms. Mann is the Director of Trading and Operations and also serves as SKBA’s Chief Compliance Officer. She has been in the industry since 1976 and joined SKBA when the firm was founded in 1989. Ms. Mann is responsible for managing the firm’s trading activities, is a member of the Fixed Income Strategy team, oversees the firm’s client operations and as CCO is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s compliance responsibilities. Previously, Ms. Mann worked at Merus Capital Management/The Bank of California. She attended Utah State University.

Deepak Ahuja

Securities Analyst

Mr. Ahuja is a member of the Research group and is an Equity Analyst. He has been in the industry since 2005 and joined SKBA in 2007. Deepak is responsible for security analysis, industry research and investment idea origination. Previously, Mr. Ahuja worked at Brookfield Asset Management, FTI Consulting, Sprint Nextel and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.Mr. Ahuja received an Honors in Business Administration with emphasis in accounting and a Master in Business Administration with emphasis in finance from the University of Western Ontario (Ivey). Mr. Ahuja is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a level 3 CFA candidate.

Matthew R. Segura

Jr. Securities Analyst

Mr. Segura is a member of the Research group as a Junior Securities Analyst.  Matthew is responsible for security analysis, industry research and investment idea origination.  Previously Mr. Segura worked at Charles Schwab & Co performing several roles: A Cash Management team member in the Treasury, and a Manager in Financial Planning and Analysis for Schwab’s largest retail divisions.  Mr. Segura also Served 5 years Active Duty in the United States Marine Corps.  Mr. Segura received a BS in Business Administration from Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in 2008 and is currently a level 1 CFA Candidate.

Evan Ke

Jr. Securities Analyst

Mr. Ke is a member of the Research group as a Junior Securities Analyst.  Evan is responsible for security analysis, industry research and investment idea origination.  He joined SKBA in July 2009 as a member of our research internship program and rejoined SKBA in June 2011.  In between employment at SKBA, Mr. Ke worked in the equity research department at Piper Jaffray.  Mr. Ke received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 2010 and is a level 3 CFA candidate.

Tas Suvunnachuen

VP, Manager of Client Service

Ms. Suvunnachuen is in Marketing, Client Service and Compliance. She has been in the industry since 2001 and joined SKBA in 2005. Ms. Suvunnachuen is responsible for fund marketing, managing consultant and client relationships, assisting in compliance functions, and the RFP process. Previously, Ms. Suvunnachuen worked with a team of Private Wealth Advisors in Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group and at State Street, providing custodial accounting and reporting for fixed income and equity pension portfolios for CalPERS. She holds the Series 65 securities license. Ms. Suvunnachuen received her BS in Economics and Business Administration from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Kelly Brush

Manager, Consultant Relations

Mr. Brush is responsible for leading the firm's consultant relations and institutional business development efforts. He has been in the industry since 2002 and joined SKBA in 2011.  Previously, Mr. Brush was a member of the consultant relations team at RCM Capital Management where he was responsible for managing the firm's consultant relationships. His experience in sales and marketing began with The CIT Group in 1998, where he was a member of their commercial lending sales force.  Mr. Brush holds the Series 65 securities license.  He received his BS in Business with an emphasis in Finance from Arizona State University.  

Kobie Mahiri

Business Development

Mr. Mahiri is responsible for SKBA’s Business Development activities. He began working in this industry in 2001 and started with SKBA in 2010. Mr. Mahiri is responsible for fund marketing, developing and maintaining prospect, consultant and platform relationships, and the RFP process. Previously, Mr. Mahiri was a member of the institutional account management group at BlackRock, and at AllianceBernstein as a member of a team working on behalf of high net worth individuals. He received his BA in French with a minor in Mathematics from Morehouse College in Atlanta. Mr. Mahiri has passed the Series 65 examination administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Stephanie Huynh

Office Administrator

Ms. Huynh  is the Office Administrator where she supports the compliance, client service, and operations teams. She joined SKBA in 2010 after receiving her BA in Economics and Communication from the University of California, Davis.