James Gillies

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James T. Gillies, CFA, CAIA retired from Wafra Inc. as a Senior Managing Director after a 17-year career focused on all aspects of alternative investments. When he joined Wafra's Alternative Investment Division in 2004, the team consisted of 4 investment professionals and had $400 million of AUM in several internally managed funds of hedge funds. When he left at the end of 2021, the team had over 30 investment professionals and over $15 billion of AUM in hedge funds and other liquid alternatives, private equity, alternative real estate, real assets, credit, minority GP stakes, and seeding of alternative asset managers. Mr. Gillies led dozens of investments and was a member of the investment committee led by Fawaz Al-Mubaraki, Wafra's CEO. Mr. Gillies was also deeply involved with recruiting, compensation, and the annual review process. He worked closely with Wafra's non-investment departments and sat on the firm's technology committee. Starting in his first year at Wafra, Mr. Gillies took an active role in Wafra's rotational training program for recent college graduates. He sat on the Board of Jiko bank, was a Board Observer for Hamilton State bank, and was on the LPAC for funds managed by Stone Point, Towerbrook, Strategic Value Partners, Atalaya, and Henderson Park among others. Prior to Wafra, Mr. Gillies co-founded the largest database of hedge funds in 1997 and sold the business in 2000, remaining with the rebranded Channel Capital Group until he joined Wafra. At Channel, he held the Series 7, 63 and 24 FINRA licenses. Mr. Gillies graduated cum laude from Hamilton College with a degree in English and a minor in economics, holds the CAIA designation and is a CFA charterholder.