Kevin Pilarski has joined Chicago-based Falcon Global Funds Group, a boutique alternative investment advisory and distribution firm, as President and CEO.
 
Pilarski, 43, is a 20-year veteran in alternative asset management and financial derivatives markets. He joins from Dow Jones & Co where he was most recently Director-Alternative Strategies and Global Derivatives, initiating the firm's development and management of the industry's first investable hedge fund index product, and pioneering the first consolidated US and emerging market credit default swap index.

At Falcon Global, Pilarski is responsible for the identification and development of innovative alternative investment vehicles, portfolio construction and structuring, and marketing and business development.

"Kevin brings a wealth of experience to our firm and his skill set complements our core strengths," says David Wolf, Chairman of Falcon Global. "Kevin has demonstrated his ability to identify and build creative and unique derivative and hedge fund tools that access global markets." 

Wolf and Mark de Souza, Vice-Chairman, co-founded Falcon Global in 2005. Wolf brings 30 years of international trade and distribution experience to the firm, notably in India and the Middle East Gulf States, where the firm has long standing relationships and exclusive distribution rights to develop structured alternative investment products for some of the largest institutions in the region.

De Souza, a 23-year veteran of the Futures Industry as a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, brings a wealth of experience in futures clearing and execution, as well as operating global broker/dealer networks that offer a broad range of services in the derivatives arena including clearing, execution and custody.

"I was drawn to Falcon Global's unique, big picture and forward-looking approach to this business and their deep footprint and access to leading institutions in the Gulf," says Pilarski, who prior to Dow Jones, held senior business development positions with STOXX Ltd, Cantor Fitzgerald and the Chicago Board of Trade. He also managed proprietary global derivatives portfolios for Cooper-Neff, LFG, LLC and JSS Investments. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Finance from Miami University (Ohio).

Background Notes: Falcon Global Funds Group is a boutique investment advisory and distribution firm specializing in providing customized alternative investment solutions to institutional clients. In addition, Falcon Global offers clients education, hands-on training and ongoing support by leveraging relationships with leading global exchanges and academic institutions.  Based in Chicago, the firm is chaired by David Wolf, a member of both the Executive Board of the US-India Business Council and the President's Circle of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

For more information on structured products, please click here

For the hedgeweek report on structured products, please click here