With post-graduate degrees in relevant disciplines from reputable institutions in three continents, Dr. Omar Ike Michaels, Jr. has had the opportunity during the past thirty years of holding progressively senior professional management positions in the United States and overseas spanning pension fund investment management and administration, asset allocation strategies, joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnerships, and financial advisory for institutional clients.
Dr. Ike is the Managing Partner of Crystal Hills LLC and co-founder and Managing Partner of African Private Equity Partners, LLC (“APEP”) – a growing strategic multi-company organization with deep institutional experience in value creation propositions, corporate governance as well as effective leadership in a change management environment. Since 1998, APEP has identified strategic assets and lead due diligence on financial advisory assignments on over $500 Million of investments in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa for various international clients, and has along the way forged strong strategic alliances, partnerships, and working relationships with various domestic and international partners, financial institutions, and key government officials.
From 2005 – 2008, he served as the Deputy Director and Co-Head of Alternative Investments with the $100 billion New Jersey Division of Investment (NJDOI) where he exercised broad discretionary authority for the day-to-day administration of the 8th largest U.S. public pension fund with over 70 employees as well as all phases of pension investment management, asset allocation strategies, and risk management. At NJDOI, Dr. Ike also developed the asset allocation and investment policies for the newly established Alternative Investment Asset Class (private equity, real estate, and absolute return), invested in Twenty (20) Real Estate Investment Limited Partnerships, and initiated a $10 billion Infrastructure Fund to pool assets by large U.S. public funds to invest in U.S. infrastructure.
From 2001 – 2005, Dr. Ike served as the first “black” Portfolio Manager and Director of Research with the $250 billion California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) – the world’s largest public pension fund – where he provided intellectual insight, thought leadership and portfolio strategy to support the management of $60 billion of fixed income securities, $3 billion of high yield securities, and $5 billion in alternative investments against broad indices on a total return basis consistent with established Board policy guidelines and risk tolerance levels. He was also tasked with setting up the first in-house global research group at CalPERS whereupon he recruited, trained, and mentored six (6) Investment Officers (including two women) that formed the nucleus of the new team. Many of these hires have since become Portfolio Managers at CalPERS and other fine institutions. Dr. Michaels Jr. also co-developed a $5 Billion Municipal Credit Enhancement Program by securing AAA credit ratings for CalPERS.
From 1989 – 2000, Dr. Ike served in various senior management positions on Wall Street namely: Senior Vice President of the proprietary business of prestigious Wall Street firm of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (“DLJ”), New York, New York where he opportunistically deployed $2 billion of the firm’s capital (DLJ was later acquired by Credit Suisse); Managing Director (Emerging Markets) at Imperial Capital, LLC, Los Angeles, California where he initiated, developed and managed a profitable $600 million investment fund that invested in distressed debt instruments of Latin America countries; and Vice President and Senior Corporate Bond Analyst at Salomon Brothers, Inc., New York, New York where he evaluated the financial condition of potential high yield and emerging markets debt issuers, and assisted in the negotiation of financial structures, covenants, interest rates, and other terms.
From 1983 – 1998, Dr. Ike served for five years as an Assistant Vice President and Senior Credit Analyst with Bank of America NT&SA (Merchant Banking), Lagos, Nigeria responsible for analyzing economic and political risks, and identifying private equity investment opportunities in Nigeria and other West African markets.
Dr. Ike obtained his Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in International Business Management and Strategy from the International School of Management (ISM), Paris, France (2005); Master of Science in Business Administration (MSBA) in International Finance from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, (1989); and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance (1985) and Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Honours (Second Class, Upper Division) in Banking and Finance (1983) from the University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria.
Dr. Ike is a member of CFA Research Institute (formerly AIMR), New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA), and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) (Series 7, 63).