Meet the Team

Gabe is responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of Empiric as well as overseeing the portfolio management and execution of the firm’s international small cap strategy. Mr. Rodriguez also serves as a voting member of the quantitative research and investment committee.

Eswar Menon has over 25 years of global portfolio management and equity research experience. Mr. Menon has managed multi-billion-dollar equity and balanced portfolios throughout his career with a track record of outperformance. He has been the lead portfolio manager of the firm’s Global, International Developed Markets and Emerging Markets large cap portfolios since June 2016. Eswar is a member of the firm’s quantitative research and investment committee.

Mr. Menon’s Portfolio Manager career experience includes being CIO and founder of Harper Capital Management as well as a portfolio manager at Geneva Advisors, WHV Investment Management, Denahi Global Investors/Gerken Capital, Loomis Sayles, and Nicholas Applegate.

He received an MBA from the University of Chicago, and MS in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara, and a B Tech from the India Institute of Technology. In his free time, you may find him on the long Diablo hike, playing squash, or spending time with his wife and daughters.

As Director of Quantitative Research, Mark leads the firm’s continuously evolving proprietary research methodology used for stock valuation and financial modeling. His passion for financial modeling began in 1978 while attending the Wharton School of Business and continues today. Mark is a voting member of the quantitative research and investment committee.

Kathryn Wilkens is Partner, Deputy Director of Research, and Portfolio Manager at Empiric Institutional, where she focuses on quantitative investment research, model development, and portfolio management.

Kathryn has more than 25 years of experience in alternative investments, quantitative research, and investment analysis. She holds a Ph.D. in Finance with a minor in Statistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and she has authored numerous book chapters and professional publications on alternative investment strategies, portfolio evaluation, risk, hedge funds, and managed futures. She also has 14 years of editorial experience with the Journal of Alternative Investments.

Kathryn previously served as Director of Curriculum for the CAIA Association and later helped establish the Financial Data Professional (FDP) program as part of the small team that developed its original curriculum, study materials, and examinations. The FDP designation was created to bring data science and artificial intelligence, including machine learning, together with practical applications in finance and financial data. She is currently an adjunct professor in the Master of Financial Analysis program at Rutgers University, where she teaches Alternative Investments, and is the founder of Pearl Quest, LLC, an investment research and education firm focused on bridging traditional investment analysis and modern data science.

Tammi Edwards has comprehensive knowledge in the financial services industry. Her experience prior to Empiric includes being a director at a private family office, working in operations and business development at a hedge fund, and in tax accounting. As COO, she directs all operational functions including portfolio accounting and reconciliations, trade operations, vendor management, and client reporting. Tammi also helps oversee the firm’s compliance program as Deputy CCO.

She holds an MBA from H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business Nova Southeastern University and received her BS from Florida State University. On her free time, you can find her advancing various financial literacy and education projects or spending time with family. She serves as an advisor to Pearl Quest LLC, is involved with the Society of Royals which works to uplift youths and with the Buoniconti Fund to cure Paralysis