Gene Sit founded Sit Investment Associates (SIA) in July of 1981 and is currently the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Sit Investment Associates and its various investment companies including Sit/Kim International. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for American Express/IDS Advisory. During his tenure, assets under management expanded rapidly and the firm compiled one of the superior performance records in the investment management industry. Today, SIA is a diverse financial asset management firm with capabilities in both domestic and international financial asset management. SIA currently has in excess of $9.6 billion of assets under management for institutional, family, and mutual fund clients. Gene was educated at DePaul University in Chicago where he received his B.S.C. degree in 1960, and he is both a CPA and CFA. Active in industry and community affairs, Gene currently serves as a trustee at Carleton College, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Minnesota Historical Society, and The Minnesota Orchestral Association. Additionally, he is a trustee of TIAA/CREF, and an advisory director of the Productivity Fund in Chicago. He has previously served as Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, a member of the Board of Governors of the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), and on the Advisory Board for the University of California, Walter A. Haas School of Business, and as a trustee of the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Gene is a recipient of the C. Steward Sheppard Award given by AIMR in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the investment profession.