Charles Bobrinskoy is the vice chairman and director of research for Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based money management firm that serves retirement plans and individual investors through its no-load mutual funds and manages separate accounts for institutional clients. As vice chairman and director of research, Charlie oversees the firm's Investment and Trading Teams as well as all of Ariel Investments' propriety research. He is also portfolio manager of Ariel Focus Fund, a concentrated portfolio investing in mid-to-large cap companies. Additionally, Charlie is a member of Ariel Investments board of directors. Charlie came to Ariel in 2004 from the Global Corporate and Investment Bank of Citigroup, Inc. Most recently, he served as a managing director and head of North American Investment Banking Branch Offices where he managed approximately 100 professionals across six North American branches, including Chicago. Charlie's investment banking career began in 1983 at Salomon Brothers, Inc. (a Citigroup predecessor company) where he held numerous leadership positions. Beyond Ariel Investments, Charlie is active in the Chicago community, teaching monthly investing classes at two Chicago inner-city schools and serving on the boards of the Museum of Science and Industry and La Rabida Children's Hospital. He is also a Director for Innerworkings, Inc. a publicly traded print procurement company. Charlie is a member of the Commercial Club, Economic Club of Chicago and is a 1998 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He received an AB in economics from Duke University and earned his MBA from the University of Chicago. He and his wife, Mary Anne, and their seven children live in Glenview, IL.