Team Operators (Full-Time)
Wes Gray, PhD
(Bio)
CEO
Wes Gray, PhD (CEO)
After serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, Dr. Gray earned an MBA and a PhD in finance from the University of Chicago where he studied under Nobel Prize Winner Eugene Fama. Next, Wes took an academic job in his wife’s hometown of Philadelphia and worked as a finance professor at Drexel University. Dr. Gray’s interest in bridging the research gap between academia and industry led him to found Alpha Architect, an asset management firm dedicated to an impact mission of empowering investors through education. He is a contributor to multiple industry publications and regularly speaks to professional investor groups across the country. Wes has published multiple academic papers and four books, including Embedded (Naval Institute Press, 2009), Quantitative Value (Wiley, 2012), DIY Financial Advisor (Wiley, 2015), and Quantitative Momentum (Wiley, 2016).
Dr. Gray currently resides in the suburbs of Philadelphia with his wife and three children.
Jack Vogel, PhD
(Bio)
CIO/CFO
Jack Vogel, PhD
Dr. Vogel conducts research in empirical asset pricing and behavioral finance. Dr. Vogel is a co-author of DIY FINANCIAL ADVISOR: A Simple Solution to Build and Protect Your Wealth and QUANTITATIVE MOMENTUM: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building a Momentum-Based Stock Selection System. His academic background includes experience as an instructor and research assistant at Drexel University in both the Finance and Mathematics departments, as well as a Finance instructor at Villanova University He has a Ph.D. in Finance and an MS in Mathematics from Drexel University. Dr. Vogel graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Mathematics and Education from The University of Scranton.
Pat Cleary
(Bio)
CCO/COO
Pat Cleary
Mr. Cleary is currently the Chief Operations Officer / Chief Compliance Officer of Alpha Architect, where he oversees firm operations, compliance, and cybersecurity. Previously, Mr. Cleary served as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development for Algeco Scotsman, a multinational leasing and manufacturing company. Before Algeco Scotsman, he was a Project Leader for the Boston Consulting Group. In that capacity, he advised clients across a variety of industries in the US, Europe, and Africa. Mr. Cleary also served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Ryan Kirlin
(Bio)
Head of Capital Markets
Ryan Kirlin
Doug Pugliese
(Bio)
Head of 1042 Solutions
Doug Pugliese
Yan Feng
(Bio)
Portfolio Manager
Yan Feng
Ms. Feng serves as Portfolio Management Analyst at Alpha Architect. In this capacity, Ms. Feng supports portfolio management operations for all funds and strategies, to include 1940 Act Exchange Traded Funds, private funds, and separately managed accounts. In addition, Ms. Feng programs and maintains data processes and algorithms in support of the firm’s trading operations. Ms. Feng graduated from the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University in Philadelphia with dual degrees in Finance and Business Analytics. She passed CFA Level I in 2018 and is currently a CFA Level II candidate. Previously, Ms. Feng worked as a Data Analyst intern for the Alibaba Group.
Blair Zhang
(Bio)
Director, Compliance
Blair Zhang
Ms. Zhang is currently the Compliance Data Analyst of Alpha Architect, where she develops and supports the company’s compliance program and operational infrastructure. In addition, Ms. Zhang provides database programming and process design to support the firm. She received her M.S. in Applied Economics from Lehigh University and a BBA in Finance from the Macau University of Science and Technology.
Kyle Baxter
(Bio)
Director, Portfolio Services
Kyle Baxter
Mr. Baxter is currently a Director of Portfolio Services at Alpha Architect, where he assists with operations, compliance, and accounting. He graduated with an MS in Finance from Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College in NYC and a BS in Chemistry from the University of Maryland. Mr. Baxter passed the CFA Level III exam in 2017. He previously served as Assistant Director of Operations for Baxter Properties, a family real estate business, managing several commercial and residential buildings.
Rich Shaner, CFA®
(Bio)
Portfolio Manager
Rich Shaner, CFA
Mike Spector
(Bio)
Director of ETF Sales
Mike Spector
Mike’s experience with ETF’s began in 2008 while working for RevenueShares ETFs. In this role, he worked extensively with money managers and asset modelers. His experience eventually led him to an opportunity to serve as a sales desk manager for Pacer ETFs. Pacer ETFs blossomed into a multi-billion dollar ETF complex during Mike’s tenure, which afforded Mike the opportunity to explore exciting opportunities outside of Pacer. Mike wanted to leverage his sales skills and simultaneously quench his thirst to learn as much as he could about investing — Alpha Architect was the perfect fit!
Mike attended The Hill School, an international boarding school located in nearby Chester County, as his secondary school, as well as The Johns Hopkins University for his BA in International Studies and Minor in Russian Studies.
Brandon Koepke, CFA®
(Bio)
Computer Systems Analyst
Brandon Koepke
Mr. Koepke is a computer systems analyst and currently leads the technology department and assists with quantitative research. He has fifteen years of experience working with technology ranging from small businesses to large corporations including Disney and Amazon. Mr. Koepke is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA), has a BSc in Computer Science specializing in Software Engineering at the University of Calgary, and a BComm in Finance from the Haskayne School of Business.
Strategic Team (Part-Time)
Elisabetta Basilico, PhD/CFA® (Bio)
Consulting/Content
Elisabetta Basilico, PhD, CFA®
Dr. Elisabetta Basilico is a seasoned investment professional with an expertise in “turning academic insights into investment strategies.” Research is her life’s work and by combining her scientific grounding in quantitative investment management with a pragmatic approach to business challenges, she’s helped several institutional investors achieve stable returns from their global wealth portfolios. Her expertise spans from asset allocation to active quantitative investment strategies. Holder of the Charter Financial Analyst since 2007 and a PhD from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, she has experience in teaching and research at various international universities and co-author of articles published in peer-reviewed journals. She and co-author Tommi Johnsen are currently writing a book on research-backed investment ideas. You can find additional information at Academic Insights on Investing.
See our consulting page for more information.
Dave Babulak
(Bio)
Strategic Advisor
Dave Babulak
Dave Babulak is a Palo Alto-based independent investor and advisor to innovative financial firms including Robinhood, a zero commission, mobile-based brokerage firm and Alpha Architect, an asset manager, RIA and ETF issuer. Previously, Mr. Babulak spent ten years at Getco, LLC, (now KCG) where he was a Member of the Board and held a variety of roles including Chief Strategy Officer, Global Head of Fixed Income and Co-Head of Chicago Trading. Prior experience includes co-founding Blink Trading, an electronic trading firm later purchased by Getco, work as a quant at Hull Trading (now part of Goldman Sachs) and time as an assistant trader on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Mr. Babulak served as an Engineer Officer in the United States Army and holds engineering degrees from the University of Michigan and Stanford University. Outside of work Mr. Babulak competes in powerlifting and serves on the board of Second Harvest Food Bank.
Daniel Dorn, PhD
(Bio)
ETF Trustee
Daniel Dorn, PhD
Daniel Dorn is an Associate Professor of Finance at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. His research, which focuses on investments and behavioral finance, has been supported by the BSI Gamma Foundation and the European Central Bank’s Lamfalussy Fellowship program, and published in leading finance journals such as the Journal of Finance and Management Science, and discussed in media outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Prior to his academic appointment, Daniel worked at J.P. Morgan in London and the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. He holds business degrees from WHU Koblenz (Germany) and EM Lyon (France), and earned a Ph.D. in Finance with distinction from Columbia University.
Tommi Johnsen, PhD
(Bio)
Consulting/Content
Tommi Johnsen, PhD
Mike Pagano, PhD, CFA®
(Bio)
ETF Trustee
Mike Pagano, PhD, CFA®
Dr. Pagano is The Robert J. and Mary Ellen Darretta Endowed Chair in Finance at Villanova University where he has received awards for both teaching excellence and academic scholarship. Prof. Pagano is also involved with various professional organizations such as FINRA’s Market Regulation Committee and Citadel FCU’s board of directors. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation and has experience both in commercial lending activities at Citibank and in investment valuation analysis at a financial consulting firm, International Capital Markets Corp., as well as Reuters PLC. Professor Pagano has also been interviewed by various media sources such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Associated Press, CNBC, Bloomberg.
Emeka Oguh
(Bio)
ETF Trustee
Emeka Oguh
Emeka Oguh is the founder & CEO of PeopleJoy. PeopleJoy is an online student loan repayment platform, designed to help employees receive student loan assistance from their employers. Emeka previously built and successfully exited Apptempo, a mobile app studio that published over 500 apps and was the first business hire at DataMinr, a Fintech startup currently valued at $700M. Prior, Emeka was a fund of funds analyst at Merrill Lynch, providing due diligence on $317B in assets. He is a Huffington Post contributor, providing articles related to financial wellness and managing student debt. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers.