Founders
Walt Vester
Before founding Huygens in 2011, Walt was a Managing Director in Blackstone’s Private Equity division, and was a buy-side equity research analyst at AllianceBernstein before that. Earlier in his career, Walt designed and developed algorithms for special ops / secure radio communications at Harris Corporation. He has multiple US & UK patents.
Walt has an MBA in Finance from Wharton, a BS in Computer Engineering from RPI, an MS in Applied Physics from Case Western, and Series 3 and 65 licenses.
Adam R. Spilka
Before joining Huygens in 2012, Adam was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Artio Global Investors, a publicly-traded asset management firm spun off from Julius Baer Holding. Adam served on Artio’s Management Committee and oversaw Enterprise Risk Management. Before that he was Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of AllianceBernstein, where he headed the Corporate Practice Group.
Adam had a JD from the Cardozo School of Law and a BA in Art History from Columbia College; and Series 3 and 65 licenses. Adam passed away in January 2023.
Advisors
Craig Holliday - Marketing & Sales Advisor
Craig is an expert in customer engagement and growth for asset managers. Craig has also worked with firms providing analytical tools and solutions to investors and managers in alternative investing. Craig previously had a long career in telecommunications and technology with increasing responsibilities, including C-level sales, product and marketing responsibilities, and business line management of a global hosting solution. Craig’s earlier career of 20+ years includes firm like MCI, FedEx, Sprint, and AT&T.
Craig has an MBA in Finance and a BBA in Marketing, both from the University of Memphis; and Series 3, 30, and 65 licenses.
James Fields
James Fields is President of Klingenstein, Fields & Co, a $4B+ New York-based private wealth management firm. James was previously CFO of Citigroup Alternative Investments Private Equity. He is a director of IndexIQ and viagogo.
James has an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Harvard.
John Liechty
Dr. John Liechty is a Professor of Statistics and Marketing at Penn State University. John is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, the American Statistical Association, and is an IBM Research Fellow. He has previously served as a Systemic Risk Expert to the US Treasury’s Office of Financial Research.
John has a PhD in Statistics from Cambridge University, and a BS in Physics and an MS in Statistics from Brigham Young.