The Dark Money Secretly Bankrolling Activist Short-Sellers — and the Insiders Trying to Expose It
Michelle Celarier
Institutional Investor, 30 November 2020
More than a dozen short-sellers interviewed by Institutional Investor in an effort to penetrate this murky terrain say there are numerous players and various permutations of the model that may involve the sharing of ideas and research along with either a cut of the gains on the short trade or a set fee. In fact, some short-sellers believe that almost all of the activists have such backing — even those running small hedge funds themselves.
Kraig Higginson is the Executive Chairman of the Board at Sundance Strategies, Inc. Higginson served as Chief Executive Officer of VIA Motors, Inc., until January 2014. From October 2003 until November 2010, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Raser Technologies. Higginson also founded American Telemedia Network, Inc., a publicly-traded NASDAQ company. In 2019, Raser Technologies 
Rachel Lord is a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee. She is a Senior Managing Director, is Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BlackRock. Prior to assuming her current role in September 2017, she was EMEA Head of iShares and Head of Global Clients, ETF and Index Investments. Lord joined BlackRock in November 2013 from Citigroup where she was the Global Head of Corporate Equity Derivatives. She joined Citigroup in 2009 after thirteen years at Morgan Stanley. She graduated in 1987 from the University of Leeds with a BA (Hons) First Class in International History & Politics.
Gary Shedlin is a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee and is BlackRock’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2013, Shedlin was at Morgan Stanley where he was a Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, and a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Shedlin was Chairman of Citi’s Financial Institutions Group and a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Financial Institutions Group at Lazard. Shedlin received a BA in Economics, summa cum laude, from Colgate University, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
James J. Angel specializes in the market structure and regulation of global financial markets. He teaches undergraduate, MBA, and executive courses, including Investments and Capital Markets at Georgetown University. ”Dr. Jim” has testified before Congress about issues relating to the design of financial markets. Dr. Jim began his professional career as a rate engineer at Pacific Gas and Electric. Along the way he has also worked at BARRA (later part of Morgan Stanley). He has also served as a Visiting Academic Fellow in residence at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD – now FINRA) and also as a visiting economist at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. He has also been chairman of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Board, a member of the OTC Bulletin Board Advisory Committee, and has served on the board of directors of the Direct Edge Stock Exchanges (later part of BATS Global Markets). He graduated from the 
Kevin M. Warsh was sworn in as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 24, 2006. He left the Board on March 31, 2011. In 1995, Warsh accepted a position with the mergers and acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York. In 2002, Warsh left his vice president and executive director post at Morgan Stanley & Co. to join the administration for President George W. Bush. He served as special assistant to the president for economic policy and as executive secretary at the National Economic Council. In addition, he advises several companies including serving on the board of directors of United Parcel Service. He graduated from Stanford University(BA), and went on to Harvard Law School and received a law degree in 1995. He also completed coursework in market economics and debt capital markets at Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.
James P. Gorman 
Charles Phillips 
Umesh Subramanian is the Chief Technology Officer at Citadel. Prior to joining Citadel, he spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently serving as a Partner and Co-Head of the Technology Division. While at Goldman Sachs, Subramanian was a member of the Board of Directors of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. Before that, Subramanian worked at Morgan Stanley. Subramanian serves on the NYU Stern Tech MBA Advisory Board. He received a BTech in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an MS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Pascal Bandelier is the Senior Managing Director, Head of Equities. He joined the Cantor Fitzgerald based in New York. 
