Alternative Investment Fund Conference

Michael R. Schmidt is the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. He was nominated by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on January 6, 2019, and confirmed by the New York State Senate on June 20, 2019. With over 3,700 employees, the department’s mission is to efficiently collect tax revenues in support of state services and programs while acting with integrity and fairness in the administration of the tax laws of New York State. To that end, the department promulgates tax regulations; publishes forms, instructions, and guidance; engages in taxpayer outreach and education; processes tax returns; resolves taxpayer errors and protests; conducts audits; engages in civil and criminal enforcement activities; litigates tax disputes; and manages the state treasury. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Mr. Schmidt served as Senior Economic Advisor to the Governor, overseeing key economic policy initiatives for New York State. In this role, he helped spearhead the State’s response to the federal tax law enacted in 2017, leading a team of public servants that was awarded the State Academy for Public Administration Public Service Excellence Award for its efforts. He joined New York State government in 2017 as Deputy Secretary for Economic Development, where he oversaw policy and operations for 12 state agencies and authorities, including the Department of Taxation and Finance, Empire State Development, the Division of Homes and Community Renewal, and the Department of State. Mr. Schmidt previously served as an economic policy advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton, in which capacity he worked on a range of economic policy issues; a policy analyst in the Office of Domestic Finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he helped reform U.S. financial regulation in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis; and a senior financial analyst at the Yale Investments Office. A lifelong New Yorker, Mr. Schmidt earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he served as an Articles Editor on the Yale Law Journal.

Grant Smith is a managing director in the partnership taxation group at Grant Thornton. Grant has more than twenty four years of experience in the field of taxation, both in private industry and public accounting. His focus has been federal tax compliance and consulting for hedge funds, including their related management companies, as well as security transaction analysis. Grant also has experience with private equity funds, mutual funds and other similar investment vehicles. Grant also has experience with tax provision review and state, local and international income tax compliance.

David Fitzgerald’s practice focuses on investment funds, securities, joint ventures, regulatory compliance and investment advisers. He regularly structures and organizes hedge funds, private equity funds, funds of funds, separately managed accounts and hybrid funds. Additionally, he advises private fund managers on structure, compensation, employment and investor issues, and other matters relating to management companies. Drawing on his 16 years of experience as an institutional Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel, David provides ongoing advice to investment advisers on securities law issues, including SEC filings. His practice also involves counseling clients in SEC regulatory matters, including compliance issues related to registered advisers

Eric Gelb, CPA, is a Senior Managing Director in Financial Services with PKF O’Connor Davies Advisory, LLC. His clients include private equity and hedge funds, RIAs and family offices. Eric’s practice includes fractional CFO to private equity funds; transaction and M&A advisory, and quality of earnings due diligence relating to structured credit. He has advised the Board of Directors for a leading RIA. In addition to 20+ years’ experience in public accounting, he was a Vice President with Citibank and JP Morgan Chase for a total of 15 years where he focused on equipment leasing, securitization and asset-based lending. Eric is a graduate of The Wharton School of Economics where he majored in Accounting and Finance; and the Columbia Business School where he completed his MBA in Finance and Marketing. As of 10/18/24

Chris has over 25 years of experience including as Legal Counsel and CCO for RIA of multibillion dollar fund-of-hedge funds business. Most recently Chris was Managing Director at Kroll (formerly Duff & Phelps). Throughout his career Chris has worked closely with investment advisory clients on matters such as: establishing compliance and operations infrastructures, identifying and addressing risks and conflicts, operational due diligence, mock regulatory examinations, and preparing for and navigating regulatory examinations. He is a frequent lecturer and speaker on panels on all matters related to GRC. Chris has a BS, and MBA from American University, and JD from St. Thomas University School of Law.

Jeff Steinberg is a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Group at EisnerAmper and a member of the firm’s National Office of Professional Practice, working with both the asset management and capital markets teams. Jeff currently serves as the Chair of the Private Equity and Venture Capital community of practice of the New York State Society of CPAs. Jeff has over 10 years of audit and accounting experience. He provides audit services with a primary industry focus on private equity and hedge funds. Jeff also has prior experience providing services to investment advisors and family offices. Jeff is responsible for all phases of the audit, including planning, organization, supervision, and review of the fieldwork. He is also deeply involved in developing course content and instructing internal private equity training, as well as mentoring staff and recruiting new employees.

Alex focuses on clients in the financial services industry, including mutual funds, interval funds, business development companies, private equity and venture capital funds. He has extensive experience with both AICPA and PCAOB auditing standards and SEC reporting requirements. From 2020 to 2023, Alex served as an Assistant Chief Accountant at the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. While at the SEC, he contributed significantly to the development of recommendations for policies aimed at ensuring the full and fair disclosure of financial information by investment companies. He also provided valuable insights into interpretations of rules relating to the form and content of financial statements, and actively participated in establishing uniform standards of auditing and accounting practices within the investment companies sector.

Michael is an Assistant Chief Accountant in the Division of Investment Management at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He works with fellow members of the Chief Accountant’s Office in interpreting accounting standards, developing policy recommendations, and directing the financial reporting and accounting practices with respect to investment companies. As part of this role, Michael works closely with SEC staff, both within the Division of IM and across other Divisions within the Commission, as well as investors, registrants, and auditors. Michael joined the SEC in November 2021. Prior to joining the Commission, he was a senior manager at KPMG, where he worked in the firm's national office on a variety of investment management industry projects, technical inquiries, and firm publications. During his 11 years at KPMG, Michael served large investment management clients, and spent time in KPMG's Silicon Valley, Dallas, and New York City offices. Michael graduated from Santa Clara University with a major in accounting and a minor in economics. He is currently a licensed CPA in California, Texas, and New York.