of venture-funded firms. He is the author of a number of articles on applications of modeling, estimation, and optimization in stochastic systems. He received a B.S. and an M.S. degree in Systems Science from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. Ronald Howard, Vice President, has worked at Goldman Sachs since 1999 and is currently a Vice President in Foreign Exchange Strategies in the Fixed Income Division. Prior to August 2002, he worked as a Research Strategist in the Global Investment Strategies group in the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Division. He holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton University. Robert Jones, Managing Director, brings over 20 years of investment experience to his work in managing the Global Quantitative Equity (GQE) group. Jones developed the original model and investment process for GQE in the late 1980s, and has been responsible for overseeing their continuing development and evolution ever since. The GQE group currently manages over $28 billion in equity portfolios across a variety of styles (growth, value, core, small-cap, international) and client types (pension funds, mutual funds, foundations, endowments, individuals). Jones heads the GQE Investment Policy Committee and also serves on the GSAM Investment Policy Group. Prior to joining GSAM in 1989, he was the senior quantitative analyst in the Investment Research Department and the author of the monthly Stock Selection publication. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 1987, Jones provided quantitative research for both a major investment banking firm and an options consulting firm. His articles on quantitative techniques have been published in leading books and financial journals, including the Financial Analysts Journal and the Journal of Portfolio Management. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Jones received a B.A. from Brown University in 1978 and an MBA from the University of Michigan in 1980, where he serves on the Investment Advisory Committee for the University Endowment. J. Douglas Kramer, Vice President, is the head of the Global Manager Strategies group. Kramer is responsible for overseeing the identification, evaluation, selection, and monitoring of Managers in the Program across all asset classes. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 as a senior leader of a new business focused on the wealth management market where his responsibilities included product development and management. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Kramer was a Director of Columbia Energy Services in Houston, where he managed portfolios of power and weather derivatives. Prior to Columbia, he was a portfolio manager at Fischer Francis Trees and Watts in New York for seven years, managing global fixed income assets, specializing in mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds. Kramer received his B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from Columbia University with Beta Gamma Sigma honors. Yoel Lax, Associate, joined the Global Investment Strategies group in July 2001. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he obtained a Ph.D. in Finance from the Wharton