Better assumptions. Better decisions.
Discover which factors matter most.
Take control of performance.
ApgarParters LLC is focused on commercializing concepts developed by David Apgar for the purpose of improving the strategic decisions made by senior executives and leading investment managers at the world's largest corporations and financial institutions. ApgarPartners proprietary methodologies enable decision-makers to test critical assumptions to identify hidden factors in bond ratings, risk management, and organizational performance.
David Apgar, Founder and Managing Partner
David is currently a director for investment and risk strategy at BlueOrchard Finance, oldest of the for-profit microfinance funds, and a long-time Managing Director at the Corporate Executive Board, where he launched best practices research programs for corporate controllers and treasurers between 2001 and 2003. He joined the Board in 1998 from McKinsey, where he served insurance, reinsurance, and capital markets clients as a consultant and an engagement manager for three years. Prior to that, he was responsible for numerous finance company, bank, and insurer mergers and acquisitions assignments as a vice president in Lehman Brothers’ Financial Institutions Group, and for building a framework for bank security sales as senior policy advisor to the Comptroller of the Currency. He proposed a debt relief program for Mexico and designed the precursor to interest rate relief Brady bonds as staff economist to Senator Bill Bradley.Apgar holds an A.B. from Harvard, an M.A. from Oxford, and a Ph.D. from the Rand Graduate School. He occasionally teaches risk management and international development at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies. He is the author of Relevance: Hitting Your Goals by Knowing What Matters (2008) and Risk Intelligence: Learning to Manage What We Don’t Know (2006).
David's discusses Relevance in this video clip
Operating Advisors
Aakif Ahmad
Aakif brings over 15 years of commercial management and not-for profit experience to ApgarPartners. Aakif is currently a Fellow at Search for Common Ground USA, consulting with the Project on U.S.-Muslim Engagement, and is co-founder of Convergence, a U.S-based firm providing consensus-based solutions to issues of national and international policy. Aakif was previously a Managing Director of the Corporate Executive Board, where he led sales organizations across Europe and North America since 1997, and served as a member of the Management Committee for Global Sales & Marketing.
Aakif earned a B.A. from Yale University in an interdisciplinary studies program combining philosophy, political science and economics. Aakif is currently completing his Executive M.B.A from the Kellogg School of Management.
Sarah Biller
Most recently, Ms. Biller was a Director of Fidelity Investment’s Board Support and Analysis Group, responsible for managing the team and the process to renew the firm’s multi-billion Transfer Agency contract and General Distribution. Prior to Fidelity, Ms. Biller helped launch several start-ups, including IndUS Pharmaceuticals and Cambridge Healthtech Advisors (CHA). Ms. Biller has also held multiple roles in the Corporate Executive Board and the Advisory Board Company launching best practices research program for executives in corporate finance.
Sarah completed graduate studies in Finance at the George Washington University and holds a B.S. in Finance from West Virginia University. She is currently completing post-graduate studies at Harvard University.
Wallace Blankenbaker
Wallace brings 15 years of financial services experience to ApgarPartners. From 2001 to 2009, he launched and managed multiple research programs in the Financial Services Practice of the Corporate Executive Board, authoring more than 30 major studies for clients in the retirement, wealth management, and investment management businesses. Prior to the Corporate Executive Board, Wallace held positions in product development at FOLIOfn and was a Principal in the Financial Institutions Group at American Management Systems (now part of CGI).
Wallace holds M.B.A. and B.S. degrees from the University of Virginia.
Mark Bourgeois
Mark has advised senior executives at financial institutions globally and in a variety of capacities for more than a decade. Most recently, as Senior Director with the Corporate Executive Board he served as the senior relationship management contact for senior executives in operations, investment management and insurance. He has worked in management consulting for the financial services practices at Booz-Allen & Hamilton and at Oliver, Wyman & Company, as a ratings analyst with Standard & Poor’s, and as a legislative aide in the United States Senate.
Mark holds a Master of Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. from Tulane University.
David Evans
David brings 15 years of product, content and research innovation to ApgarPartners. Most recently, David was Managing Director and Chief Researcher for 10 programs within the Corporate Executive Board, covering supply chain and operations, corporate strategy, R&D, emerging markets and Sustainability, and served on the Chief Research Operating Council. While at CEB, David built a track record as a leading developer and teacher of innovative approaches to best practice research, quantitative analysis, and B2B social networks. Prior to his work at CEB, David worked in real estate and architecture on prominent projects in Berlin and has published and exhibited design work extensively throughout Europe and Japan.
David holds a M.B.A. from Georgetown University and the Architectural Association Diploma from the AA School of Architecture in London.
Mårten Leijon
Mårten Leijon has many years experience in management consulting, risk, and best practices research. Between 1999 and 2008, Mr. Leijon led several consulting practices within the Corporate Executive Board (CEB). As Managing Director in the Financial Services practice, he was responsible for the development and growth of executive networks in insurance, service delivery, and retirement services. Mr. Leijon also served as Managing Director for CEB’s Operations & Innovation Practice, launching several new networks and overseeing the growth of services to the most senior executives in Operations and R&D.
Prior to joining CEB, Mr. Leijon led client engagements in strategy and risk-protection at McKinsey & Company’s Financial Institutions Group. He also has strategic and operational experience in risk management and credit risk modeling from ABN-Amro and European insurer Trygg-Hansa. Mr. Leijon holds a M.S. in Financial Economics and Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Advisory Board
Senator William W. Bradley
Senator Bradley is currently Managing Director of Allen & Company LLC. From 2001-2004, he acted
as chief outside advisor to McKinsey & Company’s nonprofit
practice. He was a Senior Advisor and Vice Chairman of the
International Council of JP Morgan & Co., Inc. from 1997-1999.
During that time, he also worked as an essayist for CBS evening news
and was a visiting professor at Stanford University, University of
Notre Dame and the University of Maryland. Senator Bradley served in
the U.S. Senate from 1979 – 1997 representing the state of New Jersey.
In 2000, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President
of the United States. Prior to serving in the Senate, he was an
Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and a professional basketball player with
the New York Knicks from 1967 – 1977 during which time they won 2 NBA
championships. In 1982 he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Senator Bradley holds a BA degree in American History from Princeton University and an MA degree from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has authored six books on American politics, culture and economy.
Jerry Buckley
Jerry Buckley, co-chair of BuckleySandler LLP, a law firm focused on
serving the legal needs of the Nation’s financial services industry.
BuckleySandler LLP has one of the largest and most experienced groups
of financial services attorneys in the country serving clients that
include banks, mortgage companies, credit card issuers, insurance
companies, broker dealers, investment banks and private equity
investors. Mr. Buckley assists these clients with strategic counsel and
advice on business formations and acquisitions, risk management, and
enforcement matters involving federal and state regulators.
He also represents and counsels financial services companies and their trade associations in connection with legislative and regulatory initiatives by state and federal agencies and the Congress and acts as outside counsel for several national trade associations.
Mr. Buckley’s practice involves the defense of companies that are targets of inquiries or enforcement actions by bank regulatory agencies, the FTC, HUD and State attorneys general. In addition, he acts as counsel for a number of national financial services trade associations in filing amicus curiae briefs related to the interpretation of banking and consumer finance laws in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate courts.
Mr. Buckley serves as general counsel of the Electronic Signatures and Records Association (http://www.esignrecords.org). In that capacity, he counsels the nation's leading financial and technology firms on emerging laws affecting the electronic delivery of financial services. He played a leading role in negotiations that led to enactment of the federal E-Sign Act authorizing the nationwide use of electronic signatures and records and has acted as counsel to the Drafting Committee for Standards and Procedures for Electronic Records and Signatures (http://www.spers.org).
Mr. Buckley has chaired the Subcommittee on RESPA of the American Bar Association Consumer Financial Services Committee. He is frequently a speaker at seminars on subjects related to the federal and state regulation of mortgage companies and electronic delivery of financial services.
Mr. Buckley is co-author of Introduction to Mortgage Lending (ABA, 2006), The Law of Electronic Signatures and Records (GlasserLegalWorks, 2004) and a number of articles on electronic signatures and records including: "Electronic Signatures - Changing the Financial Landscape," The Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Quarterly Report (2000, co-author) and "The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act - An Overview," Boston University School of Law, Annual Review of Banking Law (2001, co-author).
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Buckley served as Republican Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. During his service on the committee staff, he participated in drafting banking and bank holding company legislation, housing legislation, securities law amendments, RESPA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Truth in Lending amendments and other finance-related legislation. As Republican Staff Director, he also assisted in drafting the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
In January 2005, Mr. Buckley was one of only 114 attorneys nationwide named a member of the "2005 BTI Client Service All-Star's" team for law firms, and was identified by a client as "delivering truly outstanding and superior service."
Mr. Buckley received his J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School in 1969 and his A.B. from Fairfield University in 1966.
Neil Gaskell
Mr. Gaskell has 25 years of experience in senior management roles at various Shell companies. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Gaskell served as Group Treasurer, responsible for all financing policies, funding and risk management and, from 1997 to 2000, as Deputy Group Treasurer of the Royal Dutch Shell Group and CEO of Shell's Finance Services business. In connection with his position as Group Treasurer, Mr. Gaskell also served as a director of numerous subsidiaries of the Royal Dutch Shell Group including Shell International Ltd, Shell Capital Ltd, Shell Trading International Ltd, Shell Pensions Trust Ltd and Enterprise Oil Plc. From 1993 to 1997, he served as representative director and deputy chief executive of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. a US$4.0bn public company. From 1984 to 1993, Mr. Gaskell acted, in succession, as Finance Manager of Shell Chemicals Europe, CFO of the Brunei Shell Group of Companies and CEO of Shell Pensions Management Services. Since retiring from Shell at the end of 2003, Mr. Gaskell has become a non-executive director of several companies in, amongst others, the oil and gas and financial services industries. Mr. Gaskell is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from the London School of Economics.