Cathie Wood: A Pioneer in Disruptive Innovation
With over 40 years of experience in identifying and investing in innovation, Cathie Wood officially registered ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. As the founder of ARK, she aimed to focus solely on disruptive innovation while adding new dimensions to research, believing that by cutting across sectors, market capitalizations, and geographies, ARK could identify large-scale investment opportunities in the public markets.
The Journey to ARK
Before founding ARK, Cathie spent twelve years at AllianceBernstein as the CIO of Global Thematic Strategies, managing over $5 billion. She also co-founded the hedge fund Tupelo Capital Management, which, in 2000, managed approximately $800 million in global thematic strategies. Prior to that, she worked with Jennison Associates LLC for 18 years in various roles. Cathie’s career started in Los Angeles, California, at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist, before she received her Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Southern California in 1981.
Recognition and Influence
Cathie’s influence as a fund manager has been widely recognized, with Bloomberg selecting her for its second annual Bloomberg 50 list of people across business, entertainment, finance, politics, technology, and science who have defined global business in 2018. Fortune also named her to its exclusive roundtable of experts in the annual Fortune Investors Guide: The Best Investing Advice for 2019 and she received the “Women in Finance – Outstanding Contribution Award” from Market Media in 2016.
In addition to these accolades, Cathie has been a featured speaker at various prestigious events such as the World Economic Forum (China) in 2016 & 2017, the World Strategic Forum (Miami) in 2017, The Sohn Hearts and Minds Investment Leaders Conference (Australia) in 2018 and 2019, and Singularity University’s Exponential Finance in 2017 and Global Summit in 2019.
Duddy Innovation Institute
In 2018, Cathie launched the Duddy Innovation Institute at her alma mater, Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles. This institute offers a challenging educational experience for young women eager to stretch their learning beyond the boundaries of traditional acquisition of knowledge, while influencing a new way of thinking and learning throughout the campus.
As ARK’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Cathie Wood continues to lead the firm’s innovative approach to disruptive innovation, leaving a lasting impact on the investment landscape.
