Clyde Williams
Principal | CEMK, Inc.

Clyde Williams’ more than 30-year career in public service includes work for Presidents Clinton and Obama, the development of successful public-private sector partnerships nationally, and knowledge of federal programs that affect urban and rural communities.

Clyde served as National Political Director of the Democratic National Committee for President Barack Obama. During his stint at the DNC, he worked closely with state parties, national, state, and local elected officials.

In 2001, Clyde worked as Domestic Policy Advisor to President Bill Clinton, coordinating his post-presidential activities designing and implementing national programs focused on economic empowerment and education. The Harlem Small Business program that he created has since been replicated and expanded nationally.

Clyde served as Vice President for State and Local Government Affairs at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think-tank. He also launched a successful consulting firm, and in 2007, joined with business partners to acquire Dicon Technologies from Berkshire Hathaway. Clyde and his partners successfully relocated Dicon’s operations to the U.S. from China, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

During the Clinton Administration, Clyde served as Deputy Chief at Staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – an agency that had an $18 billion budget and more than 100,000 employees. He also served in the Clinton White House as Deputy Director of Presidential Scheduling and at USDA as Assistant Press Secretary. Earlier in his career, he worked in local politics in Washington, D.C.

Clyde presently does public and strategic affairs work for various clients with his partner, as a principal of CEMK, Inc.

Clyde is a board member of the company City Health Works. He was a past board member of Dicon Technologies, and the then publicly traded company The Princeton Review. He serves on the non-profit board of the MAC Aids Fund, and served on the non-profit board of STRIVE International. He also serves on the advisory boards of Markup and Rentreever.

Clyde earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, with a minor in Marketing, from Howard University.

Mona Sutphen
Partner, Head of Investment Strategies | Vistria

Prior to joining Vistria, Mona was a Partner at Macro Advisory Partners, where she led the firm’s US practice advising global corporate and capital markets clients. Earlier she was Managing Director at UBS AG, where she developed new tools for political risk evaluation impacting capital markets. From 2009-2011, she served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for President Obama, where she advanced the policy and regulatory agenda on a range of domestic and international issues. Earlier in her career, Mona was a career diplomat, serving on the staff of the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration and the U.S. Mission to the UN, as well as posts in Asia and Europe.

Mona serves on the Boards of Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), Unitek Learning and Novata, and is a Trustee for Putnam Mutual Funds. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Boards of the International Rescue Committee and Human Rights First. Mona is a Trustee of Mount Holyoke College and serves on the advisory boards of the Warner Music Social Justice Fund and the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Previously, she served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and was an adjunct professor at the Princeton School of Public & International Affairs. Mona is co-author of The Next American Century, and Executive Producer of two documentary films Battleground (PBS 2020) and Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (HBO 2021).

Mona received a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an MSc from the London School of Economics.