Arthur J. Samberg

Arthur J. Samberg (born 1941) was the chief executive officer, president and chairman of Pequot Capital Management, a hedge fund which at one point was the largest in the world at over $15 billion.^[1] Samberg's flagship Pequot fund, started in 1986, returned 17.8% (net) over the life of the fund. He currently manages his family office through Hawkes Financial LLC.

Early life

Samberg holds a S.B. (Aeronautics and Astronautics) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is a Life Member of the MIT Corporation, and a Member of MIT Executive Committee.^[2] For five years he served as Chairman of the MIT Investment Management Company and currently sits on the Board of Advisor of the MIT Energy Initiative. Samberg earned his M.S. (Aeronautics and Astronautics) from Stanford University and M.B.A. from Columbia University,^[3] where he is Co-Chair of the Board of Overseers of the Business School.

The son of an electrician, Samberg served as an engineer in the aeronautics industry before working in finance. Specifically, during the early to mid-1960s, Arthur Samberg worked as an Aerospace Engineer at the Lockheed Missile and Space Company in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[3] He primarily focused on developing guidance and control technologies for the Agena missile system.

Samberg began his career in the investment industry as a Security Analyst at Kidder Peabody & Co. in New York City. There, he developed reports with recommendations to buy, sell, and hold securities, focusing on firms in the aeronautics and defense electronics industries. In 1969, Samberg moved into a Security Analyst position at the boutique research firm Lombard, Vitalis, Paganucci and Nelson, Inc., also in New York City. Subsequently, as the first professional hire at the start-up company Weiss, Peck & Greer, he served as a Security Analyst. He later assumed a Partner role, and he additionally served on the Management Committee during his last five years with the firm. During his 15-year tenure at Weiss, Peck & Greer, the investment management company grew to $8 billion. Between 1985 and 1999, as founder and President of Dawson-Samberg Capital Management, Inc., in Southport, Connecticut, Samberg established the first Pequot hedge fund. In 1999, he spun out his funds into the newly formed Pequot Capital Management Inc. In 2009, Samberg decided to shut down Pequot Capital and now manages his family office though Hawkes Financial, LLC.

Personal

Samberg currently manages his family office through Hawkes Financial LLC. He is a Member of the Board and Executive Committee of Tri Alpha Energy, Inc., on the Board of Levant Power Corporation, and Chairman of the Board of JetSuite, LLC.

Samberg is a Life Member of the MIT Corporation, and a Member of MIT Executive Committee. For five years he served as Chairman of the MIT Investment Management Company and currently sits on the Board of Advisor of the MIT Energy Initiative. Samberg is also the Co-Chair of the Columbia Business School's Board of Overseers.

He also serves on the Board of Trustees and Executive and Investment Committees of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the Board of Directors of Historic Hudson Valley, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York Genomic Center, and served as the Chairman of the Jacob Burns Film Center where he is currently Chairman Emeritus. Other philanthropic affiliations include: the Board of College Summit; and the Children's Advisory Council at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. He is a former Board member of National Board of Directors of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship; and past Senior Chair, Wall Street & Financial Services Division of UJA, and Member of the Campaign Steering Committee for Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian.

Philanthropy

Samberg donated $10 million to the Columbia Business School in 2002, leading to the establishment of the Arthur J. Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence. In 2006, he contributed $25 million to his alma mater, which at that time was the largest donation in the school's history. Art J. Samberg's second gift has allowed Columbia Business School to endow some 20 professorships within the last six years. In 2012, Samberg and his wife, Rebecca, gave $25 million to New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. The donation made possible the Samberg Scholars in Children's Health program, an initiative to recruit and train as many as 40 top scholars in pediatric medicine.

SEC settlement

In 2004, the SEC began an investigation of Pequot's trading in the securities of several companies, including trades by funds for which Samberg was the portfolio manager. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York also conducted a related investigation. One of the areas of focus of the investigations was Samberg's hiring of David Zilkha, who previously had been employed by Microsoft Corporation, and Samberg's subsequent trading in Microsoft securities in 2001. In late 2006, both these investigations were closed without filing any charges or taking other action.

In December 2008, Samberg received and responded to a letter from Senators Charles Grassley and Arlen Specter requesting information concerning payments Pequot made to Zilkha in 2007 and 2008.

In late December 2008, the SEC again investigated Samberg's trading in the securities of Microsoft in 2001. In May 2010, Pequot and Samberg resolved this matter without the need for further litigation by agreeing to a settlement whereby, without admitting or denying the allegations, Pequot and Samberg consented to be permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities law and to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties. Pequot and Samberg also consented, without admitting or denying the allegations, to the subsequent filing of administrative proceedings.

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