Melanie Vangopoulos, CFA is a Wall Street investor whose career has spanned two decades of experience in the highly competitive hedge fund industry. She’s managed investment portfolios at some of the world’s top hedge funds including Millennium Management. Today she is the Chief Investment Officer and Co-Founder of Gaia Global Capital Management, a soon-to-launch long/short market-neutral hedge fund with an investment strategy focused on the Technology and Communication Services sectors.  Her approach to investing combines fundamental analysis, market insight, and a strong risk management discipline.

Melanie has always been driven by two things: a love of investing and a deep desire to uplift and empower others. Long before speaking on the TEDx stage about the power of a positive mindset, she was tutoring students in Economics and Calculus while still in college herself, as she genuinely enjoys teaching and helping people achieve their greatest potential.

Melanie is now an active mentor of Finance and Economics students through Rutgers University’s Road to Wall Street program, helping them navigate internships and early career decisions. She is also the founder of the Get Ready for Wall Street workshop, a program she designed to prepare undergraduate students for a career in Finance.