Hans Humes (born Willem J. Humes) is an American investor and commentator on financial markets and sovereign debt restructurings. He is the president and chief investment officer at Greylock Capital Management, an alternative investment adviser.[1] He was co-chair of the Global Committee of Argentina Bondholders following the 1998–2002 Argentine great depression, and was on the steering committee of investors engaged in the Greek sovereign debt restructuring.[2][3]

Hans Humes
Born
Alma materWilliams College (BA)
OccupationInvestment Advisor
Known forEmerging markets, Sovereign debt restructuring

Early life and education

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Humes was born in Bethesda, Maryland and spent his childhood in Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Morocco, and Chile. He completed high school at The Lawrenceville School in 1983 and matriculated at Williams College that same year, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature in 1987. Humes captained the Williams College Ultimate Frisbee team, otherwise known as 'WUFO', during the 1985-86 academic year.

Career

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After graduating from Williams College, Humes entered investment banking working for Manufacturer’s Hanover, then Banco Santander and then Lehman Brothers, focusing on proprietary debt trading in Latin America. At Lehman Brothers, he was a member of the emerging markets debt trading team and helped manage over $500 million of assets. He subsequently joined Van Eck Global as a portfolio manager for a fund engaged in emerging market fixed-income investments. In 2004, Humes founded Greylock Capital as a joint venture with Van Eck Global managing a portfolio similar to the one he managed at Van Eck Global. He is the firm's president and chief investment officer.

Greylock Capital is an Securities and Exchange Commission registered alternative investment adviser that invests in investing in undervalued, distressed, and high yield assets worldwide, particularly in emerging markets. Greylock Capital and its partners have participated on a number of corporate and sovereign debt restructurings. In addition to the sovereign restructurings of Argentina and Greece, Humes and Greylock Capital participated in the restructurings of Republics of Ivory Coast (2010), Ecuador (2009) and Liberia (2009).[4] Humes currently represents Greylock Capital on the creditor committee of Venezuela's approximately 9 billion USD sovereign debt.[5]

Humes is a regular contributor to public debate through his television and radio appearances and newspaper interviews. His commentary often focuses on strategy and developing trends related to emerging markets investments and sovereign debt restructurings.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Personal life

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Humes engages in a number of civic and charitable endeavors, including sitting on the boards of the New York Theatre Workshop and the MacDella Cooper Foundation, a foundation established to improve the lives of Liberian orphans. He is on the board of the Wendy Hilliard Foundation, which offers gymnastics training and instruction to girls in the NY metropolitan area. He is on the advisory board of the World Policy Institute, a New York City-based international affairs think tank.

Humes is fluent in Spanish.

References

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  1. ^ "Greylock Capital Management LLC". Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  2. ^ Legal Memorandum Summarizing Recent Argentine Legislation and Bondholder Remedies
  3. ^ United Nations Report of the Joint Committee on Strengthening the Framework for Sovereign Debt Crisis Prevention and Resolution, page 17.
  4. ^ Lessons from Ecuador's Bond Default, Reuters
  5. ^ Ferrer, Elias (May 30, 2024). "Venezuela's long and winding debt restructuring road". Financial Times.
  6. ^ Hans Humes on Greek Debt Talks, Bloomberg Television, Feb 2012
  7. ^ What Are Implications of Argentina Ruling?, CNBC, November 2012.
  8. ^ "A Band of Contrarians, Bullish on Greece", New York Times, May 4, 2012
  9. ^ "As Investor Sentiment Improves, Greece goes on Charm Offensive in NYC", Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2013
  10. ^ "Global Markets Respond Poorly to Bernanke Testinomy", Bloomberg Television, May 23, 2013.
  11. ^ "Exit from the Bond Market is Turning into a Stampede", New York Times, June 24, 2013
  12. ^ "'Q&A: Hans Humes: A sovereign debt pro talks Puerto Rico". worth.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.