We are building a world-class team of researchers, technologists, and investment professionals.
If you are interested in joining the Sparkline team, we would love to hear from you
Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Kai Wu
Kai Wu is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Sparkline Capital, an investment management firm applying state-of-the-art machine learning and computing to uncover alpha in large, unstructured data sets.
Prior to Sparkline, Kai co-founded and co-managed Kaleidoscope Capital, a quantitative hedge fund in Boston. With one other partner, he grew Kaleidoscope to $350 million in assets from institutional investors. Kai jointly managed all aspects of the company, including technology, investments, operations, trading, investor relations, and recruiting.
Previously, Kai worked at GMO, where he was a member of Jeremy Grantham’s $40 billion asset allocation team. He also worked closely with the firm's equity and macro investment teams in Boston, San Francisco, London, and Sydney.
Kai graduated from Harvard College Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
Advisor
Sam Wilderman
Sam Wilderman is an advisor to Sparkline Capital, assisting on all aspects of the investment process and organization.
Sam worked at GMO for 20 years, serving numerous investment and management roles including co-leading the Global Equity and Asset Allocation teams.
Sam graduated from Yale University magna cum laude with a degree in economics.
Research Partner
David Salem
David Salem is a recognized thought leader in investment management whose ongoing work as an advisor to select asset owners and institutional fund managers is informed by substantial experience designing, building and administering investment programs and teams.
Such experience includes most formatively David’s 18 years as founding President and Chief Investment Officer of The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), during which TIFF evolved from a raw start-up to a nationwide cooperative stewarding over $8 billion on behalf of more than 800 endowed charities.
Prior to TIFF's founding, David was a Partner at GMO and a Managing Director of Cambridge Associates.
David is a graduate of Middlebury College, from which he earned a BA summa cum laude, and of Harvard University, from which he earned a JD cum laude and an MBA with High Honors.
Advisor
Adam Herz
Adam Herz is the Co-Founder of Coalition Investment Partners, an innovative alternative asset manager.
Prior to Coalition, he brings 20+ years of executive search and strategic advisory experience, specializing in senior-level placements within the global alternative asset management industry.
Adam graduated from Boston University with a BA in Political Science.