Our People

Benjamin Bielawski, Managing Director, serves as a Senior Research Analyst with the Infrastructure team at Duff & Phelps. Mr. Bielawski concentrates his research on the global utilities and communications sectors. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in June, 2017, he was a Senior Global Equity Analyst/Executive Vice President at Institutional Capital LLC (ICAP) where he covered global utilities, telecommunications, infrastructure, media and consumer services sectors for eighteen years. In addition to these responsibilities, he co-managed ICAP’s global high dividend yield portfolios and was a voting member of the Institutional Capital Investment Committee, which made final decisions on all portfolio recommendations domestically and internationally. Previously he spent four years at Harris Associates in Institutional Services. Mr. Bielawski holds a BS degree in Business Administration from Wayne State University, and a MBA, with concentrations in accounting and finance, from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Rodney Clayton, Managing Director, serves as Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst for MLPs and Energy Infrastructure at Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Mr. Clayton concentrates his research on North American midstream energy companies.  Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in April 2016, Mr. Clayton was a senior manager due diligence analyst at UBS Financial Services, focusing on MLP, large cap value, and equity income strategies; and an equity research analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities covering the Exploration & Production, Engineering & Construction, and Environmental Services industries.  Mr. Clayton completed his undergraduate studies and holds a MBA from Florida A&M University.

Ellen Elberfeld, Managing Director, serves as a co-Portfolio Manager for the Duff & Phelps Utility & Infrastructure Fund Inc. and is a Senior Research Analyst for the Utility and Infrastructure team at Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.  Ms. Elberfeld concentrates her research on the global transportation and utilities sectors.  Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2016, she was the lead transportation analyst for the global infrastructure group at Deutsche Bank Asset Management, and previously worked in debt capital markets at Credit Suisse and in risk management services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a BS in Applied Economics and Management, cum laude, from Cornell University, and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Eric Elvekrog, Senior Managing Director, serves as co-Portfolio Manager of the Duff & Phelps Utility & Infrastructure Fund Inc. Mr. Elvekrog concentrates his research on the global telecommunications industry. He holds a BA degree from the University of Chicago and an MSA degree from DePaul University.

Timothy Fitzgerald is a Managing Director at Duff & Phelps and is responsible for the trading of equity investment portfolios. He joined the firm in 1994 after having served as an equity trader for Stein Roe & Farnham Incorporated. He began his investment career in 1981. He holds a BS degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MBA from St. Xavier University.

Eric Fogarty serves as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst within the Global Listed Infrastructure team at Duff & Phelps. Mr. Fogarty concentrates his research on the utilities sector. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in November, 2018, he spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”). In his previous role, he served as an investment committee member and portfolio manager for the GSAM Global Infrastructure Fund. Mr. Fogarty also served as the Utilities and Consumer Staples sector specialist for GSAM’s Small, Mid, and Large Cap Value, and Income funds. Additionally, he was the lead portfolio manager for the US ESG Fund and was a senior member of the task force charged with integrating ESG factors into GSAM’s investment process. Mr. Fogarty previously held roles as a derivatives specialist, equity fund risk manager, and trader at GSAM, and started his career at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. He holds a BS degree from Binghamton University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Charles Georgas, Managing Director, is a Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst for MLPs and Energy Infrastructure at Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.  Mr. Georgas concentrates his research on the midstream energy MLP sector and began covering MLPs in 2010.  Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2008, he was a Senior Equity Analyst covering the consumer sector for Marquis Investment Research. Mr. Georgas’ work experience within the investment industry includes eight years in the hedge fund industry. Mr. Georgas holds a BS from Southern Illinois University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Frank J. Haggerty serves as Portfolio Manager for all dedicated Global Real Estate Securities managed by Duff & Phelps, including the Virtus Duff & Phelps Real Estate Securities Fund; the Virtus Duff & Phelps International Real Estate Securities Fund; the Virtus Duff & Phelps Global Real Estate Securities Fund; the Virtus Duff & Phelps Real Estate Securities Series, a series of the Virtus Variable Insurance Trust; the REIT portfolio within the DNP Select Income Fund Inc., a closed-end fund; and separate institutional accounts.

Mr. Haggerty joined Duff & Phelps in 2005 after having served as a REIT portfolio manager and senior analyst for ABN AMRO Asset Management. He began his investment career in 1996. He holds a BS from Illinois State University and an MBA from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Management at DePaul University.

Christopher J. Hayes serves as a Research Associate with the Portfolio Solutions, Fixed Income and Passive Equity team at Duff & Phelps. Mr. Hayes concentrates his research on the fixed income sectors with a focus on corporate bonds. He originally joined Duff & Phelps in the summer of 2014, as a portfolio analytics intern. He also worked as an underwriting intern for The Travelers Company in 2013, and was part of Morgan Stanley’s Early Insights Program in 2013. Mr. Hayes graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, LA, in December 2014, where he earned a BS in Accounting and was on the University’s dean’s list. Mr. Hayes is a Level III CFA candidate.

Tim Heaney heads the municipal bond strategies area of the Duff & Phelps' fixed income team. He serves as Chief Investment Officer of DTF Tax-Free Income Inc., a closed-end fund traded on the NYSE (symbol: DTF). Mr. Heaney is also responsible for the municipal bond areas for Duff & Phelps' affiliates, Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. and Newfleet Asset Management, LLC. Mr. Heaney holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and BS and MBA degrees from the University of Connecticut. Prior to joining the Virtus organization (formerly part of the Phoenix Companies) in 1992, Mr. Heaney was a credit analyst with Connecticut National Bank.

Jieren (Jenny) Huang serves as a Global Analyst for the Real Estate Securities Team. Ms. Huang’s research focuses on real estate securities in the U.S. and Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2018, Ms. Huang was an Equity Research Assistant Vice President at Mizuho Securities USA where she jointly covered and managed detailed earnings & valuation models for 40+ companies, including healthcare, multifamily, office, retail, single-family rental, and triple-net lease U.S. REITs. Prior to joining Mizuho and attending graduate school, Ms. Huang served as an Audit Assistant Manager at KPMG in Xiamen, China where she conducted financial statement audits for major telecom and utility companies. Ms. Huang earned her Bachelor of Economics, with honors, from the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics in China, an MBA degree from the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Ms. Huang passed Level II of the CFA Program.

Lisa Leonard serves as a portfolio manager for the municipal bond strategies area of the Duff & Phelps' fixed income team. She is also an officer of DTF Tax-Free Income Inc., a closed-end fund traded on the NYSE (symbol: DTF) as well as the municipal bond areas for Duff & Phelps' affiliates, Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. and Newfleet Asset Management, LLC. Prior to joining the Virtus Organization (formally part of the Phoenix Companies) in 1987, Ms. Leonard was a municipal finance analyst with Connecticut Bank & Trust. She holds a BS degree from the University of Connecticut.

Connie Luecke serves as Senior Managing Director with a career that spans 30-plus years in investment management, research, and capital markets. Ms. Luecke is the Senior Portfolio Manager for the firm’s Global Listed Infrastructure Strategies and serves as the Chief Investment Officer of the DNP Select Income Fund Inc. Ms. Luecke joined Duff & Phelps in 1992 and has held the roles of senior research analyst and portfolio manager. Her research was focused on the global telecommunications and transportation infrastructure industries. She holds a BS degree from DePaul University and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.

Jason Ren serves as a Managing Director and Senior Global Analyst for the real estate securities strategies managed by Duff & Phelps. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2012, Mr. Ren served as a Senior Equity Analyst co-managing Morningstar, Inc.’s REIT coverage. During his tenure at Morningstar, he also co-developed the firm’s REIT credit rating methodology and assisted in credit coverage of REITs. He holds a BA degree from Williams College.

Akin Rojugbokan is a Managing Director and serves as investment analyst, responsible for fundamental credit analysis of all corporate bonds held across all fixed income portfolios managed at Duff and Phelps. He is also responsible for the fundamental equity analysis of large-cap equities. Prior to joining Duff and Phelps in 2005, Mr. Rojugbokan was with National City Corporation where he was responsible for fixed income credit analysis for the corporate bond portfolio and was also an associate within the bank’s Mergers and Acquisitions group. He holds a BS degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA degree from the University of Michigan.

Richard Schiller serves as a Global Analyst for the Real Estate Securities team, where his research focuses on real estate securities in North America and Europe. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2018, Mr. Schiller was an Equity Research Associate at Robert W. Baird where he provided investment coverage on the office and industrial real estate sectors. Before joining Robert W. Baird, he served as a Portfolio Analyst at the private equity firm GTCR, and previously was a Senior Associate at the accounting firm KPMG. Mr. Schiller earned his BS in Accountancy and Masters of Accounting Science, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Shalini Sharma serves as a Senior Managing Director and portfolio manager of the Duff & Phelps' Investment Grade Fixed Income & Large Cap Equity institutional separate accounts. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2000, she was an Associate Director and Statistical Coordinator at Brinson Partners. She holds a BS degree from the University of New Delhi and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.

Ron She serves as a Senior Global Analyst for the Real Estate Securities Team with a primary focus on the Asian Pacific region. In addition, he serves as an Associate Portfolio Manager and has select coverage responsibilities in the U.S. to aid in our assessment of companies with a global and complementary nature. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2007, Mr. She was a Senior Research Associate at FBR Capital Markets, where he covered various U.S. REIT sectors including retail, industrial, office, and healthcare. Previously, Mr. She worked for Capital One Financial as Senior Real Estate Investment Analyst, and Assistant Vice President at Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) Real Estate, Inc. in New York, engaged in acquisition, disposition, and asset management functions involving various investment vehicles and sectors; Mr. She also worked for a state-owned real estate developer in China.

Mr. She earned his MBA degree from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, with honors; he also holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame, and graduated first in his class with a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Michael Slater serves as Senior Global Analyst for the Real Estate Securities Team with primary focus on the Europe/Canada region. In addition, he serves as an Associate Portfolio Manager and has select coverage responsibilities in the U.S. to aid in our assessment of companies with a global and complementary nature. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2008, Mr. Slater was an Associate Portfolio Manager at Goodman & Company Investment Counsel in Toronto and was responsible for advising on a global real estate security fund. Previously, Mr. Slater worked at Great West Life Insurance Company, in various positions ranging from acquisitions to asset management with the most recent position being Director of Asset Management. Prior to this position Mr. Slater worked as a Valuation Consultant at a boutique real estate and property tax valuation firm. He received a bachelor of commerce and finance degree (B.Comm.) from the University of Toronto.

Brian VanderMeulen is a Director at Duff & Phelps and is responsible for the trading of equity investment portfolios. He joined the firm in 2000. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps, Mr. VanderMeulen served in options and currency operations at First Options Chicago. He began his investment career in 1997. He holds a BS degree from Trinity Christian College and an MBA from St. Xavier University.

Kyle West, Managing Director, serves as co-Portfolio Manager for the DNP Select Income Fund and the firm’s MLP and energy infrastructure strategy.  He is a Senior Research Analyst for North American midstream energy and utility companies. Previously, Mr. West served as an Institutional Relationship Manager and Product Specialist for the firm’s Investment Grade Fixed Income, Large Cap Equity, and Global Listed Infrastructure strategies. Mr. West holds a B.A. in Mathematics, cum laude, from Wabash College and an MBA, magna cum laude, from The Mendoza College of Business at University of Notre Dame.

Steven Wittwer, Senior Managing Director, is the Head of the Infrastructure Group and a Senior Portfolio Manager for the firm’s Global Listed Infrastructure Strategy. Mr. Wittwer joined the firm in 2017 as a Senior Analyst and concentrated his research on the global communications, transportation, and utilities sectors. 

Prior to joining Duff & Phelps, Mr. Wittwer was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Equity Analyst at Great Lakes Advisors in Chicago. He also previously worked for UBS Global Asset Management for 14 years in various capacities, including functioning as the Global Head of their Global Telecom team, conducting research in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, and serving as a key participant on the UBS Global Technology team. He holds a BBA in Accounting from the Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin, and an MBA in Finance from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, inactive).