Research Team
Amit Sanyal, CFA – Senior Vice President, Managing Analyst
Amit is responsible for covering the Capital Expenditures and Commodities related macro sectors including the Industrials, Technology & Telecommunications, Energy & Utilities and Basic Materials sub sectors.
Amit previously served as a senior technical specialist at a major automobile manufacturer, developing engine control systems and algorithms to optimize performance, emissions and fuel economy in several vehicle lines. He has extensive data analyses and controls modeling experience using advanced simulation techniques. Amit holds multiple patents in the engine control systems area and has extensive working knowledge of the transportation industry.
Amit received his MBA from Oakland University, a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University and a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University, India. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Claire Lyons, CFA – Vice President, Managing Analyst
Claire is responsible for covering the Consumer and Rate Sensitive related macro sectors including the Retail, Healthcare, Consumer Products, Banks and Diversified Financials & Services sub sectors.
Prior to joining Piedmont, Claire studied finance and quantitative methods. While completing her undergraduate work, she utilized a microstructure analysis of ex-dividend day pricing to evaluate the implications of 2003 tax cut on tax capitalization theory. Claire also interned with the Insurance and Risk Management professor and worked to analyze data used to support expert witness testimony in insurance related litigation.
Claire is a graduate of Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, where she received a Masters Degree in Quantitative Finance. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Finance and Economics from West Virginia University with Summa Cum Laude honors, and was recognized for induction to Beta Gamma at both schools.
Richard Mills, CFA - Vice President, Quantitative Analyst
Richard provides analytic and quantitative support to the firm’s investment process.
Prior to joining Piedmont, Richard worked at Shenandoah Asset Management, overseeing the firm’s back office, systems, and research environment. Richard also worked as a Senior Investment Analyst for Public Equity at the Virginia Retirement System, where his duties included hiring and oversight of equity managers, portfolio management, plan-wide risk management, and systems development for risk analytics & internal quantitative research.
Richard received a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Jordan Davis - Research Associate
Jordan is responsible for organizing and maintaining internal and external research materials. In addition, Jordan supports the research initiatives for all equity products.
Jordan most recently completed his MA in management from Wake Forest University’s School of Business, where he was a Wachovia/ Wells Fargo Corporate Fellow. Jordan received his BA in Political Science from Columbia University, where he was a John W. Kluge Scholar.
Advisory Services
Paul Delaney, CFA - Senior Vice President, Senior Analyst
Paul is a senior member of the Bank Advisory Services team that performs a variety of valuation services for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Paul has extensive experience as a research analyst covering banks and health care facilities. Prior to joining Piedmont, Paul worked as an Equity Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley, where he published written research discussing investment ideas and industry insights on U.S. banks with market values of $3-$23 billion. He also has experience developing financial and quantitative models.
Paul received his BCom in Finance and Accounting and BA in History from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and his Masters in Business Administration from Columbia Business School. Paul is also a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Virginia L. Chiarello - Vice President, Research Analyst
Virginia is a member of the Bank Advisory Services team that performs a variety of valuation services for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Virginia previously worked at BMO Capital Markets, where she was an Associate for the Banks Group in their Equity Research Department. Virginia has extensive experience in financial modeling, valuation, and industry analysis of the banking sector, as well as the fixed income, CMBS, and real estate markets. Before joining BMO Capital Markets, Virginia held analyst positions at ING Clarion Capital and CRA RogersCasey, providing analysis of clients’ portfolio performance and investment strategies. Virginia also interned at PSP Icon, LLP in Cape Town, South Africa, as an MBA Associate.
Virginia graduated from Brown University with a BA in Business Economics. She received her MBA from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University and an MA in International Management from l’Institut d’Administration des Entreprises de Paris (I.A.E.) at the Sorbonne, Paris, France.
