Sonia Gardner (born 1962) is an American businesswoman,

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as s ...

manager and the co-founder of

Avenue Capital Group Avenue Capital Group is an American multinational investment firm focusing on distressed securities and private equity with regional teams focusing on opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm operates as both a private equ ...

Early life and education

Sonia Gardner was born Sonia Esther Lasry to a Jewish family in Marrakech, Morocco. She immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1966 at the age of four. Her father was a computer programmer and her mother was a schoolteacher. She was raised in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially ...

with her brother

Marc Lasry Marc Lasry (born September 23, 1959) is a Moroccan-American billionaire businessman and hedge fund manager. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Avenue Capital Group, and the co-owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks basketba ...

and sister Ruth Lasry. Gardner received a B.A. with honors in Philosophy from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

in 1983 and a J.D. from

Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University. Located in New York City and founded in 1976, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. ...

in 1986.

Career

Gardner began her career as Senior Attorney of the Bankruptcy and Corporate reorganization Department at Cowen and Company. In 1989, Gardner and her brother, Marc, founded the debt brokerage firm Amroc Investments. In 1990, Gardner and her brother began a debt brokerage firm with Gardner as Senior Portfolio Manager. Gardner and her brother formed

in 1995. In 2008, Gardner was the recipient of the 100 Women in Hedge Funds’ 2008 Industry Leadership Award. In 2010 and 2011,

The Hedge Fund Journal ''The Hedge Fund Journal'' is a monthly magazine focusing on the global hedge fund industry. Description ''The Hedge Fund Journal'' was formed in 2004 by Publisher Rod Sparks, and is based near Fleet Street, London, UK. The magazine consists ...

included her in their list of the Top 50 Women in Hedge Funds. In January 2011 Gardner rang the stock market's closing bell in celebration of the tenth anniversary of “100 Women in Hedge Funds.” In 2012, Gardner was listed in the book, ''The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds''. In March 2013, ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

'' included her in their list of the 25 most powerful women on Wall Street. Gardner rang the closing bell at the NYSE on August 25, 2015, on behalf of “100 Women in Hedge Funds.” In December 2015, the 100 Women in Hedge Funds announced the election of the new Global Association Board Leadership for 2016 which includes the election of their new chair, Sonia Gardner. She is currently the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Goodwill Ambassador for Gender Equality in Access to Finance. In her role, she will focus on advocating ways to give women access to economic resources to start and grow businesses, lift their families out of poverty, and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Gardner serves on the Board of Directors of 100 Women in Hedge Funds. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Gardner was previously on the board of the non-profit organization "Her Justice," which helps victims of domestic violence. She was also on the Board of Directors of the Managed Funds Association (MFA) and on its executive committee. In November 2017, Gardner was presented with the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Award at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in New York City.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Sonia American hedge fund managers Private equity and venture capital investors Clark University alumni American people of Moroccan-Jewish descent 20th-century Moroccan Jews 1962 births Living people