Afsaneh Beschloss

Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss is an Iranian-American investment banker.

She has advised governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on global public policy and financial policy as well as energy.

Beschloss was born in Iran in the 1950's. Her father, Mohammad Mashayekhi, was a prominent education reformer and president of a national teacher training university during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Her father was initially barred from leaving the country following the overthrow of the shah during the 1979 revolution, but Beschloss’s family eventually made it to the United States of America in the 1980s, settling in the Washington, D.C., area.¹⁾

She is married to Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian.

In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton invited the Beschlosses to attend a dinner for the British Prime Minister. Some years later, President George W. Bush also invited them to a White House dinner for Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.

Beschloss receiver a BA with Honours in Economics from the University of Kent, and her MPhil (Honours) in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she also taught international trade and economic development.²⁾

After studying in the United Kingdom, she began her career in the United States of America at JP Morgan Chase in Corporate Finance.³⁾

Motivated to contribute more meaningfully, she soon joined the World Bank. Here, Beschloss rose quickly through the ranks and developed direct and deep knowledge of the Global South. She began to focus on energy and infrastructure in the early 1980s. She spent time based in Senegal and then went on to establish the World Bank’s Natural Gas Group, investing in gas and power projects that aim to replace coal in emerging markets.⁴⁾

As an increasingly senior and successful investment leader, she became Director and Chief Investment Officer in 1997. She was responsible for the investment of the World Bank’s assets as well as external assets from the International Monetary Fund, central banks and sovereign funds. From 1999-2001, she served as Vice President and Treasurer on behalf of the Group.

Leveraging her experience in investment and asset management, Beschloss left the World Bank and joined The Carlyle Group in 2001. Here, she served as Managing Director & CEO of Carlyle Asset Management.⁵⁾

Beschloss is the founder and CEO of RockCreek, a global investment and advisory firm serving foundations, endowments, pension funds and other institutional investors. She created the firm through a management buyout, buying 60% of the business in 2003. Under Beschloss’ guidance, RockCreek manages approximately $14 billion and leverages a team with experience across relevant sectors to bring a deep understanding of global markets to investment decisions. She very recently bought back RockCreek Group from Wells Fargo Asset Management.⁶⁾

RockCreek's portfolio includes Apeel, BioAge, BYJU'S, ChargePoint, Devoted Health, Generate Capital, MasterClass, and Meituan.⁷⁾

Beschloss has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and chairman of the board for the PBS Foundation.⁸⁾

Beschloss was elected to the Board of Governors of American Red Cross in 2013.⁹⁾

Beschloss is a member of the World Resources Institute Board of Global Directors.¹⁰⁾

Beschloss was appointed as a trustee for the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University in June 2015.¹¹⁾

Beschloss is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation alongside Anthony Fauci.¹²⁾

Beschloss is a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Global Development.¹³⁾

In February 2018, Beschloss was appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.¹⁴⁾

In 2019, Beschloss joined the Board of Trustees for the National Geographic Society.¹⁵⁾

Beschloss was appointed to the Georgetown University Board of Directors in October 2020.¹⁶⁾

In April 2020, Beschloss was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Blum Center for Developing Economies.¹⁷⁾

Beschloss is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bretton Woods Committee, where she is also on the Global Advisory Council and Co-Chair of the Future of Finance Working Group.¹⁸⁾

Beschloss is a member of the Board of Directors for the Council on Foreign Relations.¹⁹⁾

Beschloss is a board member for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.²⁰⁾

In March 2022, Beschloss was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation.²¹⁾

Beschloss has written articles published by Chatham House, the Globe and Mail, and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies via Oxford University Press, among others.^{22) 23) 24)}

Beschloss formerly served on the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation, where she chaired the Investment Committee and participated in the Sustainability Advisory Committee.²⁵⁾

Beschloss co-chaired the 2018 Conference of Montreal for the International Economic Forum of the Americas.^{26) 27)}

Sponsors and partners for that year included the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Air Canada, Bloomberg, BMO Financial Group, BNP Paribas, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the City of Montreal, Cogeco, Concordia University, Dentons, Desjardins, Engie, Export Development Canada, fDi Intelligence, Finance Montreal, Financial Times, GardaWorld, Globe and Mail, Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Government of Quebec, HEC Montreal, Hydro Québec, Institut du Nouveau Monde (New World Institute), the Inter-American Development Bank, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Investment Quebec, LeaderXXchange, McGill University, Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Power Corporation of Canada, Sanofi, SNC-Lavalin, the Task Force for Global Health, École de technologie supérieure at University of Quebec, UQAM’s School of Management, VIA Rail Canada, World Energy Council, and the Young Leaders' Circle of the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the program.

Beschloss worked at Shell International Group Planning in London, England.²⁸⁾

Beschloss is the recipient of the 2020 Great Immigrant and Great American Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.²⁹⁾