Rye People: Duncan Hennes
By day, Duncan Hennes talks with his co-workers Frank Zarb (ex-Chairman of the NASDAQ stock market), Arthur Levitt (ex-Chairman, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission) and his CEO Eugene Ludwig (ex-head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) while consulting with leading financial services companies around the world. By night, Hennes’ shop talk turns local and he debates about Rye’s response to the March 2nd flooding and its new local STOP sign policy with Mayor Steve Otis and his fellow Rye city council members Andy Ball, Matt Fahey, George Pratt, Howard “Gerry” Seitz and Mack Cunningham.
Stuyvesant Avenue resident Hennes was raised in Rye. In addition to serving on Rye city council, he has served different local organizations in various capacities including roles as former chairman of the City of Rye finance committee; member of the board and treasurer of the Rye Free Reading Room; member of the board and vice president of the Rye YMCA; member of the board and treasurer of the Rye Country Day School and trustee and treasurer of the American Yacht Club.
Hennes is the chief executive officer of Promontory Asset Finance Company and a partner of Promontory Financial Group where the water cooler talk is substantially different than STOP sign policies:
Established in 2003 by securitization and banking experts, Promontory Asset Finance Company, LLC (PAFC) structures, advises, finances and administers funding for clients. PAFC provides financing alternatives, advice and strategies; originates term and revolving credit facilities for financing by Freedom Park Capital, an investment vehicle established by PAFC; and develops new and innovative forms of financing and securitization.
Prior to Promontory, Hennes worked for George Soros—“the man who broke the Bank of England”—as the chief executive officer of Soros Fund Management. When Hennes worked at Bankers Trust Company prior to Soros, he represented BT on Board of Oversight Partners I, the consortium that took over control of Long Term Capital Management, the hedge fund debacle just up the road in Greenwich whose massively overleveraged position roiled world financial markets.
Duncan holds a BS from the University of Pennsylvania (1978) and a MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His wife Laura Hennes is the treasurer of the Rye Garden Club. Duncan and Laura Hennes have three children, Willie (20), DJ (18), and Andy (17).
Check out Duncan’s night job on Cablevision Channel 75.
