The Calamos investment team includes more than 50 investment professionals who work together as a single integrated team, sharing insights in a highly collaborative environment.

Global Co-Chief Investment Officers

John P. Calamos, Sr.

Chief Executive Officer, Global Co-Chief Investment Officer

42 years of investment industry experience

Biography

John Calamos, Sr. founded Calamos Investments in 1977, and took Calamos Asset Management public in 2004. He is considered a pioneer in investment strategies and techniques to help manage risk.

Mr. Calamos received his undergraduate degree in Economics and M.B.A. in Finance from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Joining the United States Air Force after graduation, he served as a combat pilot during the Vietnam War and ultimately earned the rank of Major. It was during his time in the Air Force that Mr. Calamos became intrigued by the risk management aspects of convertible bonds. By applying option price theory to the valuation of convertibles he was able to demonstrate the benefit of convertibles as part of an of investment strategy and began to attract institutional investors.

Mr. Calamos won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award for the financial services sector, Lake Michigan Area program for 2006. He is a member of the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago. A frequent speaker at investment seminars and conferences, he has been often quoted as an authority on risk-managed investment strategies in Barron's, Fortune, Forbes, Pensions & Investments, Financial World, Nation's Business, The Wall Street Journal and on CNBC and Bloomberg Forum. Mr. Calamos has written two books: Investing in Convertible Securities: Your Complete Guide to the Risks and Rewards, and Convertible Securities: the Latest Instruments, Portfolio Strategies, and Valuation Analysis.

Gary Black

Global Co-Chief Investment Officer

20 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Gary Black, Global Co-Chief Investment Officer of Calamos Investments, previously served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and a Founding Member of Black Capital. Prior to that, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Janus Capital Group from January 2006 through July 2009, and as President and Chief Investment Officer from April 2004 to January 2006. Prior to joining Janus, Mr. Black was Chief Investment Officer of Global Equities at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which he joined as a partner in June 2001. Prior to this role, Mr. Black headed GSAM’s U.S. distribution efforts. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Black was Executive Vice President and head of Alliance Bernstein’s global institutional business. He started his investment career in 1992 at Sanford C. Bernstein as a senior research analyst and was named top analyst in his sector for six consecutive years.

Mr. Black earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a B.S. Economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Co-Heads of Research & Investments

Jeff Scundieri, CFA

Sr. Vice President, Co-Head of Research and Investments

42 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Scudieri is Co-Head of Research and Investments with portfolio management, research, and day-to-day team management responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, Jeff works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Mr. Scudieri, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BA in Finance and holds an MBA from DePaul University in Finance. He also holds Series 6 and 63 licenses. Prior to joining Calamos in 1997, he worked in Shareholder Services at Zurich Kemper Investments.

Jon Vacko, CFA

Sr. Vice President, Co-Head of Research and Investments

20 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Vacko is Co-Head of Research and Investments with portfolio management, research, and day-to-day team management responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, Jon works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Mr. Vacko, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BBA in Finance, and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Calamos in 2000, he was a Credit Analyst with Duff & Phelps Credit Rating (now part of Fitch IBCA) in the Financial Institutions Group and was an Examiner with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Senior Strategy / Sector Analysts

John P.
Calamos, Jr.

Executive Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst

27 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Calamos is executive vice president, senior strategy/research analyst for Calamos. He is an assistant portfolio manager responsible for equity analysis using Calamos' quantitative models.

He monitors the universe of equity opportunities using quantitative models and also assists in managing accounts that use convertible hedging techniques. His experience includes the use of listed options, short sales and leverage with convertible securities.

Mr. Calamos has an undergraduate degree from Drake University and an MBA from Benedictine University.

Steve Klouda, CFA

Sr. Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst

18 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Klouda is a senior member of the investment team with portfolio management and research responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, he works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Mr. Klouda, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), graduated from North Central College with a BA in Marketing, and holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the Keller Graduate School of Management. He joined Calamos in 1994.

John
Hillenbrand, CPA

Sr. Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst

20 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Hillenbrand is a senior member of the investment team with portfolio management and research responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, John works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Mr. Hillenbrand, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), graduated from Loyola University with a BBA in Public Accounting and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago in Analytic Finance. Prior to joining Calamos in 2002, he served as an equity research analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston and ABN AMRO.

Joseph
Wysocki, CFA

Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst II

11 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Wysocki is a senior member of the investment team with portfolio management and research responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, Joe works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Mr. Wysocki, a Chartered Financial Analyst(CFA), graduated from Lake Forest College with a BA in Economics and a minor in Computer Science. Prior to joining Calamos in 2003, he spent two years in multiple roles supporting the fixed-income team at Strong Capital Management.

Chris
Hartman, CFA

Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst II

15 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Hartman is a senior member of the investment team with portfolio management and research responsibilities. He investigates investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, he works within a senior team of professionals. Mr. Hartman holds an MBA in Finance from Benedictine University and a BA in Economics from Southern Illinois University. He joined Calamos in 1997 and is currently a Chartered Financial Analyst candidate.

Senior Sector Analysts

Dino
Dussias, CFA

Associate Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst

16 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Dussias is a senior member of the investment team with sector research responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, he works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Mr. Dussias, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), graduated from Western Michigan University with a BA and a MBA in Business Administration. At Western Michigan he was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. He joined Calamos is 1995.

Nick Niziolek, CFA

Associate Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst

10 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Niziolek is a senior member of the investment team with sector research responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, he works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

He joined Calamos in 2005 following employment working as an Internal Auditor at ABN AMRO and prior to that, Bank One. During college Mr. Niziolek gained experience by completing internships at Citadel Investment Group, Rothschild Investment Corp., Stein Roe Investment Counsel and Patterson Trading Group. He is a graduate of DePaul University where he earned a BS degree in finance. Mr. Niziolek is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Dennis Cogan, CFA

Associate Vice President, Senior Strategy/Sector Analyst

11 years of investment industry experience

Biography

Mr. Cogan is a senior member of the investment team with sector research responsibilities. He is directly involved in the fundamental analysis of companies, while investigating investment opportunities consistent with the firm's long-term philosophy and process. In line with Calamos' integrated investment team structure, he works within a senior team of professionals and is an asset class generalist with sector responsibilities across all of Calamos' strategies.

Prior to joining Calamos in March 2005, he worked for Accenture in Strategic Planning and Analysis. Mr. Cogan earned his BS in Finance from Northern Illinois University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.