Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management
Mayo Center - Darden Capital Management - Darden Executive Fund
Darden Executive Fund
Darden Executive Fund
The Darden Executive Fund (DEF) is a team of Executive MBA (EMBA) and Part-time MBA (PMBA) students whose purpose is to enhance students’ learning in investment management including managing an investment portfolio as well as supporting careers in finance. DEF maintains strong contacts with students and alumni and fosters relationships across the investment industry.
DEF manages the Sabre Fund, a long-only equity fund with a focus on large-cap and mid-cap stocks. The fund’s selection of stocks is backed by rigorous fundamental analysis with an emphasis on situations that offer promising growth priced at reasonable valuations. This approach enables EMBA students the opportunity to look for great companies with competitive advantages and that trade at attractive valuations. Additionally, the fund has a long-term focus, thereby encouraging fund members to consider the future of each investment opportunity and what businesses can thrive in a changing world. In conducting their analysis the fund managers will apply both bottom up and top down analysis. DEF believes that a strategy of owning stock in great companies for long periods of time and concentrating the portfolio holdings in the managers’ best ideas provides an opportunity to create value for DEF investors.
Darden Executive Fund Leadership Team
Catherine L. Strand (EMBA '25), Chief Executive Officer
Catherine is a Senior Associate at KPMG, a multinational professional services network based in Tysons Corner, Virginia. In her current role, she provides clients with program/portfolio management, strategic communications support, and stakeholder management. Prior to working for KPMG, Catherine served eight years in the U.S. Navy, where she excelled at building and maintaining relationships, managing a broad portfolio of initiatives, cross-functional teams, and international partnerships. Catherine prioritizes implementation of operational improvements to better meet mission requirements and enable efficiencies across organizations. Additionally, Catherine volunteers, where she helps veterans transition into civilian careers.
Hayden-Anne Breedlove (EMBA '25), Chief Operations Officer
Hayden-Anne is an attorney for Old Republic National Title Insurance Company. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Politics and History from the University of Virginia and her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law. Before joining Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, Hayden-Anne clerked for the Honorable judges of Henrico County Circuit Court. She is involved in the Virginia State Bar Real Property Section and serves as the co-editor for the Fee Simple, the state bar’s journal publication on Real Property. She also serves as the academic liaison with the University of Richmond for the Virginia Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Division. When she is not at work, Hayden-Anne enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to a beach, and reading.
Haley Merritt (EMBA '25), Chief Investment Officer
Haley recently transitioned out of the corporate world to focus on family businesses in the agriculture and oil and gas industries. Previously, Haley was a Vice President, Portfolio Manager at First Horizon Bank, where she structured transactions, analyzed and assessed customer creditworthiness, maximized credit quality and minimized risk for a broad portfolio of customers. Haley also previously served as a Vice President, Relationship Manager for a regional bank in El Paso, Texas, while her spouse was serving at Fort Bliss, and as a Business Analyst in Corporate Finance at the Williams Companies, a publicly traded midstream energy company. Haley earned her CFA designation in October 2023 and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Finance. Haley is the proud wife of an Army surgeon and the mother of a spirited two-year old daughter.
Joe Gehling (EMBA '25), Director of Research & Operations
Joe is currently the Associate Director of Annual Giving at the Darden School Foundation where he works with alumni to generate support for the Darden Annual Fund. Working with these passionate alumni inspired Joe to pursue his own transformational experience through the Darden Executive MBA format. Prior to joining Darden, Joe spent over a decade working in the sports industry. Beginning in Pittsburgh with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he built a sales team at the University of New Mexico before moving to Charlottesville to grow the sales unit and eventually lead the entire ticket sales and operations and licensing departments for the University of Virginia. Joe earned his bachelor’s degree in business marketing from the University of New Hampshire and lives just outside of Charlottesville with his wife, Lynden, and their six children.
Rashidah Lawson (EMBA '25), Director of Education & Events
Rashidah is currently engaged in a full-time search to acquire a small business in the region. A former high-school teacher, principal, and Chief Academic Officer, she spent thirteen years working closely with students and families in Boston and Washington, DC. Before coming to Darden, Rashidah was independently consulting, supporting non-profit and education leaders with team leadership and development. Since 2017, Rashidah has bought, renovated, and sold a handful of single-family homes while holding other properties for the long-term rental market. Additionally, in the fall of 2023, Rashidah launched MatriLife, an organization aimed at eradicating maternity-related deaths and life-threatening complications. A graduate of Lafayette College and a Posse Foundation alumna, she volunteers as a Girl Scouts Troop Leader and as a reading tutor at a local elementary school. In her free time, Rashidah enjoys hiking, small, live-music events, checking out the local wineries, and international travel with her husband and three daughters ages 10, 7 and 3.
Aman Dar (PT-MBA '25), Director of Education & Events
Aman is currently a Manager at Cognizant Technology Solutions advising clients on M&A and Corporate Strategy. He is an MBA candidate at the Darden School of Business and holds a master’s in finance from the George Washington University School of Business. Prior to Cognizant, Aman was at Booz Allen Hamilton advising Public Sector clients on engagements regarding Energy, Project Finance, and Digital Strategy/Transformation.