Daryn Dodson

Octavio Sandoval

Illumen Capital

Illumen Capital is an institutional investor seeking to back high-performing managers with the potential for top-decile and top-quartile performance. By working closely with every manager in their portfolio to reduce racial and gender bias, they strive to help managers unlock stronger returns. They are thesis-driven investors and believe that racial and gender disparities in asset management are not only inequitable but can lead to suboptimal performance. Further, by reducing racial and gender bias in how investments are allocated, Illumen can help drive capital to founders and entrepreneurs long overlooked and underestimated – and unlock stronger financial performance. Daryn Dodson, founder of Illumen, is a passionate advocate of social and economic justice, especially for disadvantaged and marginalized groups. His work with impact investors, private equity funds, Fortune 100 companies, universities and foundations has been viewed through the lens of addressing the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems. Daryn previously led the Special Equities Program as a consultant to the Board of the Calvert Funds, a $12 billion pioneer of the impact investing field. Octavio Sandoval, CFA, CAIA, leads manager identification with focus on innovative solutions to address social and economic injustice facing historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. He believes structural problems require structural solutions. Prior to Illumen Capital, Octavio was a leader at MassMutual Life Insurance Company in building the emerging fund manager program, which allocated $50 million to a wide variety of BIPOC-led funds that invest in BIPOC-led startups. At MassMutual, Octavio also deployed over $500 million in allocations to various alternative investment strategies including private equity and private credit.