Michael Gates, CFA, Managing Director, is Head of Model Portfolio Solutions (MPS) for the Americas and Lead Portfolio Manager for Target Allocation Models and Mutual Funds at BlackRock. Responsible for roughly $200 billion in assets, Michael is a member of BlackRock’s Model Risk Oversight Committee.

Mr. Gates was a founder of MPS at its inception in 2012. BlackRock’s Target Allocation (TA) models lead US model providers by AUM, according to Morningstar. Four of the model families Mr. Gates manages have been awarded Gold Medals by Morningstar (TA ETF, Tax Aware, ESG and Long Horizon). Mr. Gates was nominated for Outstanding Multi-Asset Portfolio Manager by Morningstar in 2025 and his published work has contributed to the CFA curriculum.

Mr. Gates service at BlackRock dates to 1999 including his years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. Prior to founding the MPS group, Michael conducted quantitative trading research for equities in BlackRock’s Global Trading Group. At BGI, Michael led in the development and implementation of BGI’s quantitative approach in fixed income and alternative asset investing.

Mr. Gates serves as the co-chair of BlackRock’s US Social Mobility Network.

Mr. Gates earned his M.S. in Economics from the University of California, Davis, and a B.S., with honors, from the University of California, Davis.

Suzanne Ly, CFA, FRM, Managing Director, is the Global Head of Models Portfolio Management in BlackRock's Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions group.

The Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions (MASS) team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock's index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels.

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2019, Suzanne was a Director at Mellon Capital Management a systematic asset manager in the Multi-Asset Group. She was responsible for the production and implementation of the quantitative models. In addition, she was the lead Portfolio Manager on Mellon's active commodity strategy.

Suzanne went through the Grande Ecole system in France and earned a graduate degree in Business Management from ESSEC Business School.

Lisa O'Connor, Managing Director, is the Global Head of Model Portfolio Solutions and the Deputy CIO for Solutions. The Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock's index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels.

Prior to joining BlackRock in April 2017 - Ms. O'Connor served as the Head of Global Portfolio Management for SSGA's Global Macro fund. The fund utilized both proprietary quantitative and fundamental strategies for alpha generation.

Before SSGA - Ms. O'Connor was at Mellon Capital Management for fourteen years where she worked extensively in the development and management of quantitative investment strategies. Her last role at Mellon Capital was leading the active fixed income team, with investment strategies ranging from hedge funds to actively managed ETFs. She served as a Senior Portfolio Manager for both the Mellon Global Opportunity Hedge Fund and the Mellon Global Fixed Income Hedge Fund. Ms. O'Connor was named one of the 50 leading women in hedge funds by the Hedge Fund Journal in 2015.