Speakers - The Baker Group LP

Our experienced and knowledgeable staff is available to share their expertise at your next event or seminar. To schedule one of our members to speak to your group, call The Baker Group at: 800.937.2257 or send an email inquiry directly to your speaker of choice.

Ryan W. Hayhurst
President

Ryan W. Hayhurst
President

Ryan W. Hayhurst is President of The Baker Group and Manager of the Financial Strategies Group. Ryan joined the firm in 1991 and now oversees the design and implementation of investment and asset/liability strategies for financial institutions. He is also integrally involved in the continued development of the firm’s proprietary software designed to assist clients in the management of their investment portfolios and their overall interest rate risk profiles. Ryan regularly develops and presents educational seminars nationwide, with a focus on investment and interest rate risk management. He is a frequent speaker at financial institution conventions and investment conferences and has served as a faculty member of several national and regional banking schools. Hayhurst holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma.

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Jeffrey F. Caughron
Senior Partner

Jeffrey F. Caughron
Senior Partner

Jeffrey F. Caughron is a Senior Partner with The Baker Group LP. Caughron has worked in financial markets and the securities industry since 1985, always with an emphasis on banking, investments, and interest rate risk management. He previously served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the firm, and had been Director of Asset/Liability Management from 2008 to 2017.

Caughron’s trading experience includes several years on the Treasury desk for an international bank on Wall Street, with subsequent positions trading mortgage-backed securities and other taxable fixed-income products for regional broker/dealers. He has expertise in broad asset/liability management issues, working with institutional accounts on controlling interest rate risk exposures and maximizing returns. He has published numerous articles on various risk management topics throughout the years, and is frequently quoted in the financial press. Caughron has served on the faculty of several banking schools, and has done consulting work overseas for foreign banks. He earned his degree in economics from the University of Oklahoma.

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PhilStenseth, CFA
Managing Director

Phil Stenseth, CFA
Managing Director

Phil Stenseth is a Managing Director of The Baker Group, where he is responsible for directing the firm’s fixed income trading operation. He is instrumental in the firm’s development of bank investment portfolio and interest rate risk management strategies, researching new investment products, and monitoring bank regulatory and compliance issues. Stenseth has revised and continues to enhance the firm’s proprietary software programs designed to assist clients in the management of their investment portfolios and the overall interest rate risk of the financial institutions. He regularly conducts educational seminars for banking groups and associations nationwide. He has addressed various bank trade associations, serves as a faculty member of several national and regional banking schools, and has been frequently published in many banking journals and periodicals.

Stenseth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Arizona and is a Chartered Financial Analyst®. He is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research and the Financial Analysts Society. Stenseth is registered as a general securities principal with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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Andrew Okolski
Associate Partner

Andrew Okolski
Associate Partner
Director of Credit Union and Municipality Strategies

Andrew Okolski is the Director of Credit Union and Municipality Strategies at The Baker Group. He works directly with clients in a broad range of areas, including ALM, education, portfolio management, interest rate risk management, strategic planning, regulatory issues, and wholesale market strategies for credit unions. Before joining the firm, he spent 15 years building and managing a financial strategies group at a New York broker/dealer with a specific focus on the credit union industry. Okolski holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Long Island University – C.W. Post.

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Matt Harris, CFA
Associate Partner

Matt Harris, CFA
Associate Partner

Matt Harris, CFA, is Associate Partner at The Baker Group, where he serves as Assistant Director of Asset/Liability Management. He started with the firm in 2007 as an intern while attending the University of Texas-Austin, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and economics. In 2010, he joined the firm’s Financial Strategies Group at the home office in Oklahoma City, where he works directly with bankers, examiners, and auditors regarding fixed income portfolio analysis and asset/liability management. Harris is also involved in the development and testing of The Baker Group’s proprietary bond accounting and interest rate risk software.

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Dana Sparkman, CFA
Senior Vice President of Financial Strategies Group

Dana Sparkman, CFA
Senior Vice President of Financial Strategies Group

Dana Sparkman, CFA, is Senior Vice President in the Financial Strategies Group and runs the firm’s Municipal Credit Department. She manages a municipal credit database that covers more than 150,000 municipal bonds, providing clients with specific credit metrics essential in assessing municipal credit. Sparkman earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Central Oklahoma.

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Dale Sheller
Associate Partner

Dale Sheller
Associate Partner

Dale Sheller is an Associate Partner in the Financial Strategies Group at The Baker Group. He joined the firm in 2015 after spending six years as a bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Sheller holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University. He works with clients on investment portfolio strategies, interest rate risk management, liquidity risk management, and regulatory issues. Sheller regularly speaks at educational seminars nationwide and serves as a faculty member for multiple banking schools.

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Greg Tomaszewicz
Senior Financial Strategist

Greg Tomaszewicz
Senior Financial Strategist

Greg Tomaszewicz is a Senior Financial Strategist with The Baker Group. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Greg spent twelve years working for a fixed income broker/dealer in New York, where he helped financial institutions across the country in evaluating their balance sheet risks and opportunities. In addition, he worked to develop new analytics to aid those clients in meeting the challenges of an ever-changing economic environment. Greg holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stony Brook University.

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