Third Avenue Funds

David M. Barse, President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Barse has led investment boutique Third Avenue Management LLC for two decades, overseeing a roster of alternative strategies, mutual funds, separate accounts and sub-advised portfolios. Each of Third Avenue's products adhere to the disciplined, deep value investing strategy developed by Martin J. Whitman and honed by the talented roster of investment professionals led by Mr. Barse. Third Avenue specializes in global and domestic equities, debt instruments, and special situations.

Mr. Barse has overseen Third Avenue's expansion into investments outside of the U.S. including developed markets in Europe and Asia as well as emerging and frontier markets worldwide. Drawing on his background as a bankruptcy attorney, he has worked on Third Avenue's most high profile distressed investments, including Kmart, USG, and Covanta Energy. In each case, Third Avenue either controlled or had elements of control in the reorganization of the company. Mr. Barse currently serves on the board of Covanta Holdings Corporation, a market leader in energy from waste technology.

Prior to joining Third Avenue in 1991, Mr. Barse had a distinguished career in bankruptcy and corporate law. At the creditors' rights firm of Zalkin, Rodin & Goodman LLP he primarily represented commercial banks in the workouts of non-performing loans and the financing of companies in Chapter 11 through debtor-in-possession loans. Later at Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn & Berman LLP, his work helped to develop the secondary market for distressed debt.

Mr. Barse is frequently sought after by the financial media, including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week and Bloomberg. Mr. Barse can speak about market conditions, corporate finance, corporate governance, business ethics and bankruptcy law.

Mr. Barse holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and a B.A. from George Washington University. He is a member of the Brooklyn Law School Board of Trustees and sits on the Board of Directors of the City Parks Foundation.

Vincent J. Dugan, CPA, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Dugan is a member of Third Avenue's Management Committee and a senior member of the firm's Risk Committee. He oversees all of Third Avenue's accounting and operations and is responsible for the integrity of the firm's financial reporting. He joined Third Avenue in 2004 from Ernst & Young's Financial Services Office where he was a partner auditing and advising clients in the financial services industry. He was also a partner with Arthur Andersen where he worked for 15 years.

Mr. Dugan has a B.S. in Accounting from Rider University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is Treasurer and a Trustee of the Staten Island Academy, an independent college preparatory school.

Tom Gandolfo, CPA
Chief Risk Officer

Mr. Gandolfo is responsible for overseeing the firm's investment and enterprise risk management processes by identifying, analyzing and monitoring risk, and enforcing the policies and controls over portfolio management and other operational functions within the firm.

He joined the firm in 2008, after serving as Managing Director in the Capital Markets and Structured Credit Group at Ambac Financial Group. Prior to that, he was Ambac's Chief Financial Officer and led all aspects of the company's capital management and financial reporting. As CFO of a New York Stock Exchange listed public company, he worked closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gandolfo was a senior audit manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he audited and consulted for some of the firm's largest multinational clients.

As the financial crisis peaked in 2008 and 2009, he helped the firm avoid investments in several high-profile financially troubled firms, serving as lead analyst on financial stocks before accepting the Chief Risk Officer appointment in 2011.

Mr. Gandolfo holds a B.A. in Accounting with honors from Bentley College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

 

W. James Hall, General Counsel and Secretary

Mr. Hall is General Counsel and Secretary for both Third Avenue Management and M.J. Whitman where he oversees the legal and compliance departments. Mr. Hall joined Third Avenue in 2000 after time as an associate at the law firms of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Mr. Hall received a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He received a B.S. in Biology and a B.S. in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.