Sonia Gardner (born 1962) is an American businesswoman,

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

manager and the co-founder of

Avenue Capital Group Avenue Capital Group is an American multinational investment firm focusing on distressed securities and private equity with regional teams focusing on opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm operates as both a private equit ...

Early life and education

Sonia Gardner was born Sonia Esther Lasry to a Jewish family in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, Morocco. She immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1966 at the age of four. Her father was a computer programmer and her mother was a schoolteacher. She was raised in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

with her brother

Marc Lasry Marc Lasry (born September 23, 1959) is a Moroccan American billionaire businessman and private equity manager. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Avenue Capital Group. He was a co-owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks bask ...

and sister Ruth Lasry. Gardner received a B.A. with honors in Philosophy from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

in 1983 and a J.D. from

Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the Law school in the United States, law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square, Manhattan, Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the sc ...

in 1986.

Career

Gardner began her career as Senior Attorney of the Bankruptcy and Corporate reorganization Department at Cowen and Company. In 1989, Gardner and her brother, Marc, founded the debt brokerage firm Amroc Investments. In 1990, Gardner and her brother began a debt brokerage firm with Gardner as Senior Portfolio Manager. Gardner and her brother formed

in 1995. In 2008, Gardner was the recipient of the 100 Women in Hedge Funds’ 2008 Industry Leadership Award. In 2010 and 2011,

The Hedge Fund Journal ''The Hedge Fund Journal'' is a monthly magazine focusing on the global hedge fund industry. Description ''The Hedge Fund Journal'' was formed in 2004 by Publisher Rod Sparks, a former industry lawyer, and is based in Mayfair, London, UK. The ...

included her in their list of the Top 50 Women in Hedge Funds. In January 2011 Gardner rang the stock market's closing bell in celebration of the tenth anniversary of “100 Women in Hedge Funds.” In 2012, Gardner was listed in the book, ''The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds''. In March 2013, ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'' included her in their list of the 25 most powerful women on Wall Street. Gardner rang the closing bell at the NYSE on August 25, 2015, on behalf of “100 Women in Hedge Funds.” In December 2015, the 100 Women in Hedge Funds announced the election of the new Global Association Board Leadership for 2016 which includes the election of their new chair, Sonia Gardner. She is currently the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Goodwill Ambassador for Gender Equality in Access to Finance. In her role, she will focus on advocating ways to give women access to economic resources to start and grow businesses, lift their families out of poverty, and help achieve the

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

. Gardner serves on the Board of Directors of 100 Women in Hedge Funds. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Gardner was previously on the board of the non-profit organization "Her Justice," which helps victims of domestic violence. She was also on the Board of Directors of the Managed Funds Association (MFA) and on its executive committee. In November 2017, Gardner was presented with the

Women's Entrepreneurship Day Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED) celebrated annually on November 15 is a day on which the work of women entrepreneurs is observed and discussed, held each year. The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with addition ...

Pioneer Award at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in New York City.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Sonia American hedge fund managers Private equity and venture capital investors Clark University alumni American people of Moroccan-Jewish descent 20th-century Moroccan Jews 1962 births Living people