Cato Names Gelfond to Board

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Washington, D.C. – The Cato Institute Board of Directors, in a meeting held Saturday, September 26, elected Robert Gelfond, CEO and Founder, Macro Quantitative Strategies (MQS), as a new director.

“In addition to his success as a businessman and entrepreneur, for many years Bob Gelfond has worked tirelessly and generously on behalf of liberty and limited government,” said Peter Goettler, President and CEO of the Cato Institute. “He is a valuable addition to the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors.”

Prior to starting MQS, Gelfond founded MagiQ Technologies, which successfully developed the world’s first unbreakable computer encryption code based on quantum physics. He holds a patent in the field of quantum cryptography. In 2004, MagiQ was named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum (Davos), awarded the SA50 “Business Leader” in computing by Scientific American, and named one of the “Top Ten Tech Companies to Watch for the Next 10 Years” by IEEE Spectrum.

Gelfond also served as a managing director at Millennium Partners, LP, from 1992–98, where he developed proprietary quantitative financial forecasting and risk models, and in 1995–96, earned the highest documented Sharpe ratio of any trader in the industry for his consistently profitable track record. Prior to that, Gelfond was in charge of research, development and implementation of trading and arbitrage strategies for global financial markets as Director of International Trade at D.E. Shaw & Co.

He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1981 with degrees in mathematics and economics.

“My wife and I have been long time supporters of Cato, as we have admired its principled, thoughtful and articulate promotion of freedom through limited government,” said Gelfond. “I’m honored to join the board and become more active in supporting the Cato Institute.”