Feb 25, 2008 - Claremont, Calif. - The board of trustees approved the appointment of new trustees Howard Deshong III ‘89 and John Benediktsson ‘01 at the board’s meeting earlier this month.

Deshong returns to the board after serving as the alumni representative from 2005 to 2007. He is a managing member of Galileo Partners, LLC, in Los Angeles. He earned his degree in physics at HMC in 1989 and went on to earn his M.A. in law and diplomacy in 1991 and his Ph.D. in international security studies in 1996 at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Prior to his position at Galileo Partners, he was a registered investment advisor for Bristlecone Value Partners, LLC, and Oppenheimer Investment Advisors. From 1998 to 2001, he was a senior analyst with the United States General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C., and prior to that, he was a consultant for Rand in Santa Monica, Calif., and Washington, D.C.

Deshong has been an active member in the HMC Alumni Association Board of Governors (AABoG) and served as its president immediately preceding his first term as a trustee. He served as the alumni representative on the presidential search committee that brought President Maria Klawe to HMC in 2005 and as a member of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee.

John Benediktsson is the CEO and co-founder of Financial Asset Trading and Technology of California (FATTOC). Formed in 2007, FATTOC is an innovative technology company focused on the financial markets. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif., FATTOC is involved in proprietary trading, the development of software tools for real-time market analysis, connectivity to major exchanges and is in the process of launching a private financial trading network.

Benediktsson joined FATTOC after four years with Madison Tyler as a partner, trader and technologist. He directly managed the technological growth of the firm’s software and systems as it grew from a young startup to a mature market-making firm. Before joining Madison Tyler, Benediktsson worked for a media technology firm in Santa Monica, Calif., focused on digital asset management, digital media search, digital rights management and content application integration software.

Benediktsson will be on campus April 22 as a Walter and Leonore Annenberg Visiting Professor of Leadership and Management. In addition to teaching part of an ongoing class in leadership, he will take part in seminars and discussions for students, faculty and administrators and deliver a public lecture based on personal experience making tough ethical decisions.