Stephen Duneier
File:Stephen Duneier.jpg
CEO, Bija Advisors LLC
Born
EducationMBA in Finance and Economics
Alma materNew York University, Stern School of Business
Occupation(s)Founder and CEO of Bija Advisors LLC, Lecturer at University of California, Artist
Known forIncorporating Cognitive Science with Investment Management,[2] Yarnbombing in the Wilderness,[3] Extreme Goal Achievement
SpouseBarbara
Websitebijaadvisorsllc.com, yarnbomber.com

Stephen Duneier is a professional investment manager, strategy consultant, speaker, lecturer and artist.

Education

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Duneier attended the University of Florida from 1985 to 1987 before leaving to pursue a career in financial management with Drexel Burnham Lambert and then Prudential-Bache. He finished his undergraduate education at Florida Atlantic University with a BBA in finance and economics and received an MBA in finance and economics from New York University's Stern School of Business.[4]

Career in Finance

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While still attending graduate school at NYU, Duneier worked as a foreign exchange option trader specializing in exotic derivatives at Credit Suisse in New York City. He was later hired by Bank of America to expand their foreign exchange business into European crosses and Emerging Markets and eventually promoted to Global Head of Currency Option Trading. Soon after Bank of America merged with Nations Bank, Duneier moved to AIG International where he was eventually named Managing Director in charge of Emerging Markets trading and based out of London, England. In 2002, Duneier launched a proprietary trading portfolio known as "TIP" for AIG International.[5] Shortly after the firm merged with Banque AIG, Duneier became a global macro portfolio manager at London Diversified Fund Management in London and later at Peloton Partners in Santa Barbara, California.[6] In 2008, he was one of the founding partners at Grant Capital Partners[7] which grew to $1.25 billion in assets under management.[8] He left in 2012 to launch Bija Capital Management and eventually Bija Advisors LLC, a consulting firm which advises experienced hedge fund managers, CIO's and asset allocators. Through Bija Advisors, he speaks on and publishes a subscription based newsletter covering topics on economics,[9][10] cognitive science,[11] and investment management.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).[12]

Career as a Cognitive Science Practitioner

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In 2001, Duneier began to apply his approach to decision making, which he calls "Bija", to his personal life, leading to a long string of eccentric goals and resolutions being set and achieved.[13] In 2012, it reached fever pitch when he embarked upon 12 for 2012,[14] a New Year's resolution which included 12 Learning Resolutions and 12 Giving Resolutions. As part of his resolutions he has performed at comedy clubs, learn to fly a helicopter, climb iced waterfalls, raced cars, had root canal without anesthetic, learned to speak German, read 50 books in 52 weeks,[15] participated in the Pier to Peak half marathon, learned to unicycle, used jumping stilts to hike, fostered a pit bull, built homes for families in Arizona, learned ballroom dancing, how to drum, slackline, parkour, skydive and flown planes aerobatically.

He has completed work on his attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the largest crocheted granny square which is awaiting confirmation. It is 1,089 square feet, incorporates 25 miles of yarn and weighs 50 pounds. It took more than two years to create and required more than 400,000 double crochet stitches.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).[16]

Duneier now speaks[17] and writes about his experience and how others can take what we have learned from research conducted in the field of cognitive science in order to make better decisions and achieve bigger goals.[18]

Career as a Lecturer

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Duneier teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses on Decision Analysis in the College of Engineering at the University of California in Santa Barbara.[19]

 
40 ft tall eucalyptus tree 2.6 miles up the Cold Spring Trail wrapped with yarn.

Career as an Artist

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Duneier is an installation artist, part of the fiber art movement known as Yarnbombing.[20] His installations exist for just 9 days typically in Los Padres National Forest.[21]

As part of his 2012 resolution to learn 12 new skills, Duneier learned how to knit. His first project was the covering of a 40 foot tall eucalyptus tree, 2.6 miles up the Cold Spring Trail in Santa Barbara, California.[22] It required 450 square feet of knitted material. The installation remained for just 9 days and all material used was donated to Warm Up America, a charity in North Carolina.

The following year he wrapped a massive boulder atop the Saddlerock hiking trail above Montecito, California.[23]

 
Photo of the 2013 yarnbomb installation by Stephen Duneier atop Saddlerock in the mountains above Montecito California.

His third installation was a large spiderweb made out of yarn which covered Sasquatch Cave in The Playgrounds at Lizard's Mouth.

 
Sasquatch Cave at Lizards Mouth in Santa Barbara California

For his fourth installation, Duneier created a giant starfish made with reflective yarn from Red Heart Yarns and hung it 40 feet above the Seven Falls Trail.

 
Seven Falls Trail in the mountains of Santa Barbara California

His fifth installation occurred at Santa Barbara City College where he laid out nearly 2,500 square feet of knitted and crocheted pieces on their lawn.

 
2,500 square feet of knitted and crocheted material laid out at SBCC in Santa Barbara.
 
18 massive boulders wrapped with yarn at Lizard's Mouth in Los Padres National Forest above Santa Barbara, CA.

For his sixth installation he invited fiber artists from around the world to collaborate with him by sending crocheted and knitted pieces of any size, shape, color and style to participate. He received contributions from 388 artists in 36 countries and all 50 US States. Combined with his own work, he wrapped 18 giant boulders at Lizards Mouth[24] in the Los Padres National Forest above Santa Barbara in California.

 
10 aliens and 24 tents covered with yarn line the canyon at Davey Brown Trailhead above Santa Ynez in California.

His most recent project was called the Alien Campsite[25] where he incorporated additional materials including fiberglass, wood, and metal in addition to yarn.[26] He created 10 aliens and 24 tents for the installation which lasted just 36 hours before being ripped apart by high winds in the canyon. The installation was permitted by the US Forest Service for the area just below the Davey Brown Trailhead. It incorporated Duneier's own work plus contributions from 656 fiber artists from 41 countries and all 50 states.[27] Duneier's work is represented by the Sullivan Goss Gallery.[28]

As part of his stated mission to build a global community kind and creative people,[29] Duneier hosts the Yarnbomber podcast in which he features interviews with famous yarnbombers from around the world including Carol Hummel, London Kaye and Jessie Hemmons.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Cooper, Arnie (November 2014). "HEDGE FUNDER-TURNED-CROCHETER 'YARNBOMBS' THE COUNTRY'S WILDERNESS". No. November 2014. ArtNews Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. ^ Greenberg, Greg (June 16, 2015). "Powerless Fed Can't Stop Stocks From Heading Higher, Says Bija CIO". The Street. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  3. ^ Dinaberg, Leslie (June 16, 2015). "The Art of Getting People Back to Nature". SB Seasons. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  4. ^ "CEO, Stephen Duneier". Bija Advisors LLC. Bija Advisors LLC. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Creation of Additional Incubator Fund". FE Investegate. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  6. ^ Drobny, Andres. "Drobny Global Monitor" (PDF). Drobny. Drobny Global. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Alternative Investment News" (PDF). Strand Fund. Total Alternatives. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  8. ^ Friedman, Steven. "Stephen Duneier; Bija Advisors". Santangels Review. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  9. ^ Xie, Ye (October 19, 2014). "Dollar Turning Point Aided by U.S. Investor Reversal: Currencies". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  10. ^ Lloyd, Colin (September 25, 2015). "Will Europe Benefit Economically from the Migrant Crisis". Nasdaq. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Cognitive science exposes a serious mistake made by most asset allocators". 2n20.com. 2n20 AG. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  12. ^ Duneier, Stephen (July 9, 2015). "Declawing the Federal Reserve". Advisor Hub. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  13. ^ "The Secret to Successful New Year's Resolutions". Bija Advisors LLC. Bija Advisors LLC. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  14. ^ "12 for 2012". 12for2012. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  15. ^ Mills, Ted. "Episode 24: The Yarnbomber". Funkzone Podcast. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  16. ^ "World Record Attempt". Yarnbomber.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Speaker Inspires Monroe Students". Santa Barbara Unified. Santa Barbara Unified School District. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Volunteer Spotlight: Stephen Duneier". Youth Interactive. Youth Interactive. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Lecturers". Technology Management Program, UCSB. University of California. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  20. ^ Rogan, Jack (April 9, 2014). "The Yarnbomber". Roots Rated. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  21. ^ "About Yarnbomber". Yarnbomber.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  22. ^ Hemmons, Jessie. "Interview with Yarnbomber Stephen Duneier". IshKnits.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Hiking Saddlerock". The Santa Barbara Company. The Santa Barbara Company. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  24. ^ Lehr, Tracy (June 6, 2014). "Knitter Creates Unusual Art". KEYT KCOY. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  25. ^ Stewart, Ethan. "The Santa Barbara YarnBomber Strikes Again, But Gets Foiled by Mother Nature". Roots Rated. Roots Rated. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  26. ^ "Alien Campsite". Heart Strings. Red Heart Yarns. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  27. ^ Cooper, Arnie (March 8, 2015). "The Guerrilla Art of the Yarn Bomb Goes Natural". Newsweek Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  28. ^ Stewart, Ethan (September 11, 2014). "Knitting Psychedelic Daydreams". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  29. ^ Martin, Jordana. "Ultimate Yarn Bomber: Steve Duneier". Textile Arts Center. Textile Arts Center. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  30. ^ "Yarnbomber Podcast". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 9 December 2015.

[1] [2]

  1. ^ Kettmann, Matt (August 23, 2013). "Return of the Yarnbomb". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. ^ Ford, Ray (June 4, 2012). "Yarnbomb About to Explode in the Mountains". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 9 December 2015.