ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.— The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College has appointed entrepreneur and investor Mostafiz ShahMohammed ’97 to its board of governors. ShahMohammed is chairman and CEO of Amur Equipment Finance and chairman and cofounder of ShahGustafsson Foundation.
“It’s an honor to have been asked to join the board of governors at the Levy Institute and advance the mission of such a progressive and transformational public policy think tank,” said ShahMohammed. “I look forward to working with the president and the board who have done an amazing job profoundly shaping the most pressing global and regional economic agendas.”
“A successful financial executive, Mostafiz ShahMohammed joins a distinctive group of individuals representing the extended family of Bard College. I look forward to his continuing support and wise counsel,” said Levy Institute President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou.
Mostafiz ShahMohammed ’97 is an entrepreneur and an investor. He founded various Amur and Panthera entities since 2008 as private investment firms and operating companies focusing on the transportation, industrial, and commercial finance sectors globally. These businesses have continuously invested in core assets and operating companies while empowering entrepreneurs who possess deep expertise in their respective sectors. Since 2015, he has been the chairman and CEO of Amur Equipment Finance, one of the top independent commercial finance companies in the United States. Prior to Amur, Mostafiz was a managing director in charge of the Structured Asset Finance Group at UBS, where he focused on transportation, commercial, and financial assets and was directly responsible for all structuring, financing, investment, distribution, and risk management activities. Earlier in his career, he worked as a distressed debt trader, an investment banker, and as a structured finance consultant at various reputable financial firms. Mostafiz is chairman and cofounder of ShahGustafsson Foundation, a charity that focuses on enabling sustainable and responsible stewardship of our planet and fostering thriving communities. He received a BA in economics from Bard College.
The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986 through the generous support of the late Bard College trustee Leon Levy, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. The Institute is independent of any political or other affiliation, and encourages diversity of opinion in the examination of economic policy issues while striving to transform ideological arguments into informed debate. The ultimate purpose of the Levy Institute's research and activities is to serve the wider policymaking community in the United States and the rest of the world by enabling scholars and leaders in business, labor, and government to work together on problems of common interest. To stimulate discussion of economic issues, the Levy Institute disseminates its findings through publications, conferences, workshops, seminars, congressional testimony, and other activities to an international audience of public officials, private sector executives, academics, and the general public. An annual conference on the state of the U.S. and world economies is dedicated to the economic legacy of Hyman P. Minsky, the late financial economist and Levy Institute distinguished scholar.
The Levy Institute's programs give Bard College undergraduates the opportunity to meet the prominent figures who give seminars, attend conferences, and serve on the research staff. The Institute’s graduate programs were created to offer students an alternative to mainstream programs in economics and finance. These innovative programs, which offer a master of arts and master of science in economic theory and policy, combine a rigorous course of study with the exceptional opportunity to participate in advanced economics research. For more information, visit levyinstitute.org.