Five Questions with New Trustee Dan Farley, MBA ’95

New Bentley trustee Dan Farley, MBA ’95 is an advocate for educational access and a leader committed to helping people discover and maximize their strengths. Executive vice president at State Street Global Advisors and chief investment officer of the Investment Solutions Group, he is responsible for a global team managing multi-asset portfolios and serves as a media spokesperson for the firm on topics such as tactical asset allocation, liability-driven investments and investment management.  

You’ve been a member of Bentley’s Business Advisory Council and now serve on the board of trustees. Why have you stayed so involved with Bentley? 

Earning an MBA at Bentley was a good springboard for me in terms of my career development, and the ability to give back is important. I have also enjoyed being a part of the big-picture conversation about Bentley’s mission. Education is very important to me, and higher education is at a crossroads, particularly with COVID. I want to be a part of helping ensure that going forward, people have access to the same high-quality Bentley education I had – and more.  

You’ve been with State Street Global Advisors for more than 25 years. What keeps you passionate about your work? 

I always try to keep in mind the end purpose of what we do. We’re managing money for people, but what is that money for? It’s about how people save for retirement or save for college, for example. All of this money has a use or a purpose, and it’s interesting to be able to influence those things in terms of ensuring that we’re putting together good investment outcomes for people in order for them to do all of those things that they’ve been planning for. It actually gives the industry a whole lot of responsibility and trust.  

Tell us about your work as executive sponsor of the firm’s Latin American Professionals Group. 

This and other employee resource groups are something that State Street has been doing for a long time in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. My role with this employee-led organization is to contribute strategic thinking and problem solving, and help ensure that doors are open in order for them to get things done. It has been rewarding for me to help underrepresented groups find the voice that they want to be in the company. It has also provided me with perspective. We talk about DEI, but as a white male it’s sometimes hard for me to fully understand the challenges that people have had to overcome — and what we could and should be doing to change that.   

You are a volunteer coach for the Special Olympics and have served for almost 20 years on the board of Crispus Attucks Children’s Center, currently as the board chair. What inspires you to do this work? 

My son Liam, who is now 19, has special needs, and we got involved in the Special Olympics when he was younger. My involvement started out as fulfilling the need for a coach, but it turned into a great opportunity to spend time with Liam on a different level. Working with the athletes is a powerful experience in the sense that I’m not just looking at where people have disabilities, I‘m exploring where they have abilities — and then helping them maximize those. This also provides perspective. Sometimes staying in your lane and finishing a race, for example, is a bigger victory than who can run the fastest.  

Crispus Attucks Children’s Center speaks to my belief about the importance of education — and ensuring access to it from an early age. The center provides developmental opportunities to more than 200 children (birth to grade five) in Boston communities such as Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. Delivering high-quality academic foundational programs will ultimately set kids up for future academic success. The center also addresses social and emotional, nutrition and healthcare issues — things that we perhaps sometimes take for granted. 

Would you like to tell us about your family? 

My wife Cheryl and I met as undergraduates at Stonehill College; we’ve been married 25 years this year and live in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Liam is now involved in the Next Steps program that centers on life skills and vocational training. My daughter, Katie, is majoring  in math and economics at Wheaton College.