Biographies
C.R. Howell
Founder
Rob Howell began his career in 1995 at Allied Irish Bank (GB) in London, before joining Credit Lyonnais Rouse in 1998. Later that year, he moved to Schroders plc., where he spent nearly sixteen years and lived through four major financial crises and at least three minor ones.
He began his time at Schroders on the FX desk before transitioning to trading fixed income, and later emerging market debt. In late 2004, under the direction of Geoff Blanning and the Schroders EMD team, Rob helped lay the foundation for the Schroder Alternative Solutions ('SAS') Commodity Fund which launched in October 2005. From then until March 2014, Rob worked alongside Rodolphe Roche, and many other dedicated colleagues, building the business to $14 billion in assets under management. From January 2010 until his departure in March 2014, Rob was Head of Commodities at Schroders.
Between 2015 and 2018, Rob took a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History with English, awarded with First Class Honours, from New College of the Humanities, in London. In his historical studies, his focus was on the American Civil Rights Movement, and his dissertation examined the visual narratives of Black American G.I.s in the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1945. And in English, he lost himself in James Joyce's Ulysses, but managed to surface long enough to write a creative non-fiction account of his childhood in Dublin.
In 2018, Rob became Senior Manager responsible for Commodities at Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System ('PSERS'), one of the largest public sector retirement systems in the United States, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He also conducted global macroeconomic analysis, formulated tactical market strategies, and contributed to asset allocation policy as a member of the System's Asset Allocation Committee.
In early 2020, Rob joined Gresham Investment Management, where he spent six years in a range of roles spanning research strategy and portfolio management, before serving as Chief Economist. During his time at Gresham he was the author of The Gresham Letter, a long-form investment letter that examined the lessons from financial history for the present day, and the relationships between precious metals, commodities, and the global macroeconomic and monetary systems. In his role as Chief Economist, Rob focused extensively on making the case for the inclusion of gold and precious metals in institutional asset allocations, specifically with respect to the Age of Uncertainty thesis.
Rob has an unshakeable belief that knowledge of financial history is a superpower. To that end, he produces client-centered research founded on a passion for history, an enduring fascination with financial markets, and an (almost unhealthy) obsession with geopolitics, macroeconomics, and commodities.
He defines his success as the delivery of actionable, long half-life, decision-relevant research for AION's clients.
His primary aim is to significantly improve the quality and robustness of his clients' decision-making ex-ante.
Contributors
AION publishes occasional essays from external contributors whose work informs the broader discussion around macroeconomic, monetary, and geopolitical developments. These contributions are independent of AION and are selected for their intellectual rigor and relevance to the themes explored in AION’s research. The views expressed are their own and do not constitute investment advice.
Kieron Nutbrown
Kieron Nutbrown spent 21 years in the finance industry in London. After graduating from Cambridge with a Philosophy degree in 1993, he joined F&C Asset Management as a quantitative analyst and portfolio manager. Over the next two decades he took portfolio management roles at a number of leading investment houses, including Invesco, Schroders, Credit Suisse and First State Investments. He specialized in global macro, asset allocation and fixed income investing, and his final role in the City was as Head of Global Fixed Income at First State Investments, where he oversaw international bond, currency and total return funds.
In 2015 Kieron left the finance industry in London to emigrate to the United States with his family. He now lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he is enjoying his second act, as a high school teacher and freelance artist. He teaches art classes and also works in special education, helping students with learning disabilities acquire core skills in mathematics and the sciences. He is qualified to teach both mathematics and visual arts in the state of Massachusetts.
Throughout the last decade, Kieron has maintained his lifelong interest in financial markets, economics, and geopolitics. He pursues his own original research into long-term market dynamics, focused mainly on the intersection of macroeconomics, philosophy and finance. His involvement with AION is as an occasional contributor in which role he continues a long association with AION founder Rob Howell.
Luke Zahner
Luke Zahner is a senior fellow with the National Security and International Policy Department at American Progress, where his work focuses on trans-Atlantic relations, international development, and the geopolitical dynamics between Ukraine and Russia.
Luke served for more than 20 years as a U.S. Foreign Service officer with the Department of State, with assignments across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including North Macedonia, Serbia, Iraq, Madagascar, and Bangladesh. His career has centered on post-conflict reconstruction, institutional strengthening, and economic recovery in fragile and conflict-affected environments.
Most recently, Luke served as a senior adviser to the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, where he worked closely with international partners to strengthen Ukraine’s recovery architecture. He previously served on loan to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation as a senior foreign policy adviser, advancing interagency coordination on U.S. assistance in Europe and Asia and supporting technical assistance initiatives aligned with Ukraine’s recovery and infrastructure priorities.
Luke has extensive experience in the Balkans, having spent seven years with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, including on its first postwar mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the design of its mission in Kosovo. His final overseas assignment with the State Department was as counselor for public affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia.
In addition to his role at American Progress, Zahner serves as a senior adviser with Binda Consulting International and as a consultant on several Ukraine-related projects. He holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, an MBA from The George Washington University, and a bachelor’s degree from American University.