PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hedge fund
pioneer and beloved philanthropist E. Lee
Hennessee-Gradante passed away Saturday morning,
October 29, 2016 at her Trump Plaza
home. A stroke was the apparent cause of death. She is survived by
her business partner and partner in life, husband Charles Gradante.
Lee Hennessee-Gradante led an
extraordinary life. From September 1,
1952 until October 29, 2016
and even now her legacy continues to touch and inspire. Lee grew up
in Raleigh, North Carolina, the
daughter of Mary Francis Dillon and
William Edward Hennessee. She
graduated from St. Mary's Prep School and was presented at the
North Carolina Debutante Ball in 1971 before graduating in 1975
from Randolph- Macon Woman's College in
Lynchburg, VA. Following a brief
one year career in teaching, Lee found herself in New York doing things she had been told "women
did not do" in the male dominated world of Wall Street finance. In
fact Lee would end up doing things that no one had done.
In 1987 Lee became the first person to create a hedge fund index
using it to found the first hedge fund advisory business as a
division of E.F. Hutton. In less than six months Lee landed a
50 million dollar account and became
one of the division's top ten producers. As a Vice President at
E.F. Hutton, Hennessee would eventually move her business to
financial power houses including Shearson Lehman Brothers/American
Express, Republic National Bank and Weiss, Peck and Greer.
When they met and married in 1992, Charles Gradante was an accomplished Wall Street
professional who would partner with his wife and together pioneer
the burgeoning hedge fund industry. Gradante held positions in
venture capital with the John Diebold Group and oversaw
sales-trading and risk management as Assistant to the Chairman of
Drexel Burnham Lambert (Europe). As President and CEO of Chelsea National Bank, with branches in
New York and Latin America,
he led the bank out of near bankruptcy. In 1995 he joined Lee at
Weiss, Peck and Greer. Within two years the pair took the company
private creating the Hennessee Group LLC, quickly becoming a major
force in the hedge fund industry. With a mind for micro and
macro economic analysis coupled with an investment instinct,
Charles managed their high net worth client portfolios, compounding
client returns 133% above the compounded returns for the Dow Jones
average for over 20 years.
Lee and Charles also became fixtures on TV and familiar names in
finance circles. Making almost weekly rounds on CNBC, Fox, CNN,
Bloomberg and other media outlets, the tag team couple were
pioneering hedge fund asset management for high net worth
investors. Charles was invited, as an expert witness, to advise the
U.S. Congress and SEC on this ubiquitous and highly secretive
industry. After opening offices in New
York, the Hennessee Group LLC expanded to Raleigh and Palm
Beach. For nearly 25 years, the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index
was published or sourced monthly in Barrons, Bloomberg and the
New York Times providing key insights
into the performance of hedge funds as an alternative asset class.
With $1.6 billion of assets under
management, the Hennessee Group LLC was one of the largest
privately owned hedge fund money management firms of the era.
With a successful business came the desire to give back. By this
point in time Lee had broken so many glass ceilings that, in 2007,
the New York Post named her one of "New
York's 50 Most Powerful Women". She often served as a
mentor to young women and later co-founded "100 Women in Hedge
Funds".
Lee and Charles were also partners in philanthropy and politics.
The couple championed many causes from the Junior League to
Easter Seals donating time and
resources to help others overcome strife and prejudice. Together
they co-chaired the committee that organized the New York City
Billy Graham crusade as well as the finance committee for
Elizabeth Dole's presidential
campaign.
Lee co-founded the New York City Christian Women's Fellowship
which folded into Campus Crusade and was a trustee of the Palm
Beach Atlantic University while Charles served on the board of
Regent University.
The business Lee and Charles founded continues to thrive but
that no nonsense personality tempered with southern charm will be
greatly missed. Lee's incredible life journey will continue to be
an example of how confidence, talent, perseverance and finding the
right partner can lead to an exceptional career and life. Her
husband said of Lee "She was the air that I breathed, nurtured my
faith, and was the love of my life. "
More information is available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Lee_Hennessee
Chase Scott
561-644-1169
ChaseScottPR@aol.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/e-lee-hennessee-gradante-dies-at-64-passing-marks-the-end-of-a-pioneering-partnership-in-the-hedge-fund-industry-300383292.html
SOURCE The Hennessee Family