Robert D. Newman, CFA, CPA, a member of William Blair & Company's executive committee, has served as the director of equity research and manager of the Equity Research Group since 2001. Mr. Newman, who previously was director of research in Investment Management from 1999 to 2001, joined the firm in 1989 as a securities analyst in that group, and became a principal in the firm in 1993. He chaired the firm's annual United Way Campaign for the seven years from 2004 to 2010. Mr. Newman earned a B.S. in accounting from the University of Illinois in 1983 and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1987. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the CFA Society of Chicago, and the Economic Club of Chicago. He has started up and/or served on the boards of several educational foundations.