Management Team

Gregory Stumm is president and CEO of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors, and holds additional senior leadership positions with other affiliated organizations, including president of the American Beacon Funds complex. He also serves as a member of the companies’ Product Management Committee. During his tenure with American Beacon, Mr. Stumm has served as a senior vice president and head of Distribution. He has also held two national sales manager positions, separately managing Institutional & Platform Sales and Retail Sales. Mr. Stumm joined the organization in November 2012 as a vice president of National Advisory Sales. Prior to joining the organization, Mr. Stumm was an investment director for RS Funds, a subsidiary of Guardian Investor Services, where he was responsible for supporting their advisory clients and representing investment strategies at industry events and conferences. Earlier in his career, Mr. Stumm was a product specialist for the Investment Research Group at PLANCO, a division of The Hartford Mutual Funds, where he was responsible for internal manager research and competitive analysis, supported national key accounts and advisory relationships, and delivered training programs for The Hartford Mutual Funds’ sales representatives. Mr. Stumm earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Philosophy and Politics with a concentration in Economics. He holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 63 and 24 securities licenses. He also is a CFA^® charterholder and a CAIA^® charterholder.

Rebecca L. Harris is the senior vice president and chief operating officer of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. In that role, she has oversight responsibility for the Fund Solutions, Information Technologies and Product Solutions departments. Ms. Harris also serves as vice president of the American Beacon Funds complex. In addition, she is a member of the companies’ Product Management Committee. Previously, Ms. Harris was a senior vice president and the head of Product Management, Corporate Development and Affiliate Relations for American Beacon. Since joining American Beacon in 1991, Ms. Harris has held other leadership roles, including those of chief financial officer from 1995 to 2010, mutual fund treasurer from 1995 to 2010, and director of Product Management from 2010 to 2015. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Harris was a financial analyst at Sabre Travel Information Network from 1990 to 1991. She began her career at Ernst & Young after receiving a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University. She is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.

Rosemary K. Behan serves as senior vice president and general counsel of American Beacon Partners, American Beacon Advisors, American Beacon Funds and another affiliated organization. In that role, she has oversight responsibility of the Legal and Compliance departments. Ms. Behan also serves as vice president and chief legal officer of the American Beacon Funds complex. Prior to joining the firm in January 2006, Ms. Behan served as assistant general counsel of First Command Financial Planning, Inc., a financial planning organization registered with FINRA as a broker-dealer and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an Investment Adviser. Ms. Behan also worked in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from February 1995 to June 2004 and was an associate attorney at the law firm of Cantey & Hanger, LLP, in Fort Worth, Texas, from September 1990 to February 1995. She also served as a briefing attorney for the Court of Appeals for the Second Judicial District of Texas from 1989 to 1990. Ms. Behan received a J.D. from St. Mary’s University in 1989 and a B.A. from The University of Texas at Arlington in 1983. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Bernadette Bridy serves as vice president and chief marketing officer for American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. In those roles, she is a member of the senior leadership team and spearheads the company’s marketing strategy and execution across multiple platforms. She has more than 25 years of marketing experience in the financial services industry. Before joining the company in December 2025, Ms. Bridy spent 12 years at Future Standard (formerly known as FS Investments). During her tenure, she held a range of senior leadership roles. Most recently, she served as managing director, head of Marketing, overseeing the firm’s brand strategy, demand generation and marketing initiatives. Prior to Future Standard, Ms. Bridy worked at Lincoln Financial Group, where she held several marketing roles of increased responsibility. In her most recent position there, she was assistant vice president, Campaign Planning, and oversaw their data-driven efforts for digital marketing campaigns. Based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Ms. Bridy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Ohio. She is a board member of The Forum of Executive Women in Philadelphia, serving as an at-large director.

Melinda G. Heika serves as senior vice president and chief financial officer of American Beacon Partners, American Beacon Advisors and other affiliated organizations. Ms. Heika also serves as vice president of the American Beacon Funds complex. She served as the treasurer of the American Beacon Funds from 2010 to 2021. Ms. Heika is responsible for directing the organizations’ financial activities, including treasury, accounting, tax, audit, financial planning, financial control, and oversight of the American Beacon Funds’ custody and accounting agent. Ms. Heika joined American Beacon in July 1997, serving as a senior analyst and controller. Prior to joining the company, she managed financial reporting for Liberté Investors Inc. and First Nationwide Bank. Ms. Heika started her career with Ernst & Young after receiving a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Central Michigan University. Ms. Heika is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.

Donna S. Merchant serves as vice president of Human Resources of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. Ms. Merchant is responsible for all aspects of human resources, including recruiting, compensation and benefits, and training and development. During her tenure, the company was one of eight global asset managers named to the 2013, 2014 and 2015 “Focus Elite” lists, as well as one of three firms considered “Super Elite” for having made the list for three consecutive years. The company was also named as one of Pensions & Investments “Best Places to Work in Money Management” in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Prior to joining the company in 2004, Ms. Merchant spent 17 years in Human Resources at American Airlines, with responsibilities including compensation strategy and design, recruitment of MBA and undergraduate students, professional recruitment, and training and development. Ms. Merchant holds the SPHR® and SHRM-SCP® designations, which are competency-based certifications awarded by the HR Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management, respectively. From August 2015 through April 2024, Ms. Merchant served on the Governing Board of Directors for Easter Seals Lone Star Texas. From January 2023 through April 2024, she also served on the Executive Committee for Easter Seals Lone Star Texas. Ms. Merchant attended the Baptist University of Florida.

Terri L. McKinney serves as senior vice president of Fund Solutions of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors, and another affiliated organization. She also serves as vice president of the American Beacon Funds complex. Ms. McKinney is responsible for oversight of business processes, organizational efficiency, and fund operations and shareholder servicing relationships. Ms. McKinney joined American Beacon Advisors in June 1996 as director of Marketing. Prior to joining the firm, she managed the Equity Administration team for Goldman Sachs Asset Management in New York. Ms. McKinney started her career with the investment management firm of Fayez Sarofim & Co. after receiving a BBA in Business Broadcasting and Marketing from Baylor University.

Bo Ragsdale serves as vice president of Information Technologies of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. Mr. Ragsdale is responsible for leading the company’s enterprise-wide technology strategy, cybersecurity program and data governance initiatives. Prior to joining American Beacon in 2006, Mr. Ragsdale served as a program manager at American Airlines from 2002 to 2006 and as a senior technical architect at Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Ragsdale earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University in 2006, as well as a B.A. in Business from Trinity University in 1998. He also holds executive certifications in cybersecurity from Harvard University and artificial intelligence strategy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jay Schilling serves as vice president and national sales manager of Wealth & Institutional Sales of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. He is responsible for leading the American Beacon Sales teams supporting National Accounts, Institutional & Platform Sales, National DCIO Sales and ARK Invest. Mr. Schilling also supports consultant and advisory relationships and is a member of the companies’ Product Management Committee. Before his 2022 promotion to national sales manager, Mr. Schilling was vice president of Institutional & Platform Sales. Previously, he served as the company’s vice president of National Advisory Sales and Retail Sales, supporting the External Sales team’s relationships with registered investment advisers, banks and broker/dealers. Prior to joining American Beacon Advisors in 2014, Mr. Schilling served as an investment director of RS Investments, a subsidiary of Guardian Investor Services, where he was responsible for supporting advisory clients of the firm and representing investment strategies at various industry events and conferences. Mr. Schilling also served as a research analyst with Lockwood Advisors, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, where he performed due diligence for third-party money managers within the International Developed and Emerging Markets asset classes. Mr. Schilling earned a B.S. in Finance from State University of New York at Oswego. He is a CFA^® charterholder and holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 24 and 63 licenses.

Christina E. Sears serves as vice president and chief compliance officer of American Beacon Advisors and as chief compliance officer of the American Beacon Funds complex. Ms. Sears has over 25 years of experience in investment compliance. Prior to joining American Beacon in 1998, she performed middle office operations for an independent broker-dealer. Ms. Sears earned an M.S. in Economics from Baylor University – Hankamer School of Business, as well as B.A. degrees in Economics and Philosophy from Southern Methodist University.

Laurel Tucker serves as vice president and chief of staff of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. In her role, she supports the companies’ senior leadership team with a demonstrated passion for innovation and efficiency. She reports directly to President & CEO Gregory Stumm. Prior to her promotion in 2024, Ms. Tucker served on the Sales team, overseeing business intelligence data and contributing to the strategic planning process from 2017 to 2024. Before joining the company, Ms. Tucker served as a senior sales and marketing analyst at RidgeWorth Investments. She earned a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Ted Wozniak serves as vice president and head of Retail Sales of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. He is responsible for the sales and leadership of American Beacon’s team covering the retail sales channel. Before joining American Beacon, Mr. Wozniak served as managing director, head of U.S. Asset Management Distribution at SEI Investments Co. His professional background also includes leadership positions at RS Investments/Victory Capital Management and PLANCO/Hartford Mutual Funds. Early in his career, he worked at Lockwood Financial/BNY Mellon and Rittenhouse Financial/Nuveen Asset Management. Mr. Wozniak graduated from King’s College in Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.S. in Finance in 1996. He is a CFA^® charterholder and holds FINRA Series 7, 24 and 66 licenses.

Paul B. Cavazos serves as senior vice president and chief investment officer of American Beacon Advisors. He also serves as vice president of the American Beacon Funds complex. In addition, he also is a member of the companies’ Product Management Committee. Mr. Cavazos is responsible for overseeing the investment sub-advisors to the American Beacon Funds and corporate pension plan investments. His comprehensive background includes leading defined benefit and contribution plans, conducting investment manager searches, due diligence and risk-control oversight. Before joining American Beacon in 2016, Mr. Cavazos served as chief investment officer and assistant treasurer at DTE Energy Company in Detroit. He was responsible for the development of asset allocation strategies, as well as fiduciary oversight for DTE’s $10 billion in retirement trust assets. In 2014, Mr. Cavazos received the prestigious CIO Industry Innovation Award of the Year from Chief Investment Officer magazine. Previously, Mr. Cavazos served as chief investment officer at Navistar, where he was responsible for all investment aspects of the company’s $5 billion in retirement trust assets. His experience also includes investment and finance roles at The Boeing Company and Chrysler Corporation. Mr. Cavazos is a member of the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets, which is a plan sponsor organization representing more than 120 of the country’s largest pension funds. CIEBA’s members manage more than $2.5 trillion of defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets on behalf of more than 16 million plan participants and beneficiaries. Mr. Cavazos served as chairman of the CIEBA Board of Directors from October 2020 to October 2022. He previously served a two-year term as its vice chair. In those roles, he assisted CIEBA on a number of defined benefit and contribution issues. He continues to serve as a director on the CIEBA Board of Directors. Mr. Cavazos earned an MBA in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He also holds a B.S. in Finance from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

Samuel  J. Silver serves as vice president and chief fixed income officer of American Beacon Advisors. He also serves as vice president of the American Beacon Funds complex. In his role, Mr. Silver oversees the firm’s money-market and fixed-income funds and separate accounts. From October 2011 to May 2016, Mr. Silver served as the firm’s vice president of Fixed Income Investments. From September 1999 to September 2011, he served as the senior portfolio manager of the firm’s stable value portfolios, including money-market funds and separate accounts. Prior to joining American Beacon in September 1999, Mr. Silver served as director of Money Markets at Koch Industries from July 1997 to August 1999. Previously, he worked at Fidelity Investments for 10 years, during which time he spent eight years in the company’s Money Market division. Mr. Silver earned an MBA in Finance from The University of Texas at Dallas and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Kansas.

Tyler Rittenhouse serves as director of Product Solutions of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. He is a member of the companies’ Product Management Committee, tasked with sourcing new investment ideas for the company and its affiliates. He leads the Product Solutions team in overseeing the strategic development and management of the company’s investment products, and ensuring their alignment with client objectives and market trends. Mr. Rittenhouse and his team are dedicated to innovating and optimizing product offerings, and collaborate with Sales, Marketing and distribution partners to advance the company’s growth. Since joining the company in 2015, he has held roles in Sales, Asset Management, Product Management and Product Development. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Rittenhouse served as a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Plano, Texas, and held an institutional sales role at Fidelity. Mr. Rittenhouse holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Illinois State University.  

Clay Bell serves as vice president of Financial Planning & Analysis of American Beacon Partners and American Beacon Advisors. In that role, he develops and has oversight responsibility of the company’s financial forecasting and ensures that annual and multi-year planning aligns with the organization’s strategic vision and goals. Mr. Bell is a member of the Product Management Committee. Since joining the company in 2012, he has held various roles in the Finance & Accounting department. Mr. Bell started his career with Ernst & Young. He earned an M.S. in Accounting from The University of Texas at Arlington and a B.S. in Accounting from Texas Tech University.