Robert L. "Nob" Rauch
Robert L. "Nob" Rauch (born September 10, 1958) is a flying disc sports player/administrator and member of the Ultimate Hall of Fame.
Flying disc sport accomplishments[edit]
Nob is credited with restructuring USA Ultimate (formerly known as the Ultimate Players Association) and the World Flying Disc Federation ("WFDF") into professionally run organizations capable of serving as the sports governing bodies for Ultimate in the US and flying disc sports globally, respectively, while serving as head of each in the late 1980s and early 1990s and starting again in the mid-2000s. In the first comprehensive history book on the sport of Ultimate, "Ultimate: The First Four Decades" published in 2005, co-author Tony Leonardo states that Nob found "...ways to increase the sport's profile and hold the UPA accountable for Ultimate's future growth and direction. Nob streamlined the players association and provided the blueprint for a successful UPA..." (p. 72). The Ultimate Hall of Fame web site notes that he "spearheaded the reorganization of the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) into a professionally managed sports governing body" and that during "this period of exceptional leadership of the administration of the sport, he also won six UPA Club Championships and five World Championships".
In May 2013, under Nob's leadership as President, WFDF was granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee and it was granted permanent recognition in August 2015.[1][2][3][4][5] It is now one of 42 sports that are members of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.
Notable flying disc administrative positions:
- 1976–1980 Founding member and president of Williams Ultimate Frisbee Organization (WUFO);
- 1988–1990 Executive Director, Ultimate Players Association;
- 1988–1991 Chair-Ultimate Committee, World Flying Disc Federation;
- 1991–1992 Chairman-Executive Committee of Board, Ultimate Players Association;
- 1992–1994 President, World Flying Disc Federation;
- 1995–2005 President Emeritus, Consultant, World Flying Disc Federation;
- 1992–1997 Board member, World Flying Disc Federation;
- 2006–2008 Board Executive Committee member and Treasurer, World Flying Disc Federation;
- 2009–2010 Board member, World Flying Disc Federation;
- 2011–present Investment Committee member, USA Ultimate; and
- 2011–present President, World Flying Disc Federation
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Rauch won six US National Championships and five World Championships in the sport of Ultimate, with teams including the Rude Boys, Windy City, and New York.
Rauch was inducted into the Ultimate Hall of Fame in 2006, one of only 105 members as of December 2020.
Financial career[edit]
Robert L. Rauch is a managing director at Stifel, where he focuses on the full spectrum of debt advisory across the emerging markets, from corporate and sovereign debt capital markets to liability management and debt restructuring. Before joining Stifel in March 2021, he was a senior partner and Portfolio Manager at Gramercy Funds Management LLC. Gramercy is an investment management firm with US$ 5 billion of funds under management (as of December 2019) specializing in global emerging markets. At Gramercy he oversaw investment activities and the corporate investment and restructuring group of Gramercy, and was a portfolio manager for Gramercy's distressed, high yield, and corporate funds. He was involved as a leading creditor or advisor in the restructuring of $79 billion of corporate debt across 48 emerging markets companies in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America including Accel, Alestra, Asia Pulp and Paper, Berlian Laju Tanker, BTA Bank, Consolidated Minerals, Digicel, Dina, DTEK, Durango, Essar Steel, Far East Shipping Company, Industrias Unidas, Iusacell, Mechala, Medefin, New World Resources, Odebrecht, Pacific Exploration & Production, San Luis, Satmex, SIDEK, Synkro, Tonon Bioenergia, Transtel, Tristan Oil, and Ukrlandfarming.[6] He served on the board of Satélites Mexicanos, SA de CV, the largest Mexican fixed satellite services provider, in 2006–2008, the board of TSX-listed Banro corporation, a Congolese gold miner, in 2017-2019, and the board of Credivalores, a Colombian consumer finance company, from 2014-2020.
Prior to joining Gramercy in January 2001, Rauch worked as a consultant to hedge funds managed by Van Eck Global and Farallon Capital Management, specializing in the analysis of emerging markets special situations. From 1994–1999, he was President of The Weston Group, where he was responsible for overseeing the firm's securities research and corporate debt restructuring advisory business in Latin America. In the early 1990s, Rauch worked as a Vice President with Lehman Brothers and CSFB in their Emerging Market Debt (fixed income) trading groups. In the second half of the 1980s, he was a Vice President and trader with First Interstate Bank's syndicated loan group, where he was responsible for structuring and syndicating loan facilities to highly leveraged American and Asian corporations. In 1980, he began his career with Swiss Bank Corporation in several credit and corporate finance roles.
Personal life[edit]
Rauch was born September 10, 1958 in Torrington, Connecticut. He is married with three adult children and lives in Chappaqua, NY.
Education and affiliations[edit]
Masters of Management degree in Finance and International Business from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1984; Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy from Williams College in 1980.
References and sources[edit]
- "Ultimate: The First Four Decades," co-authored Tony Leonardo and Adam Zagoria, publ. by Ultimate History, Inc., 2005, ISBN 0-9764496-0-9 Search this book on
., pages 38, 47, 62, 71-72, 74-76, 80, 84, 92, 109-110, 144, 159-162. - Rosters of US national Ultimate championship teams
- Listing of special accomplishments of individual Ultimate players
- Summary Description of Accomplishments on Ultimate Hall of Fame Web Site
- Flying Disc Biography on WFDF web site
- "They Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease," by Jon Bowermaster, Sports Illustrated, May 8, 1989, pages 6–9.
- Why the Frisbee Won't Fly At the Games in Athens, by Barry Newman, The Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2004; Page A16
- Gramercy Advisors LLC website
External links[edit]
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