People

Chris M. Kanoff

Chris M. Kanoff (Business '79) is the Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Capital Markets at Jefferies. With more than 40 years of investment banking expertise, he began his career in 1984 in the Corporate Finance Department of Drexel Burnham Lambert. He has worked at Jefferies since 1991, where he has served in various capacities, including Global Head of Investment Banking. He currently serves on Jefferies Executive Committee, Jefferies Family Office Board and is Chairman of Jefferies Family Scholarship Fund.

Mr. Kanoff received his BA from the University of California at...

Tina Walton

Tina Walton (East Asian Languages and Economics ‘91) is an author, most recently of the young adult novel "Last Days of the Morning Calm", a palace intrigue set in 1895 Korea. Ms. Walton was born in Korea before moving to Orange County as a child. She started her career working in investment banking, following her graduation from Berkeley with degrees in Economics and East Asian Languages. She earned a M.A. in Economics from the University of Washington in 1994, and an M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2016.

Tina and her husband,...

David Walton

David Walton (JD in Law ‘86) is a retired international aviation executive. In a career spanning thirty-five years, held key roles in various prestigious organizations, including Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at BOC Aviation, Chief Operating Officer at Aircastle Advisor LLC, Chief Legal Officer at Boullioun Aviation Services, Inc., Counsel at Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, and Partner at Perkins Coie LLP.

Mr. Walton earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1983 before completing his JD at UC Berkeley in 1986.

Liz Lawler

Liz (Political Science ‘87) Lawler was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she attended Marlborough School. She went on to graduate from UC Berkeley in 1987 with a B.A. in Political Science.

Liz and her husband Greg ('86) raised three children and have three grandchildren. During that time Liz worked in advertising, worked as a realtor, and engaged in philanthropic efforts to support disadvantaged youth. In recent years, she has become politically engaged as an appointed City Better Streets Commissioner and as an elected City Councilmember and Mayor. In the last two election...

Matthew Lynde

Dr. Matthew Lynde (Economics ‘79, Economics PhD ‘87) heads Cornerstone Research’s intellectual property (IP) practice and provides expert testimony and consulting in applied economics. His work covers a range of cases, including IP, antitrust and competition, securities litigation, and breach of contract.

Dr. Lynde joined Cornerstone Research in 2002 and has served as head of the San Francisco office. He has more than thirty-five years of experience as an applied economist in government, academic, and commercial environments. The National Law Journal named Dr. Lynde as a trailblazer...

Sandeep Kunwar

Dr. Sandeep Kunwar (Neurobiology '88) is a neurosurgeon specializing in pituitary tumors, including craniopharyngiomas. He uses minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat patients with these disorders. He cares for pediatric patients in collaboration with the pediatric neurosurgery team. He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholar from 1991-1992, received the Press Resident Research Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgery, and has been named one of the Best Doctors in America every year since 2006. Dr. Kunwar is co-founder of startup Precision...

Mary Ellen Kanoff

Mary Ellen (Economics '78; JD Law '84) is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Peninsula Pacific, a private equity firm in Los Angeles, where she serves on the Management Committee and is responsible for the legal and business affairs of the firm. Prior to joining Peninsula Pacific, she served as a corporate M&A partner at Latham & Watkins for over 25 years.

Mary Ellen has served as a Trustee on the UC Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees for twelve years, serving as an active member of the External Affairs committee and in multiple fundraising events for the...

Jack Dittoe

John “Jack” Dittoe (Business Administration ‘76) is a fourth-generation San Franciscan and a resident of Piedmont, CA with his wife Alanna, Jack earned his B.S. in Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley in 1976 and his law degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly known as Hastings College of the Law) in 1979. Thereafter, he was in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, first as a partner in Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May (1979-2002), then as a partner in Reed Smith LLP (2003-2015) and then in his own firm (2016-2024). Over his 45...