DeFred G. Folts III elected chair of Connecticut College Board of Trustees
DeFred (Fritz) G. Folts III, a 1982 Connecticut College graduate and co-founder, managing partner and chief investment strategist at 3EDGE Asset Management in Boston, has been elected to serve as chair of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2018. Folts succeeds Pamela D. Zilly '75 who has served on the board since 2005 and as chair since 2012.
“I am honored to assume leadership of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees,” Folts said. “Under Pam’s leadership, the College has made great strides in ensuring that Conn continues to provide a liberal arts and sciences education that is both highly relevant and second to none, with graduates who are uniquely prepared for the challenges and opportunities of today’s global society.”
President Katherine Bergeron said Folts is a dynamic and engaged leader who becomes chair at an opportune time in Connecticut College’s history.
“The College recently completed a strategic plan that builds on our strength by further enhancing the quality of our academic, residential and community experience. As Fritz assumes his role, we are preparing to launch the most ambitious fundraising campaign in our history,” Bergeron said. “Fritz is uniquely positioned to carry forward Pam’s legacy while also bringing new passions to bear on his leadership of the board.”
During Zilly’s tenure, Connecticut College opened a state-of-the-art science center, built the Zachs Hillel house, created the Walter Commons for Global Study and Engagement, and reopened the Charles E. Shain Library after a transformational renovation. The College also launched Connections, a new kind of curriculum that lets students integrate their interests into a meaningful educational pathway that carries them through college and into a fulfilling, effective career and life.
Folts is a resident of Concord, Massachusetts, and currently serves as a vice chair of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. Elected to the Board in 2012, Folts also chairs the Finance Committee and serves on the investment subcommittee for the college endowment.
3EDGE Asset Management is known for its use of proprietary investment research methods including the application of concepts from system dynamics, complexity economics and multi-player game theory to analyze the cause and effect relationships that drive the global capital markets. Folts has been quoted regularly in the financial press and spoken at numerous investment conferences on the topic of global investing. He was also featured as an expert investment strategist in Barron’s. In 2013, he was invited by President Barack Obama to take part in a leadership roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C. On campus, he has been actively involved in career programming initiatives for students and in supporting students who are planning careers in finance and investment management.
Folts majored in government at Connecticut College, where he was a member of the men’s varsity lacrosse team for three years and served as the program director at WCNI, Connecticut College’s radio station. He earned an MBA from Instituto Estudios Superiores de la Empresa (IESE), a full-time bilingual Spanish-English MBA program in Barcelona, Spain, in 1991. He also serves on the U.S. Advisory Council for IESE Business School in Barcelona.
