2022-2023 CAADFW Board of Directors

CAADFW is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, incorporated in Texas.  Our self-sustaining board votes the new board into position every two years.  We have one public meeting per year open to all members of CAADFW.

If you would like to participate in a leadership role, either as an officer of the Board or as part of one or more committees, please contact [email protected].  

Our current Board of Directors:

Aashik Khakoo
(CC'91)
President

Aashik Khakoo was born in Uganda and grew up in the Bronx, New York. He graduated from Columbia College in 1991 and then served two years in the US Navy. Aashik served 20 years in the Beverage Alcohol Industry where he held Finance, Strategy It and Management type roles. His last role in that industry, Regional CFO for Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, moved his family to Dallas, Texas, where he currently resides. 

Through the sequence of nontraditional but ultimately fortuitous circumstances, including becoming a man of Christian Faith, Aashik‘s career took him from the for-profit industry to the nonprofit, where he first served as a volunteer for a charity called Wipe Out, Kids’ Cancer, and then became their CEO from 2020-2022. 

Aashik has recently started his own organization called Life Concierge IXIX, a company that helps people navigate their life journeys in four aspects: Career Planning, Real Estate, Wealth Management, and Mental Health Advocacy. He recently published a podcast about his mental health journey for Mental Health Awareness Month in May, 2023.

Aashik loves being a father to his three boys, Wesley, age 20, Cully, 18, and Theo, 15. He also enjoys golf, music, art, fashion, cooking, tennis and connecting people to help reach their dreams.

Lester Wigler
(GSAS '80)
Vice President & Treasurer

Lester Wigler is a Financial Advisor, Portfolio Management Director and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Lester helps families manage their wealth for a successful life and substantial legacy through his trademarked process, WealthCase®. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Lester served as founder and president of an institutional investment consulting firm advising his clients on capital planning and customized portfolios. Before launching his firm, Lester managed financial risk management activities at Accenture. He also was an officer on the capital markets desk of JPMorgan Chase, responsible for the sales, trading and structuring of tailored
transactions.

Lester currently serves as Treasurer with the Columbia University Alumni Association Club of Dallas Fort Worth. He is a member of the Dallas Estate Planning Council, the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and the Plano Chamber of Commerce.

Lester earned a Master of Business Administration in international finance from New York University, a Master of Arts from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Queens College, CUNY.

Ina Sturlis
(GS'14)
Vice President

Ina Sturlis is a Vice-President at JP Morgan, where she holds a role of a Product Manager on the Wholesale Credit Risk Product team in Dallas, Texas. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Ina worked as a Business Analyst and Credit Officer in multiple financial institutions in Southern California (Bank of the West, Umpqua Bank, Axos Bank).

She graduated with a degree in Financial Economics from Columbia University and holds multiple Product Management certifications from Cornell University and Product School in Silicon Valley.

Ina is originally from Vilnius, Lithuania and is multi-lingual (fluent in Russian and Lithuanian). In her free time, she loves traveling the world, volunteering in the orphanages in Mexico and practicing yoga and meditation. She is certified in Kundalini Yoga and is passionate about spirituality, wellness, and mental health.

Ina has joined CAADFW board in December 2022 and prior to that served as a Vice-President of Columbia Alumni Association of San Diego for 7 years.

Jose Colon
(CC '84)
Board Member

A legacy student of a TC ’71 graduate, Jose is a CC ’84 alum who was born and raised in NYC walking distance from the Columbia University campus. His more than three-decade executive career in software technology has afforded him global travel for a broad cultural, political and spiritual perspective. 

He has served CAADFW in multiple leadership roles for the past seven years and has also served in ARC orchestrated interviewing of local undergraduate candidates. He enjoys fly fishing (for which he is a certified casting instructor with Fly Fishers International), kayaking, photography and active participation in church ministries serving the community.

He is married with four adult children and four precious grandchildren.

Pedram Radfar
(GSAS'15)
Board Member, Membership Committee & Event Lead

Pedram Radfar, originally from Northern New Jersey, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from UNC Chapel Hill and a Master of Arts in Human Rights from Columbia University.

After working at several startups in Manhattan, he relocated to Dallas, Texas, to pursue a managerial sales role in the software industry.

Currently, Pedram serves as a Manager at Crestron Electronics, where he oversees a team responsible for inquiries, marketing leads, and ensuring operational efficiency and exceptional customer experiences. Alongside his professional responsibilities, Pedram is a licensed real estate agent in Texas and enjoys exploring diverse cuisines, maintaining his physical fitness, and traveling to new destinations.