Officers

William F. Quinn
Executive Chairman
Previously, Mr. Quinn served as President and CEO of American Beacon since the firm was created in 1986. He continues to serve as the Executive Vice President of the American Beacon Funds and is now the Executive Chairman of American Beacon Advisors. Mr. Quinn joined American Airlines’ former subsidiary, Sky Chefs, in 1974 and became Vice President and Controller in 1978. He served as Assistant Treasurer of American Airlines from 1979 to 1986 with responsibility for overseeing and managing the American Airlines short-term cash portfolio and pension funds. Prior to joining American Airlines, Mr. Quinn worked for Arthur Young & Company in New York. He holds a BS from Fordham University and is a New York Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Quinn recently served as Chairman of the Committee for the Investment of Employee Benefits (CIEBA), a nationally recognized organization of large corporate pension funds, and is currently a member of the Boards of the American Airlines Federal Credit Union and Crescent Real Estate Equities, Inc. In addition, Mr. Quinn serves as Advisory Director of Southern Methodist University Endowment Fund, Director of United Way of Tarrant County, and a member of the advisory boards of various private investment partnerships.

Gene L. Needles, Jr.
President and CEO
Gene L. Needles, Jr. serves as President and CEO of American Beacon and as President of the American Beacon Funds. Mr. Needles most recently served as President of Touchstone Investments, part of the Western & Southern Financial Group. Prior to this, he was with AIM Investments from 1993 through 2007 where he started as a Regional Vice President to ultimately being named the President and CEO of AIM Distributors in 2004. In this role, he was responsible for distributing products that included mutual funds, exchange traded funds, separate accounts, variable annuities, sub-advised portfolios, collective trusts, offshore funds, retirement plans and college savings plans. In addition, he worked as a Vice President at Putnam Investments and MetLife State Street before moving to AIM. Mr. Needles received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Iowa State University in 1978.

Jeffrey K. Ringdahl
Chief Operating Officer
Jeffrey K. Ringdahl serves as Chief Operating Officer of American Beacon Advisors and Vice President of American Beacon Funds. Prior to joining American Beacon in 2010, Mr. Ringdahl spent six years with Western & Southern Financial Group, including Vice President of Product Management for the company’s mutual fund subsidiary, Touchstone Investments. At Touchstone Investments, Mr. Ringdahl oversaw product development, competitive analysis, market research, and pricing. Prior to this, Mr. Ringdahl served in senior investment and operational roles with Fidelity Investments, State Street Global Advisors, and The Penobscot Group. Mr. Ringdahl received his BA in Economics from Boston University and MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Wyatt Crumpler
Vice President - Asset Management
Wyatt Crumpler serves as Vice President of Asset Management for American Beacon Advisors and is responsible for overseeing AMR Corporation’s pension plan investments and the outside investment advisors to the American Beacon Funds. Prior to joining American Beacon, Mr. Crumpler served as the Managing Director of Corporate Accounting at American Airlines, Inc. He joined American in 1994 and held a variety of jobs in the Finance, International Planning, Information Technology, and Accounting Departments. Mr. Crumpler has an MBA from Duke University and a BS from the University of Tennessee. Prior to business school, he worked in public accounting at Ernst & Young as a Certified Public Accountant.

Brian E. Brett, CFP
Vice President - Sales
Brian E. Brett serves as Vice President of Sales for American Beacon and as Vice President for the American Beacon Funds. He is responsible for business development and client relations. Mr. Brett returned to American Beacon in November 2004 after serving as the Regional Vice President for Neuberger Berman, where he managed the sales and servicing of National and Key Accounts for a variety of financial products over 11 states. His experience includes over five years with American Beacon as Director of Brokerage Services. Mr. Brett received his BBA from Texas A&M University in Accounting and is a Certified Financial Planner.

Michael W. Fields
Chief Fixed Income Officer
Michael W. Fields has served as Chief Fixed Income Officer, since August 1988 and Vice President of the American Beacon Funds since February 1989. Prior to joining American Beacon, he held several managerial positions with American Airlines’ Treasury Department, various financial positions with Sky Chefs and worked for the public accounting firm of Peat, Marwick and Mitchell in New York. Mr. Fields co-authored the American Beacon Advisors’ original business plan in 1986 and is a founding member of the firm. He received his BS in Accounting from Manhattan College in 1976.

Melinda G. Heika
Vice President - Finance and Accounting
Melinda Heika serves as Vice President of Finance and Accounting for American Beacon Advisors and Treasurer of the American Beacon Funds. She is responsible for directing the organization’s financial activities, including treasury, accounting, tax, audit, financial planning, financial control and oversight of the mutual fund accounting agent. Mrs. Heika joined American Beacon Advisors in July 1997 serving as a Senior Analyst and Controller. Prior to joining American Beacon Advisors, she managed financial reporting for Liberte’ Investors Inc. and First Nationwide Bank. Mrs. Heika started her career with Ernst & Young after receiving a BS in Finance and Accounting from Central Michigan University.

Rosemary K. Behan
Vice President - Legal and Compliance
Rosemary K. Behan joined American Beacon Advisors in January 2006 as Vice President, Legal and Compliance. Prior to joining American Beacon, Ms. Behan served as Assistant General Counsel of First Command Financial Planning, Inc., a financial planning organization registered with the NASD 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. From 1989 to 1990 she served as a Briefing Attorney for the Court of Appeals for the Second Judicial District of Texas. Ms. Behan received her JD from St. Mary’s University in 1989 and her BA from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1983. Ms. Behan 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.

Terri L. McKinney
Vice President - Enterprise Services
Terri L. McKinney serves as Vice President, Enterprise Services for American Beacon Advisors, Inc. She joined American Beacon in 1996 and has been responsible for the oversight of the Operations team since 2004. Ms. McKinney joined American Beacon after managing the Equity Administration group 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 in 1986.