E. Lee Hennessee

Elizabeth Lee Hennessee (September 1, 1952 – October 29, 2016), also known as Lee Hennessee-Gradante, was an American pioneer hedge fund manager, noted as one of the most powerful women in New York, she was also Campaign Finance chair for Elizabeth Dole's Presidential run. Hennesse and her husband Charles J. Gradante founded and managed the Hennessee Group LLC hedge fund for many years.

Hennessee was born on September 1, 1952 to William E. Hennessee and Mary Frances Dillon in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her father was the senior vice president of advertising and tobacco sales at the Dillon Supply Company. Lee graduated from Randolph-Macon Women's College. After graduating, Hennessee worked as a teacher for one year.

In 1976. Hennessee started her business career at Thomson McKinnon Securities, where she executed institutional and retail sales. Later, Hennessee founded the first and prominent hedge fund consultancy. She started the Hennessee Hedge Fund Advisory Group in 1987 as a division of E.F. Hutton, later moving it to Shearson Lehman, Republic National Bank, and the investment firm Weiss, Peck and Greer. In 1997, along with her husband, Charles J. Gradante, she transformed the operation into a stand-alone company, the Hennessee Group LLC. The Hennessee Group managed as much as $1.6 billion and helped wealthy clients choose hedge funds. In 2013, Hennessee Group sold off its hedge fund advisory to Terrapin Asset Management. It retained its Hennessee Hedge Fund Index. Hennessee was a featured hedge fund expert in the media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

In 2007, The New York Post named Hennessee to its list of the city's 50 most powerful women.

Hennessee met Charles J. Gradante in 1991, and they married on October 31, 1992 at the St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York. Hennessee died in Palm Beach on October 29, 2016.