New York Forum 2024

Elise Ablin is a Director on Cresset’s Private Investments Team. She manages Cresset’s platform for private credit investing in external funds, co-investments, and related opportunities, in partnership with leading third-party, private asset managers.
Prior to joining Cresset, Elise held various corporate underwriting and business development roles in BMO’s Commercial Bank after completing the bank’s commercial analyst development program.

Elise earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Spanish from Rollins College.

Soyoun Ahn joined Temasek in July 2017 in the New York office and serves as Managing Director on the Credit and Hybrid Solutions team. Soyoun’s work experience has focused on credit-oriented principal investing and leveraged financings. She previously held positions at TPG Special Situations Partners (now operating as Sixth Street Partners) and J.P. Morgan’s Syndicated & Leveraged Finance Group. Soyoun received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Akhil Bansal is a Managing Director and Head of Credit Strategic Solutions, an investment strategy that invests in private credit, structured financings backed by portfolios of assets and investments and Co-Portfolio Manager for Carlyle’s Revolving Loan strategy. In addition, Akhil works closely with Fortitude Re, Carlyle’s strategic insurance investment, to invest in private fixed income and credit on behalf of Fortitude’s balance sheet. Akhil is a member of the Carlyle Structured Solutions Investment Committee and Carlyle Revolving Loan Fund Investment Committee. He is based in New York.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Akhil was a Director at KKR, where he worked across the credit asset management, capital markets and balance sheet segments in a variety of projects spanning principal investing, strategy, joint ventures, and other strategic initiatives. Prior to joining KKR, he worked in investment banking at Bear Stearns and J.P. Morgan in a multi-disciplinary role across M&A, leveraged finance and equity and debt capital markets.

Akhil holds Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses.

He earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Zak Bentley is Americas editor at Infrastructure Investor, based in New York. Zak joined Infrastructure Investor in London in 2016 from Centaur where he was a reporter at their Clean Energy Pipeline title. He now leads Infrastructure Investor’s coverage across the Americas region and has a detailed knowledge and experience of the financial and regulatory aspects of the global infrastructure market. He is also editor of Infrastructure Investor’s weekly newsletter The Pipeline. Zak has a degree in English and History from the University of Birmingham.

Ms. Benza serves as Investment Manager for the General Electric Pension focused on the private markets. She previously worked for Abbott Capital, where she was most recently a Principal and a member of the Investment Committee. Before joining Abbott, she was a Vice President with DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, an Associate with THL Partners, and a Mergers & Acquisitions Analyst with Merrill Lynch. Ms. Benza received a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from NYU Stern and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Fran Beyers, Managing Director, is the Head of Capital Markets at Cliffwater, an investment advisory and asset management firm specializing in alternative investments, including private equity, private debt, hedge funds, real assets, and real estate.
Fran is also a co-portfolio manager for the firm’s $21 billion flagship interval fund, Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX). Fran is responsible for sourcing middle market lending opportunities and maintaining manager relationships to support Cliffwater’s rapidly growing multi-manager private debt asset management business. Fran also manages Cliffwater’s proprietary and widely used direct lending index, the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI).

Prior to joining Cliffwater, Fran served as the Head of Analysis for Middle Market Loans at Refinitiv LPC. While in this role, she provided data, analytics and created web-based products for the direct lending market. Prior to that, she held positions at Churchill Asset Management focused on middle market leveraged financings for private equity portfolio companies. She began her career at J.P. Morgan, with roles including Ratings and Capital Structure Advisory and Credit Portfolio Management.

Fran has been acknowledged as a thought leader for her research, commentary, analysis and data collection for the direct lending and middle market asset class for over a decade and is frequently cited by media outlets.

Fran received her B.S.B.A. from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.

Graham Bippart is a financial journalist with more than a decade of experience across a broad swath of the international financial markets.

Beginning his journalistic career covering commercial real estate securitization markets for Euromoney Institutional Investor in New York, Graham then took on editing the company’s securitization-dedicated news site while covering collateralized loan obligations. He then joined as fixed income editor and financial institutions editor at GlobalCapital in London, where he covered bank bond and capital issuance, capital markets regulations from Basel IV to MiFID II and more. Afterwards, he became an associate editor at the company’s flagship publication, Euromoney magazine, reporting on everything from sovereign restructurings, to accounting firms, to the impact of Brexit on capital markets, Libor transition and much else.

He now edits Private Funds CFO in New York, focusing on all things finance, accounting, compliance, human resources, technology, cybersecurity and fund finance for private markets CFOs, COOs and CCOs. His work often appears in Private Equity International and other PEI Group publications.

Graham graduated from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He lives in Brooklyn.

Bill Brady works with many of the market’s most active private credit investors and direct lenders. He advises complex finance transactions and credit arrangements, including financings that include multiple tranches of debt. He regularly structures and negotiates a wide range of financing facilities, such as mezzanine debt, second-lien loans, unitranche facilities, first-out/last-out and term "B" facilities, and holdco note purchases.

Bill has extensive experience in intercreditor and interlender issues, secured creditor and bankruptcy rights and debt restructurings. He regularly negotiates intercreditor and subordination agreements, agreements among lenders and other complex interlender agreements.

Bill has structured and closed more than 300 financings in transactions valued between $25 million and $4.5 billion. He is frequently quoted in the media on private credit and other financing developments.

Isabelle Brennan rejoined LaSalle as a Senior Managing Director in 2024, having previously worked within the Investor Relations team between 2015 and 2017. As Product Specialist – Credit and Global Solutions, she works with clients on a global basis to drive capital raising efforts in these verticals, as well as ensuring that LaSalle’s strategies meet investor needs. She is a member of the Investor Relations Management Board.

Prior to joining LaSalle, Isabelle held similar roles across the Credit and Indirect platforms at CBRE IM and M&G Investments, with responsibility for capital raising and investor relations across these channels globally. Earlier in her career, Isabelle worked within the Indirect and Fund of Funds Investment teams at Henderson Global Investors, now Nuveen (EMEA) and Prupim, now M&G Real Estate (Global), underwriting, investing and managing multi-manager investments on behalf of global clients.

Isabelle received her Bachelor’s degree from Monash University, Melbourne, and holds an Master of Science in Real Estate from Cass Business School, London. She also holds UK qualifications in Psychology and Law. She is active across industry organizations, sitting on the INREV debt working group, and as Treasurer of the Cambridge Land Economy Advisory Board (CLEAB).

Nicole Byrns is an accomplished structured credit investor with 20+ year track record of private investing and financing experience at funds and financial institutions. Most recently, Ms Byrns was Managing Director at Canada’s largest pension plan, CPP Investments (CPPIB). She was a senior leader in CPPIB’s Capital Solutions Group where she focused on developing and growing the fund’s private structured credit platform. She managed $3.5bn credit portfolio that focused on asset-backed lending, specialty finance, renewables, CLOs and fintech sectors. She also led the division’s financing practices that oversaw a $47bn leverage portfolio. She was a member of the Real Assets Credit, Capital Solutions and Leveraged Finance Investment Committees.

Prior to CPP Investments, Ms. Byrns was at Deutsche Bank’s Global Credit Trading group where she developed innovative financing solutions for her clients in the fintech, aviation, mortgage and esoteric industries. Previously, she was at Garrison Investment Group and Citi where she was responsible for originating and executing asset-based financings and whole loan purchase programs.

Ms. Byrns is a distinguished writer, contributor, and conference speaker, known for her engagements at industry-leading events such as the Kayo Women’s Group and ABS East. She regularly publishes insightful articles for "Credit Check," a forum dedicated to discussing trends in the asset-based finance industry. A strong advocate for women's advancement in financial services, Ms. Byrns frequently contributes to "Balancing the Books," where she explores themes affecting women in private credit. Additionally, she has collaborated with the Structured Finance Association on various research publications and is an editorial board member for SFA’s Structured Finance Journal.

Ms Byrns received a BA from Wellesley College and an MA from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She also studied at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) as a Rotary Scholar. She serves on the board of Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement.

Thomas Cockburn is Senior Director, Corporate Credit at CDPQ. Mr. Cockburn has responsibility over origination and execution of private credit opportunities in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, he is engaged in the development and monitoring of the private debt investment strategy and portfolio.

Before joining CDPQ, Mr. Cockburn worked for Power Corporation of Canada, a diversified holding company with a focus on financial services, where he was responsible for mergers & acquisitions as well as corporate finance activities for the holding’s portfolio companies. Prior to this, he spent 8 years at GE Capital, successively in real estate M&A and in leveraged finance roles. During his tenure at the company, he was involved in the creation of Mubadala GE Capital, a structured finance joint venture between Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala and GE Capital. He later joined Mubadala GE Capital’s investments team as a Vice-President and was responsible for executing leveraged and structured finance transactions in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to his time at GE Capital, he started his career in investment banking at Desjardins Securities.

Mr. Cockburn holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Science - Finance, both from HEC Montréal.

Harrison Connery is a senior reporter at PERE, where he covers capital raising and placement. Prior to joining PERE, he worked as a residential real estate reporter at The Real Deal, where he covered the business of residential real estate brokerages and New York City’s luxury market. He got his start in journalism covering business at the Republican-American newspaper in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he also got paid to watch his favorite band, U2, in concert. Harrison graduated from Columbia University in 2022 with a master’s degree in data journalism.

Anna Dayn is a Managing Director and US head of New End, a family-office-anchored strategic advisory and capital formation firm in private markets. At New End, Anna partners and invests in high-growth companies, sponsors and investment platforms to provide business development and access to institutional capital.

Anna has over 20 years' experience in funding, designing and implementing private equity investment programs. Before New End, Anna established the North American platform of XTP, a leading cost analysis platform serving institutional investors. Anna previously served as the head of Private Equity at Cardano, a UK pension consultancy, where she oversaw a private equity program spanning $2bn of invested capital. Prior to that, Anna worked at Capital Dynamics and NM Rothschild.

Anna has served on the limited partner advisory boards of several private equity funds across North America and Europe, is a published author, media commentator, and a frequently featured speaker at investment industry conferences. She sits on the Executive Board of WAVE, the Women’s Association for Venture and Equity, and serves on the New York Steering Committee for PEWIN, the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network.
Anna received an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA in Economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, both at the University of Pennsylvania.

New End is a global institution that underwrites and invests principal capital in the opportunities originated by the team. Core activities extend to private equity, private debt, and real assets. New End partners and invests alongside asset managers, providing valuable support on strategic initiatives, including new step-out offerings and capital raising. New End has helped launch numerous first-time teams and supports emerging and established managers with capital formation and business development.

New End is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Montreal, Zurich, Paris, and Milan.

Pierre-Antoine is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 17Capital, a private credit manager specializing in NAV finance for the private equity industry. Since founding the business 2008 17Capital has raised over $13 billion and has deployed over $13 billion across 100+ investments. Pierre-Antoine has nearly 30 years of private equity experience and is a member of the investment committee, working globally on NAV financing transactions and leads the fundraising efforts. In July 2022, 17Capital announced the completion of Oaktree’s acquisition of a majority interest in 17Capital. The partnership gives 17Capital access to Oaktree’s deep global network. Prior to 17Capital, Pierre-Antoine was a Partner in Idinvest’s fund of funds (previously AGF Private Equity, part of Allianz), where he launched and led the secondary practice. Pierre-Antoine has been recognised by Financial News as one of the 50 most influential people in European private equity for three years in a row. He studied at EM Lyon and ESLSCA business school.

Don Dimitrievich is a Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for Energy Infrastructure Credit at Nuveen. He joined Nuveen in November 2022 to establish a multi-billion credit and structured equity investment business to ensure secure energy supply and provide sustainable energy solutions to decarbonize energy consumption.

Prior to joining Nuveen, Don was Head of Energy & Power and a Partner at HPS Investment Partners from 2012 where he founded the energy and power investment vertical. Previously, Don was a Managing Director of Citi Credit Opportunities, a credit-focused principal investment group. At Citi Credit Opportunities, Don oversaw the power, renewables and energy portfolio and invested in mezzanine, special situation and equity co-investments, and secondary market opportunities. Prior to joining Citi, Don worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP from 1998 to 2004 focusing on energy and power M&A and corporate finance.

Don has a law degree with Great Distinction from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a chemical engineering degree with Great Honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree (earned concurrently) from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada.

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.1 trillion in assets under management as of 30 Jun 2023 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies.

Cathy DiSalvo joined CalSTRS in Fixed Income in 2008. She spent the first ten years of her time in Fixed Income focused on the internal credit desk. For the last six years she has been leading the external manager team focusing on both public (high yield, core plus and bank loans) and private debt (direct lending).

Kerstin Dittmar is the founder and Managing Partner of L2 Point Management, a woman-owned and led manager with over $500 million in AUM. L2 Point is focused on structured equity solutions for late-stage growth companies, targeting investments intended to provide “growth-equity-like” returns at a portfolio level, with significantly lower volatility of outcomes, while addressing a risk reward gap left in between credit and equity funds. Ms. Dittmar was previously an early team member at Sixth Street, a $70+ billion AUM special situations platform. Prior to Sixth Street, Ms. Dittmar worked in the Americas Special Situations Group at Goldman Sachs. Ms. Dittmar serves on the Board of Directors of Wasabi Technologies, Fabletics, SimSpace and Revolution Foods. Ms. Dittmar received a B.A. in Economics from Duke University.

Luke Düster is a member of CRG’s Founders Group, serves as Chief Investment Officer, ESG Champion and a Member of CRG’s Investment Committee and ESG Committee. He is also responsible for portfolio management and portfolio company exits. Mr. Düster also serves on the board of directors of several CRG portfolio companies, both as a director and as an observer, and serves portfolio company senior management teams as an advisor on financial, strategic and operational initiatives. He has led investments in companies such as Neotract, Nevro, Omeros, BioDelivery Sciences, Strongbridge Biopharma, Silk Road Medical, NanoString Technologies and many others.

Prior to CRG, Mr. Düster was an investment banker at Harris Williams & Co., where he advised private equity and corporate clients across a broad range of M&A assignments. Mr. Düster also held investment banking roles at the Wallach Company, a regional investment banking boutique, and at the Nord Companies, a healthcare advisory firm.
Mr. Düster received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received an M.B.A with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.

Founded in 2003, CR Group L.P. (CRG) invests in healthcare companies to meet their growth capital needs. The Firm primarily uses senior secured term loans to provide capital to portfolio companies and, in certain cases, supplements these debt investments with equity exposure in various forms, targeting investments that it believes will generate consistent absolute returns in diverse market conditions, offer attractive current cash yields, and have strong downside protection. CRG seeks to capitalize on its deep industry knowledge to invest across all areas of the healthcare industry, including biopharma, medical devices, tools, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and services.

Mr. Fang is a Senior Portfolio Manager managing Private Credit, Private Asset Co-Investment, FICC and co-head the Theme Investment Team in Maryland State Retirement & Pension System. Mr. Fang has more than 15 years of portfolio management experience in the investment industry. Prior to joining MSRPS in 2019, Mike Fang is a Senior Fund Manager in ICMA-RC. He is responsible for developing and managing strategic asset allocations, tactical asset allocations and trading across equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes.

Prior to joining ICMA-RC in 2013, Mr. Fang worked as an Investment Strategist at T. Rowe Price. Mr. Fang’s experience includes strategic/tactical asset allocation, illiquid alternative portfolio product design, portfolio optimization, derivative pricing and risk modeling.

Mike holds a MBA from the Yale School of Management. He also received his MS in Financial Mathematics from University of Chicago, MS in Computer Science from University of Illinois at Chicago and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University.

George Fikaris is a Managing Director at EnTrust Global and serves as an Investment Analyst for the firm’s Blue Ocean strategy. Mr. Fikaris joined the firm as a Managing Director in May 2019 and has 18 years of experience in the industry. Before joining the firm, Mr. Fikaris was a Vice President of Finance at Gener8 Maritime Inc., where he was responsible for investor relations and business development. Mr. Fikaris also worked at Jefferies as an investment banker covering the maritime industry, and at CIT Bank, where he helped build the maritime loan portfolio. Mr. Fikaris holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a BS in Business Administration from The College of New Jersey.

Mary Kathleen Flynn has covered private equity for more than 15 years. MK joined PEI Group in 2021 and serves as Editor-in-Chief of PE Hub, overseeing pehub.com and pehubeurope.com and leading an editorial team that spans the US and the UK. Previously, MK served as Editor-in-Chief of Mergers & Acquisitions and held positions at The Deal, CNN, MSNBC, U.S. News & World Report and PC Magazine. She graduated from Vassar College with a major in English.

Akila Grewal is a Partner in Client and Product Solutions, where she serves as the Lead of the Institutional Product Specialist team and Co-Lead of Product Management focused on strategies in Credit across Apollo's platform. As part of her role, Akila leads a global team of professionals who work closely with internal stakeholders and external partners on capital formation across Credit, Private Equity, Real Assets and Infrastructure. Akila also sits on the Firm’s Credit Management team which helps set strategy for the credit platform and executes on key priorities. Akila sits on several committees, including the Firm’s Credit Allocations Sub-Committee and the Apollo Opportunity Foundation’s Council. Akila also serves on the not-for-profit Braven’s NYC Board as well as PK AirFinance and Stable Asset Management's Board. Prior to joining in 2016, Akila was on the Proprietary Trading and Risk Management team at Mariner Investment Group. Previously, she was in the Business Development group at MKP Capital, and she started her career at Credit Suisse on the Hedge Fund of Fund’s Portfolio Management team. Akila graduated from New York University's Stern School of Business with a BS in Finance and is a CFA charterholder.

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of March 31, 2024, Apollo had approximately $671 billion of assets under management.

Mr. Griffin founded MGG Investment Group and is the Managing Partner, CEO and CIO of the firm. In this capacity, Mr. Griffin is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm, including the investment process from origination through portfolio monitoring as well as the strategic vision for the firm.

Mr. Griffin has experience in every industry and has been investing across the capital structure for multiple decades and through several financial cycles at all times with a focus on premium risk adjusted returns. Post investment, he remains active on numerous boards of directors, currently including KLDiscovery, (NYSE: KLDI), XL Fleet (NYSE: XL), Tastes on the Fly, and GenCanna Acquisition Corp.

Prior to launching MGG, Mr. Griffin was a Managing Director with Highbridge Principal Strategies (now HPS Partners), where he was a senior member of the Specialty Lending Platform and a member of the Highbridge Credit Committee. In addition, Mr. Griffin was part of Fortress Investment Group in charge of originating and underwriting investment opportunities for the Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund. His experience also includes the Head of Private Investing for Octavian Funds, American Capital, (one of the first publicly traded BDC’s), and at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin’s Investment Banking Division.

The M&A Advisor in May 2015 named Mr. Griffin a winner of its 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders Award. The Hedge Fund Journal, in association with Ernst & Young, in December 2016 named Mr. Griffin one of 50 “Tomorrow’s Titans.”

Mr. Griffin earned his BSBA in Finance from Georgetown University and currently sits on the McDonough School of Business Board of Advisors.

Richard Grimm is a Managing Director for the Pension Practice at Cambridge Associates. With more than 20 years of investment experience, he constructs customized private credit portfolios to help his clients achieve their investment goals. He has broad geographic investment experience, having completed investments in 14 countries and reviewed investments in more than 25 countries.

Before joining Cambridge Associates, Richard was a Managing Director of Value Recovery Capital, where he focused on US and European special situations, distressed, and credit opportunities. He also served on the Investment Committee. Prior to this, he spent 13 years as an investor with Soros Fund Management and successor entities, including TowerBrook Capital Partners, and Camulos Capital, the former credit arm of SFM. Earlier in his career, Richard worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette where he focused on leveraged finance origination, as well as with Goldman Sachs’ Permanent Capital Strategies group.

Richard received his BA in Economics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences from Northwestern University. He carries dual US/UK citizenship.

Since joining 17Capital in 2019, Greg Hardiman has sourced, led and/or executed investments representing over $3 billion in capital, spanning NAV loans and preferred equity. During his time at the firm, Hardiman has helped lead the development of 17Capital’s management company financing offering, providing private equity sponsors with solutions to drive franchise growth. He is also an active contributor to the firm’s capital raising efforts. He works closely alongside 17Capital’s recently expanded investor relations and investment teams to source deal opportunities and build out the firm’s relationships with top US investors and managers. Greg holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Villanova University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Patrick Hartman is a senior member of Barings’ Global Private Finance Group. He is responsible for originating, executing, underwriting, and monitoring North American private finance investments. Patrick has worked in the industry since 2007. Prior to joining the firm in 2015, he held various investment banking roles at BMO Capital Markets, most recently as a vice president in the bank's debt capital markets group where he focused on the origination, structuring, underwriting, and syndication of new leveraged loans and high-yield bonds.  Patrick has a B.A. in economics from Lake Forest College.

Carolyn Hastings is a Partner in the Private Credit Group at Bain Capital Credit, a leading global credit specialist with approximately $49 billion in assets under management. She is based in Bain Capital Credit’s Boston office and serves as a member of the firm’s Credit Committee. The Private Credit Group focuses on global direct lending opportunities across the capital structure to companies with EBITDA ranging from $10M to $150M. Throughout her tenure in the Private Credit Group, Carolyn has held origination, underwriting and portfolio monitoring responsibilities and has partnered with dozens of private equity sponsors to finance companies in the technology, telecom, healthcare, consumer and hospitality industries. Prior to joining Bain Capital Credit in 2008, Carolyn was an Associate at Thomas H. Lee Partners and an analyst in the Healthcare Group in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs & Co.

Carolyn received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, a B.S.Ec. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

As Chief Economist for the Americas and Deputy Head of Group Economic and Sigma Research, Thomas is responsible for thought leadership research. This includes the sigma studies — Swiss Re’s research series on the insurance industry — and various other publications.
Thomas and his team support Swiss Re’s strategic planning with forecasts and analysis of the macroeconomic environment, financial markets and insurance and reinsurance markets. Recent areas of insurance research include the reset of interest rates and cost of capital, the impact of inflation on insurance, non-economic liability claims drivers such as litigation funding, the impact of technology on insurance value chains and risk pools, and resilience and protection gaps.

Thomas joined the Swiss Re Group in 1990 and has worked in Germany and Switzerland and the US. Prior experiences include marketing services, treaty underwriting, business development and competitor analysis.

Thomas graduated from the University of Munich with a M.S. and a Ph.D. in economics.

Daniel Humphrey Rodriguez is PDI’s Head of Private Markets Research. Based in London, he is responsible for leading PDI’s research and analysis of private market GPs globally. He is also responsible for a number of leading market rankings and reports such as the PDI 100 and PEI 300. Daniel graduated from Royal Holloway University of London with an Upper Second class Honours degree in Mathematics and Management.

Vincent Indelicato is the Global Co-Head of Restructuring and a Partner in the Corporate Department of Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law firm.

Over the last decade, Vincent has played a lead role on some of the most significant corporate reorganization cases in the United States, including Caesars Entertainment, Westinghouse Electric, MF Global and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He currently serves as lead restructuring counsel to the National Basketball Association and thirteen of its member teams in the high-profile chapter 11 cases of Diamond Sports, a multi-billion dollar subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and actively represents some of the largest private credit managers in the world, including, Apollo, Ares, Benefit Street, Blue Owl and KKR.

Ken serves as President and CEO of Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen, the asset management arm of TIAA, a Fortune 500 financial services company. He also serves as Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE: NCDL) and Nuveen Churchill Private Capital Income Fund (PCAP), Churchill’s publicly registered business development companies.

Churchill currently manages over $50 billion in committed capital and focuses on providing senior, unitranche and junior debt financing and making equity co-investments and fund commitments to leading private equity investment firms and their portfolio companies. Churchill is among the most active private capital managers in the U.S., annually investing approximately $11 billion in over 250 distinct transactions.

Throughout his over 35-year career in the investment industry, he has accrued a broad range of experience in leading private credit investment businesses. Previously, Ken served as a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, where he also served as President and a Director of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (Carlyle’s publicly traded business development company). Prior to that he founded and was President and CEO of Churchill Financial Group, served as Head of Leveraged Finance for Royal Bank of Canada and was Head of Indosuez Capital, a leading middle market merchant banking and asset management business in partnership with Credit Agricole Group. Ken was also a founder of the high yield finance business at Chase Securities (now JP Morgan Chase). He began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Drexel Burnham Lambert. He regularly appears as a guest commentator on private credit markets on Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. In 2023, Ken was named by Private Debt Investor as “One of the 30 ChangeMakers” who helped shape the private debt industry over the past decade.

Ken graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He serves on the Pension Investment Advisory Committee for the Archdiocese of New York, the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Canisius High School (a private Jesuit Preparatory school in Buffalo, NY), the Advisory Board of Teach for America (Connecticut), and the Milken Institute’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Asset Management Executive Council. Ken is a former member of the Board of Advisors and Adjunct Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Avi Korn joined KKR in 2018 and co-heads the Asset Based Finance group within the firm’s Credit business. The Asset-Based Finance group focuses on non-corporate, private credit investments which are backed by financial or hard assets. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Korn was a portfolio manager at BlueMountain Capital Management where he focused on debt and equity investments within asset-based finance. Previously, Mr. Korn was a vice president at J.P. Morgan on the asset-backed security principal investment management team. Mr. Korn holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Daniel Liechtenstein is the co-founder and CEO of Hypercore, a pioneering company that offers a data-first loan management platform for non-bank commercial lenders. Hypercore’s mission is to simplify and streamline the management of loans, funding, and client data. As a serial entrepreneur, Daniel has extensive experience leading Fintech ventures and software development projects, including core banking systems and open banking APIs. His expertise lies at the intersection of finance and technology, where he consistently drives innovation and efficiency. Daniel holds an MSc in Financial Mathematics and a BA in Economics and Business Management.

Hypercore is at the forefront of loan management with a data-first approach. We provide cloud-based solutions tailored for commercial non-bank lenders, aiming to simplify and streamline the handling of loans, funding, and client data. Our goal is to help lenders scale effectively and stand out in the competitive lending environment.

The strength of our user-friendly platform lies in its ability to be customized, manage collateral data efficiently, and offer flexible configurations for personalized financing models.

Matt Lisonbee joined CalSTRS in 2012 and is an Associate Portfolio Manager on the Innovative Strategies team. Matt has underwritten, managed, and/or overseen a variety of strategies including investments in public equity, private equity, risk parity, commodities, and private credit. Beginning in 2017, Matt’s primary focus has been private credit including investments in direct lending, asset-backed leasing, and specialty finance. Matt holds a BS from Brigham Young University and an MSBA from California State University, Sacramento. He is a CFA charterholder, CAIA charterholder, and a CPA.

Prior to founding Willow Tree, Timothy Lower, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, was a founding member of the direct lending business of Ares, which grew from $165 million in AUM at inception in 2004 to over $30.7 billion by 2016. He was a Partner and served on the investment committee for the firm’s flagship direct lending platform, Ares Capital Corporation. Prior to joining Ares in 2004, he was a member of the investment team at the Royal Bank of Canada where he focused on making senior and junior debt investments to private middle market companies across a wide variety of industries. Prior to Royal Bank of Canada, Mr. Lower worked in the Investment Banking division of Salomon Brothers/Citigroup. Mr. Lower graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance.

Amir Madden is Senior Portfolio Manager on the Alternative Credits team at APG Asset Management US. He has over 25 years of investment experience. Amir is currently responsible for the selection and monitoring of external managers with a focus on the US markets. Before joining APG US, Amir Madden was a Portfolio Manager and Investment Committee Member at GAM USA working on the Alternative Investments Solutions (AIS) team. His responsibilities include overseeing private credit, event driven and US equity investments and managing both diversified and strategy focused portfolios for clients. Prior to joining GAM in August 2002, he spent two years at JP Morgan Private Bank in the multi-manager investment advisory group performing manager due diligence, having previously worked at Jennison Associates LLC. Amir Madden holds an MBA in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University and a BBA in International Finance and Marketing from the University of Miami. He is based in New York.

APG is one of the largest pension services providers in the Netherlands. APG manages €569 (year-end 2023) on behalf of Dutch pension fund clients, investing globally in the public and private markets. As a long-term investor, APG aims to achieve both financial and societal returns for the funds served so that their 4.6 million participants can enjoy a good pension in a livable world. APG has offices in Amsterdam, Heerlen, and Brussels, and asset management subsidiaries in New York (APG US), Hong Kong and Singapore (APG Asia).

Kevin Magid is President of Audax Private Debt, a leading debt capital partner based in New York. He joined Audax Group in 2000 and established and has led Audax Private Debt since its inception. Kevin is responsible for overseeing all facets of Audax’ debt business, including origination, underwriting, and portfolio management as well as setting the business’ strategic direction. For over 37 years, Kevin has invested in or raised senior debt, high yield debt, junior debt and equity financing for companies and private equity sponsors in a wide range of industries.

Prior to joining Audax Private Debt, Kevin spent over 13 years as a leveraged finance professional and served as a Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance/Merchant Banking Group of CIBC World Markets Corp. Kevin started his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert, and also worked at Wasserstein Perella and Kidder Peabody, principally in a leveraged finance role.

Kevin received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University.

Ms. Malhotra joined Golub Capital in 2011 and is a Managing Director on the Direct Lending team. She is responsible for underwriting, executing and monitoring investments for the Firm. Prior to joining Golub Capital, Ms. Malhotra worked at Wind Point Partners, where she executed private equity investments in middle market companies. Ms. Malhotra began her career in the Investment Banking division at J.P. Morgan, where she advised clients on mergers and acquisitions as well as debt and equity financings.
Ms. Malhotra earned her double major cum laude and with honors in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences and Economics from Northwestern University. She received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mr. McCurdy is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Origination in the Corporate Credit Group. He leads Guggenheim’s effort in sourcing and structuring directly negotiated transactions for both middle market private debt investments and larger underwritten co-arranger transactions. He is a member of the Investment Committee and a portfolio manager. Mr. McCurdy was previously Co-Head of Research and has been with Guggenheim Partners since 2004. Mr. McCurdy continues to be active in Guggenheim’s European Lending business based in Dublin, Ireland, an office he helped establish from 2007 to 2009. Mr. McCurdy received a B.A. in History from Williams College.

As Chief Investment Officer and Deputy Comptroller for Asset Management, Steven Meier, oversees the five pension systems that compose the New York City retirement systems.

Mr. Meier brings over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, previously serving as Assistant Treasurer and Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Connecticut Office of the State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden, overseeing the investments of Connecticut’s $40 billion public pension system and its ESG initiatives. Before joining the Connecticut state treasurer’s office, Meier spent more than a decade at State Street Global Advisors, where he rose to Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income, Currency, and Cash Management, overseeing over $900 billion in assets.

Prior to his time at State Street, he worked at Credit Suisse as Director, Global Head of Fixed Income & Money Market Electronic Trading and Senior Trader in the Global Financing Group at Credit Suisse. His experience also includes roles at Oppenheimer Capital, Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, and Irving Trust Company.

Meier is a CFA Charter Holder and certified Financial Risk Manager. He holds an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business and a BBA from Hofstra University’s Zarb School of Business.

Rich is an editorial leader with more than 25 years of experience in financial journalism. In his role at PEI Group, he leads the editorial teams for a group that includes Private Equity International, Buyouts, PE Hub, Venture Capital Journal, Private Funds CFO and Regulatory Compliance Watch. Previously he was Editorial Director for Banking & Capital Markets at Arizent, where he oversaw editorial at American Banker, The Bond Buyer and Mergers & Acquisitions, among other titles. Earlier, he was a reporter and editor at Reuters in New York, eventually leading the service’s Wall Street desk. Prior to journalism, Rich worked in the Valuation Group at Deloitte. He lives in Montclair, N.J., with his wife, daughters and pandemic-adopted puppy.

Michael M. Mezzacappa is the co-head of Proskauer’s Private Credit Group and a member of the Corporate Department. His practice focuses on representing agents, lenders and borrowers in a variety of complex financings and credit arrangements, including acquisition financings (sponsor-led and strategic acquisitions and "going private" transactions, to name a few), dividend recapitalization financings, asset¬ based loans, cash flow loans, special situations loans, DIP loans, bridge financings and cross-border and multi-currency loans. He has extensive experience representing agents and lenders in multi-tiered financing facilities, second-lien and unitranche loan facilities (including "B" loans and other "last out" structures), mezzanine and subordinated debt facilities, distressed debt facilities and intercreditor and subordination agreements. Michael also advises on distressed investing, debt restructuring and workouts.

In his role, Greg is focused on shaping Alter Domus’ strategy for lenders and debt fund managers globally and oversees business relationship management for Alter Domus' North America fund administration group.

An experienced financial executive, Greg has over 15 years of broad-based financial services expertise. Previously, Greg managed the Specialty Bank Loans team within LaSalle Bank’s Global Securities and Trust Services group. Greg’s initial service in the financial sector includes experience working as an equity options market maker at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, as well as a financial analyst and Y2K consultant with other financial institutions.

Greg graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business, with a concentration in Finance and a minor in French.

Ms. Napolitano is a Managing Director of Investor Relations and leads the firm’s investor relations activities. She joined the Investment Manager in 2016 and has 21 years of industry experience. She previously worked in investor relations and investment banking at Credit Suisse. Ms. Napolitano graduated cum laude from Georgetown University (B.S., 2002).

Eric is responsible for treasury, investment management, and pension fund accounting. He serves as a Trustee on the Classified Employees Retirement Fund Board, Other Post-Employment Benefit (OPEB) Board, Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Board and is a member of the City’s Investment Advisory Committee. Eric is a Trustee on the Town of Fairfield Employee Retirement Board and Joint Retirement Investment Board. He served as the Treasurer for thirty-seven special purpose funding entities.
Prior to entering government finance, Eric held finance positions at Royal Bank of Scotland, IBM Global Financing, Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Price Waterhouse and Soros Fund Management. Eric served as a member of the NYSSCPA Private Equity and Venture Capital Committee and Investment Management Committee.
Eric received his B.B.A. in Accounting from Adelphi University; Certificate in Investment Banking from New York University, M.B.A. in Finance from Sacred Heart University and is pursuing a Corporate Finance Certificate from Harvard University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Craig Noble is Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield’s Credit business. In this role, he is responsible for investments, operations, and the expansion of the Credit business. The Credit business encompasses credit strategies across Brookfield credit funds and insurance accounts, and Brookfield's partnerships with affiliated managers including Oaktree Capital and LCM Partners, and manages over $200 billion in capital for institutional investors, insurance companies and individual investors.

Mr. Noble joined Brookfield in 2004 and has held a variety of senior roles across private and public markets, including most recently CEO of Alternative Investments. Mr. Noble previously held investment roles in credit and infrastructure and was the CIO and CEO of Brookfield's Public Securities Business. Prior to Brookfield, Mr. Noble spent five years with Bank of Montreal focused on corporate lending and corporate finance.

Mr. Noble holds a Master of Business Administration degree from York University, a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mount Allison University and is a CFA charterholder.

Michelle Noyes joined AIMA in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer of AIMA's New York office and became the Association’s Head of Americas in December 2017.

Prior to AIMA, Michelle was Head of International Sales and Investor Relations for BRZ Investimentos, one of the largest independent asset managers in Brazil. While in Sao Paulo, she also served as the Brazil representative for AIMA and established the AIMA Brazil network. Michelle began her career in hedge funds as General Manager for a global conference organizer, where she launched and managed a portfolio of successful asset management and investment events. Michelle holds a B.A. and M.A. from New York University and is a CAIA Charterholder.

Jonathan Pearl joined Lord Abbett as Head of Origination for the firm’s private credit strategy in November 2023. Jonathan is responsible for our private credit origination strategy and leads the origination process for private credit investments. In addition, he is involved in the underwriting, due diligence, and credit evaluation of investment opportunities.

Previously, Jonathan was a Managing Director and Head of Sponsor Coverage for The Carlyle Group’s private credit platform, where he led the development of Carlyle’s origination strategy, and served as a member of the investment committee and an officer of Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ: CGBD), a publicly traded business development company. Prior to Carlyle, Jonathan was a Principal with Golub Capital, where he originated, underwrote, and structured senior, unitranche, and mezzanine loans to sponsor-backed companies in the middle market. During his time at Golub, Jonathan also served on Golub’s workout/restructuring and healthcare sector coverage teams. Earlier in his career, he was a Vice President with Duff & Phelps’s(now Kroll) valuation consulting platform.

Jonathan earned a BS in finance and international studies from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Lori Pomerantz is a Managing Director and the Global Head of Business Development for Private Credit, based in New York. She has been with Partners Group since 2023 and has 21 years of industry experience. Before joining Partners Group, Lori spent eight years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, most recently as a Managing Director leading the Corporate Credit Lead Portfolio Management team and the commercial efforts for the broadly syndicated loan, high yield and opportunistic credit strategies. Prior to this role, she spearheaded long-only fixed income manager selection within Goldman’s Alternative Investments and Manager Selection (AIMS) business and spent 12 years as a high yield and broadly syndicated loan credit analyst at BNP Paribas, Macquarie Capital, Citigroup and Lehman Brothers. Lori earned a BBA, with a dual concentration in Finance and Accounting, from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Doug Porter joined Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) in 2012 and is a Managing Director and Head of Alternative Credit. Doug is responsible for the Alternative Credit portfolio design and implementation of making private credit fund investments and co-investments across the direct lending, infrastructure debt, commercial real estate debt, asset-based lending, and specialty finance sectors. Prior to joining MainePERS, Doug worked for three years in portfolio management at Acadia Trust. He holds a B.S. from the College of Charleston Honors College and an M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Samantha Rowan is the editor of PERE Credit, a PEI Media publication which sits alongside Real Estate Capital Europe and PERE. Prior to joining PEI, Sam was the editor of publications that included Real Estate Finance & Investment, Securitization News, and REIT Café at both Euromoney Institutional Investor and With Intelligence. A graduate of Barnard College, Sam is the president of the Columbia University Band Alumni Association, a registered 501c3, and a past volunteer coach of the Columbia University Cycling Club.

Bill leads the investment, portfolio construction, and fundraising efforts of the Private Credit Team, and manages key relationships with general partners in North America and Europe.

Prior to joining Adams Street, Bill was head of the US Private Debt Group (at the time the Mezzanine Debt Group) at Oaktree Capital Management. In this role he developed the strategy, managed the team, and approved the investments. In conjunction with Oaktree’s in-house marketing team, Bill led the fundraising effort for each of the three funds for which he was responsible.

Prior to Oaktree, Bill worked at J.P. Morgan, where he was the Co-Head of both the Leveraged Finance Origination Team and the High Yield Capital Markets Group. Bill previously worked at NationsBank as head of the high yield business where he was responsible for the High Yield Origination Team, the High Yield Capital Markets Group, Private Placements, and NationsBridge (the banks bridge loan unit). Bill commenced his career at Bear Stearns.

Bill is Chair of the Adams Street Partners Private Credit Investment Committee and a member of the Executive Committee.

Kenneth Saffold is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at o15 Capital Partners, a private investment firm that invests both private credit and private equity in lower middle market business in the Healthcare, Business Services, and Education industries. Kenneth is primarily responsible for overall firm strategy, transaction origination and execution, and fundraising.

Previously, Kenneth was a Managing Director and a member of BlackRock’s Global Credit Platform where he was responsible for originating and executing private credit investment opportunities out of the group’s $30 billion in AUM. Kenneth also served as an Investment Committee Member for the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund, a multi-private asset class fund focused on making investments in underserved businesses and communities. Prior to BlackRock, Kenneth held roles with GE Capital and Goldman Sachs.

Kenneth currently serves as a Member of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) Investment Committee, the President of the Executive Board of Directors for Northside Youth Organization (NYO) and formerly served as Chair of the Emory Board of Visitors. Kenneth received his MBA from The Wharton School and his BA from Morehouse College.

Stelios G. Saffos, Vice Chair of Latham’s Global Capital Markets Practice and Global Chair of the Hybrid Capital Markets Practice, advises many of the world’s leading private equity sponsors, asset managers, financial institutions, and companies on investments and financings at all levels of the corporate structure, from unitranche lending and complex structured equity and mezzanine financings, to initial public offerings and traditional high yield and convertible bonds.
Mr. Saffos guides Latham’s Global Hybrid Capital team, which brings exceptional insight to investors in the junior capital market, having advised on nearly every market-leading transaction over the last 14 years, filling gaps in capital structures between senior debt and control equity, and to finance acquisitions, growth, dividend recaps, liquidity solutions, and rescue financings. He also frequently represents sponsors, private credit funds, direct lenders, lead arrangers and other financial institutions in traditional leveraged finance transactions.

Under his leadership, Latham’s Capital Markets Practice helps clients raise billions of dollars each year through all forms of capital markets products. As a global leader in IPOs with a preeminent reputation, Latham serves issuers, private equity sponsors, and investment banks in all major global financial centers, and is consistently ranked at the top of the league tables for both the volume and value of its work, establishing Latham’s capital markets brand as a beacon of thought leadership and innovation.

Eric Smith serves as the Chief Executive Officer and founding partner of Locust Point Capital. With a distinguished 25-year career focused on the seniors housing and care sectors, Mr. Smith has consistently demonstrated his expertise and commitment to this growing industry. Prior to launching Locust Point Capital in 2015, he played a key role in seven seniors housing investment funds. Throughout his career, he has been involved in over 500 transactions, collectively valued at approximately $7 billion in senior debt, mezzanine, and equity investments. Under his leadership, Locust Point Capital has become a leading capital provider in the seniors housing sector.

Founded in 2015 by Eric Smith and Dan Contardi, Locust Point Capital has emerged as a leading alternative asset manager focused on the U.S. seniors housing sector. Leveraging over two decades of combined industry experience, the firm aims to deliver consistent risk-adjusted returns to its investors, prioritizing transparency and reliability as its core principles.

Operating out of Miami, FL, with a secondary office in Red Bank, NJ, Locust Point Capital specializes in providing bridge capital to owner-operators of seniors housing facilities primarily in secondary and tertiary markets. By strategically investing across the full capital stack, including subordinate debt, preferred equity, and senior mortgage debt, the firm has solidified its role as a key capital provider within the industry. Managing over $1.4 billion, Locust Point provides institutional investors access to a resilient sector poised for continued demographic growth.

Archit joined IMCO in 2021 and is a Portfolio Manager within Global Credit. Archit has over 8 years of credit experience investing across leveraged loans, private debt, high yield bonds, and investment grade. Prior to joining IMCO, Archit worked as a Senior Principal in the private debt team at British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) where he was responsible for underwriting and executing leveraged loan transactions. Archit holds an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business, BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Matt Stoeckle is a member of the Liberty Mutual Investments (LMI) Capital Solutions team. Capital Solutions invests across the private credit spectrum in direct transactions and through partnerships with a focus on niche opportunities that take advantage of both illiquidity and complexity premia throughout market cycles. Matt is responsible for manager and direct investment sourcing, underwriting and portfolio management. He joined LMI in 2013 as an Associate on the Opportunistic Investments team and in 2016 joined the newly formed private credit initiative.

Prior to joining LMI, Matt was an Associate with Avante Mezzanine Partners and began his career as a financial institutions investment banker with Wachovia Securities.

Matt received his BS in Economics and BA in Business Administration with a Finance concentration from Elon University and his MBA from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business

Ms. Suo is the Head of Alternative Credit at the Bureau of Asset Management, Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. In this role, she is responsible for the Alternative Credit allocation of the five New York City pension systems. Prior to joining the Bureau, Ms. Suo was responsible for investment due diligence and risk oversight of various fixed income strategies at New York Life Investment Management. Previously, Ms. Suo also held risk management, trading, and portfolio management roles at PIMCO and Goldman Sachs.

Ms. Suo received her Masters of Business Administration from London Business School and her Bachelor of Science in Information and Decision Sciences from University of Science and Technology of China.

Manish Taneja is a Managing Director and Deputy Global Head of Carlyle Infrastructure Credit. He is based in New York. Carlyle Infrastructure Credit originates private investment grade, below investment grade, and mezzanine debt investments in global infrastructure projects across the power, energy, transportation, water / waste, telecom, and social infrastructure sub-sectors.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Taneja was a Managing Director and Head of International Loan Syndications and Risk Mitigation at Wells Fargo. Before joining Wells Fargo in 2013, Mr. Taneja served on WestLB’s Structured Finance Executive Committee, which was responsible for managing the firm’s project finance and infrastructure businesses, in addition to serving as WestLB’s Global Head of Loan Syndications. Prior to that, he was a key member of the power and energy investment banking and capital markets teams at Credit Suisse First Boston.

Mr. Taneja received both his MBA and B.S. in electrical engineering with honors from Carnegie Mellon University.

Andy has been with PEI Group since 2003, working on a number of titles including as Editor of Private Equity International and Senior Editor of Infrastructure Investor. Since H2 2015, he took over responsibility for Real Estate Capital and, in the first half of 2016, became Editor of Private Debt Investor. He is a regular writer for the magazines and websites and has also often contributed to our events as a panel moderator. Prior to joining PEI, Andy had senior roles at venture capital portal Venturedome.com and at Thomson Financial. Andy was voted State Street’s Alternatives Journalist of the Year in 2022.

Oliver Thym is a Partner at Thoma Bravo and leads the firm’s credit strategy, Thoma Bravo Credit. He is based in New York.

Since joining the firm, Oliver has been critical in building and establishing the firm’s credit platform and leveraging its longstanding history and expertise in enterprise software to position Thoma Bravo Credit as a lender of choice for top-tier sponsors.

Prior to joining Thoma Bravo in 2020, Oliver was Partner and Head of Private Credit in the Americas for the Merchant Banking Division at Goldman Sachs.

Oliver earned his MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He earned his BA in economics and a BS in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University.

Thoma Bravo is one of the largest software-focused investors in the world, with approximately US$142 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2024. Through its private equity, growth equity and credit strategies, the firm invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors. Leveraging Thoma Bravo's deep sector knowledge and strategic and operational expertise, the firm collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices and drive growth initiatives. Over the past 20+ years, the firm has acquired or invested in more than 480 companies representing approximately US$265 billion in enterprise value (including control and non-control investments). The firm has offices in Chicago, London, Miami, New York and San Francisco. For more information, visit Thoma Bravo's website at thomabravo.com.

Mr. Toback joined Castlelake in 2015 and is Partner and Deputy Co-chief Investment Officer. In this role, Mr. Toback is responsible for guiding and executing the firm’s global investment strategy across asset classes, overseeing the firm’s opportunistic asset and asset-based private credit fund portfolios, and supporting the growth and development of its investment teams. He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Investment Review Committee. He also sits on the Board of Directors of Itafos, an integrated producer of phosphate-based fertilizers and related products.

Mr. Toback became a partner of the firm in 2020 and previously served in portfolio management and investment roles. He has particular experience with investments in dislocated industries and corporate special situations, including leading the firm’s renewables and commodity shipping strategies. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Toback was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for transportation structured financings, focusing on the aviation and shipping industries. Mr. Toback received his B.A. in economics from Vanderbilt University. Mr. Toback speaks conversational Spanish.

David Trucano, Managing Director, is Head of Opportunistic Credit within BlackRock’s Private Debt platform. Mr. Trucano is the Lead Portfolio Manager and Chairman of the Investment Committee of BlackRock's Global Credit Opportunities fund and is the Lead Portfolio Manager responsible for BlackRock Credit Alpha. In addition, Mr. Trucano oversees certain special situations, distressed, and private credit investments across BlackRock's broader alternatives and fixed income businesses and serves on BlackRock's Private Debt Executive Committee.

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2012, Mr. Trucano was a Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners, a private investment firm managing over USD 20 billion in credit and private equity investments. During his tenure at Centerbridge, Mr. Trucano served as a Director of Dana Holdings Corp. (NYSE: DAN). From 2004 to 2007, he was with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Special Situations Group within Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities in both New York and London. Prior thereto, Mr. Trucano spent nine years working in private equity, financial restructuring advisory, and general investment banking.

Mr. Trucano earned a joint BA degree in Economics and History from Emory University and an MBA degree from the University of Chicago.

Helena Wang is a Principal in the Capital Solutions Group at CPP Investments based in the New York Office. She leads the software/technology vertical and has a broad investment mandate including 1L, 2L, unitranche, HY and pref/holdco.

Helena has been with CPP Investments for over 8 years. Prior to her current role, Helena was in investment banking at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.

Helena holds Bachelors of Mathematics and Bachelors of Business Administrations degrees from University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University respectively, she is also a CFA charterholder

Eric Wittleder is a Managing Director in Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group. In this role, Mr. Wittleder is responsible for infrastructure investment activities for Brookfield’s infrastructure debt strategy in the Americas and supports the oversight of the underwriting of global credit investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Brookfield in 2017, Mr. Wittleder worked for several leading investment banks, raising debt capital for energy and infrastructure projects in the U.S. and Latin America.

Mr. Wittleder holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University.

Gabriel Yomi Dabiri leads Polsinelli’s national Private Credit and Cross-Border Finance practice. Gabriel also serves as Office Managing Partner of Polsinelli’s New York office.

Gabriel advises lenders, private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers on senior, mezzanine and subordinated loans, unitranche facilities, first lien/second lien facilities, and cash flow, ABL, subscription line and capital call facilities. Gabriel also negotiates complex intercreditor and subordination arrangements on behalf of his clients and supports clients on various debt restructurings and bankruptcies, including negotiating debtor-in-possession facilities and advising clients in connection with sovereign-debt crises. He leverages his market expertise in both “buy-and-hold” credit strategies and broadly syndicated finance transactions to guide clients on a variety of deals, from the routine to cutting edge.

Gabriel is dual-qualified, admitted to practice law as an attorney in New York and as a solicitor in England and Wales, and has deep and extensive experience supporting clients on sophisticated cross-border deals.

Prior to joining Polsinelli, Gabriel worked for a Magic Circle law firm in London, Singapore and New York, advising clients on domestic and cross-border capital markets and banking and finance transactions, and for leading global law firms in Manhattan, advising premier international financial institutions and corporate borrowers on upper middle and middle market leveraged finance deals.

Dr. Tingting Zhang serves as the Founder and CEO of the TerraCotta Group, where she is responsible for overseeing the company’s investment activities and managing portfolio risk. She manages the Credit Committee at TerraCotta and leads the research and methodology agenda at the TerraCotta Lab, the company’s research division. Dr. Zhang founded TerraCotta in 2004 with the objective of applying academic insights, objectivity, and analytical rigor to commercial real estate lending in order to address real-world challenges.

Prior to starting TerraCotta, Dr. Zhang held a senior researcher position at Eurasia Group, a think tank that pioneered the use of quantitative methods in social and political studies. In 2021, she was recognized as one of sixty global honorees in Private Equity International’s (PEI) special report on Women of Influence in Private Markets, which covered various sectors such as private equity, private debt, real estate, venture capital, infrastructure, and cross strategies. In 2022 and again in 2023, Dr. Zhang was listed in the LA 500, a compilation of the most influential individuals according to Los Angeles Business Journal.

Dr. Zhang earned her Master’s degree in Quantitative Methods and a PhD in International Political Economy from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Demetry joined Alter Domus in February 2024 to lead Alter Domus’ enterprise-wide technology and data strategy and execution.

Demetry brings a strong track record of product driven technology transformation and program delivery in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Alter Domus, Demetry was the Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director in the Digital Technology & Innovation business at Wells Fargo. He also spent 20 years at FactSet in various technology roles and ultimately serving as the firm’s CTO.

Demetry attended the Pennsylvania State University where he studied Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Electrical Engineering.

Mr. Leger is responsible for managing all of MGG’s sales and marketing related efforts.

Prior to joining MGG, Mr. Leger was Head of Strategic Planning and Client Services at Akre Capital Management in Virginia where he helped grow the then 24 year old firm’s private partnership and mutual fund assets from $2 billion in 2013 to approximately $14 billion in 2019. Previously, he worked as Managing Director, Head of Marketing at Geosphere Capital, a $1.4 billion hedge fund based in New York City. Prior to that, he worked in a similar capacity at Steel Partners, a $5 billion global activist manager. Mr. Leger began his career in asset management at BRI Partners, a venture capital firm and joint venture with Mesirow Financial, that seeded hedge funds, helping grow their collective assets to in excess of $5 billion.

Mr. Leger received his doctorate in political philosophy and international relations from The University of Notre Dame in Indiana and his BA from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Based in London, Luis Mayans is Partner and Deputy Head, Private Debt for Europe. In collaboration with CDPQ’s investment teams, he develops high-quality strategic partnerships with key market participants to support the implementation of the organization’s European corporate credit strategy.

Mr. Mayans has over 20 years of experience in the European financial sector. He joined CDPQ in September 2017 as Partner, Private Debt – Europe. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Avenue Capital Group in London, where he played a key role in the firm’s direct lending strategy, including portfolio construction and monitoring. Prior to that, he worked for over a decade in the leveraged finance unit of GE Capital, building his international expertise through senior roles held in its London, Paris and Madrid offices.

He holds a Master’s in Economics and Business Administration from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and is a Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA).

Ms. Thew joined Golub Capital in 2020 and is the Head of Marketing. She is responsible for planning and executing marketing and communications programs to grow revenue, increase market share and enhance the Firm’s brand. Prior to joining Golub Capital, Ms. Thew was Director of Business Development at Inherent Group, an ESG-focused alternative investment manager, where she was responsible for fundraising, marketing, investor relations, communications and branding. Prior to this position, she worked at Highfields Capital as Director of Investor Relations, where she built and maintained relationships for the firm’s $12+ billion hedge fund and communicated the firm’s investment philosophy, process and portfolio positioning to investors and prospects. She also helped craft communications to investors and media. Prior to that, Ms. Thew was Executive Producer of the Halftime Report on CNBC, where she managed the show’s production team and was responsible for the show’s content, production and brand across TV, web and social media. Ms. Thew earned her AB in Comparative Literature from Princeton University. She received an MSJ in Broadcast Journalism, with a specialization in Reporting Business and Economics, from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Andy has been with PEI Group since 2003, working on a number of titles including as Editor of Private Equity International and Senior Editor of Infrastructure Investor. Since H2 2015, he took over responsibility for Real Estate Capital and, in the first half of 2016, became Editor of Private Debt Investor. He is a regular writer for the magazines and websites and has also often contributed to our events as a panel moderator. Prior to joining PEI, Andy had senior roles at venture capital portal Venturedome.com and at Thomson Financial. Andy was voted State Street’s Alternatives Journalist of the Year in 2022.

Barry Wilson is Managing Director at FIRSTavenue and leads our North American private credit origination and distribution efforts. Barry founded Wilson Capital Advisors a leading fund advisory and capital formation firm in 2017 globally raising over $2.5B for his clients. Prior to Wilson Capital Advisors, Barry worked with both Antares Capital pre-, during and post-acquisition by CPPIB and with GE Capital in their Strategic Investor Program units. Barry previously worked with leading alternative and institutional asset management platforms including Blue Mountain Capital, and PIMCO in varied investor development, trading, portfolio management and allocations roles in both structured and private credit. Barry has over 36 years of investing and leveraged finance experience and was money-center bank trained at JPMorgan.

Barry is a Board member of the Savannah Repertory Theatre. Barry holds a BBA in Finance and an BA in Political Science from Southern Methodist University, where he was a University Scholar.

FIRSTavenue is a leading independent global placement agent and fundraising advisory firm specialising in private credit, real assets, private equity and associated capital solutions. With over 50 professionals servicing both fund managers and investors from offices in London, New York, Hamburg and Hong Kong. In addition, FIRSTavenue offers a Capital Solutions Group that focuses specifically on emerging private credit and private infrastructure secondaries markets. The dedicated group builds on FIRSTavenue’s deep experience in private credit and private infrastructure by focusing specifically on the secondaries markets within these asset classes.