Top 14

Partners

 

Douglas Brattonview bio
Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer

 

Caroline Cooleyview bio
Managing Partner, Hedge Fund Strategies

 

John Cochranview bio
Partner, COO

 

Keith Williamsview bio
Managing Partner, Credit Strategies

 

Chris Sempleview bio
Partner, US Credit

 

Summit Equity Alpha

 

Caroline Cooleyview bio
Managing Partner, Hedge Fund Strategies

 

Philip Harris
Portfolio Manager, Head of Equity Strategies

 

Mark Walker
Managing Director, COO Crestline Summit

 

Alex Didych
Managing Director, CRO

 

Neilson Arbour, CFA
Managing Director, Associate Portfolio Manager

 

Credit & Opportunistic Strategies

 

Keith Williamsview bio
Managing Partner, Credit Strategies

 

Chris Sempleview bio
Partner, US Credit

 

Michael Guyview bio
CIO, Europe / Senior Portfolio Manager

 

Andrey Pannaview bio
Managing Director

 

Sanjeev Sarkarview bio
Managing Director

 

Rahul Vaidview bio
Managing Director

 

Jonathan Ben-Horinview bio
Managing Director

 

William Palmerview bio
Managing Director

 

Alfonso Ramirezview bio
Director

 

Jeremiah Loeffler, CPAview bio
COO, Credit & Opportunistic Strategies

 

Crestline Denali Capital

 

Greg Cooperview bio
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Crestline Denali Capital

 

John Thackerview bio
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Crestline Denali Capital

 

Fund Liquidity Solutions Group

 

Dave Philipp, CFAview bio
Senior Portfolio Manager of the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group

 

Amit Mahajanview bio
Senior Portfolio Manager of the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group

 

Paul Choyview bio
Director

 

GR Christonview bio
Director

 

Michael Richview bio
Director

 

David Calvertview bio
Manager

 

Daniel Gabay, CFAview bio
Vice President

 

Matt Derrview bio
Senior Associate

 

Chad Zidowview bio
Senior Analyst

 

Tim Kuhnenview bio
Senior Analyst

 

Beta & Hedging Solutions

 

David Finch, CFA
Managing Director / Senior Portfolio Manager

 

Strategic Partnerships

 

Paul Robson, CFAview bio
President - Crestline Canada

 

Client Partnership Group

 

Frank Jordanview bio
Managing Director
Head of Business Development and Client Partnerships

 

Sean Gannonview bio
Managing Director

 

Chris Golioview bio
Managing Director

 

Kelly Kruseview bio
Director

 

David Mabryview bio
Managing Director

 

Graham Officerview bio
Managing Director

 

Paul Robson, CFAview bio
President - Crestline Canada

 

 

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Douglas Bratton
Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer

 

Mr. Bratton is Founder, Chief Investment Officer and majority owner of Crestline Investors, Inc., the general partner of Crestline Management, L.P., the manager of a diversified family of investment products. He is the Chair of the Investment and Executive Committees. Mr. Bratton has been an investment professional with organizations utilizing alternative asset strategies since 1983. He has extensive experience in hedge fund management, credit strategies, private equity and venture capital. Since 1989, Mr. Bratton has managed portfolios using these strategies on behalf of organizations associated with the Bass family. During this period, he also negotiated alternative asset related purchases and joint ventures for Bass and Crestline entities. These include: lift-outs of proprietary trading groups, seeding of asset managers and the acquisition of investment management organizations. Mr. Bratton has been President of Crestline Investors, Inc. since 1997. Prior to founding Crestline Investors, he spent six years with Taylor & Company, an investment organization associated with members of the Bass family. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Bratton was a partner of the Airlie Group, L.P. where he managed the merger arbitrage and special situation portfolio. From 1988 to 1989, Mr. Bratton was employed by Investment, L.P. as a partner in the Merger Arbitrage group. From 1984 to 1988, Mr. Bratton served as Vice President in the Merger Arbitrage group for Smith Barney Harris Upham and Company. Mr. Bratton received a BS from North Carolina State University in 1981 and a Masters of Business Administration with Honors from Duke University in 1984.

Caroline Cooley
Managing Partner, Hedge Fund Strategies

 

Ms. Cooley is Managing Partner of Crestline’s Hedge Fund business and leads the Oversight Committee for Crestline Summit Equity Alpha fund. She also serves on the firm’s Investment and Executive Committees. Ms. Cooley has over 34 years of experience in the alternative investment industry as a portfolio manager, risk manager and trader. Ms. Cooley previously led the Hedge Fund of Funds team at Crestline, overseeing manager selection and portfolio management, since joining the firm in 1998. Before joining Crestline, Ms. Cooley was a Managing Director at the Culmen Group. From 1986 through 1997, Ms. Cooley was a derivatives trader and risk manager with Taylor and Company, an investment firm associated with the Bass Family of Fort Worth, TX. Ms. Cooley began her career in the investment industry at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company (later merged into JP Morgan) in New York and Chicago after receiving her BA in Economics from The College of William and Mary in 1983. Ms. Cooley serves on the Advisory Board of Texas Wall Street Women and Chairs the Investment Advisory Committee of Texas Employee Retirement System. Ms. Cooley serves on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Fort Worth.

John Cochran
Partner, COO

 

Mr. Cochran serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Crestline.  He is a member of the Executive Committee and the Investment Committee.  Mr. Cochran has 29 years of experience in various segments of the investment industry including private equity, venture capital and hedge funds.  Prior to joining the Firm in October 1998, he spent 10 years with KPMG L.L.P. (“KPMG”).  During his employment at KPMG, Mr. Cochran received extensive industry experience through his position as an auditor and focus in the Merger and Acquisition area.  During his tenure at KPMG, a majority of his time was spent working with various hedge funds, investment companies, private equity firms, venture capital groups and broker dealers performing both audit and financial due diligence services.  Mr. Cochran is a CPA and received a B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas Christian University in 1987.

Sam Levens, CFA
Managing Director / Senior Portfolio Manager

 

Sam Levens, CFA, Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, joined Crestline in 2006. Mr. Levens is a member of the Investment Committee and leads our Diversified Funds’ portfolio management. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Levens was a long/short equity portfolio manager for FlyLine Partners, a hedge fund. His experience includes equity research within the convertible and risk arbitrage sectors and on special situations and private equity investments. Additional experience includes researching, modeling and making investment recommendations within the equity markets. Mr. Levens has a B.B.A. with honors from Texas Christian University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

James Delaune
Director

 

Mr. Delaune joined Crestline in 2015 in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Delaune was a Vice President for Deutsche Bank in the Emerging Markets Credit Group.  In this role Mr. Delaune focused on special situation credit across Emerging Markets (ex-Asia) and led the loan portfolio acquisition effort in Latin America.   Prior to that, he was a research analyst in the Distressed Products Group within Deutsche Bank and focused on distressed and high-yield corporate credit.  Mr. Delaune graduated from Washington & Lee University with a BS and Special Attainments in Commerce.

Neilson Arbour, CFA
Managing Director

 

Neilson Arbour, CFA, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2007 and is currently the Managing Director of Equities and Associate Portfolio Manager for Crestline Summit Equity Alpha Fund. Prior to joining the firm, he held various positions within equity sales and trading at JPMorgan, with an emphasis on equity research and capital market transactions. Mr. Arbour's primary focus was generating and tailoring potential equity trades for hedge funds and institutional clients. His previous experience includes equity research at an institutional, long-only investment firm. Mr. Arbour holds a BBA in Finance from Texas Christian University, is a CFA charterholder, and is a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Society of Financial Analysts.

Glenn Bearden, CPA
Managing Director

 

Glenn Bearden, CPA, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2001 and directs our Portfolio Construction/Middle Office group. Prior to joining the firm, he spent 10 years at Taylor & Company, where he was responsible for the management of hedge fund back office operations and the settlement of complex derivative and fixed income products. While at Taylor & Company, he also monitored and maintained currency hedging, collateral balances, and managerial risk reporting. Prior to joining Taylor & Company, Mr. Bearden worked at KPMG for three years, where his responsibilities included auditing public and private companies. He has a B.B.A. in Accounting with honors from The University of Texas at Arlington.

Jeff Marcinowski, CFA
Director - Credit

 

Jeff Marcinowski, CFA, Director of Credit Strategies, joined Crestline in 2006 and is Director of Credit strategies for the Diversified Funds. Mr. Marcinowski worked with the portfolio construction team prior to joining the credit strategy group in 2008. Mr. Marcinowski has a B.B.A. in Finance from Texas Christian University.

Philip M. Harris
Managing Director / Head of Equity Strategies

 

Philip M. Harris, Managing Director, Head of Equity Strategies, joined Crestline in May 2015. Mr. Harris is responsible for the development of Crestline’s equity strategies and is the portfolio manager of the Crestline Summit Equity Alpha fund. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Harris was a Managing Director at Lighthouse Investments responsible for investments in U.S. Equity strategies. Prior to joining Lighthouse Investments, Mr. Harris held a similar role at GAM. Before moving into the alternative investment arena, he managed sales and research in equity derivatives and convertible bonds at UBS and predecessor company SBC Warburg. Mr. Harris has a B.A. Honors in Economics from Durham University, United Kingdom.

Ed White
Portfolio Manager

 

Mr. White joined Crestline in 2018 to run a strategy dedicated to investing in global equity capital markets issuance. Mr. White successfully ran similar strategies for 15 years at SAC Capital (now Point 72) London and Hong Kong, Cheyne Capital London and most recently Folger Hill, New York. Mr. White started in the investment industry in Hong Kong with the Fleming group in 1990.

Jeff Tack, CFA
Director - Fixed Income

 

Jeff Tack, CFA, Director of Fixed Income Strategies, Mr. Tack joined Crestline in 2012 and is the Director of Fixed Income strategies for Crestline’s Diversified Funds. Prior to joining the firm Mr. Tack was a Senior Portfolio Manager for ABN AMRO North America, and then he served as Director of Hedge Fund Selection with Amundi Alternative Investments. Mr. Tack received his MBA from the University of Chicago and his BBA from the University of Michigan.

Graham Ballard
Analyst - Equities

 

Graham Ballard, CAIA, Analyst, joined Crestline in 2012 and focuses on equity fund research and monitoring for our Diversified Funds. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Ballard worked as an Investment Analyst with the Texas Permanent School Fund in Austin. Mr. Ballard received his BS in Finance from the University of Kansas.

Sasha Aldridge
Junior Analyst

 

Sasha Aldridge, Junior Analyst, joined Crestline in 2012 and assists the Diversified Funds’ portfolio monitoring and pipeline tracking processes. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Aldridge worked at Saxon Mortgage. Ms. Aldridge received her B.S. degree in International Economics from Texas Christian University.

Jim Shaw
Analyst / Trader

 

Jim Shaw, Analyst/Trader, joined Crestline in 2005 and works in our Portfolio Construction group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Shaw spent 13 years as an investment professional and operations analyst at Taylor & Company and Barbnet Investment Co., two of the investment organizations associated with members of the Bass family.  His experience includes operations, financial and risk management, as well as portfolio monitoring and hedging, involved with both domestic and international markets.  Mr. Shaw has a B.S. from Texas A&M University.

Jessica Spruiell
Senior Middle Office Analyst

 

Jessica Spruiell, Senior Middle Office Analyst, joined Crestline in 2008 and focuses on our Diversified Funds’ portfolio construction.  Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Spruiell worked as an analyst for Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance.  Ms. Spruiell has a B.S. from Texas Christian University.

Matthew Cave
Analyst - Opportunistic Strategies

 

Matthew Cave, CPA, Middle Office Senior Analyst, joined Crestline in 2010 and assists the middle office with a focus on Opportunistic Strategies.   Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Cave spent over 7 years working as an accountant at Q Investments.  Mr. Cave also has experience as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers and has a B.B.A. and a Masters of Accountancy from Abilene Christian University.

Cathleen Redus
Middle Office Senior Analyst

 

Cathleen Redus, Middle Office Senior Analyst, joined Crestline in 2011 and is part of our Portfolio Construction group focusing on the Diversified Funds  Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Redus was a Senior Associate Auditor with KPMG where she specialized in private equity clients.  Ms. Redus is a CPA and has both her B.B.A in Accounting and Finance and a Masters in Accounting from Texas Christian University.

Yousuf Huda
Middle Office Analyst

 

Yousuf Huda, CAIA, Middle Office Analyst, joined Crestline in 2011 and currently performs Opportunistic Strategies’ portfolio construction. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Huda interned with Crestline during the summer of 2011. Mr. Huda has his BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Arlington.

David Finch, CFA
Managing Director / Senior Portfolio Manager

 

David S. Finch, CFA, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2009 from Northwater where he directed the hedge fund investment teams in Toronto and New York. At Crestline Canada, Mr. Finch is responsible for research on Canadian-based hedge fund managers, portfolio management of specific client portfolios and developing customized solutions to meet clients’ total portfolio needs, including hedging and portfolio rebalancing strategies. Prior to joining Northwater in 2002, Mr. Finch was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager for ING Investment Management Inc., where he had responsibility for derivative, option replication, fixed income, and index portfolios. Mr. Finch also designed optimal portfolios for ING’s insurance companies, incorporating their unique liability characteristics and tax and regulatory constraints. Mr. Finch holds an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University. He has received the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) from the CFA Institute and is a member of the Toronto CFA Society.

Scott Henshaw
Vice President / Head of Beta Management

 

Scott C. Henshaw, CFA, V.P. Head of Beta Management, joined Crestline from Northwater and leads the Beta Portfolio Management and Trading team. While at Northwater he led the Structuring team which designed and implemented customized hedging and portfolio design solutions for institutional clients, as well as the Trading team which executed the daily derivatives trading and monitoring duties. Prior to Northwater, Mr. Henshaw worked as an investment banker (M&A and telecom/media services) at UBS. Mr. Henshaw holds a B.A. (Honours) Economics degree from Queen’s University, an M.A. (Economics) from the University of Victoria, and a M.B.A from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Umar Malik
Vice President

 

Umar Malik, CFA, Vice President, joined Crestline in 2009 from Northwater and works in our Beta & Hedging Strategies team. At Northwater he structured, established and maintained hedge fund investment vehicles, derivative arrangements, and portable alpha and liability-driven investment structures targeted at institutional investors.  Prior to joining Northwater in 2005, Mr. Malik was an investment banking analyst at JPMorgan where he worked on debt financings, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisitions, and distressed situations.  Mr. Malik holds a BA with honors from Franklin & Marshall College and an MBA from the University of Toronto.

Curt Futch
Managing Director / Senior Portfolio Manager

 

Curt Futch, Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, Mr. Futch serves as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager of the firm and is responsible for co-managing Crestline’s Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Mr. Futch joined Crestline in 2006.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Futch was a member of the Credit Group at Q Investments, where he was primarily responsible for sourcing, evaluating and executing private equity transactions. He also served as a Vice President with the BNP Paribas Merchant Banking Group which is a provider of capital for leverage buyouts, strategic acquisitions, leveraged buildups and recapitalizations. Additionally, Mr. Futch was Vice President of Thomas Weisel Capital Partners, a private equity fund focused on buyouts, buildups and late stage growth investments.  He began his career in San Francisco, working in investment banking at BancAmerica Securities and Montgomery Securities. Mr. Futch graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

Jake R. Friemel
Vice President

 

Jake R. Friemel, Vice President, joined Crestline in 2018 and is responsible for investment origination and execution within Crestline's Opportunistic and Private Credit Strategies. Prior to that, he was CFO of Frontier Waste Holdings, a PE-backed solid waste management holding company headquartered in Plano, TX. Previously, Mr. Friemel was at Comerica Bank, where he was a Vice President of the Environmental Services Department, focused on providing senior capital to privately held, waste management businesses across the United States and Canada. He has an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BBA in Finance and Accounting from Texas Christian University.

James Favero
Director

 

James Favero, Director, Associate Portfolio Manager, Mr. Favero joined Crestline in 2011 and serves as a Director and Associate Portfolio Manager in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Favero worked as a Vice President at private equity firm Battery Ventures, focusing on buyouts and equity investments in the industrial technologies sector.  Prior to Battery, he spent four years as a member of the private equity team at Audax Group, a middle-market leveraged buyout firm, investing nearly $200 million of equity capital across 13 companies during his tenure.  While at Audax, Mr. Favero also co-founded and led the firm’s Asia Pacific office in Shenzhen, China, established to identify investment opportunities in Asia and to improve operating efficiencies of existing portfolio companies.  Mr. Favero began his career as an investment banker with CIBC World Markets and D.A. Davidson & Co and received a BS in International Finance from the Marriott School at Brigham Young University.

Matt McCutchen
Director

 

Matt McCutchen, Director, Associate Portfolio Manager, Mr. McCutchen joined Crestline in 2011 as an Associate Director in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the firm, Mr. McCutchen served as a Vice President at Prophet Equity, a private equity firm which makes control investments in distressed companies and special situations.  He also served as a Senior Associate at Sun Capital Partners, a private equity firm which makes control investments in turnaround and distressed companies.  Mr. McCutchen began his career in New York City, working in the investment banking division of Citigroup (formerly known as Salomon Smith Barney).  Mr. McCutchen received his B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from the University of Florida.

Rahul Vaid
Managing Director

 

Rahul Vaid, Manager Director, joined Crestline in 2015 and focuses on our Opportunistic Strategies. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Vaid was Co-Founder and Managing Director of Frontier Investment Holdings. At Frontier, Mr. Vaid was responsible for sourcing, acquiring and managing secondary credit assets, hedge fund side pocket assets and direct deal investment opportunities. Prior to Frontier, Mr. Vaid was General Partner of Pacesetter Capital Group where he sourced, led and managed investments in technology and middle-market companies across growth equity, venture capital and debt investments. He also founded a closed-end high yield debt fund and served as its President and CEO. Mr. Vaid has a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunications from Government College of Engineering Pune India, and Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Master of Engineering Management from Dartmouth College.

Jonathan Ben-Horin
Managing Director

 

Mr. Ben-Horin joined Crestline in 2016 in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Ben-Horin was a Principal with Elm Park Capital Management.  In this role, Mr. Ben-Horin was responsible for investing and managing private debt capital across multiple sectors in the business services, technology and light manufacturing industries.  Prior to that, he was an investment professional with Caltius Capital Management, a lower middle-market private equity firm where he focused on buyout and growth equity opportunities. Prior to Caltius, Mr. Ben-Horin worked as an investment banker with Houlihan Lokey and Morgan Stanley.  He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a BA in Political Science and received his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Matthew Katz
Director

 

Mr. Katz joined Crestline in 2014 and is a Director for the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Katz has more than 19 years of investment banking and principal investment experience, predominately involving the recapitalization of privately-owned growth companies in the middle market. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Katz was a Managing Director with FdG Associates LP, a New York-based private equity firm. At FdG, he sourced and executed investment opportunities, and worked closely with portfolio company management teams on critical path issues including the development of strategic growth plans; building organizational infrastructure; capital allocation and financing structures; and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining FdG, Mr. Katz was an investment banker with Lehman Brothers in the Global Natural Resources group. Focusing primarily on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance, his responsibilities included valuation, transaction structuring, as well as company and industry analysis. Mr. Katz holds a B.A. degree in History (concentration in Colonial and Revolutionary America) from Williams College.

William Palmer
Managing Director

 

Mr. Palmer joined Crestline in 2015 in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Palmer was Vice President for the Special Situations Group at Goldman Sachs where he evaluated potential investments ranging from senior debt to preferred equity and warrant investments.  Mr. Palmer began his career as a financial analyst with Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin.  Mr. Palmer graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in Finance and Accounting from Texas Christian University. Mr. Palmer currently serves on the Board of Directors of SpringCM, Inc. and Riversand Technologies.

Andrew Bernstein
Associate

 

Andrew Bernstein, Vice President, Mr. Bernstein joined Crestline in 2011 and is a member of the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Bernstein worked at Berkshire Capital Securities LLC and Milestone Advisors LLC.  Mr. Bernstein has his B.S.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Bernstein also has his M.P.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business.

Matthew Walters
Associate

 

Matt Walters, CFA, Vice President, Mr. Walters  joined Crestline in 2011 as an Associate in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Walters worked as an Associate for Blackstreet Capital Management where he focused on distressed and turnaround investing.  He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Stephens, Inc.  Mr. Walters graduated summa cum laude with a B.B.A. and M.S. from Seton Hall University.

William Wennerth
Associate

 

William Wennerth, Vice President, Mr. Wennerth joined Crestline in 2010 as an Associate in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Wennerth was an investment banker in Citigroup’s Middle Market M&A Group where he focused on mergers, divestitures, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and capital raises for numerous privately-held companies.  Mr. Wennerth began his career in Chicago as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Global Industries Group at Banc of America Securities.  Mr. Wennerth has a B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago.

Michael Ramsey
Analyst

 

Michael Ramsey, Analyst, Mr. Ramsey joined Crestline in 2012 as an Analyst in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Ramsey received his Masters of Finance degree from Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management. Mr. Ramsey graduated summa cum laude with degrees in Civil Engineering and Finance from Auburn University.

Joseph Scala
Analyst

 

Joseph Scala, Analyst, Mr. Scala joined Crestline in 2012 as an Analyst in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Scala received his Master of Business Administration from Seton Hall University. Mr. Scala graduated with a BA in Economics from Amherst College.

Nick Huerta
Associate

 

Nick Huerta, Associate, Mr. Huerta joined Crestline in 2013 as an Analyst in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Huerta was an Analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Huerta received his BBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Keith Williams
Managing Partner, Credit Strategies

 

Mr. Williams joined Crestline in 2012. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Williams spent the majority of his investing career at Goldman Sachs' Special Situations Group where he developed and implemented liquid and illiquid distressed investing strategies and was responsible for deal sourcing and execution for private debt strategies. In addition to his investing experience, Mr. Williams provided restructuring and turnaround services to distressed or underperforming companies while working with McKinsey & Company and a nationally recognized restructuring boutique.  Mr. Williams has a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Rice University.

Michael Guy
CIO, Europe / Senior Portfolio Manager

 

Mr. Guy joined Crestline in 2015 and is Chief Investment Officer of Crestline, Europe. Mr. Guy most recently founded and was Senior Portfolio Manager of the Tenax Credit Opportunities Fund, one of the first private credit funds of its type in Europe. Prior to this he was Managing Director and co-Head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Global Loans and Special Situations Group, EMEA from 2009 to 2012. He held a similar role for Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette/Credit Suisse, managing that firm's market-leading Distressed and Special Situations business in Europe for over 10 years. He began his professional career at JP Morgan in New York in 1989. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MA from Oxford University, was an Associate at McKinsey and Company and served as a Troop Commander in the British Army in Germany.

Sanjeev Sarkar
Managing Director

 

Sanjeev Sarkar, Managing Director, was previously a venture partner at a private equity fund which invests in mid-market special situations. Previously, Sanjeev was a senior analyst at ADM Capital, a $2.3 bn distressed debt/special situations fund, where he was responsible for evaluating and structuring investments in distressed and high yield credits in Europe. Sanjeev has more than seven years of buy side experience and has structured new facilities, been involved in workouts, invested in complex transactions (equity and debt) and managed operational turnarounds. Sanjeev has worked with Michael Guy as a buy-side counterparty since 2005 and has worked with him on establishing the fund since its inception. Prior to starting his investment career, he worked for Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young for six years.

Andrey Panna
Managing Director

 

Andrey Panna, Managing Director, was previously Managing Director and Co-Head of European Distressed Debt Research and Special Situations at UBS. He has over 14 years of distressed debt and credit opportunities investing, corporate finance and equity research experience at leading investment banks. Prior to UBS, Andrey worked for over four years in the European Distressed Debt Group at Credit Suisse as Senior Analyst and Portfolio Manager in Michael Guy’s team. Previously, he worked in the utilities and energy group in corporate finance at Credit Suisse/Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette. He also worked as an equity research associate at Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette.

Chris Semple
Partner, US Credit

 

Mr. Semple joined Crestline in 2011 and is responsible for Crestline’s Opportunistic and Private Credit Strategies. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Semple was Vice President in the Special Situations Group for Goldman Sachs where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, executing and managing middle market debt and equity investment opportunities. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Semple worked as a credit analyst within the Special Opportunities Group for TQA Investors. Mr. Semple has a BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Semple currently serves on the Board of Directors of Urgent Team Holdings, Inc., Carepayment Technologies, Inc., Leading Pharma, LLC, Clinipace, Inc. and is a member of YPO (formerly Young Presidents’ Organization).

Alfonso Ramirez
Director

 

Alfonso Ramirez, Director, joined Crestline in 2015 in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Ramirez was a Senior Director for FTI Consulting, Inc. in the corporate restructuring practice. In this role, Mr. Ramirez spent over six years providing restructuring advisory and turnaround services to distressed or underperforming companies. Prior to joining FTI, Mr. Ramirez was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs where he spent five years within the Special Situations Group. He was responsible screening and structuring first-lien, second-lien, and subordinated debt investments, as well as minority equity investments in select transactions. Mr. Ramirez also worked at the Archon Group a real estate investment and mortgage loan company. He spent four years in underwriting and the portfolio management of investments in commercial office, industrial, and retail properties. Mr. Ramirez graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Government.

W.B. "Bud" Kirchner
Senior Advisor and Portfolio Operating Partner

 

W.B. “Bud” Kirchner, Senior Advisor and Portfolio Operating Partner, Mr. Kirchner joined Crestline in 2013 and is the Senior Advisor and Portfolio Operating PartnerMr. Kirchner has more than 40 years of operational, transactional and asset management experience and is the Founder and Chairman of Kirchner Group a traditional merchant bank that he established in 1985. Mr. Kirchner has started and successfully exited companies in industries as diverse as financial services, agribusiness, airline and consulting, and has conducted corporate transactions in over 25 countries. He has been a principal or agent in over 300 private capital ventures. Mr. Kirchner was awarded ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ an unprecedented two consecutive years during the mid 1990s. He is also the co-founder of the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation (CDHAF), a charitable organization devoted to enriching the lives of individuals with cognitive, emotional, and/or physical impairments.

Dave Philipp, CFA
Senior Portfolio Manager of the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group

 

David Philipp is a Managing Director at Crestline Investors and a Senior Portfolio Manager of the Portfolio Financing Fund. Mr. Philipp has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking and alternative investments. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Philipp co-founded and managed several family-owned investment and advisory firms with holdings and operations around the world. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse focused on providing structured financing strategies for alternative investment managers. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the Security Analysts of San Francisco. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Colorado.

Amit Mahajan
Senior Portfolio Manager of the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group

 

Mr. Mahajan joined Crestline in 2016 and is currently a Managing Director of the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Mahajan has 16 years of experience in private equity, banking and consulting. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Mahajan spent two years at Macquarie Asset Management targeting portfolio lending and structured debt solutions for mature private equity funds, as well as secondary transactions. Previously, Mr. Mahajan spent nine years at PineBridge Investments (f/k/a AIG Investments) where he was most recently a Director and senior member of the $8 billion Private Funds Group. In that capacity, he was responsible for sourcing, due diligence, negotiating and monitoring of secondary private equity transactions on a global basis. Prior to joining PineBridge, he worked on private equity and merger and acquisition opportunities at New York-based investment firms Chatterjee Group (formerly affiliated with Soros Funds) and Arcadia Investment Partners. During his career, Mr. Mahajan gained substantial operating experience at Oblix, a technology firm and portfolio company of Kleiner Perkins and APAX Partners, which was acquired by Oracle. Mr. Mahajan began his career with Deloitte Consulting where he advised multinational clients in energy, telecom, insurance, utilities and the technology sector. He holds a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Paul Choy
Director

 

Mr. Choy was engaged by Crestline in 2013 as a Senior Advisor to Crestline-Kirchner, a division focusing on mature and underperforming private equity funds, and subsequently joined the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group in 2018 as a Director. Mr. Choy has over 20 years of private investment and operational experience in technology and traditional sectors. Prior to his engagement with Crestline, Mr. Choy was a portfolio manager with Kirchner Group and served as the successor General Partner for lower middle market private equity funds where he oversaw the management and turnaround of underperforming portfolios. Prior to that, Mr. Choy was with CIBC Capital Partners, the merchant banking operation of CIBC, where he executed transactions and worked closely with portfolio companies across a broad range of technology subsectors. Mr. Choy graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering with a Telecommunications specialization from the University of Alberta and earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

GR Christon
Director

 

Mr. Christon joined Crestline in 2015 and is a Director in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Christon has 21 years of financial advisory and management experience with a focus on distressed assets, crisis management and corporate restructuring. At Crestline, Mr. Christon has been involved with several fund restructuring and portfolio financing transactions. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Christon was with Waterview Advisors where he advised underperforming companies, performed business valuations and provided litigation support for clients in bankruptcy court. Before that, Mr. Christon was a member of the corporate restructuring groups at KPMG, Alvarez & Marsal and FTI Consulting. Earlier in his career, he focused on business valuations and investment banking services for the firms Bernstein, Phalon & Conklin, and Houlihan Lokey. Mr. Christon holds an MA in Applied Economics, a JD and an MBA from Southern Methodist University, and a BS in Economics from Auburn University.

Matt Derr
Senior Associate

 

Mr. Derr joined Crestline in 2017 as a Senior Associate in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Derr has 8 years of experience in investment banking, debt capital markets and credit underwriting. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Derr worked for Macquarie Capital in the Financial Sponsors and Leveraged Finance Group in New York. While at Macquarie, he was responsible for structuring, underwriting and arranging senior and subordinated debt packages for leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and mergers of private equity-owned companies across numerous industries. Before that, he held positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch within the Corporate Debt Products Group. Mr. Derr holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Chad Zidow
Senior Analyst

 

Mr. Zidow joined Crestline in 2017 as a Senior Analyst in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Zidow has 5 years of experience in credit, leveraged finance and private equity. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Zidow worked for South Texas Energy Partners, a private equity firm focused on natural resources and real estate investments. Mr. Zidow also worked in the Emerging Markets Credit Research group for Merrill Lynch in New York City and in the Leveraged Capital group for AIG Asset Management in Houston. Mr. Zidow graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Finance and a BA in Psychology. He also holds an MSc degree in Applied Economics from the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.

David P. Killion
CEO

 

Mr. Killion has been CEO of Crestline Denali Capital and its predecessor Denali Capital since Denali Capital's inception in March 2001. Prior to co-founding Denali Capital, Mr. Killion was President and CEO of First Source Financial Inc. ("First Source"), a $2.4 billion commercial finance and loan asset management firm.. Prior to joining First Source in 1995, Mr. Killion was President of the Corporate Finance Division of Household Commercial Financial Services ("HCFS"), a subsidiary of Household Finance Corporation. Before joining HCFS in October 1989, Mr. Killion spent twelve years at American National Bank in Chicago where he most recently headed the Corporate Strategy group and earlier headed various lending units of the bank. Mr. Killion graduated with honors from the University of Illinois (BS, Finance) in 1972 and received his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1977.

Gregory R. Cooper
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Crestline Denali Capital

 

Mr. Cooper has been a Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Crestline Denali Capital since July 2018 and Senior Managing Director of Crestline Denali Capital and its predecessor Denali Capital since Denali Capital's inception in March 2001. Prior to co-founding Denali Capital, Mr. Cooper was most recently a Senior Vice President of First Source, a $2.4 billion commercial finance and loan asset management firm. Prior to joining First Source in 1998, Mr. Cooper spent eleven years at Sanwa Business Credit Corporation ("SBCC") in Chicago. Prior to joining SBCC, Mr. Cooper spent two years at Mellon Financial Services. Mr. Cooper attended DePaul University and has taken courses at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business.

John P. Thacker
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Crestline Denali Capital

 

Mr. Thacker has been Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Crestline Denali Capital since July 2018. Prior to that Mr. Thacker was Chief Credit Officer of Crestline Denali Capital and its predecessor, Denali Capital, since March 2001. Prior to co-founding Denali Capital, Mr. Thacker was a Senior Vice President of First Source Financial (1998-2000) and spent his early career in credit management at Sanwa Business Credit Corporation (1991-1998), and as an analyst at Maryland National Corporation (1984-1991). Mr. Thacker received a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from Villanova University and an MBA from Loyola College of Maryland.

Roger Marcincuk, CPA
Managing Director, Global Head of Operational Due Diligence

 

Roger Marcincuk, Jr., CPA, Managing Director of Operational Due Diligence, joined Crestline in May 2004 and leads the firm’s global operational due diligence efforts for all of Crestline’s fund of funds products. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Marcincuk held roles in investigative financial due diligence for the large accounting firms since 1993. Previous experience includes consulting on over 100 M&A transactions aggregating $20 billion in market value while providing investigative due diligence services to identify and to analyze financial, operational and competitive issues. Mr. Marcincuk also has expertise analyzing and identifying business risk for companies in both the domestic and international markets. Mr. Marcincuk is a licensed CPA and received a B.S. from Bentley College and a M.B.A. from Georgetown University.

Jeremiah Loeffler, CPA
COO, Credit & Opportunistic Strategies

 

Jeremiah Loeffler, CPA, COO, Credit & Opportunistic Strategies, joined Crestline in August 2010 and heads our Credit & Opportunistic Strategies’ operations. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Loeffler spent 5 years with Maverick Capital, Ltd. leading the Internal Audit function and working on special projects for the Executive team. Prior to that he spent 3 years as a Senior Auditor with KPMG, where he focused a majority of his time on hedge funds, private equity funds and other investment companies. Mr. Loeffler has a B.B.A. from Texas Christian University and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business.

Matt Schmitt
Operational Due Diligence Senior Analyst

 

Matt Schmitt, CPA, Operational Due Diligence Senior Analyst, Mr. Schmitt joined Crestline in 2012 and performs diligence on our underlying managers as part of our Operational Due Diligence team. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Schmitt spent three years in the audit practice with KPMG as a Senior Auditor, where he worked with Bass investments/hedge funds, as well as smaller hedge fund and private equity clients. Mr. Schmitt is a CPA and has both his B.B.A. in Accounting and Finance and a Masters in Accounting from Texas Christian University.

Joshua Tyson
Analyst

 

Joshua Tyson, Analyst, joined Crestline in 2014 in the Diversified Funds’ Group. Prior to joining the Firm, he held various positions within operational and portfolio management at T. Rowe Price. Mr. Tyson received his B.S. in Finance from LeTourneau University and is a CFA charterholder.

Thomas J. (“TJ”) Shepherd
Junior Analyst

 

Thomas J. (“TJ”) Shepherd, Junior Analyst, joined Crestline in 2013 in the Diversified Funds’ Credit Group. Prior to joining Crestline full time, Mr. Shepherd interned for the Recovery Fund, JPMorgan Asset Management, VMG Health, and was a High School Mathematics teacher at Dallas CAN! Academy in Oak Cliff through Teach for America. Mr. Shepherd received his BBA in Finance and Marketing from Texas Christian University.

Lyndsay Mojica
Middle Office Analyst

 

Lyndsay Mojica, Middle Office Analyst, joined Crestline Investors in 2013 and will be working with the middle office portfolio construction team. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Mojica was an Audit Associate with Ernst & Young. Ms. Mojica is a CPA and has both her B.B.A in Accounting and Masters in Accounting from Texas Christian University.

David Kim
Director of Operational Due Diligence

 

David Kim, Director of Operational Due Diligence, joined Crestline Investors in 2013 as a Director of Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Kim served as Principal at Mercer Investment Consulting providing operational due diligence services to institutions, endowments, high net worth clients, and wealth platforms. Previous experiences include serving as Vice President of Investment Operations at Northern Trust, Director of Trade Operations at UBS Global Asset Management, and Business Unit Controller at Citadel Investment Group. Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Andrew Kerosky
Junior Analyst

 

Andrew Kerosky, Junior Analyst, joined Crestline in 2014 in the Diversified Funds’ Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Kerosky interned with Crestline and McKinley Capital Management. Mr. Kerosky holds a B.A. in Economics with honors from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Kevin Hirt
Associate

 

Kevin Hirt, Associate, Mr. Hirt joined Crestline in 2013 as an Analyst in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Hirt worked at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. as member of BBH Capital Partners, focused on private equity middle market buy-out and growth equity investments. Prior to Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Mr. Hirt was an Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mr. Hirt received his B.S. in Business Administration from Loyola University Chicago.

Graham Grunow
Associate

 

Graham Grunow, CPA, Associate, joined Crestline in 2013 and is an Associate in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Grunow worked as a financial services auditor with Ernst & Young, LLP in their New York and Dallas offices. Mr. Grunow is a CPA and has his B.B.A. and Masters in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin.

Daniel Gabay, CFA
Vice President

 

Daniel Gabay, CFA, Vice President, Mr. Gabay joined Crestline in 2013 and assists the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Gabay has more than 9 years’ experience. Prior to joining the firm Mr. Gabay was an Associate Portfolio Manager with Northwood Family Office. He has financial modeling, analytical and due diligence experience across funds and direct assets. Mr. Gabay received his MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder.

Tim Kuhnen
Senior Analyst

 

Tim Kuhnen, Senior Analyst, Mr. Kuhnen joined Crestline in 2015 and assists the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Prior to joining Crestline Mr. Kuhnen studied at Rice University where he worked part-time in equity research for Roth Capital Partners and served as an investment banking summer analyst at Mizuho Bank. He has financial modeling, credit analysis, and due diligence experience across funds and direct assets. Mr. Kuhnen holds a Bachelor of Science from Rice University and is a 2018 Level III Candidate of the CFA Program.

Michael Rich
Director

 

Mr. Rich joined Crestline in 2017 and is a Director in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group. Mr. Rich has more than 25 years of experience, including over 20 years focused in credit investing, credit underwriting, credit structuring, and risk management. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Rich was a Director with LStar Capital, a credit affiliate of Lone Star Funds which is a global private equity firm with over $70 billion in aggregate capital commitments. At LStar, he was the lead underwriter in an initial ~$1 billion portfolio purchase of 67 stressed/distressed middle market credit investments. In addition Mr. Rich managed capital markets efforts including sourcing new investment opportunities, secondary trading, and developing new institutional relationships. Prior to joining Lstar, Mr. Rich was a principal of Three Seas Capital which was focused on leverage credit investing strategies. Before that, he was a portfolio manager at Highland Capital Management, a credit-focused alternative asset manager with $23 billion in AUM. Mr. Rich holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University and an M.B.A. from Fuqua School of Business, Duke University with a concentration in Finance.

Dustin Earnest
Analyst

 

Dustin Earnest, CPA, Analyst, Mr. Earnest joined Crestline in 2013 as an Analyst in the Opportunistic Strategies Group.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Earnest was a Financial Analyst with BVA Group. He received his BBA in Finance and Masters in Accounting at The University of Texas at Austin.

David Calvert
Manager

 

Mr. Calvert has more than 7 years’ experience in the secondary private equity and hedge fund market. Prior to joining the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group, Mr. Calvert worked on Crestline’s Recovery strategy which acquired side-pocketed hedge fund interests in the secondary market. Before joining Crestline in 2013, Mr. Calvert worked 3 years at Greenhill-Cogent, an advisor focused on the secondary market for alternative assets where he assisted in the portfolio management of private assets on behalf of institutional investor clients. Mr. Calvert has financial modeling, analytical, and due diligence experience across funds and direct assets. Mr. Calvert holds a BBA in Finance with an emphasis on accounting from Southern Methodist University.

Michael Bullard
Vice President

 

Michael Bullard, Vice President, Mr. Bullard joined Crestline in 2013 and is a Vice President in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Bullard work with Raymond James & Associates as an Investment Banking Analyst. Mr. Bullard received his BS in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

Eric Spector
Analyst

 

Eric Spector, Analyst, Mr. Spector joined Crestline in 2013 as an Analyst in the Opportunistic Strategies Group. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Spector was an Investment Banking Analyst with Barclays. He graduated cum laude with his B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Robert Zell, CPA
Associate Director of Operational Due Diligence

 

Robert Zell, CPA, Associate Director of Operational Due Diligence, joined Crestline Investors in 2013 and leads the firm’s operational due diligence efforts for its Opportunity and Recovery funds. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Zell was Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for private equity firm Rock Island Capital where he assisted in due diligence and investment analysis while also managing the fund administration and compliance program. Previous experience includes financial positions with Institutional Shareholder Services and Artesia Technologies, both were portfolio companies of private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Mr. Zell is a CPA and received a B.B.A. in Accounting and Marketing from Baylor University and an M.B.A. in Investments and Corporate Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

Paul Robson, CFA
President - Crestline Canada

 

Paul W. Robson, CFA, President – Crestline Canada, joined Crestline in 2009 from Northwater where he was President of Northwater Capital Management Inc.  At Crestline Canada, Mr. Robson heads up the Toronto office, is responsible for business development and consultant relations for Canada and also acts a strategic relationship manager for various partner clients.  Before joining Northwater in 1996, Mr. Robson gained over five years of experience in investment policy analysis, index fund management, and derivatives investing with the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).  Mr. Robson holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.  He also holds the CFA designation and is a member of the Toronto CFA Society.

Alex Didych, CFA, FRM, PRM
Managing Director

 

Alex Didych, CFA, FRM, PRM, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2007 and is Managing Director of Crestline’s Investment Risk team. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Didych was Head of Market Risk Management, New York, at AMRO Bank N.V.  Mr. Didych led the team responsible for the market risk management of trading activities that cover Credit, Local Markets, Equity and IR Derivatives Desks.  In addition, he aggregated risk across the various products and trading desks to assess broader portfolio risks.  Mr. Didych graduated summa cum laude with a M.S. in Applied Math-operations Research from National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, Ukraine and also has a M.B.A. with high honors from the University of Chicago.

Anton Slepnev
Senior Risk Systems Developer

 

Anton Slepnev-Sokolinskiy, Senior Risk Systems Developer, joined Crestline in 2011 and is a member of Crestline’s Investment Risk Team.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Slepnev-Sokolinskiy was a systems engineer for Genus Technologies.  In addition, Mr. Slepnev-Sokolinskiy worked as a programmer for Everest Asset Management, where he led the development of the front-office information system and developed automated trading systems.  Mr. Slepnev-Sokolinskiy received both his B.S. and M.S. in Applied Mathematics and Physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Camille Sassman, CPA
Chief Financial Officer

 

Camille Sassman, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, joined Crestline in 2000 and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing all accounting activity related to the Crestline fund of funds products.  Additionally, she oversees the administrative process for the Funds.  Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Sassman worked at KPMG for 8 years, where her responsibilities included accounting in public and private companies.  Ms. Sassman has a B.B.A. in Accounting with honors from Tarleton State University.

Jesús Payán, JD
General Counsel / Chief Compliance Officer

 

Jesús Payán, JD, General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer, joined Crestline in 2006 and heads Crestline’s Legal and Compliance team. Mr. Payan is responsible for overseeing a broad variety of legal, compliance and operational matters on behalf of the Firm including launching new products, serving as legal department touch-point for counterparty and investor relationships, attending to strategic growth and expansion opportunities and internal matters such as employee matters and compliance review of applicable counterparty relationships. In addition, he is a participant in the opportunistic investment committee meetings, is integrally involved in the structuring, legal diligence and closing of investment opportunities ranging from fund investments to directs and fund secondaries. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Payan worked at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as an Investment Fund/Corporate Attorney where he was responsible for advising and structuring hedge funds, private equity funds, fund of funds and a closed-end registered investment company in a variety of jurisdictions including the United States, Cayman Islands, BVI, Bermuda and the United Kingdom. Additionally, he has experience with the creation, implementation and review of regulatory compliance programs as well as legal representation in several hedge fund strategies. Mr. Payan has a J.D., a B.A. in History, and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of Texas. Mr. Payan also serves as a Trustee and member of the investment committee for the City of Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund.

Jonathan Rude
Assistant General Counsel

 

Jonathan Rude, Assistant General Counsel, joined Crestline in 2011 and assists the General Counsel on the Legal/Compliance team. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Rude worked at Patton Boggs LLP. Mr. Rude received his J.D. and B.A. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

Paula Roberts
Director and Chief Compliance Officer

 

Paula Roberts, Director and Chief Compliance Officer, joined Crestline Investors in 2005. Ms. Roberts sits on both the Compliance Committee and the Operations Risk Committee. Prior to joining Crestline, Ms. Roberts worked at HBK Investments, L.P. as a financial reporting manager. Ms. Roberts is an Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (IACCP), as well as a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor. She holds a BA in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin and a BBA in Accounting with honors from Texas Women’s University.

Nathan Shulman
Director of Software Development

 

Nathan Shulman, Director of Software Development, joined Crestline Investors in October of 2008.  Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Shulman spent 12 years developing enterprise level software for Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Dell, Inc., and Microsoft Corporation.  His experience includes web and client architecture with focus on security, reliability, and scalability using Microsoft technologies.  Mr. Shulman graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Computer Science.

Craig Pope
Director

 

Craig Pope, Director, joined Crestline Investors in November of 2009. He brings to the firm an in-depth knowledge of enterprise and commercial software development processes. His prior 13 years of experience include coding and managing projects in the Education, Financial Services, Commercial Real Estate, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Logistics and Retail business sectors. Mr. Pope graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering.

Allison Ortegon
Director

 

Allison Ortegon, Director, joined Crestline Investors in December of 2010.  Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Ortegon worked as a Data Warehouse Technologist and provided ongoing development, maintenance and testing of new and existing processes and structures.  Ms. Ortegon graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Computer Science.

Frank Jordan
Managing Director
Head of Business Development and Client Partnerships

 

Frank Jordan, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2016 and is Head of Business Development & Client Partnerships. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Jordan spent 10 years at GoldenTree Asset Management, most recently as Partner & Co-Head of Business Development and a member of GoldenTree’s Executive Committee. Mr. Jordan raised capital in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea) and the Middle East from a wide range of investor types, including public pensions, insurance companies, banks, fund of funds, corporate pensions and sovereign and superannuation funds. Prior to GoldenTree, Mr. Jordan was a Partner of High Yield Sales at Wasserstein Perella, where in 1998 he was voted Institutional Investor’s High Yield salesman of the year. Earlier in his career, Mr. Jordan also spent time with Citibank and Salomon Brothers in various sales and marketing roles. Most recently, Mr. Jordan was Cofounder & Chief Revenue Officer for The Bleachers Corporation, an entrepreneurial venture which connects parents, students and the school community via on-demand video streaming. He holds an MBA from Tulane University and is also a graduate of the University of Alabama with a B.A. in Finance.

David Mabry
Managing Director of Client Servicing

 

David Mabry, Managing Director of Client Servicing, joined Crestline in 2006 and is responsible for client reporting and servicing. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Mabry served as Vice President of North American Institutional Accounting at JPMorgan. His department provided accounting services to over 350 clients located in North America and Asia encompassing $620 billion in assets. Mr. Mabry was also responsible for a client service team located in New York. Prior to JPMorgan, Mr. Mabry was Vice President of Fund Accounting at OppenheimerFunds, Inc. and his department provided mutual fund, separate account and hedge fund accounting services. Mr. Mabry has a B.B.A. in Accounting and an M.B.A. from Texas Tech University.

Chris Golio
Managing Director

 

Christopher Golio, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2017 and is part of the Business Development & Client Partnerships Group. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Golio was a Partner for Constellation Associates providing private credit third party institutional marketing services primarily to direct lending and opportunistic managers. He specialized in direct lending, opportunistic, CLO, mezzanine and other illiquid strategies. Prior to Constellation, he was a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of U.S. institutional distribution for Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners. His responsibilities encompass national distribution efforts across fund of hedge funds, private equity fund of funds and real estate fund of funds business. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Golio was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Customized Solutions for UBP Asset Management LLC where he was responsible for U.S. institutional clients and consultants and the development of a marketing strategy that increased the firm’s assets two-fold. Previously, he was a Partner and Head of Business Development at Double Alpha Group, Inc. statistical arbitrage hedge fund and a Senior Vice President at Zurich Capital Markets, Inc. Hedge Fund Structured Products and Managed Assets business. Mr. Golio received a B.S. in Accounting with a minor in Economics from the State University of New York at Oswego.

Graham Officer
Managing Director

 

Graham Officer, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2017 and is part of the Business Development & Client Partnerships Group. He heads the marketing for the Crestline Summit Equity Alpha product, which is the Firm’s multi-portfolio manager equity long-short strategy. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Officer spent 21 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co in a number of different sales leadership positions within their Securities Division. He most recently was the head of the North American Institutional Equity Derivative Sales team for global equity volatility and synthetic products. He started his career in Fixed Income and transitioned to Equities where he spent most of his career. Mr. Officer has a B.A. in Economics from Bucknell University.

Sean Gannon
Managing Director

 

Sean Gannon, Managing Director, Opportunistic Strategies Specialist, joined Crestline in 2010 and is responsible for Client Development.  Mr. Gannon has 25 years of experience in the investment industry including:  Director of Marketing & Client Service at Dorchester Capital Advisors, Senior Vice President & Investment Committee Chairman at a $2.5B private bank, and Director of Marketing and Client Service at Lipper & Company, a $4.5B hedge fund. Mr. Gannon also spent 9 years at Mellon’s Global Corporate Banking Department as Vice President & Team Leader where he focused on leveraged finance transactions. Mr. Gannon is a graduate of Miami University where he received his B.A. in Political Science and the University of Pittsburgh where he received an M.B.A. He is a member of the Finance Advisory Board at Miami University.

Kelly Kruse
Director

 

Kelly Kruse, Director, joined Crestline in 2007 and is responsible for overseeing a variety of marketing and client service related procedures for the Client Partnership Group.  Ms. Kruse manages the sales analyst team and serves as a resource for best practices and a liaison to other departments.  Prior to joining Crestline, Ms. Kruse worked in the loan origination division at Chase Home Finance.  Ms. Kruse is a graduate of Texas Christian University where she received her B.B.A. in Marketing.

Daniel Schwarz
Associate Director

 

Daniel Schwarz, CPA, Associate Director, joined Crestline Investors in 2007and is a senior memeber of Crestline’s Client Service team. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Schwarz was Senior Associate with KPMG, LLP.  During his tenure at KPMG, Mr. Schwarz focused almost exclusively on auditing hedge funds and other investment companies and specialized in valuing a wide variety of complex financial instruments. Mr. Schwarz is a graduate of Texas A&M University where he received his B.B.A. in Accounting and M.S. in Finance.

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Joe Pigott
Managing Director, COO Europe

 

Mr. Pigott, Managing Director, COO Europe, joined Crestline in 2016 in the European Office. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Pigott was Managing Director, Fixed Income at Bear Stearns International. He was also a founding partner of the Pamplona Management’s Credit Opportunity Fund responsible for credit investing in their Credit Opportunities Fund and Portfolio Manager at Rosette Merchant Bank. Mr. Pigott has a background in investing as well as fund structuring and marketing. Mr. Pigott holds a BA in literature from the University of McGill and an MBA in Finance from McMaster University.