Moderators

Michael Flaherty | Editor, Axios Pro

Michael Flaherty started his journalism career as a freelance magazine writer, and then as a city beat reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area. He joined Reuters in New York City in 2003, where he covered companies, the stock market, and private equity. From 2008 to 2014, Flaherty was based in the Reuters Hong Kong bureau, where he covered banking, M&A, and regulation across Asia, later becoming finance editor for the region. Flaherty joined the Reuters Washington D.C. bureau in 2014 to cover the Federal Reserve, and later returned to New York as the shareholder activist/corporate governance reporter. Prior to Axios, Flaherty was a senior vice president at Gladstone Place Partners, where he advised public companies on communication strategies, major announcements, and crises. Flaherty is a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, a director of the Jersey Shore Youth Rugby Association, a commissioner for the Holmdel Youth Activities Association, and a head coach for the Monmouth Flag Football League. He's married and lives in New Jersey with his family.

Kerry Flynn | Media Deals Reporter, Axios Pro

Kerry Flynn is a media deals reporter for Axios Pro based in New York. She came to Axios from CNN where she covered the media business for CNN.com and the Reliable Sources newsletter. Prior to CNN, Flynn was a reporter for Digiday, where she investigated marketers' and publishers' relationships with tech companies. She previously was a reporter at Mashable, covering tech giants and Silicon Valley culture. She also has written for IBTimes, HuffPost, Forbes and Money magazine. Flynn grew up in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Harvard College, where she studied environmental policy and wrote for The Harvard Crimson.

Sponsor attendees

Andrew Blumenthal | Partner, Latham & Watkins

Andrew Blumenthal advises corporate, private equity, and banking clients on complex capital markets transactions.

Andrew leverages acute market insight and broad cross-border transactional experience to help investors, issuers, and underwriters navigate:

• Private credit solutions, including preferred equity and other holdco financings
• Equity-linked securities offerings, including convertible notes
• Follow-on and secondary equity offerings
• Initial public offerings Investment-grade and high-yield debt offerings
• US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and stock exchange-related matters

He negotiates and devises creative solutions for clients’ most sophisticated transactions, allowing his clients to achieve their commercial and financial goals.

Peter Sluka | Partner, Latham & Watkins

Peter Sluka, Global Co-Chair of the Hybrid Capital Practice, advises on private debt and alternative capital financings as well as traditional capital markets transactions.

Peter represents a variety of direct lenders, mezzanine funds, private debt and structured equity providers, and other financial institutions and financial sponsors in complex financing transactions, including:

• Unitranche solutions
• Private second lien financings
• Preferred equity and holdco PIK financings
• Privately placed high yield notes
• Convertible debt and equity financings (including PIPEs)
• Growth investments
• Equity co-investments
• Special situations

In addition, Peter represents both issuers and financial institutions in traditional public and private capital markets transactions, including:

• Initial public offerings
• Direct listings
• Secured and unsecured high yield debt offerings
• Bridge lending
• Debt exchange offers and tender offers
• Restructurings
• Mezzanine financings

Peter also represents domestic and foreign companies with respect to general corporate and securities matters, including corporate governance issues, Exchange Act reporting obligations, and stock exchange rules and requirements.

Peter draws on his deep market and product knowledge to assist clients in structuring and negotiating complex and creative financing transactions and investments. He provides innovative solutions for clients to help them protect their investments and close deals with highly sophisticated counterparties.

Salvatore Vanchieri | Partner, Latham & Watkins

Salvatore Vanchieri represents clients in a variety of complex corporate finance and capital markets transactions.

Salvatore draws on broad experience across financing structures and industries to advise issuers, private equity firms, and financial institutions on the full spectrum of US and cross-border financing transactions, including:

• Preferred equity and holdco PIK financings
• Initial public offerings (IPOs) and subsequent equity financings
• Acquisition financings
• Debt exchange offers and tender offers
• Secured and unsecured high yield debt offering
• Investment grade debt offerings
• SEC related matters, corporate governance, and other general corporate matters

He understands the nuances that arise at the intersection of law and finance, and skillfully walks clients through every stage of a transaction, from initial structuring to deal execution. Salvatore guides issuers from early stages and helps companies prepare for key milestones, including IPOs, as well as navigate life as a public company.

Attendees

Jeffrey Bracchitta | Managing Director and Co-Head of Direct Lending, J.P. Morgan

Mr. Bracchitta joined JPMorgan in 2001 and has been a member of the Debt Capital Markets team since 2003. He is currently a Managing Director and Co-Head of Direct Lending focused on origination and structuring. Over his time at JPMorgan, Mr. Bracchitta has provided financings for both sponsor and corporate client’s in the institutional loan, bank loan, and high yield markets across a variety of industries.

Walter Bailey | Venture Partner, Anzu Partners

Venture Partner with Anzu Partners and Managing Director with Arena Financial Services (affiliate of Arena Investors LP). Seasoned financial advisor to funds and corporates for over 30 years.

Andrew Carter | Head of Private Credit Secondaries, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Andrew Carter, executive director, is the Head of Private Credit Secondaries for J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management Hedge Fund & Alternative Credit Solutions. Mr. Carter joined in July 2022 from Tikehau Capital where he was co-head of the private credit secondaries business and was one of the first dedicated investors to the sector, globally. Before joining Tikehau Capital, Andrew worked in the Financial Institutions Groups of Barclays and Mizuho, leading coverage of and strategic advisory services to private credit clients. Andrew graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science, gained a Masters in International Affairs from Pennsylvania State University and has an MBA from Georgetown University. He began his career serving in the United States Marine Corps.

Brad Colman | Senior Managing Director, Blackstone

Brad Colman is a Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of Healthcare investing for Private Credit Strategies in Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI) based in New York. Mr. Colman has been with Blackstone since 2012, focusing on originating, analyzing, executing and monitoring credit investments for the Performing Credit Group. Mr. Colman’s responsibilities also include acting as the Portfolio Manager for Blackstone Credit's Diamond Fund, which focuses on senior and stretch senior loans to middle market issuers in the U.S. Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Colman worked as a Director in the Strategic Investments group at PartnerRe, a Senior Associate in the sponsor finance team at American Capital, and an Analyst in Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group. Mr. Colman graduated magna cum laude from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business with a BS in Finance, Accounting, and Operations.

Kevin Dockrell | Institutional Portfolio Manager, RBC Global Asset Management

Kevin Dockrell is an institutional portfolio manager for RBC GAM-US. He specializes in a broad spectrum of global credit strategies including Investment Grade, Leveraged Finance, Emerging Markets, Multi-Asset and Alternatives. Kevin joined RBC GAM in 2014; he moved from BlueBay Asset Management to RBC GAM-US in 2020. During his time at BlueBay, he initially worked as an institutional portfolio manager on the Emerging Markets desk, before broadening his remit to cover other areas of the global credit markets. Prior to joining BlueBay, Kevin worked for another global asset management company, where he specialized in fixed income fund manager research to feed ideas into the firm’s suite of multi-manager portfolios. Prior to this, Kevin worked as an investment consultant at a global consulting firm. He began his career in the investment industry in 2008. He holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Pure & Applied Mathematics from Trinity College, Dublin. Kevin is also a CFA charterholder.

Akila Grewal | Global Head of Credit Product, Apollo Global Management

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.

Josh Harlan | Managing Partner, Harlan Capital Partners LLC

Josh Harlan is founder and managing partner of Harlan Capital Partners, an alternative credit fund focused on media, sports, entertainment, and other innovative industries. Previously he was an investment banker at Allen & Company. Josh received an AB from Harvard College, a master's degree from Balliol College, Oxford, and a JD from Yale Law School. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Brian Harwitt | Partner, CoVenture

Brian Harwitt is a Partner at CoVenture. He leads sourcing and origination for Asset Based Credit, manages the Asset Based Credit team and is a member of the Asset Based Credit Investment Committee. Brian has overseen the deployment of more than $1B of credit transactions and led CoVenture's investments into ProducePay, Spotter, and Returnly, among others. Brian holds a Bachelor's of Science, Summa Cum Laude from Cornell University. In 2023 Brian was named to Crain's New York Business "40 Under 40".

Connell Hasten | Partner, Victory Park Capital

Connell Hasten joined VPC in 2018 and is a Partner. He co-founded and manages the Firm’s insurance services platform and is primarily responsible for sourcing, underwriting, executing, and managing investment opportunities. Mr. Hasten is a member of the Firm’s Investment Committee. Previously, Mr. Hasten was a managing director at EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, an insurance company with approximately $20.0 billion in assets, where he oversaw a large portion of private and public debt and equity investments. Prior to EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, Mr. Hasten was a director at Guggenheim Partners and served as a portfolio manager, primarily responsible for investment portfolios on behalf of insurance companies. Beforehand, Mr. Hasten was a vice president at Bank of America in special situations and real estate lending groups. Mr. Hasten received his B.S. from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He has served as a guest lecturer and panelist at Washington University’s Olin Business School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Hasten was a recipient of the ULI 40 under 40 award in 2016 and is also an active Chicago board member of Camp Kesem.

Milwood Hobbs | Managing Director and Head of Sourcing & Origination, Oaktree Capital Management

Mr. Hobbs leads Oaktree’s Sourcing and Origination group, which focuses on private credit sourcing and deal origination for the firm’s U.S. Private Debt, Global Private Debt, Special Situations and Global Opportunities strategies. He also serves on the investment committee for Oaktree’s Direct Lending platform. Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Mr. Hobbs was an executive director at Natixis Securities focused on building the high yield sales and trading franchise. Prior thereto, he spent five years at Goldman Sachs as a vice president in leveraged finance origination and sales. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2007, Mr. Hobbs was a director in Leveraged Finance at Deutsche Bank Securities, which he joined in 2000. Additional experience includes regional account management focused on fleet financing at GE Capital Corporation and controller for Leveraged Finance at Bank of America. Mr. Hobbs received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.S. degree in accounting from Rutgers University.

Ashwin Krishnan | Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

Ashwin Krishnan is a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and the Co-Head of Morgan Stanley's North America Private Credit team, where he leads the Opportunistic Credit strategy. Mr. Krishnan has been a part of the Private Credit business of Morgan Stanley Investment Management since its inception in 2009 and has over 21 years of relevant industry experience. Mr. Krishnan joined Morgan Stanley's Fixed Income Division in 2003, where he spent time as a credit analyst in the High Yield & Distressed Research group, and as a principal investor with Morgan Stanley Principal Investments. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Krishnan was in the Communications Investment Banking group at UBS. Mr. Krishnan earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Bangalore University, India and an M.S. in Engineering from Columbia University.

Rony Ma | Investment Professional, KKR

Rony Ma (New York) joined KKR in 2011 and is a Managing Director on the Credit team. He serves as a portfolio manager for the firm’s private credit funds and portfolios. Mr. Ma is a member of the Global Corporate Private Credit Investment Committee and the Investment Committee for the FS/KKR BDC platform. Mr. Ma also serves as an Officer of FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK), which trades on the NYSE. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Ma was with Deutsche Bank where he was involved in leveraged loan and high yield transactions for private equity and corporate issuers. Mr. Ma holds a B.S. and B.A.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Christina Minnis | Partner, Head of Global Credit Finance and Head of Global Acquisition Finance, Goldman Sachs

Christina is head of Global Credit Finance and head of Global Acquisition Finance. She serves as a member of the Firmwide Capital Committee, Investment Banking Executive Committee, Investment Banking Operating Committee, Investment Banking Risk Committee and Partnership Committee. Christina joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 as a vice president in the Investment Banking Division, where she focused on leveraged finance deals primarily for the Financial Sponsors Group. She joined the Fixed Income Division in 2001 as part of Capital Markets and focused on industrials followed by healthcare. Christina served as co-head of Leveraged Finance in the Americas and as co-head of the Healthcare Group in the Americas from 2013 to 2014 and as head of Corporate Finance for the Consumer Retail and Healthcare Group from 2014 to 2015. She was named managing director in 2004 and partner in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, Christina was with BT Alex Brown from 1987 to 1998, where her last position was managing director in Corporate Finance. Christina is a member of the Yale Development Council and Yale School of Management Advisory Board. She is also a member on the Board of Directors of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and The Child Mind Institute. Christina earned a BA in Economics from Yale University in 1987 and an MM from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1991.

Tom Newberry | Chief Credit Officer; Co-Head of Direct Lending, Sound Point Capital Management, LP

Mr. Newberry joined Sound Point in 2021 and is currently Chief Credit Officer and Co-Head of Direct Lending on the U.S. Direct Lending team. Additionally, Mr. Newberry serves on the firm’s Management Committee and is a member on most risk, investment and valuation committees at the firm. Prior to joining Sound Point, Mr. Newberry was a Partner, Global Head of Private Debt and a Senior Portfolio Manager at CVC Credit Partners. Prior to CVC, Mr. Newberry spent 11 years at Credit Suisse, where he was a Managing Director and Head of Global Leveraged Finance Capital Markets and Syndicated Loans. In this capacity, he was responsible for the underwriting of all high yield bond, mezzanine and syndicated loan transactions, as well as the sale and trading of both par and distressed loan assets. Mr. Newberry joined Credit Suisse in November 2000 when Credit Suisse First Boston merged with DLJ, where he was a Managing Director and head of US Loan Capital Markets. He joined DLJ in 1996 from Deutsche Bank where he was a Managing Director and Head of North American Loan Syndications. Prior to that, Mr. Newberry worked at Toronto-Dominion Securities and NCNB National Bank. He served on the board of directors of the Loan Syndication & Trading Association for six years, acting as both Chairman and Vice Chairman. Mr. Newberry earned a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.

David Richman | Managing Director, AGL Credit Management

David Richman is a Managing Director on AGL's Private Credit team. He originates private credit investment opportunities and co-leads private credit underwriting. Prior to joining AGL in 2023, David was the Deputy Chief Investment Officer for Direct Lending at The Carlyle Group. David joined Carlyle from Guggenheim Partners where he originated private credit investment opportunities. Immediately before Guggenheim, David was a Managing Director at GE Capital. Prior to moving into private credit, David worked in private equity, principally at Fenway Partners in New York. David began his career as a M&A analyst at UBS Warburg in London in 2001. David has an A.B. in Economics, cum laude, from Georgetown University.

Reid Simon | Head of Credit, Securitize

Reid serves as Securitize’s Head of Credit, where he builds credit products at the intersection of decentralized finance and digital securities. Prior to joining Securitize, Reid spent six years at Blockchain.com launching and growing the firm’s credit business to over $4bn. He was a founding member of Uber's captive finance platform, Xchange and an investment banker at Credit Suisse. He holds an MBA from Duke University, BA from Vanderbilt University and is a serial entrepreneur and investor with successful exits in the crypto industry and beyond.

Alexander Simpson | CEO, LiquidLP

Alex leads the LiquidLP (previously known as Openstock) firm, which focuses on enabling Limited Partners and General Partners with lending solutions. As an executive and builder in Fintech, Alex leverages his 12+ years of experience and expertise in the fintech ecosystem to co-found, connect, and architect businesses and people from the inside out. With a proven track record, he has successfully generated seven-figure revenue streams, secured over $200 million in funding for fintech ventures, and implemented transformative growth and turnaround strategies for global corporations.

Brian Waldman | Managing Director, FTI Consulting

Brian Waldman is a managing director in the Strategic Communications segment of FTI Consulting. He is a member of the M&A and financial communications teams and is based in New York. Mr. Waldman works with companies to design and implement effective capital markets communications programs with extensive experience advising executives in areas such as transaction communications, activist defense, crisis communications, financial reporting and narrative development. His expertise helps companies navigate their most complex challenges, with particular emphasis in transactions, including contested M&A, cross-border acquisitions, IPOs and SPACs.

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