Our Team

Committed to Our People

Lakemore’s strong work ethic, extensive expertise and steadfast commitment to our shared principles continue to be the primary driver of our success.

Our team’s dedication to our disciplined, methodical, and proven investment approach maintains our high standards throughout market cycles. Building on our unwavering dedication to our values within the firm, we similarly establish and maintain longstanding partnerships with our clients and prominent CLO collateral managers that are focused on alignment and trust.

Lakemore’s team builds upon the history of our two founders, who have worked together for more than 30 years in the investment management space. Representing nearly a dozen nationalities, each member of our team brings specific, individualized expertise, collectively providing our clients with unique, in-depth perspectives to help them achieve their investment goals.

Ahmed Farid Chairman & CEO

Mohamed SeifCo-CIO; Investment Committee Member

Somnath MukherjeeCo-CIO & Senior Partner, Investment Committee Chair

Dan NormanSenior Partner, Head Of US Business Operations; Board & Investment Committee Member

Hisham GhouthSenior Partner, Head Of Business Development

Peter D. LitvinManaging Director, Chief Operating Officer

Chandan Bhatia, CPAManaging Director, Head Of Finance & Operations

Arno Van Den Heiligenberg, CFA CAIAManaging Director & Head Of Business Development Europe

Sherif Abbas Managing Director, Investments; Investment Committee Member

Aris Ning Managing Director, Investments

Mihran Khachkhechyan Managing Director, Head of Product & Strategic Projects

Julien Raffelsbauer, CFA Managing Director, Head of Credit

Sakhur Alfarraj Senior Vice President, Treasury

Mehmet TimurSenior Compliance Manager

Eoin O’Sullivan Vice President, Investment Operations

Rahul Gupta Vice President, Investment Operations

Laura McKeever, ACA Vice President, Finance

Harsh AsthanaVice President, Financial Planning & Analysis

Priti Batra GandhiManager, Investor Relations

Marilyn Sanchez Manager, Investment Operations

Sumeen HamidAssociate, Investor Relations

Lauren Donovan Executive Assistant, Business Development

Lottie BeresfordExecutive Assistant & Office Manager

Howard Tiffen Independent Board Member

Sheila Finnerty, CFAIndependent Board Member

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Chairman & CEO

Ahmed Farid Ahmed is Chairman and CEO of Lakemore and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Investment Committee.

He is responsible for establishing and implementing the firm’s business and investment strategy.

Ahmed has more than 35 years of investment management and treasury experience across multiple geographies. Before Lakemore, Ahmed served as President of a global principal investment firm and spent 20 years with The National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia (NCB), where he most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of NCB Capital. At NCB Ahmed was responsible for managing the bank’s liquidity, investments, interest rates and exchange risks for balance sheets of over US$50 billion. He has also held positions at Bank of America and Chase Investors. 

Ahmed is a board member of SABB Bank and holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Stirling, UK.

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Co-CIO; Investment Committee Member

Mohamed SeifSeif is Co-CIO and Member of the Investment Committee.

He is responsible for building and setting the firm’s CLO equity investment strategy, as well as overseeing all investment processes.

Seif has over 40 years of investment management experience and has managed more than US$30 billion across conventional and alternative asset classes throughout his career. Prior to co-founding Lakemore, Seif was Chief Investment Officer at a global principal investment firm focused on Private Equity, Real Estate, and Liquid Strategies. He spent 17 years with NCB as Head of Asset Management, overseeing more than US$26 billion in conventional and alternative asset classes. He previously served as Head of Risk for the Middle East region at CSFB, where he was a member of the emerging markets team, and in the investor services group at Citibank in London. 

Seif holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Psychology from the American University in Cairo.

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Co-CIO & Senior Partner, Investment Committee Chair

Somnath MukherjeeSom is Co-CIO & Senior Partner at Lakemore and Chair of the Investment Committee.

His responsibilities include investment selection, structuring and portfolio management of the firm’s various credit platforms. He has more than 22 years of experience in investment management during which he managed asset classes that included Specialist Credit and other Alternative Investments including Real estate and Private equity as part of large institutional portfolios.

Som started his career with GE Capital in 2002 as a member of the risk management team for their long-term pensions and insurance portfolios investing in leveraged loans and structured credit. In 2005, he joined Lehman Brothers as part of their structured credit team focusing on credit hedging and CLO tranche strategies. In 2007, he joined NCB Capital as a senior portfolio manager for the structured credit portfolio managing around US$ 1 billion in US CLO tranche investments. He subsequently joined Safanad with the senior Lakemore team, and managed the firm’s principal investment portfolio investing in Credit and Equity strategies, Private Equity and Real Estate.

Som has a Bachelors in Statistics (Hons) from Indian Statistical Institute.

 

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Senior Partner, Head Of US Business Operations; Board & Investment Committee Member

Dan NormanDan is a Senior Partner and Head of U.S. Business Operations, focused on growing Lakemore’s credit investing platform globally.

He is a successful, respected and cycle-proven executive with over 35 years of global business-building and investment management experience.

Throughout his career, Dan has structured and managed over 80 loan funds and accounts with a combined maximum fund size of over US$50 billion, while creating extensive distribution networks and more than 300 global investor relationships. Prior to joining Lakemore, Dan spent nearly 30 years at Voya Investment Management (“Voya”),  where he most recently served as Group Head and Senior Managing Director. While at Voya, he founded the firm’s Senior Loan Group and co-managed the Group’s global loan platform, including its global CLO business, which by the end of 2020 had managed 46 CLOs with a combined size of over US$22 billion. Prior to Voya, Dan co-founded The Prime Financial Companies, serving as COO and CFO, and began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. 

Dan currently serves as a Board Member of the Business Loans Coalition, the Loan Syndication and Trading Association’s (LSTA) grassroots advocacy affiliate, and as an advisory Board Member of The Maricopa Partnerships, which manage diverse business and investment interests. He holds a BS and MBA from the University of Nebraska.

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Senior Partner, Head Of Business Development

Hisham GhouthHisham is a Senior Partner and Head of Business Development at Lakemore, where he is responsible for developing partnerships and raising capital throughout the MENA region.

He is a financial industry expert with nearly 20 years of experience across The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). 

Before Lakemore, Hisham served as the Head of Institutional Sales for Family Offices and UHNW individuals at Alkhabeer Capital (AKC), where he led and executed the firm’s alternative investment fundraising strategy by engaging institutional and family offices across KSA & GCC. He was also a member of the firm’s product development committee. Before AKC, Hisham was a founding member and Head of Institutional Sales and Distribution at Barclays Saudi Arabia, where he provided sales coverage to financial institutions and sovereign entities across the GCC.

Hisham holds an MBA from the American Intercontinental University (London, UK) and a BSc in International Law from King Abdul Aziz University (Jeddah, KSA).

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Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer

Peter D. LitvinPeter is Managing Director and Lakemore’s Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of the Lakemore regulated entities in the UK and DIFC.

Peter is involved in implementing business strategy, fund structuring, sourcing, and managing relationships with third party stakeholders. Peter has 28 years of experience managing the financial, risk and operational infrastructure of global alternative asset managers.

Throughout his career, Peter has worked with and served as a Board member of onshore and offshore funds, Limited Partnerships and corporate entities. Peter spent over 14 years at Citigroup Alternative Investments (“CAI”). During 1999 to 2008, he was the CFO/COO & Managing Director of the Citigroup Alternative Investment Division in London and New York, a business with over US$100 billion of assets under management. More recently Peter was the Chief Financial Officer of Samena Capital, a principal investment group.

Peter is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

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Managing Director, Head Of Finance & Operations

Chandan Bhatia, CPAChandan is responsible for overseeing corporate finance and operations and, as a key member of Lakemore’s management team, is heavily involved in the development and implementation of the firm’s strategy.

He has nearly 17 years of experience in the financial services industry having held roles in audit, fund administration and investment operations.   

Prior to joining Lakemore, Chandan was Vice President of Investment Operations at a global principal investment firm, overseeing investment related operations and investor reporting. Chandan served as Vice President at Maples Fund Services, managing client operations for the firm’s Dubai office and developing new business opportunities in the MENA region, bringing their Assets under administration (AUA) to over US$5 billion. Before Maples, Chandan worked at UBS Global Asset Management where he was involved in the fund administration of several hedge funds and private equity funds with over US$2 billion in AUM. He began his career at Deloitte, where he ultimately led the audits of several fund-of-funds with over US$6 billion in AUM.

Chandan holds a B.Sc. degree in Finance & Accounting from Kelly School of Business (Indiana University). He is a Certified Public Accountant (Illinois) and a CFA Level III candidate.

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Managing Director & Head Of Business Development Europe

Arno Van Den Heiligenberg, CFA CAIAArno is Managing Director & Head of Business Development Europe for Lakemore, responsible for developing the firm's profile and partnerships with Europe’s leading institutional and wholesale investors.

Over his nearly 25-year career, Arno has successfully built businesses for leading global financial institutions and developed long-standing client relationships across capital market, alternative and traditional investment solutions.

Prior to joining Lakemore, Arno was the Global Co-head of Investment Funds for UBS, where he managed a team of professionals that contributed to identifying, selecting and presenting alternative and traditional investment solutions to its foremost global clients. Before UBS, Arno was Head of Nordics at ING and held roles at J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, among others.  

Arno obtained his MSc in Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam and participated in the CEMS Master programme at Stockholm School of Economics. He is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder.

 

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Managing Director, Investments; Investment Committee Member

Sherif Abbas Sherif is Managing Director of Investments at Lakemore, responsible for investment analysis, transaction due diligence and portfolio management for the firm’s structured credit portfolios.

He has nearly 15 years of fixed income experience, having worked with sovereign wealth funds, institutional and HNW investors on portfolio strategy, portfolio building using vanilla credit bonds and hedging solutions using credit-linked derivatives and specialist credit products.

Previously, Sherif worked at Arqaam Capital, where he helped to grow and expand the firm’s fixed income business into new markets and geographies. He began his career with Goldman Sachs’ Middle East credit sales team.

Sherif holds an MBA from IE Business School (Madrid, Spain) with a concentration in Entrepreneurship, and a B.Sc. from Dalhousie University (NS, Canada) with a double major in Mathematics and Statistics.

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Managing Director, Investments

Aris Ning Aris is Managing Director of Investments at Lakemore, responsible for investment analysis, deal structuring / execution and portfolio management for the firm’s CLO tranche investment strategies.

He has 14 years of financial / investment experience, with the majority across structured credit and corporate banking. 

Prior to joining Lakemore, Aris was a senior modeling analyst and subject matter expert in European CLOs at U.S. Bank in London, where he modeled more than 50 deals. Before U.S. Bank, Aris worked as a CLO investment analyst at structured credit fund Kinson Capital, where he built cash flow models for CLO valuation and directly conducted investment analysis on CLO mezzanine and equity tranche opportunities. He began his career in corporate banking at CTCB Bank in Taipei.

Aris holds an MSc in Quantitative Finance (Distinction) from Bayes Business School (UK) and a BSc in Physics from National Chung Hsing University (Taiwan).

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Managing Director, Head of Product & Strategic Projects

Mihran Khachkhechyan Mihran leads product and strategic projects at Lakemore, operating at the intersection of our institutional investors, product, and investment process.

He brings 13 years of investment, strategy and operations experience working with sovereign wealth funds, private equity firms, family conglomerates and listed Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Lakemore, Mihran was with Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) as a core member of the Dubai-based Private Equity and Sovereign Investment Funds practice, where he worked with clients in real estate, education and the public sector. Before Strategy&, Mihran worked with Accenture’s Global Strategy & Sustainability team, supporting clients in the hospitality, technology and food & beverage sectors across North America, Europe and Asia. Mihran holds an MBA from INSEAD (France/Singapore), a B.Eng. from McGill University (Canada), and has attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK).

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Managing Director, Head of Credit

Julien Raffelsbauer, CFA Julien is Managing Director, Head of Credit at Lakemore, leading loan-by-loan credit work across all portfolios.

He has more than 25 years of experience in credit research, mainly focusing on leveraged finance and stressed/distressed credits, during which he worked for hedge funds and asset managers as well as investment banks.

Prior to joining Lakemore, Julien was a credit analyst at Millennium Global for a Long-Short strategy, having previously had positions in a credit opportunity funds as well as in a Long only asset manager. Julien has held various roles in investment banks including credit analyst for prop trading at Goldman Sachs, desk-analyst at Bank of America, BNP Paribas and HSBC, and publishing research at JP Morgan and Cantor Fitzgerald. Julien is a CFA charter holder and holds a Masters in Economics and Finance from Sciences-Po Paris and has achieved the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing.

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Senior Vice President, Treasury

Sakhur Alfarraj Sakhur is a Senior Vice President, of Treasury at Lakemore.

Before joining Lakemore, Sakhur was part of a team that managed Barry University’s endowment fund, where he also graduated with a double major in finance and international business. At the fund, Sakhur was the head manager of a team of 8 analysts for the Finance, Utility, and Energy sectors, as well as head of economic commentary and outlook. Sakhur also worked with the World Trade Development Centre as a financial and economic analyst.

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Senior Compliance Manager

Mehmet TimurMehmet is responsible for Compliance and is based in the Dubai office.

Mehmet has over 18 years of extensive experience in the areas of Governance, Risk and Compliance.

Before joining Lakemore, he was working as a Manager at Vistra Business Services in DIFC and he was acting as the authorized CO/MLRO for multiple financial services institutions in the DIFC and ADGM jurisdictions. Mehmet has started his professional career in the Assurance Advisory Business Services of EY Türkiye and continued his EY journey with with the Business Risk Advisory Services division. Post his term with EY, he has held various management roles heading the compliance functions within reputable financial services entities across UAE.

Mehmet is a BS in Public Finance from Cukurova University of Türkiye.

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Vice President, Investment Operations

Eoin O’Sullivan Eoin is a Vice President of Investment Operations at Lakemore, responsible for overseeing fund accounting and operations.

He has more than 10 years of experience in the Finance and Accounting industry. 

Before Lakemore, Eoin served as a Finance Officer at Saray Capital (DIFC), where he implemented policies and procedures throughout the operations side of the business. He also worked with Augentius Fund Administrators in London, working primarily on funds listed on the London Stock Exchange, and began his career with Hermes GPE in London as an Accountant working in Private Equity and Infrastructure Investments. 

Eoin holds a graduate degree from Cork Institute of Technology with a BBus (Honors) in Business and a Higher Diploma in Accounting and Corporate Finance from the University College Cork.

 

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Vice President, Investment Operations

Rahul Gupta Rahul is a Vice President of Investment Operations at Lakemore.

He has nearly 10 years of experience in Alternative industries with roles in investment operations, fund accounting, financial reporting and auditing of Hedge Funds, Private Equity and Real Estate funds.

Prior to joining Lakemore, Rahul was Assistant Vice President at JP Morgan Asset Management in India, where he led the U.S. Real Estate fund controllers and investment operations team, and Associate at State Street, where he led the financial reporting process for a portfolio of Private Equity and Hedge fund clients across the U.S. and EMEA regions. He has worked on audits of alternative funds and handled accounting for fund of funds, CTA’s and hybrid structures.

Rahul is an Indian Chartered Accountant and a certified Alteryx (automation tool) professional. He holds a Diploma in IFRS (ACCA UK).

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Vice President, Finance

Laura McKeever, ACA Laura is Vice President of Finance responsible for corporate finance at Lakemore.

She has 7 years of experience in the accounting and finance field. 

Before Lakemore, Laura was responsible for Audit, VAT management accounting and Financial accounting at Lobo Leasing Limited. She began her career with BDO in Ireland, where she worked as a Senior Auditor. 

Laura holds a BSc (Hons) in Accounting from Queens University Belfast, a Diploma in Aviation Leasing & Finance from the Law Society of Ireland and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland, having qualified in 2018.

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Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis

Harsh AsthanaHarsh is a Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at Lakemore.

He has over 8 years of industry experience in financial services with roles in commercial finance, investments and FP&A.

Prior to Lakemore, Harsh was an FP&A Manager at Network International (a FTSE 250 company), where he was responsible for leading long-range strategic plans, investment due diligence and competition analysis. He also played a key role in a joint venture start-up of Network International and First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mercury, UAE's domestic payment scheme, from ideation to sale of entity to private investors. Prior to Network International, Harsh was a Private Equity analyst at Better Capital (London, UK) where he was responsible for monitoring and exit of a portfolio company, City Link. 

Harsh holds a Master's in Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science (London, UK) and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from BITS-Pilani (Dubai, UAE).

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Manager, Investor Relations

Priti Batra GandhiPriti is a Manager in the Investor Relations team at Lakemore, where she is responsible for covering client onboarding and investor reporting.

She is a corporate banker with more than 15 years of experience across CDD/KYC, Onboarding, Customer Experience, Client Management and Compliance.  

Before Lakemore, Priti worked at HSBC as a Customer Due Diligence Manager and at Emirates Islamic Bank as a High-Risk Accounts Consultant, where she managed large corporates and international high net worth clients.

Priti holds a bachelor’s degree from Champlain College and is a CAMS (Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist) certified professional.

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Manager, Investment Operations

Marilyn Sanchez Marilyn is an Manager of Investment Operations at Lakemore.

She has more than 8 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Prior to joining Lakemore, Marilyn was with Emirates NBD Bank’s Wealth Management Middle Office and Investment Operations in Dubai, where she served as specialist for 2 years and spent more than 4 years as Assistant Manager. In her role, Marilyn primarily focused on the supervision of multiple functions, namely trades allocations and settlements, asset transfers, mutual fund execution desk, regulatory reporting and KYC/AML documentations. She began her career in the Hedge Fund Services department at JPMorgan Chase Manila, where she handled alternative investment fund accounting tasks for more than 2 years.

Marilyn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant (Philippines). She is also an associate member of Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments.

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Associate, Investor Relations

Sumeen HamidSumeen is an Associate in the Investor Relations team at Lakemore, where she is responsible for covering client onboarding and investor reporting.

Sumeen comes with 10 years of experience in diverse administrative roles and has worked in the capacity of KYC Onboarding Specialist in her previous role, dealing with retail and corporate client onboarding within the financial services industry. Sumeen has worked for a major CFD and forex broker AXI – Axicorp Financial Services DIFC.  She holds a Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Accounting and Statistics from University of Karachi, Pakistan.

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Executive Assistant, Business Development

Lauren Donovan Lauren is an Executive Assistant focusing on Business Development throughout the MENA region and provides PR and Marketing support globally.

She brings nearly 15 years of experience in marketing and event management and executive support in financial services. 

Prior to joining Lakemore, Lauren was based in London and most recently worked as a Personal Assistant at Novator Partners. She spent a number of years at J.P. Morgan Chase, where she focused on Talent Development in Investment Banking, and before that Goldman Sachs.

Lauren holds a B.A in English Language from University of Brighton.

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Executive Assistant & Office Manager

Lottie BeresfordLottie is Office Manager and Executive Assistant in the firm's Dubai office.

Lottie brings over 10 years of experience as an Executive Assistant supporting senior management within the financial services industry where she worked for large corporate companies such as Standard Chartered Bank & Credit Suisse.

Prior to joining Lakemore, Lottie supported the CEO of Cartier Middle East as well as providing support to the India & Saudi Arabia offices. During her time at Cartier she also managed a number of events and projects and was a member of the diversity & inclusion committee.

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Independent Board Member

Howard Tiffen Howard serves as an Independent Board Member at Lakemore, bringing more than 40 years of credit, portfolio management and product experience to the firm.

His extensive expertise and unique, in-depth perspectives serve to strengthen Lakemore’s ability to provide international investors with compelling U.S. CLO equity investment opportunities.

A recognized loan and CLO industry leader, Howard has managed loan portfolios and built global products and distribution systems in North American, Europe and Asia throughout his distinguished career. He began his career in the high yield and structured capital markets in 1972, and has held senior credit management positions at Continental Bank, Bank of America, Pilgrim Investments (now Voya Investment Management), Van Kampen (now Invesco) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. He also held an advisory position with the Eaton Vance Management Bank Loan Team and served as a Client Portfolio Manager for the Leveraged Finance Investment Team at First Trust Advisors. 

Howard holds an AM from the University of Chicago and a BS from Northwestern University.

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Independent Board Member

Sheila Finnerty, CFASheila is an Independent Board Member at Lakemore, where she leverages decades of experience in capital markets, financial instruments, private credit and private equity to bring value to both the firm and its global investors.

A renowned financial markets thought leader and recognized expert in fixed income, structured credit and financial instruments, Sheila brings deep credit, investment, product and distribution expertise in the insurance and asset management industries to Lakemore. 

Sheila most recently served as a founding member of both the Leadership Team and Investment Committee at Liberty Mutual Investments (LMI), where she helped transform its asset management business into an integrated investment platform that nearly doubled in size to $80 billion. In her roles at LMI, including as Head of Credit Strategies and Strategic Initiatives, Ms. Finnerty underwrote and approved public and private market investments while also contributing to LMI's compensation design and talent strategy. Previously, Ms. Finnerty held multiple positions at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, including Managing Director and Division Head, High Yield Bonds and Leveraged Loans, and began her career at Presidential Life Insurance Company and Shearson Lehman Global Asset Management. 

Sheila currently holds various board and professional association positions, including as an Independent Director and Audit Committee Member at TCW Direct Lending VIII LLC; Investment Committee Chair, Finance Committee, Governance and Nominating Committee at Manhattanville College Board of Trustees; Philanthropy Committee Member at May Institute; and as a Founding Member of Women in Alternative Debt. She holds an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business and a BA in Management from Manhattanville College, and is a CFA® Institute Charter Holder.