Akhil Bansal is Head of Asset-Backed Finance for Carlyle Global Credit. Carlyle Asset-Backed Finance seeks to invest across the risk-return spectrum of private credit financings backed by diversified portfolios of credit assets as well as private high grade corporate financings. Mr. Bansal is also Co-Portfolio Manager for Carlyle’s Revolving Loan strategy, which seeks to invest in senior secured revolving credit facilities. In addition, Mr. Bansal works closely with Fortitude Re, Carlyle’s strategic insurance investment, on asset allocation and optimization and portfolio construction in connection with Fortitude Re's reinsurance activities. Mr. Bansal is a member of the Investment Committee for Carlyle Structured Solutions, Carlyle Asset Finance and Carlyle Revolving Loan Fund. He is based in New York.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Bansal was a Director at KKR, where he worked across the credit asset management, capital markets and balance sheet segments in a variety of projects spanning principal investing, strategy, joint ventures, and other strategic initiatives. Prior to joining KKR, he worked in investment banking at Bear Stearns and J.P. Morgan in a multi-disciplinary role across structured products, M&A, leveraged finance and equity and debt capital markets. Mr. Bansal holds Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses. He earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Carlyle is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit, and
Global Investment Solutions. With $441 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2024, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies, and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,300 people in 29 offices across four continents.

Johnnie joined New Amsterdam in 2017 to lead and expand the firm’s European LP coverage. With over 15 years of experience raising capital from institutional investors globally, he has been involved in 28 capital raising projects, securing more than £2.6 billion in commitments across both alternative and traditional asset classes.

Before joining New Amsterdam, Johnnie was a Business Development Director at Allianz Global Investors in London, where he played a key role in growing the firm’s Infrastructure Debt franchise with UK LPs. He previously worked at Northern Trust Asset Management, bringing in their first UK pension fund clients, and earlier spent three years in Mumbai with ICICI Securities in Corporate Finance. He began his career at Schroders Investment Management in 2005.

Johnnie holds a degree in Classics (Ancient Greek & Latin) from the University of Bristol and became a CFA charterholder in 2011.

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

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

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

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

Patrick Campbell is the President and Founder of Perth Advisors. Over the past three decades, he has been involved in over $15 billion of private placements across a wide range of investment strategies, including real estate equity and debt, leveraged buyouts, venture capital, distressed assets, corporate credit, and hedge funds.

Before founding Perth Advisors in 2010, Patrick was a Managing Partner at Benedetto, Gartland & Company, Inc., where he spent nearly 15 years raising capital from leading institutional investors for alternative asset managers. Prior to that, he served as a Vice President at Philo Smith & Company, a boutique investment bank in Stamford, Connecticut, focused on the insurance sector and the management of two insurance focused hedge funds.

Patrick began his career in the hospitality industry, managing his family’s business at the age of 17, laying the foundation for his entrepreneurial spirit and leadership approach.

Company Profile

Perth Advisors is an investment banking firm dedicated to raising private equity and debt capital for financial sponsors and corporations.

Perth dedicates senior level attention with relevant experience to each client to maximize success. Perth's principals have been involved in over $15 billion in private equity and debt transactions from both a buy and sell side.

Perth Advisors’ clients range from growing, entrepreneurial organizations to large public companies executing new or specialized strategies.

Perth’s underwriting focuses alternative fund sponsors with strategies that:
• Combine access to differentiated deal flow with their investment expertise to generate attractive risk adjusted returns and alpha for investors.
• Can command margin and pass that on to investors.
• Access a part of the market that is generally not a focus of the preponderance of private or public market capital.
As a result of the above, most of Perth’s clients have a middle market or niche market focus in their respective markets.

Nidhi Chadda is a generalist growth investor and advisor across public and private markets. She is the Founder and CEO of Enzo Advisors, a global sustainability consulting practice that focuses on helping private, small and mid-cap companies embed sustainability strategies into their operations to drive financial impact and works closely with institutional investors to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and frameworks across their investment processes. Enzo Advisors is at the nexus of finance, strategy and technology, taking a holistic qualitative and quantitative approach advising corporate and investor clients on how to integrate sustainability initiatives to mitigate risk and unlock value creation. She is also the Chief Impact Officer for Richmond Global Sciences (RGS), where she focuses on developing and executing business strategies aligned with market and customer insights with a keen focus on RGS' portfolio construction investment solutions linking financial criteria to various environmental and social impact drivers.

Prior to launching Enzo Advisors, Nidhi was a portfolio manager at RBC Global Asset Management, where she spearheaded the initiative to drive ESG integration across investment processes for her team managing $3 billion in assets under management in aggregate across 3 funds. Nidhi also serves on several advisory boards and investment committees at angel associations and venture funds.

Nidhi has hosted numerous webinars related to ESG / impact / climate - related topics and has been featured across a number of media engagements including CNBC, Forbes, the Women in Asset Management Summit, ESG Clarity magazine, Women's Wear Daily (WWD), ESG Today, and Venture Capital Journal. She has also been named a Partner and Guest Contributor for Equities.com, a leading investment content platform, where she shares insights across global markets, sustainability trends, and impact investing. Nidhi is also an instructor for the Southern Gas Association where she teaches courses on ESG / sustainability; decarbonization and the pathway to net zero; emerging climate technologies; and climate risk modeling. She is a Board Member of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council (SILC) and of the Harvard Business School Women's Association, where she spearheaded the launch of the ESG Series which has held sold out events since inception. Nidhi has 20+ years of experience as an investment banker, strategic consultant, and investor.

She earned her MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where she was a Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Wharton Scholar, as well as the recipient of the Dean's Award for Innovation.

She is the recipient of the Impact Investment and Advisory Award (June 2024, NRI Achiever Awards) as well as the recipient of the Outstanding Leadership in Finance Award (July 2023, MORE 2.0 Conference.) Nidhi has also received numerous accolades including being named one of Aspiring Women Leaders for 2022 by Aspioneer Magazine, was a finalist for the Next Generation Leader Award in 2021 and a finalist for the Women in Asset Management Award for US Small / Mid-cap Equities in 2019.

Anirudh is a seasoned allocator who recently served as the Head of Investments and Advisor to the Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association (FCERA), a $7 billion defined benefit (DB) plan based in the Central Valley of California. He led the sourcing, structuring, and monitoring of public and private investments. Anirudh played a key role in guiding the Board of Retirement and Plan Administrator on investment approvals, policy development, and the successful implementation of strategic objectives, all while managing the day-to-day investment operations.

With 20 years of experience in investment management, Anirudh's expertise spans a broad spectrum of the financial industry, including banking, alternative funds of funds, and consulting. He earned his MS and MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.
Anirudh is an avid runner, having completed eighteen marathons over the last seven years.

Isabella is an established Emerging Markets professional, with 30 years’ experience across law, investment banking, structuring, and consultancy.

Her expertise lies in the origination and structuring of complex transactions, with a particular interest in infrastructure. In 2015, she founded Catara Consulting, an investment advisory firm. Isabella’s background in Emerging Markets includes management of the advisory practice at FKS Capital Partners, a structured finance and principal investments firm working across global financial markets. She has worked as Head of London and Africa Capital Solutions at Renaissance Capital, Head of Emerging Markets Credit Structuring at Morgan Stanley as well as at JP Morgan.

Isabella also brings detailed experience in corporate governance, being an independent non-executive director of ICBC Standard Bank plc, chairing its Board Risk Management Committee, and a member of the NYU Law International Alumni Advisory Board.

ImpactA Global

ImpactA Global Limited is a pioneering, women-led firm with an infrastructure credit impact strategy for Emerging Markets (with focus on Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia). The team seeks to catalyse investment in climate transition and sustainable infrastructure. The firm's mission is to unlock critical investment to drive climate transition and address inequalities in emerging markets.

ImpactA Global strongly believes that closing the sustainable infrastructure gap in Emerging Markets and addressing climate challenges are key to driving economic growth, reducing inequalities, supporting disadvantaged and marginalised communities, in particular the lives of women, and are a critical multiplier for positive economic development outcomes in Emerging Markets. ImpactA currently targets impact in four verticals: clean energy, sustainable mobility, water & sanitation and health, strongly aligned with the UN SDGs

Gabriel Yomi Dabiri is the Global Head of Private Credit and Direct Lending at Squire Patton Boggs.
Based in New York, Gabriel advises clients across the credit spectrum, providing strategic counsel to private credit funds, direct lenders, private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers on complex domestic and cross-border finance transactions.

Gabriel has extensive experience structuring and negotiating credit facilities across the capital stack, including senior, mezzanine, subordinated, unitranche, first lien/second lien, asset-based lending, subscription line and capital call facilities. He is adept at navigating complex intercreditor and subordination arrangements, and frequently advises clients on liability management strategies, debt restructurings and debtor-in-possession financings. His background in both “buy-and-hold” and broadly syndicated loan transactions enables him to creatively navigate the evolving private credit landscape.

Gabriel brings a unique global perspective to his practice. He is dual-qualified, admitted to practice law in New York and in England and Wales. He also draws on his experience working at premier international and national law firms in New York, London and Singapore.

With over 40 offices across four continents, Squire Patton Boggs offers a premier private credit practice that leverages our global footprint and best-in-class industry capabilities.
Squire’s Private Credit and Direct Lending practice offers a seasoned team of sophisticated attorneys with a proven track record in middle and upper middle market transactions. We advise lenders, private equity sponsors, and borrowers across the full spectrum of private credit and direct lending deals, offering strategic, commercial counsel grounded in deep market insight and disciplined execution.

Our Private Credit and Direct Lending team covers the entire range of loan structures – from performing credit (including senior, stretched-senior, unitranche, second lien, mezzanine, and PIK notes) to special situations, restructurings, and rescue financings. We are dedicated to delivering efficient and cost-effective services across every phase of the credit lifecycle.

Nirav Dangarwala is currently a portfolio manager at Resolution Life. He primarily manages the Public and Private Credit, along with the infrastructure strategies for the US balance sheet. Prior to Resolution Life, Nirav was at Prudential as a Junior Portfolio Manager as part of the Chief Investment Office overseeing Prudential's Closed Block business. Nirav earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics with a minor in Political Science from Rutgers University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Resolution Life is a Global Life insurance group focusing on reinsurance and the acquisition/management of portfolios of life insurance policies. Headquartered in Bermuda with customers in primary life insurance markets including North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Anna Dayn is a Managing Director and US head of New End, where she partners and invests in high-growth companies, sponsors and investment platforms in private markets. New End, launched in 2018 and undergirded by a multi-family-office, anchors asset managers and facilitates future access to institutional capital. Anna has over 20 years' experience in funding, designing, and implementing private equity investment programs. Before New End, Anna established the North American platform of XTP, a cost analysis platform serving institutional investors. Anna previously served as the head of Private Equity at Cardano, a UK pension consultant, where she built a private equity program spanning $2bn of invested capital. Prior to that, Anna worked at Capital Dynamics in Switzerland and Rothschild in New York.

Anna has served on the limited partner advisory boards of several private equity funds across North America and Europe, is a published author, media commentator, and a frequently featured speaker at investment industry conferences. She sits on the Executive Board of WAVE, the Women’s Association for Venture and Equity, and serves on the New York Steering Committee for PEWIN, the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network.

Anna received an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA in Economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, both at the University of Pennsylvania.

Corey Dietrich is a partner in Proskauer’s Private Funds Group. He primarily focuses his practice on representing buyers and sellers, as well as private fund sponsors, in connection with complex secondary transactions, including traditional sales and purchases of fund interests as well as GP-Led transactions, including but not limited to, single asset spin-out arrangements, fund recapitalizations, preferred financings and “stapled” secondary transactions.

Mr. Eliasek is President and Chief Operating Officer of Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC) and a Managing Director of Prospect Capital Management (PCM) and Prospect Administration. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Prospect Capital Corporation.

At Prospect Capital, Mr. Eliasek is responsible for leading the Prospect team of professionals in the origination and assessment of investments. Prior to Prospect Capital, Mr. Eliasek served as a Managing Director with Prospect Street Ventures, an investment management firm which, together with its predecessors, has invested in excess of $1.5 billion in senior loan, mezzanine, bridge loan, private equity, and venture capital structures through publicly traded closed-end funds and private limited partnerships.

Prior to joining Prospect, Mr. Eliasek served as a consultant with Bain & Company, a global strategy consulting firm, where he managed engagements for companies in several different industries. At Bain, Mr. Eliasek analyzed new lines of businesses, developed market strategies, revamped sales organizations, and improved operational performance.

Mr. Eliasek received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Eliasek received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar and a Rodman Scholar.

Prospect, founded in 1988, is an $11.8 billion private debt and private equity manager. Prospect has a 37-year history managing private assets for investors with an emphasis on preserving capital and providing attractive current income and total returns. Prospect’s core investment strategies include middle-market direct lending, buyouts, structured credit, and real estate. Prospect targets sole and lead investments and has a track record of success across multiple economic cycles. Prospect has had the same management team for 25 years. Prospect employs over 150 total professionals and is an SEC-registered investment adviser with an institutional-quality and Sarbanes-Oxley process compliant infrastructure.

Joseph Engelhard is the Head of Private Credit and Asset Management Policy, Americas for AIMA, a trade association representing the global alternative investment industry. Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President at MetLife, where he led their Global Regulatory Policy Group, and at Capital Alpha Partners, where he advised investors on macro and financial regulatory policy developments. Mr. Engelhard is a veteran of financial regulatory policy issues, having held a wide variety of senior-level positions in the U.S. government, including General Counsel of the Joint Economic Committee, Senior Counsel at the House Financial Services Committee, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Investment Policy at the U.S. Treasury. Mr. Engelhard is a graduate of St. Louis University and Fordham Law School and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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

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

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

Angie Fenske is a principal for AB CarVal, responsible for leading credit-intensive consumer loan portfolios investments and energy transition investing. Prior to joining AB CarVal in 2000, Ms. Fenske was responsible for loan quality due diligence for the acquisition division of GMAC Mortgage Corporation. Ms. Fenske received her B.A. in Finance from the University of Northern Iowa and her M.B.A. from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

AB CarVal is an established global alternative investment manager and part of AllianceBernstein’s Private Alternatives business. Since 1987, AB CarVal’s team has navigated through ever-changing credit market cycles, investing $153 billion in 5,820 transactions across 82 countries. Today, AB CarVal has approximately $19 billion in assets under management. The firm has a 38-year history, strong track record and an established reputation in asset-based finance with a team of approximately 31 investment professionals. A key differentiator is the firm’s robust network of established relationships with operating platforms and partners across the specialty finance market in Europe and the U.S. AB CarVal focuses on asset-based opportunities, including directly originated and privately negotiated credit investments secured by pools of performing financial assets and asset-backed loans.

Luke Fernandes joined Swiss Re Asset Management in January 2022 to build out the firm's investment platform and team focused on direct origination of investment grade/sub investment grade infrastructure debt in North America, Latin America, and Australia. Prior to Swiss Re, he spent 8 years at Legal and General Investment Management America where he was a founding member of the US Private Credit platform focused on investment grade infrastructure debt, corporate private placements, and structure credit. Luke also spent 3 years on the Liability Driven Investment Solutions team constructing asset liability matching investment portfolios for corporate defined benefit pension plans. Luke began his career at Citigroup where he was on the Project Finance and Infrastructure team focused on structuring project finance loans and/or capital market bond solutions for Sponsors.

Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally. Swiss Re has a combined balance sheet of USD 110 billion that is managed by the Asset Management division that sits across Europe and the US. Asset Management creates value for Swiss Re and its shareholders by managing the assets generated from the core insurance and reinsurance business. Swiss Re drives sustainable performance by following a disciplined, long-term oriented investment approach and focusing on a high quality investment portfolio.

H.T. Flanagan is a debt finance partner in the Dallas and New York offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He advises private credit funds, alternative lenders and other investors in traditional private credit financings and bespoke capital solutions. He counsels such credit-oriented investors on direct originations, secondary market opportunities, complex intercreditor issues and novel structured capital investments. In addition to his private credit-focused lender-side practice, H.T. also advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies on a range of borrower-side leveraged finance transactions. He has extensive experience representing both lender and borrower private capital clients on acquisition financings, liability management transactions, debtor-in-possession financings, hybrid capital instruments and special situations investments.

Jillien Flores serves as Chief Advocacy Officer at MFA. Flores develops and executes MFA’s advocacy strategies to advance the ability of alternative asset managers to raise capital, invest, and generate returns for their beneficiaries. Flores also oversees efforts to connect MFA’s advocacy with member growth and engagement. Her deep understanding of the industry, strong relationships with policymakers, and keen political instincts have delivered positive results for the industry and its investors, including pensions, foundations, and endowments.

Since joining MFA, Flores has created a more favorable public policy environment for alternative asset managers in the U.S., U.K., and E.U. In the U.S., Flores informs policymakers and their staff about the industry’s significant contributions to local communities and the global economy. Abroad, she spearheaded MFA’s expansion in Brussels to push back against harmful EU rules and in London to shape the future of the U.K.’s capital markets post-Brexit.

MFA is the trade association for the global alternative asset management industry. MFA helps its members get connected, stay informed, and shape the future. MFA’s mission is to advance the ability of alternative asset managers to raise capital, invest it, and generate returns for their beneficiaries. MFA advocates on behalf of its membership and convenes stakeholders to address global regulatory, operational, and business issues.

MFA is your strategic partner that supports the industry’s ability to operate across policy, regulation, and operational channels and adds value across your firm.

MFA has more than 180 fund manager members, including traditional hedge funds, private credit funds, and hybrid funds, that employ a diverse set of investment strategies. Member firms help pension plans, university endowments, charitable foundations, and other institutional investors diversify their investments, manage risk, and generate attractive returns throughout the economic cycle.

MFA has a global presence, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, London, and Brussels, supporting a global policy environment that fosters growth in the alternative asset management industry

Francis Griffin is a senior vice president in Callan’s Alternatives Consulting group. He joined Callan in 2024 to oversee private credit research for all clients and efforts to identify private credit investment opportunities.

Francis brings over 25 years of experience in private markets, working in investment research, business development, and portfolio management roles at banks, consultants, and asset management firms. Prior to Callan, he was an operating partner of credit strategies at Investcorp Strategic Capital Group. Highlights of his experience also include senior roles at Langschiff Capital Partners, Angelo Gordon, and Verus Investments.

Francis earned an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota and a BA in history from the College of the Holy Cross.

Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Ever since, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions backed by proprietary research, exclusive data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises clients with more than $3 trillion in total assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has six offices throughout the U.S. Learn more at callan.com.

Jamal Hagler serves as the Vice President of Research at the American Investment Council. In this role, he produces reports on investment trends, fund performance, sector-specific investment, and private market returns to pension funds.

The American Investment Council (AIC) is an advocacy and resource organization established to develop and provide information about the private investment industry and its contributions to the long-term growth of the U.S. economy and retirement security of American workers.

Michael Hong is a partner in Davis Polk’s Investment Management practice. Michael advises fund-related clients on all manner of fund formation and investor relations, M&A (with deep experience in co-investment) and regulatory matters. His clients include private equity, credit, growth capital, hedge, energy, real estate, co-investment and fund of funds managers.
Michael also advises on secondary transactions, GP-stake sales and purchases, spin-outs and JVs. He also regularly represents sponsors and senior executives of sponsors in “upper tier” arrangement, employment and separation matters.
His clients include Antares Capital, Cowen, Durational Capital, GHK Capital, Godspeed Capital, Golub Capital, Harvest Partners, Lightyear Capital, Niobrara Capital, Tailwind Capital, Trilantic Capital and TruArc Partners (successor to Snow Phipps).
Michael is widely recognized as a leading fund formation lawyer, is a frequent conference speaker and is regularly quoted in the financial press. From 2021 to 2024, he served as Chair of the New York City Bar’s Committee on Private Investment Funds.

Guy is a Director within bfinance’s Chicago office, consulting with US institutional investors across Pensions, Insurance and E&Fs, amongst others. Guy was previously in bfinance’s Private Markets research team. His research focused on infrastructure, real estate and other real asset strategies including agriculture and timber. He joined from JLT Investment Consulting (now Mercer), where he was an Investment Consultant and Head of Alternatives Manager Research, advising clients on portfolio construction and manager selection across alternative asset classes. Guy graduated with an Economics degree from Rollins College having also spent part of his course studying in Shanghai, China.

bfinance works for asset owners around the globe on the implementation of investment strategy, from fund manager research and selection to portfolio design and monitoring. For the past 23 years the primary focus has been on customized search and selection projects, with the firm having conducted 1250+ searches for institutional investors in 46 countries. These investors have cumulative assets in excess of $7 trillion. bfinance strives to put power in investors’ hands by doing things differently; offering full customization, fully transparent analysis and an independent, conflict-free business model.

I joined the Office of Investment Management, United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund in 2018. As a head of private markets risk management, I am responsible for private equity, real estate, and infrastructure fund and portfolio level risk analysis and modelling. My earlier experience includes a chief risk officer role at OTP Banka Serbia overseeing commercial and retail risk management, market risk management and collection/work-out activity. I earned my MSc in Mathematics from Eotvos Lorand University and his PhD in Economics and Econometrics from the Corvinus University of Budapest. I have more than 25 years of experience in pension plan, commercial banking, and energy industry risk management.

Chandini Jain is the co-founder and CEO of Auquan, the market leader in AI agents for deep work in financial services transforming deal sourcing, due diligence, monitoring, sustainability, and compliance workflows. Driven by a mission to liberate financial professionals from mundane data tasks and bring meaning back to their work, she founded Auquan after spending 10 years in global finance as a trader at Optiver and Deutsche Bank. She is a recognized expert and speaker in the field of using AI for investment and ESG risk management. Jain holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering/computational science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.Tech from IIT Kanpur.

Jess Larsen has transformed Briarcliffe into a firm recognized as the leading private credit placement agency, a success that has been years in the making by extension of Jess’s extensive private credit experience and track record raising capital across private markets.

Prior to founding Briarcliffe, Jess was a Partner and CEO Americas at global placement agency First Avenue Partners where he rebuilt the US business to become a leading firm, ranking number one in private credit and number three in infrastructure.

Jess had similar success at his previous firm, Highland Capital Management. As Global Head of Institutional Sales & Marketing, he revamped its institutional business, rebuilt its product offerings, and assembled a team that became the firm’s most profitable business unit per dollar managed. Earlier, Jess established and led the European Family Group at Merrill Lynch in London, a unit providing investment banking services to Europe’s largest families.

Briarcliffe Credit Partners is the leading placement agency dedicated exclusively to private credit, having served clients that have closed more than $8.5 billion in investable capital since its founding in 2021. The Firm is coauthor of the private debt credential and certificate program administered by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), which has now been completed by more than 4,000 individuals. For further information, please visit briarcliffepartners.com.

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

Brad is the Head of Private Credit & Alternative Assets and a Senior Investment Analyst of Public Credit. In his role, Brad is responsible for leading investment activities across private & opportunistic credit, special situations and private equity investments & co-investments. In addition, he covers investment grade and high yield credits within the BDC and asset management sectors for PartnerRe’s public credit portfolios.

Prior to joining PartnerRe in 2018, Brad spent four years in Investment Banking at UBS, where he was responsible for M&A and capital raising across the Financial Technology, Specialty Finance and Asset Management sub-sectors. Prior to that, he held research, trading and portfolio management roles at several long/short credit, convertible arbitrage and special situations hedge funds.
Brad earned a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A with distinction from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management.

PartnerRe is a leading global (re)insurer that helps insurance companies reduce their earnings volatility, strengthen their capital and grow their businesses through reinsurance solutions. Risks are underwritten on a worldwide basis through PartnerRe’s three segments: P&C, Specialty, and Life & Health. For the year ended December 31, 2024, total revenues were $9.1 billion. At December 31, 2024, total assets were $32.1 billion, total capital was $11.2 billion and total shareholders’ equity was $9.4 billion. PartnerRe maintains strong financial strength ratings as follows: A.M. Best A+ / Moody’s A1 / Standard & Poor’s AA-. www.partnerre.com

Kristina Matthews is a Partner, heading up Investor Relations and Fund Raising at Falcon Investment Advisors, a leading private credit provider focused on junior capital solutions. She joined the Falcon Team in May 2023 from Brightwood Capital Advisors where she was a Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations and ESG. While she lead investor relations, Kristina primarily focused on business development and fundraising strategy along with oversight and implementation of the firm’s ESG policy. Her engagement commenced in February 2014 in a Consulting role which led to her joining Brightwood full time in May 2018. In 2012 she founded and was the Managing Partner of, Rising Tide Fund Advisors LLC, an entity providing consulting services to private credit and private equity firms. The prior 6 years she was a Managing Director at PineBridge Investments/AIG Investments and Head of Investor Relations for all Emerging Markets Private Equity. She was also part of the Central and Eastern European Private Equity Investment Team and was integrally involved in strategy, deal sourcing, and working with portfolio companies. She spent 6 years at Merrill Lynch as a Regional Sales Manager for Alternative Investments. She was a high-yield bond and distressed securities trader with BNP-Paribas, though most of her early career was as the Head of Sales for Currencies and Currency Derivatives. She holds an MBA in Economics and International Finance from New York University Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University with a dual Major in Finance and International Business and a Minor in Economics.

Mr. McCormick joined Meketa Investment Group in 2025 and has been in the financial services industry for more than 25 years. As a senior vice president of the firm, he serves as the Head of Client Portfolio Management focusing primarily on private markets and investment strategy and education for Meketa Capital clients. He is a member of the firm’s Global Macroeconomic, Asset Allocation, and Co-Investments Committees.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. McCormick was a senior consultant with the investment consulting firm, NEPC. He also spent two decades with various asset management firms in lead and senior client portfolio manager and product specialist roles.

Mr. McCormick received a BA in Business Administration and Russian Studies from Principia College and holds the Chartered Financial AnalystÒ designation. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Colorado, and has earned the Private Markets and Alternative Investments Certificate and the Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute.

Christian enjoys exploring new cultures and countries with his family and friends. He took up drumming late in life to play alongside his son and was hooked. He loves participating in obstacle course races.

Since 1978, Meketa has served a broad range of clients to provide the advice, support, and execution that help them realize their investment objectives. We serve as trusted
partners and valued advisors in both non-discretionary and discretionary capacities across institutional and private wealth clients including public funds, Taft Hartley, endowments, foundations, corporates, and RIAs. Our smart, relationship-focused professionals
develop deep knowledge of each client’s investing challenges, operational environment, and constraints faced in both the short- and long-term. Meketa is an independent, fully employee-owned firm with approximately $2.3 trillion of AUA/AUM and over 250 clients

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

Mr. Meier brings over 40 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, previously serving as Assistant Treasurer and Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Connecticut Office of the State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden, overseeing the investments of Connecticut’s $40 billion public pension system. Previously, Meier spent 17 years at State Street and State Street Global Advisors, where he rose to Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income, Currency, and Cash Management, overseeing over $900 billion in assets. In addition, he was a member of SSGA’s Investment Committee for over 10 years, with responsibility for more than $2.3 trillion in Global Investments.

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

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

Pramit Mukherjee is a Managing Director, Insurance Client Solutions, for SLC Management. His role focuses on developing capital efficient investment solutions for insurers across structured finance, private credit and real estate mortgage investments.

Pramit has over 15 years of experience in asset management. Prior to joining the firm, he was Senior Director, Investments, at Legal and General America (L&G), and managed U.S. pension risk transfer (PRT) and protection portfolios. He led research on new asset classes and executed investment strategies and structuring across multiple regulatory jurisdictions and models, including Risk-Based Capital (RBC), Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement (BCSR) and Solvency II. He has additional experience from major investment management firms including investment evaluation, due diligence and portfolio management across a variety of asset classes.

Pramit has a Master of Business Administration with distinction from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He graduated magna cum laude from the Indian Institute of Technology with a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. He is also a Board member of the Fixed Income Investor Network by the Financial Times Live (FT Live).

Tim is a Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit and has over 25 years of experience in alternative investments, with a primary focus on private markets and credit. He oversees the global private credit investment research platform and works with a broad group of global investors focused on the private credit asset class. His team focuses on sourcing, screening, evaluating, and monitoring credit-oriented investments accessed across a variety of structures, including primaries, co-investments/directs, and secondaries.

Tim graduated from Boston College with a BS in Finance and Information Systems (dual degree). He holds an MBA in Corporate Finance and Law and Business from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University with specializations in Corporate Finance and Law and Business. He is a CFA charterholder.

Eric is a Trustee on Stamford’s Classified Employees Retirement Fund Board, Vice Chairman Other Post-Employment Benefit (OPEB) Board, Defined Contribution Plan Board and Chairman of the City’s Investment Advisory Committee.

Eric serves as a Trustee on the Town of Fairfield Employee Retirement Board and Joint Retirement Investment Board. Member of the NASP Africa Institutional Investor Advisory Council and served on the USAID MiDA Institutional Investor Delegations to Senegal, Kenya and South Africa.

Prior to entering government finance, Eric held finance positions at Royal Bank of Scotland, IBM Global Financing, Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Price Waterhouse and Soros Fund Management.

Eric received his B.B.A. in Accounting from Adelphi University; Certificate in Investment Banking from New York University; M.B.A. in Finance from Sacred Heart University and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Global Development at Harvard University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Rich is Executive Director, Investments and Global Chief Investment Strategist for Mercer. He works with some of Mercer’s largest, most sophisticated clients, and is accountable for Mercer’s “innovation agenda,” including the creation and development of thought leadership and related products and services across the firm.
Over the last 30+ years, Rich has provided investment advice to clients in more than 20 countries, including many of the world’s largest institutional investors. He has also led social security and other long term savings reform projects in five countries and one US state. Rich has led Mercer’s work in several projects with the World Economic Forum, including work related to transformational investment, and to the longevity economy.

Rich was President of Mercer’s Investments & Retirement business and a member of Mercer’s Executive Leadership team from 2017 to 2022. Prior to that, he led Mercer’s investment management business globally and served in various other leadership capacities while based in Tokyo, Singapore and New York, including serving as global Chief Investment Officer for Mercer’s investment management business.

Rich holds an MBA (with high honors) in analytic finance and accounting from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree (with honors) in mathematical sciences and mathematical economic analysis from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rich also did graduate work in international economics at Tokyo University. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Rich has repeatedly been named to CIO magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential investment consultants and received CIO’s 2017 Industry Innovation Award as Consultant of the Year.

Alexander Popov is a Partner, Head of Credit Opportunities at the Carlyle Group. He joined the firm in 2017 to establish Carlyle Credit Opportunities. Since inception in 2017, Carlyle’s Credit Opportunities strategy has deployed nearly $22 billion, leveraging Carlyle’s areas of expertise and market connectivity. Mr. Popov is a member of Carlyle’s Global Credit Investment Committee.

He serves on the Boards of Content Partners, Litmus Music Group, Seattle Reign and the National Women’s Soccer league (NWSL).

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Popov was a Managing Director at HPS Investment Partners from 2008 to 2016. At HPS, he led investment activities in the United States for HPS Mezzanine Funds I & II and was a member of the Investment Committee for HPS Mezzanine Fund III and HPS’ firm-wide Credit Committee. Mr. Popov founded and led the firm’s real estate credit platform and served as a member of the Board and Investment Committee of the joint venture between HPS and The Related Companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Popov worked at Oaktree Capital Management, American Capital Strategies and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Mr. Popov received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business. He is Member of the Board of Trustees of the Women’s Sports Foundation. He is based in New York.

Jennie is currently Head of American Private Credit based in New York having joined AustralianSuper in 2022. The Private Credit business is focused on real asset-backed lending opportunities across real estate and infrastructure issuers (predominantly across North America, UK and Europe) and a growing US middle market lending senior debt strategy focused on private equity sponsored corporates.

Prior to joining AustralianSuper, Jennie spent over three years as a Managing Director in the Global Infrastructure Debt team at Barings. Prior to that she worked for thirteen years at GE Energy Financial Services, a division of GE Capital, focused on equity investing and lending across the energy spectrum. Jennie commenced her career at Deutsche Bank in the Project and Structured Finance group in both New York and London.

Jennie holds a B.A. from Boston University and a M.A. in International Political Economy from University of Warwick, England.

AustralianSuper

AustralianSuper manages more than A$355 billion in members’ retirement savings on behalf of more than 3.4 million members from more than 476,000 businesses (as at 30 September 2024). The Fund is an active investor across global financial markets, real assets, private credit and private equity, with the aim of delivering sustainable, long-term performance for its members. AustralianSuper is the 16th largest pension fund in the world by total assets, and the fastest-growing among the global top 20 (Thinking Ahead Institute, Global Top 300 Pension Funds, based on 5-year CAGR 2019-2024). The Fund is forecast to exceed A$500 billion of assets under management within the next five years. The Fund expects to deploy almost 70% of these new inflows into global markets.
For more information, visit: www.australiansuper.com

Peter Sluka is the Global Co-Chair of Latham’s Hybrid Capital Practice. He focuses on representing clients in private debt and alternative capital financings. He is a sought-after advisor for direct lending firms and other alternative capital providers, including HPS Investment Partners, Carlyle Global Credit, Neuberger Berman, Oak Hill Advisors, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Blackstone Credit and KKR Credit. He is individually ranked for Private Credit by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 US.

Latham & Watkins is a leading global law firm that brings together exceptional legal talent in financial centers around the world to advise on complex transactions, litigation, and regulatory matters. The firm’s deep market and product knowledge, industry experience, vast scale, and commitment to innovation and excellence help clients navigate their most critical challenges and achieve their goals.

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

Oliver Thym is a Partner on the Credit team at Thoma Bravo. Based in New York, he joined the firm in 2020 to lead the Thoma Bravo Credit platform and oversee the firm’s credit funds and strategic debt investments. Previously, Oliver spent his entire career at Goldman Sachs, where he was a Partner and Head of Private Credit in the Americas for the Merchant Banking Division. Oliver served on various divisional and firmwide committees, including the Merchant Banking Credit and Corporate Investment Committees and Firmwide New Activity and Credit Policy Committees. He earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business after receiving a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and a BA in Economics from Cornell University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

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

Art Vinokur is a portfolio manager and head of manager research for Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. In his role as head of manager research, he oversees the team responsible for sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring of funds and strategies across public markets, hedge funds, and private alternatives. He also serves as a portfolio manager on several absolute return portfolios for institutional and retail clients and is also a member of the Absolute Return Investment Committee.

Most recently, Mr. Vinokur served as a managing director and portfolio manager for K2 Advisors, an alternative investment firm that merged with Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. He joined K2 Advisors in 2004 and held various roles, including head of strategy and portfolio manager, overseeing the firm’s investments in several alternative strategies.
Before joining K2 Advisors, Mr. Vinokur interned as a research associate at the University of Maryland Foundation, where he helped select and evaluate managers for the endowment's alternative investment portfolio. In 2003, he consulted for K2 Advisors, studying the impact of hedge funds' size and age on their performance.

Mr. Vinokur received an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from McDaniel College with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Business Administration. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) charterholder.

Ji Hye You is a partner in Proskauer’s Private Credit Group. Her practice focuses on representing agents, lenders and borrowers in a wide range of domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including asset-based and cash-flow facilities, acquisition and leveraged finance facilities, working capital facilities and subordinated debt financings.

Jiří is Global Head of the Alternative Credit Council, a trade body which was established to represent the interests of private credit and non-bank finance participants in asset management. The role of the Alternative Credit Council is to provide direction on the developments and trends in the alternative and private credit strategy space, through thought-leadership, research, education, high-level advocacy and policy guidance.

Jiří started his career at the Czech securities market regulator. He then moved to the European Commission’s Internal Market Directorate-General, where he was responsible for the drafting and negotiation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) implementing measures. Jiří was then appointed financial markets policy director in the Czech Ministry of Finance in 2007. In 2009, he led the Czech European Union Presidency’s work in the area of financial services. After the presidency, Jiří returned to the European Commission and worked on the coordination of financial services policy in relation to the Financial Stability Board and G20. Jiří studied International Relations, Economics and Politics at Tufts University, London School of Economics and Sciences Po.

Alternative Investment Management Association

The Alternative Credit Council (ACC) is a global body that represents asset management firms in the private credit and direct lending space. It currently represents 250 members that manage over US$800bn of private credit assets.
The ACC is an affiliate of AIMA and is governed by its own board which ultimately reports to the AIMA Council.
ACC members provide an important source of funding to the economy. They provide finance to mid-market corporates, SMEs, commercial and residential real estate developments, infrastructure as well the trade and receivables business.
The ACC’s core objectives are to provide guidance on policy and regulatory matters, support wider advocacy and educational efforts and generate industry research with the view to strengthening the sector's sustainability and wider economic and financial benefits.
Alternative credit, private debt or direct lending funds have grown substantially in recent years and are becoming a key segment of the asset management industry. The ACC seeks to explain the value of private credit by highlighting the sector's wider economic and financial stability benefits.