LIGHTYEAR CAPITAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate, Investor Relations
Alison Connor is a Senior Associate in Investor Relations at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Alison was an Investor Relations Associate at Paine Schwartz Partners. She began her career in the Institutional Client Group at Neuberger Berman, supporting business development efforts in North America.
Alison holds a B.A. in Economics from the College of William and Mary.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Accounts Payable Manager & Executive Assistant
Job Titles:
- Assistant General Counsel
- Operating Partner
- Principal
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Operating Partner
- Vice President
Bob Lyon is a Vice President, Controller at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Bob was Vice President at Sanne Group. Prior to joining Sanne Group, he was a Fund Accounting Manager at AEA Investors. Previously, he was a Senior Fund Accountant at WL Ross and Co. He started his career at Ernst & Young LLP where he audited banks and private equity funds, as well as consulting services.
Bob is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S. in Accounting from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Associate, Investments
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Analyst & Executive Assistant, Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Senior Accountant
Carter Pichardo is a Senior Accountant at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Carter was a Fund Accountant in the Private Equity Administration Services Group at Alter Domus. He began his career as an Auditor in the Consumer Markets and Industrial Products Sector at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Carter holds a B.S.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Rider University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director and a Member
Chris Casciato is a Managing Director and a member of the Investment Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2008, Chris spent over 20 years at Goldman Sachs where he was elected Partner in 2000. His most recent role was as a Partner in the Financial Institutions Group, among additional senior roles at Goldman Sachs. Previously, he spent five years as an officer in the United States Army.
Chris holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was class valedictorian, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Team
- Operating Partner
- Vice President in Investments
- Vice President, Investments
Christian Fleming is a Vice President in Investments at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2018, Christian was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Christian holds a B.S. in Business Management from Babson College.
Job Titles:
- Head
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director, Head of Fundraising & Investor Relations
Courtney Sullivan is a Managing Director and Head of Fundraising and Investor Relations at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Courtney spent 13 years as Head of Investor Relations at Inverness Graham Investments. Previously, she was a Fundraising Associate at Graham Partners. She began her career at Five Below as an Analyst.
Courtney holds a B.S. from St. Joseph's University.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Associate, Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Executive Assistant & Paralegal
- Paralegal and Executive Assistant
Daniel Quiring is a Paralegal and Executive Assistant at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2020, Daniel was an Executive Assistant at LexisNexis where he supported the Practice Guidance and Law360 teams. Previously, he was a Legal Assistant at The Irvine Company. He began his career as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Memory Impairment and Neurological Disorders (MIND), at the University of California, Irvine.
Daniel holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine. He is also a certificated paralegal from the University of California, Irvine.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Managing Director
- Operating Partner
Daniel Stencel is a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2021, Daniel was the Chief Financial and Operating Officer of New 2ND Capital. Prior to joining New 2ND Capital, he spent fourteen years at Pegasus Capital Advisors as its Chief Financial Officer. Previously, he was a Senior Accounting Manager at State Street Fund Administrators. He was also a Vice President in the Fund-of-Funds group at Merrill Lynch and he spent six years as the Controller of Veronis Suhler Stevenson. He began his career as a Senior Accountant at Dean Witter Reynolds.
Daniel holds a B.S. in Accounting from William Paterson University.
Doug Chiciak - CCO, Managing Director
Job Titles:
- CCO
- Managing Director
- Operating Partner
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Associate, Investments
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Operating Partner
- Vice President
Ina Leonova is a Vice President, Controller at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2019, Ina was an Accounting Manager at WPP Group, where she managed accounting and SEC reporting. She began her career at KPMG LLP where she worked with a broad range of clients in the financial services industry.
Ina is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Team
- Operating Partner
- Vice President in Investments
- Vice President, Investments
Jacobo Ochoa is a Vice President in Investments at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2019, Jacobo was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Barclays.
Jacobo holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director and a Member
Jay Comerford is a Managing Director and a member of the Investment Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2007, Jay was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Banc of America Securities, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and capital raises. Previously, he was an Investment Specialist at PIMCO Advisors, an investment management firm. Jay began his career at Cohen, Duffy & McGowan, where he traded equity options.
Jay holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Rochester.
Jim is a Senior Advisor to Lightyear Fund V, L.P. and its parallel investment vehicles.
He brings extensive leadership and knowledge of the healthcare industry with a focus on insurance, benefits, and payments related to Fund V's investment themes, including the consumerization of healthcare payments and insurance and the digitization of financial products and services.
Jim has more than 30 years of experience as a senior executive with the legacy companies of Willis Towers Watson where he served as a member of the Executive Committee, leader of the Americas, and a past Board member. He formed and led Exchange Solutions which acquired Extend Health, the largest private Medicare exchange in the United States at the time.
Jim also served as an Executive Vice President of National Accounts, Global Benefits, Group Insurance and Government, Labor and Medicaid for Aetna. He was also a member of the Executive Committee.
He serves as Chairman of HPOne (a portfolio company of Lightyear Fund IV, L.P.) and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Alegeus (a former portfolio company of Lightyear Fund III, L.P.), ConsumerMedical, and Centivo. He has also served on numerous philanthropic boards, including for the Joffrey Ballet and the Employee Benefits Research Institute.
Jim holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in Business-Economics and studied International Business at the University of Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Operating Partner
Joanne Sullivan is an Executive Assistant at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2005, Joanne was an Executive Assistant supporting a Vice Chairman, Global Head at UBS Investment Bank. Previously, she was an Administrative Sales Assistant at Lehman Brothers.
Joanne holds a B.B.A. in Finance with a secondary concentration in Management Information Systems from Saint Bonaventure University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Team
- Operating Partner
- Vice President in Investments
- Vice President, Investments
Joe Raio is a Vice President in Investments at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2021, Joseph was an Associate in the Financial and Business Services Group at Corsair Capital. He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS.
Joe holds a B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Business Analytics from Villanova School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Vice President
- Vice President, Portfolio Solutions
John Mathew is a Vice President in Portfolio Solutions at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, John was a Senior Strategy and Operations Manager at Mainsail Partners working with B2B SaaS companies. Previously, he was a Senior Consultant for Oliver Wyman primarily working on private equity transactions in the education sector. He began his career as an Associate at Parthenon-EY in their Education in Emerging Markets Practice.
John holds a B.A. in Political and Social Thought from The University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Principal in Portfolio Solutions
- Principal, Portfolio Solutions
John Sander is a Principal in Portfolio Solutions at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, John was an Executive Director at Vista Consulting Group. Previously, he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.
John received a B.A. in Computer Science from Pomona College, a Fulbright scholarship in machine learning, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Vice President
- Vice President, Portfolio Solutions
Josh Chawla is a Vice President in Portfolio Solutions at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2020, Josh was an Associate in the Economic and Valuation Services group at KPMG.
Josh holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Leadership Studies from University of Richmond.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Analyst, Portfolio Solutions
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Team
- Operating Partner
- Principal
- Principal, Investments
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2021, Kevin was a Vice President at Reverence Capital where he worked on private equity investments in the financial services sector. Previously, he was an Associate at Sageview Capital. He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Consumer and Retail group at Morgan Stanley.
Kevin is a Senior Advisor to Lightyear Fund V, L.P. and its parallel investment vehicles.
He brings extensive leadership and knowledge of banking and payments technology related to Fund V's investment themes, including the digitization of financial products and services, the integration of payments technology, the growth in compliance, and specialized commercial and consumer finance.
Kevin held several senior leadership roles within financial services having spent 18 years working at JPMorgan Chase & Co., most recently serving as CEO of Chase Card Services. Prior to leading Card Services, he was CEO of Mortgage Banking. Prior to that, he was Head of Originations, Technology, and the Customer Experience across Mortgage Banking. He joined Mortgage Banking from Business Banking where he served as CEO for five years.
Kevin held several roles at Bank One prior to its merger with JPMorgan Chase, including Head of the Corporate Internet Group, President of the Consumer Internet Group, Chief Strategy Officer of the Consumer Internet Group, and Chief Marketing Officer of Wingspan, Bank One's Internet-only bank.
Since retiring from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2017, he has been an Adjunct Finance Professor at Tulane University. Kevin also serves on the Board of Lendmark, a Lightyear Fund IV portfolio company.
Kevin holds a bachelor's degree in Finance and Financial Management Services from Lehigh University, as well as an M.B.A. from The University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Operating Partner
Kristy Crossan is an Executive Assistant at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2005, Kristy was a Marketing Manager in licensing and media at 4Kids Entertainment. She began her career as an Executive Assistant at 4Kids Entertainment and its subsidiary Summit Media Group.
Kristy holds a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the Pennsylvania State University.
Job Titles:
- Head
- Operating Partner
- Principal
- Principal, Head of Human Capital
Lane McPhillips is a Principal and Head of Human Capital at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear, Lane was a Director at CI Capital Partners, assuming overall responsibility for Human Resources and Office Management. Previously, she held similar roles at MKP Capital Management and Arrowgrass Capital Partners. Prior to that, she was an Office Manager at G.C. Andersen Partners.
Lane holds a B.A. in Human Development with a minor in Psychology and a focus on Organizational Behavior from Boston College.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Operating Partner
Lauren Parry is an Executive Assistant at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Lauren was an Executive Assistant at American Industrial Partners. Previously, she was an Executive Assistant and Office Manager at Merus Global Investments.
Lauren holds a B.S. in Communication from Cornell University and a Masters in Elementary Education from Lesley University.
Job Titles:
- Office Manager
- Operating Partner
Liza Terkoski is the Office Manager at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2015, Liza was an Event Sales Manager for Hyatt Corporation.
Liza holds a B.A. in Hospitality Management from Madonna University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director, General Counsel, CAO
Lori Forlano is a Managing Director, the General Counsel, and the Chief Administrative Officer at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2005, Lori worked at Context Capital Management, a convertible arbitrage hedge fund, where she was a Managing Director of Business and Legal Affairs. Previously, she was an attorney for private equity and hedge funds at Morgan Stanley. Prior to working at Morgan Stanley, she was an Associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Lori holds a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review.
Marc is a Senior Advisor to Lightyear Fund V, L.P. and its parallel investment vehicles.
He brings extensive leadership and knowledge of financial technology related to Fund V's investment themes, including the digitization of financial products and services, the integration of payments technology, the growth of data and automation, and specialized commercial and consumer finance.
Marc recently served as Chief Information Officer at Fiserv, a Fortune 200 financial services technology company. In this role, he oversaw information technology infrastructure and operations, corporate systems, enterprise architecture, technology governance, and led the company's strategic focus on next- generation technology platforms, including the mergers and acquisition strategy from a technology perspective. His responsibilities covered mobile, digital, and payments from core account processing to data services.
Prior to that, he served in other leadership roles at Fiserv: President, Digital Channels, where he drove strategy, product management and marketing for a range of digital banking solutions; and Senior Vice President, Banking and Aggregation for Electronic Payments, where he successfully oversaw the development and delivery of money movement products as well as account aggregation tools.
Before joining Fiserv in 2013, Marc was the President and CEO at Mamasource, one of the largest e-commerce platforms focused on mothers, where he was responsible for business growth and strategic partnerships. He has also served as Managing Director of e-business at Barclays Global Investors and has held senior leadership positions at H&R Block and Electronic Arts.
In addition to launching and selling his own startup, he has served as the technical and business advisor to numerous start-ups and as the CTO for several large, online trading platforms - bringing leading-edge technology to market in a fast-paced environment.
Marc currently serves on the Boards of Schellman, a Lightyear Fund V portfolio company, and HPOne, a Lightyear Fund IV portfolio company.
Marc holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in Human Resource Management from Golden Gate University.
Maria is a Senior Advisor to Lightyear Fund V, L.P. and its parallel investment vehicles.
She brings more than three decades of experience in marketing, customer experience, digital platform development, pricing strategy, and product development, as well as regulatory compliance.
She has a penchant for delivering business results based on an understanding of consumer demand and analytics, business dynamics, and P&L management. She is deeply experienced in complex change management while remaining focused on delivery of business outcomes.
Previously, Maria was the US Head of Digital and Innovation at Santander, a role she took on from 2018 to 2020. She was responsible for the alignment of Santander's US businesses with Santander Group's digital and product platform development. In addition, she oversaw Santander's digital, marketing, and brand initiatives.
She joined Santander in September 2016 as Santander's Chief Marketing & Digital Officer for Santander's Consumer and Business Banking organization.
Prior to joining Santander, Maria was the Chief Marketing Officer at both Fifth Third Bank and Citi's Small Business unit, and before that held senior marketing and digital roles at various financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan Chase.
One of American Banker 2019's Women to Watch, Maria has been a long-standing supporter of women's advancement in the workplace. She now serves as an Advisory Board member for Reserve Squad, a new venture enabling companies to retain women in the workforce, advance gender equality, and maximize labor investment through its in-house talent management solution. She is also a Board Director at Allworth Financial, a Lightyear Fund V Portfolio Company.
Maria holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, and an MBA, with Marketing Concentration from NYU, Stern School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Partner and a Member
Mark Vassallo is the Managing Partner and a member of the Investment Committee and Management Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear at inception, Mark served as a Managing Director at PaineWebber, where he played an integral role in negotiating and managing PaineWebber's merger with UBS in 2000, creating a top wealth and asset management firm. During his two-decade career at PaineWebber, he served the firm operating across a range of businesses including investment banking, corporate mergers and acquisitions, hedge funds, private client group, and several other areas.
Mark holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. He is a member of the St. Mark's School Board of Trustees and a former Board Member of NYC Outward Bound Schools.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Senior Advisor
Martin Sullivan is an Senior Advisor at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2014, Martin was Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings plc and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Willis Global Solutions. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of American International Group Inc. (AIG), where he worked for 37 years.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Associate, Investments
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director and a Member
Max Rakhlin is a Managing Director and a member of the Investment Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2015, Max worked at Goldman Sachs in the Financial Institutions Group, where he focused on advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and capital raises. He began his career as a consultant at Towers Perrin, today a part of Willis Towers Watson.
Max holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Duke University. He is a Board Member of the Council for Economic Education.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director and a Member
Michael Langer is a Managing Director and a member of the Investment Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Michael was a Partner at Five Arrows Capital Partners where he focused on investments across the healthcare sector. Previously, he worked at Diamond Castle Holdings, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Leonard Green & Partners. He began his career as an Analyst in the investment banking division at Deutsche Bank.
Michael holds a B.S. in Finance from Boston College and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director and a Member
Michal Petrzela is a Managing Director and a member of the Investment Committee and Management Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to rejoining Lightyear in 2005 after working as a Summer Associate in 2004, Michal worked at Barclays in London in the Financial Institutions Group, where he helped to develop a balance sheet advisory practice. Previously, he was at Credit Suisse in New York, also in the Financial Institutions Group, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions in both the United States and Europe. He began his career at Arthur Andersen as a consultant in the Financial Markets Practice.
Michal holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Associate, Investments
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Solutions
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Vice President, Investments
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Senior Associate, Investments
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Vice President, Investments
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Operating Partner
Sheetal Lochan is an Executive Assistant at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2021, Sheetal was a Human Resources Generalist at Richemont North America.
Sheetal holds an Associate Degree in Environmental Management from the University of Trinidad & Tobago.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Vice President, Investments
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Executive Chairman of SideKick Health
Steve is a Senior Advisor to Lightyear Fund V, L.P. and its parallel investment vehicles.
He brings more than 30 years of healthcare benefits experience having most recently served as the CEO and Executive Chairman of Alegeus, a leading benefit administration platform in consumer directed healthcare and a former Lightyear Fund III portfolio company. At Alegeus, Steve helped transform the consumer experience of managing healthcare benefit accounts to get the right coverage, care and savings strategies and led Alegeus to a successful outcome for Lightyear Fund III.
Prior to Alegeus, Steve was the President of Connextions, a leading member acquisition platform for the nation's top health plans, which was acquired by OptumHealth in 2011.
Steve is currently the Executive Chairman of SideKick Health and sits on the Boards of HPOne, a Lightyear Fund IV portfolio company, and Vesta Healthcare. He has also held senior leadership positions with UnitedHealth Group, ChannelPoint, and Cigna.
Steve holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A in Finance from the University of Hartford.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Investment Committee
- Operating Partner
- Managing Director and a Member
Stewart Gross is a Managing Director and a member of the Investment Committee at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2005, Stewart spent 17 years at Warburg Pincus, where he was a Partner and member of the Operating Committee. Stewart began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst in Mergers and Acquisitions at Morgan Stanley.
Stewart holds a B.A. in Government from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. He is a Trustee of Boys and Girls Harbor and a Director of the New York City Partnership Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Principal, Investments
Job Titles:
- IT Coordinator
- Operating Partner
Wilmer Guzman is an IT Coordinator at Lightyear Capital.
Prior to joining Lightyear in 2022, Wilmer was an IT Support Engineer at CI Capital Partners. Previously, he was a Senior Desk Engineer at IPSoft Inc. He began his career as a Desktop Support Engineer at Onsite In 60 Inc.
Wilmer holds a B.A. in Telecommunications Engineer from PUCMM.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Senior Associate, Investments
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner
- Senior Associate, Investments