CASTLELAKE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner, North American Real Assets
Mr. Gearing joined Castlelake in 2017 and is a leader of its North American Real Assets team. He is primarily focused on executing the firm's investment strategy across transitional real estate, infrastructure, and sub- and non-performing loans in the U.S. He became a partner of the firm in 2020. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Gearing was the president and founder of Gearing Capital Partners, a commercial real estate specialty finance company focused on distressed debt and direct lending across North America. Mr. Gearing has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate finance and investment and has been involved in over $2 billion of completed transactions over the course of his career. Prior to founding Gearing Capital Partners, Mr. Gearing was a vice president at Secured Capital Corporation, where he was responsible for structuring debt and equity investments and raising capital. He has also held roles at JP Morgan Mortgage Capital and Archon Group, a Goldman Sachs subsidiary. Mr. Gearing received an M.B.A. from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University and a B.B.A. in finance and real estate finance from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), and is a board member of the Folsom Institute for Real Estate at the SMU Cox School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Director, Aviation Underwriting
Ms. Frenette joined Castlelake in 2016 and is part of its Aviation Underwriting team, previously as part of the Aviation Finance team. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Frenette was with Chartwell Financial Advisory, where she focused on business valuation and transaction execution. Ms. Frenette received her B.S. from the University of Minnesota in finance and is a CFA® charterholder.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner, Asset - Backed Direct Lending
Job Titles:
- Aviation Counsel, Aviation Legal
Mr. Andrews joined Castlelake in 2021 as part of the Aviation Legal team, focused on managing aviation leasing, trading and financing transactions. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Andrews was with Milbank LLP in London as an associate attorney in the firm's Transportation and Space group, where he focused on advising lessors, lenders, equity participants and airlines on a wide range of leasing, debt financing, capital markets and trading transactions in the aviation sector. Mr. Andrews received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Exeter. Mr. Andrews is admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales (active).
Job Titles:
- Managing Counsel, Aviation Legal
Mr. Godsell joined Castlelake in 2020 and is part of the Aviation Legal team, focused on managing aviation leasing and trading transactions and other legal activities. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Godsell was an associate attorney in the Transportation and Space group at Milbank LLP in London, where he was focused on negotiating aviation leasing, financing and trading transactions. Mr. Godsell received his Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Exeter. Mr. Godsell is admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales (active).
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner
Job Titles:
- Partner, Chief Commercial Officer, Aviation
Mr. Buckley joined Castlelake in 2015 and is head of its Aviation Marketing team. He is primarily focused on leading the origination of aviation investment opportunities globally. He became a partner of the firm in 2021. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Buckley spent five years at Danish Air Transport. In this role, he served as vice president of business development, where he was responsible for the airline's wet and dry leasing, as well as aircraft acquisition and sales. Prior to 2010, Mr. Buckley worked for Hunt and Palmer, a global aircraft charter company, where he completed placements in Paris, Hong Kong, Australia and London. While at Hunt and Palmer, he specialized in aircraft charter brokering on executive and commercial aircraft, as well as aircraft sales and leasing, managing relationships with clients and airlines on all levels internationally. Mr. Buckley received his B.A. in business economics from the University of Exeter.
Mr. Pelly joined Castlelake in 2016 and is part of the Aviation Marketing team, focused on aircraft remarketing and business development. Specifically, he concentrates on opportunities in Asia and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Pelly was with AeroTurbine, a wholly owned subsidiary of AerCap group as a vice president of sales. Based in Singapore and London, he was responsible for all engine leasing and trading activity for the company's Asian and European markets. Before joining AeroTurbine, Mr. Pelly held roles at TES Aviation Group as a senior vice president in the commercial group, responsible for a global portfolio of leased aircraft engines, and as a market analyst for Rolls-Royce PLC. Mr. Pelly received his M.S. in project management from Manchester University and bachelor's degrees in engineering and business management from the University of Birmingham.
Mr. Suarez Alvarado joined Castlelake in 2021 and is part of the Real Assets team. He is primarily focused on sourcing and analyzing new investments for Castlelake in Southern Europe and managing Castlelake's investment book in Spain. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Suarez Alvarado was a senior associate at ActivumSG, with a focus on real estate investments. Prior to ActivumSG, he developed his career in Arcano Partners. He received his economics degree from Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). Mr. Suarez Alvarado holds a master's in finance from London Business School and a master's in town planning from CEU San Pablo University. He is fluent in Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Head of Americas, Aviation Commercial
Mr. Lazzari joined Castlelake in 2023 as part of the Aviation Commercial team, focused on aviation investments, relationship management in the Americas and managing Castlelake's existing portfolio of assets in the region. Prior to joining Castlelake, he was with Airbus Americas, most recently as vice president of sales within the commercial aircraft division, where he focused on managing the relationship with North American airlines and selling aircraft. Prior to that role, he served as sales director, contracts director and airline marketing director with Airbus Americas and cabin marketing manager at Airbus S.A.S in Toulouse, France. Mr. Lazzari received his master's degree in engineering from University of Surrey, with honors. He is fluent in French and Italian, as well as conversational in Spanish.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner
Mr. Ayotte joined Castlelake in 2015 as part of the Aviation Underwriting team, where he has since joined the Aviation Trading team. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Ayotte was with Piper Jaffray's consumer investment banking group, where he focused on consumer retail mergers and acquisitions and equity offerings. Mr. Ayotte received his B.S. from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College in finance and marketing, magna cum laude.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner
- Partner, Global Real Assets
Mr. D'Alessandro is a partner at Castlelake and a leader of its Real Assets team. He is primarily focused on originating investment opportunities in transitional real estate, infrastructure, renewables and power stability, and sub- and non-performing loans. Mr. D'Alessandro is also a member of the firm's Investment Review Committee. He joined Castlelake in 2011 and became a partner in 2018. Previously, Mr. D'Alessandro led the firm's Spanish land banking investment strategy and was also responsible for executing its investment strategy in Portugal, Italy and Greece, the United Kingdom and Ireland. His expertise includes direct asset and non-performing loan opportunities as well as equity public offerings.
Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. D'Alessandro was an investment consultant at Deutsche Bank in its special situations group, focusing on non-performing loan investments across Europe. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. D'Alessandro was an investment associate at CVI within the Loan Portfolio Group. At CVI, he worked on non-performing loan and real estate investments in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. Mr. D'Alessandro received his M.B.A. from the London Business School and received his B.Sc. in finance from Manhattanville College, cum laude. Mr. D'Alessandro is a native English and Spanish speaker.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Aviation Legal
Ms. Lawson joined Castlelake in 2017 and is part of the Aviation Legal team, focused on transaction management for aviation asset sales and leasing. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Lawson was an assistant vice president on the Aviation Asset Management team at DVB Bank SE, a specialist in international transportation finance. There, Ms. Lawson oversaw ongoing commercial lease management. Ms. Lawson received her B.Sc. in psychology from the University of Kent, with honors.
Evan Carruthers - CEO, Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Co - Chief Executive Officer
- Managing Partner
- Member of the Executive Committee
Mr. Dodd joined Castlelake in 2019 and is part of the Aviation Trading team, focused on trading aircraft and engines with counterparties in the EMEA region. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Dodd was with TS&S Aerospace (part of Mubadala Aerospace Group) in Abu Dhabi, where he focused on developing new relationships with key airline accounts globally. Before TS&S, Mr. Dodd was with Rolls-Royce as a Sales Director, where he focused on selling Trent engines with TotalCare contracts to airlines in Asia-Pacific and greater China regions. Mr. Dodd received his M.Eng. from the University of Glasgow in mechanical engineering, with honors and a major in aeronautics.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner, Deputy Co - Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Aviation General Counsel, Aviation Legal
Ms. Delehanty joined Castlelake in 2020 and is head of the Aviation Legal team, focused on managing aviation leasing and trading transactions, and other legal activities. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Delehanty was Head of Transaction Negotiation with CDB Aviation, where she focused on negotiation of aviation leasing and trading transactions. Ms. Delehanty received her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Dublin, Trinity College. Ms. Delehanty is admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England & Wales and the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland (active).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner, Deputy Co - Chief Investment Officer
McConnell joined Castlelake in 2007 and is Deputy Co-chief Investment Officer. In this role, Mr. McConnell is responsible for guiding and executing the firm's global investment strategy across asset classes, overseeing the firm's Opportunistic Asset Solutions and Aviation fund portfolios, and supporting the growth and development of its investment teams. He is also a member of the firm's Executive Committee and its Investment Review Committee and is a Director of Castlelake Aviation Ltd. and Castlelake's aircraft securitizations. Mr. McConnell became a partner of the firm in 2017 and has previously served in portfolio management and investment roles, including co-head of the firm's Aviation and Real Assets businesses. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. McConnell worked in Piper Sandler's investment banking division. Mr. McConnell received his B.S.B. in finance and accounting from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, summa cum laude.
Mr. Yafra joined Castlelake in 2021 and is part of the Real Assets team, focused on real estate investments in North America. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Yafra was a private equity associate with Silverpeak Strategic Partners, where he focused on transactions in the infrastructure and energy industries. Prior to Silverpeak, he was an analyst in the Investment Banking Group of the Wells Fargo, where he was involved in a wide variety of mergers and acquisitions, capital markets financings and strategic advisory assignments for clients. Mr. Yafra holds a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, in finance from Tulane University and was a TABA Service Award recipient. He is fluent in Farsi.
Ms. Pierse joined Castlelake in 2019 and is part of the Aviation Marketing team, focused on aircraft marketing and business development. Prior to Castlelake, Ms. Pierse was with Aircastle, where she focused on remarketing of aircraft and origination of airline investment opportunities. Prior to Aircastle, Ms. Pierse was with Avolon, where she focused on various finance and accounting roles and a business analyst role with an emphasis on the analysis and assessment of all aircraft transactions. She received her bachelor's degree in international commerce from University College Dublin. Ms. Pierse is a member of the Association of Chartered Accountants of Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Director, Aviation Underwriting
Mr. Persinger joined Castlelake in 2007 and is part of its Aviation Underwriting team. Prior to Castlelake, Mr. Persinger was an assistant trader and analyst of Prime and Alt-A mortgages at Residential Capital (Rescap). Mr. Persinger started at Rescap as a financial analyst of credit residuals and mortgage servicing rights. Prior to joining Rescap, he was an auditor at KPMG. Mr. Persinger received his B.S. from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management in accounting.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Real Assets
Ms. Fusi joined Castlelake in 2014 and is part of the Real Assets team, focused on European real estate investments. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Fusi was a manager on Restructuring &Corporate Finance with KPMG in Madrid, where she worked on real estate corporate transactions and investments, as well as on re-financing and insolvency processes within the real estate sector. Prior to KPMG, Ms. Fusi worked as appraiser and consultant on land and real estate developments for diverse clients, including Altamira and Banco Santander, performing appraisals, due diligence, viability studies and asset management projects. Ms. Fusi received her B.Sc. and M.Arch. from the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid in architecture and urban planning. She received a master's degree in real estate management and urban planning from the Icade Business School at Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, Madrid and another in corporate finance and investment banking at Instituto de Estudios Bursatiles. Ms. Fusi is fluent in Spanish, as well as conversational in French and Italian.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Aviation
Ms. Daly joined Castlelake in 2022 and is part of the Aviation Underwriting team, focused on aviation investment opportunities. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Daly was with Avolon where she led a team focused on aviation investment opportunities as well as the oversight and implementation of Avolon's investment strategy. Prior to joining Avolon, Ms. Daly was with Commonwealth Bank Australia in Sydney where she focused on risk management and Allied Irish Banks in Dublin where she focused on various risk management roles in their Capital Markets group. Ms. Daly received her master's degree in finance and capital markets from Dublin City University with first class honors and a bachelor's degree in economics and finance from University College Dublin with first class honors. Ms. Daly is a Chartered Financial Analyst (active).
Job Titles:
- Head of Business Development
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner
Mr. Zampini joined Castlelake in 2020 and is part of the Real Assets team. He is primarily focused on evaluating, underwriting and monitoring investments. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Zampini was with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he focused on M&A and leveraged finance transactions across Europe. Mr. Zampini received his M.S. in business administration and law, and his undergraduate degree in finance from Bocconi University. He also completed an exchange program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Zampini is fluent in Italian.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Real Assets
Mr. Cohen joined Castlelake in 2017 and is part of the Real Assets team, focused on investments in the North American commercial real estate sector. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Cohen worked as a director for Gearing Capital Partners where he was responsible for the sourcing, structuring and execution of debt and equity real estate investments across the U.S. Prior to joining Gearing Capital Partners, he worked as a senior vice president for FirstCity Financial Corporation, a multi-national specialty finance company focused on the acquisition of sub-performing and non-performing loans. Prior to joining FirstCity, he was an associate at Morgan Stanley and Crescent Real Estate Equities. He received his B.S.B.A. with a concentration in finance from the University of Richmond.
Job Titles:
- Head of Middle East & Africa, Aviation Commercial
Mr. Hackett joined Castlelake in 2016 and is part of the Aviation Marketing team, focused on investment origination, aircraft and engine remarketing and commercial account management. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Hackett was with AerSale, where he focused on building new customer relationships, analyzing and pricing strategic listings for both sales, and purchasing of material. Prior to AerSale, Mr. Hackett was with GECAS, where he focused on data analytics and reporting. Mr. Hackett received his B.A. from the Limerick Institute of Technology in business studies.
Job Titles:
- Head of Trading, Aviation
Mr. McCrossan joined Castlelake in 2014 and is head of the Aviation Trading team, focused on managing our global aircraft and engine trading activity. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. McCrossan managed GE Capital Aviation Services' lease engine portfolio where he served as the marketing team's global business lead for commercial decisions around their lease pool including forecasting, acquisitions, disposals and pricing. Prior to GE Capital Aviation Services, Mr. McCrossan served as a sales director at AAR Corporation where he covered the majority of European accounts for AAR's supply chain and engine trading activity. Mr. McCrossan received his B.S. from Northampton University in psychology.
Mr. Ryan joined Castlelake in 2015 and is part of the Aviation Underwriting team, focused on aviation investment opportunities. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Ryan was with Craig-Hallum Capital Group's investment banking group where he focused on M&A transactions. Mr. Ryan started at Wells Fargo's corporate banking group as a financial analyst where he focused on investment grade credit opportunities for financial institutions. Mr. Ryan received his B.S. with distinction from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management in finance and accounting.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Real Assets
Mr. Agrawal joined Castlelake in 2020 and is part of the Real Assets team, focused on distressed investment opportunities in Europe. Mr. Agrawal has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate finance and investment and has been involved in over $7 billion of completed debt and equity transactions over the course of his career. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Agrawal was with Kildare Partners in London, where he focused on distressed and opportunistic real estate acquisitions across Europe. Mr. Agrawal also worked with Deutsche Bank on their European Real Estate Financing and Special Situation team, and prior to that was part of their Financial Institutions Group, Investment Banking team. Mr. Agrawal started his career with Caterpillar in Southeast Asia. He received his M.B.A. from the London Business School and a bachelor's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi.
Job Titles:
- Head of Aviation Risk Management
- in 2020 As Head of Aviation Risk Management
- Member of Castlelake 's Investment Review Committee
Mr. Murphy joined Castlelake in 2020 as Head of Aviation Risk Management. Mr. Murphy is also a member of Castlelake's Investment Review Committee. Prior to Castlelake, Mr. Murphy was with Goshawk as Head of Business Analysis. Before joining Goshawk, Mr. Murphy worked for Investec where he led the bank's pan-European airlines and aviation equity research. Before that, he held positions with Aer Lingus and Cowen and Company. Mr. Murphy is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a M.Sc. in finance and capital markets from Dublin City University and a bachelor's degree in economics from Trinity College Dublin.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer, Aviation
Mr. Kelleher joined Castlelake in 2022 and is part of the Aviation team, primarily focused on managing the Aviation Finance and Treasury teams. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Kelleher was a Chief Financial Officer with AMCK Aviation and was heavily involved in the sale of its $4.3 billion portfolio of 130 aircraft to Carlyle Aviation Partners. Prior to his time at AMCK Aviation, Mr. Kelleher was Chief Financial Officer of Sky Aviation Leasing International, where he was part of the management team that built the $3 billion portfolio of 51 aircraft that was sold to Goshawk in September 2018. Mr. Kelleher began his aviation finance career at KPMG Dublin as a Director in Aviation Finance & Leasing, working in audit and transaction services. Mr. Kelleher received his degree in international commerce with Italian from University College Dublin, with honors. Mr. Kelleher is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Managing Partner, Executive Chair & Co - Chief Executive Officer
Job Titles:
- Head of APAC, Aviation Commercial
Mr. Garg joined Castlelake in 2018 and is part of the Aviation Marketing team, focused on aircraft marketing and business development in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to joining Castlelake, Sankalp was with Avation in Singapore where his responsibilities included aircraft leasing, origination, lessee management and trading activity across markets. Before joining Avation, Mr. Garg was with Aircastle. Mr. Garg is a science graduate with honors in mathematics and qualified in finance from Harvard Business School in the U.S. He is conversational in French.
Job Titles:
- VP Aircraft Marketing & Trading
Mr. Flynn joined Castlelake in 2019 and is part of the Aviation Marketing and Trading team, focused on aircraft marketing and business development along with aircraft and engine trading.Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Flynn was with GECAS Singapore, where he served as Commercial Manager on the helicopter finance and leasing team. In this role, he focused on business development, aircraft leasing and lessee management across North and South Asia Pacific. Mr. Flynn received his B.A. in economics and politics from University College Dublin, Ireland and a master's degree in management from the Michael Smurfit Business School, Ireland. Mr. Flynn also holds a certificate in aviation leasing and finance from the Law Society of Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Director, Aviation Underwriting
Mr. Bhagwat joined Castlelake in 2020 and is part of the Aviation Underwriting team. Prior to Castlelake, Mr. Bhagwat was an associate with HIG Capital's Bayside Fund where he focused on distressed corporate and special situations opportunities. Mr. Bhagwat started his career as an investment banking analyst in Jefferies' Global Industrials and Metals & Mining division. Mr. Bhagwat received a bachelor's degree in economics from Yale University. He is fluent in Hindi and Marathi, as well as conversational in French.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner
- President