LAFAYETTE SQUARE HOLDING COMPANY - Key Persons
Abhay Patel is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Abhay served as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions at Butler Snow Advisory, where he led sell side, buyside and capital raise transactions for companies in the lower- and middle-market. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Abhay served as interim CEO and Board member for the Pelican Institute, where he led the organization through an executive transition and was primarily responsible for supporting Smart on Crime - a public-private partnership that led the passage of historic criminal justice reform legislation in Louisiana. Prior to that role, Abhay was a 2016 candidate for the United States Senate in Louisiana. Before his campaign, Abhay served as Vice President of Business Development for the New Orleans Business Alliance(NOLABA), where he led the firm's business retention, expansion and attraction platform.
Prior to entering the public sector, Abhay spent most of his career as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in New York. While there, he worked on transactions raising over $30 billion of debt and equity capital for leading U.S. companies and advised on several notable mergers and acquisitions. Abhay graduated from Louisiana State University and holds a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President on the Legal Team
Akofa Tsiagbe is a Vice President on the Legal team at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Akofa was an associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP in the bank finance group where she worked on leveraged finance transactions including cross-border acquisition financings and chaired the firm's global Black attorney inclusion network. Akofa spent six months on secondment at Citibank's office in London, where she covered the high yield desk.
A first generation Ghanaian-American, Akofa grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and holds a B.A. in Politics, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of San Francisco and a J.D. from Berkeley Law.
Akshay Yadav is a Senior Associate at Lafayette Square. He has seven years of experience in building business intelligence reports and dashboards for clients in multiple industry domains and utilizes these skills to help organizations make insightful business decisions.
Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Akshay worked with InMoment, Inc. and Inautix Technologies.
Akshay holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics from the University of Pune and a Master of Science, Information System from the University of Utah.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Head of Client Audit
Andrea Felesky is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square with over twenty years of experience across financial accounting, transactions, and public offerings. Prior to joining Lafayette, she was a Senior Director at RSM US in the technical accounting consulting space. Previously, Andrea served as a Director at KPMG, LLP and spent a significant amount of her career in the Deal Advisory practice, focusing on the sell-side, buy-side, and IPO transactions with public and private companies as well as private equity. She began her career as an auditor at Deloitte in 1998.
Andrea received an MBA from the University of Chicago and participated in an overseas study program at SciencesPo in Paris France. She did her undergraduate studies at Youngstown State University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Finance with honors from Youngstown State University. She holds a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) certification.
Andrew Fejer is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square, focused on business development and origination in the Mountain States/Four Corners geography. He brings twenty years of experience in corporate and commercial banking, most recently, serving as Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking at HSBC where he managed complex, multi-product, multi-country client relationships ranging from middle market to large corporate. Prior to his time at HSBC, Andrew spent fourteen years as an Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase, managing all aspects of middle market companies in the Commercial Banking segment.
Originally from Budapest, Hungary, Andrew holds degrees in Literature and Economics from the University of Colorado.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets
Andy Phelps is a Managing Director and the Head of Capital Markets at Lafayette Square with over 25 years of experience in fixed income and structured finance markets. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Andy served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Structured Product Business Development at Black Diamond Capital Management where he was responsible for the development, structuring, and investor base of the U.S. and European CLO businesses.
Before Black Diamond, Andy was the Global Head of Syndicate for the Structured Credit and Solutions Group at Natixis where he was involved in variety of products including middle market CLOs and lending facilities, broadly-syndicated CLOs, esoteric asset-backed and real estate securitizations. Previously, Andy held securitization roles at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs and began his career at J.P. Morgan Investment Management.
Originally from Wisconsin, Andy holds a Bachelors of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also actively involved with the non-profit organization Domus Kids in Stamford, which assists young people facing diversity and empowers them to pursue their path to self-sufficiency.
Anne Havard is a Vice President at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Anne was the Senior Policy Advisor at the Tennessee Department of Human Services, where she led public benefits reform efforts, spearheaded the distribution of pandemic recovery grants to the state's nonprofit sector, and managed strategic partnerships. She also served as a policy advisor in two mayoral administrations in Nashville, TN, where she led initiatives to increase financial empowerment and economic mobility in the city's low-income communities.
Anne began her career in the nonprofit sector, working in nonprofit management and homeless services. Anne has served on the boards of the Center for Nonprofit Management in Nashville and Volunteer Tennessee. She is also a graduate of Nashville Emerging Leaders and the National League of Cities Equitable Economic Development Fellowship.
Originally from Atlanta, GA, Anne holds a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Studies and Religious Studies from Vanderbilt University.
Job Titles:
- Head of Regulatory and Government Partnerships
Antony Bugg-Levine is Head of Regulatory and Government Partnerships at Lafayette Square, with a focus on developing partnerships and impactful services that drive change for communities served by the firm. Antony is a pioneer within the modern impact investing movement, with over 25 years of industry experience.
Antony designed and led The Rockefeller Foundation's impact investing initiative and oversaw its Program Related Investments portfolio from 2007-2011. He convened the 2007 meeting that coined the phrase "impact investing" and in 2009, co-founded the Global Impact Investing Network. He also co-authored "Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference," the first book on impact investing, in 2011. Antony has spent the past 10 years as CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), one of the largest Community Development Financial Institutions in the United States.
Antony holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale, a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs and has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and named one of the 50 most powerful and influential people in the US nonprofit sector by Nonprofit Times in 2018-2020. He currently serves on the Boards of the Global Impact Investing Network and Community Connections for Youth.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President on the Technology Team
Anurag Roy is a Vice President on the Technology team at Lafayette Square. He brings over seven years of experience in product development with multiple industry domains. Prior to joining Lafayette, Anurag was an Assistant Vice President at Barclays Investment Bank.
Previously, he has held positions with Apex Supply Chain Technologies, University of Cincinnati, and Symphony Teleca.
Anurag holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Science from Pune University and a Master of Science, Information System from the University of Cincinnati.
Aquil Stinson is a Director at Lafayette Square. Aquil has over 15 years of experience working with middle market companies and small businesses. Prior to joining Lafayette, Aquil had a 13 year career with JP Morgan Chase. He was an integral member of the business development efforts in the JPMC Mid-Atlantic Commercial banking expansion. He further managed the origination efforts in the Northeast, Southeast and Central markets. As the first banker hired to lead business banking in Washington DC, he was able to build a book of business of over 40 names in under 3 years. Aquil has experience as a principal owner in 3 independent businesses in the field of commercial and residential real estate development and logistics. He began his early career at Goldman Sachs, as a salesperson on their fixed income desk.
Aquil currently serves on the board of Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF). WACIF's mission is to support inclusive entrepreneurship in Washington DC. Originally from Philadelphia, Aquil holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University with a major concentration in finance.
Bart Winokur was the Chairman and CEO of the international law firm Dechert LLC for 15 years and is currently a Partner. Mr. Winokur is currently Vice Chair of the Board of Cornell University. He is also a Trustee and past Chairman of the Board at Brandeis University. He also is on the National Board of the Posse Foundation a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Blair Badham is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Blair served as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions at Butler Snow Advisory. During his time at Butler Snow Advisory, he led sell side, buyside and capital raise transactions for privately owned and closely held businesses. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Blair managed the market launch and business development activities of EBSCO Capital, the investment division of EBSCO Industries. Headquartered in Birmingham, EBSCO Industries is a privately held conglomerate comprised of over 20 businesses and more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Before his role at EBSCO Capital, Blair served in multiple capacities for Jemison Metals, a Birmingham-based steel service center, including strategic planning, cultivating new territories, implementing software-based supply chain management tools, and developing and managing relationships with Fortune 500 industrial conglomerates. Blair began his career in commercial banking, and spent five years with First Commercial Bank's commercial and industrial lending team, where he managed numerous middle market relationships for the bank.
Blair earned a B.S. from the University of Alabama in 2003 and an M.B.A., with honors, from Samford University's Brock School of Business in 2009. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham and serves as treasurer for his church.
Bob Emer - Managing Director
Bob is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Bob served as the Chief Financial Officer in the family office of a former Goldman, Sachs & Co. Vice Chairman. Previously, he spent over 25 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. working in a variety of roles across numerous businesses: Controllers, FICC, Special Situations Group, and Corporate Services. He has also worked at The First Boston Corporation and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. Bob is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in Accounting (cum laude) and is also a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law. He is both a CPA and an attorney. He and his family are puppy raisers for The Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ having raised over 22 puppies as future dog guides.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chief Technology Officer / Executive Committee Member
Bobby Patnaik serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Lafayette Square leading all technology initiatives within the firm. Bobby has 20+ years of industry experience with 14 years in financial services industry. Prior to joining Lafayette, Bobby worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) as the global head of Institutional/Fund reporting and reference data technology. Before that he spent several years developing and leading middle and back office technologies for GSAM. Bobby began his career working for several technology and telecommunication companies like AT&T and Verizon before joining Goldman Sachs in 2006. At Goldman, Bobby was part of the recruiting team focusing on hiring from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He also spent time mentoring women in engineering at Goldman Sachs. Outside of work Bobby loves to run, hike and watching Cricket.
Originally from a small town Keonjhar in the state of Orissa in India, he holds a Bachelors in Commerce/Accounting from Utkal University, India and Master of Science in Computer Science from University of North Dakota.
Britt Stackhouse is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square, focused on business development and origination in the Southeast region on behalf of the LS Credit platform. He brings 20 years of experience in wealth management, investment banking and private credit roles. Prior to joining Lafayette, Britt served as Managing Director for Lampert Debt Advisors, a debt structuring, placement, and strategic advisory firm working with privately held middle market Companies located along the Gulf Coast and across the Southeastern United States. Previously, he spent time with CapitalSource (now PacWest Bank), Nations Equipment Finance (now SLR Capital Partners), and SunTrust Bank (now Truist) in Atlanta, GA. Britt has advised hundreds of clients and companies facing decisions involving transitional capital as a key driver of business and economic growth.
Originally from Pensacola, FL, Britt grew up assisting with the management of his family's third generation ice manufacturing business, People's Crystal Ice Company, until it was sold to the largest distributor of packaged ice products in the US. Britt holds a BA in Economics from the University of Georgia, in Athens, GA.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Investor Relations
Britten Harte is a Vice President, Investor Relations-Impact Specialist at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Britten served as a Director with Cohen & Steers in the Global Marketing and Product Solutions team where she was responsible for product information, marketing and ESG initiatives.
Previously, she spent five years working in Asia. Britten was a Research Analyst on the investor relations and marketing distribution team with BTG Pactual in Hong Kong and facilitated investment dialogue between American and Chinese companies and supported government relations at the American Chamber of Commerce in China. She began her career as a paralegal with Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Britten holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University. She is fluent in Spanish, intermediate Portuguese and continues her lifelong journey learning Mandarin.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chief People Officer / Executive Committee Member
Caitlin McLaughlin is the Chief People Officer at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Caitlin served as Executive Vice President and Talent Strategy Executive for the PNC Financial Services Group with overall responsibility for PNC's enterprise talent strategy.
Previously, Caitlin served as Managing Director focused on global campus recruiting and program management at Citigroup and held a number of roles within the organization and its predecessor companies, Salomon Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers.
Caitlin is a member of the executive committee of Vibrant Pittsburgh, The Forte Foundation and Carlow University. She is also a member of the board of directors of Partner4Work. She chairs the Talent Attraction and Retention Committee for the Allegheny Conference for Community Development. She holds a B.A. in Political Communications from the University of Pittsburgh.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Board
Caleb Hsieh is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. He brings over 20 years of experience in investment banking and credit investing roles. Prior to joining Lafyette, Caleb served as Managing Director for Centerboard Securities, a strategic capital advisory firm.
Previously, Caleb spent 9 years with Macquarie Group, where he was a Managing Director in the firm's credit investing Credit Markets Division unit focused on specialty finance and lender finance as well as a Managing Director in the firm's Leveraged Finance Group and Financial Sponsors Group. Caleb started his career at JP Morgan and has held roles at UBS and Bank of America Securities in financial sponsors and leverages finance roles. Throughout his career, Caleb has completed over 80 lead managed transactions, representing over $55 billion in capital across several industry verticals.
Caleb is a Board Member and has been actively involved with JobsFirstNYC. JobsFirstNYC is a nonprofit intermediary organization and a champion for the workforce needs of out-of-school, out-of-work young adults in New York City.
Originally from Cleveland, OH, Caleb holds BS Management, BS Accountancy, BA Chemistry degrees and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
Chris Carlucci is a Director at Lafayette Square, with a decade of experience focused on private credit and equity investments. Prior to joining Lafayette, Chris was a Director at Brightwood Capital Advisors, where he was responsible for fully managing a $1B portfolio of over 30 investments with responsibilities including underwriting and executing new investments, managing ongoing portfolio company relationships, leading restructuring efforts across underperforming investments, and serving on the Board of Directors of multiple companies. He started his career at Citigroup in Middle Market Banking.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head of Client Engagement
Cindy Helen Brea is Head of Client Engagement, Technology at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Cindy was Head of Pensions East Aladdin Client Engagement at BlackRock where she led a team responsible for driving and building client relationships for BlackRock Solutions' enterprise investment system, Aladdin.
Cindy joined BlackRock Solutions after more than a decade as a Fixed Income macro salesperson. She began her career at Credit Suisse within FX Sales covering hedge fund clients. Thereafter, she was responsible for coverage of institutional clients in Central America and the Caribbean, first at Credit Suisse and then at Morgan Stanley. Her focus was on financial institutions, providing both asset and liability side solutions through structured note ideas, financing, and derivative transactions, respectively. Thereafter, Cindy was responsible for Emerging Markets Local Market product distribution to US institutional investors.
Cindy graduated from Harvard Business School after spending two years in management consulting with Deloitte. She is a Robert Toigo Foundation alumna. She received her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Columbia University in New York. She hails from and lives in Brooklyn, NY by way of the Dominican Republic, and is a founding board member of America Needs You, herself a first-generation college student. She is a wife and a mother to three children.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Vera Institute of Justice
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer / Executive Committee Member
Damien Dwin is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lafayette Square.
Previously, Damien served as Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brightwood Capital Advisors from its founding in 2010 to October 2020.
Damien began his career as a trader with Goldman Sachs, New York & London, there earning the Michael P. Mortara Award for Innovation. At Credit Suisse, he was the Co-Founder and Head of the North American Special Opportunities business until 2010. Damien also served on the Vice President Selection Committee and led the Fixed Income Division Credit Training Program.
He is an active thought leader on place-based investing, mass incarceration, and the use of capitalism for good. He has written for Financial Times, Entrepreneur, and Inc.com.
Damien currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for Vera Institute of Justice. He also serves on the non-profit boards of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Studio Museum in Harlem, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Woodberry Forest School, and Boys' Club of New York. He is also a Council Member of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Damien received a B.S./B.A. from Georgetown University where he served two terms on the Board of Regents.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President of Real Estate
David A. Williams is a Vice President of Real Estate, Impact and Partnerships at Lafayette Square. Previously he served as the Director of Policy Outreach at Opportunity Insights, a research and public policy lab based at Harvard University dedicated to using big data to improve upward mobility in America. He supported research and evidence-based policy change by creating and leading partnerships with communities across the country, including a regional economic opportunity initiative in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Creating Moves to Opportunity, a national housing mobility initiative.
David served as a senior advisor to the Mayor of Detroit where he was a member of the Mayor's economic development team, managing large-scale real estate and community revitalization projects, neighborhood planning initiatives, and policies related to economic mobility, land use, and equitable development. He has also served as an affordable housing and community development attorney and a non-profit management consultant.
David received an AB from Harvard College and a JD from Harvard Law School where he served as President of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, focusing on anti-foreclosure and anti-eviction law and policy.
David serves on the board of directors of Up for Growth and StriveTogether. He also serves as a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute and an advisor to High Opportunity Neighborhood Partners, a real estate firm dedicated to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty by providing homes to low-income families in high opportunity neighborhoods.
David Kraut is General Counsel at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, David was a Managing Director and Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs, where he served as general counsel to multiple asset management businesses, including the Imprint impact investing and Petershill GP stakes businesses. Previously, David practiced corporate law at Debevoise & Plimpton and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and clerked for the Honorable Victor Marrero in the Southern District of New York.
David earned a BA, cum laude, in Ethics, Politics and Economics, and International Studies from Yale University and a JD from New York University School of Law in 2000, where he served as senior notes editor and executive board member of the Law Review. He currently serves as an Advisory Board Member of Hot Bread Kitchen Incubates, an incubator for small food businesses that provides access to affordable kitchen space, training, customers, and networks.
Dean Hoxholli is a Vice President at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Dean was an Investment Banking Associate at Capstone Headwaters where he provided merger and acquisition transaction advisory services to lower middle market and middle market companies and entrepreneurs.
Previously, he served as a Vice President at Valuation Research Corporation where he was a member of the company's portfolio valuation practice focused on valuing illiquid debt and equity securities in private companies for BDC's, private credit funds, pension funds and large institutional asset managers.
Originally from Fairfield, New Jersey, Dean holds a B.S. in global business studies and an MBA with a concentration in finance from William Paterson University.
Don Baylor is the Head of Worker Solutions at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Don served as a Senior Program Officer at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he oversaw the Foundation's portfolio.
Previously, he held roles as Senior Associate with the Urban Institute in Washington, DC where he focused on expanding economic opportunity through JPMorgan Chase, Citi, McArthur and Gates Foundation projects across the US and as Director of OpportunityTexas at Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities) in Austin. Don was a founding member for RAISE Texas, Texas Match the Promise Foundation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board.
Prior to that, he served as legislative and political Director at New York ACORN where he organized campaigns and advanced state and local legislation to curb predatory lending, broaden financial inclusion and expand access to affordable housing in New York. Don began his career as a Senior Consultant at KPMG's State and Local Government Practice, where he performed management and performance audits for school districts, state agencies, and municipal governments.
Originally from Texas, Don holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and M.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently serves as co-chair of the Asset Funders Network Board of Directors, serves on the boards of SaverLife and Equal Measure.
Edith Cooper and her daughter, Jordan Taylor, are founders of Medley, a company that harnesses the power of small groups to help people grow personally and professionally. Ms. Cooper served as Executive Vice President, Global Head, Human Capital Management of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from March 2008 to December 2017 and, prior to that, she held various leadership positions in Goldman Sachs' Securities Division from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Cooper began her career in derivative sales at Bankers Trust and Morgan Stanley. Ms. Cooper is a graduate of Harvard College and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Eric Piazza is a Vice President at Lafayette Square, supporting all technology initiatives across the firm. Eric has over 14 years of financial services and manufacturing experience. Prior to joining Lafayette, Eric was a Vice President with Goldman Sachs' Consumer and Wealth Management Division leading cross-organizational customer experience and process digitization initiatives. Eric began his career working with automotive manufacturers such as Toyota and Delphi Packard.
He was a part of the Firmwide Black Network at Goldman Sachs, focused on convening leading thinkers to share insights and ideas on issues of importance to the firm's black community. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, he holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Executive Chairman
Frank Raines is a Co-Founder and the Executive Chairman of XappMedia and Bespoken two companies which specialize, respectively, in interactive conversational audio application development and testing. Mr. Raines is the retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fannie Mae, and a former Partner of Lazard Freres & Co. He has served as a director of six Fortune 100 companies. Mr. Raines also served as White House Budget Director in the Clinton Administration; earlier he served as Associate Director for Economics and Government in the White House budget office, and as Assistant Director of the White House domestic policy staff, in the Carter Administration. Mr. Raines is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and attended Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Sales and Trading at Morgan Stanley
Mr. Van Amson is Managing Director of Sales and Trading management and administration in the Institutional Equity Division of Morgan Stanley, where he has served for thirty years. Mr. Van Amson also serves as Head of the Firm's North American Analyst and Associate Advising and Development Program. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Van Amson was Vice President - Senior International Trader at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Van Amson is a graduate of Columbia University and the Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Corporate Credit at Caisse De Dépôt Et Placement Du Québec ( CDPQ )
Huy Cao is Managing Director, Corporate Credit at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). In this capacity, he is responsible for building strategic partnerships for the corporate credit portfolio as well as managing origination efforts for private credit. He is additionally engaged in the development and monitoring of the corporate credit investment strategy and portfolio. Mr. Cao serves on various CDPQ committees including certain investment and research committees.
Ignacio de Osma Gadea is a Senior Associate at Lafayette Square on the Technology team. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ignacio was a Software Developer at Goldman Sachs, where he focused on building strategic solutions to automate and streamline reports for Goldman Sach's Asset Management (GSAM) division.
Originally from Lima, Peru, Ignacio holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Computer Science with a minor in Economics from Northwestern University. Outside of work, Ignacio loves to play squash, soccer and run.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Member of the Executive Committee
- General Counsel / Executive Committee Member
Ileana Stone is General Counsel at Lafayette Square. Ileana has over three decades of experience advising corporations, private equity and venture capital funds on portfolio company investments, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ileana was the Associate General Counsel at Bank of America supporting the Global Principal Investments group for over seventeen years, which deploys capital worldwide in private equity, mezzanine and strategic transactions through equity financings, fund commitments, and acquisitions. During her tenure, assets under management were as high as $14Bn across over 1,200 investments. Ileana began her legal career at Katten Muchin Rosenman and prior to that was part of the mergers and acquisitions group of Ernst & Young.
Originally from Northbrook, IL, Ileana holds a B.B.A., Accounting and an M.P.A. with a specialty in Taxation from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Jacqueline is a Vice President at Lafayette Square, bringing over 9 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Lafayette, Jacqueline was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, leading global digital transformation initiatives and providing organizational design solutions to support business growth and operational efficiencies within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).
Outside of work, Jacqueline serves as a Mentor and Co-Director for the International Students Inc NYC (ISNYC) Professional Mentorship Program (PMP) at NYU. Originally from Toronto, she holds a Bachelors in Computer Science with a Speech Communication Minor from the University of Waterloo, Canada.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
- Managing Director and Head of Liabilities
- Managing Director, Head of Liabilities
Joseph Johnson is a Managing Director and Head of Liabilities at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Joseph served as a Senior Vice President in the Capital Markets Group at Goldman Sachs & Co. Joseph has over 20 years of experience in capital markets, responsible for financial institutions coverage and ABS securitization. Joseph started his career in investment banking at the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, and he has also worked for Standard & Poor's Ratings in the Structured Finance Group.
Joseph serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and serves on the Board of Directors for Columbia Children's Hospital and the Classical Theatre of Harlem in New York.
Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Joseph holds a BA in Economics and a Ph.D. (ABD) in Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Job Titles:
- Director of Economic Research
- Director, Research Economist
Joshua Spolsdoff serves as Director of Economic Research at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Josh was a Senior Economist at the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, where he led research for local businesses, non-profits, and the State of Utah. He specialized in regional economies, economic impact analyses, and public finance. Previously, Josh was a consultant for Dell EMC, performing a diverse range of project management and senior analytic roles for Fortune 500 companies and the federal government.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Impact Credit
Lori Scott is the Managing Director, Impact Credit at Lafayette Square, responsible for creating investment opportunities in overlooked places and underserved markets nationally. For 25 years, Lori has developed and executed impact investment strategies globally, with a focus on increasing capital for underserved people and places.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate on the Credit Team
Luisa Majnoni is a Senior Associate on the Credit team at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Luisa was an Investment Analyst at Sandton Capital Partners, where she focused on distressed debt and equity investments in American and European middle market companies.
Born in Rome, Italy, and raised in Washington, D.C., Luisa holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from New York University and an M.A. in Economics from Columbia University. She also sits on the Junior Board of the Partnership for After School Education.
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications
Mary Ann Raftery is the Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining, Mary Ann served as a Senior Associate on the Client Service Business Development Team at Brightwood Capital Advisors, partnering with the senior investment team on strategic initiatives across the firm. Previously, she was a Coordinator with Gerson Lehrman Group ("GLG"). In her role with GLG, she had roles in Event Management & Logistics, Community Research & List Building, Tracking & Reporting, and New Product Development. Outside of work, Mary Ann played volleyball at Mount Saint Mary College leading the team to their first NCAA appearance as captain her senior year. Mary Ann is a frequent volunteer for the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center organizing beach clean ups.
Originally from Long Beach, NY on Long Island, Mary Ann holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Saint Mary College where she was a double major in Public Relations and Media Studies.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and CEO of FS Investments
Michael Forman is Chairman and CEO of FS Investments and has been leading the company since it was founded in 2007. Prior to co-founding FS Investments, Mr. Forman had a successful career as a corporate and securities lawyer and serial entrepreneur. Mr. Forman devotes a substantial amount of his time to civic endeavors and serves on a number of charitable boards.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Capricorn Investment Group
Michaela Edwards is a Partner at Capricorn Investment Group, one of the largest mission-aligned investment firms in the world. Prior to joining Capricorn in 2019, she spent nine years as a Senior Portfolio Manager with Norges Bank Investment Management, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, where she lead the external global environmental portfolio. Before joining Norges, Michaela worked as a research analyst for Russell Investments in London and New York. She started her career on the trading desk of DNB in Oslo. She is a graduate of Cass Business School in London and Oslo University College. She is a CFA charter holder.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Internal Operations
Miriam Tejada is the Director of Internal Operations at Lafayette Square. Prior to Lafayette, Miriam was a Senior Manager with Capital One within the Diversified Industries group in Corporate Banking. She monitored portfolio activities, spearheaded regulatory requests and interacted with Internal Audit. Her career in finance began at American Capital, where as Manager of the Investment Committee she provided business intelligence to the company's Investment Professionals, Senior Management and the Board of Directors. After American Capital, she was an Independent Consultant to companies who needed help developing data implementation strategies.
Miriam holds a Master in Business Administration focused in Business Strategies from Zicklin School of Business, and a Master of Science from New School University in Urban Policy Analysis and Management. She is also a graduate of Daemen College, in Amherst, NY and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Miriam teaches Communications and Soft Skills at the Science and Technology Entry Program(STEP) at Vaughn College.
Nicole Pereira is a Director at Lafayette Square, with over twelve years of experience in middle market private credit as an investor, portfolio manager, and restructuring manager. Prior to joining Lafayette, Nicole was a Director on the credit team at Brightwood Capital Advisors, where she managed a portfolio of $2B, worked on deal teams investing throughout the capital structure, managed over a dozen workouts/restructurings across various industries, and acted as a board representative on behalf of the firm. She started her career at Citigroup in the middle market lending group and graduated from Citigroup's credit training program.
Originally from Long Island, NY, Nicole holds a BBA from Hofstra University.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder of Nia Tero
- Director at First Eagle Holdings, Inc
Peter A. Seligmann is the CEO and co-founder of Nia Tero, a joint venture of the Emerson Collective, the MacArthur Foundation, the Mulago Foundation and Conservation International. Nia Tero works alongside Indigenous peoples and local communities in securing their rights, cultures, and well-being through agreements that secure the vitality of their oceans and lands. Peter is also the Chairman of the Board, and former CEO, of Conservation International (CI), a global nonprofit organization he co-founded in 1987.
Peter is also a Director at First Eagle Holdings, Inc. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the board of the Mulago Foundation, and served on the Coca-Cola Company's International Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2014. Peter was also named to the Enterprise for the America's Board by President Clinton in 2000.
Peter holds a Master of Science in Forestry and Environmental Science from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology from Rutgers University. Peter has Honorary Doctorates in Science from Michigan State University and Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Risk Officer
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chief Risk Officer / Executive Committee Member
Phil Daniele is the Chief Risk Officer at Lafayette Square. Phil is responsible for creating and enforcing an integrated risk framework for evaluating and monitoring all Lafayette Square fund investments.
With over 37 years of experience, Phil was the former Chief Risk Officer at Brightwood Capital and served on Brightwood's Executive and Valuation Committees. Prior to Brightwood, he was the Chief Credit Officer for the Americas at Credit Suisse. He was responsible for approving all credit extensions in the Americas portfolio including corporates, financial institutions, hedge funds and private clients. Previously, Phil served as Head of Corporate Credit Americas, which included the Credit Suisse Leveraged Finance business. He began his career at CIT Factoring in 1984.
Phil is a Board Member and has been actively involved with Flames Neighborhood Youth Association since 1979. Flames is a Brooklyn based organization primarily dedicated to the improvement of the lives of African American youth and the betterment of interracial relationships in the communities we serve. Additionally, he is a Board Member of Soul of the Peruvian Andes, a nonprofit whose mission is providing healthcare and education support to the impoverished villages of the Andes Mountains in Peru.
Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Phil holds a B.B.A., Accounting, and an M.B.A., Finance from Pace University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chief Operating Officer / Executive Committee Member
Renée Beaumont is the Chief Operating Officer at Lafayette Square. Renée is a former Partner at Generation Investment Management, a firm that focuses on sustainable capitalism.
Prior to joining Generation in 2015, Renée served as Managing Director and Global Head of Business Development at Providence Equity Partners LLC where she oversaw all business development, sales and investor relations activities globally across its private equity and credit platforms. Renée joined Providence after almost a decade at Goldman, Sachs &Co., where she was a Managing Director in its Merchant Banking Division. While in the Merchant Bank she was responsible for the division's institutional business development efforts and prior to that, Renée headed the Power & Energy Investing for the Infrastructure Fund at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman, she was an attorney at Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York, NY. Renée clerked for the British Columbia Court of Appeals prior to joining Shearman &Sterling.
Renée is focused on impact investing and is a senior advisor to venture capital funds' - ReGen Ventures and Firework Ventures - a senior advisor to Blue Haven Initiative as well as an advisor to BrainTrust. She also sits on the advisory board of NYU Stern's Business and Human Rights center and has been involved with the Public Theater for two decades.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head of Underwriting and Origination
Ryan Ochs leads all underwriting and origination activities for Lafayette Square's credit products and sits on the investment committee for its investment advisor. Ryan has over a decade of experience in credit markets and principal investing across the capital structure, working on deal teams that have directly invested in and/or raised capital for approximately 50 companies totaling over $5B. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ryan held investment professional roles at Brightwood Capital Advisors, Star Mountain Capital, and American Capital. He started his career at RBC Capital Markets in its investment banking division.
Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Ryan holds a BSc from Georgetown University.
Sam Floyd is a Vice President at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Sam was a Senior Associate - Investor Relations at HealthCare Royalty Partners, focused on product development, marketing / distribution, and managing the firm's global institutional investor and consultant relationships. He began his career in the Financial Sponsors Group of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank, helping advise senior private equity professionals on their investment, banking, credit and estate planning strategies.
Sam serves with iMentor as a Mentor Ambassador, and is a board member of The Sustainable Culture Lab as well as The Manhood On The Go Foundation.
Originally from Atlanta, GA, Sam holds a B.S. in Business-Administration from Florida A&M University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer of Schusterman Family Interests LLC
- Chief Investment Officer, Schusterman Family
Sender Cohen is Chief Investment Officer of Schusterman Family Interests LLC, the investment office for the Schusterman family, as well as for the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. Previously, Mr. Cohen was the President of Soros Capital, and prior to that he was the Director of Research and Head of External Allocations at Soros Fund Management. Mr. Cohen is a trustee of Yeshiva University and the co-founder of the Natan Fund. Mr. Cohen is a graduate of Yeshiva University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer of the Credit Team
- Chief Financial Officer, Credit
Seren is Chief Financial Officer of the Credit team at Lafayette Square. He brings over fourteen years of experience in public accounting, primarily focused on the financial services industry. Prior to joining Lafayette, he was a Senior Manager in Ernst & Young LLP's Wealth and Asset Management audit practice specializing in serving both traded and non-traded BDCs, private equity funds and credit funds and a Senior Accountant with BlumShapiro.
Seren began his career at ING US Financial Services as an analyst serving managed retirement accounts. He holds a B.S., cum laude, in Accounting from the Connecticut State University and a Masters, magna cum laude, in Accounting and Taxation from the University of Hartford. Seren is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. He is a member of the AICPA and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Job Titles:
- Director of Real Estate Acquisitions and Strategy
Shannon Dwyer Pasch is the Director of Real Estate Acquisitions and Strategy at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Shannon was a Director at the social impact real estate private equity firm, Turner Impact Capital, where she served as a real estate investor and developer of best-in-class healthcare and educational facilities in underserved communities throughout the US.
Previously, Shannon was the Manager of Strategic Analysis and Finance at the fast-growing startup, Dollar Shave Club. Prior to DSC, Shannon was a public equity investor at Eton Park Capital Management, a $10 billion multi-strategy hedge fund, where she managed an approximately $500mm portfolio of event-driven and value-oriented energy investments in North America. She began her career in the Restructuring and Reorganization Group at Blackstone.
Shannon lives in Santa Monica, California. She has a BS in Economics from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania where she graduated summa cum laude and was named Wharton Woman of The Year.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head of Loan Operations