CASTLE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / Finance and Real Estate
Brian Stoker Managing Director Finance and real estate professional with Harvard MBA. Specializes in financial modeling, structuring, valuation and capital formation. Brings perspective from both the sell-side and buy-side. Twenty years of experience at investment banks (Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and StormHarbour) and a hedge fund in Greenwich, CT. Currently based in Miami. BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia, MBA from the Harvard Business School. FINRA Series 7, 63, 65, and 79 licensed. bstoker@castleplacement.com (917) 207-9919
Over 15 years of experience in investment banking, advisory, and trading. Began career at Morgan Stanley as a trader in the Fixed Income Division before moving on to Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and UBS where he ran trading and capital markets desks across the structured products space. Recently founded an early stage advisory and investment firm where he has invested in and consulted technology startups and operating companies. B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University with a concentration in Finance. FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Deep and successful history in trading and risk management. Significant revenue producer across fixed income, ABS credit, derivatives and FX traded products. Ran the USD Investment Portfolio for Barclays Bank PLC before transitioning to a senior role in Corporate Treasury at Deutsche Bank USA. Became Co-Head of ALM Americas and took ownership of Interest Rate Risk in the Banking Book. Worked across Risk, Treasury, and Technology to put in place new people, technology, processes, models, reporting, strategy and execution. Delivered a comprehensive ALM Framework for the Combined US Operations. David is also a Managing Director and Head of Banking at McLaren Strategic Ventures.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / Financial
Financial advisor for Morgan Stanley. Led seminars on investing and creating wealth. Met with small business owners to develop employee retirement plans. Advised clients on appropriate asset allocation investment strategies using the Dow 30. Over thirty years in the NYC Department of Education, including as Principal of one of the most challenging middle schools in the poorest districts in the country. Used educational-tech and targeted data to turn the school around. School was named a model for attendance improvement. Supported over two hundred school leaders. Believes ed-tech will reinvent how education is delivered and received. Masters of Science from Fordham University in Educational Leadership. Masters of Science from Iona College in Educational Technology. Bachelor of Arts from New York University in Political Science. FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Donald Jordan / Managing Director
Founder of Loads International WLL. and Ocean Advisory & Consulting WLL. Advised various sovereign entities and family offices. Wide array of investment banking and financial advisory activities including private equity, structured finance, real estate finance and funds management. Served as vice president and senior counsel of Comerica Incorporated and its bank subsidiary Comerica Bank. Responsible for a wide array of international legal activities for the bank holding company and its affiliates, with a portfolio of approximately $6 billion. Provided business and legal advice in corporate finance, banking, syndications, loans, warrant enhancements, workout/restructurings, tax planning, utilization of government guarantee programs, captive insurance, regulatory compliance, litigation management and other areas. Active in a wide array of cross-border of private equity and real estate investment transactions, with a focus on the Middle East. Seed investor in a technology company. Manages a small quantitative hedge fund. Passionate supporter of three charitable organizations. Juris Doctor, Wayne State University, graduating cum laude. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of Michigan-Dearborn, graduating with Highest Distinction and concentrations in Finance and Marketing. Admitted to practice law and member of the Michigan Bar Association. Series 7 and Series 63 licenses.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / Finance and Operations
Douglas Jendras Managing Director Finance and operations executive with broad experience in private and public companies, including emerging ventures. 20 years in telecommunications industry including leadership role positioning restructured company for multi-billion dollar transaction, negotiating agreements, and overseeing due-diligence for merger and acquisition opportunities. 10 years managing investments in real estate and technology while consulting companies in telecommunications, technology, real estate, healthcare, construction and intellectual property. MBA in Finance from Pace University and BA in Psychology from State University of New York at Albany. FINRA Series 7, 63, 79 licenses. Email: djendras@castleplacement.com (C) (203) 501-7667
Over 15 years of experience with corporate venture capital advisory, project finance, and Fortune 500 corporations. Specializes in equity and debt placements for high-growth companies in various industries. Worked at Cummins' corporate venture group and as US partner of 4i, a corporate venture advisory services firm that served Forbes Global 2000 European energy and cleantech companies. Project Director at the AES Corporation helping to lead a new subsidiary focused on managing global power delivery risk. Entrepreneur at GenCell Corporation, a stationary and airborne power fuel cell company, acquired by a Southeast Asian oil conglomerate and at SEADM, a Yale-based real-time detection of explosives and satellite propulsion company with technology developed for the US Air Force and NATO. Completed doctoral studies (all but dissertation) in Mechanical and Chemical Engineering from Carlos III University of Madrid, has done extensive research at Yale University. MBA and international business diplomacy degrees from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and School of Foreign Service. Graduate of the London Business School's Project and Infrastructure Finance Executive Program. FINRA Series 7 and 63.
Extensive background in capital raising, alternative investments, and relationship management. Began career at Brighton House Associates and JP Morgan Chase, focusing on hedge fund and private equity capital raising. Transitioned to asset management at Strategos Capital Management, a specialty asset backed securities manager. Led global fundraising efforts for both open end and closed end vehicles. Bachelor of Science from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. FINRA Series 7 and 63 licensed.
Passionate about helping clients raise capital. During 20+ year professional career, worked with clients on various M&A transactions, management consulting and cost optimization projects. Extensive international network and experience working across US, UK, Norway, Middle East, and India. Actively involved in the startup space with angel investing, entrepreneurship and mentoring. Previously worked with McKinsey & Co., BP, and Equinor. MS in Oil & Gas Engineering from Robert Gordon University, UK and Executive MBA from Cranfield University UK. FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79 licences. Email: hpillai@castleplacement.com C: (213) 245 4246
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor, Revenue & Client Relations
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / Finance and Banking
Jesus Tueme Managing Director Finance and banking executive with a global perspective, broad professional practice and extensive network in Latin America. 22 years at BBVA, BNPP and Credit Agricole. Successful deal-making track record with multinationals, major Latin American issuers and government agencies. Extensive experience in restructuring/special situations, initial public offerings, corporate strategy, evaluating alliances, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, risk management, customer centric and digital strategies, and financial analytics. BS in Economics from Mexico Monterrey Institute of Technology. MBA from the University of California Los Angeles in 1987. Graduated from Harvard Business School General Management Program. Further academic work on Risk Management at Stanford University and as a research and finance scholar at the Monterrey Institute of Technology. Email: jtueme@castleplacement.com (C) (646) 479-7616
Lifelong serial entrepreneur that levitated towards the exciting out-of-home advertising business early in his career, taking this passion into his current OOH companies
Diverse background in investment banking, credit, and asset management. Brings perspective from both the sell-side and buy-side. Began his finance career in commercial and investment banking, managing relationships at JP Morgan Chase and CIBC with customers from various industries. Transitioned to asset management at ACA Capital, where he assembled and managed credit research analyst teams in New York, London and Singapore. After ACA, joined National Australia Bank where he helped manage a $20 billion portfolio of corporate credit assets and managed bank counterparty relationships. B.A. in Economics from Boston College, MBA in Finance from the Columbia Graduate School of Business, and Advanced Professional Certificate in CPA Accounting from the NYU Stern School of Business. FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Extensive career in investment banking, corporate law, finance, and alternative investments. Began his career as an attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York, Washington D.C. and London, and thereafter was a senior corporate finance officer for a private Texas corporation until its sale. Thereafter was an investment banker based in New York and Singapore for two major firms. Managing Director at Arden Asset Management Corp. and Ivy Asset Management Corp. from 2000 to 2010. Managing Director at StormHarbour Partners from 2010-2016. Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Vermont, and J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Serves on the advisory boards of Georgetown University's College of Arts and Sciences and UVM's School of Business. FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79. Charter member of Army Historical Foundation's 1814 Society.
Over 18 years of experience as an advisor and attorney. Focus on asset acquisitions and real estate transactions in Spain and internationally. Has been a special advisor and collaborator with several companies in a wide variety of industries. Founding owner of the Investor Society. Founding owner of JMCT Investments. LL.B (law degree) from the UNED and the University International of Catalonia. LLM in Maritime Law from the UAO CEU Barcelona Law School. Fintech Certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Retired from the United States Air Force after 20 years of service. Diverse background as a in investment banking, credit, and asset management. Brings perspective from both the sell-side and buy-side. Began his finance career in investment consultant with Fidelity Investment. Also started the BT84 Group which focused on commercial and investment banking, managing relationships with customers from various industries. B.S. in Accounting from University of Maryland, MBA and PhD in Finance from Trident University International. Retired from the United FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Seventeen years of investment banking experience. Joined BNP Paribas in early 2000. Five years within the Corporate and Investment Banking team. Three years representing US and Latin America's energy-focused teams in front of the bank's top management. Based in Houston for the last ten years, focused primarily on the US and Latin America oil and gas industry. Relationship manager within the Energy Group at Wells Fargo Bank before returning to BNP Paribas to run the Oil and Gas Structured Debt team. BA in Accounting from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico. Fluent in Spanish, English and French. FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses..
As one of the founders of Castle Placement, Ken is passionate about helping great companies grow. Over 25 years of experience in investment banking and raising capital from institutional private equity/venture investors, family offices, foundations, endowments, hedge funds, banks and specialty finance lenders. Co-founded Castle Placement in 2009, providing investment banking services and raising private equity/debt capital for early-stage and middle market companies across a wide range of industries including financial services/fintech, real estate, technology, business services, energy/real assets and consumer/retail. In 2007, created a platform providing advisory and capital formation services to financial institutions and private equity funds investing in distressed bank portfolios and community banks which was merged into Castle Placement*. From 1999 to 2007, at Merrill Lynch was co-head of the 50+ person global structured credit products investment banking, sales and syndicate and head of the U.S. alternative investment group raising capital for alternative investment funds in financial services and asset management. From 1991 to 1999, was at Credit Suisse First Boston as a senior trader on a principal transaction desk responsible for managing a proprietary position of credit sensitive commercial/residential real estate and asset-backed securities and head of CSFB's new issue whole loan and agency CMO desk. Began his career in 1985 at Arthur Andersen where he managed their structured finance group consulting on ground breaking securitizations of residential mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, corporate loans and other financial assets. FINRA Series 7, 24, 63, and 79 licenses.
Over 30 years of experience in investment banking and capital markets. Managing Director at CRT Capital, where he advised institutional investors on asset allocation. Managing Director at RBS Greenwich Capital, where he was well regarded for his weekly publication "Cross-Sector Strategy" and frequent notes distributed to over 1,000 large, global institutional investors. Spent eight years at Merrill Lynch, serving as Chief Fixed Income Strategist and built the Mortgage Research department. At CS First Boston initially analyzed investor portfolios and recommended trading strategies to improve performance, and became lead author of "The Relative Value Review". At CityFed Financial, built and managed a multi-billion-dollar bond portfolio and served as Director of Asset-Liability Management. M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Penn State University. FINRA Series 7, 16, 24, and 63 licenses.
Over twelve years of experience in corporate and investment banking with various global financial institutions. Located in Singapore. Clients include Fortune 500 corporations and SMEs. Oversees project, structured and trade finance transactions. Active in capital markets transactions, bond issuance, mergers and acquisitions and debt placements. Deep industry expertise in oil and gas, energy services. marine, resources, renewables, commodities, logistics, power, infrastructure and real estate. Head of Corporate Finance with a Hong Kong Listed Energy Company with a market cap of +$1 billion. Managed the company's fund raising requirements for global assets. Close relationships with business owners, corporate and investment banks, private equity firms, funds, family offices and high net worth individuals in Asia. Graduated with Honours at the University of London (External Programme) with a Bachelors of Science in Business. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Prior to Apex, started three successful businesses involved with residential real estate - Prism Mortgage Company, Prospect Mortgage Company, and Jordan Capital Finance (JCF). No investors experienced losses and all lenders were fully repaid. These companies originated over $50 billion of mortgage loans. Sole founder/CEO of JCF, which had 2,000 clients nationwide and became one of the top three lenders to fix and flip investors in the US. JCF developed sophisticated property valuation/underwriting methodologies that resulted in no loan losses. JCF was sold to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group in 2017. BA, University of Michigan.
Over 20 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, and valuation. Was Director of Investment Banking at Entoro Capital. Previously Managing Director at Valuation Research and Director of Valuation and Analysis at Arctas Capital Group. Successful track record evaluating alternative investment opportunities, formulating valuations, raising project finance debt capital, assessing exits, advising clients and investors, and monetizing private equity investments. Chartered Financial Analyst. BBA in Accounting and Executive MBA with Honors from the University of Texas. FINRA series 63, 79, 82 licenses.
Co-founded Castle Placement in 2009, providing investment banking services and raising private equity/debt capital for early-stage and middle market companies across a wide range of industries including financial services/fintech, real estate, technology, business services, energy/real assets and consumer/retail. Over 25 years of experience in investment banking, capital markets, real estate, proprietary investing, and alternative investments, and has completed several successful advisory, capital formation, and financing transactions. Managing Director at Ivy Asset Management Corp., a leading alternative investment asset management firm, responsible for investment strategy, risk management, and portfolio construction, and a member of the firm's Investment Risk Management Committee. Managing Director-Principal at Bear, Stearns & Co., where he was the head of North American Structured Credit Distribution, responsible for structuring and distributing complex structured finance products in North America, and executing debt capital markets transactions for large financial institutions. Client base included insurance companies, banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, and structured vehicles. Director in the Principal Transactions Group at Credit Suisse First Boston, responsible for investing the firm's proprietary capital through the origination, structuring, and purchasing of debt secured by various asset classes and commercial mortgage backed securities. Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. and L.L.M. (in Taxation) from the New York University School of Law. FINRA Series 7, 24, 63, and 79 licenses.
Over thirty year track record executing M&A transactions on behalf of clients, including recapitalizations, divestitures, MBO's and origination of growth capital. Held senior level and partner positions at global banking and wealth management institutions, middle market M&A investment banks and privately held companies. Broad experience working with entrepreneurs of technology and other fast-growing companies. Previously involved in the commercialization and leadership of early-stage and growth ventures with SP Global, Inc. Was the East Coast Managing Director for Wells Fargo Advisors' M&A Advisory Services, providing recapitalizations and divestiture execution for privately held corporate clients. Previously co-founded and was a Managing Director for nearly two decades at Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., a leading lower middle market investment banking firm ultimately sold to AXA Financial. FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79 licensed.
Over 20 years of experience in private equity and venture capital. Operated, sourced, and structured capital raises for private companies across a wide range of industries including manufacturing, industrial, marketing, software, real estate, oil and gas, alternative energy, logistics, distribution and third-party logistics. Founder of T|P|G Services. Interim Chief Operating Officer for eight operational turnarounds for private equity clients in heavy manufacturing and industrial companies, adding significant shareholder value. Veteran of the US Navy submarine force and alumni of its prestigious nuclear power program. BS in Science from State University of New York Albany. MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. FINRA series 7 and 63 licenses.
15+ years of experience in investment banking and financial structuring including private equity, acquisitions, fund management and raising debt capital within various sectors including real estate, oil and gas, hospitality, serviced offices, IT and trading. Advised on investment opportunities, capital structure, holding and tax structure. Skilled at conducing due diligence, company valuation and providing real estate development project oversight. International network extending from the US, UK, France, Russia, and the Middle East to Asia. Previously held several senior management positions in the financial industry. Master of Business Administration with Distinction from the University of Northampton UK. Higher National Diploma with Distinction from ABE UK. FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses.
Extensive career in investment banking focused on debt and equity transactions within energy, power, industrials and other industries. Previously held senior positions in investment banking and engineering. Began financial career with Citibank. Before moving into finance, began engineering career with Exxon. Has been a frequent guest on international financial news shows and is the author of numerous engineering and investment publications. Previous Advisory Board Member for the United States Association of Energy Economics (Chair of the Business Committee and Conference Session Chair) and Advisory Board Member for the International Pittsburgh Coal Conference. MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, ABD-PhD Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MS in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, BS from the University of Pittsburgh. FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79 licensed.
Recipient of The Presidential Award from The White House, Vibhu Sinha is a senior investment professional, with fifteen years of experience advising institutional investors as well as early-stage ventures on investment pitches and due-diligence, mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, and asset management specifically fixed income mortgage products, securitized assets, liquid alternatives and ESG products.
Vibhu's experience includes working as Vice President at Trust Company of the West, a former indirect subsidiary of Société Générale and a global $200 billion asset manager, as well as at Ares Management, a global $100 billion private equity and alternative asset manager. Vibhu also had a stint in strategy consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he provided product and industry assessment and M&A diligence services to premier asset management, private equity and international real estate clients. He began his career in financial services in 2005 as an Analyst at New Century, a full-service mortgage manager with $50 billion in origination.
Vibhu studied behavioral psychology at Harvard University, and earned his MBA from UCLA Anderson, where he was a Vistage Fellow, a selective program for executive mentorship. He holds Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) credential.
Over 20 years of experience in multi-discipline buy-side investment management and issuer deal structuring as well as being part of three fintech startups. Prior to joining Castle Placement, he launched, as cofounder, Quarter, Inc., a residential real estate proptech platform. Prior to Quarter, Inc., he spent six years as SVP at ALPS Advisors, a 40-Act product wholesaler, where he was in charge of the firm's suite of actively managed 40-Act products including as co-portfolio manager of ALPS' Red Rocks Listed Private Equity mutual fund. Prior to ALPS, he spend 11 years as Principal at Braddock Financial, where, in addition to leading the research and trading of the firm, he ran Braddock's largest hedge fund, a $500MM net AUM, long/short structured credit strategy, for nearly 10 years. Prior to launching his hedge fund at Braddock, he spent nearly 10 years as a buy-side investor with ING and GWL in research, product development, and trading various MBS / ABS strategies for general and separate accounts. His other two fintech startups were Tick Data (currently a subsidiary of OneMarketData), and, as President, Blackbox Logic (sold to Moody's Analytics).