history as a leading private credit investor
average experience of senior management team
history as an active private equity co-investor
dedicated investment and support professionals
Our History
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2006
Established as Churchill Financial LLC by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking and Senior Management
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2010
Becomes a portfolio company of Olympus Partners, a leading middle market private equity sponsor
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2011
As part of The Carlyle Group’s Global Market Strategies platform, the Churchill team raises over $2 billion in committed debt and equity capital for its inaugural BDC vehicle
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2015
Churchill team joins Nuveen as the firm’s exclusive middle market senior and unitranche debt financing group, creating an independent boutique within Nuveen’s Private Markets platform
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2020
Nuveen Private Equity and Junior Capital team joins Churchill, forming one of the largest, most active platforms serving private equity-owned companies in the U.S.1
1 PitchBook’s US PE MM Lending League Tables, December 9, 2019. Rankings based on number of middle market private equity backed buyout transactions.
Our Team
We serve as a long-term partner and provider of capital to the middle market
Led by seasoned professionals with an average of more than 25 years of industry experience, our team’s consistency and strong, cohesive culture anchored in fundamental business model analysis continues to be highly valued by investors and private equity firms alike
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Senior Management Team
Senior Management Team
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Ken Kencel
President & CEO
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Randy Schwimmer
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Senior Lending
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Jason Strife
Senior Managing Director, Head of Junior Capital and Private Equity Solutions
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Shai Vichness, CFA
Senior Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer
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Christopher Cox
Senior Managing Director & Chief Risk Officer
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Mathew Linett
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Senior Lending
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David Heilbrunn
Senior Managing Director, Head of Product Development & Capital Raising
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Chris Freeze
Senior Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations
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Kelli Marti
Senior Managing Director, Head of CLO Management
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John McCally
Senior Managing Director & General Counsel
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Derek Fricke
Managing Director, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Board of Directors
Board of Directors
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Bill Huffman
Head of Equities & Fixed Income, Nuveen
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Ken Kencel
President & CEO
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Kevin McCarthy
Secretary & General Counsel, Nuveen
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Jose Minaya
Chief Executive Officer, Nuveen
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Investment Professionals
Senior Lending
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Brent Chase
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Alona Tolentino Gornick
Managing Director, Origination & Head of Chicago Office
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Carol Loundon
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Kevin Meyer
Managing Director, Origination
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Jessica Nels
Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets
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Jason Quinn
Managing Director, Origination
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Tarek Srouji
Managing Director, Origination
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Mark Tamburello
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Jill White
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Joe Lee
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Sean Mancini
Principal, Origination
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Jeffrey Rabaut
Principal, Origination
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Vivek Sachidanand
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Nicholas Carroll
Vice President, Origination
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Jacob Iati
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Andrew Passero, CFA
Vice President, Capital Markets
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Sanjeet Singh
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Justin Zimmer
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Ryan Babakian, CFA
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Matt Caulfield
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Tyler Donofrio
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Lindsey Figliolino
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Sam Gonzalez-Gross
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Jad Abdul-Aal
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Jordan Kenney, CFA
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Jared LaPoff, CFA
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Colin Miller
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Donald Brooks
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Andrew Kuntz
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Jack McTiernan
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Caroline Pate
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Junior Capital and Private Equity Solutions
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Raja Doddala
Managing Director, Venture Capital & Growth Equity
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Anne Philpott, CFA
Managing Director, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Michael Chiulli, CFA, CPA
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Lucas Fries, CFA
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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David McManama
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Dodson Worthington
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Erica Cunningham
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Brandon Jordi
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Andrew Topping
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Davis Westbrook
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Adam Froendt
Senior Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Jay Valentine
Senior Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Connor Dunleavy
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Adam Frank
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Connor Gay
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Brandon Ng
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Vince Pupi
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Avery Ramsey
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Other Professionals
Investor Relations, Marketing and Business Development
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Michael Doppelt
Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Gene Miao
Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist, Senior Lending
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Jessica Tannenbaum
Principal, Investor Relations & Marketing
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Sherry Chen
Vice President, Marketing
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Emily Manuel
Vice President, Investor Relations
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Meghan Searson
Vice President, Investor Relations
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Katie Zarback
Vice President, Investor Relations
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Sunny Huang, CFA, CPA
Senior Associate, Product Development
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Matthew Ricotta
Senior Associate, Investor Relations
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Bailey Page
Associate, Investor Relations
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Samantha Rapaport
Associate, Investor Relations
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Michael Joyce
Analyst, Investor Relations
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Evan Velleca
Analyst, Investor Relations
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Michelle (Ying-Hsuan) Wang
Marketing Analyst
Private Credit Product Specialists
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Jim Fink
Managing Director, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
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Loren Sageser
Managing Director, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
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Laura Stolfi
Managing Director, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
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Saheedat Onifade
Vice President, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
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Gregory Kuhn
Assistant Vice President, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
Finance
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Marissa Short
Managing Director, Funds Controller
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Phil Beissner
Principal, Management Company Controller
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Ben Love, CFA
Principal, Head of Fund Finance
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Gareth Wall
Principal, Finance
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Joe Durkin
Vice President, Finance
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Kyle Linnemeyer
Vice President, Assistant Controller
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Sydney Nyajeka
Vice President, Finance
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Lily Xuan
Vice President, Finance
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Lauren Hopson
Senior Associate, Finance
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Jessica Medaglia
Senior Associate, Finance
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Brian Walsh
Senior Associate, Finance
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John Wein
Senior Associate, Finance
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Sarah Welden
Senior Associate, Finance
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Ryan Wells
Senior Associate, Finance
Operations
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Courtney DeBolt
Principal, Head of Operations
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Luke Garriton
Principal, Operations
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Chris Schultz
Principal, Operations
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Steve Dobson
Vice President, Operations, Treasury
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Marina Elkinyuk
Vice President, Operations
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Michelle Idrees
Vice President, Operations
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Michael St. Clair
Senior Associate, Operations
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Brian Thompson
Senior Associate, Operations
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Andy Gilvey
Associate, Operations
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Josh Guercio
Associate, Operations
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Roshni Patel
Associate, Operations
Investment Analytics and Support
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Kevin McMillin
Head of Investment Analytics & Support
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Matthew Cianella
Principal, Portfolio Management, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
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Cynthia Qualls
Principal, Investment Analytics and Support
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Mickey Weatherston
Principal, Head of Sustainability and ESG Integration
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Arjun Chhabra
Vice President, Business Analytics
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Preston Kafka
Vice President, Valuation Specialist
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Nick Taylor
Senior Associate, Risk Management
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Karen Yen
Senior Associate, Data Analytics
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Praneet Appurubugatha
Associate, Investment Analytics and Support
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Jackson Wexler
Associate, Investment Analytics and Support
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Teresa Lee
Senior Analyst, Investment Analytics and Support
Administration
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Lynn Miceli
Director of Administration
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Natalie Austrian
Executive Assistant
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Rachel Benitez
Executive Assistant
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Louisa Colon
Executive Assistant
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Sam Chowdhury
Executive Assistant
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Jacqueline Morton
Administrative Assistant
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Chloe Tipton
Administrative Receptionist
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David Carias
IT Specialist
Legal and Compliance
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Thomas Grenville
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer
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Alina Dovere
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
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Zachary Profant
Vice President and Associate General Counsel
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Trevor Sanford
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
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Jake Wang
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
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David Baird
Paralegal
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Ken serves as President and CEO of Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen, the asset management arm of TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services company. He also serves as Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending, Inc., Churchill’s publicly registered business development company.
Throughout his over 35-year career in the investment industry, he has accrued a broad range of experience in leading private credit investment businesses. Previously, Ken served as a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, where he also served as President and a Director of TCG BDC, Inc. (Carlyle’s publicly traded business development company). Prior to that he founded and was President and CEO of Churchill Financial Group, served as Head of Leveraged Finance for Royal Bank of Canada and was Head of Indosuez Capital, a leading middle market merchant banking and asset management business in partnership with Credit Agricole Group. Ken was also a founder of the high yield finance business at Chase Securities (now JP Morgan Chase). He began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Drexel Burnham Lambert. He regularly appears as a guest commentator on private credit markets on Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.
Ken graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He serves on the Pension Investment Advisory Committee for the Archdiocese of New York, the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Canisius High School (a private Jesuit Preparatory school in Buffalo, NY) and the Advisory Board of Teach for America (Connecticut). Ken is a guest lecturer at Boston University Questrom School of Business and a former member of the Board of Advisors and Adjunct Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
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Randy is co-head of senior lending and oversees senior lending origination and capital markets for Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen.
Randy has broad experience in middle market finance and is widely credited with developing loan syndications for middle market companies. Prior to joining the firm, Randy served as a senior managing director and head of capital markets and indirect origination at Churchill Financial. In those positions, he took responsibility for all loan capital markets activities and for managing the firm’s indirect origination platform. Before that, he worked as managing director and head of leveraged finance syndication for BNP Paribas. He spent 15 years at JP Morgan Chase in corporate banking and loan syndications, where he originated, structured and syndicated leveraged loans.
Randy graduated with a B.A., cum laude, from Trinity College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago.
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Jason is responsible for leading all facets of the private equity and junior capital investment platform, including formulating and executing strategic initiatives, sourcing investment opportunities, firm management, and portfolio construction for six investment mandates that provide debt and equity capital into the U.S. private equity middle market space. Jason is a member of the firm’s Operating Committee and is Investment Committee Chair for all six private equity and junior capital investment mandates, including limited partnership commitments to both buyout and growth equity markets, equity co-investments, structured capital investments, secondaries, and junior loan investments.
Prior to joining Churchill, Jason was a Principal at Bison Capital, a Los Angeles based private equity firm focused on structured junior capital investments in lower middle market companies. Prior to Bison Capital, Jason was an investment professional at Weston Presidio, a Boston and San Francisco based middle market private equity firm focused on growth capital and leveraged buyout investing. Prior to Weston Presidio, Jason worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions group of Wachovia Securities, executing merger & acquisition transactions on behalf of private equity clients.
Jason graduated from Wake Forest University with two degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Analytical Finance and a Masters in Accounting, where he earned a scholarship for his graduate studies and passed the CPA examination.
Jason currently sits on the Board of Visitors of the Wake Forest School of Business, is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee at the Charlotte Latin School, and an ambassador for the Congaree Global Golf Initiative.
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Shai serves as the chief financial officer of Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen.
Previously, as managing director and head of senior leveraged lending for Churchill’s parent company, Nuveen, Shai was responsible for initiating Nuveen’s investment program in middle market senior loans and was directly involved in the launch of Churchill Asset Management as an affiliate in 2015. Since the launch of Churchill, he has been a member of its investment committee and has been actively engaged in the management of Churchill, including the development of its infrastructure and operations. Shai joined Nuveen in 2005 and has spent his entire career in the private debt markets, with a significant amount of time spent in Nuveen’s workout and restructuring department.
Shai graduated with a B.B.A. from Baruch College, CUNY. He holds the CFA designation.
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Chris is the chief risk officer for Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen.
Prior to joining the firm, Chris was a principal of Carlyle GMS Finance and was a managing director and chief risk officer for Churchill Financial, which he joined in 2006. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the company’s risk management infrastructure, including all risk management processes and policies. He was also a senior vice president at GE Commercial Finance (a division of GE Capital) from 1997 to 2006, where he held various risk management roles within the corporate lending group, focusing on middle market transactions. Chris also worked at Gibbs & Cox, Inc. in New York, NY.
Chris graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Fordham University.
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Mathew Linett
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Senior Lending
Mat is co-head of senior lending and oversees senior loan underwriting and portfolio management for Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen.Previously, he was a credit portfolio manager at Loeb King Capital and Havens Advisors, as well as a senior vice president at Jefferies & Co. He also served as a vice president at Indosuez Capital, a middle market merchant banking and asset management business, where he worked closely with Churchill’s CEO, Ken Kencel. Mat has invested at all levels of the capital structure including senior secured loans, public and private mezzanine debt, as well as private equity co-investments. In addition, he has significant distressed debt experience both as an investor in the secondary market as well as through direct workouts of middle market loans.
Mat graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s dual degree program with a B.S., cum laude, in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A., honors, in International Relations from the College of Arts and Sciences.
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David oversees the product development and capital raising for Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen, focusing on strategic initiatives, structuring new products and developing important institutional client relationships. He is also responsible for optimizing the firm’s various financing arrangements and supervises Churchill’s collateralized loan obligation (CLO) platform.
Prior to joining the firm in 2017, David held senior roles at several firms, including managing director of Fifth Street Asset Management, managing director of The Carlyle Group, senior managing director and head of corporate strategy and development for Churchill Financial, and managing director and CDO group head for Bear Stearns & Co. and JPMorgan.
David graduated with a B.S., magna cum laude, in Accounting from The State University of New York at Albany and an M.B.A., with distinction, from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
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Chris Freeze
Senior Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations
Chris Freeze leads all aspects of Churchill’s investor relations efforts including ongoing investor reporting and communication with Churchill’s global investor base. He has deep experience managing relationships with a diverse range of global institutional, sovereign wealth fund and family office investors including building and managing a best-in-class team of investor relations professionals.
Before joining Churchill, Chris spent over nine years as a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group. Most recently he was CEO of TCG Securities LLC, Caryle’s broker/dealer. Prior to joining Carlyle, Chris was the Chief Operating Officer of Credit Suisse’s Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG). Prior to joining CFIG, he was the Chief Compliance Officer of Credit Suisse Private Advisors, a FINRA licensed broker\dealer and investment adviser domiciled in Zurich. He began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office.
Chris received his BA from St. John’s University, an MA from John Jay College, a JD degree from St. John’s University School of Law and an LLM (Corporations) from New York University School of Law. He has held the FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 8, 24, 53, 63, 65 and 66 licenses.
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Kelli Marti
Senior Managing Director, Head of CLO Management
Kelli Marti serves as Churchill’s Head of CLO Management and is responsible for the management and growth of Churchill’s middle market CLO platform, including day-to-day vehicle oversight, assisting in the sourcing of assets and trading strategy development, as well as participating in fundraising initiatives. Before joining Churchill, Kelli spent eighteen years at Crestline Denali Capital, a CLO asset manager. Most recently she served as Crestline Denali’s Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer where she was responsible for overseeing the firm’s entire credit function including new business underwriting and portfolio management. She also served on the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining Crestline Denali, Kelli was a Vice President at Heller Financial where she was responsible for underwriting and managing middle market loans. Prior to joining Heller, she was an Assistant Vice President at First Source Financial where she underwrote direct middle market transactions on behalf of the firm’s CLO portfolio. She began her career as an auditor at KPMG in Chicago.
Kelli graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame and received her MBA with high honors from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She previously earned her CPA certification.
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John McCally
Senior Managing Director & General Counsel
John McCally serves as the general counsel for Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen. He has been responsible for day-to-day legal matters for the firm since its launch in 2015.
Previously, John was an associate general counsel at Nuveen. At Nuveen, John provided advice and strategic guidance to investment and business development teams focused on public and private fixed income, derivatives and structured products, and was responsible for legal matters pertaining to Nuveen’s Leveraged Finance platform. Prior to Nuveen, John was an associate with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, specializing in derivatives, structured products and investment management.
John graduated from Duke University and received his juris doctor from The George Washington University Law School.
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Derek Fricke
Managing Director, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Derek serves as a Managing Director on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team for Churchill Asset Management, where he is actively involved in sourcing and executing investments in junior capital and equity co-investments, as well as investments in private equity funds. Derek initially joined the team in 2013, when the group was operating as part of Churchill’s parent Company, TIAA and subsequently Nuveen. Prior to joining the organization, Derek spent several years as an investment team member at Chrysalis Ventures, a $400 million venture capital firm investing in early stage healthcare services, business services, and technology companies. Previously, Derek was an active mezzanine capital and equity investor in middle-market media and technology companies as an investment team member at BIA Digital Partners. Derek began his career in investment banking in Atlanta, GA with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Derek is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business.
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Bill Huffman
Head of Equities & Fixed Income, Nuveen
Bill heads equities and fixed income for Nuveen’s multi-affiliate model. He is also the president of Nuveen Asset Management, responsible for leading all of the business management activities.
He joined the firm in 2008 from Northern Trust where he was president and chief executive officer of Northern Trust Global Advisors, Inc., and concurrently served as chief executive officer of Northern Trust Global Investments Limited located in London. Prior to these roles, Bill served as the director of quantitative product management for Northern Trust. He began his career in 1991 as the leader of the internal audit group responsible for treasury, investment management and finance functions at the Northern Trust Corporation.
Bill graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Indiana University and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has also passed the Certified Public Accountant exam. Bill serves on the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago Board of Directors and the Rush Medical Center Arthritis and Orthopedics Leadership Committee.
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Ken serves as President and CEO of Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen, the asset management arm of TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services company. He also serves as Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending, Inc., Churchill’s publicly registered business development company.
Churchill currently manages over $30 billion in committed capital and focuses on providing senior, unitranche and junior debt financing and making equity co-investments and fund commitments to leading private equity investment firms and their portfolio companies. Churchill is among the most active private credit managers in the U.S., annually investing over $6 billion in over 200 middle market companies.
Throughout his over 35-year career in the investment industry, he has accrued a broad range of experience in leading private credit investment businesses. Previously, Ken served as a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, where he also served as President and a Director of TCG BDC, Inc. (Carlyle’s publicly traded business development company). Prior to that he founded and was President and CEO of Churchill Financial Group, served as Head of Leveraged Finance for Royal Bank of Canada and was Head of Indosuez Capital, a leading middle market merchant banking and asset management business in partnership with Credit Agricole Group. Ken was also a founder of the high yield finance business at Chase Securities (now JP Morgan Chase). He began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Drexel Burnham Lambert. He regularly appears as a guest commentator on private credit markets on Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.
Ken graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He serves on the Pension Investment Advisory Committee for the Archdiocese of New York, the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Canisius High School (a private Jesuit Preparatory school in Buffalo, NY) and the Advisory Board of Teach for America (Connecticut). Ken is a guest lecturer at Boston University Questrom School of Business and a former member of the Board of Advisors and Adjunct Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
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Kevin McCarthy
Secretary & General Counsel, Nuveen
Kevin serves as secretary and general counsel for Nuveen and is a member of the firm’s executive committee. He has led the development of Nuveen’s legal department to support the significant expansion and increasing complexity of Nuveen’s business and also partners with business leaders across the firm to support product development. Kevin serves as an officer of Nuveen Funds and is involved in the day-to-day operation, management and development of the firm’s funds business while also playing an active role in fund board relations.
Before coming to Nuveen in 2007, Kevin was a Partner with Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP. While at Bell, Boyd, he represented a number of mutual fund complexes, including Nuveen, and their advisers. Kevin also represented the independent board members of several fund complexes and also focused his practice on general corporate and securities law matters, including mergers and acquisitions.
Kevin graduated with a B.B.A. in Accounting from Notre Dame and a J.D. from the University of Illinois, College of Law. He is currently a board member of Lurie Children’s Hospital.
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Jose Minaya
Chief Executive Officer, Nuveen
Jose serves as Chief Executive Officer of Nuveen and was named President of Global Investments in December 2016 with accountability for leading and managing over $900 billion in AUM within thirteen distinct Public and Alternative affiliates. He also acts as Chairman to several of our subsidiary companies. In addition, he is a member of the Nuveen Investment and Risk committees. Previously, Jose was President of Nuveen Global Real Assets where he was responsible for the business activities and strategic direction across various asset classes including real estate, agriculture, timber, infrastructure, energy, and alternative credit strategies. Prior to that, Jose was Head of Private Markets Asset Management and served as Head of Natural Resources & Infrastructure Investments where he was responsible for building and managing the agriculture, timber, energy, and infrastructure investment platforms. Since joining the Nuveen organization in 2004, he also managed transactions involving privately-placed debt and equity.
Jose has over 23 years of investment experience including positions at AIG Global Investment Group where he was involved in emerging markets equity transactions, and the investment banking groups at Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan where his responsibilities included mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. He holds a B.S. in finance from Manhattan College, where he was a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, an international economics honor society, and an MBA from Dartmouth College, Amos Tuck School of Business where he was a Robert Toigo Fellow.
Jose is a distinguished recipient of the 2016 Toigo Blazing Trails award for his demonstrated commitment to the education and leadership of the next generation of financial services talent. He also Co-Chairs the TIAA Military/Veterans Employee Resource Group which advances active duty and reserve military membership while helping TIAA better serve military and veteran clients. Finally, he is a recognized expert on real assets investing and is frequently sought after by the media and industry events for his perspectives and insights on the asset class.
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Brent Chase
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Brent joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Managing Director in the underwriting and portfolio management group. Previously, he worked in a similar capacity for four years at Siemens Financial Services within the middle market commercial lending platform. Prior to that, Brent spent 15 years at GE Capital in various credit roles across the firm’s underwriting, distressed debt investment and workout teams, including both middle market and broadly syndicated transactions. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a manager in audit & assurance services.
Brent earned his B.S. in accounting from Penn State University and his M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Pennsylvania.
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Alona Tolentino Gornick
Managing Director, Origination & Head of Chicago Office
Alona serves as a Managing Director, Origination, and Head of the Chicago Office for Churchill Asset Management, where she focuses on developing relationships with private equity sponsors and middle market lenders. She is also Co-Head of Churchill’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Previously, Alona was a Director on the Private Markets team for Churchill’s parent company, Nuveen, where she managed the direct originations effort for debt private placements. Prior to that she was an advisor to Golden Gate Capital where she directed strategic initiatives for the firm’s captive credit platform. Prior to Golden Gate Capital, she served as a Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, where she evaluated investments in high yield bonds and senior leveraged loans, and most recently managed the Capital Markets and Investor Relations effort for Oaktree as the General Partner. Alona began her career in investment banking in the Gaming & Leisure Group at Banc of America Securities.
Alona earned her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Kenan-Flagler Business School and M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Carol Loundon
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Carol joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as a Managing Director in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over 15 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, she was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at BDCA, a business development corporation that is focused on making direct senior, middle market loans. Prior to BDCA, Carol was a Senior Associate at Churchill Financial where she worked in the Underwriting and Portfolio Management group. Before then, she worked at CapitalSource, focused on underwriting leveraged loans for lower and traditional middle market companies. She also held Associate and Analyst positions at Bank of Ireland (Leveraged Acquisition Finance group) and Lehman Brothers (Mergers & Acquisitions group).
Carol graduated from Georgetown University in 2001 with a B.S. in business administration.
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Kevin Meyer
Managing Director, Origination
Kevin joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as Managing Director, Origination with over seven years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Assistant Vice President and Underwriter at GE Capital, a financial services institution that is focused on making direct senior, middle market loans. Prior to GE Capital, Kevin worked in sports marketing and event management at FIFA.
Kevin graduated from Fordham in 2008 with a B.A. in finance and minor concentration in economics. He received his MBA with specializations in finance and international business from Fairfield University’s Dolan School of Business in 2012.
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Jessica is a Managing Director in the Capital Markets team for Churchill Asset Management where she is responsible for middle market club transactions, syndication and lender relationship management. Prior to joining Churchill, Jessica was a Director on the Capital Markets team for Twin Brook Capital Partners, the middle market direct lending subsidiary of Angelo, Gordon & Co. While at Twin Brook, she structured, underwrote, and syndicated senior debt and unitranche credit facilities for middle-market private equity sponsors. Prior to that, she held various roles at BMO Harris Bank, Antares Capital and GE Capital.
Jessica earned a B.S. in finance and accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received an M.B.A. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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Jason Quinn
Managing Director, Origination
Jason joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as Managing Director, Origination with over fourteen years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he was a Senior Vice President at Antares Capital, responsible for sourcing deals and managing relationships with West Coast private equity sponsors. Prior to that, he was a Vice President leading underwriting processes for senior debt financings supporting sponsored transactions. He began his career at GE Capital.
Jason graduated magna cum laude with a BBA from the University of Notre Dame, and he received his MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. Additionally, he is a Certified Public Accountant.
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Tarek Srouji
Managing Director, Origination
Tarek joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as a Managing Director in the originations team, where he is responsible for developing relationships with private equity sponsors. He has over a decade of experience in private equity and leveraged finance. Previously, he worked at BNP Paribas as a Director in the firm’s Merchant Banking and Loan Syndication Groups. In these roles, he was responsible for originating, underwriting and syndicating private equity debt financings. Previously, Tarek held similar positions at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Tarek began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he earned his CPA and performed due diligence and quality of earnings reviews primarily for private equity clients.
Tarek graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Finance and Accounting and has an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
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Mark Tamburello
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Mark rejoined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and serves as a Managing Director in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over 14 years of experience. Previously, he was with The Carlyle Group’s Direct Lending platform and was responsible for executing middle market senior, unitranche, and junior debt investments. Prior to Carlyle, Mark was an Associate at Churchill which he joined in 2010. He also held positions at Olympus Partners, a middle market private equity firm, and Harris Williams & Co., an investment bank focused on mergers and acquisitions of middle market companies. Mark received a BS in business administration with distinction from the University of North Carolina.
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Jill White
Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jill joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as a Managing Director in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over 6 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, she served as an AVP with Antares Capital on the underwriting and credit advisory teams. Prior to Antares Capital, Jill completed the GE Capital Investment Analyst program.
Jill graduated summa cum laude from John Carroll University with a B.S. in finance and minor in mathematics.
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Joe Lee
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Joe joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as Principal in the underwriting and portfolio management group. He has over a decade of private equity and leveraged finance investment experience and was previously a Vice President in Structured Finance Investing and Lending at Goldman Sachs, focused on principal investments across corporate credit and structured products. Before Goldman Sachs, he worked at Antares Capital, where he structured and executed middle market leveraged buyout transactions. Prior to that, Joe was on the originations team at Mubadala GE Capital, focused on sourcing global debt investment opportunities, and he was also an investment professional for GE Equity, the global private equity arm of GE Capital. Joe began his career at GE Capital, where he graduated from the Financial Management Program.
Joe earned his B.S. in Accounting from Boston College, Carroll School of Management.
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Sean Mancini
Principal, Origination
Sean joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as a Principal in the Origination team with over eight years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Associate at GE Capital, a financial services institution focused on making direct senior, middle market loans. Sean was accepted and graduated from the GE Capital Financial Management Program.
Sean graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business with a B.S. in finance. He also received an international business degree from Institute at Palazzo Rucellai.
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Jeffrey Rabaut
Principal, Origination
Jeff serves as a Principal at Churchill Asset Management with over ten years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. He is on the originations team where he focuses on developing relationships with private equity sponsors and middle market lenders. Before joining Churchill, Jeff was a Director at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, responsible for launching its Chicago office and Midwest sponsor coverage. Prior to SMBC, he was a Vice President at Antares Capital and its predecessor firm GE Capital, responsible for screening new investment opportunities, underwriting and portfolio management.
Jeff graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in finance. He received his MBA with specializations in finance and economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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Vivek Sachidanand
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Vivek joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and serves as a Principal in the underwriting and portfolio management group. He has over 15 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Prior to joining Churchill, Vivek was a Principal in The Carlyle Group’s Global Credit platform, where he was responsible for originating, structuring, and executing private credit investments. Prior to joining Carlyle, Vivek was a Vice President at Jefferies Finance where he structured and underwrote senior and junior debt financings for sponsor-backed buyouts and M&A transactions. Vivek has also held roles at both Ivy Hill Asset Management and CIFC Asset Management, where he evaluated primary and secondary senior secured investment opportunities and managed a portfolio of investments across a variety of sectors.
Vivek earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
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Nicholas Carroll
Vice President, Origination
Nick joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 and currently serves as a Vice President in the Origination team with over eight years of experience in leveraged finance markets across both large cap and middle market deals. Previously, he was an Analyst within the Investment Bank at JP Morgan working with the diversified industrials credit group. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Nick worked as an Analyst at GE Capital, a financial services institution that focused on making direct senior, middle market loans.
Nick graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2012 with a B.A in economics, with minors in accounting and communications.
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Jacob Iati
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jake joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as a Vice President in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over five years of experience in investment banking and middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Associate within the Investment Bank at J.P. Morgan working in the healthcare, consumer and retail credit group. Prior to that, Jake worked as an Analyst in J.P. Morgan’s middle market banking division.
Jake graduated from the University at Albany with a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in finance and management. He also received an M.B.A. from the University at Albany.
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Andrew Passero, CFA
Vice President, Capital Markets
Andy joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Vice President focused on Capital Markets. Previously, he was a Vice President in the Portfolio Analytics group of JP Morgan’s Private Bank. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Andy worked as a Quantitative Portfolio Analyst at K2 Advisors, a fund of hedge funds manager.
Andy graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2012 with a B.S. in Finance, with minors in Economics and Information Systems. Andy is a CFA Charterholder.
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Sanjeet Singh
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Sanjeet joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as a Vice President in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than five years of experience in middle market leveraged finance and investment banking. Prior to joining Churchill, he was on the direct lending team at Medley Capital, a credit-focused asset manager providing financing solutions for middle-market transactions. Sanjeet began his career in investment banking at Bowen Advisors in Boston focused on M&A advisory.
Sanjeet graduated from the University of Michigan, with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Math.
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Justin Zimmer
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Justin joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Vice President in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over 7 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he worked at Antares Capital as an Assistant Vice President where he structured and executed middle market leveraged buyout transactions. Prior to Antares he held various roles within GE Capital spanning Underwriting, FP&A, Controllership and Pricing. Justin began his career at GE Capital, where he graduated from the Financial Management Program.
Justin earned his B.S. in Business Administration from Westminster College, Gore School of Business.
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Ryan Babakian, CFA
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Ryan joined Churchill Asset Management in 2016 and currently serves as an Senior Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than four years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he was a Financial Analyst with Audax Group, a financial services institution providing mezzanine and senior debt to middle market companies. Ryan began his career in the Advisory practice of Ernst & Young.
Ryan graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business with a B.S. in finance. Ryan is a CFA charterholder.
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Matt Caulfield
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Matt joined Churchill Asset Management in August 2021 and serves as a Senior Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than five years of leveraged finance experience. Most recently, Matt was a member of the middle market senior debt group at Manulife Investment Management. Matt started in leveraged finance at Crestline Denali Capital, a CLO asset manager. He began his career in the Deals practice at PWC in Chicago as a consultant advising clients on accounting considerations for capital markets and M&A activity.
Matt graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Finance and a B.S. in Accountancy.
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Tyler Donofrio
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Tyler joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than three years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Analyst with Hancock Capital Management, a financial services institution focused on providing mezzanine debt and equity co-investments to middle-market, private equity-backed companies.
Tyler graduated from Boston College, Carroll School of Management with a B.S. in management, with concentrations in finance and accounting.
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Lindsey Figliolino
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Lindsey joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than seven years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, she was an underwriter with Bank of Ireland, providing financing solutions for middle market private equity-backed transactions. Lindsey began her career in the Asset Management Assurance Group at Ernst & Young.
Lindsey graduated from Drexel University, LeBow College of Business, with a B.S. in Business Administration with a dual concentration in accounting and finance.
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Sam Gonzalez-Gross
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Sam joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over three years of experience in middle market energy finance. Previously, he was an Associate with CIT Group, a financial services institution providing financing and advisory services to middle market companies.
Sam graduated from Hamilton College in 2015 with a B.A. in Economics.
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Jad Abdul-Aal
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jad joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as an Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with two years of experience in leveraged finance and asset management. Previously, he was an Analyst at Antares Capital focused on providing financing solutions for middle market private equity-backed transactions. Most recently, Jad was an Associate at OFS Capital Management, focused on CLO management in the broadly syndicated loan market.
Jad graduated from John Carroll University, Boler School of Business with a B.S. in Finance and Economics.
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Jordan Kenney, CFA
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jordan joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as an Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with two years of experience in leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Analyst at Nuveen Private Markets focused on a wide range of asset classes, including private placements, senior secured loans, mezzanine finance, private equity funds and co-investments.
Jordan graduated from Drexel University, Lebow College of Business with a B.S. in Finance and Economics. He is a CFA charterholder.
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Jared LaPoff, CFA
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jared joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as an Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over three years of experience in the credit markets. Previously, he was an Analyst within the Portfolio Management Group at Credit Suisse, focused on high yield companies in the broadly syndicated loan market. Prior to that, he was an Analyst in the Consumer Products group at S&P.
Jared graduated from the University of Michigan in 2016 with a B.A. in Economics. Jared is a CFA charterholder.
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Colin Miller
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Colin joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as an Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with two years of experience in leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Analyst at Mizuho Bank focused on providing financing solutions for non-investment grade and private equity-backed transactions.
Colin graduated from the University of Delaware, Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics with a B.S. in Finance and Accounting and a minor in Economics.
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Donald Brooks
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Donald joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as an Senior Analyst in the underwriting and portfolio management group with one year of prior experience in leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Analyst at Antares Capital focused on the structuring and syndication of debt financings for private equity-backed transactions.
Donald graduated from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business in 2019 with a B.S. in Finance and International Business.
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Andrew Kuntz
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Andrew joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Analyst in the underwriting and portfolio management group with four years of experience in leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Assistant Vice President at Antares Capital managing investor programs and providing financing solutions to middle market private-equity backed companies.
Andrew graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gies College of Business with a B.S. in Finance.
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Jack McTiernan
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jack joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as a Senior Analyst in the underwriting and portfolio management group with two years of experience in leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Analyst within the Syndicated & Leveraged Finance Group at TD Securities focused on providing financing solutions for non-investment grade and private equity-backed transactions.
Jack graduated from Boston College, Carroll School of Management with a B.S. in Management, with concentrations in Finance and Business Analytics.
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Caroline Pate
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Caroline joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as a Senior Analyst in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over two years of experience in the credit markets. Previously, she was an Analyst within the Consumer & Retail Corporate Banking Group at Wells Fargo, focused on providing financing solutions for large corporate customers as well as private-equity backed transactions.
Caroline graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2019 with a B.S. in Business Administration.
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Raja Doddala
Managing Director, Venture Capital & Growth Equity
Raja serves as a Managing Director and leads our venture capital and growth equity strategies. Raja’s mandate includes investments in venture capital funds across stages and growth stage technology companies in fintech, enterprise tech, health tech, prop tech, blockchain, and climate tech sectors. Raja joined TIAA’s parent company in 2016 as Head of digital and fintech strategy for TIAA’s retirement business. In 2018, Raja founded TIAA’s strategic fintech venture capital program where he built a portfolio of top tier fintech and enterprise tech VC fund investments.
Prior to his tenure at TIAA, Raja Spent 12 years at 7&I Holdings, the Japanese parent of 7-Eleven, the largest retailer in the world in terms of number of locations. At 7&I holdings, Raja started and grew several businesses at the intersection of retail, mobile and payments technologies. Raja founded 7-Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary of 7&I holdings that invests in technology and consumer goods start-ups.
Raja holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas TX and Masters in Computer Science from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Raja resides with his wife and 2 children in Dallas, Texas. Raja is an endurance athlete and enjoys road cycling.
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Anne Philpott, CFA
Managing Director, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Anne is a Managing Director on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team at Churchill Asset Management. Her responsibilities include origination and portfolio management activities for private equity funds, mezzanine capital and direct equity co-investments. Previously, Anne was a Senior Director on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team at Nuveen. Ms. Philpott joined TIAA in 2005 and began her career as an Associate in the Private Placements group. As part of the Private Placements team she acted as a lead originator and portfolio manager for a variety of domestic and international high grade corporate debt investments.
Anne holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a CFA charter holder and member of the CFA Institute.
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Michael Chiulli, CFA, CPA
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Michael is a Principal at Churchill, responsible for sourcing, analyzing, executing and portfolio monitoring for the institution’s junior capital, equity co-investment, and middle market funds mandates. Previously, he was a Principal on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team for Churchill’s parent company, Nuveen. Michael has over five years of alternative asset investment experience, having worked in several capacities investing in funds, junior capital and equity investments in middle market companies. Chiulli also has experience underwriting below investment grade fixed rate private placement investments. Prior to joining Nuveen, he held roles at Standard & Poor’s and KPMG.
Michael graduated with an MBA from the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and a B.S. in Accounting, Summa Cum Laude, from Fairfield University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Public Accountant.
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Lucas Fries, CFA
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Lucas is a Principal on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team for Churchill Asset Management. Lucas is focused on sourcing, underwriting, executing and monitoring private equity investments across direct equity co-investments, junior capital investments and private equity fund commitments. Prior to joining the team in 2017, he was an Associate on Nuveen’s real asset private equity team focused on North American infrastructure and energy investments. Lucas began his career at TIAA’s Private Markets division, holding investment roles in TIAA’s alternatives strategies including investment grade private placements, project finance, and energy and infrastructure private equity.
Lucas graduated with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from the Kenan Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a CFA charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute.
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David McManama
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
David is a Principal on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team for Churchill Asset Management, which he joined via Nuveen in 2014. As part of the PEJC team, David is focused on sourcing and executing junior capital investments, equity co-investments, and investments in private equity funds. Previously, David spent four years as an Associate in the Industrial Investment Banking Group of KeyBanc Capital Markets, where he focused on executing middle market mergers and acquisitions transactions. Prior to KeyBanc, he was an Associate at Gulf Stream Asset Management, a CLO with approximately $4.0 billion under management, where he was responsible for underwriting new credit investments.
David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Davidson College and a Master’s degree in Management from Wake Forest University.
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Dodson Worthington
Principal, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Dodson serves as a Principal on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team for Churchill Asset Management. He is responsible for sourcing, executing, and monitoring investments in private equity funds, as well as direct equity and debt investments in middle market companies. Prior to joining the firm in 2014, Dodson worked in the Leveraged Finance group at Wells Fargo Securities, where he provided strategic capital solutions for companies across various industries. Dodson has over 11 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, and entrepreneurial finance, including positions at UBS Investment Bank, VO2 Partners, and Square 1 Financial.
Dodson graduated with a Bachelor degree in History from Columbia University and an M.B.A from Columbia Business School.
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Erica Cunningham
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Erica serves as a Vice President on the private equity and junior capital team for Churchill Asset Management. Erica is focused on sourcing, underwriting, executing and monitoring investments in junior capital, equity co-investments and private equity funds. She joined Churchill’s parent organization, TIAA and subsequently Nuveen, in 2014. She has held multiple investment roles across TIAA’s alternatives strategies, including experience on the real asset infrastructure and energy private equity team and the middle market private equity and junior capital team. Erica started her career in the Structured Finance group at Deutsche Bank, where she focused on investments in mortgage-backed securities.
Erica graduated with dual Bachelor degrees in Engineering Science and Economics from Vanderbilt University and has an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
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Brandon Jordi
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Brandon joined the Private Equity and Junior Capital team in 2018 and currently serves as a Vice President covering originations, underwriting, and portfolio management. Brandon has 4 years of middle market finance and investing experience. Previously, he was an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, where he worked on a number of M&A, debt, and public equity transactions.
Brandon graduated from the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance.
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Andrew Topping
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Andrew serves as an Vice President on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team for Churchill Asset Management. His role includes originating and underwriting transactions, and performing portfolio management across all three investment strategies: private equity fund commitments, mezzanine finance, and direct equity co-investments. Andrew has over six years of experience in middle market private equity. Prior to joining Churchill Asset Management, he was an associate at Copeley Capital, a Charlotte-based lower middle market private equity firm. Prior to joining Copeley Capital, Andrew was a senior analyst in the Transaction Advisory Services group at Cherry Bekaert, a Southeastern U.S. accounting firm.
Andrew graduated from The College of William and Mary with a Masters in Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. Mr. Topping is a licensed CPA in the state of North Carolina.
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Davis Westbrook
Vice President, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Davis joined the Private Equity and Junior Capital team in 2018 and currently serves as a Vice President covering originations, underwriting, and portfolio management. He has more than 5 years of middle market finance experience. Previously, Davis served as an investment banking analyst in the Financial Services Group at Regions Securities, where he worked on syndicated finance and M&A transactions.
Davis graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.A. in Economics and Media & Journalism.
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Adam Froendt
Senior Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Adam joined the Private Equity and Junior Capital team in 2019, where he is actively involved in sourcing and executing investments in junior capital and equity co-investments, as well as investments in private equity funds. He has over two years of alternative asset management experience. Prior to his current role, Adam was an Analyst in the Private Markets group for Churchill’s parent company, Nuveen, where he worked on the Private Equity and Junior Capital and Private Placements teams.
Adam graduated from The University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a B.S. in Finance, Economics, and Management.
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Jay Valentine
Senior Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Jay joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 as a Senior Associate in the Private Equity and Junior Capital group with over three years of experience in leveraged finance. Previously, he was an Associate at Nuveen Private Markets focused on a wide range of asset classes, including mezzanine finance, private equity funds & co-investments, distressed investments, and impact investments.
Jay graduated from Bentley University with a B.S. in Corporate Finance & Accounting.
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Connor Dunleavy
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Connor joined the Private Equity and Junior Capital team in 2022 and currently serves as an Associate covering originations, underwriting, and portfolio management. He has five years of middle market finance experience. Previously, Connor served as an investment banking associate in the Corporate & Institutional Markets Group at Regions Securities, where he worked on syndicated finance and M&A transactions.
Connor graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 with a B.S. in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
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Adam Frank
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Adam joined the Private Equity and Junior Capital team in 2022 and currently serves as an Associate covering originations, underwriting, and portfolio management. Prior to his current role, Adam was a Director in FTI Consulting’s Restructuring Advisory practice where he advised companies, sponsors, and lenders through both in-court and out-of-court restructurings as well as other strategic finance matters. Previously, Adam was an Analyst within J.P. Morgan’s Investment Bank working with the Diversified Industries Leveraged Credit group where he underwrote leveraged finance transactions and monitored a portfolio of non-investment grade credits.
Adam graduated from The George Washington University School of Business with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.
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Connor Gay
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Connor joined Churchill Asset Management’s Private Equity and Junior Capital group in 2020 with over two years of experience in middle market finance. Previously, he was an investment banking analyst in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group at Regions Securities, where he worked on syndicated finance and M&A transactions.
Connor graduated from the University of Georgia in 2017 with a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Mathematics.
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Brandon Ng
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Brandon joined the Private Equity and Junior Capital team in 2020 and currently serves as an Associate covering originations, underwriting, and portfolio management. He has three years of middle market finance experience. Previously, Brandon served as an investment banking analyst in the Corporate & Institutional Markets Group at Regions Securities, where he worked on syndicated finance and M&A transactions.
Brandon graduated from Wake Forest University in 2015 with a B.A. in Economics.
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Vince Pupi
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Vince joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 as an Associate in the Private Equity and Junior Capital group, where he is responsible for sourcing, executing and monitoring investments across mezzanine debt, equity co-investments and fund commitments. Prior to his current role, Vince was an Associate in Wells Fargo’s Corporate & Investment Banking – Technology, Media & Telecom group, focused on debt financing for M&A, recapitalizations, and other investment projects.
Vince graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2019 with a B.S. in Business Administration.
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Avery Ramsey
Associate, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Avery joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 as an Associate in the Private Equity and Junior Capital group, with five years of experience in financial services. Previously, Avery served as an Associate in the Leveraged Finance group at Morgan Stanley, where she worked on syndicated debt transactions.
Avery graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in Economics and from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce with an M.S. in Commerce.
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Michael Doppelt
Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Michael joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 to focus on Private Equity & Junior Capital Business Development and Fundraising. Michael brings a wealth of experience in the private equity industry and has extensive relationships throughout the institutional investor community. In this newly-created role, Michael collaborates with the broader global Nuveen distribution team to develop and enhance relationships with the investment community and to create customized investor solutions.
Prior to joining Churchill, Michael spent fifteen years at Bear Stearns Merchant Banking/Irving Place Capital and Lightyear Capital where he was a Partner and Investment Committee member. Earlier in his career, Michael worked as an Investment Banker at Bear Stearns & Co. and at Schroder & Co.
Michael has a BA in English and Political Science from Tufts University and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from Columbia University. He is a CFA Charterholder.
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Gene Miao
Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist, Senior Lending
Gene joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 as Senior Investment Strategist, with over 30 years of financial services industry experience in leading strategic initiatives, investment and portfolio management, fund formation, and product development. Gene works closely with Nuveen’s global distribution team to deepen Churchill’s relationships with and develop creative solutions to meet the unique needs of investors around the world.
Gene served in numerous leadership positions in investing, origination, and product development at numerous firms. Gene began his career at Morgan Stanley, where he worked in the investment banking department and was a founding member of the High Yield Group. He joined Merrill Lynch as a Managing Director in the investment banking department, focusing on working with private equity and alternative asset managers as well as serving on the both the equity and debt commitment committees.
Prior to joining Churchill, Gene served as the Chief Investment Strategist of KCAP Financial (Kohlberg Credit) and led the $1 billion alternative asset business at Emigrant Bank. Previously, Gene oversaw the origination, structuring, and ongoing management of subordinated debt and structured equity investments at Highland Capital. At Highland, he was also responsible for the planning and execution of new funds and the development of new products, as well as served on a number of investment committees.
Gene earned an A.B., cum laude with honors, from Harvard College and received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
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Jessica Tannenbaum
Principal, Investor Relations & Marketing
Jessica joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as Principal, Investor Relations & Marketing with 0ver 12 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Jessica was Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing at Fifth Street Asset Management, a credit-focused asset management firm. She began her career on the Investment team and subsequently served in a Business Development role at Fifth Street.
Jessica received her B.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School with concentrations in Finance and Marketing.
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Sherry is a digital marketing manager at Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen. She joined the firm in 2015 and previously assisted in the creation of The Lead Left newsletter, Churchill Asset Management’s thought leadership publication reviewing deals and trends in the capital markets and uniquely focusing on the middle market space. Prior to joining the firm, she was a marketing manager at Finect, a financial technology startup that connects investors and investment professionals in a compliance platform. Sherry began working in the industry in 2013.
Sherry graduated with a B.A. in Finance from the National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan and an M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance and Marketing Intelligence from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
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Emily Manuel
Vice President, Investor Relations
Emily Manuel joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as Vice President, Investor Relations.
Previously, Emily was an Associate Vice President on the Investor Relations team at the Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. Emily has over 12 years of experience within the financial services industry, beginning her career at John Hancock Mutual Funds.
Emily received her B.S. in Psychology from Tulane University.
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Meghan Searson
Vice President, Investor Relations
Meghan joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as Vice President, Investor Relations on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team. Previously, Meghan was a Senior Associate on the Investor Relations team at Barings, a global investment management firm. Meghan has 0ver 10 years of experience within the financial services industry, beginning in public accounting at Marcum LLP and subsequently transitioning to marketing and investor relations at HighBrook Investors, a real estate private equity firm.
Meghan received her B.A. in Accounting from Saint Anselm College.
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Katie Zarback
Vice President, Investor Relations
Katie joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021. She currently serves as Vice President, Investor Relations and is responsible for managing Churchill’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
Previously, Katie was an Associate Vice President on the Global Client Relations team at Nuveen and TIAA, supporting the broader private asset classes in the capacity of writing RFPs. Katie has nearly 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, beginning in real estate investment consulting.
Katie received her B.A. in Communications and Masters in Communications Management from John Carroll University.
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Sunny Huang, CFA, CPA
Senior Associate, Product Development
Sunny joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 as a Senior Associate focusing on Analytics and Product Development. Previously, she was an Analyst in the Structured Finance Advisory Practice of Ernst & Young LLP, focused on CLO cash flow and portfolio constraint modeling and analyses.
Sunny graduated cum laude from Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business with a B.S.M. in Finance and Economics and a Master of Accounting. She is a CFA Charterholder and a Certified Public Accountant.
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Matthew Ricotta
Senior Associate, Investor Relations
Matthew joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 as a Senior Associate on the Investor Relations team with over three years of experience in the financial services industry. Previously, Matthew was an Associate at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where he worked with the private real estate and infrastructure fund businesses to manage relationships with institutional investors globally.
Matthew graduated summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo School of Management with a B.S. in Business Administration, with concentrations in Finance and International Business.
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Bailey Page
Associate, Investor Relations
Bailey joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as an Associate in the Investor Relations team with over two years of experience in the financial services industry. Previously, Bailey was an Associate at MUFG Securities, where she worked in the Leveraged Finance group analyzing market data and performing credit analysis to assist clients across industries with capital solutions.
Bailey graduated from Georgetown University in 2018 with a B.S. in Business Administration, with concentrations in Finance and International Business.
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Samantha Rapaport
Associate, Investor Relations
Samantha joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as an Associate in the Investor Relations team. Previously, she was a Senior Analyst in the Structured Finance Consulting Services team of Ernst & Young LLP, focused on CLO cash flow modeling and regulatory due diligence.
Samantha graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University with a dual degree from the A.B. Freeman School of Business with a B.S.M. in Finance and Legal Studies in Business and from the School of Science and Engineering with a B.S. in Psychology.
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Michael Joyce
Analyst, Investor Relations
Michael joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as an Analyst on the Investor Relations team. Previously, Michael was a sales and business development lead at PitchBook Data, where he was responsible for managing East Coast business development initiatives and product sales expansion.
Michael graduated from Villanova University in 2021 with a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Business Law.
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Evan Velleca
Analyst, Investor Relations
Evan joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as an Analyst on the Investor Relations team with over two years of experience in private capital investments. Previously, he was an Analyst at CrossBay Capital Partners, a private capital placement agent, where he focused on product diligence and supporting the distribution of alternative investment strategies to institutional investors.
Evan graduated summa cum laude from Sacred Heart University in 2019 with a B.S. in Finance and Business Economics. He is a CAIA charter holder.
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Michelle (Ying-Hsuan) Wang
Marketing Analyst
Michelle joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as a Marketing Analyst. She is responsible for marketing campaigns, collateral, and analytics. Michelle has a demonstrated history working as a marketing professional and specialize in digital marketing, content creation, video production and social media marketing. Previously, she was a digital marketing specialist with experience at several industries, including non-profit organization, e-commerce, and UI/UX agency.
Michelle graduated from Soochow University with a B.B.A. in International Business and received her M.S. in Integrated Marketing with distinction from New York University.
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Jim Fink
Managing Director, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
Jim is a Product Specialist focused on supporting the business development efforts of Nuveen’s alternative investments platform which consists of private credit and CLO investment strategies. Jim joined Nuveen in October 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, Jim was Head of Institutional Sales at Park Avenue Institutional Advisers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian Life Insurance Company focused on managing below investment grade credit strategies for institutional and wealth management clients.
From 2007 to 2019, Jim was a Managing Director at Barings with responsibilities consisting of institutional sales and marketing of the firm’s investment platform, helping to launch a mutual fund platform for wealth management clients, and restarting Barings’ private credit platform and served as an originator and portfolio manager of private equity backed senior loans.
From 2003 to 2007, Jim was Managing Director at PNC Bank and focused on marketing PNC’s corporate and investment banking platform to institutional clients with a focus on syndicated loans and asset securitization products. Previously served as an originator in PNC’s private credit group.
From 2000-2003, Jim was Managing Director at Bank of America with responsibilities consisting of structuring syndicated loan and bond financings for private equity backed buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancings.
Jim earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Louisiana State University and M.B.A in Finance from University of Chicago.
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Loren Sageser
Managing Director, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
Loren is a product specialist focused on alternative credit. From 2011 to 2020, he worked as a product strategist at PIMCO, covering private credit markets for PIMCO’s alternative investment platform. Previously, he worked as a product manager at Barings Capital and a deal manager for structured debt solutions at Wells Fargo. Loren began his career as a fixed income credit analyst at the Franklin Templeton Group. He entered the investment industry in 1998.
Loren graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a master’s degree in Sociology from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Laura Stolfi
Managing Director, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
Laura is a Product Specialist within Nuveen’s Alternative Investment distribution team. She is focused on supporting business development efforts across the private credit spectrum.
Laura joined Nuveen in 2021. From 2014 to 2021, she worked for Invesco’s Global Private Credit platform where she supported new business development and institutional client communications, shaping investor messaging and business strategy globally. Previously, Laura worked in corporate finance and investor relations at CIFC Asset Management where she supported marketing efforts and was responsible for financial projections on behalf of their private equity owners. Prior to CIFC, she was an associate at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the firm’s investment management finance division focused on credit strategies. Laura began her career at Deloitte & Touche. She entered the investment management industry in 2003.
Laura graduated with both a B.S. in Business with a major in Accounting and an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Connecticut. She is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and holds the FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 registrations.
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Saheedat Onifade
Vice President, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
Saheedat is a Credit Specialist within Nuveen’s Alternative Investment’s team. She is focused on business development efforts across the private credit spectrum including Churchill Asset Management.
Saheedat joined the firm in January 2021. From 2017 to 2020, she worked for KKR & Co. within their private credit investing and capital markets team across the U.S. and Europe both on the structuring of new KKR portfolio transactions and underwriting deals for the private credit funds. Prior to KKR, she was an analyst and then promoted to associate at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the firm’s investment banking division covering financial institutions and leveraged finance companies.
Saheedat earned her B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in Banking & Finance from the Terry College of Business. She holds the FINRA Series 79 and Series 66 registrations.
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Gregory Kuhn
Assistant Vice President, Alternative Investments, Nuveen
Greg is a Product Specialist for Nuveen, focusing on alternative credit and leveraged finance. He is on the Alternative Investments Distribution team, where he assists with Nuveen’s efforts to broaden the reach of Alternative Investments products.
Prior to joining Nuveen, Greg worked as a fixed income trader at Great Pacific Securities, where he was head of the electronic trading desk. In this role, Greg structured rate products and performed underwriting for new issue corporate bonds. His experience covers a wide range of fixed income products, from money market instruments to ABS/MBS/CMOs. Prior to Great Pacific, Greg worked in economic consulting, where he performed analysis on monetary damages in civil lawsuits.
Greg graduated from Emory University with a double major in Finance and Political Science. He has completed graduate coursework in Accounting at UCLA and is enrolled as a part-time MBA student at USC’s Marshall School of Business. He holds FINRA Series 7 & 63 Licenses.
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Marissa Short
Managing Director, Funds Controller
Marissa joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as Managing Director, Funds Controller with thirteen years of financial services experience. Previously, she was a senior manager in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice at Ernst & Young LLP, responsible for the planning, implementation, and completion of financial statement audits for top tier SEC and non-SEC clients.
Marissa received her B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from Lehigh University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Phil Beissner
Principal, Management Company Controller
Philip joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as Principal, Management Company Controller with over fifteen years of accounting and finance experience. Prior to joining Churchill, he was the corporate controller at Eagle Point Credit Management LLC where he was directly involved with the enhancement of its accounting and financial reporting infrastructure. Earlier in his career, Philip also worked at W. P. Carey Inc. as vice president of financial reporting. Philip began his career in public accounting at Marcum LLP where he was responsible for financial statement audits of SEC filing clients.
Philip received both a B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from St. John’s University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. He has passed all three levels of the CFA exam.
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Ben Love, CFA
Principal, Head of Fund Finance
Ben joined Churchill in February 2022 as a Principal, Head of Fund Finance. He is responsible for the development of the Firm’s leverage strategy as well as the sourcing, execution and monitoring of financing arrangements across the platform. Ben focuses on all forms of bilateral and syndicated lending facilities, as well as public and private debt solutions, including collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”).
Previously, Ben worked as a director within Wells Fargo’s investment bank serving as a structured finance specialist. He was responsible for relationship origination and management, as well as leading the structuring and execution of CLO transactions and various types of lending facilities. He began his career in Wells Fargo’s sales and trading division, working as an analyst on a fixed income sales desk.
Ben graduated with a B.B.A from Roanoke College and received an M.B.A from Queens University of Charlotte. He is a CFA charterholder.
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Gareth Wall
Principal, Finance
Gareth joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Principal in Finance. Previously, Gareth was a senior manager in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice at Ernst & Young LLP, responsible for planning, coordinating and executing financial statement audits and other business advisory engagement services for public and private clients within the financial services industry.
Gareth received his B.S in Actuarial Science from Heriot-Watt University, is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Joe Durkin
Vice President, Finance
Joe joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as a Vice President in Finance and Accounting. Previously, he was a manager in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice at Ernst & Young LLP, responsible for financial statement audits of Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds, and Business Development Companies. Joe also has experience in testing internal controls over financial reporting, as required by section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for publicly traded companies.
Joe received both a B.S and M.S. in Accounting from Fordham University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Kyle Linnemeyer
Vice President, Assistant Controller
Kyle joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 and currently serves as a Vice President. Previously Kyle was a senior associate at Grant Thornton in the Financial Services Assurance Practice. Mr. he was responsible for financial statement audits of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Hedge Funds, and Fund of Funds. Kyle also tested internal controls over financial reporting as required by section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for publicly traded companies.
Kyle graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A in Economics. He graduated with distinction from Wake Forest University with a Masters in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Sydney Nyajeka
Vice President, Finance
Sydney joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as Vice President in Finance with eleven years of financial services experience. Previously, he was a senior manager in PwC’s Asset and Wealth Management Practice, responsible for planning and executing financial statement audits of Direct Lending Private Credit Funds, Business Development Companies, Private Equity Funds and Hedge Funds.
Sydney received his B.S in Accounting and Postgraduates in Advanced Accounting and Applied Accounting from the University of South Africa. He is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe and is a member of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) network.
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Lily Xuan
Vice President, Finance
Lily joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as Vice President in Finance with thirteen years of financial services experience. Previously, she was a Director in PwC’s Asset and Wealth Management Practice, responsible for planning and executing financial statement audits of Business Development Companies, Direct Lending Private Credit Funds, Private Equity Funds and Hedge Funds.
Lily received her B.S. in Accounting from Baruch College, City University of New York. She is a certified public accountant in the state of New York.
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Lauren Hopson
Senior Associate, Finance
Lauren joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Finance. Previously, Lauren was a Senior Fund Accountant at Warburg Pincus, responsible for the preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements of Private Equity Funds. Before Warburg, Lauren worked at Ernst & Young LLP in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice where she was responsible for the planning and execution of financial statement audits of Private Equity Funds.
Lauren received both a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Accounting and an M.S. in Accounting from Southern Methodist University. Lauren is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Jessica Medaglia
Senior Associate, Finance
Jessica joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Finance and Accounting. Previously, she was a Senior Fund Accountant at Siguler Guff & Company, LP, responsible for the preparation of annual and quarterly financial statements of Private Equity Funds and Credit Funds. Before Siguler Guff, she worked at Ernst & Young, LLP in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice where she was responsible for financial statement audits of Private Equity Funds, and Hedge Funds.
Jessica received a B.B.A in Accounting from James Madison University, an M.B.A in Public Accounting from Iona College and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Brian Walsh
Senior Associate, Finance
Brian joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Finance. Previously, he was a senior in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice at Ernst & Young LLP, responsible for planning and executing financial statement audits of Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds, and Business Development Companies.
Brian received his B.S. in Accounting from Fordham University.
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John Wein
Senior Associate, Finance
John joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Finance and Accounting. Previously, he was a Senior Associate in the Asset Management Practice at Cohn Reznick and KPMG, responsible for planning and executing financial statement audits of Private Equity Funds.
John received both a B.S and M.S. in Accounting from Fairfield University.
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Sarah Welden
Senior Associate, Finance
Sarah joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Finance and Accounting. Previously, Sarah was an analyst at Aquarian Holdings where she was responsible for the general accounting and financial reporting of the management company. Prior to Aquarian, Sarah was an analyst at Arrow Capital Management where she provided operations and accounting support for their funds.
Sarah graduated from DePaul University with a B.A. in Accounting and minor in Economics.
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Ryan Wells
Senior Associate, Finance
Ryan joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Finance. Previously, he was a manager in the Wealth and Asset Management Practice at Ernst & Young LLP, responsible for financial statement audits of Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds, and Private Equity Funds.
Ryan received his B.S. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Courtney DeBolt
Principal, Head of Operations
Courtney joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Principal, Head of Operations. She has over a decade of investment operations experience and was previously a Vice President at Ares Management overseeing the middle office for liquid credit and private equity. Prior to managing the middle office she also held roles managing the reconciliation team and within the account onboarding team. Before Ares Management, she worked at Bain Capital Credit where she held various operational roles in loan servicing, settlements and project management.
Courtney received her BS in International Business, with a concentration in Finance, from Northeastern University.
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Luke Garriton
Principal, Operations
Luke joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as a Principal in Operations. Previously, Luke was a Manager at PwC in the Financial Markets Practice. Luke was responsible for cash flow modeling, borrowing base testing, due diligence and collateral testing for CLOs and Direct Lending investment vehicles, as well as valuation of corporate debt, municipal debt and CLOs. He also worked to develop data visualization, analysis, and automation tools for client service and internal processes while at PwC.
Luke graduated from Quinnipiac University with a B.A. in Psychology and received a Masters of Business Administration concentrating in Finance from Monmouth University.
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Chris Schultz
Principal, Operations
Chris joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Principal in Operations. Prior to joining Churchill, Chris was a Director at Bain Capital. While at Bain, he was responsible for managing the trade settlement function across the Credit, Public Equity and Partnership Strategies business units. Chris began his career at State Street where he held various operational roles supporting the asset management, securities lending and custody lines of business.
Chris received his B.A. in History from the College of the Holy Cross and his M.B.A. from Boston College.
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Steve Dobson
Vice President, Operations, Treasury
Steve joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 and currently serves as Vice President, Treasury Operations. He has over 20 years of industry experience and was previously at Anchorage Capital Group within Treasury Operations, responsible for managing the firms Liquidity, Cash and Collateral management.
Prior to this he worked at Goldentree Asset Management and Deutsche Bank, where he managed various operations and middle office teams within Treasury, Foreign Exchange, and Project Management.
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Marina Elkinyuk
Vice President, Operations
Marina joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Vice President in Operations. Previously, Marina was a Senior Associate at Guggenheim Partners, where she was responsible for trade settlement of broadly syndicated, primary, secondary, distressed, European, and direct lending deals, as well as reporting, cash monitoring, and corporate actions. Prior to that, Marina served as a Senior Associate at Lord Abbett and as a Senior Operations Analyst at Deutsche Bank.
Marina graduated from Western Governors University with a B.S. in Business Management.
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Michelle Idrees
Vice President, Operations
Michelle joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Vice President in Operations. Previously, Michelle was a Manager at Prospect Capital, where she was responsible for credit facility management, as well as forecasting and managing treasury, liquidity, and debt. Michelle has also served as a Senior Associate at Grant Thornton, where she was focused on financial statement audits of hedge funds and fund of funds.
Michelle received her B.S. in Business Administration from Stony Brook University and her Masters in Accountancy from Baruch College.
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Michael St. Clair
Senior Associate, Operations
Mike joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Operations supporting the Junior Capital and Private Equity team. Previously, Mike held the position of Sr. Analyst in the Private Market Operations area at Nuveen, he was responsible for investment operations support for Private Debt and Private Equity portfolios.
Mike is joining us from Churchill’s parent company Nuveen, where he has held various positions there such as securities lender, corporate actions, and Valuation.
Mike received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Mathematics from the City College of New York, also is the holder of Series 7 & 63 licenses.
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Brian Thompson
Senior Associate, Operations
Brian joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in Operations. Previously, Brian worked at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. In this capacity, his team served as Trustee for 20 structured finance deals and he was responsible for monitoring portfolio compliance for all vehicles, signing off on quarterly waterfall calculations and payments, and overseeing daily cash movement and account reconciliation.
Brian graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Political Science
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Andy Gilvey
Associate, Operations
Andy joined Churchill in 2021 and currently serves as an Associate in Operations. Previously, Andy was a Loan Operations Work Director at MUFG Union Bank where he was responsible for servicing Syndicated/Commercial loans as well as cash account monitoring and reconciliation. Prior to that, he worked as a Portfolio Administrator with U.S. Bank in their Corporate Trust division serving as trustee for collateral managers.
Andy received his B.A in Interdisciplinary Studies with minors in Business Administration and Economics from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
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Josh Guercio
Associate, Operations
Josh joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as an Associate in Operations. Previously, Josh was a Senior Portfolio Administrator at U.S. Bank, he served as the trustee for Collateral Managers and was responsible for trade settlement of broadly syndicated, primary, secondary, and direct lending deals, as well as reconciling cash and reporting. Prior to that, Josh served as a Junior Portfolio Administrator and Analyst at U.S. Bank.
Josh graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2017 with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Cognitive Science.
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Roshni Patel
Associate, Operations
Roshni joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 as an Associate in Operations. Previously, Roshni worked at CVC Credit Partners supporting the private investment group. She was responsible for deal closing, waterfall calculations and daily cash reconciliation throughout the portfolio lifecycle. Prior to this, Roshni worked in legal and compliance negotiating and drafting trading contracts at several investment banks.
Roshni graduated from Fordham University with a LLM in Finance and an LLB from Lecester University.
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Kevin McMillin
Head of Investment Analytics & Support
Kevin joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as Head of Investment Analytics & Support and has over ten years of experience in financial markets. He is focused on the firm’s infrastructure and management of data across the platform. Additionally, Kevin oversees the Investment Analytics & Support team, which covers the Senior Lending and Private Equity & Junior Capital businesses.
Previously, Kevin was at Citadel LLC, responsible for tactical and strategic technology and data implementation across the global multi-strategy hedge fund and market making businesses. Prior to Citadel, he was a Manager on the Foreign Exchange business line at CME Group.
Kevin earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business.
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Matthew Cianella
Principal, Portfolio Management, Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions
Matthew serves as a Principal on the Private Equity and Junior Capital team within Churchill Asset Management, where he focuses primarily on portfolio management. Matthew has over 15 years of investment experience and is actively involved in the day to day management of the Team’s private equity and junior capital mandates, portfolios, and associated vehicles. He joined Churchill’s parent Company in 2005, and has held various positions within the Institution’s Private Equity and Junior Capital, Leveraged Lending, Debt Private Placements, and Treasury groups.
Matthew graduated cum laude from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance.
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Cynthia Qualls
Principal, Investment Analytics and Support
Cynthia joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and serves as Principal, Investment Analytics and Support on the Risk Management Team. She focuses primarily on Private Equity and Junior Capital portfolio reporting, attribution, and portfolio management activities. Cynthia has over 15 years of financial analysis and portfolio analytics experience at Nuveen and TIAA supporting the broader private asset classes, Private Placements, Impact Investing, and Energy and Infrastructure, with their reporting needs. Most recently, she held the position of Director on the Business and Investment Operations team within the Nuveen Equities and Fixed Income organization and supported the Municipal investment team.
Cynthia received a Bachelor of Accounting from DeVry Institute of Technology, and an MBA with Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis from Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University.
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Mickey Weatherston
Principal, Head of Sustainability and ESG Integration
Mickey is the Head of Sustainability and ESG Integration for Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen.
Prior to joining the firm, Mickey was the director of marketing and client service at Muzinich & Co., where he was responsible for ESG integration for the company’s public and private debt strategies. Before that, he worked as a vice president for AQR Capital Management and spent 12 years as an executive director for UBS Investment Bank. Mickey began his career at Goldman Sachs and received his BS in finance from the University of Maryland. He holds the FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.
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Arjun Chhabra
Vice President, Business Analytics
Arjun joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as a Vice President, Business Analytics. He has over four years of experience in executing technology projects to streamline processes and provide operational scalability. Previously, Arjun was a Senior Business Analyst at Indus Valley Partners where he specialized in direct lending and credit investment funds.
Arjun graduated from Cornell University in the Dual Degree Program with a B.S in Operations Research and Information Engineering and a B.A in Economics.
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Preston Kafka
Vice President, Valuation Specialist
Preston joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 and currently serves as Vice President in Valuation. Previously, he was a Vice President in the Asset Management Division at Goldman Sachs, responsible for managing the quarterly valuation process for private investments within the BDC fund complex. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he was a real estate loan underwriter at FACo, a Blackstone company. Preston has expertise in valuation techniques used to mark-to-market investments, developing financial models, and risk assessment. Preston also has experience in financial reporting and portfolio metric calculation.
Preston received a B.S. in Economics from Vanderbilt University in 2011 and a M.S. in Accounting from Wake Forest University in 2012. Preston is a CFA charterholder and licensed CPA.
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Nick Taylor
Senior Associate, Risk Management
Nick joined Churchill Asset Management in 2019 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in risk management. Previously, Nick was an analyst at The Carlyle Group in the Direct Lending platform. Nick was responsible for credit facility borrowing base management and reporting, valuation of senior and unitranche debt, portfolio modeling and analyses, as well as SEC and upper management reporting.
Nick graduated from Fairfield University with a B.A. in Accounting. He also received a Masters in Accounting from Fairfield University.
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Karen Yen
Senior Associate, Data Analytics
Karen joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as a Senior Associate, Data Analytics collaborating with all areas of the business to improve business decision and presentation. Previously, Karen was a Financial Modeling Intern at Churchill Asset Management working with origination and capital market team to build data models that meet teams’ demands.
Karen earned her B.B.A. from National Central University in Taiwan, and an M.S. in Financial Risk Management from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
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Praneet Appurubugatha
Associate, Investment Analytics and Support
Praneet joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as an Associate on the Investment Analytics and Support team. Previously, he spent over two years within Bank of America’s Global Banking and Markets division where he was responsible for driving automation efforts and improving overall data governance.
Praneet graduated from Purdue University in 2018 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and minor in Entrepreneurship.
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Jackson Wexler
Associate, Investment Analytics and Support
Jackson Wexler joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as an Associate on the Investment Analytics and Support team and has over two years of experience in the financial services industry. He is focused on the development of the firm’s infrastructure with the goal of streamlining and automating reporting processes across the business.
Previously, Jackson was a Technology Associate at Morgan Stanley, where he served as a Business and Data Analyst in the Global Banking Technology division. Within this role, Jackson leveraged data to automate reporting and develop analytical tools.
Jackson graduated cum laude from the University of Florida’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
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Teresa Lee
Senior Analyst, Investment Analytics and Support
Teresa Lee joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as a Senior Analyst on the Investment Analytics and Support Team with over two years of experience in the financial services industry. Previously, Teresa was an Analyst at Goldman Sachs, where she worked both in the Risk division and the Asset Management division. Most recently in the Asset Management division, Teresa worked on the Hedge Funds Investment team building analytical tools to show performance and risk metrics across all hedge funds on the Goldman Sachs platform.
Teresa graduated cum laude from Creighton University’s Heider College of Business in 2018 with a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Financial Analysis and Business Intelligence and Analytics focusing on Information Technology.
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Lynn Miceli
Director of Administration
Lynn joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as the Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer. As Office Manager, she is responsible for many of the administrative functions in the office, including Human Resources, Benefits, IT and Facilities. Lynn has previously served as a Human Resource Business Partner at Aberdeen Asset Management as well as Human Capital Manager and Executive Assistant at Arden Asset Management.
Lynn received her A.A. in Business Administration at Westchester Community College and actively holds her Professional Human Resource (PHR) and Society For Human Resource Management – Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) Certifications.
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Natalie Austrian
Executive Assistant
Natalie joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 as an Executive Assistant to the Head of Private Equity and Junior Capital as well as providing general support to the Charlotte team. In her role she contributes to the smooth operation of the Charlotte office managing calendars, coordinating onsite meetings, and arranging frequent travel. Natalie comes to Churchill with several years of experience spanning across multiple industries including technology, retail, and advertising.
Natalie received her B.A. from the University of Delaware.
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Rachel Benitez
Executive Assistant
Rachel joined Churchill Asset Management in 2021 as an Executive Assistant to the Investor Relations team. In her role she provides administrative support including frequent travel arrangements, substantial onsite meeting support and client communication assistance. She has a background in property management, hedge fund, real estate and asset management administrative support. Rachel previously served as an executive assistant at Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC in Los Angeles, CA.
Rachel earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Central Washington State University.
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Louisa Colon
Executive Assistant
Louisa joined Churchill Asset Management in the summer of 2017 as the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO as well as the Head of Origination and Capital Markets. Previously, she has served as the Executive and Personal Assistant to C-Level executives at Blackstone Group, General Growth Properties, Guggenheim Partners and Thomas Weisel Partners. She has experience within the asset management, hedge fund, investor relations, real estate and investment banking areas. She began her career at TIAA in the Private Placements and Project Finance Divisions.
Louisa received her B.A. in history from Colgate University.
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Sam Chowdhury
Executive Assistant
Sam joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 as an Executive Assistant to the Investor Relations team. In her role she provides administrative support including substantial calendar management, frequent travel arrangements, and client communication & correspondence. She has a background in legal & commercial real estate investments administrative support. Sam previously served as an executive assistant at Brookfield’s hospitality team in New York, NY.
Sam earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Pace University in New York.
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Jacqueline Morton
Administrative Assistant
Jacque joined Churchill Asset Management in 2020 as an Administrative Receptionist. In her role she welcomes guests and provides administrative support to the Underwriting and Origination teams. Jacque has previous administrative experience in the health care industry.
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Chloe Tipton
Administrative Receptionist
Chloe joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 as an Administrative Receptionist. In her role she welcomes guests and provides administrative support. Chloe has previous administrative experience in the health care and film industry.
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David Carias
IT Specialist
David Joined Churchill Asset Management in 2022 as their IT specialist in charge of running IT support and project/implementations. David has been working in the IT industry for 12 years. Prior to joining Churchill, he worked for Agio for 7 years in IT support for different financial institutions.
David holds an Associate degree in computer science from Bergen Community college and a BS in Information Technology from Kean University.
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Thomas Grenville
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer
Thomas Grenville is a Managing Director with Nuveen and the Chief Compliance Officer for Churchill Asset Management and Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending. He manages a dedicated team of compliance officers responsible for compliance at several Nuveen private and alternative advisers, including Nuveen Alternatives Advisors, Greenwood Resources, and Westchester Asset Management.
Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Thomas worked as a Staff Accountant and Securities Compliance Examiner with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in San Francisco where he led examinations of hedge funds, registered investment companies, and registered investment advisers. He also worked as a Securities Analyst at the State of Oregon’s Division of Finance and Corporate Securities where he conducted disclosure and merit based reviews of securities offerings and wrote comment letters. He began his career at Unibank, A.S. in New York as Treasury Analyst.
Thomas graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College, a J.D. with a concentration in Real Estate Law from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, a Master of Laws in Environmental & Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School, and a M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is admitted into practice in the State of Oregon, and has been designated as a Certified Fraud Examiner by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). He holds the Series 7, 63, and 24 Securities licenses.
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Alina Dovere
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
Alina is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”). She provides legal counsel to various investment and asset management teams within Nuveen (including Churchill Asset Management LLC), with a practice focused on junior capital, impact investing and distressed investments.
Prior to joining Nuveen in 2018, Alina was an associate general counsel at Fiera Capital. Prior to that, she was an associate in the Bank Finance group at White & Case, where she represented agents, lead arrangers, private equity sponsors and other corporate borrowers in a wide range of credit facilities. She began her legal career as an associate in the Legal & Compliance group at GSO Capital Partners, the credit arm of the Blackstone Group.
Alina graduated from New York University and received her juris doctor from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
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Zachary Profant
Vice President and Associate General Counsel
Zach is a Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen. Zach provides day-to-day legal support to Churchill as part of Nuveen’s private credit platform. Zach also provides legal support in connection with regulatory matters affecting the business.
Prior to joining the organization in 2020, Zach was an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, specializing in debt finance transactions. He began his legal career as a corporate associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, completing rotations in both banking and securities.
Zach graduated Phi Beta Kappa with High Distinction from the University of California, Berkeley and received his juris doctor, cum laude, from New York University School of Law.
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Trevor Sanford
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
Trevor is a Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Nuveen, LLC, a division of TIAA, a leading provider of retirement and investment services in the academic, medical, cultural and research fields. Trevor provides legal support and coverage for various investment and asset management teams within Nuveen, including those engaged in public and private fixed income and infrastructure investment markets. Trevor also provides day-to-day legal support to Churchill Asset Management LLC as part of Nuveen’s private credit platform.
Prior to joining Nuveen in 2019, Trevor worked for Barings LLC in a similar capacity. He graduated from the University of Rochester and received his juris doctor from American University-Washington College of Law.
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Jake Wang
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
Jake is a Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Nuveen, LLC, a division of TIAA. Jake has a demonstrated history working in the financial services industry, with specialty in fund formation, private fund investments, and equity co-investments. At Nuveen, Jake provides day-to-day legal support and coverage for the Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions team of Churchill Asset Management LLC.
Prior to joining Nuveen in 2020, Jake worked for Barings LLC and BlackRock, Inc. in a similar capacity and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as an associate. Jake graduated from the College of William and Mary and received his juris doctor from Columbia Law School.
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David Baird
Paralegal
David is a Paralegal at Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen. David supports Churchill in day-to-day matters of corporate governance, fund formation, and securities law. He also provides pipeline support for the Senior Lending and Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions teams. Prior to joining Churchill, David served as a corporate paralegal at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He has also worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
David graduated from Amherst College in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in English. He also holds a Masters of Science from Columbia University in Sports Management.