Benefits to Borrowers and Sponsors
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 significant 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 to represent the firm’s exclusive middle market senior debt financing group, creating an independent boutique within Nuveen’s Private Markets platform
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Senior Management Team
Deep experience in middle market lending with an established senior management team averaging over 25 years of investment experience
Churchill Asset Management executives have an average of 25 years of experience in financing middle market companies. As a team, we focus exclusively on originating, underwriting, and monitoring investments.
Senior Management Team
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Ken Kencel
President & CEO
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Kenneth J. Kencel serves as President & CEO of Churchill Asset Management. Throughout his over 30-year career Mr. Kencel has accrued a broad range of experience in leading middle market financing businesses. Previously, he was President and a Director of Carlyle GMS Finance (Carlyle’s publicly traded business development company); founded and was President and CEO of Churchill Financial; and served as Head of Leveraged Finance for Royal Bank of Canada as well as Head of Indosuez Capital—a leading middle market merchant banking and asset management business. Mr. Kencel also helped to found high yield finance businesses at both Chase Securities (now JP Morgan) and SBC Warburg (now UBS).
Mr. Kencel serves on the Board of Trustees of Canisius High School and is the Chair of the Investment Committee. He also serves on the Archdiocese of New York Pension Investment Advisory Committee. Mr. Kencel 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. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.
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George Kurteson
Senior Managing Director, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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George Kurteson
Senior Managing Director, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
212.478.9204 // george.kurteson@churchillam.com
Overseeing underwriting and portfolio management at Churchill Asset Management, Senior Managing Director George F. Kurteson brings over 30 years of middle market leveraged lending experience to the company. Prior to founding Churchill Asset Management, Mr. Kurteson served as a Managing Director of Carlyle GMS Finance and as a Founder and Senior Managing Director, Head of Origination and Underwriting at Churchill Financial. At GE/Antares (a division of GE Capital), he held the position of Senior Managing Director, Head of the New York office, and he acted as a member of the GE/Antares leadership team. Mr. Kurteson has also served in senior positions at Heller Financial, Fleet Bank, and Maryland National Bank.
Mr. Kurteson received his MBA and his B.S. (honors) in business and economics from Lehigh University.
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Randy Schwimmer
Senior Managing Director, Head of Origination & Capital Markets
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Randy Schwimmer
Senior Managing Director, Head of Origination & Capital Markets
212.478.9203 // randy.schwimmer@churchillam.com
Senior Managing Director Randy Schwimmer supervises origination and capital markets for Churchill Asset Management. He is widely credited with developing loan syndications for middle market companies. Mr. Schwimmer brings 30 years of experience in middle market finance to Churchill Asset Management, having 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 then, Mr. Schwimmer 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.
Mr. Schwimmer graduated cum laude from Trinity College with a B.A. He earned his M.A. from the University of Chicago.
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Christopher Cox
Senior Managing Director & Chief Risk Officer
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Christopher Cox
Senior Managing Director & Chief Risk Officer
212.478.9212 // chris.cox@churchillam.com
Senior Managing Director Christopher Cox serves as Chief Risk Officer of Churchill Asset Management. Previously, he 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 process and policies. Prior to this, Mr. Cox was 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. Mr. Cox also worked at Gibbs & Cox, Inc. in New York, NY.
Mr. Cox received his B.S. in civil engineering from Tufts University and his MBA from Fordham University.
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David Heilbrunn
Senior Managing Director, Head of Product Development & Capital Raising
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David Heilbrunn
Senior Managing Director, Head of Product Development & Capital Raising
212.478.9281 // david.heilbrunn@churchillam.com
David Heilbrunn is a Senior Managing Director of Churchill Asset Management. As the firm’s Head of Product Development & Capital Raising, Mr. Heilbrunn focuses on capital raising activities and strategic initiatives, structuring new products and developing important institutional client relationships. Mr. Heilbrunn also focuses on optimizing the firm’s various financing arrangements and oversees Churchill’s collateralized loan obligation (CLO) platform. Prior to joining the Churchill team in 2017, Mr. Heilbrunn held senior roles at several firms, including Managing Director at Fifth Street Asset Management; Managing Director of The Carlyle Group; Senior Managing Director and Head of Corporate Strategy & Development at Churchill Financial and Managing Director and CDO Group Head at Bear Stearns & Co. and JP Morgan.
Mr. Heilbrunn received an M.B.A., with Distinction, from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan Business School and a B.S. in accounting, magna cum laude, from The State University of New York at Albany in 1987.
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Shai Vichness, CFA
Senior Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer
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Shai Vichness, CFA
Senior Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer
212.478.9238 // shai.vichness@churchillam.com
Shai Vichness serves as a Senior Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Churchill Asset Management. Previously, as Managing Director and Head of Senior Leveraged Lending for Churchill’s parent company, Nuveen, Mr. Vichness 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, Mr. Vichness has been a member of the Investment Committee and has been actively engaged in the management of the firm, including the development of its infrastructure and operations. Mr. Vichness joined Nuveen in 2005 and has spent his entire career in the private debt markets, with a significant amount of time spent in the firm’s workout and restructuring department.
Mr. Vichness holds a BBA from Baruch College, CUNY and is a CFA charterholder.
Nuveen Private Markets
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Brian Roelke
Head of Private Capital, Nuveen Private Markets
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Brian Roelke
Head of Private Capital, Nuveen Private Markets
Brian Roelke serves as Head of Private Capital of Nuveen Private Markets. In this capacity he sits on the private markets investment committee and leads a group of investment professionals responsible for originating investment transactions in private asset classes including debt private placements, project finance, credit tenant loans, private ABS, senior leveraged loans, mezzanine, and private equity funds and co-investments. In addition to serving on Churchill Asset Management’s board of directors, he is on the firm’s investment committee.
He previously served as Head of the Debt Private Placements team, and in a number of different positions throughout Nuveen’s investment organization. Mr. Roelke has over 20 years of industry experience and joined the Nuveen organization in 2002.
Mr. Roelke earned a B.A. in history and economics from Colgate University and an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from New York University, where he was a Stern Scholar, was awarded a Stern Fellowship, and was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society.
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Board of Directors
Board of Directors
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Heather Davis
Head of Nuveen Private Markets
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Heather Davis
Head of Nuveen Private Markets
Heather Davis is Head of Nuveen Private Markets. Ms. Davis is responsible for strategy, investment originations, portfolio management and board reporting for the organization’s investments in real assets and alternatives sectors including real estate, agriculture, timber, infrastructure and energy, private equity and private debt.
Most recently she was Chief Investment Officer of Private Markets Investments for Nuveen. Prior to this position, she served as Head of Global Private Markets Investments and Head of Global Private Markets Portfolio Management where she oversaw the $40 billion global private markets portfolio which included private placements, private equity, distressed investments, commercial mortgages, natural resources and infrastructure investments. While at Nuveen, she has been an investor in many sectors within the private asset classes. Ms. Davis joined the organization in 1995 and has 31 years of investment industry experience.
Prior to joining Nuveen, Ms. Davis worked for Prudential Financial in a variety of roles including commercial mortgage origination, mortgage underwriting, portfolio management, and credit underwriting. In 2009, Ms. Davis created TIAA’s Fruits of Employment initiative, which employs people with autism and other disabilities on TIAA farms. The Fruits of Employment program has won numerous awards for its groundbreaking work in autism employment in the farming sector. In 2014, Ms. Davis received the Athena International award for Corporate Leadership. Ms. Davis serves on the boards of Westchester Global Investment Management, Radar Propriedades Agricolas, S.A., Churchill Asset Management, the John M. Belk Endowment and the Carolinas Chapter of Autism Speaks. Ms. Davis holds a B.A. in economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in finance from Cornell University, Johnson School of Management. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
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Scott Grace
Chief Operating Officer, Nuveen Global Investments
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Scott Grace
Chief Operating Officer, Nuveen Global Investments
Mr. Grace is responsible for leading Corporate and Affiliate Development within Nuveen.
Mr. Grace joined Nuveen in September 2009 as Managing Director, Corporate Finance & Development, Treasurer, a role he held until November 2014. In November 2014, Mr. Grace assumed the role of Managing Director, Business Development & Strategy within the Global Structured Products group, a role he held until March 2016. In October, 2017, Mr. Grace assumed the Chief Operating Officer role within Global Investments. Mr. Grace joined Nuveen from Janus Capital Group in Denver where he was SVP, Corporate Finance & Development. Prior to joining Janus in May 2003, he served as a Senior Associate in the Global Financial Services Group at Morgan Stanley in New York. Earlier in his career, he held various financial roles in Toronto, Canada with BMO Nesbitt Burns, NewCourt Credit Group, IBM Canada and BDO Dunwoody.
Mr. Grace earned his Chartered Accountant Designation in 1995 and holds a Bachelor Degree in Commerce, Administrative and Commercial Studies from the University of Western Ontario.
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Ken Kencel
President & CEO
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Kenneth J. Kencel serves as President & CEO of Churchill Asset Management. Throughout his over 30-year career Mr. Kencel has accrued a broad range of experience in leading middle market financing businesses. Previously, he was President and a Director of Carlyle GMS Finance; founded and was President and CEO of Churchill Financial; and served as Head of Leveraged Finance for Royal Bank of Canada as well as Head of Indosuez Capital—a leading middle market merchant banking and asset management business. Mr. Kencel also helped to found high yield finance businesses at both Chase Securities (now JP Morgan) and SBC Warburg (now UBS).
Mr. Kencel serves on the Board of Trustees of Canisius High School, is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Archdiocese of New York and is a former member of the Board of Advisors and Adjunct Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.
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John MacCarthy
General Counsel, Nuveen
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John MacCarthy
General Counsel, Nuveen
John MacCarthy serves as General Counsel of Nuveen. John has been Chief Operating Officer of Nuveen since January 2016. Responsibilities include overseeing and serving on the boards of subsidiary asset managers specializing in Real Estate, Agriculture, Timber, Agribusiness Private Equity and Middle Market Lending. Initial focus was on unifying the $65 billion AUM U.S. Real Estate business of Nuveen with the $30 billion AUM TH Real Estate business headquartered in London.
John joining Nuveen as General Counsel in 2006 and becoming Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel in 2008. John was also a member of Nuveen’s Executive Committee. Before joining Nuveen, John held various positions at the law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP starting in 1985, including Chairman of the Corporate Department and member of the firm’s Executive Committee from 2001 to 2006.
John received his undergraduate degree from Williams College in 1982 and his law degree from Stanford Law School in 1985. He is currently the Board Chair of Metropolitan Family Services.
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Jose Minaya
President Nuveen Global Investments
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Jose Minaya
President Nuveen Global Investments
Jose Minaya serves as President of Nuveen Global Investments 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, Mr. Minaya 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, Mr. Minaya 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, Mr. Minaya also managed transactions involving privately-placed debt and equity.
Mr. Minaya 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.
Mr. Minaya 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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Brian Roelke
Head of Private Capital, Nuveen Private Markets
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Brian Roelke
Head of Private Capital, Nuveen Private Markets
Brian Roelke serves as Head of Private Capital of Nuveen Private Markets. In this capacity he sits on the private markets investment committee and leads a group of investment professionals responsible for originating investment transactions in private asset classes including debt private placements, project finance, credit tenant loans, private ABS, senior leveraged loans, mezzanine, and private equity funds and co-investments. In addition to serving on Churchill Asset Management’s board of directors, he is on the firm’s investment committee.
He previously served as Head of the Debt Private Placements team, and in a number of different positions throughout Nuveen’s investment organization. Mr. Roelke has over 20 years of industry experience and joined the Nuveen organization in 2002.
Mr. Roelke earned a B.A. in history and economics from Colgate University and an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from New York University, where he was a Stern Scholar, was awarded a Stern Fellowship, and was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society.
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Investment Professionals
Investment Professionals
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Mathew Linett
Managing Director, Deputy Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management
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Mathew Linett
Managing Director, Deputy Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management
Mathew Linett serves as Managing Director, Deputy Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management of Churchill Asset Management. He brings over 20 years of leveraged finance experience to the company with a strong emphasis on the middle market. He 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. Previously, he was a Credit Portfolio Manager at Loeb King Capital and Havens Advisors, a Senior Vice President at Jefferies & Co., as well as a Vice President at Indosuez Capital – a middle market merchant banking and asset management business. Mr. Linett and Mr. Kencel worked closely together at Indosuez Capital.
Mr. Linett graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s dual degree program with a B.S. 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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Leland Richards
Managing Director, Origination
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Leland Richards
Managing Director, Origination
Leland Richards serves as a Managing Director for Churchill Asset Management. He is on the originations team where he focuses on developing relationships with private equity sponsors and middle market lenders. Before joining Churchill Asset Management, he was a Managing Director at GE Capital where he originated and evaluated new opportunities for private equity sponsors, including first lien, second lien and uni-tranche loans. Prior to GE Capital, he was a Director at CIT Healthcare where he was involved in structuring and executing debt financing transactions. Before that, he was a leveraged finance Vice President at Merrill Lynch, Citigroup/Salomon Smith Barney and J.P. Morgan & Co. Mr. Richards began his career in capital markets for CIBC World Markets.
Mr. Richards earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Pratt Institute and an M.B.A. from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.
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Eric Wieczorek
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Eric Wieczorek
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Eric Wieczorek serves as a Principal with Churchill Asset Management. Before joining in 2015, Mr. Wieczorek worked at Apex Credit Partners, a credit asset management firm owned by Jefferies, and at GSO Capital Partners, the credit platform of the Blackstone Group, where he focused on the public and private debt markets and evaluated primary and secondary investments across various investment strategies and asset classes. Earlier, Mr. Wieczorek worked at Churchill Financial, where he evaluated investments across the capital structure, and at Praesidian Capital, where he was involved in the origination, execution, and monitoring of mezzanine debt investments. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant for two private equity firms and worked for C.E. Unterberg, Towbin, where he worked on principal investments and a variety of transactions including mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and private placements of debt and equity. Mr. Wieczorek began his career in equity research with Brean Murray & Co.
Mr. Wieczorek received his A.B. in biochemistry and pre-med studies from Brown University.
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Alona Tolentino Gornick
Principal, Origination
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Alona Tolentino Gornick
Principal, Origination
Alona Tolentino Gornick serves as a Principal on the originations team for Churchill Asset Management, where she focuses on developing relationships with private equity sponsors and middle market lenders. Previously, Ms. Gornick 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, Ms. Gornick 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. Ms. Gornick began her career in investment banking in the Gaming & Leisure Group at Banc of America Securities.
Ms. Gornick 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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Kevin Meyer
Principal, Origination
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Kevin Meyer
Principal, Origination
Kevin Meyer joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as Principal with over seven years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Mr. Meyer 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 , Mr. Meyer worked in sports marketing and event management at FIFA.
Mr. Meyer 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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Carol Loundon
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Carol Loundon
Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Carol Loundon joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as a Principal in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over 15 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Ms. Loundon 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, Ms. Loundon 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. Ms. Loundon also held Associate and Analyst positions at Bank of Ireland (Leveraged Acquisition Finance group) and Lehman Brothers (Mergers & Acquisitions group).
Ms. Loundon graduated from Georgetown University in 2001 with a B.S. in business administration.
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Sean Mancini
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Sean Mancini
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Sean Mancini joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as a Vice President in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over six years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Mr. Mancini was an Associate at GE Capital, a financial services institution focused on making direct senior, middle market loans. Mr. Mancini was accepted and graduated from the GE Capital Financial Management Program.
Mr. Mancini 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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Jill White
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Jill White
Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Jill White joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 and currently serves as a Vice President in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over 6 years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Ms. White served as an AVP with Antares Capital on the underwriting and credit advisory teams. Prior to Antares Capital, Ms. White completed the GE Capital Investment Analyst program.
Ms. White graduated summa cum laude from John Carroll University with a B.S. in finance and minor in mathematics.
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Steve Jordan
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Steve Jordan
Senior Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Steve Jordan joined Churchill Asset Management in 2016 and currently serves as a Senior Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with four years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Mr. Jordan was an Associate at Antares Capital, a financial services institution focused on providing financing solutions for middle-market, private equity-backed transactions. Prior to Antares Capital, Mr. Jordan graduated from the GE Financial Management Program.
Mr. Jordan graduated magna cum laude from Boston University in 2012 with a B.S. in business administration, with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurship.
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Nicholas Carroll
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Nicholas Carroll
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Nicholas Carroll joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 as an Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with over three years of experience in leveraged finance markets across both large cap and middle market deals. Previously, Mr. Carroll was an Analyst within the Investment Bank at JP Morgan working with the diversified industrials credit group. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Mr. Carroll worked as an Analyst at GE Capital, a financial services institution that focused on making direct senior, middle market loans.
Mr. Carroll graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2012 with a B.A in economics, with minors in accounting and communications.
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Ryan Babakian, CFA
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Ryan Babakian, CFA
Associate, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Ryan Babakian joined Churchill Asset Management in 2016 and currently serves as an Associate in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than four years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Mr. Babakian was a Financial Analyst with Audax Group, a financial services institution providing mezzanine and senior debt to middle market companies. Mr. Babakian began his career in the Advisory practice of Ernst & Young.
Mr. Babakian graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business with a B.S. in finance. Mr. Babakian is a CFA charterholder.
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Tyler Donofrio
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
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Tyler Donofrio
Senior Analyst, Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Tyler Donofrio joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 as a Senior Analyst in the underwriting and portfolio management group with more than two years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Mr. Donofrio 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.
Mr. Donofrio graduated from Boston College, Carroll School of Management with a B.S. in management, with concentrations in finance and accounting.
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Other Professionals
Investor Relations, Marketing and Business Development
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Liz Perreten
Principal, Head of Investor Relations & Business Development
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Liz Perreten
Principal, Head of Investor Relations & Business Development
Liz Perreten joined Churchill Asset Management as a Principal in 2015 and focuses on investor relations and business development. Previously, Ms. Perreten served as Director of Investor Relations and Portfolio Initiatives at Kohlberg & Company, a middle market private equity firm. In addition to her experience in investor relations and fundraising, she spent seven years with SPP Capital Partners, arranging private debt financing for sponsor-backed and independent middle market companies. She was also involved in the origination, execution and monitoring of mezzanine debt investments for SPP Mezzanine Partners. She began her career in equity sales with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Ms. Perreten received a B.A. with honors in international relations from Brown University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Jessica Tannenbaum
Vice President, Investor Relations
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Jessica Tannenbaum
Vice President, Investor Relations
Jessica Tannenbaum joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as Vice President, Investor Relations with ten years of experience in middle market leveraged finance. Previously, Ms. Tannenbaum 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.
Ms. Tannenbaum received her B.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School with concentrations in Finance and Marketing.
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Louisa Colon
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations
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Louisa Colon
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations
Louisa Colon joined Churchill Asset Management in the summer of 2017 as the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO as well as working with the Investor Relations team and head of Product Development and Capital. Previously, Ms. Colon 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 after earning her B.A. in history from Colgate University.
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Sherry Chen
Digital Marketing Manager
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Sherry Chen
Digital Marketing Manager
Sherry Chen joined Churchill Asset Management in 2015 and currently serves as a Digital Marketing Manager with over five years experience in financial services marketing. Previously, Ms. Chen assisted Mr. Schwimmer to create 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 The Lead Left, she was a Marketing Manager at Finect, a financial technology startup that connects investors and investment professionals in a compliance platform.
Ms. Chen received a B.A. in finance from the National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan and earned her MBA with concentrations in finance and marketing intelligence from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Finance and Operations
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Heather McNally
Senior Vice President, Manager of Loan Operations
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Heather McNally
Senior Vice President, Manager of Loan Operations
Heather McNally joined Churchill Asset Management in 2016 as a Senior Vice President, Manager of Loan Operations with over ten years of financial services experience. Previously, she was a Managing Director at Garrison Investment Group where she was responsible for the Operations team and direct lending administration. Ms. McNally has also served as Operations Manager at Fraser Sullivan Investment Management; Loan Administrator at Fortress Investment Group; and Trust Officer at LaSalle Bank, with a focus on CLO administration and back office processes.
Ms. McNally received her B.A. in political science from DePaul University and her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
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Michelle Rancic
Senior Vice President, Controller
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Michelle Rancic
Senior Vice President, Controller
Michelle Rancic joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 as a Senior Vice President, Funds Controller with over ten years of financial services experience. Previously, she was the Chief Accounting Officer and Director at Garrison Investment Group, a middle market credit and asset based fund, responsible for accounting operations and financial reporting. Ms. Rancic was also a manager in the Banking and Capital Markets Assurance Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, responsible for the planning, implementation, and completion of financial statement audits of top tier SEC and non-SEC clients in the Banking and Capital Markets industry.
Ms. Rancic received her B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from the University at Albany and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
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Kyle Linnemeyer
Associate, Finance and Accounting
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Kyle Linnemeyer
Associate, Finance and Accounting
Kyle Linnemeyer joined Churchill Asset Management in 2017 as an Associate in Finance and Accounting. Previously Kyle was a senior associate at Grant Thornton in the Financial Services Assurance Practice. Mr. Linnemeyer was responsible for financial statement audits of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Hedge Funds, and Fund of Funds. Mr. Linnemeyer also tested internal controls over financial reporting as required by section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for publicly traded companies.
Mr. Linnemeyer graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A in Economics. Mr. Linnemeyer 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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Misha Shah
Associate, Senior CLO Specialist
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Misha Shah
Associate, Senior CLO Specialist
Misha Shah joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as a Senior CLO Specialist with over four years of experience in the financial industry. Prior to joining, she worked at Sound Point Capital on the CLO team as a Senior Operations Analyst, covering all operational aspects of the CLOs and monitoring the performance of over 18 vehicles. Ms. Shah previously worked at Prudential Financial, where she was focused on supporting the U.S. and European CLO platform.
Ms. Shah received her B.S in Finance and International Business from Drexel University.
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Nikhil Mehra
Associate, Loan Operations Specialist
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Nikhil Mehra
Associate, Loan Operations Specialist
Nikhil Mehra joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as an Associate in Loan Operations with over four years of experience in the financial industry. Prior to joining, he worked at JP Morgan in various roles within the Private Bank and Investment Bank, including working in the Bank Loans space as a senior analyst, where he was focused on covering all operational aspects of the mutual & pension funds business.
Mr. Mehra received his B.S in Finance, Accounting, and Economics from Drexel University.
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Lynn Miceli
Office Manager and Executive Assistant
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Lynn Miceli
Office Manager and Executive Assistant
Lynn Miceli joined Churchill Asset Management in 2018 as the Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer. As Office Manager, Mrs. Miceli is responsible for many of the administrative functions in the office, including Human Resources, Benefits, IT and Facilities. Mrs. Miceli 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.
Mrs. Miceli 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.
Legal and Compliance
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John McCally
Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
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John McCally
Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
John McCally is a Managing Director 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. John provides legal support and coverage for various investment and asset management teams within Nuveen including those engaged in public and private fixed income, derivatives, structured product and infrastructure investment markets. John also provides legal support in connection with regulatory matters affecting these businesses. John provides day-to-day legal support to Churchill Asset Management LLC as part of Nuveen’s private credit platform.
Prior to joining the organization in 2010, 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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Heather McFarland
Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer
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Heather McFarland
Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer
Ms. McFarland has over 30 years of financial industry experience working at Nuveen. She currently serves as the Chief Compliance Officer for Churchill Asset Management LLC. She is a trusted adviser in creating and managing asset management compliance and governance programs. Ms. McFarland is adept at creating compliance programs for a variety of investment products.
Most recently, Ms. McFarland created and managed investment adviser and investment company’s compliance programs pertaining to regulatory topics such as insider trading, personal trading, portfolio compliance and investment adviser registration and disclosure filings. She has created and served on governance committees for the insider trading and personal trading compliance programs as well as reported on the operations and effectiveness of compliance programs to asset management oversight committees. She has also created compliance policies and procedures to control and mitigate risks and conflict of interests and developed and executed compliance training programs. Ms. McFarland works with Compliance management and internal Law departments to communicate with regulators on compliance matters.
Ms. McFarland has deep knowledge of Asset Management middle-office and back-office processes and over a period of 15 years held various middle-office managerial and officer positions.
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Noelle Sproul
Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
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Noelle Sproul
Associate General Counsel, Nuveen
Noelle Sproul is Associate General Counsel at Nuveen, a leading provider of retirement and investment services in the academic, medical, cultural and research fields. Noelle provides legal support and coverage for various investment and asset management teams within Nuveen, including those engaged in public and private fixed income, derivatives, structured product and infrastructure investment markets. Noelle 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 2015, Noelle was a member with Moore & Van Allen PLLC, specializing in structured finance products and derivatives. Noelle graduated from Vanderbilt University and received her juris doctor from The University of Richmond School of Law.
Senior Advisor
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Kevin Burke
Senior Advisor
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Kevin Burke
Senior Advisor
Kevin Burke serves as a Senior Advisor to Churchill, assisting with developing middle market private credit investment funds and strategies designed to meet the current income needs of institutional and high net worth investors across the globe. Most recently, Mr. Burke served as a Senior Managing Director of Antares Capital, where he headed the firm’s loan syndication, sales and trading division. During his 40-year career, he has held senior roles at GE Capital and Bankers Trust (now Deutsche Bank), and served as a Board member of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, where he remains on its Senior Advisory Board. Mr. Burke is a graduate of Harvard University.
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Alastair Merrick
Senior Advisor
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Alastair Merrick, a founding member of the Churchill Financial team, serves as a Senior Advisor of Churchill Asset Management. Mr. Merrick was previously Churchill’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, from 2006 – 2010 with Churchill Financial and from 2015 – 2018 with Churchill Asset Management. In the interim, he was Chief Financial Officer for WhiteHorse Finance, a publicly traded BDC managed by HIG Capital, and previously worked as Chief Financial Officer for E*TRADE Bank. Before then, he spent 16 years at IBJ Whitehall Financial Group, eventually serving as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Operations. Mr. Merrick began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Mr. Merrick is a Certified Public Accountant. He received a B.A. in economics from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.
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