WHO WE ARE

Management

Andre A. Hakkak

Chief Executive Officer &
Co-Founder
White Oak Global Advisors
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Andre A. Hakkak

Chief Executive Officer &
Co-Founder
White Oak Global Advisors
Miami

Mr. Hakkak has served as co-portfolio manager and Investment Committee member of White Oak since 2007. Mr. Hakkak was previously the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Alpine Global, Inc., a multi-strategy investment management firm which focused on alternative fixed income and real estate investments. Mr. Hakkak was also the Founder and Portfolio Manager at Suisse Global Investments, an investment management firm that developed investment strategies customized to meet the risk-adjusted return requirements of bank and insurance clients in over 30 countries. He previously served at Robertson Stephens & Co. as an Investment Banker and Principal in its Investment Company Act platform. Mr. Hakkak has been a co-founder and board member of several institutional platforms that facilitate the distribution of structured investment products, and has served as a limited partner, general partner or board member of various investment funds and companies. Mr. Hakkak received a B.S. in Finance and Marketing from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and has held Series 7, 63, and 24 designations from FINRA since 1991.

Barbara J. S. McKee

Managing Partner &
Co-Founder
White Oak Global Advisors
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Barbara J. S. McKee

Managing Partner &
Co-Founder
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Ms. McKee has served as co-portfolio manager and Investment Committee member of White Oak since 2007. Previously Ms. McKee was a member of the team that founded KKR Financial LLC, where she served as Senior Vice President and concurrently as General Counsel of KKR Financial Corp. (NYSE: KFN), and played a key role in structuring and implementing debt investments. Prior to KFN, Ms. McKee served as Senior Counsel and a senior member of the Securities and Investment Group at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which structured and implemented the debt investment platform for the Bank’s proprietary capital and investment accounts. She was previously with Deutsche Bank AG in both New York and Frankfurt as Acting Deputy General Counsel for the finance and derivatives departments; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and Tokyo as a structured finance and bankruptcy attorney; and Sidley Austin as a finance, bankruptcy and distressed asset attorney. Ms. McKee holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago, an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. with a double major in Economics and Comparative Literature from Yale University. Ms. McKee is a member of both the California Bar and the New York State Bar.

Darius J. Mozaffarian

Partner & President
White Oak Global Advisors
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Darius J. Mozaffarian

Partner & President
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Mozaffarian joined White Oak in May 2008, became Partner in 2010, joined the Investment Committee in 2014 and currently serves as President.  His primary responsibility is to oversee the investment teams that are responsible for originating and structuring new transaction opportunities for White Oak’s private debt funds.  Prior to becoming Co-President, he was Head of Originations from 2010 to 2017. Previously, Mr. Mozaffarian served at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the leveraged finance group of the investment banking division, where he worked on a myriad of sponsor and management buyouts, in- and out-of-court corporate restructurings, and rescue financings within the leveraged loan and high-yield bond market; at Telephia, Inc. (a division of Nielsen), where he consulted and advised national wireless operators on their product suite and positioning within the competitive landscape; and at Microsoft Corporation where he held a new business development role looking at acquisition targets, joint venture partnerships and licensing agreements. He received an MBA from the Haas School of Business and both a B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. While at Berkeley, he rowed on the Men’s Heavyweight Crew team from 1995-1996. Mr. Mozaffarian is currently a member of the Association for Corporate Growth and the Turnaround Management Association, as well as Series 7 and 63 designations from FINRA.

David B. Hackett

Partner & Head of Asset Management
White Oak Global Advisors
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David B. Hackett

Partner & Head of Asset Management
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Hackett is a Partner and Head of Asset Management for White Oak. Mr. Hackett has primary responsibility for structuring and underwriting new investments and overseeing Firm’s Asset Management function. He joined White Oak in January 2008, and has been a member of the Investment Committee since June 2011. Prior to joining White Oak, Mr. Hackett served as Portfolio Co-Manager at North Point Investors, a real estate investment company investing in public real estate securities; as an Associate at Alpine Global, Inc., where he researched and recommended buy/sell opportunities; and as a Director at Redler Group, Ltd., a Geneva-based family office offering financial advisory services, where he was part of the portfolio management team. Mr. Hackett received a B.S. in Finance from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.

Steven Ruth

Chief Lending Officer
White Oak Global Advisors
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Steven Ruth

Chief Lending Officer
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Ruth serves as Chief Lending Officer of White Oak Global Advisors.  He has 36 years of expertise and success in the areas of debt and equity investing, financial restructuring and risk management.  In addition, he has served on the boards of both traded and privately held companies.  Prior to joining White Oak, he was Chief Investment Officer for Abu Dhabi based Mubadala GE Capital PJSC (MGEC), a joint venture formed between GE Capital and the Abu Dhabi Government.  MGEC’s portfolio reached $6 billion with substantial investments in the healthcare, power, commercial real estate and mid-market leverage finance sectors in the Middle East, Europe and North America.  Mr. Ruth chaired the Investment, Enterprise Risk Management and Operational Risk Management Committees.   Mr. Ruth held a number of senior positions with GE Capital in North America and Europe, including President, Grupo Financiero GE Capital Mexico,  Chief Risk Officer and Head of Asset Management for GE Capital Fleet Services (then the world’s largest lessor of car and light truck fleets) and for GE Capital, Capital Solutions Europe; a company focused on asset based lending and leasing  with a $23 billion portfolio across 14 European countries.  Prior to joining GE Capital, Mr. Ruth served Bank of America and over the course of 10 years held senior positions in the North American Corporate Banking Division.  Mr. Ruth holds an M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance and Accounting from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a B.A. degree in Economics, magna cum laude, from Colorado College. 

John W. Felix

Head of Originations
White Oak Global Advisors
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John W. Felix

Head of Originations
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Felix has served as Managing Director of White Oak since 2017.  Mr. Felix has been actively investing in middle market companies for over 20 years.  Most recently, he founded Consortium Finance in 2013 where he invested across the capital structure of middle market businesses.  Prior to his role at Consortium Finance, Mr. Felix worked at D. E. Shaw Group where he opened the San Francisco office in 2005.  At D. E. Shaw, Mr. Felix was responsible for originating and managing a portfolio of direct senior debt, junior debt and equity investments across a variety of industries.  He was previously a managing principal of Banc of America Mezzanine Capital LLC, where he was responsible for underwriting structured senior debt, mezzanine debt, and bridge financing across a variety of industry sectors.  Additionally, Mr. Felix was a former leader of Banc of America Securities, Inc.’s debt origination efforts in Australasia.  Mr. Felix holds a B.A. degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Jeffrey J. Habicht

Head of Underwriting
White Oak Global Advisors
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Jeffrey J. Habicht

Head of Underwriting
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Jeffrey Habicht serves White Oak as Head of Underwriting. He previously served Origami Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman Group’s Distressed Debt Team, and Piper Jaffray & Co. in its Healthcare Investment Banking Division. Mr. Habicht received a B.B.A. with distinction in Finance, Investments and Banking from the School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Thomas F. Finnigan IV

Head of Complex Credits
White Oak Global Advisors
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Thomas F. Finnigan IV

Head of Complex Credits
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Finnigan serves White Oak as Head of Complex Credits with primary responsibility for managing complex situations and credits for White Oak’s private debt funds. He previously served at McNamee Lawrence & Company, a boutique investment bank. Mr. Finnigan received a B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth.

Celine Hannett

Chief Financial Officer,
White Oak Global Advisors
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Celine Hannett

Chief Financial Officer,
White Oak Global Advisors
New York

Ms. Hannett serves White Oak as the Chief Financial Officer.  She has over 30 years of experience in strategy, business analysis, treasury, finance and operations. Prior to joining White Oak, Ms. Hannett served as Chief Financial Officer at Melody Capital Partners, where she oversaw tax structuring, accounting, liquidity management, financial planning and asset servicing of the firm’s private equity and hybrid structure funds with direct lending and secondary trading strategies, as well as, private equity funds invested in telecommunications infrastructure. She was a member of the Management Committee and the Valuation Committee of the firm. While at Melody, Ms. Hannett also served as Chief Financial Officer at Melodeon Capital Partners, a related adviser managing private equity funds in pre-settlement litigation. Prior to Melody, Ms. Hannett served as Advisor to the Chief Operating Officer at Starwood Capital Group, a real estate investment firm, and as Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Plainfield Asset Management, an investment manager of special situations and direct lending funds. Her previous experience also includes serving in various finance and operating positions at large public and private corporations. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.S. in Management Engineering from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Charles Bronowski

General Counsel
White Oak Global Advisors
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Charles Bronowski

General Counsel
White Oak Global Advisors
New York

Mr. Bronowski serves as White Oak’s General Counsel.  In this role, he is responsible for providing legal services and advice to White Oak’s executive officers and employees throughout the organization.  Mr. Bronowski has over 15 years of experience dealing with corporate and securities law, structured finance and compliance matters.  Prior to joining White Oak, he held in-house counsel positions at a major international investment bank and a supply chain finance firm.  Mr. Bronowski began his legal career as an attorney at Davis Polk and Latham & Watkins.  In these positions, he provided in-depth legal analysis for private funds, investment banks, investment advisers and broker-dealers, and advised on complex corporate and finance transactions.  He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rutgers College.  Mr. Bronowski is a former Captain in the U.S. Army and a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.

Tim Goodwin

Chief Compliance Officer
White Oak Global Advisors
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Tim Goodwin

Chief Compliance Officer
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Goodwin serves White Oak as the Chief Compliance Officer. He has nearly 20 years of experience in regulatory compliance, risk management and private fund administration. Prior to joining White Oak, Mr. Goodwin was a Partner at regulatory compliance consulting firm and fund administrator; Greyline Partners. Mr. Goodwin was the fifth employee at Greyline and led Greyline’s West Coast Division until its ultimate sale in 2022 to an international strategic acquirer; IQEQ. Prior to Greyline, Mr. Goodwin was the Managing Director, Head of Compliance at Blue River Partners which was also subsequently purchased by IQEQ. While at Blue River, Mr. Goodwin managed a team of 30 consultants providing regulatory compliance services to investment advisers of private debt funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, business development companies and mutual funds. Prior to Blue River, Mr. Goodwin spent six years at TPG Capital, a private fund manager with more than $75 billion in assets under management. At TPG, Mr. Goodwin served as Director, Risk Management as well as a Senior Compliance Specialist. Mr. Goodwin was responsible for Sarbanes Oxley compliance in preparation for TPG’s public listing as well as regulatory compliance for TPG’s private debt funds, hedge fund, business development company and broker dealer.  Prior to TPG, Mr. Goodwin held various compliance positions at UBS Wealth Management including Chief Compliance Officer to UBS’ unit investment trust business.  While at UBS, Mr. Goodwin provided compliance support to UBS’ investment advisory businesses including the separately managed account and proprietary advisory account platforms.

William E. Pierce

Advisor
White Oak Global Advisors
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William E. Pierce

Advisor
White Oak Global Advisors
New York

Mr. Pierce serves White Oak as an Advisor. He was previously a Partner and Head of Professional Services at Fascet, LLC, a software and consulting firm serving the investment management industry. He started his career in research sales focusing on derivative strategies for Susquehanna International Group. Mr. Pierce received his B.A. in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

Davy Badel

Global Head of Human Resources
White Oak Global Advisors
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Davy Badel

Global Head of Human Resources
White Oak Global Advisors
Miami

Mr. Badel is the Global Head of Human Resources working out of the Miami office. He has over 20 years of human resource and finance experience within different industries.  Most recently Mr. Badel was Sr. Director of HR for Algolia, a Bay Area SaaS company, and has been running his HR consulting practice for the past 8 years.  Prior to this, he spent 15 years with Alcatel-Lucent where he held various leadership roles in Europe and the US. Mr. Badel holds a Master’s in Econometrics from University of Montpellier as well as a Master’s in Human Resources Management from ESDES, School of Business and Management.

Teresa J. Cutter

Head of ESG & Impact
White Oak Global Advisors
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Teresa J. Cutter

Head of ESG & Impact
White Oak Global Advisors
Atlanta

Ms. Cutter serves White Oak as Head of ESG & Impact with primary responsibility over White Oak’s ESG and responsible investment platform. Ms. Cutter has 25 years of experience in the investment industry and most recently worked as a Consultant at Verus Investments, a $330 billion investment consulting company advising state and county pension funds and institutional investors in their allocations to managers. Ms. Cutter also served as an Investment Officer at California State Teachers’ Retirement System where she built out and co-managed CalSTRS’ $9 billion external manager program focusing on a broad variety of credit markets including bank loans, high yield and opportunistic credits.  While at CalSTRS, she was also responsible for helping draft the pension’s Investment Policy for Mitigating Environmental, Social, and Governance Risks’ ESG Risk Factors and was a founding member within CalSTRS’ Green Initiative Task Force. Her expertise is in credit, asset allocation, risk management, investment management, investment policy development, and ESG & Impact investing on behalf of family offices, foundations and large public fund clients. She holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of California at Davis.

Jon Patty

Head of Climate & Impact Investing
White Oak Global Advisors
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Jon Patty

Head of Climate & Impact Investing
White Oak Global Advisors
San Francisco

Mr. Patty is a Managing Director of White Oak Global Advisors. In his role as Partner of the White Oak Impact Fund, Mr. Patty will be focused on financings that generate attractive risk-adjusted returns and drive strong social and environmental benefit. Mr. Patty will also work with senior leadership on strategy, capital raising, and new opportunities for the firm. Mr. Patty has spent the last 20 years in private equity and structured debt investing, the last 10 years of which were exclusively focused on impact investing. Most recently, Mr. Patty was the Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at New Island Capital, a leading global private impact investment firm, where he led private equity, structured debt, and project finance investments. Previously, Mr. Patty was a senior investment professional at MC Partners, a $1.5 billion top-quartile private equity investment firm, and JPMorgan Partners, then a $4 billion private equity investment group. Mr. Patty earned his B.Mus. in Classical Guitar Performance and his bachelor’s degree in Economics at Northwestern University where he graduated magna cum laude. He also earned an MBA with honors at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Paul C. Ahrens

Managing Director, Client Solutions
White Oak Global Advisors
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Paul C. Ahrens

Managing Director, Client Solutions
White Oak Global Advisors
New York

Mr. Ahrens serves White Oak as Managing Director of Client Solutions, responsible for new business development. He previously served Southfield Capital, where he was responsible for marketing their SBIC mezzanine fund, and FrontPoint Partners (Morgan Stanley), where he was responsible for marketing and communications of the direct lending strategy. He has developed marketing and communications strategies for Fortune 500 companies, and served at global advertising agencies including Lowe Worldwide, McKinney & Silver and TBWA\Chiat Day. Mr. Ahrens holds a B.A. in Business Management from Gettysburg College.

Nathalie Schallock

Managing Director, Client Solutions
White Oak Global Advisors
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Nathalie Schallock

Managing Director, Client Solutions
White Oak Global Advisors
Miami

Ms. Schallock serves White Oak as Managing Director of Client Solutions, responsible for new business development and client servicing. Prior to joining White Oak, she was Director of Business Development for Metacapital Management. Prior to Metacapital, she was responsible for business development at Force Capital. Ms. Schallock holds a B.A. in Economics and History of Art from Bryn Mawr College, where she graduated cum laude.

Mary Gronseth

Managing Director
White Oak Global Advisors
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Mary Gronseth

Managing Director
White Oak Global Advisors
Chicago

Ms. Gronseth is a Managing Director on the Client Solutions team responsible for key Investor Accounts, and assisting in the development of asset management products for the Insurance industry. Prior to joining White Oak, she was a Portfolio Specialist at Aware Asset Management, where she focused on client communication of the investment strategies. Ms. Gronseth spent the majority of her career in the insurance industry at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. During her time at the respective insurance companies, Ms. Gronseth was focused on investment strategies for the corporate assets, pension, foundation and 401k plans. Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Ms. Gronseth worked on the investment team at a family office. Ms. Gronseth holds a B.S. in Finance from Florida State University and an M.B.A. from Augsburg College.

Adrian Katz

CEO
Finacity Corporation
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Adrian Katz

CEO
Finacity Corporation
New York

Adrian Katz launched Finacity Corporation 20 years ago and has been responsible for all phases of the company’s development serving as CEO. Mr. Katz has been involved in the asset-backed securitization industry for more than 35 years, working in both the investment banking and specialty financing industry. As an investment banker, Mr. Katz was a Managing Director at Smith Barney responsible for all issuance of new asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. Prior to Smith Barney, Mr. Katz worked for Prudential Securities where he was a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Mortgage and Asset Capital Division. Mr. Katz was the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairman of AutoBond Acceptance Corporation, where his duties included building a centralized servicing and underwriting platform, developing supporting technology infrastructure and organizing a national marketing effort. Mr. Katz has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Trade & Forfaiting in the Americas. Mr. Katz graduated from Princeton University with a BSE in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Jason Kim

President Finacity Corporation
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Jason Kim

President Finacity Corporation New York

Jason Kim serves as President of Finacity. Mr. Kim has led and managed the deal execution efforts for Finacity since 2013. Mr. Kim has also played an integral role in origination, structuring, distribution, transaction modeling, and overseeing due diligence efforts on receivable securitizations, private credit, and working capital financings across a wide variety of industries, including shipping, automotive, hard and soft commodities, technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, airlines, chemicals, paper & pulp, construction and building materials, and utilities. Since joining Finacity in 2010, Mr. Kim has been involved in arranging, structuring, and placing over 50 different financing facilities amounting to over $15 billion in funding commitments. Mr. Kim holds a BSE in Biomedical Engineering and BS in Economics from Duke University and a MMS from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

Michael Rodgers

Executive Vice President & COO
Finacity Corporation
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Michael Rodgers

Executive Vice President & COO
Finacity Corporation
New York

Michael Rodgers is responsible for Finacity Corporation’s operations and Chairs the firm’s Credit Committee. Mr. Rodgers has over 35 years of financial management, service center development, process engineering, credit underwriting and working capital management experience with large multinational, manufacturing firms. Prior to Finacity Corporation, Mr. Rodgers was Vice President, Global Credit Operations at Georgia-Pacific Corp where he managed centers of excellence around the world overseeing an annual portfolio of $26 Billion of accounts receivable. Other firms where Mr. Rodgers held senior financial positions include, Fort James, First Brands and Union Carbide along with leadership roles in industry organizations such as NACM, FCIB, Credit Research Foundation and the Fraud Prevention Group.

Thomas K. Otte

Chief Executive Officer of White Oak Commercial Finance and Head of White Oak Europe
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Thomas K. Otte

Chief Executive Officer of White Oak Commercial Finance and Head of White Oak Europe San Francisco

Mr. Otte serves as the CEO of White Oak Commercial Finance and Head of White Oak Europe. He previously served as Senior Advisor and Region Manager of Presidential Financial Corporation; Founder and Managing Partner of TKO Finance Group, LLC; Managing Director of Special Situations Lending, Dune Capital Management LP; and President and Chief Operating Officer of Middle Market Lending, GE Capital. He holds an M.B.A. from DePaul University in Chicago, IL and a B.A. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana. Mr. Otte has also been an active board member and advisor to several entities, including GE Capital Mexico and GE Capital SE Asia, as well as to companies in the healthcare and telecom sectors.

Robert P. Grbic

Senior Advisor
White Oak Commercial Finance
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Robert P. Grbic

Senior Advisor
White Oak Commercial Finance
New York

Mr. Grbic is the Senior Advisor of White Oak Commercial Finance. Mr. Grbic has more than 30 years of commercial lending experience. He has been with the company and its predecessor since 2005, previously serving as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer where he was involved in creating a hands-on, best-practices credit culture, as well as helping the Company expand its client portfolio. Before that, Mr. Grbic was Managing Director at Morris Anderson & Associates LTD, a turnaround-consulting firm. He also co-founded MetSource Capital, LLC, a restructuring and corporate finance firm, working primarily with small- and medium-sized companies. In addition, Mr. Grbic has also served at GMAC Commercial Credit, LLC, BNY Financial Corp and Bankers Trust. Mr. Grbic is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research. He has served as an instructor for the Finance, Tax and Law Department at the NYU School of Continuing Education. Mr. Grbic holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration from Pace University.

Michael A. Fortino

Chief Financial & Operations Officer
White Oak Commercial Finance
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Michael A. Fortino

Chief Financial & Operations Officer
White Oak Commercial Finance
Fort Lauderdale

Mr. Fortino serves White Oak Commercial Finance as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer, responsible for managing the company’s finance, accounting, operations, information technology and human resources departments. Prior to joining WOCF, he was Chief Financial Officer of Levenger Company, a specialty retailer and provider of leather goods and fine office supplies. Mr. Fortino has more than two decades of C-level experience in retail and media. He holds both an M.B.A. and B.B.A in accounting from Temple University.

Martin Efron

Head of Factoring
White Oak Commercial Finance
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Martin Efron

Head of Factoring
White Oak Commercial Finance
New York

Martin F. Efron is the Head of Factoring for White Oak Commercial Finance in New York. Prior to White Oak, he served as Partner and SVP at Milberg Factors for 10 years, and has notable experience in textiles, apparel, and furniture industries in NY and North Carolina, as well as in Mexico, where he developed a portfolio of companies exporting to the US. Previously he also worked at RBS Citizens and Citibank as a lender to Middle Market and Mid Corporate US companies. Martin holds his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and his MBA from Stanford University.

Meredith Fitz

Managing Director, Head of Portfolio
White Oak Commercial Finance
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Meredith Fitz

Managing Director, Head of Portfolio
White Oak Commercial Finance
New York

Ms. Fitz serves as Head of Portfolio for White Oak Commercial Finance with a primarily responsibility for ongoing portfolio action across the Commercial Finance and Factoring groups.  She also sits as a member of the Commercial Finance Credit Committee. 

Ms. Fitz has 25 years Asset Based Lending experience across portfolio management, underwriting, and operational roles. 

Before joining White Oak she most recently served as Executive Vice President, Northeast Regional Portfolio Manager at PNC Business Credit, where she lead the portfolio management team responsible for all portfolio actions across the NE ABL and Structured Finance Book. 

Prior to that role, she also served as EVP, Chief Operating Officer for PNC Business Credit.  Ms. Fitz has a degree in Accounting from Lehigh University.

Kevin Cox

Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets
White Oak Commercial Finance
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Kevin Cox

Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets
White Oak Commercial Finance
San Francisco

Mr. Cox serves White Oak as Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, with primary responsibility for structuring and underwriting new investment opportunities for White Oak’s private debt fund. He joined White Oak in May 2021. Mr. Cox has 20 years of asset-based lending and commercial finance experience, having served in various originations, relationship management, and underwriting roles throughout his career. Prior to joining White Oak, Mr. Cox was Managing Director and Western Region ABL Underwriting Manager at Wells Fargo Capital Finance, managing a team of underwriters focused on delivering financing solutions to middle-market and mid-corporate sponsor-backed, public, or privately owned companies across North America. During his tenure at Wells Fargo, Mr. Cox was also a senior relationship manager in the Syndicated Finance division and a business development officer with Wells Fargo Business Credit. He also previously served as a Vice President, relationship manager, in Bridge Bank’s Capital Finance lending group and as Vice President, underwriter, in Bay View Bank’s factoring division. He received a B.A. in political science from Harding University. Over the years he has been active in the CFA/SFNet, ACG, and TMA.

Mark Smith

Managing Director, Originations
White Oak Commercial Finance
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Mark Smith

Managing Director, Originations
White Oak Commercial Finance
Chicago

Mark serves as a Managing Director in White Oak Commercial Finance. Prior to joining White Oak, Mark was the founding partner of Sentinel Capital Advisors. Mark is a graduate of Indiana University, where he received his undergraduate degrees in Finance and Economics. He earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Kellogg Northwestern University. He is FINRA 79 and 63 licensed and has a Green Belt in Six Sigma.

 

Matt DeBernardo

Managing Director, White Oak Commercial Finance
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Matt DeBernardo

Managing Director, White Oak Commercial Finance Miami

Matt serves as Managing Director in White Oak Commercial Finance. Prior to joining White Oak, Matt was a top producer at eCapital ABL, Alterna Capital Solutions, and LSQ. He is a graduate of Bentley College’s Honors Program, where he received his undergraduate degrees in Finance and Accounting. Matt started his finance career at GE Capital, where he is a graduate of the prestigious Financial Management Program.

Kenneth Pereira

Managing Director
White Oak ABL
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Kenneth Pereira

Managing Director
White Oak ABL
Australia

Mr. Pereira serves White Oak as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for White Oak ABL with primary responsibility for delivering the full suite of White Oak products to the Australasian client base. Prior to White Oak he was founder and Executive Chairman of Recon Finance Corporation, a specialist Asset Receivable finance company with specific focus on the Australian SME sector. Mr. Pereira has over 25 years of investment banking experience heading up capital market businesses for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Scotland in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore and London. With a primary focus on leading a broad range of clients (including Telstra, BHP, Origin Energy, Woodside Petroleum, Qantas, CBA, Westpac and ANZ), he was successful in raising debt capital in different markets and environments. Mr. Pereira has been involved and responsible for successfully raising several billion dollars of debt for both Investment Grade and Sub Investment Grade companies via the traditional liquid and illiquid (private) capital markets. Mr. Pereira holds a B. S. in Neuroscience with honors from the University of Melbourne.

Halle Benett

Senior Advisor
White Oak Global Advisors
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Halle Benett

Senior Advisor
White Oak Global Advisors
New York

Mr. Benett serves as a Senior Advisor for White Oak. Mr. Benett is a seasoned financial services executive and previously served as an investment banker at UBS where he ran the Financial Institutions Group and served on the investment bank’s U.S. operating committee. He has also been a senior advisor to Ares, led financial services investing at a large credit fund and managed a private equity business. As an investment banker, he has worked on sale of companies and has raised capital for companies. Mr. Benett received an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Rutgers University.

Jason M. Dufour

Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer
White Oak Healthcare Finance
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Jason M. Dufour

Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer
White Oak Healthcare Finance
New York

Mr. Dufour serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of White Oak Healthcare Finance, with primary responsibility for leading healthcare team members in the seamless execution of all aspects of underwriting and portfolio management. He previously served Wells Fargo Capital Finances’ Healthcare Team, with primary responsibility for leading the expansion and growth of its national healthcare footprint and leading the operationalization of its 1st line credit risk underwriting and portfolio management operations. In addition, Mr. Dufour spent over 14 years at GE Capital’s Healthcare Financial Services in progressive leadership roles for portfolio management, underwriting and collateral examination, culminating in leading the credit risk management for the nationwide healthcare ABL and ABL stretch loan product footprint. His healthcare credit risk management and operational experience span all healthcare sectors and traditional healthcare loan products, with particular expertise in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.  Mr. Dufour received an M.B.A. from St. Bonaventure University. He has held certifications as a Certified Public Accountant and Licensed Practical Nurse. Mr. Dufour is a retired Major from the U.S. Army Reserve, Medical Services Corps.

Daniel T. Reilly

Executive Vice President & Head of Real Estate Debt Finance
White Oak Healthcare Finance
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Daniel T. Reilly

Executive Vice President & Head of Real Estate Debt Finance
White Oak Healthcare Finance
New York

Mr. Reilly serves White Oak as Executive Vice President and Head of Real Estate Debt Finance with primary responsibility supporting the expansion of White Oak’s healthcare real estate investing including underwriting and portfolio management. Previously, Mr. Reilly served Capital One Healthcare Financial Services as a Senior Vice President, where he led a team responsible for the underwriting and portfolio management of healthcare real estate deals. Prior to Capital One, he spent 13 years with GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services and previously with the Corporate Audit Staff and Financial Management Program. Mr. Reilly’s experience includes the structuring, underwriting and closing of over $10 billion in financings in key healthcare real estate segments, focusing on skilled nursing, seniors housing and medical properties. His credit risk expertise spreads across various loan products including first mortgages, subordinate debt, asset-based lending and leveraged term loans. Mr. Reilly holds a BSBA in Finance from Xavier University.

Lisa Lersner

Chief Financial Officer
White Oak Healthcare Finance
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Lisa Lersner

Chief Financial Officer
White Oak Healthcare Finance
New York

Ms. Lersner is the Chief Financial Officer of White Oak Healthcare Finance. She has over 25 years of commercial lending experience in the areas of general, financial and operational management for growing companies. Ms. Lersner previously held the role of CEO of Advantage Funding, a specialty lender and Macquarie portfolio company. Prior to this role, Ms. Lersner held the role of Chief Financial Officer of CapitalSpring, a $1 billion AUM full stack capital provider with both a specialty finance and asset management platform. Prior to these roles Ms. Lersner was the CFO of R4 Technologies, a tech company focused in the dynamic data/AI space (founded by the founders of Priceline.com and President and COO of Golden Eagle, a specialty finance company owned by Hypercom Corporation (NYSE: HYC). She began her career in the commercial finance divisions of Citicorp North America and Chrysler Capital. Ms. Lersner received credit training through Moody’s Commercial Lending Program and holds a BS from the University of Utah.

Jean-Marc Torre

Chief Executive Officer
White Oak U.K.
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Jean-Marc Torre

Chief Executive Officer
White Oak U.K.
London

Jean-Marc Torre is the CEO of White Oak U.K. Mr. Torre has 30 years of banking experience and has spent the majority of his career being the country head and chief executive at various BNP Paribas Bank subsidiaries with a focus on commercial finance and lending.

Andy Davies

Managing Director, Leases & Loans
White Oak U.K.
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Andy Davies

Managing Director, Leases & Loans
White Oak U.K.
London

Mr. Davies has served White Oak U.K. as Director of Sales since 2018, having previously held the same position at leading U.K.-based business finance providers, LDF Group since 2002.  LDF Group, who were acquired by White Oak Global Advisors in July 2018, provided over £500 million in business funding to smaller U.K. businesses in 2017. Within this role, Mr. Davies has responsibility for the overall Sales function, alongside overseeing the development of new products and initiatives for revenue generation. Prior to this, Mr. Davies has held other senior sales management positions at LDF Group, primarily focused on sales origination.

Robert Genise

Chairman & Manager
White Oak Aviation
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Robert Genise

Chairman & Manager
White Oak Aviation
Seattle

Mr. Genise is the Chairman and Manager of White Oak Aviation. He has over 35 years of experience in International Aircraft Leasing, Engine Leasing and Trading Business. Prior to joining White Oak, he was CEO of Aergen Management Services, Inc. from 2015 until 2019. Aergen Management Services was an international aircraft leasing, engine leasing, and trading business, specializing in providing leasing and management services for mid-life (10-15 years) narrow body aircraft and engines.

Previously, Mr. Genise served as CEO of DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing division of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise from 2007 to 2011. Prior to that, he was a founder, President and CEO of Boullioun Aviation Services, building it into one of the world’s top leasing businesses. He was originally its SVP of Marketing, responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s strategic plan and business development. He also represented Boullioun Aviation Services in its development of Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines, and served as a Director for 10 years.

Prior to that, Mr. Genise served as SVP of the Chemical Business Credit Corporation at Chemical Bank, managing asset based finance and leasing business in credit, marketing and administration capabilities. In 1985, he served as Managing Director for the bank’s Special Finance Group with responsibility for Chemical Bank’s international aviation banking and leasing business.

Mr. Genise is currently on the Board of Directors for Frontier Airlines, Aloft Aero Architects, Inc. and Dimensional Mechanics. Mr. Genise is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Flight in Seattle and now Chairman Emeritus. Additionally, Mr. Genise is a member of the Advisory Board of the Albers School of Business at Seattle University.

Mr. Genise holds an MBA from the University of Connecticut, a law degree from Pace University, and a BA from NYU.

Claude P. Franco

Managing Director
White Oak Aviation
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Claude P. Franco

Managing Director
White Oak Aviation
New York

Mr. Franco is Managing Director of White Oak Aviation.  Mr. Franco has over 25 years, working with Sikorsky Aircraft, GE Capital Aviation Services, Gulfstream Aerospace and Guggenheim Partners in aircraft design and the aircraft finance arena.  Mr. Franco was the creator of two corporate aircraft leasing companies, Guggenheim aero Finance and Global Jet Capital.  Guggenheim aero was groundbreaking as it was the first private equity capital invested into corporate aircraft lending company.  Mr. Franco possesses a strong credit analysis background and has negotiated aircraft debt lines of more than $1.5 billion.  Mr. Franco, has structured over $4.0 billion in aircraft and engine transactions globally, negotiating transactions with clients such as the US and foreign governments, global airlines, international corporations and high net worth individuals.  Mr. Franco has excellent relations with the aircraft OEMs, an in-depth knowledge of aircraft manufacturing and the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul market.  Mr. Franco holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Sciences from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.B.A from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Greg Byrnes

Chief Financial Officer
White Oak Aviation
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Greg Byrnes

Chief Financial Officer
White Oak Aviation
Dublin

Mr. Byrnes is the Chief Financial Officer of White Oak Aviation. He has over 19 years’ experience in Accounting and Aircraft Leasing. Prior to joining White Oak Aviation, Mr. Byrnes spent three years as the Chief Financial Officer of Aergen, an aircraft leasing business, where between 2016-2019 they built a fleet of 30+ aircraft, executed two ABS transactions and ultimately led the sale of the business operations in 2019. Prior to this, Mr. Byrnes was the Head of Finance of Avolon, now the third largest global leasing company, for five years where he was responsible for all areas of the finance function. Having worked for the company since inception, Mr. Byrnes led the Finance team through the initial scaling of the business, through multiple corporate transactions including IPO on the NYSE, and its eventual delisting and trade sale to the Chinese HNA group in 2016. Prior to joining Avolon, Greg worked at BDO Chartered Accountants from 2001 to 2011, where he headed up their outsourcing division after spending eight years in the audit department where he held the position of Audit Senior Manager. Greg has a Bachelor of Economics from University College Dublin and a Post Graduate diploma in Accounting from Dublin City University. He is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland where he also obtained a Diploma in International Financial Reporting Standards. Most recently, Greg obtained an Executive MBA from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, graduating in 2015.

Richard Petrucci

Managing Director
White Oak Equipment Finance
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Richard Petrucci

Managing Director
White Oak Equipment Finance
San Francisco

Mr. Petrucci serves White Oak Equipment Finance as Managing Director. He has approximately 30 years of experience in equipment leasing and the leveraged finance credit space. He was part of Heller Financial’s equipment finance group until GE Capital’s acquisition of Heller in 2001. He was part of a team which started RBS Asset Finance in 2002 and then part of a team which started NXT Capital’s equipment finance business in 2013.He was also a credit officer in the technology vendor finance business at Bank of the West and began his career at bank in Miami in 1989 where he focused on investments in and restructuring of high yield corporate bonds and broadly syndicated loans. Mr. Petrucci earned his M.B.A. from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL.

Erik Bethel

Head of Latin America & Caribbean
White Oak Merchant Partners
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Erik Bethel

Head of Latin America & Caribbean
White Oak Merchant Partners
Miami

Mr. Bethel is the Head of Latin America & Caribbean to White Oak Merchant Partners. Prior to joining White Oak, he represented the United States as Ambassador Designate to the Republic of Panama. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to serve on the Board of Directors of the World Bank, the largest developing finance institution in the world. The World Bank’s goal is to reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries through grants, loans, insurance, and equity investments. As World Bank Director, Mr. Bethel voted on over $100 billion in funding and promoted a number of initiatives including spearheading the use of new technologies and streamlining World Bank operations. Prior to being nominated to serve at the World Bank, Mr. Bethel was a Managing Director at Franklin Templeton Investments where he executed private equity transactions. Prior to this, he was based in Shanghai, China as Managing Partner of Sino Latin Capital and Managing Director of China Vest. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bethel held a variety of private equity and investment banking positions at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley & Co. in both New York and Mexico City. His civic contributions include service on the Board of Governors of Opportunity International, a non-profit organization that provides financial services to people living in poverty in developing countries. Earlier in his career Mr. Bethel served as a U.S. Naval Officer. Mr. Bethel is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he was an Olmsted Scholar, a Cox Fund Scholar and a Battalion Commander. He earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Milken Scholar. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin.

Freddy Boom

Partner, Head of Structured Finance
White Oak Merchant Partners
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Freddy Boom

Partner, Head of Structured Finance
White Oak Merchant Partners
New York

Mr. Boom is Partner & Head of Structured Finance at White Oak Merchant Partners, a registered broker-dealer (FINRA, SIPC). His previous leadership positions in international financial services include 16 years at Citigroup where he served as Head of Corporate & Investment Banking for the Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg, Head of Public Sector Banking for EMEA in London, and Senior Banker Media & Telecoms in New York and Amsterdam. At J.P. Morgan New York he was Managing Director TMT Corporate & Investment Banking. He was Head of North America Global Banking for Industrials at Standard Chartered Bank and Region Head Americas at Greensill Capital. He started his career at MeesPierson/ABNAMRO in Media & Telecoms Project Finance in London and Amsterdam.

Mr. Boom holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and successfully completed the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Boom holds FINRA licenses Series 24, 7 & 63.

Eric Tanjeloff

Managing Principal
White Oak Real Estate Capital
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Eric Tanjeloff

Managing Principal
White Oak Real Estate Capital
New York

Eric Tanjeloff serves White Oak as Managing Principal of White Oak Real Estate Capital, a commercial real estate lending and credit investing platform in which he is responsible for strategy, originations, and overall management of the business. Previously, he was the Head of Real Estate Investments for Melody Capital Partners, a New York based private credit and special situations investment management fund.At Melody Capital Partners, Mr. Tanjeloff launched and managed the firm’s real estate lending and investing activities. He also served on the Investment Committee and Management Committee of the overall Firm. Prior to Melody, Mr. Tanjeloff was an investment banker where he helped launch and create CBRE Capital Advisors, Inc, the real estate investment banking platform of CBRE, Inc. His previous experience also includes various positions in the Real Estate & Lodging Investment Banking group at JPMorgan. Mr. Tanjeloff was also involved in over $100 billion of transactions at JPMorgan across a broad range of real estate sectors and capital markets. Mr. Tanjeloff served as an Independent Board Member and Chairman of various committees of an SEC reporting company in the gaming and hospitality space and has held several advisory board positions in early-stage real estate ventures. He holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.S. degree from Cornell University.