Where Market Intelligence Meets Strategic Execution

Aron Motyovszki is an Executive Director, European Investments at Balbec, focusing on sourcing, acquisitions, deal structuring and portfolio management of primarily unsecured investments in Europe. He joined Balbec in January 2020.

Before joining Balbec, Mr. Motyovszki worked as an Assistant Director at Deloitte in the Financial Advisory team based in Budapest. During his 8 years with Deloitte, he advised numerous clients on both sell- and buy-side mandates mainly from the banking industry. His focus areas included due diligence of banking institutions, valuation and sales of distressed credit portfolios in the Central Eastern European region. While working at Deloitte, he also gained experience in loan portfolio transactions in the Portfolio Lead Advisory Services (“PLAS”) team based in London.

Aron has a Bachelor degree in Finance and Accounting from Corvinus University of Budapest and Master’s degree in Finance from Hult International Business School (London).

Eugene Caraus is the Director of Investment Accounting and Operations. Mr. Caraus manages the investments operations, valuations and treasury teams.

Mr. Caraus brings over 20 years of experience in the structured credit products space, with expertise across buy-side platforms and middle and back office operational leadership in this space. He has broad multi-asset class investment management knowledge having built out and led operations teams. His most recent role was with Grandview Analytics, a boutique technology consulting firm. Prior to that he served as Director of Operations at HIG Capital, and Vice President of CLO management at Cerberus Capital Management.

Mr. Caraus earned a Master of Science in Finance from Georgetown University and a BS in Finance from Eastern Illinois University.

Akbar Lakhani is an Executive Director, Information Technology for Balbec Capital and leads the global IT team to deliver innovative and effective solutions for the company.

With over 12 years of experience in IT management, Mr. Lakhani brings a wealth of knowledge to his role, including expertise in security, infrastructure, help desk, application support, and development. Mr. Lakhani has a strong track record of working with cross-functional teams and leadership to deliver technology solutions for overall system efficiency and digital transformation.

Mr. Lakhani holds a M.S. in Information Technology from Kennesaw State University and an MBA in Information Technology from ICFAI University.

Heather Kochamba is an Managing Director at Balbec. Ms. Kochamba is responsible for execution and on-going maintenance of the servicer compliance and oversight program for the administration and servicing of Balbec’s global investments.

Ms. Kochamba joined Balbec in March 2021 and has over 20 year’s experience in 3rd party oversight, regulatory and legal compliance, state licensing, quality assurance, and audit functions. She holds over 10 year’s experience as a Chief Compliance Officer within in the Accounts Receivable Management industry wherein she has guided several participants in the development of robust Compliance Management Systems.

Ms. Kochamba holds the designations of Certified Receivables Compliance Professional with RMA International and Mortgage Compliance Professional: Level 1 with Mortgage Banker’s Association.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wofford College.

Tracy Ryan is a Managing Director, Human Resources for Balbec and has responsibility for human resources globally, leading the company’s efforts to ensure the workforce is aligned with the strategic vision of the company.

Ms. Ryan began her career in Human Resources with Towers Perrin, focused on benefit plan design and administration. She worked at The Coca-Cola Company and Bank of America, holding positions in global compensation and benefits, leadership development, and organizational design. Prior to joining Balbec in September 2022, Ms. Ryan worked as a consultant helping organizations design and implement compensation programs, performance management systems, and career architectures.

Ms. Ryan holds her B.A. in Mathematics and Psychology and her MBA in Human Resources, Organization Management and Accounting from Vanderbilt University.

Diane Gearon is a Managing Director, Application Development at Balbec Capital. Ms. Gearon joined Balbec in June 2016 and is responsible for analyzing, designing and implementing custom Web applications and innovative solutions.

Prior to joining Balbec, Ms. Gearon spent a long career at Max Recovery under both Bear Stearns and JP Morgan working in IT. Diane worked with some members of the management team at Max Recovery to define and design IT solutions to best meet the objectives of the business.

Ms. Gearon holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Hofstra University.

Brett Niehaus is a Managing Director and serves as Chief Corporate and Compliance Officer of Balbec Capital. In this role, he acts as a trusted advisor to the partnership—driving strategic initiatives, managing cross-functional priorities, and promoting organizational alignment across the firm. He also oversees Balbec’s brand, public image, and market presence. In addition, Mr. Niehaus leads the firm’s global compliance program and is responsible for all regulatory matters.

Prior to joining Balbec in 2020, Mr. Niehaus was a Senior Principal Consultant and Diversified Financial Practice Specialist at ACA Group. In this capacity, he advised a wide range of leading private fund managers and global asset managers on complex regulatory matters and compliance frameworks. He also helped lead business development efforts, playing a key role in expanding client relationships and supporting strategic growth.

Mr. Niehaus holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Scranton, where he was a member of the Business Leadership Honors Program.

Nick ap Simon is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital based in London focused on capital raising efforts in Europe and the Middle East. Mr. ap Simon joined Balbec in 2024 as a member of the firm’s Capital Formation Group and has over 20 years of industry experience. Prior to Balbec, Mr. ap Simon worked at Nuveen, Cross Ocean Partners, Ashmore Group, and Partners Group in senior business development and product specialist roles based in both London and Dubai.

Mr. ap Simon holds a B.A. in History from the University of Durham and an M.Sc. in Finance from London Business School.

Bruce Rodio is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Rodio joined Balbec in 2023 as a member of the firm’s Capital Formation Group and has over 30 years of industry experience. Prior to Balbec, Mr. Rodio worked at Waterfall Asset Management, Aberdeen Asset Management, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and the Arden Group in senior business development and investor relations/product specialist roles. He also worked at Willis Towers Watson as a Portfolio Manager and Senior Investment Consultant on the OCIO team and at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse in institutional fixed income sales.

Mr. Rodio holds a B.S. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jay Bhatt is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Bhatt joined Balbec in 2021 and is a member of the firm’s Capital Formation Group. Prior to Balbec, Mr. Bhatt worked at Nomura, Sound Point, and BlackRock Credit in various business development and investor relations/product specialist roles.

Mr. Bhatt holds a B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University (Smeal College of Business) and the CAIA designation.

Diego Meneses is an Executive Director, Capital Markets at Balbec Capital. Mr. Meneses joined Balbec in 2022 and focuses on capital markets transactions, financing facilities, and transaction oversight for residential mortgage investments.

Prior to joining Balbec, Diego worked at Nomura where he primarily focused on residential mortgage securitization execution. Previously, he worked at Deloitte on their structured products advisory group.

Mr. Meneses holds a B.B.A. in Finance with a minor in Actuarial Science from Georgia State University.

Peter Wordsworth is a Managing Director of Balbec Capital. Mr. Wordsworth is responsible for the management of the UK debt solutions portfolio for Balbec Capital.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Wordsworth served as Head of Insolvency and member of the senior management team at Stepchange the largest UK debt charity. Before that, he was Founder and CEO of Fairfax Solicitors which specialised in unsecured distressed asset management for the UK Government. A former Partner at Eversheds Sutherland Mr. Wordsworth is a qualified solicitor holding an LLB. degree from Newcastle University.

Brian Simon is the Managing Director of Bungalow Funding, Balbec’s affiliated Mortgage Servicing Rights platform. Mr. Simon joined the firm in 2023 and is responsible for leading and managing all Mortgage Servicing Rights activities. Brian has over 20 years of executive mortgage banking experience, having held the roles of COO at Freedom Mortgage, CEO of Caliber Home Loans and COO of New Penn Financial.

Mr. Simon holds a B.S Degree from Temple University, as well as being accredited as a Certified Mortgage Banker and Mortgage Servicer from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Chris Kattan is Head of European Mortgage Acquisitions at Balbec, focusing on sourcing, acquisitions, deal structuring and portfolio management functions in Continental Europe. He joined Balbec in June 2017.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Kattan was a Trader at Axa Investment Managers. At Axa, he focused on sourcing and executing fund investments in the secondary market, including structured products, catastrophe bonds (“CAT bonds”), and insurance-linked securities. Prior to his role on the trading desk, Mr. Kattan was responsible for analyzing and supporting US and European securitization positions. Prior to Axa, Mr. Kattan worked for GE Capital in their Financial Management Program.

Mr. Kattan has a Double Masters in Financial Markets from ESSCA and in Engineering in Data Processing from ESEO. He also holds the AMF certification from 2015.

Brandon Danzig is a Managing Director, Residential Mortgage at Balbec Capital. Mr. Danzig joined Balbec in 2017 and focuses on U.S. residential mortgage investments.

Mr. Danzig holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering with highest honor from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Eric Cho, PhD is a Managing Director, Engineering at Balbec Capital. Dr. Cho leads development of the firm’s proprietary due diligence and asset management technology platforms, and also oversees quantitative research for the firm’s mortgage business.

Prior to joining Balbec, Dr. Cho worked for 5 years in financial services and alternative data industries. Within the financial services industries Dr. Cho was a senior researcher specializing in complex derivatives pricing models. Within the alternative data industry, Dr. Cho was a senior data scientist focused on alpha generation research using unstructured HR dataset.

Dr. Cho earned a PhD in Finance from UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management and a BA from Cornell University in Economics and Mathematics.

Marcello Cricco-Lizza is a Managing Director – Principal and Head of CRE Lending at Balbec, responsible for Global Commercial Real Estate Debt and CMBS opportunities. As part of this role, Mr. Cricco-Lizza oversees Bridge loan and Construction loan origination, distressed loan acquisitions, and CMBS, including financing, and asset management. He joined Balbec in May 2020. Mr. Cricco-Lizza started his career as a CMBS trader in the Mortgage Trading Division of Goldman Sachs & Co in July 2011. There he oversaw synthetics trading as well as CRE secondary loan trading. He left Goldman to join BlueCrest Capital in June 2018 as a Portfolio Manager, focusing on structured products.

Mr. Cricco-Lizza holds a B.A. in Mathematics and B.A. in Economics from Columbia College, Columbia University, and M.A. in Mathematics of Finance from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University.

Arpad Sebe is a Partner at Balbec and serves as a Senior Advisor on certain European Assets.

Prior to joining Balbec, Mr. Sebe initially worked with other members of the management team at Max Recovery, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bear Stearns, starting in 2005 as a Vice President and international portfolio analyst. At Max Recovery, he was responsible for valuing portfolios of insolvent debt across Europe with a notional amount in excess of 10 billion euros for over €300 million in investments. After leaving Max Recovery in 2008 and prior to joining Balbec in 2011, Mr. Sebe served in the position of Financial Director of the largest private solar-energy developer in Abu Dhabi, where he raised over €10 million from international and local investors.

Mr. Sebe holds an MSc in Political Economics from the London School of Economics and a B.A. with the highest honors (Summa Cum Laude) in Economics from Columbia University, New York.

Bo Wang is Balbec Capital’s Head of Risk & Analytics and a Partner of the firm. Mr. Wang joined Balbec in October 2011 and is responsible for model validation and risk analytics across all asset types, as well as underwriting for unsecured assets. Prior to joining Balbec, Mr. Wang spent nearly 7 years in numerous software engineering and developer roles.

Mr. Wang holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Cornell University and a Master’s in Quantitative Finance from Rutgers University.

Matt Rosen is Balbec Capital’s Head of Real Estate Asset Management and a Partner of the firm. Mr. Rosen is also the Senior Managing Director of Balbec’s PRP Advisors subsidiary, and is responsible for system development, due diligence, servicer oversight and daily portfolio management in the US and European markets.

Prior to joining Balbec and the PRP Advisors team in 2015, Mr. Rosen was a partner of Gemini Capital Managers. Previously, Mr. Rosen was a portfolio manager with Ally Financial/ResCap LLC where he oversaw the firm’s legacy whole loan portfolio and its sale to Berkshire Hathaway. This role included developing the firm’s approach to its obligations under the 2012 US DOJ/State Attorneys General National Mortgage Settlement. Mr. Rosen began his career in the mortgage industry in 2002 with a series of business development roles for GreenPoint Mortgage Funding. Prior to that he was a management consultant at ZEFER.

Mr. Rosen holds a BA from Columbia University in Economics.

Ryan Singer is Balbec Capital’s Head of Residential Credit and a Partner of the firm. Mr. Singer joined Balbec in 2013 and is responsible for pricing and analytics of Balbec’s US and International mortgage investments.

Mr. Singer holds a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.B.A. in Finance from Emory University.

Christina Houghton is Balbec Capital’s Chief Financial Officer and a Partner of the firm. Ms. Houghton is responsible for all accounting, finance, and administration for Balbec, including fund and corporate accounting, treasury, tax, and FP&A for the firm.

Ms. Houghton joined Balbec in 2022 as Deputy Chief Financial Officer, bringing over 18 years of industry experience. Prior to Balbec, Ms. Houghton was the Chief Financial Officer at CapitalSpring, a $2 billion asset manager that invests in both private equity and private credit. Prior to CapitalSpring, Ms. Houghton held various roles at American Capital and Apollo Global Management. Ms. Houghton began her career in the assurance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ms. Houghton graduated summa cum laude from the University of Richmond with a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in Accounting.