LEADERSHIP

Balbec Capital’s international and multilingual team is uniquely qualified to undertake complex and substantial transactions globally. Our senior members have successfully invested in and managed a broad range of alternative credits across numerous economic cycles, many with industry-related experience spanning over two decades. The senior management team has worked together for an average of over 20 years.

warren spector

Chairman

charles rusbasan

Founding Partner, Chief Executive Officer

Investment Team

philip daniels

Founding Partner, Chief Investment Officer

peter troisi

Partner, Head of Investments, Americas

arpad sebe

Partner, Head of Investments, Europe

rob ryan

Partner, Head of Investments, the Commonwealth

bo wang

Managing Director/Principal, Pricing & Analytics

ryan singer

Managing Director/Principal, Mortgage Pricing & Risk

jared muroff

Managing Director, Corporate Credit Investments

Marcello Cricco-Lizza

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager

Chris Kattan

Associate Director

Tim Kuk

Associate Director

Capital Formation Group

Jay Bhatt

Associate Director

Robert Hanna

Vice President

Finance, Legal and Operations

jeff padden

Founding Partner, General Counsel

scott gilbert

Founding Partner, Chief Financial Officer

Christina Houghton

Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Brett Niehaus

Chief Compliance Officer

Vasanth Raj

Managing Director, Head of Asset Management, Europe

Tracy Ryan

Associate Director, Human Resources

Heather Kochamba

Associate Director, Operations & Servicer Compliance

Diane Gearon

Associate Director, Application Development

Mark Wilson

Associate Director, Controller

ROBERT HANNA

Vice President

Rob Hanna is a Vice President at Balbec Capital. Mr. Hanna joined Balbec in 2022 and is a member of the firm’s Capital Formation Group. Prior to Balbec, Mr. Hanna worked at ZAIS Group, Nomura, and PIMCO in various business development and consultant relations roles.

Mr. Hanna holds a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University.

CHRISTINA HOUGHTON

Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Christina Houghton joined Balbec Capital in 2022 as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Mrs. Houghton is responsible for oversight of fund and corporate accounting, treasury, tax, and FP&A for the firm.

Prior to Balbec, Mrs. 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, Mrs. Houghton held various roles at American Capital and Apollo Global Management. Mrs. Houghton began her career in the assurance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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

WARREN SPECTOR

Chairman

Prior to joining Balbec Capital, Warren Spector was President and co-Chief Operating Officer of the Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. from 2001 to 2007. He joined the Mortgage Department of Bear Stearns in 1983 when its revenues were under $1 million per annum and grew that business to $2 billion. In 1993, he started the Global Derivatives Department and grew that business to over $1 Billion. He was named to the firm’s Management Committee in 1990 and the Executive Committee in 1992 (at age 34).

Mr. Spector was Head of Fixed Income beginning in 1990 and, in that capacity, oversaw the Max Recovery business from its inception, working closely with Mr. Rusbasan and the team as the business invested nearly $3 billion of proprietary capital. Mr. Spector was named President and co-Chief Operating Officer in 2001 and in that capacity oversaw all Sales, Trading, Clearing and Prime Brokerage business at the firm. He was Chairman of the Bond Market Association from 2001 to 2002 and during his tenure worked with the SEC, United States Treasury and the White House to reopen the market for US government debt within forty-eight hours of the September 11, 2001 tragedy.

Mr. Spector holds a Bachelor of Arts from St John’s College and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

CHARLES RUSBASAN

Founding Partner, Chief Executive Officer

Charles Rusbasan is a Founder and Chief Executive of Balbec and has oversight of all aspects of Balbec Capital.

In 1992, after managing product development and systems units at Mellon Bank and Chemical Bank, he joined Bear Stearns to found Max Recovery, the first institutional purchaser of Insolvent Consumer assets. During the ensuing 16 years Mr. Rusbasan built Max Recovery into one of the most profitable proprietary trading desks at the firm, directing the investment of over $3 billion of proprietary capital. After building a substantial business during the 1990’s, in 2000 he successfully expanded into the UK, Europe and Asia/Pacific. Subsequent to his departure from Bear Stearns’ successor JPMorgan in 2009, he started Balbec Capital with the other founding partners.

Mr. Rusbasan holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Columbia University. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York, serves on the Executive Board of the Program for Financial Studies at Columbia Business School, is active in the Royal Institute of International Affairs, has been named “Man of the Year” by the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, and has served on the advisory panel to the UK Insolvency Service. In addition to his Balbec-related responsibilities, Mr. Rusbasan is active in land preservation and arts-related charities.

JEFF PADDEN

Founding Partner, General Counsel

Jeff Padden is a Founder and General Counsel of Balbec Capital. Mr. Padden is responsible for all legal matters, contracts and investor relations and business development in Asia for Balbec Capital.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Padden represented private and public companies in various corporate transactions throughout his legal career and has a long history of doing business in and representing clients internationally with a specific focus in Asia. His practice has focused on corporate law, venture capital and international transactions. He has been a Board or Advisory Board member of a variety of companies and has spoken at legal and business conferences on various corporate topics. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Business Law, and International Law sections.

Mr. Padden holds a B.S. from the University of Virginia (with Distinction) and a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School (with Honors, Order of the Coif, Phi Kappa Phi).

PHILIP DANIELS

Founding Partner, Chief Investment Officer

Philip Daniels is a Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Balbec Capital. Mr. Daniels is responsible for global pricing, analytics and portfolio management for Balbec Capital.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Daniels served as a Global Head of Pricing and Analytics at Max Recovery, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bear Stearns, where he managed the pricing of more than $1.5 billion of capital invested in insolvent and charged-off receivables in seven countries. Before that, he was an analyst in the risk management department at Bear Stearns, where he was overseeing credit risk to hedge fund counterparties.

Mr. Daniels holds a B.A. degree from Columbia University, as well as a general course degree in mathematics from the London School of Economics.

SCOTT GILBERT

Founding Partner, Chief Financial Officer

Scott Gilbert is a Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Balbec Capital. Mr. Gilbert is responsible for all accounting, finance and administration for Balbec Capital, and he has over 20 years of finance and accounting experience, including over 10 years as a CFO.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Gilbert raised over $20 million in growth capital and provided the lead financial and due diligence role in 3 private company exit events with aggregate sale proceeds of over $140 million. He started his career in the financial audit division of Coopers & Lybrand, followed by a financial analyst position at Bank One for a $700 million credit card portfolio.

Mr. Gilbert graduated summa cum laude in 1990 from the University of Colorado with a major in Accounting.

PETER TROISI

Partner, Head of Investments, Americas

Peter Troisi is a Partner and Head of Investments for the Americas at Balbec. Mr. Troisi is responsible for acquisitions, deal structuring, and portfolio management functions within the Americas, along with the firm’s global capital raising efforts.

Mr. Troisi initially worked with other members of the management team at Max Recovery, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bear Stearns, starting in 2006 as a member of the Deal Administration group for the North American Business Unit. At Max Recovery, he worked on the purchase, servicing, and settlement of owned portfolios. After working through the merger with JP Morgan, he left the company in February 2009. Prior to joining Balbec in May 2010, Mr. Troisi had most recently worked at Portfolio Recovery Associates on their bankruptcy acquisitions team.

Mr. Troisi holds a B.S. in Economics from Siena College.

ROB RYAN

Partner, Head of Investments, the Commonwealth

Rob Ryan is a Partner and Head of Investments in the Commonwealth at Balbec. Mr. Ryan joined Balbec in 2012 and is responsible for Business Development and Client Relations in the UK and Australia and other strategic transactions.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Ryan held a number of senior structured finance roles with international banks in both Japan and Australia, most recently with Commonwealth Bank of Australia. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Ryan was a senior executive with Max Recovery, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bear Stearns, with responsibility for building the Asia-Pacific business and became the Australia country head in 2008. Prior to joining Max Recovery, Mr. Ryan was a Managing Director in the Securitization Department of Bear Stearns’ Japan unit and executed several pioneering transactions in performing and distressed consumer and real estate asset classes. Prior to entering the banking industry, Mr. Ryan was a structured finance lawyer with Allen & Overy, a major international law firm, and practiced in both London and Tokyo.

Mr. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Law degree with honors from Leicester University and is a graduate of the EU’s Executive Training Program in Japan.

ARPAD SEBE

Partner, Head of Investments, Europe

Arpad Sebe is a Partner and Head of Investments for Europe at Balbec. Mr. Sebe is responsible for acquisitions, deal structuring, and portfolio management functions within continental Europe. Prior to 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 the firm 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 in private equity 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.

ARPAD SEBE

Partner, Head of Investments, Europe

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.

ED BENISON

Managing Director, Portfolio Operations

Ed Benison is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Benison joined Balbec in May 2016 and is responsible for Asset Management functions, including Systems & IT and operating procedures. Prior to Balbec, Mr. Benison spent a 21-year career at Max Recovery under both Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, where he played a significant role in the international expansion of the franchise and oversaw the US and Australian portfolios of insolvent NPLs.

Mr. Benison holds a B.S. in Administration and Management Science and Economics from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU.

BARRY SANDERS

Chief Compliance Officer

Barry Sanders is the Chief Compliance Officer of Balbec Capital LP and Balbec Capital Management LP, a registered investment adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Sanders is responsible for compliance matters for the firm. Prior to joining Balbec, Mr. Sanders was in private law practice handling complex litigation and client counseling, including representation of private companies and professional service providers before regulatory agencies. As a partner in private law firms he also served in a variety of management capacities. He is a member of the Arizona and California bars.

Mr. Sanders holds a B.A. (with High Distinction) from the University of Virginia, an M.A. (law) from Cambridge University, and an LL.M. from the University of Texas.

BO WANG

Managing Director/Principal, Pricing & Analytics

Bo Wang is a Managing Director/Principal at Balbec Capital. Mr. Wang joined Balbec in October 2011 and is responsible for pricing and analytics functions globally. 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.

ANDREW DEMPSEY

Managing Director

Andrew P. Dempsey is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Dempsey joined Balbec in September 2018 as head of capital formation.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Dempsey served as a Managing Director at Easterly LLC, where he was responsible for capital formation and business development. Prior to Easterly, he served as a Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group LLC, where he was Chief Operating Officer of the Permanent Capital Business Group and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Prior to that, he served as its Global Head of Capital Formation for the Liquid Markets Business, where he was responsible for capital raising and investor relationship management for the Liquid Markets business. Prior to joining Fortress in May 2005, he served as a Regional Director at Allegiance Capital, where he was responsible for the marketing and distribution of fixed income products for the southwest United States and Mexico. Prior to that, he was a Fixed Income Specialist for the Enterprise Unit at SEI Investments Co., where he developed asset liability studies and investment analyses for endowments, foundations and Fortune 100 defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

Mr. Dempsey received a B.B.A. degree in Economics and Finance with a second major in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame.

RYAN SINGER

Managing Director/Principal, Mortgage Pricing & Risk

Ryan Singer is a Managing Director/Principal at Balbec Capital. 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.

JARED MUROFF

Managing Director, Corporate Credit Investments

Jared Muroff is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Muroff joined Balbec in 2019. Prior to joining the company, he was Director of Research at ASM Capital where he was responsible for analyzing bankrupt and distressed companies with an eye towards providing financing and investing in unsecured credits. Prior to ASM Capital, Mr. Muroff held several positions in the Equity Research Group of Prudential Securities covering various industrial sectors. Before working at Prudential Securities he held similar roles at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Mr. Muroff received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University and holds the CFA designation.

VASANTH RAJ

Managing Director, Head of Asset Management, Europe

Vasanth Raj is a Managing Director and Head of Asset Management, Europe at Balbec. Mr. Raj is responsible for oversight of all the day to day operations of our assets in Europe including managing Balbec’s various servicers, systems and technology and compliance requirements for our European business.

Before joining Balbec, Mr.Raj was the Chief Operating Officer of Cepal Greece, helping to set it up from inception to a leading servicer in Greece with over €10 billion of loans under servicing. Prior to that, Mr. Raj was the Sales Director for Intesa Sanpaolo Hungary, based in Budapest and spent 19 years with Citigroup in various senior roles working across Europe and Asia for their Corporate & Investment Bank and Consumer Bank units.

Mr. Raj holds a Masters in Finance from the London Business School and a Master of Arts (Hons) in English from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India.

MARCELLO CRICCO-LIZZA

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager

Marcello Cricco-Lizza is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Balbec, focusing on Commercial Real Estate and CMBS opportunities. 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. At Goldman, he ran the Synthetics book, market making in credit default swaps and total return swaps referencing CMBS bonds. 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.

DIANE GEARON

Associate Director, Application Development

Diane Gearon is an Associate Director 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.

GINA LUJAN

Associate Director, Head of People, Performance & Culture

Gina Lujan is an Associate Director and Head of People, Performance and Culture at Balbec Capital. In this role, Ms. Lujan leads Balbec’s efforts to maximize the potential of our employees, enrich the employee experience and modernize the talent programs that support Balbec’s vision.

Prior to joining Balbec, Ms. Lujan was the Managing Director of Talent at Waypoint Real Estate Investments. Gina has also held HR leadership roles within JLL and Tishman Speyer in New York.

BRETT NIEHAUS

Chief Compliance Officer

Brett Niehaus is the Chief Compliance Officer of Balbec Capital. Mr. Niehaus is responsible for compliance matters for Balbec Capital.

Prior to Balbec, Mr. Niehaus was Senior Principal Consultant and Diversified Financial Practice Specialist at ACA Compliance Group. He provided comprehensive regulatory advice to a wide range of leading private fund managers, registered investment advisers, and global asset managers, including serving as Balbec’s dedicated external consultant for over two years prior to joining the firm.

Mr. Niehaus holds a B.S. in Finance (Business Leadership Honors Program) from the University of Scranton.

HEATHER KOCHAMBA

Associate Director, Operations & Servicer Compliance

Heather Kochamba is Associate Director, Operations & Servicer Compliance at Balbec. Ms. Kochamba is responsible for execution and on-going maintenance of the compliance and oversight program for the administration and servicing of Balbec’s investments in the United States and Commonwealth markets.

Ms. Kochamba joined Balbec in March 2021, bringing 18 years of 3rd party oversight experience. She has most recently served as Chief Compliance Officer for Galaxy Capital Acquisitions wherein she developed their Compliance Management System and guided it’s evolution into a rigorous program with oversight of Galaxy’s 3rd party vendors through regulatory and legal compliance, licensing, and quality assurance and audit functions.

Ms. Kochamba holds the designations of Certified Receivables Compliance Professional with RMA International and Credit & Collection Compliance Officer with ACA International. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wofford College.

CHRIS KATTAN

Associate Director

Chris Kattan is an Associate Director 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.

Chris 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.

TIM KUK

Associate Director

Tim Kuk is an Associate Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Kuk joined Balbec in 2014 and is responsible for portfolio performance management and reporting functions globally, in addition to pricing and analytics of Balbec’ s US and International unsecured investments.

Mr. Kuk holds a B.A. in Economics from Emory University.

MARK WILSON

Associate Director, Controller

Mark Wilson is an Associate Director and Controller for Balbec. Mr. Wilson oversees accounting and related financial controls including managing accounting systems and staff, overseeing financial reporting, and coordinating with external accountants and auditors.

Mr. Wilson has over 30 years of general accounting experience with both public and private firms. He holds professional designations as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). He is a registered member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Wilson graduated in 1989 from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with double majors in Accounting and Finance.

JAY BHATT

Associate Director

Jay Bhatt is an Associate 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.

TRACY RYAN

Associate Director, Human Resources

Tracy Ryan is the Human Resources leader 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.

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

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