LEADERSHIP

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.
rusbasan@balbec.com

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.
rryan@balbec.com

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.
bwang@balbec.com

DEREK BROWN

Managing Director

Derek Brown is a Managing Director at Balbec Capital. Mr. Brown joined Balbec in 2017 and is a member of the firm’s Capital Formation Group. Prior to Balbec, Mr. Brown worked at Angelo, Gordon in marketing and business development and previously worked in investment banking.

Mr. Brown holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
dbrown@balbec.com

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.
jmuroff@balbec.com

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.
vraj@balbec.com

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.

glujan@balbec.com

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.

bniehaus@balbec.com