ABF U.S. 2026 | ASSET BASED FINANCE

Akhil Bansal is Head of Asset-Backed Finance for Carlyle Global Credit. Carlyle Asset-Backed Finance seeks to invest across the risk-return spectrum of private credit financings backed by diversified portfolios of credit assets as well as private high grade corporate financings. Mr. Bansal is also Co-Portfolio Manager for Carlyle’s Revolving Loan strategy, which seeks to invest in senior secured revolving credit facilities. In addition, Mr. Bansal works closely with Fortitude Re, Carlyle’s strategic insurance investment, on asset allocation and optimization and portfolio construction in connection with Fortitude Re's reinsurance activities. Mr. Bansal is a member of the Investment Committee for Carlyle Structured Solutions, Carlyle Asset Finance and Carlyle Revolving Loan Fund. He is based in New York.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Bansal was a Director at KKR, where he worked across the credit asset management, capital markets and balance sheet segments in a variety of projects spanning principal investing, strategy, joint ventures, and other strategic initiatives. Prior to joining KKR, he worked in investment banking at Bear Stearns and J.P. Morgan in a multi-disciplinary role across structured products, M&A, leveraged finance and equity and debt capital markets. Mr. Bansal holds Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses. He earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Daniel Pietrzak (New York) joined KKR in 2016 and is a Partner and serves as the Global Head of Private Credit and a portfolio manager for KKR’s private credit funds and portfolios. Mr. Pietrzak is Chief Investment Officer of the KKR / Future Standard joint venture and President and Chief Investment Officer for FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK), which trades on the NYSE. He also serves of the board of directors of FSK and several KKR Credit portfolio companies, including Pepper and Toorak Capital Partners. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Pietrzak was a managing director and the co-head of Deutsche Bank’s structured finance business across the Americas and Europe. Previously, Mr. Pietrzak held various roles in the credit businesses of Societe Generale and CIBC World Markets. Mr. Pietrzak started his career at Price Waterhouse in New York. Mr. Pietrzak holds an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Accounting from Lehigh University. Mr. Pietrzak serves on the Lehigh University Board of Trustees and on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Lehigh’s College of Business, is a member of the Advisory Board of the Scholars of Finance and serves on the Board of Directors of First Tee – Metropolitan New York.

Victor Alexiev heads Citi SPRINT (Strategic Partnerships & Investments in the Fintech Lending ecosystem), the bank's corporate venture and strategic partnerships program aligned with its Financing and Securitization business. In this role, he leads a global team focused on identifying, structuring, and executing strategic collaborations and investments with fintech lenders, private credit infrastructure providers, digital origination platforms, and the funds that back them.

His work sits at the intersection of private credit, embedded finance, and corporate venture — originating differentiated deal flow, developing new financing channels, and translating emerging technologies into scalable, institutional-grade opportunities. He has built an extensive global network across fintechs, credit funds, and venture firms, and has played a central role in shaping Citi's approach to fintech-enabled credit.

Previously, Victor led Citi's internal venture incubation program (D10X), where he built and launched innovative solutions for institutional clients. Some notable D10x initiatives include Proxymity, Bridge by Citi, and Citi Securities Lending Access. Prior to Citi, he founded and scaled multiple technology ventures across Europe, the US, and Asia.

Seasoned private credit professional with transaction experience across specialty finance, leveraged loans, structured credit, direct lending, subordinated debt, and venture finance.

Priya Desai is a Managing Director at MetLife Investment Management's (MIM) Private Fixed Income group, focused on Asset Backed Finance.Priya began her career in 2004 and prior to joining the Private Capital team, she served as the sector head of MIM's Public ABS group for four years. Prior to joining MetLife, Priya worked as a structured products banker at JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers, structured products trader at Shinkin Central Bank, ABS structurer at Deutsche Bank, and in ABS capital markets at fintech firms.Priya earned an MBA and MS in Finance from Boston College and is a CFA Charterholder.

Gary has spent nearly three decades in specialty finance and private credit both as a direct lender and also as a structured finance banker funding via the term ABS markets and with asset-backed commercial paper.  Prior to joining Revere Capital where he originates Lender Finance transactions, Gary served as the Head of Originations for Finitive, a capital raising platform serving the needs of specialty finance companies and other non-bank lenders.  Gary spent a decade at Credit Agricole where he was a managing director and Head of Originations for its securitization team after a tenure in the Term ABS group at the former Banc One Capital Markets (now JP Morgan.)  He also spent six years at a boutique asset management firm where they managed nearly $5 billion in complex structured finance transactions.  

Julian is a Co-founder and Managing Partner of Avellinia Capital, a London- and Luxembourg-based investment firm specialising in asset-based financing solutions for the innovation economy.

He has over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles on the buy side and sell side across investing, structuring, trading, and business development. His sector experience spans alternative and structured credit, as well as commodities, at leading institutions.

Prior to co-founding Avellinia Capital, Julian was the Chief Executive and an ABS Portfolio Manager of ZAIS Group’s EMEA business, an alternative credit manager focused on structured and complex credit with more than US$6bn in assets under management. Before ZAIS, he worked in commodities trading at Glencore in Zug, Switzerland. Julian began his career at Lehman Brothers in London, where he advised pension funds, insurers, and asset management firms on structured credit products and solutions. He has also advised other alternative investment management firms, startups, and scale-ups throughout his career.

Victor Saratella, based in Boston, MA, US, is currently a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Liberty Mutual Investments, bringing experience from previous roles at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Victor Saratella holds a 2004 - 2007 MBA in Finance @ Boston College - Wallace E. Carroll Graduate School of Management. With a robust skill set that includes Reverse Mortgages, Fixed Income, Trading, Bloomberg, Structured Finance and more, Victor Saratella contributes valuable insights to the industry.