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Annabel Downs is an Executive Director in the Asset Finance group within Private Credit of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She is responsible for leading asset-backed finance transactions across Europe and sits on the board of a number of portfolio companies, focused on purchasing and financing portfolios. Annabel covers a variety of asset classes including consumer, SME, specialty mortgages, fund finance, hard assets and others. Annabel also co-heads the GS Asset & Wealth Management Women’s Network for Europe. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2011. Annabel holds a MSci degree in Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London.

Antonello Aquino is Managing Director, global co-head for Insurance, Funds and Asset Management, and EMEA Private Credit at Moody’s Ratings. He leads Moody’s analytical team responsible for maintaining credit ratings on insurers, funds, and asset managers, as well as private credit entities across EMEA.​

Antonello joined Moody’s in 2008 as a Senior Insurance Analyst, covering major European (re)insurers. Prior to Moody’s, he led the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) rating advisory practice at Credit Suisse in Europe. His earlier experience includes roles as a Senior Analyst in Standard & Poor’s insurance sector, and positions within the FIG M&A teams at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) and ABN AMRO.​

He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and is an alumnus of London Business School. He graduated cum laude in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Italy. Antonello is fluent in English, Italian, and French.​

Frank is Portfolio Manager for the Cheyne Risk Transfer strategy, focusing on transaction origination and assessment, portfolio construction, and capital raising. He plays an active role in SRT regulatory advocacy, maintaining regular dialogue with key regulators—including the PRA, EBA, and the Federal Reserve—and coordinating with all major industry groups. 

Prior to joining Cheyne, Frank served as Managing Director and head of Capital and Structured Funding Solutions at Barclays International which he joined in 2006. Notably, under his leadership, Barclays established the Colonnade SRT programme, which became an industry-leading issuance platform. Throughout his career, Frank has advised numerous banks on designing and executing efficient SRT solutions. 

Helen has over 18 years of experience in the fund finance lending market and adds significant experience across the full spectrum of debt solutions offered to private capital funds and fund managers. Her role within the Bank focuses on structuring solutions across subscription finance, NAV and pref, GP/co-Investment and hybrid. She is also responsible for building and originating relationships with existing clients and new to Bank clients. Helen also sits on the Executive Committee of the FFA for EMEA and is the Chairwoman of the FFA Advisory Council for EMEA. Within the Bank, Helen leads the BID (belonging, inclusion and diversity) initiative within Fund Solutions and is part of the leadership team that facilitates One Investec College – a networking and education programme that develops cross selling within difference business units.

Jeremy Deutsch is a Principal and Investment Professional at Neuberger Berman. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman Private Equity in 2019, Mr. Deutsch worked in Financial Sponsors Investment Banking at Barclays, where he advised Private Equity clients and their portfolio companies on M&A and financing transactions. Prior to Barclays, Mr. Deutsch worked as an Investment Associate at Neuberger Berman on the Multi-Asset Class team, where he focused on investment research and portfolio management across global asset classes. Mr. Deutsch began his career in business development at AQR Capital Management. He received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BA in Economics and Environmental Studies from Amherst College. 

Jules Koekkoek is a senior portfolio manager in Aegon AM’s fund finance team; part of the alternative fixed income department. Jules joined the firm from a.s.r where he was a portfolio manager in the structured investments team. Prior to that, he worked at ACTIAM as a portfolio manager structured credit. Prior still, he held various positions in fixed income at Citi, UBS, Nomura/Lehman and Goldman Sachs.

Jules has been in the industry since 2006 and joined the firm in 2023. Jules holds a master’s degree in Systems Engineering and Policy Analysis from Delft University of Technology and a master’s degree in Financial Economics (cum laude) from Erasmus University.

Kam joined the LMA in August 2015 and leads several of the Association’s sector initiatives (including fund finance, export and commodities finance), as well as leading on several LMA documentation projects (including investment grade and leveraged finance documentation).  Kam has led on the LMA's response to IBOR transition and has represented the LMA on various industry and currency working groups globally on the transition to near risk-free rates, working closely with the official sector. 

Prior to joining the LMA, Kam was a professional support lawyer at Linklaters LLP specialising in project finance, acquisition finance, energy and infrastructure.  She focused on current awareness (covering both legal and sectoral developments) and developed precedents, knowhow and training for the global projects, energy and infrastructure group.   

Kam was previously a banking and finance lawyer at Slaughter and May where she acted for a variety of international borrowers, focusing on general syndicated finance, investment grade finance, leveraged acquisition finance and project finance. 

Kathryn Cecil advises fund sponsors and financial institutions on the full spectrum of fund finance transactions, including subscription, asset-backed, NAV, and preferred equity across all asset classes.

The Legal 500 UK recognises Kathryn in Acquisition Finance, Bank Lending and Fund Finance, where she wins praise from a client as having “excellent knowledge of the fund financing market.”

Chambers UK also recognises Kathryn in the Banking and Finance: Fund Finance (London) category (Band 2) and quotes “Kathryn is an exceptional lawyer and leading practitioner in fund finance. Herlegal strengths are matched by her commercial acumen, and she delivers in spades on every deal.” She is praised for being “impressive, she is very responsive, pragmatic, and always has a practical solution."

Kathryn is listed in The Drawdown's list of the Most Influential Fund Finance Experts. The report showcases individuals who have shaped the market and whose achievements have had a major influence on the entire fund finance sphere.

Kathryn has been appointed to Fund Finance Association’s (FFA) EMEA Executive Committee as Deputy Chair.

Leon is a leading partner in Reed Smith's fund finance team which is one of the market-leading global funds finance practices. He works with bank and non-bank lenders, managers, general partners, and limited partners on fund financing transactions with private equity, secondaries, real estate, direct lending, and infrastructure funds. He is also an elected member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

He has a great deal of experience advising on Net Asset Value (NAV)/asset-backed and hybrid facilities, secondary funds facilities, capital call facilities, co-investment and GP/manager support facilities and other types of liquidity facilities provided to funds; and also represents a large proportion of lenders that provide fund financing, as well as a number of private equity and other funds on complex fund finance transactions.

Leon is recognized as a “Leading Individual” in Fund Finance by Legal 500 UK 2022, and the team is recognized in Band 1 in Fund Finance by Legal 500 UK 2022. Leon was also recognized as “Partner of the Year for Banking” at the Client Choice Awards 2017.

Mr. Hashemi is a Principal in the Ares Credit Group, where he focuses on alternative credit, including asset-based finance (ABF) investments. Prior to joining Ares in 2018, Mr. Hashemi was an Analyst at Shawbrook Bank, where he focused on structured finance origination. Previously, Mr. Hashemi was an Assistant Director at The Royal Bank of Scotland, where he worked on the financial institutions structured finance team. Mr. Hashemi holds a B.A. (Hons) from The University of Warwick in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Mr. Spink is Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, having joined CapVest in May 2023.

Prior to joining CapVest, Mr. Spink was the CFO, Private Equity at BC Partners (January 2021 – April 2023), and prior to that the Head of Fund Control at Bridgepoint (July 2011 – October 2017). Before Bridgepoint, Mr. Spink held various finance roles at Standard Bank (January 2005 – July 2011) and Citigroup (May 2000 – December 2004). He began his career at Deloitte (November 1998 – May 2000).

In total, Mr. Spink has over 25 years of relevant experience, 17 of which have been in Private Equity.

Mr. Spink is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA, qualified in 2005). He holds a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Bath in Aeronautical Systems, Design and Manufacture

Michael Timms joined Bayview in 2025 as Managing Director, Co-Head of Fund Finance. Prior to joining Bayview, Michael was a Managing Director at 17Capital, where helped lead the firm’s U.S. investment business. In this role, he led the origination and execution of over $1.5bn of preferred equity and NAV loan investments with U.S. based alternative asset managers and funds. Prior to 17Capital, Michael spent 8 years helping build a market leading Fund Finance business at Wells Fargo. He began his career as an Equity Sales trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2009. Michael earned a BS in Economics from the University of Virginia, and a MS in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce.

Paul Tannenbaum is a Fund Finance partner and a member of the Firm’s Private Capital industry group.

Paul has extensive experience acting for lenders, borrowers, and financial institutions on a wide spectrum of fund finance transactions.

Paul's fund finance experience includes advising GPs and lenders in connection with traditional subscription lines, hybrid and NAV facilities, co-investment facilities, GP support facilities, management fee facilities, collateralized fund obligations (CFOs), asset leverage facilities for credit funds, loans to separate managed accounts, and fund of fund financings.

Paul has been recognised by Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner for Fund Finance and as a key lawyer for Bank Lending.

Rory Smith is the founder of Brickfield Recruitment, the only search agency dedicated to the Fund Finance industry.

His unique market knowledge as a recruitment specialist and genuine passion for the fund finance industry are unrivalled, and Rory has built a strong reputation for candor, trust and a deep understanding of his clients’ needs, as well as his ability to connect people throughout the Fund Finance 360 ecosystem.

Mr. McGovern has over 25 years of investment and advisory experience, with much of that time spent managing private credit funds and working with private credit fund investors around the world. At Star Mountain, Mr. McGovern is involved in all aspects of the firm’s investment and portfolio management activities in addition to business development and investor relations efforts. Mr. McGovern joined Star Mountain from the specialist private debt advisory firm Avebury Capital Partners (now known as Arbour Partners), where he established and ran its North American operations, helping to build, advise, and raise capital for mezzanine and other private credit investment funds as well as sourcing secondary investment opportunities.

Mr. McGovern was previously a partner at Ember Capital(formerly known as Nomura Mezzanine), an alternative investment fund manager that managed a ~$350 million mezzanine fund sponsored by Nomura in addition to approximately ~$200 million in other pools of capital for senior and mezzanine debt investments. For nearly a decade at Ember/Nomura, Mr. McGovern was responsible for originating, executing, and managing senior debt and mezzanine investments. During his time at Ember/Nomura, Mr. McGovern was instrumental in making more than 25 private credit investments. Mr. McGovern also played a key role in structuring and raising the firm’s funds, as well as in investor relations on a global basis.

Before joining Nomura in early 2005 to help launch its mezzanine debt investment business, Mr. McGovern was an investment professional at AIG-Mezz Vest, a ~$750 million mezzanine fund sponsored by the global insurance company AIG. Earlier in his career, Mr. McGovern was an investment banking associate at HSBC and an investment banking analyst at Stephens Inc. Mr. McGovern began his career as an associate portfolio manager in the asset management division of Dominick & Dominick in New York.

Mr. McGovern completed his MBA at HEC Paris and London Business School and holds a BA from Vanderbilt University. Mr. McGovern holds active FINRA broker-dealer licenses and is currently a board member of ACG Cleveland.

Samantha is a Fund Finance partner and leads the Fund Finance team based in the firm’s London office. 

With over 20 years of experience in the fund finance market, Samantha represents financial institutions, private market and other asset managers across all fund finance products, including subscription lines, primary and secondary leverage and liquidity lines, GP and executive financings, co-investment facilities and various distribution solutions across all asset classes. Samantha is consistently recognized as an industry leader and leading practitioner by Chambers UK, Legal 500 UK, IFLR 1000, IR 1000 Women Leaders, and The Drawdown Most Influential Fund Finance Experts. She was also featured in the 2020 edition of The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list, which highlights the UK’s “most daring, innovative and creative lawyers.” 

Shelley Morrison leads the strategy for Fund Finance at Abrdn. She has extensive experience in the origination, structuring and execution of fund level debt facilities across multiple asset classes. She has been with abrdn since 2019. Before joining abrdn, Shelley was a Director in the Fund Finance team at RBS for 6 years where she managed a portfolio of subscription loans, NAV loans and GP finance to global funds across Private Equity, Private Debt, Infrastructure and Real Estate. Prior to that, she worked in structured asset finance at RBS and Lloyds for 10 years, with a focus on commercial ship finance. Shelley holds the both the IMC and CISI certificate in Corporate Finance and the CFA Certificate in ESG Investing. Shelley sits on the Fund Finance Association EMEA Executive Committee and Women in Fund Finance Committee. Shelley received a first class MA (honours) degree in Geography and an MSc in Social and Political Theory, both from the University of Edinburgh. 

Tom Speller is a Managing Director and the Head of European Funds at KBRA UK. Tom joined KBRA in 2021 and focuses on the rating of Fund Finance transactions including subscription lines and NAV loans.

Prior to joining KBRA, Tom was an executive director at Goldman Sachs International, where from 2006 he worked as a credit risk analyst covering a variety of industries and products, with a particular focus on the funds industry, including private equity funds and hedge funds, as well as structured lending.

Tom received a BSc. in mathematics and statistics from the University of Edinburgh and is currently a CFA Charterholder.

Toni is a Partner in Pantheon’s Global Private Credit Investment and European Investment Teams. He previously worked in the private markets team at Cambridge Associates, where he advised institutional investors on their private market investment programs and conducted research and due diligence on private market funds, managers, and markets. Toni has an MPhil in economics from the University of Oxford and a BEng in engineering with business finance, which was jointly taught at University College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is fluent in Finnish, Spanish and English.