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Andrey Nikolaev leads S&P Global Ratings EMEA Financial Institutions team
with 20 analysts spread out over offices in London, Paris and Dublin. The team
provides credit ratings for Alternative Investment Funds, including Private 
Equity, Private Debt, Funds of Funds, Infrastructure, as well as for Banks and 
NBFIs.
Andrey has 20 years of experience in credit analysis and risk management and 
has been with S&P Global Ratings since 2007. Previously he held a number of
senior analytical and managerial positions in EMEA Corporate Ratings notably 
with a focus on commodities and chemicals sectors and was also responsible 
for the Middle East corporate and infrastructure coverage. Andrey holds CFA 
and FRM designations, ESSEC Executive MBA and graduated from Higher 
School of Economics in Moscow

Angela Ulum is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Chicago office and a co-leader of Mayer Brown’s Banking & Finance practice. She is a member of the Structured Finance practice and has extensive experience representing issuers, borrowers, and commercial and investment banks in a variety of securitization and other structured finance transactions, with an emphasis on market participants in the auto and equipment sectors.   Angela’s experience has involved the issuance and sale of publicly registered, 144A/Reg S and privately placed asset-backed securities, revolving and amortizing syndicated and bilateral financing facilities, portfolio purchases and sales, equipment loan and lease syndications and third-party servicing arrangements.  Her experience includes representing captive finance companies, banks, independent finance companies and investors in transactions involving a wide variety of assets, including auto leases, auto loans, dealer floorplan, fleet leases, equipment leases and loans, participations, and esoteric and new asset classes.   

According to Chambers Global, Angela is "extremely knowledgeable and easy to work with," and “has extensive expertise in ABS transactions.” Clients praise Angela in Chambers USA, noting that “she is excellent: very methodical and organized. You know that when you're working with Angela, you're not wasting time on anything frivolous." Additionally, Legal 500 USA recognizes Angela as a “next generation lawyer." 

Mr. Fischer joined Crestline in 2021 and is a Business Development Managing Director in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group.  Mr. Fischer has 17 years’ experience in business development and alternative investments.  Prior to joining Crestline, he was Director of Business Development at BDO for the Southwest Region Private Equity Services Group and a Regional Director of Business Development for Great American Group, a B. Riley Financial company.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Fischer co-founded an alternative investment firm, NBM Group, and was a trading manager at Traditum Group, focused on interest rate strategies.  He is the current President of the Secured Finance Network Southwest Chapter.  He graduated with a BS in Biology from Boston College 

Cameron Roper is a Finance partner and member of Proskauer's Private Capital industry group (working closely with the Private Funds Group). 

Cameron specializes in funds finance and general lending and advisory work, acting for both fund managers and financial institutions. He regularly advises on net asset value (NAV) facilities, hybrid facilities and subscription line facilities, as well as general partner commitment, manager, carry and co-investment facilities. His experience covers a wide range of funds including credit, large buyout and mid-market funds, growth, venture, secondaries, and fund of funds. 

Emad Shahin is Partner and serves as General Counsel at 17Capital, a private credit manager specializing in NAV finance for the private equity industry. Since inception in 2008,17Capital has raised over $13 billion and has deployed over $13 billion across 100+ investments. Emad is on the Investment Committee and leads the legal execution of investments across the firm.  Emad is also the partner responsible for infrastructure across 17Capital, covering legal, compliance, finance, ESG, technology and HR. 

George Pelling is a partner in the Finance Practice in Cadwalader's London office. 

George has extensive experience advising banks, fund managers and other financial institutions on a variety of cross-border financings, with a particular focus on fund finance (including capital call facilities, NAV facilities, hybrid solutions, GP support facilities and other bespoke financings). 

George also has experience advising investment funds and financial institutions on the acquisition and sale of syndicated bank loans, debt instruments, bond claims and other distressed assets. 

In 2024, George was named to the Lawdragon “500 X – The Next Generation” list. George has also been recognised as a key lawyer in the Legal 500 2023.  

Prior to joining Cadwalader, George was an associate in the Media Finance department at Sheridans, where he specialised in film finance. George graduated from Newcastle University, where he obtained a First Class Honours degree in History. He completed the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law and is admitted to practice in England & Wales. 

Greg Durst is ILPA’s Senior Managing Director of Global Growth and has been tapped to serve as the Interim Head of ILPA Europe. He has broad experience in private equity as a GP and as a service provider and financier to leading players in the industry across the globe. Durst previously served as ILPA’s Managing Director of Corporate Development, bringing ILPA’s communities together, leading best-in-class events and thought leadership. 

Today, Durst represents ILPA in a wide variety of industry conversations and engagements in many geographies. He continues to connect ILPA’s more than 600 institutional limited partner members with high performing general partners, top notch service providers and effective industry bodies to enhance alignment, transparency and good governance in the private markets on behalf of LPs. Prior to joining ILPA, Durst was the founding COO and Head of Business Development for a hedge fund manager in New York. In addition to his work in private equity and at other top tier professional services firms, Durst has lived and worked in North America, Europe and Southern Africa and has extensive experience working in South Asia. 

Durst has an undergraduate degree in Finance from Georgetown University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. 

Mr. Lumby is a Managing Director at HPS Investment Partners. Prior to joining HPS in 2023, Mr. Lumby was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs where he helped establish the GP, Fund and LP financing solutions business. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Lumby held prior roles at Asante Capital, Macquarie and Barclays. Mr. Lumby holds a MPhil in Real Estate Finance from the University of Cambridge and a BSc in Economics and Accounting from the University of Bristol. Mr. Lumby is a CFA Charterholder. 

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. 

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. 

Marianne Parker is a Principal in AlpInvest’s Secondary & Portfolio Finance team focused on European transactions. She is based in London. Over nearly 10 years as an investor, Marianne has led numerous transactions across secondaries and portfolio finance, including purchases of LP interest portfolios, various portfolio financings (GP, LP and NAV), fund recapitalizations, spinouts and continuation funds.   

Prior to joining AlpInvest, Marianne was a member of CPP Investments’ secondaries team, where she focused on secondaries in Europe and North America. Prior to that, she worked in the investment banking division at RBC Capital Markets in London. Marianne received a first class master’s degree (MPhys) in Theoretical Physics from the University of St. Andrews. 

Marno Jooste has extensive work experience in the financial industry. Marno is currently the Head of Structured Credit at Pension Insurance Corporation plc since March 2022. Prior to this, they held the position of Senior Debt Origination Manager at the same company from June 2017 to March 2022. Marno also worked as an Associate Director at TradeRisks Ltd from January 2014 to June 2017, where they advised clients in various sectors on hedging, funding, and debt structuring. Marno has previous experience at Credit Suisse and KPMG South Africa, where they held roles such as Financial Engineering Group Supervisor and Corporate Finance Secondment. Marno began their career as a Summer Intern at KPMG South Africa in 2006 and 2007. 

Marno Jooste completed their education with a BAcc Hons degree from Stellenbosch University in 2008. Prior to that, they attended Selborne College from 2000 to 2004. Marno'sprimary education was completed at Stirling Primary School, where they obtained a Grade 7 qualification from 1993 to 1999. Additionally, Marno Jooste has obtained several certifications including the CISI Level 3 Certificate in Securities from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments - UK, the Chartered Accountant CA(SA) designation from the SAICA - South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) - Level 1 certification from the CFA Institute, and the FCA Approved Person status from the Financial Conduct Authority. 

Matt is European Head of Barings Portfolio Finance. He was previously European Head of Direct Private Investments at MassMutual where he led a team originating, structuring, executing, and managing investment grade portfolio and GP financing transactions. Prior to joining MassMutual, Matt spent ten years at Investec Plc where he was a founding member of the Fund Finance team and Head of Origination and NAV Financing. At Investec, Matt deployed bank and institutional investor capital into GP and Fund Finance solutions. Prior to that, Matt was at Barclays, investing in senior and subordinated credit. Matt graduated from Loughborough University with a MEng in Aeronautical Engineering and is an Associate of Corporate Treasurers. 

Michael applies his near two decades of experience in finance to provide GPs with advice on structuring and sourcing liquidity across all forms of fund finance products. These products include subscription finance, GP and executive finance, NAV finance (across all asset classes), preferred equity and hybrid structures. The insights of the Capital Solutions platform on the commercial aspects, is provided in parallel to the services provided by the legal practice, providing GPs with a unique and unparalleled multifaceted advice when raising finance.   

Michael previously headed the syndicate desk covering Fund Finance at a FTSE 100 bank, during which time he led some of the largest fund finance transactions and syndications in Europe. 

In Michael’s current role, as well as advising GPs on specific financings, he’s been instrumental to the development of a liquidity program for GPs looking to harness institution capital as a source of fund finance, as well as working with the Capital Markets practice develop a securitisation structure for single subscription financings. 

Michael has been a finalist in the Drawdown awards category for Advisor of the year for two years running. Michael studied with the Association of Corporate Treasurers, covering financial management accounting, economics and statistical analysis, corporate tax and business law. 

Neil Hamilton acts for arrangers, originators, servicers, and investors and has extensive experience in a variety of asset classes, including RMBS, CLOs, CMBS, auto loans and leases, trade receivables, and consumer loans. He also advises on structured products such as repackaging, TRS, and structured notes. He frequently advises clients in relation to the Securitisation Regulation and other legal and regulatory aspects of securitisation and structured finance transactions. 

Neil joined Mayer Brown in 2021. 

Neno is responsible for the overall management of NLC. Prior to forming NLC, Neno was Head of Investec’s Fund Solutions Sales and Distribution. 

In this capacity, Neno built Fund Solutions fundraising capabilities, raising first institutional capital in 2018 and over three years scaled the business to over €3bn of third-party capital. During his time at Investec Neno also grew fund finance loan distribution by more than 20 times, from €200m to over €4bn. Neno was part of Fund Solutions investment committee. 

Prior to becoming the Head of Fund Solutions Sales and Distribution, Neno was part of Investec’s New York Fund Solutions team responsible for origination and structuring of fund financing loans. 

Originally from Croatia, Neno moved to New York to attend university. Neno started his career at Lloyds Banking Group, where he worked in financial institution team focusing on Fund Finance. 

Neno holds Bachelor of Business Administration from Baruch Zicklin School of Business. 

Nick Shiren is a partner in the Capital Markets Group, resident in the London office. His practice focuses on structured finance, securitisation, derivatives and other bespoke financing solutions in a wide range of asset classes.  Nick has experience in public and private transactions backed by commercial real estate debt, corporate loans, fund interests and consumer loans.  He advises leading investment banks, arrangers, sponsors, issuers and asset managers throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. 

Nick is recognised as a leading practitioner by Legal 500 UK, IFLR1000 and Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom for Derivatives and Structured Products and Securitisation. In 2022, he was recognised by Law360 as a Structured Finance MVP for advising on leading securitisations.  

Nick received a Bachelor of Laws (honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland, and a Masters of Laws from the University of New South Wales.  

He is admitted to practice in England and Wales, the State of New York and in Ireland. 

Pramit Sheth joined Dawson in 2023 and has 18 years of credit experience in the structured and fund finance industry. Prior to joining Dawson, Pramit spent 12 years with Kroll Bond Rating Agency as a Senior Managing Director. In his most recent role there, Pramit was accountable for all new and existing Investment Funds debt ratings globally. Prior to that he was a senior member of the CMBS Structured Finance Ratings team, where he helped develop various methodologies and was part of the analytical credit team. Pramit holds a Bachelors Degree in Finance.

Rob is an investment actuary who has held a range of senior and technical positions during his 15 years in industry. As abrdn’s Head of Insurance and Pension Solutions, Rob focuses on the design and delivery of investment solutions for abrdn’s 100s of insurance and pension clients, for whom abrdn manages over $200bn. Rob also serves as a board director and chair of the risk, audit and customer committees for a Chinese life insurer. Previously, Rob was Standard Life’s Head of Group Actuarial and Capital Management. 

Roger is a director in the Fund Capital investment team within MAM Credit, which deploys third-party institutional capital into European fund finance facilities and in structured credit. Roger joined MAM in 2021.   

Before joining MAM, Roger was a director in Lloyds Banking Group’s Financial Sponsors team, working with fund finance borrowers in the UK and Europe on subscription facilities, GP financing and NAV and hybrid facilities. Roger held prior roles in Specialist Finance and in mid-market credit risk.     

Roger is a CFA© Charterholder, and graduated in Mathematics from the University of Durham.

Rory Callagy is an Associate Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group. He 
is currently responsible for global ratings and research in the asset management 
industry. This includes ratings on asset managers as well as investment funds. He 
joined Moody’s in 1998, working on analysis of investment funds. Rory regularly 
speaks at industry conferences and is frequently cited in the media on asset 
management industry trends and developments. Rory holds a BA in Government from 
Georgetown University

Rupert Wall is the head of Sidley’s Global Finance group in Europe and the Global Co-Head of Sidley's Structured Finance Practice. 

Rupert has over 20 years’ experience in structured finance transactions involving a diverse range of asset classes (including trade, consumer and other secured and unsecured receivables; auto, student, aircraft, shipping, corporate, mid-market/direct lending and other loans and leases; vehicle rental fleets and residential and commercial mortgage loans), encompassing a wide range of public and private financing structures (including RMBS, CMBS, ABCP conduits, covered bonds, whole-business securitisations and CLO/CBO/CDOs, as well as more esoteric or synthetic structures). 

Rupert advises fund sponsors, arrangers, originators, investment managers and investors on all aspects of securitisation, structured finance, asset-backed lending, fund financing, structured products and derivatives. He also advises counterparties in relation to general capital markets issuances, leveraged finance transactions and portfolio transactions (both performing and distressed/non-performing). 

As Global Head of Private Markets & Thought Leadership, Ruth Yang is responsible for developing and expanding S&P Global Ratings’ coverage of private credit alongside the franchise’s market engagement in both public and private markets through thought leadership outreach. She serves as the Chair of the cross-divisional S&P Global Private Debt Research Lab.   

Previously, she led the company’s Credit Research & Insights research team, overseeing the creation and publication of macro-credit and thematic research, risk assessments, rating transition analyses, and credit market forecasts while governing the Credit Conditions Committee (CCC) process. Ruth has more than 25 years of experience in the leveraged finance markets—including with Fitch Solutions as Managing Director for Leveraged Finance Intelligence, where she was responsible for developing their leveraged finance offerings; and with Leveraged Commentary & Data, where she managed leveraged finance content and operations globally for more than 15 years.  

Ruth received an A.B. with honors from Harvard University. 

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 recognised 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. 

Stuart McIntosh is Head of Subscription Finance EMEA. The EMEA team is part of the Global Fund Finance Solutions team at SMBC. Based in London his focus is on originating, structuring and execution of subscription credit facilities whilst also working with SMBC colleagues to deliver the bank’s global product suite to Private Equity Sponsor clients.  

Prior to joining SMBC in 2019, Stuart was European Head of Sponsor Coverage & Fund Finance at Commonwealth Bank of Australia London. He started his career at HSBC where he spent 10yrs in various investment management client coverage and support roles. Stuart is a graduate of Brunel University where he majored in Business. 

Suzie Neuwirth is the founder of Alternative Credit Investor magazine, having seen a gap in the market for good quality, focused coverage of the fast-growing alternative credit sector. She is an experienced journalist who has edited the business sections of two national newspapers and worked at London freesheet City AM. She has been interviewed on various broadcasting outlets including Sky News and Share Radio. Earlier in her career, she worked for a number of trade magazines and edited a Middle East-focused insurance publication for two years. 

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. 

Todd is an experienced head of content known for driving content-led strategies and revenue growth in the events industry. He is responsible for producing industry leading programs for the DealCatalyst community of borrowers, investors, and financial service providers.

Todd held the position as head of content at Fintech Nexus (formerly LendIt Fintech) for more than 8 years, building a leading digital and in-person events platform for fintechs, banks, and investors. He has produced content in all forms for the past 16 years, fostering relationships with industry leaders and establishing partnerships with leading media outlets. Todd is a sought-after speaker and moderator at industry events, bringing a proven track record of success in content and relationship management.

He is an avid reader and sports fan, following Notre Dame football, the Buffalo Bills, and the New York Mets.