Rich Gumer joined Kennedy Lewis in 2018 and is a Partner focused on investments in the Life Sciences sector. Mr. Gumer has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, focused primarily on medical devices and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Gumer, together with Steve DeNelsky, founded Life Sciences Alternative Funding (“LSAF”), a joint venture with Perella Weinberg Partners’ Asset Based Value Strategy, in early 2013 to provide structured growth capital to medical device and diagnostics companies. structured growth capital to the medical device and diagnostics companies. Prior to LSAF Mr. Gumer was a senior healthcare analyst responsible for all healthcare investing at Avenue Capital, a global hedge fund with $20bn of AUM. Prior to Avenue, Mr. Gumer was the Global Head of healthcare private equity investing for GE Capital. Mr. Gumer previously headed the healthcare investment banking unit of ABN Amro and was involved in more than $10 billion of equity, debt and M&A transactions.

Mr. Gumer has been on the board of several private companies, including Steri-Oss (sold to Nobel Biocare) and IVPcare (sold to Oncology Therapeutics Network).

Mr. Gumer has an AB in Biochemistry from Brown University and an MBA in Finance from University of California, Berkeley.

David Valiaveedan joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 and is a Partner focused on investments in Homebuilding and Land Development. Mr. Valiaveedan has over 30 years of experience in real estate focused on the structuring and placement of debt and equity for public and private companies across the homebuilding, multifamily, office and hotel segments. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Valiaveedan was at DW Partners, LP where he led the formation of Domain Real Estate Partners and targeted residential investment.

Prior to joining DW Partners in August 2015, David was Vice President of Finance & Treasurer at Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc, a leading national homebuilder. At Hovnanian, he was a member of senior management responsible for the treasury and corporate finance functions and served as a member of the company’s land acquisition committee. He focused on raising debt and equity capital at both the entity level through senior notes and share issuances, and at the community level through project debt and joint venture equity including land banking.

Prior to joining Hovnanian in 2005, Mr. Valiaveedan was a Vice President at AIG Global Real Estate where he led capital markets for a portfolio of six AIG sponsored global private equity funds and direct portfolio investments with a gross invested balance of over $6 billion.

Prior to AIG, from 2000-2002, he was a Vice President in Real Estate Investment Banking at Credit Suisse; he held the same position at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette before it was acquired by Credit Suisse. At both firms he was involved in the structuring and placement of debt and equity capital as well as mergers and acquisitions for real estate companies.

From 1997-2000, Mr. Valiaveedan was a Vice President at Credit Re Mortgage Capital, a merchant bank focused on credit enhancement for affordable housing. From 1994-1997, he was an Associate in Real Estate Investment Banking at Bankers Trust (now Deutsche Bank) and participated in the acquisition of distressed and non-performing loan portfolios from various sellers, including the Resolution Trust Corporation.

Mr. Valiaveedan holds a BS in Finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

Pierre Ahlsell de Toulza joined Kennedy Lewis in 2022 and is a Managing Director focused on investments in Europe. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr Ahlsell de Toulza was a Managing Director and the Head of Fixed Income at the Pictet Investment Office, a Geneva-based multi-family office owned by Banque Pictet. At Pictet he founded the Credit Opportunities team and was responsible for managing total return credit strategies across global macro, fixed income, credit, high yield, distressed and private debt. Prior to joining Pictet in 2012, Mr. Ahlsell de Toulza was the Head of Investments at SAF & Co Financial Services, a multi-family office. Prior to that, he worked at Louis Dreyfus Trading as a proprietary trader and at Fortis Investments as a Senior Emerging Markets Portfolio Manager. Mr. Ahlsell began his career in 1998 as an Emerging Markets Economist/Strategist at FP Consult.

Mr. Ahlsell de Toulza received a Masters degree in Econometrics from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas and a postgraduate degree in Business Strategy and Management from the University Paris IX Dauphine, where he graduated with honors.

Rizwan Akhter joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining York in 2014, Mr. Akhter was a Portfolio Manager at DiMaio Ahmad Capital where he managed a number of funds and investment portfolios specializing in leveraged loans, high yield bonds and structured credit, and at Credit Suisse in fixed income and investment banking primarily as a Structured Trader within the credit derivatives business.  Prior to that, Mr. Akhter worked at General Re Financial Products in fixed income derivatives structuring and at Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. as an investment banker.

Mr. Akhter earned a BA in Economics from Columbia College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Ayaz Asaf joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 and is a Managing Director focused on investments in Europe. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Asaf was a Corporate Development Executive at the ION Group, a European financial technology conglomerate. At the ION Group he was involved in corporate development initiatives supporting portfolio companies and new acquisitions/investments. Prior to joining ION in 2020, Mr. Asaf worked at CarVal Investors from 2014 – 2020 where he was a Managing Director responsible for investing in high yield and distressed debt. Earlier in his career, Mr. Asaf worked at Credit Suisse in the distressed debt trading group and Leveraged Finance investment banking. Mr. Asaf began his career at Deloitte, and in 2006 he qualified as a Chartered Accountant (Canada).

Mr. Asaf received a Bachelors degree in finance and mathematics from the University of Toronto in 2004. He is a Chartered Accountant and CFA Charterholder.

Tarik Dalton joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 and is a Managing Director on the Firm’s investment team.

Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Dalton was a Managing Director and Head of Leveraged Finance Desk Research at Goldman Sachs.  Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in 2021, Mr. Dalton served as Managing Director and Head of Business Development for Silverback Asset Management, an alternative investment manager based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Prior to joining Silverback, Mr. Dalton founded Price Cameron Woods which provided advisory services to investment managers.  From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Dalton served as Senior Advisor to the CIO and Director of Multi-Strategy Investments at the North Carolina Department of the Treasury where he was responsible for a ~$3 billion portfolio of diverse alternative investments. Mr. Dalton served as one of the four members of the $100 billion pension’s investment committee, as well as on the asset and liability steering committee.  From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Dalton was a Director at Credit Suisse in the Leveraged Finance Group, where he was a distressed credit analyst performing fundamental analysis on stressed and distressed corporate credits with a focus on autos and industrials, lodging, leisure, and gaming.  Mr. Dalton began his career as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

Mr. Dalton holds a BA in Economics-Philosophy from Columbia University and an MBA from The Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina where he also serves on the Next Generation Advisory Board.

Doug Gerowski joined Kennedy Lewis in 2019 and is a Managing Director focused on the Firm’s trading activities. Mr. Gerowski was formerly a Trader at Fir Tree Capital Management (2014 – 2019), a multi-strategy hedge fund, where he was responsible for trade execution, sell-side relationship management and investment idea generation across a full suite of asset classes globally. Mr. Gerowski previously served as an Associate within Fir Tree’s operations group from 2012 to 2014. He started his career as a middle office Associate at HedgeServ, a hedge fund administrator, from 2011 to 2012.

Mr. Gerowski graduated from Lafayette College in 2011 with a BA in Economics. He is a CFA charterholder.

Eric Im joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is the Managing Director of Research and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining York in 2014,  Mr. Im was a Research Analyst at Alcentra where he was primarily focused on investing in syndicated leveraged loans for its CLO and mutual fund portfolios. Prior to Alcentra, Mr. Im was a Leverage Finance Analyst at J.P. Morgan where he focused on originating, structuring, and executing high yield and leveraged loan financings for various M&A, leveraged buyout and refinancing deals in the technology, media, and telecom sectors.

Mr. Im earned a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sean Lobo joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 and is a Managing Director on the Firm’s investment team.

Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Lobo was a Principal at Vulcan Capital, the investment management arm of the family office of the late Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. At Vulcan Capital, Mr. Lobo built out the credit team’s initial research capabilities, helped lead the firm’s growth into private credit, and was responsible for the portfolio management, origination, and execution of credit investments.

Prior to joining Vulcan Capital in 2014, Mr. Lobo worked at Nomura, Citi Alternative Investments, Goldman Sachs Principal Strategies (contingent employee), where he invested in credit, public equities, special situations, and private equity. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lobo worked at Marsh Risk Consulting as a management consultant and at ABN AMRO on the structured credit and the debt capital markets desks.

Mr. Lobo received an MBA from The University of Chicago and a BA from Boston College. He is currently a member of the Alumni Board of Directors for The University of Chicago.

David Magid joined Kennedy Lewis in 2020 and is a Managing Director focused primarily on investments in the Industrials sector. Mr. Magid was formerly a Senior Vice President at York Capital from 2013 to 2020. He was responsible for sourcing and managing special situation and distressed investments across public and private markets. Mr. Magid began his career as an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse in the Leveraged Finance Origination & Restructuring and Debt Capital Markets Groups.

Mr. Magid received a BA in Economics and Politics from Brandeis University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Brieanne Nikrandt joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 and is a Managing Director focused on investments in Homebuilding and Land Development. Over her 20+ year career in real estate and finance, Ms. Nikrandt has originated and underwritten over $4 billion in land banking and joint venture transactions and has extensive experience restructuring, repositioning, and selling residential real estate assets.

Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Ms. Nikrandt was a Managing Director at DW Partners, LP where she was responsible for originating and overseeing residential investments as well as the day-to-day management of the portfolio.

Before joining DW Partners in October 2015, Ms. Nikrandt held a senior role at Community Development Capital Group (“CDCG”), the residential investment platform of GSO Capital Partners, a division of Blackstone. Prior to CDCG, from 2006-2013, she was a Vice President at Saybrook Community Capital where she was focused on residential real estate investments. From 2003-2006, Ms. Nikrandt served as Vice President of Real Estate at JPMorgan Chase where she managed several key residential real estate relationships. She began her career at Bank One.

Ms. Nikrandt graduated with a BA in Finance from the University of Iowa.

Philip Volpicelli joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 as a Managing Director. Mr. Volpicelli was formerly a Managing Director at Blackstone (formerly known as GSO Capital Partners) from 2015 to 2023 where he was most recently responsible for establishing and co-leading Blackstone Credit’s Investment Grade Private Placement business. In this role, Mr. Volpicelli re-underwrote a portfolio of inherited investments exceeding $12 billion and led new private placement investments for insurance clients. Mr. Volpicelli was a member of the Investment Committee for Blackstone Credit’s Liquid Credit Strategies and a Portfolio Manager for its high yield bond funds. While at Blackstone, Mr. Volpicelli also focused on broadly syndicated loans and high yield bond investments for the firm’s BDCs and opportunistic funds.

Mr. Volpicelli has experience as a research analyst covering broadly syndicated loans and high yield bonds across the Homebuilding, Building Materials, Industrial, and Services sectors. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Volpicelli worked at several investment banks, including Deutsche Bank (1997-1999, 2010-2015), Cantor Fitzgerald (2009-2010), Goldman Sachs (2006-2008), and CIBC World Markets in both London (1999-2003) and New York (2003-2006).

Mr. Volpicelli started his career at Bankers Trust, where he worked in the Retirement Services and Private Client Services divisions. He also served as an Officer in the United States Army for both Active Duty and Reserve Duty posts.

Mr. Volpicelli received a BS degree in Finance from Lehigh University in 1992 and an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business in 1999.

Sanjay Ghandikota joined Kennedy Lewis in 2022 and is a Director and CLO Analyst responsible for investments in the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Ghandikota was a Senior Analyst at Onex Credit where he focused on investing in the firm’s various leveraged credit strategies including CLOs, high yield, opportunistic credit and direct lending. Prior to Onex, Mr. Ghandikota was a Senior Analyst at DA Capital, where he concentrated on investments in their CLO and opportunistic portfolios, including special situations. He was a Senior Analyst in Credit Agricole’s CLO group and an Analyst at Orix USA before that.  Mr. Ghandikota started his career in the mergers & acquisitions group of PNC Bank, where he also received his formal credit training.

Mr. Ghandikota earned a BS in Biosciences and an MBA with distinction from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in India.

Adam Goldberg joined Kennedy Lewis in 2020 and is a Director focused on investments in Tactical Opportunities. Mr. Goldberg was formerly on the residential mortgage team at EJF Capital, responsible for non-agency loan acquisition, from 2019-2020. Prior to working at EJF, Mr. Goldberg was a founding employee at Seneca Mortgage Servicing. At Seneca, Mr. Goldberg was the SVP of Capital Markets and his responsibilities included acquisition and portfolio management of $50 billion mortgage servicing rights. Prior to Seneca, Mr. Goldberg was a Vice President at Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE: ABR) and subsidiaries where he traded mortgage securities and nonperforming loans. Mr. Goldberg began his career in Asset Backed Finance at Nomura and UBS.

Mr. Goldberg earned a BS in Finance from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from Stern School of Business at New York University.

Brandon Karsch joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is a Director and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining York in 2017, Mr. Karsch was an Associate at Kingsland Capital Management where he focused on investing in leveraged loans and high yield bonds primarily for its CLO portfolios. Prior to Kingsland, Mr. Karsch was an Analyst in TD’s corporate banking group where he focused on underwriting syndicated loan transactions.

Mr. Karsch earned a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Eugene Koltunov joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is a Director and Credit Trader responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Mr. Koltunov joined York in 2008 where most recently he was a Credit Trader focusing on performing credit, including high yield and leveraged loans.

Mr. Koltunov earned a BBA in Finance and a minor in Economics from Pace University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Rob Nitkin joined Kennedy Lewis in 2020 and is a Director focused on investments across the Real Estate and Homebuilding sectors. Mr. Nitkin was formerly an investment principal at GPS Investment Partners, an institutional family office, where he was responsible for evaluating and executing transactions across GPS’s distressed and private equity investment strategies. Prior to joining GPS in 2015, Mr. Nitkin was as an Associate in the Securities Division at Goldman Sachs. Previously, he worked at Ernst and Young LLP as a member of the Transaction Advisory group.

Mr. Nitkin earned his undergraduate degree from the Cornell University School of Engineering and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Ludwig Schrittenloher joined Kennedy Lewis in 2022 and is a Director focused on investments in Europe. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Schrittenloher was a Director and Portfolio Manager on the Credit Opportunities team at the Pictet Investment Office, a Geneva-based multi-family office owned by Banque Pictet. At Pictet he helped run the unconstrainted credit strategy which focused on opportunistic investments across the liquidity spectrum. Prior to joining Pictet in 2018, Mr. Schrittenloher was an Associate in the Investment Banking and Capital Markets division at Credit Suisse.

Mr. Schrittenloher received a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Mannheim in Germany.

Michael Sorna joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is a Director and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining York in 2018, Mr. Sorna was a Credit Analyst at AXA Investment Managers where he focused on investing in syndicated leveraged loans for its CLO and loan mutual fund portfolios. Prior to AXA, Mr. Sorna was a Credit Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Standard & Poor’s.

Michael earned a BBA in Finance from Hofstra University. He is a CFA charterholder.

William Schroeder joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is the Head of Capital Formation, Director of Portfolio Risk, and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining York in 2014, Mr. Schroeder was a CLO Support Analyst at Apollo Global Management where he was responsible for portfolio management support and compliance reporting for its CLO platform. Prior to Apollo, Mr. Schroeder was a CLO Operations Analyst at Prudential Fixed Income where he focused on CLO analytics and compliance reporting. Mr. Schroeder earned a BA in Economics from Rutgers College. He is a CFA charterholder.

Langston Johnson joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 as part of the Kennedy Lewis controlled strategic partnership (“Generate Advisors”) with York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC (“York”). He is a Vice President and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining York in 2020, Mr. Johnson was a Research Associate at Shenkman Capital Management where he focused on investing in high yield bonds, leveraged loans, and convertible bonds across the healthcare, telecommunications, and technology sectors.

Mr. Johnson earned bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Political Science from Southern Methodist University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Reed Kern joined Kennedy Lewis in 2020 and is a Vice President focused on investments in the Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) sector. Mr. Kern was formerly an Equity Research Associate with J.P. Morgan from 2014 to 2020. At J.P. Morgan he was responsible for covering the telecom, cable, satellite, and communications infrastructure sectors. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Kern was a cross-asset trading assistant at Third Avenue Management.

Mr. Kern earned a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Economics from Stonehill College in 2013.

Brian Morrison joined Kennedy Lewis in 2022 and is a Vice President and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Morrison was a Director at Z Capital Group where he focused on investing in syndicated leveraged loans for its CLO and opportunistic credit portfolios. Prior to Z Capital Group, he was an Associate in Oaktree Capital’s Special Situations Group.

Mr. Morrison earned a BA in Mathematics from Pomona College and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a CFA charterholder.

Brendan O’Brien joined Kennedy Lewis in 2022 and is a Vice President and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. O’Brien was a Credit Analyst at AXA Investment Managers where he focused on investing in US and European high yield debt for various bond fund portfolios. Prior to AXA, Mr. O’Brien was an analyst at Silvermine Capital Management.  

Mr. O’Brien earned a BA in Economics from Dickinson College. He is a CFA charterholder.

Matthew Palka joined Kennedy Lewis in 2021 and is a Vice President focused on investments in the Power and Life Sciences sectors. Mr. Palka was formerly an Analyst in the Financial Restructuring Group at Houlihan Lokey, from 2019 to 2021. He focused on advising companies on various transactions including in-court and out-of-court restructurings, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and capital raises. Mr. Palka previously served as an Analyst in the Financial Sponsors Group at Houlihan Lokey, from 2017 to 2019. Mr. Palka began his career as an Analyst in the portfolio management group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation where he focused on corporate and project finance loans, from 2015 to 2017.

Mr. Palka graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Economics from New York University in 2015 and is a CFA charterholder.

Hugo Vuachet joined Kennedy Lewis in 2022 and is a Vice President focused on investments in Europe. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. Vuachet was an Associate Vice President and Portfolio Manager on the Credit Opportunities team at the Pictet Investment Office, a Geneva-based multi-family office owned by Banque Pictet. Prior to joining Pictet in 2017, Mr. Vuachet worked in Corporate and Asset Finance at Macquarie Group and in M&A Advisory at Houlihan Lokey.

Mr. Vuachet received a MSc in Financial Economics from EDHEC Business School in 2015.

Kevin Westenburg joined Kennedy Lewis in 2019 and is a Vice President focused on investments in the Industrials, Fitness, and Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) sectors. Mr. Westenburg was formerly an audit Associate at Grant Thornton, a global public accounting firm, and worked in its Boston and New York City offices between 2016 and 2018. During that time he worked on manufacturing, insurance, NFP, and healthcare financial statement audits.

Mr. Westenburg received a BS in Accounting from Towson University in 2016 and a Master of Science in Finance from Boston College in 2017. He was formerly a Certified Public Accountant.

Odelya Yodice joined Kennedy Lewis in 2020 and is a Vice President focused on investments in the Consumer, Fitness and Business Services sectors. Ms. Yodice was formerly an Investment Banking Associate in the restructuring practice of Guggenheim Securities. At Guggenheim, Ms. Yodice advised corporations on the evaluation, structuring, and execution of transactions including in- and out-of-court restructurings, distressed asset sales, refinancings, exchange offers, and rights offerings across several industries. Prior to Guggenheim, she was a Valuation Analyst with Houlihan Lokey. Ms. Yodice started her career as an equity derivatives Sales & Trading Analyst with Citigroup Global Markets.

Ms. Yodice received a BBA in International Business & Marketing with a minor in Finance from The George Washington University.

Arina Brutyan joined Kennedy Lewis in November 2022 and is an Associate focused on investments in Europe. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Ms. Brutyan was a Junior Portfolio Manager on the Credit Opportunities team at the Pictet Investment Office, a Geneva-based multi-family office owned by Banque Pictet. Ms. Brutyan joined Pictet in 2021 where she focused on opportunistic investments in public and private credit across a range of sectors.

Ms. Brutyan received a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Freiburg and a MSc in Money and Finance from Goethe University. Ms. Brutyan is currently a Finance PhD candidate at the University of St. Gallen and was a Visiting Research Scholar at the Wharton School during the Spring 2022 semester.

Carlo D’Ascanio joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 and is an Associate and CLO Analyst responsible for the CLOs managed by Generate Advisors. Prior to joining Kennedy Lewis, Mr. D’Ascanio was an Assistant Vice President at SuMi Trust where he focused on investing in leveraged loans across the technology sector.

Mr. D’Ascanio earned a BA in Economics from Villanova University.

Jordan Duke joined Kennedy Lewis in 2023 and is an Associate focused on investments across Real Estate and Tactical Opportunities. Mr. Duke was formerly a Senior Analyst at Harbor Group International, a real estate private equity firm, where he oversaw and evaluated investments across Harbor Group’s real estate equity and credit strategies. Prior to Harbor Group, he worked in investment sales and client advisory at Newmark, a commercial real estate advisory and services firm.

Mr. Duke earned a BS/BA in Consumer Science and Business from the University of Alabama, a Graduate Certificate in Quantitative Business Foundations from the George Washington University, and a MS in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown University.