Seasoned team grounded
by diversity and teamwork

As a collaborative, minority-owned firm, we bring together diversely talented professionals focused on generating strong returns for our partners.

Meet the team

Our deeply experienced team members have worked together
for decades, honing their skillsets in private credit, origination,
underwriting, structuring, asset management and more.

  • Art Mbanefo
    Founder, CEO & CIO
    Art Mbanefo
    Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer

    Mr. Mbanefo is the Founder and CEO of Phoenix, serving also as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner.

    He was previously Senior Managing Director and CIO at ORIX Corporation USA, where he also served as Advisory Director to the Board and Chair of the Investment Committee. At ORIX, Art held positions on the US Board of Directors and its significant subsidiaries in corporate finance, real estate and private equity. Before ORIX, he held leadership roles at Barclays Bank PLC, including CIO of Barclays International. Mr. Mbanefo also held senior positions at Credit Suisse and was a derivatives trader at JP Morgan.

    Mr. Mbanefo is an Independent Director at BGC Group where he also chairs the Audit Committee and ESG Committee. He also chairs the Advisory Board of Datatailr LLC. He holds a BS in Economics from Loughborough University and is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

  • Tim Throsby
    Chairman
    Tim Throsby
    Chairman

    Mr. Throsby is the Chairman of Phoenix Merchant Holdings (PMH) and a Managing Partner at Phoenix.

    He was former CEO of Barclays Bank PLC, overseeing Investment Bank and Markets, Corporate Bank, and various credit and merchant acquiring businesses. Previously, he held leadership roles at JP Morgan, including Global Head of Equities and also served in senior roles at Citadel Investment Group, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Macquarie Group.

    Mr. Throsby is the Chair of the Board of Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals, and an Independent Director at Light and Wonder, Inc., Lumos Global, as well as Zen Educate, Inc. He also serves as a director for XTX Markets Limited. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and studied Law at Oxford University and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

  • Rafael Colorado
    President & General Counsel
    Rafael Colorado
    President & General Counsel

    Mr. Colorado is the President and Managing Partner at Phoenix. He also serves as the General Counsel, overseeing firm, fund, and deal-related legal matters.

    He was previously Managing Director and Senior Counsel at Hudson Advisors, part of Lone Star Funds, focusing on underwriting and asset management in North and Latin America. Formerly, he was a Partner at Perkins Coie, supporting mortgage banking transactions. Prior to Perkins Coie, Mr. Colorado was a Vice President at Hudson Advisors. He also worked as an attorney at Countrywide Financial and an accountant at Ernst & Young.

    Mr. Colorado holds a BBA and MPA from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law. He is a Certified Public Accountant and licensed by the Texas State Bar.

  • Colbey Arden
    Managing Director
    Growth Origination
    Colbey Arden
    Managing Director
    Growth Origination

    Mr. Arden is a Managing Director and Partner at Phoenix, focusing on growth companies.

    Previously, he was Head of M&A and Corporate Development at Clear Street and a Managing Director at ORIX Corporation USA in its Special Opportunities Group. He also held a Principal role at HighPost Capital, leading control buyout investments. Mr. Arden began his career as an Analyst at JP Morgan. He has completed over 50 transactions totaling over $3.6 billion.

    Mr. Arden holds a BS in Business Administration from UNC Chapel Hill and an MBA from NYU Stern. Mr. Arden is also an Advisor to Clear Street.

  • Jacques Barouhiel
    Managing Director
    Client Solutions Group &
    Analytical Solutions Group
    Jacques Barouhiel
    Managing Director
    Client Solutions Group &
    Analytical Solutions Group

    Mr. Barouhiel is a Managing Director at Phoenix. He is responsible for leading both Client Solutions Group (CSG) and Analytical Solutions Group (ASG), primarily focusing on structuring across the platform. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Tembo, overseeing structuring for renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. With over 20 years of experience, he developed structured solutions at Barclays for over a decade, focusing on risk mitigation and capital optimization. Prior to Barclays, he was Head of Structuring at Orchard Global Asset Management. He began his career as a credit structurer at JPMorgan.

    Mr. Barouhiel holds a ME in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Centrale Paris.

  • Esther Bernstein
    Managing Director
    Chief Operating Officer
    Esther Bernstein
    Managing Director
    Chief Operating Officer

    Ms. Bernstein is a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Phoenix, managing all aspects of the platform’s operations and finance functions.

    In her prior role, Ms. Bernstein served as Head of Strategy and Platforms Development for Securitized Products at Barclays, where she spent 16 years at the firm and played a pivotal role in building and expanding global business lines, including Latin America Equities, as well as Securitized Products spanning Origination, Financing, and Trading. Prior to Barclays, Ms. Bernstein served as a business manager in Latin America equities at Deutsche Bank.

    Ms. Bernstein holds BSc in Accounting and Auditing from Moscow State University.

  • Esther Chiang
    Managing Director
    Special Counsel
    Esther Chiang
    Managing Director
    Special Counsel

    Ms. Chiang is a Managing Director and Special Counsel to Phoenix assisting the General Counsel on legal matters related to funds and fund-related transactions.  She was previously a Partner at Paul Hastings, Goodwin and Kirkland & Ellis, focusing on fund formation and related transactions.  Prior to her legal career, Ms. Chiang was an engineer for Qualcomm.

    Ms. Chiang holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BA in Foreign Languages and Literature from National Taiwan University, a MS from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering and a JD from New York University School of Law.

  • Cassie Clark
    Analyst
    Cassie Clark
    Analyst
    Investments

    Ms. Clark is a returning Summer Analyst on the Investment Team at Phoenix. A rising senior at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, she is pursuing a major in Science, Technology, and International Affairs with a minor in Computer Science. At Georgetown, Ms. Clark currently serves as a board member of the Georgetown Undergraduate Student Investment Fund, having been an active member since Fall 2021.

  • Roland Domann
    Managing Director
    Director of Research
    Roland Domann
    Managing Director
    Director of Research

    Mr. Domann is a Managing Director and Partner at Phoenix, serving as Director of Research.

    Previously, he was Head of Structured Financing and Distribution for Europe at MUFG Securities in Paris. Prior, he led ETF and Index Investment Products EMEA at BlackRock and held senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Nomura International. At Barclays Bank PLC, he was Head of Institutional Structuring for EMEA. He began his career as a quantitative analyst at Credit Suisse.

    Mr. Domann holds a Diplom Ingenieur degree from FAU Erlangen and a PhD from Imperial College London.

  • Alon Ein Eli
    Analyst
    Alon Ein Eli
    Analyst
    Technology

    Mr. Ein Eli is an Analyst at Phoenix, focused on project management of our proprietary portfolio management system. He previously worked as a data scientist and a researcher at Centarrow Systems responsible for developing models and optimizing algorithms. Prior to Centarrow, he was a algorithmic trader at Barak Capital since 2020.

    Mr. Ein Eli had served in the Israeli Navy, submarines special unit as a team leader until 2016.

     

    Mr. Ein Eli holds a BSc of Mathematics from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and MSc of Applied Mathematics from Tel Aviv University.

  • Nicholas Hatcher
    Associate
    Nicholas Hatcher
    Associate
    Investments

    Mr. Hatcher is an Associate at Phoenix, specializing in underwriting. He previously worked as an Analyst in Bank of Ireland’s Leveraged Finance group, preparing investment memorandums and supporting middle-market senior debt investments. Before that, he was an Associate at Ernst & Young LLP in the Strategy & Transactions and Assurance groups.

    Mr. Hatcher holds a BS in Accounting from Bentley University and an MS in Accounting from the College of William & Mary.

  • Jorge Jaramillo
    Managing Director
    Chief Risk Officer
    Jorge Jaramillo
    Managing Director
    Chief Risk Officer

    Mr. Jaramillo is a Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer, leading all risk related activities, including underwriting, portfolio management and workout functions across the firm.

    Previously, he was Managing Director, Chief of Staff to the CEO and CIO, and Head of Sustainable Investment Strategies for ORIX Corporation USA, supporting the CEO and CIO with the execution of the business and investment strategy and leading the sustainable investment solutions. Mr. Jaramillo has held a variety of senior investment management responsibilities, including Head of ORIX America’s division, and leading roles in executing PE investments, recapitalizations, DIP financings, and exit and rescue financings for middle-market companies. Prior ORIX USA, Mr. Jaramillo was with Highland Capital Management, ORIX Leveraged Finance, and Wells Fargo’s Capital Markets Group.

    Mr. Jaramillo received a BS in Finance from Butler University and an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University.

  • Mark Kuczynski
    Principal
    Mark Kuczynski
    Principal
    Investments

    Mr. Kuczynski is a Principal at Phoenix, specializing in credit underwriting. Previously, he was a Director at ORIX Corporation USA, focusing on principal investments. Before ORIX, he spent eight years at Barclays in leveraged finance credit risk, serving as Vice President. His role included underwriting syndicated loans and managing the senior secured loan portfolio.

    Mr. Kuczynski holds a BA in Economics and International Studies from Boston College and is a CFA charterholder and member of the CFA Institute.

  • Tim Loughlin
    Managing Director
    ABL Origination
    Tim Loughlin
    Managing Director
    ABL Origination

    Mr. Loughlin is a Managing Director at Phoenix, focusing on asset-based lending. Prior to Phoenix, he was a Managing Director for the Asset-Based Lending business at ORIX Corporation USA. He co-founded CapFlow Funding and Newgate Capital Holdings and spent 14 years at Merrill Lynch, including as Group Head of the European ABL platform. With over 30 years of experience in asset-based lending.

    Mr. Loughlin holds a BA in Business Administration from Villanova University and an MBA from Fordham University.

  • Adrian Macedo
    Managing Director
    Head of Investments
    Adrian Macedo
    Managing Director
    Head of Investments

    Mr. Macedo is a Managing Director and Partner at Phoenix, serving as Head of Investments, leading sourcing and origination for debt and equity investments.

    Previously, he was a Managing Director at ORIX Corporation USA. With over twenty years in private equity and investment banking, he has held senior positions at Lone Star Funds and ENESA. At Lone Star, he helped deploy nearly $4 billion in equity. He began his career as an investment banker at UBS and Evercore.

    Mr. Macedo holds a BS in Economics from ITESM, an MIA from Columbia SIPA, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

  • Robert Molina
    Managing Director
    Client Advisory Group
    Robert Molina
    Managing Director
    Client Advisory Group

    Mr. Molina is a Managing Director and leads the Client Advisory Group (CAG), responsible for capital formation, marketing, and brand management at Phoenix. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Briarcliffe Credit Partners, leading fundraising engagements. He also served as Partner at Langschiff Capital Partners and Strategy Head, Private Markets at UBP Asset Management. Earlier roles include Vice President at Accordion Partners and investment banking positions at Jefferies and UBS, focusing on TMT sectors. His career began at J. Safra Sarasin Asset Management, working on hedge fund manager selection.

    Mr. Molina holds a BS in Finance and International Business from NYU Stern and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.

  • Obi Nwokorie
    Managing Director
    Asset Solutions
    Obi Nwokorie
    Managing Director
    Asset Solutions

    Mr. Nwokorie is a Managing Director at Phoenix Merchant Solutions, leading asset liability management solutions as part of an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) for Phoenix’s insurance clients.

    Previously, Mr. Nwokorie was Executive Vice President of Alternative Credit Products and Chief Investment Officer at Impac Mortgage. Earlier, he served as Managing Director of mortgage trading at Seer Capital Management and held management roles at UBS and Credit Suisse. He has over 30 years of capital markets experiences and has purchased and securitized over $25 billion of non-agency mortgage loans.

    Mr. Nwokorie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from Abia State University in Nigeria and an M.B.A from the University of Baltimore.

  • Dimitri Offengenden
    Managing Director
    Analytical Solutions Group
    Dimitri Offengenden
    Managing Director
    Analytical Solutions Group

    Mr. Offengenden is a Managing Director at Phoenix, focusing on risk analytics. Previously, he led the development of risk monitoring system and analytics for ORIX Corporation USA. Prior to ORIX, he served as a Managing Director at Barclays Investment Bank, specializing in quantitative strategy. Before Barclays, he held senior roles at JP Morgan’s core analytics group and worked on emerging markets at Bank of America. With 16 years at Goldman Sachs in quantitative analytics and a start in fixed income derivatives at Salomon Brothers, he has over 27 years of experience in the field.

    Mr. Offengenden holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a MS in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University.

  • Thomas Parry
    Principal
    Chief Compliance Officer
    Thomas Parry
    Principal
    Controller &
    Chief Compliance Officer

    Mr. Parry is a Principal at Phoenix, serving as Controller and Chief Compliance Officer. He was previously a Vice President at PennantPark Investment Advisors, overseeing accounting, finance, and reporting for a publicly traded Business Development Company. Before that, he was an Assistant Vice President at PennantPark, leading trade operations and operational functions. Earlier roles include Senior Accountant at Fortress Investment Group, handling accounting and reporting for credit funds, and an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in real estate audit.

    Mr. Parry holds a BBA and MBA in Accounting from Pace University.

  • Bryan Robertson
    Principal
    Bryan Robertson
    Principal
    Investments

    Mr. Robertson is a Principal at Phoenix, focusing on credit underwriting. He previously served as Vice President of Private Credit at 1505 Capital, managing over $1 billion in capital and developing structured credit strategies. Before that, he was an investment banker at Deutsche Bank, specializing in esoteric ABS across various sectors.

    Prior to his finance career, Mr. Robertson served in the US Marine Corps, 1st Intelligence Battalion.

    Mr. Robertson holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University.

  • Ashlynn Sanchez
    Analyst
    Ashlynn Sanchez
    Analyst
    Client Advisory Group

    Ms. Sanchez is an Analyst at Phoenix, supporting the Client Advisory Group and business management. She is a senior at NYU College of Arts & Science, majoring in Clinical Psychology.

  • Benjamin Shtainberg
    Analyst
    Benjamin Shtainberg
    Analyst
    Technology

    Mr. Shtainberg is an Analyst at Phoenix, a full stack engineer focused on development of our proprietary portfolio management system. He has experiences in developing risk management platform and server-side logic using Python and Django framework.

    Mr. Shtainberg had served in the Israeli Intelligence Corps, unit 8200 – Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps, until 2021.

  • Richard Yun
    Principal
    Richard Yun
    Principal
    Client Advisory Group

    Mr. Yun is a Principal at Phoenix and focuses on capital formation and business management at Phoenix. He previously served as Director for the Office of the CEO & CIO at ORIX and previously as Director of HR Strategy and Chief of Staff. Prior to ORIX, he was Vice President of Executive Compensation Strategy & Planning at JP Morgan Chase & Co. and previously a Vice President at JP Morgan Asset & Wealth Management and began his career as an Analyst at GLG.

    Mr. Yun holds a BS in Finance with from State University of New York at Albany, completed an Economics program at Seoul National University, and has an MS in OB Systems & Analytics from NYU Tandon.

Advisory Board

  • Anar Chudgar
    Senior Advisor
    Anar Chudgar
    Senior Advisor

    Ms. Chudgar is the Co-President at Artemis Real Estate Partners, where she is responsible for both equity and credit investing platforms. She sits on the Firm’s Investment Committee and serves as Portfolio Manager for the Income and Growth Fund.

    Prior to joining Artemis in 2019, Ms. Chudgar was a Partner at GCM Grosvenor, where she co-led the creation and growth of the real estate platform. Prior to that, Ms. Chudgar was a Principal in Alternative Investments at Credit Suisse Group AG, and held positions at Onex Real Estate Partners, iStar Financial, Inc, and JP Morgan Chase.

    Ms. Chudgar currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pension Real Estate Association as well as being a member of the PREA Foundation. She serves as Committee Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at Spark Youth, and as a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) for the Americas. Ms. Chudgar is also an Executive Council Member at the Real Estate Finance and Investment Center at the University of Texas at Austin and for New York Women Executives in Real Estate (WX).

    Ms. Chudgar graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is on the Board of Advisors of Penn Live Arts.

  • Julia Goh
    Senior Advisor
    Julia Goh
    Senior Advisor

    Ms. Goh is a Non-Executive Director (NED) of The Mercantile Investment Trust plc, Pension Insurance Corporation plc & Pension Insurance Corporation Group, and Schroder AsiaPacific Fund plc where she also chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. She is also Director & Trustee of Children of the Mekong and Board Advisor for Handbag Clinic.

    She was previously a NED of Boussard & Gavaudan Holding Limited in Guernsey and previously Board Advisor for Lucy Choi London.

    Until 2018, Ms. Goh served as Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, and Business Manager as Managing Director at Barclays Investment Bank. At the bank, she held various committee roles including, Markets Executive Committee, Markets Transaction Approval Committee, Markets Promotion Committee, Diversity Councils, and Women’s Network. Prior, Ms. Goh was Managing Director and Global Head of Risk for Prime Services at Credit Suisse, where she also held various committee roles including Prime Executive Committee, Promotion Committee, Diversity Councils, and Women’s Network.

    Earlier in her career, Ms. Goh was Vice President at Nomura International and Tax Manager at Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC).

    Ms. Goh holds a BS in Accounting & Finance from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and MS in Mathematical Trading and Finance at Bayes Business School, City University of London. Ms. Goh is also FCA and is based in London.

  • Marc Kutik
    Senior Advisor
    Marc Kutik
    Senior Advisor

    Mr. Kutik is retired risk executive who was most recently Senior Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer for ORIX Corporation USA (ORIX USA) where he was responsible for identifying, assessing, and mitigating all risk components across the organization, including credit, market, operational and liquidity risk. Mr. Kutik joined the firm in 2014, bringing more than 30 years of investment, turnaround and risk management experience.

    Prior to joining ORIX, Mr. Kutik served as Senior Managing Executive and Chief Risk Officer for Tokyo-based Aozora Bank, Ltd., where he oversaw the bank’s market, operational, credit and liquidity risk processes. He was on the Management Committee and the Credit and Risk Investment Committees.

    Earlier, he served as Chief Credit Officer for Garrison Investment Group, a leading middle-market credit and asset-based investor. He served in similar Chief Credit Officer and Portfolio Manager positions at StoneCastle Partners, LLC, Forest Investment Management and Shinsei Bank, Ltd.

    Mr. Kutik began his investment and risk management career analyzing and investing in highly leveraged companies — first as an asset-based lender and workout specialist at Citicorp and progressing through a variety of roles and companies to become global head of all fixed-income research at ING Barings, LLC. He earned a BA from Rutgers College and an MBA from Boston College.

  • Michael Marquez
    Senior Advisor
    Michael Marquez
    Senior Advisor

    Mr. Marquez is the co-founder of CODE Advisors, an independent full-service merchant bank and Morado, a seed-stage fund, focused on early-stage investments in hard core technology companies. Mr. Marquez has a track record of launching successful ventures, and he enjoys playing a role in building strong teams. He brings a broad range of experience with business development, investments, M&A transactions, new media and Internet strategy development and corporate innovation.

    Prior to co-founding Morado and CODE Advisors in 2010, Mr. Marquez served as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for CBS Interactive, where he was responsible for all business and corporate development globally. Prior to CBS Interactive, he was a senior executive in the corporate development team at Yahoo! until 2006, where he worked closely with senior executives throughout the company on numerous acquisitions and new initiatives.

    Earlier in his career, Mr. Marquez was a Senior Manager at Gap Inc., an M&A Senior Associate at Robertson Stephens. Prior to that, he was an Associate at Merrill Lynch and a Senior Consultant at Accenture.

    Mr. Marquez earned a BS in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  • Ben Weston
    Senior Advisor
    Ben Weston
    Senior Advisor

    Mr. Weston most recently served as Global Head of Alternative Investments and Chief Investment Officer of the Alternative Investments Department at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Prior, Mr. Weston was CEO of Helvetica Wealth Management Partners, an asset management company controlled by Credit Suisse and the State of Qatar. He was previously Chief Executive of Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments.

    Prior to joining the buy side in the late 1990s, Mr. Weston had a long career in derivatives at JP Morgan, Bankers Trust, and Credit Suisse in New York, London and Hong Kong.

    Mr. Weston has a BA in International Studies from Miami University and an MA in International Affairs with Honors in Economics from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

*This information is for illustration and discussion purposes only. Phoenix Merchant Partners makes no assertion about any particular comparable firm providing or any employee’s previous employment experience guaranteeing any particular knowledge, skill or service level.