7th Annual Direct Lending Finance /CLO Forum

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Quorum by Convene | 1221 Avenue of Americas | New York City

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

AGENDA

  8:30 AM   Registration & Breakfast

  

  9:00 AM   Welcome and Opening Remarks      

                    Emmanuel Issanchou, Head of Global Markets Americas & Global Head of Credit Markets, Natixis CIB

                  

  9:15 AM   Alternative Sources of Capital For Private Credit

                    Panelists:              

                    Michael Conners, Managing Director, Golub Capital

                    Alex Zilberman, Managing Director, Blue Owl

                    Ben Love, Managing Director/Head of Fund Finance, Churchill Asset Management

                    Kristofer Pritchett, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Ares Management

                    Moderator: Eric Elbaz, Global Head of Credit Sales and Head of Sales & Financial Engineering Asia Pacific,

                    Natixis CIB

 

10:15 AM   Morning Break

 

10:30 AM   PE Sponsor Perspectives on Direct Lending versus Broadly Syndicated Financing Solutions

                    Panelists: 

                    Ken Chen, Partner, Credit and Capital Markets, Harvest Partners 

                    Tyler Craig, Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets, OMERS                                                                    

                    Jeff Groves, Managing Director and Head of Debt Capital Market, Sentinel

                    Moderator: Bill Ernest, Head of Financial Sponsors, Natixis CIB 

             

11:30 PM   Keynote Speaker

                    The State of Private Markets: Unlocking Growth and Opportunity                     

                     Kamal Bhatia, President and Chief Executive Officer, Principal Asset Management   

 

12:30 PM    Lunch/Networking Break


  1:30 PM    Economic Outlook Amid Policy Uncertainty 

                     Christopher Hodge, Head US Economist, Natixis CIB

 

  1:45 PM    CEO Panel   

                     Panelists:                                                                                   

                     Sengal Selassie, CEO and Founder, Brightwood 

                     Daniel Wolf, CEO, Cerberus Business Finance and Senior Managing Director, Cerberus Capital Management

                     Moderator: Chris Gilbert, Co-Head Securitized Products Group, Natixis CIB 

 

  2:45 PM    Afternoon Break                   

 

  3:00 PM    Where is all the M&A?

                     Panelists:     

                     Dave Crescenzi, President, Financial Sponsors & Leveraged Finance, Midcap Financial Services

                     Andy Frank, Head of Origination, Fortress Investment Group

                     Drew Miller, Managing Director, AB Private Credit Investors

                     Dave Thompson, Managing Director, PGIM

                     Moderator: Asif Khan, Co-Head Securitized Products Group, Natixis CIB 

 

  4:00 PM    Investor Insights

                     Panelists:

                     Brandon Berthiaume, Managing Director, Barings

                     Angela Best, Managing Director, MetLife

                     Jason Cameron, Head of US Secured Finance, Insight Investment

                     Michelle Liu, Head of Structured Credit Investments, Fidelity

                     Moderator: Daniel Lepore, Head of Liability Management, Cliffwater

 

  5:00 PM   Closing Remarks     

                    Emmanuel Issanchou

 

  5:15 PM   Reception to follow

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Kamal Bhatia

President and Chief Executive Officer
Principal Asset Management

Kamal Bhatia is president and chief executive officer for Principal Asset Management, the global investment management business of Principal Financial Group. Bhatia is responsible for strategy, investment performance, and client growth for the global investment unit and the total company's $712 billion (as of December 31, 2024) of assets under management (AUM), including the general account. Bhatia continues to serve as president of Principal Funds and chairman of Principal Funds Board at Principal Asset Management.

Bhatia previously served as senior executive managing director and global head of investments for Principal Asset Management. Prior to joining Principal, Bhatia was CEO at OC Private Capital, a joint venture company between OppenheimerFunds and the Carlyle Group, where he focused on private credit investing. He is an industry veteran bringing significant experience in investment solutions, business strategy, client engagement, and product development across multiple global asset managers. Bhatia has worked at OppenheimerFunds, TIAA, Mellon Asset Management, and Citigroup in various leadership roles.

He is a CFA® charterholder and earned his bachelor's from IIT, Kanpur (India) and master's from Washington University in St. Louis. Bhatia serves on the Investment Company Institute Board of Governors as well as additional boards in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe.

SPEAKERS

Brandon Berthiaume

Managing Director

Barings

Angela Best

Managing Director

MetLife

Jason Cameron

Managing Director

Barings

Ken Chen

Partner, Credit and Capital Markets

Harvest Partners

Michael Conners

Managing Director

Golub Capital

Tyler Craig

Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets

OMERS

Dave Crescenzi

President, Financial Sponsors & Leveraged Finance

Midcap Financial Services

Eric Elbaz

Global Head of Credit Sales and Head of Sales & Financial Engineering Asia Pacific

Natixis CIB

Bill Ernst

Head of Financial Sponsors

Natixis CIB

Andy Frank

Head of Origination

Fortress Investment Group

Chris Gilbert

Co-Head Securitized Products Group

Natixis CIB

Jeff Groves

Managing Director and Head of Debt Capital Markets

Sentinel

Christopher Hodge

Head US Economist

Natixis CIB

Emmanuel Issanchou

Head of Global Markets Americas & Global Head of Credit Markets

Natixis CIB

Asif Khan

Co-Head Securitized Products Group

Natixis CIB

Daniel Lepore

Head of Liability Management

Cliffwater

Michelle Liu

Head of Structured Credit Investments

Fidelity

Ben Love

Managing Director/Head of Fund Finance

Churchill Asset Management

Drew Miller

Managing Director

AB Private Credit Investments

Kristofer Pritchett

Partner and Portfolio Manager

Ares Management

Dave Thompson

Senior Principal

PGIM

Sengal Selassie

CEO and Founder

Brightwood 

Daniel Wolf

CEO, Cerberus Business Finance

and

Senior Managing Director

Cerberus Capital Management

Alex Zilberman

Managing Director

Blue Owl

Rates & Currencies

We deliver interest rate flow and markets solutions for investment and hedging purposes on the asset and liability sides of clients’ balance sheets across all major developed & emerging markets, and provide liquidity on government bonds, short- and long-term swaps, as well as foreign exchange spot, forwards and options.

Credit

Through our global origination, structuring, syndication, trading and sales setup, we provide financing, capital markets access and liquidity to our clients. We help them originate and structure credit portfolios on a wide range of assets including retail and corporate credit; raise capital securities, investment grade and high yield bonds and loans; and manage their credit assets.

Equity

We serve financial institutions and individual clients through private and retail banks, helping them to optimize their equity investments & exposure on individual stocks or indices globally, and designing bespoke indices to meet their specific requirements, including their ESG positioning. Our equity activities also include Strategic Equity Capital Markets, which combines the expertise of Global Markets and Investment Banking to provide corporations and strategic investors with advice and solutions on all equity related topics.

Commodities

We provide trading, structuring, sales and research expertise to clients active in the commodities markets, and design integrated risk management and financing solutions to support the activities of industry participants including producers, importers, traders, and end users. We also provide market making on the main commodity markets across base and precious metals, crude oil, natural gas & power, refined products and carbon emissions.

Global Securities Financing

We support funds, pension funds, clearing houses, central banks and commercial banks in optimizing their asset portfolios (bonds, credit and equity) using repos, securities financing and derivatives. We provide solutions that allow clients to raise liquidity against securities on their balance sheets, maximise the yield on their assets and cash holdings, adjust their market exposure and hedge their risks.

 

Quorum by Convene

1221 Avenue of Americas
10020 New York, NY

CONTACT

Natixis CIB Americas Headquarters

1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Tel: +1 (212) 891-6100