Corporate Organization
Kenneth J. Kencel
President and CEO
(212) 763-4610
Mr. Kencel partnered with the principals of Churchill Capital to establish Churchill Financial in February of 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Kencel served as Head of Leveraged Finance for Royal Bank of Canada and Head of Indosuez Capital, a middle market merchant banking and asset management business. During his over 20-year career, Mr. Kencel has had a broad range of experience in middle market leveraged finance, having been a founder of the high yield finance businesses at both Chase Securities and SBC Warburg (now UBS). He serves on the Board of Advisors of The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
BS – Business Administration, magna cum laude, Georgetown University;
JD – Northwestern University School of Law
George Kurteson
Head of Middle Market Finance
Churchill Financial LLC
(212) 763-4622
Mr. Kurteson joined Churchill Financial from GE/Antares where he was Senior Managing Director and a member of the GE/Antares leadership team. Mr. Kurteson’s career spans over 30 years in middle market leveraged lending, including senior level positions, at Heller Financial, Fleet Bank and Maryland National Bank.
BS – Accounting, cum laude, Lehigh University;
MBA – Finance, Lehigh University
John M. Casparian
Co-President
Director of Operations and Administration
Churchill Pacific Asset Management LLC
Mr. Casparian is a leveraged bank loan portfolio manager responsible for bank loans, private placements and workouts. Prior to joining Churchill Pacific, LLC, Mr. Casparian was Vice President and Director of Private Placements for Transamerica Investment Services, Inc., from 1989 to 1999. There, he was responsible for the origination, underwriting and trading of the firm's $2.5 billion private placement and $1 billion leverage bank loan portfolios. Prior to his work at Transamerica, Mr. Casparian managed a high yield bond portfolio and co-managed the middle market bank-lending group for Gibraltar Financial. In addition, from 1973 to 1982, he was responsible for bank loan origination, underwriting, and syndication for Lloyds Bank.
BS – Business Administration (Finance), University of Southern California; Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management, Stanford University
Kevin J. Hickam
Co-President
Director of Portfolio Management
Churchill Pacific Asset Management LLC
Mr. Hickam is a leveraged bank loan portfolio manager and an industry analyst specializing in capital goods, metals & mining and services. Prior to joining Churchill Pacific, LLC, Mr. Hickam was a securities analyst and bank loan trader at Seneca Capital Management from 1999 to 2000. Mr. Hickam was also AVP and Portfolio Manager at Transamerica Investment Services, Inc., from 1989 to 1999, where he was responsible for co-management of a leveraged bank loan portfolio, the management of the Transamerica Premier Cash Reserve money market fund and research of high yield investments in the capital goods, manufacturing, transportation and metals industries.
BS – Finance, California State University, Chico;
MBA – Finance, Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University; CFA
Stephen J. Ahearn
Co-President
Director of Research
Churchill Pacific Asset Management LLC
Mr. Ahearn is a leveraged bank loan portfolio manager, director of research and an industry analyst specializing in chemicals, energy and textile/apparel. Prior to joining Centre Pacific, LLC, Mr. Ahearn was Vice President and Director of Fixed Income Research at Transamerica Investment Services, Inc., from 1994 to 1999. His major responsibilities there included managing several high yield accounts, coordinating a credit research team of seven analysts, and providing credit analysis in his assigned sectors. He was also responsible for the fixed income management portion of three balanced mutual funds. In addition, from 1985 to 1994, Mr. Ahearn held several investment positions with General Electric Investment Corporation.
BS – Finance, magna cum laude, Boston College; CFA
Kevin C. Dooley
General Counsel
(612) 673-6708
Mr. Dooley came to Churchill Financial from Churchill Capital which he joined in 1996 as Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel. He became General Counsel in 2002. Prior to joining Churchill Capital, Mr. Dooley was in private practice and served as lead outside counsel for investment transactions for Churchill Capital since its founding in 1989.
BA – St. Lawrence University; JD – Syracuse University
Alastair G.C. Merrick
Chief Administrative Officer
(212) 763-4612
Mr. Merrick joined Churchill Financial from E*TRADE Bank, where he was Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that he worked for 17 years at IBJ Whitehall, a NY-based commercial bank focused on middle market lending, where he was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations. He also spent 12 years at Coopers & Lybrand in the audit area in both New York and London.
BA – Economics, The University of Leeds, United Kingdom; CPA
Randy Schwimmer
Senior Managing Director
Head of Capital Markets
(212) 763-4646
Mr. Schwimmer joined Churchill Financial from BNP Paribas Securities where he was a Managing Director and Head of Leveraged Finance Syndication. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, Mr. Schwimmer spent 15 years at JP Morgan Chase in Corporate Banking and Loan Syndications in various capacities. He was responsible for organizing, structuring and syndicating leveraged loans, including cash flow and asset based loans along with junior debt such as mezzanine and high yield securities.
BA – English, Trinity College;
MA – English Literature, University of Chicago
David Heilbrunn
Senior Managing Director
Head of Corporate Strategy & Development
(212) 763-4656
Mr. Heilbrunn joined Churchill Financial from Bear Stearns and Co., where he was Senior Managing Director and CDO Group Head. Prior to joining Bear Stearns, he spent 12 years with JPMorganChase, most recently serving as Managing Director, Structured Credit Products, responsible for the Bank's North American CDO origination and execution activities.
BS – magna cum laude, State University at Albany
MBA – with Distinction, University of Michigan Business School
CPA – State of New York
Gerhard Lombard
Senior Vice President/Controller
(212) 763-4617
Mr. Lombard joined Churchill Financial from Ernst & Young where he was a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Practice responsible for financial and regulatory reporting, audit execution and client service delivery. While with Ernst & Young, he worked in the firm's Africa, Europe, Middle Eastern and most recently, Los Angeles locations. Prior to that, Mr. Lombard was with Arthur Andersen, Amsterdam.
BAcc – University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; Hons BComm ‐ University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; CA(SA)
Nicole O'Brien
Vice President – Human Resources
(212) 763-4614
Ms. O'Brien joined Churchill Financial in January 2006 from Mizuho Corporate Bank where she was an Assistant Vice President in the Human Resources Department, responsible for servicing employee benefit programs. Ms. O'Brien began her career in 1995 at IBJ Whitehall Bank & Trust Company in the Retirement Plans Department specializing in administering client 401K, Pension Plans and Non-Qualified Plans.
BS – Business Management, St. John's University