2025 Credit Funds Forum

Sam Badawi, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

Sam Badawi is a partner at Ropes & Gray where he focuses on the credit opportunities practice. Sam advises clients on a range of debt and equity capital markets and securities transactions, with an emphasis on distressed and special situations, covering workouts and restructurings both in and outside of bankruptcy. Sam advises clients in connection with public and private securities investments, offerings and liability management transactions, including tender, consent solicitation and exchange transactions, rights offerings and backstop arrangements, as well as general corporate and regulatory matters under securities laws and stock exchange regulations. He represents both investment funds (including ad hoc creditor groups) as well as issuers and borrowers.

Jennifer Harris, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

Jennifer Harris is a partner in the firm’s finance group, where she focuses on the credit opportunities practice. Jennifer advises clients on a range of lending and other financial matters. Her practice focuses on special situations and lender-side finance transactions, including distressed financings, structured financings, secured lending and debt restructuring both in and outside of bankruptcy. She represents financial institutions, corporations, issuers, special servicers, and official and ad hoc creditors’ committees.

Mobi Ahmed, Managing Director, Centerbridge

Mobi Ahmed joined Centerbridge in 2018. Prior to joining Centerbridge, Mobi was an analyst in the Restructuring & Special Situations Group at PJT Partners. Mobi is a graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Joseph Goldschmid, Managing Director at Oak Hill Advisors

Joseph Goldschmid serves as a Managing Director with a primary focus on stressed, distressed and special situations investments at Oak Hill Advisors (OHA), an alternative investment firm with over $95 billion under management across performing and distressed credit related investments in North America, Europe and other geographies. Prior to joining OHA, he was a Director in the Distressed & Special Situations Group at Angelo Gordon. During his career, Mr. Goldschmid has led numerous high-profile restructuring cases and served on many official and ad hoc creditor committees.

Carolyn Hastings, Partner, Bain Capital Credit

Carolyn Hastings joined Bain Capital in 2008. She is a Partner on the Credit team and a member of the Private Credit Group. Carolyn is also a member of the firm’s Credit Committee. Throughout her tenure in the Private Credit Group, Carolyn has held origination, underwriting, and portfolio monitoring responsibilities. She has broad experience structing investments that span the balance sheet and has partnered with dozens of private equity sponsors to finance companies in the technology, telecom, healthcare, consumer, and hospitality industries.

Sarah Clinton, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

Sarah is a partner in the asset management group. Sarah’s practice focuses on representing investment advisers and registered investment companies in regulatory, transactional, and compliance matters. She advises asset management clients regarding the establishment, registration, operation, and reorganization of registered open-end and closed-end fund products, including the development and offering of new funds, the formation of trading subsidiaries, and advice regarding investment activities, sub-advisory and other service provider relationships, exemptive relief, compliance programs, and board matters.

Kevin Michel, Managing Director, Blackstone

Kevin Michel is a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Legal Group. Mr. Michel is actively involved in the legal structuring and management of Blackstone’s retail-focused funds, with a particular focus on investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Michel was an Associate in the Asset Management Group of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he focused on the formation and operation of hedge funds and registered investment companies. Mr. Michel received a B.A. in History from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Jenny Neslin, General Counsel & Secretary, TPG Angelo Gordon

Ms. Neslin joined TPG Angelo Gordon’s legal team as a Managing Director in April 2021 and serves as General Counsel and Secretary of AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MITT), TPG Twin Brook Capital Income Fund (TCAP) and TPG Private Equity Opportunities, L.P. (T-POP). Prior to joining TPG Angelo Gordon, Ms. Neslin was Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel at Colony Capital, Inc. (“Colony Capital”), which is now known as DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG). Ms. Neslin began her legal career as an associate in the Capital Markets group at Clifford Chance US LLP.  Ms. Neslin holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Business from New York University and a Juris Doctor from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.

Gregory Rubin, General Counsel & Partner, Oak Hill Advisors

Gregory S. Rubin has overall management responsibility for the firm’s global legal and compliance services. He serves on various firm committees including the risk, compliance, and valuation committees. Mr. Rubin previously served as a Vice President and Regulatory Counsel in the Institutional Securities Group at Morgan Stanley and as a corporate and securities attorney at Lewis and Roca, LLP. He earned a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and a B.B.A. from the University of Cincinnati. 

 

Eva Carman, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

Eva Carman is the longtime co-head of Ropes & Gray’s global securities and futures enforcement practice. She is an industry-leading regulatory enforcement lawyer with more than 30 years of experience representing advisers and broker-dealers in SEC, CFTC and FINRA examinations, enforcement investigations and internal investigations. Eva’s experience includes representing all types of advisers—RIAs, private equity funds, hedge funds, real estate funds, mutual funds and credit funds—in more than 150 SEC examinations and more than 70 enforcement investigations. She works globally, including with all 12 U.S. offices of the SEC. She has a deep understanding of all key regulatory areas, including fee and expense conflicts, use of affiliates, valuations, marketing, insider trading, sales practices, and disclosure issues.

Eve Ellis, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

Eve provides advice across a broad range of regulatory matters with a particular focus on fund regulation and has done so for over 15 years. In the latest edition of The Legal 500, clients describe Eve as “excellent,” “personable, accessible, very knowledgeable and commercially-focused.” Peers comment they are “impressed by her knowledge and commitment.” Eve also has an in-depth understanding of fund formation matters, allowing her to provide complex regulatory advice in context.

 

Joel Wattenbarger, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

Joel Wattenbarger is a partner in the asset management group and co-head of the firm’s private funds regulatory practice. Joel represents investment management clients, focusing primarily on hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity funds and fund managers. He advises clients on the establishment of funds and fund management companies, trading and other operational issues, and compliance issues faced by registered investment advisers. Most recently, Joel has devoted substantial time to advising hedge fund and other private fund clients on the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and the proposed rules and final rules issued by the SEC under the Act. Joel also has considerable experience representing institutional investors in private investment funds.

Adam Dobson, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

A transactional asset management partner, Adam Dobson represents asset managers and institutional investors with respect to their direct, secondary and co-investment programs, as well as bespoke transactions. Adam represents sovereign wealth funds and government pension plans based in Europe, Canada, Asia and Africa as they deploy capital in a range of transactions across asset classes and geographies. Adam is especially skilled in navigating legally complex transactions and brings a commercial, but creative approach to resolving thorny issues. With experience across different types of funds transactions, including fund restructurings, preferred equity financings and asset manager M&A, Adam is able to offer a broad perspective when advising clients. Prior to joining the firm, Adam was an assistant attorney general in the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney General's Office.

Katie Waite, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

A partner in Ropes & Gray’s asset management group, Katie Waite leads investment advisers, credit funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, family offices and institutional investors through a broad range of fund formation, transactional and regulatory matters. Katie represents clients in connection with GP recapitalizations, structured secondary transactions, preferred equity transactions and seed investments. Katie’s broad practice encompasses both sponsor and investor representation across fund launches, transactional and regulatory matters, giving her unique insight into all aspects of an asset manager’s business. She works to find practical, commercial solutions for clients, leveraging the firm’s global platform to provide real-time advice regarding market developments in a dynamic industry.

Scott Beckelman, Global Co-Head of Secondary Advisory, Jefferies

Mr. Beckelman is Global Co-Head of Jefferies Secondary Advisory and has over 20 years of secondary market experience advising leading limited partners, financial sponsors and other illiquid asset owners on a range of secondary market transactions across private equity, private credit and real asset strategies. Prior to joining Jefferies to start the business in 2021, Mr. Beckelman was a Managing Director at Greenhill focused on secondary advisory and its predecessor Cogent Partners (acquired by Greenhill) which he joined in 2005. Mr. Beckelman previously worked at Landmark Partners, a leading secondary investment firm that is now owned by Ares. Mr. Beckelman holds a B.A. from Trinity College.

Jennifer Cunningham, Investor Solutions, Managing Director, NXT Capital

Jennifer is the Managing Director of Investor Solutions at NXT Capital. Jennifer plays a leading role in structuring, negotiating, and onboarding managed programs and is responsible for managing NXT’s investor relationships. Before joining NXT in 2015, was a Vice President at GE Capital, holding positions in both Direct Lending and Asset Management. Jennifer earned a B.A. in Communications from Illinois State University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Loyola University Chicago.

Ed Goldstein, Partner, CIO of Coller Credit Secondaries, Coller Capital

Ed is Chief Investment Officer for Coller Credit Secondaries, beyond his day-to-day origination activity, and is based in the firm’s New York Office. Prior to joining Coller Capital in 2009, Ed was a Managing Director at GSO Capital Partners’ London and New York offices where he had responsibility for debt origination. He also worked at Credit Suisse as a Director for its Investment Banking division.