Our Team

Tony CappellFounding Partner

As a debt investor with over 15 years of experience in the specialty finance space, Tony has completed over 150 deals comprising over $5B in total credit. Prior to founding Chicago Atlantic, Tony was a Managing Director and Head of Underwriting at Stonegate Capital, a private credit investment firm focused on lower middle market businesses and emerging brands. At Stonegate, he was responsible for credit, underwriting and the growth strategy of the loan portfolio. Previously, he was a Senior Underwriter at First Midwest Bank and at Gibraltar Business Capital where he worked on a number of specialty finance transactions including technology, software, turnaround/distressed and re-discount loans. He began his career at Wells Fargo Capital Finance focused on a wide array of industries and loan structures.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BA, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

John MazarakisFounding Partner

John brings over 20 years of entrepreneurial, operational, and managerial experience to Chicago Atlantic. Over the last two decades, he has launched successful companies in real estate, retail, hospitality, and food logistics compounding an initial investment of $50,000 to over $75mm in value over a period of approximately 25 years. He has built, owned, and operated 35+ restaurants with more than 1,200 employees. In addition, John has built a real estate portfolio of over 30 properties, developed over 1 million square feet of commercial real estate, and completed multiple real estate financing transactions. John bought a small distribution company with $12mm in annual sales and grew it to over $90mm in less than two years. He has invested in and served as an advisor to multiple successful startups. John’s day to day involvement includes running operations and evaluating investments for Chicago Atlantic.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BA (Economics), University of Delaware

Andreas BodmeierFounding Partner

Andreas has been working at the intersection of finance and analytics for over 15 years. Prior to founding Chicago Atlantic, Andreas co-founded a boutique technology and consulting firm focused on FX and commodity risk management for multi-national corporations as well as advising on capital structure decisions and investor relations. He was also a co-founder of an SEC-registered online investment adviser for 401(k) or 403(b) retirement accounts. As Chief Investment Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Andreas built the firm’s investment methodology and compliance program. Andreas has also served as a consultant for hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, commercial and consumer lenders, and pharmaceutical companies. His academic research at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business focused on capital market anomalies, portfolio allocation, and risk management.

Ph.D. (Finance) and MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
MSc (Statistics), Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
BSc (Mathematics), Freie University Berlin, Germany
BSc (Physics), Freie University Berlin, Germany
BSc (Business Economics), University of Hagen, Germany

Michael EizengaManaging Director & Head of Real Estate

Michael is Managing Director & Head of Real Estate at Chicago Atlantic. Michael brings over 15 years of real estate investment and development experience to Chicago Atlantic.  As a Principal at The Jaffe Companies, one of the Midwest’s preeminent mixed-use development firms, Michael’s responsibilities have included acquisitions, development, financing, and leasing activities within the company’s portfolio. Most recently, Michael developed The Arboretum of South Barrington, a $100 million upscale lifestyle center that was sold to Starwood Capital Group, as well as the Edens Collection, a $60 million Target-anchored retail project in the City of Chicago.

Prior to joining The Jaffe Companies in 2007, Michael was Vice President at The Binswanger Company where he consulted with national corporate clients on their real estate holdings. In his early career, Michael worked in Paris, Milan, Brussels, and Frankfurt in Seimen’s global finance group.

Michael actively supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Kovler Diabetes Center at The University of Chicago, and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BS, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

Peter SackManaging Director & REIT Co-President

Peter is a Managing Director at Chicago Atlantic and serves as Co-President of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc., our affiliated mortgage REIT. Peter is a credit investor and portfolio manager with experience investing across the capital structure. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Peter was a Principal at BC Partners Credit where he sourced and underwrote across the firm’s opportunistic and senior lending strategies in a wide array of industries. Peter managed the portfolio of BC Partners Lending Corporation, a private business development company with assets of over $100 million deployed in middle-market private loans. Peter also founded the firm’s cannabis vertical and has underwritten over $130 million in related transactions. Previously, Peter was an Associate at Atlas Holdings LLC, a private-equity firm focused on supporting distressed manufacturing and distribution companies globally. Peter speaks Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
BA, Yale University, graduated cum laude
Fulbright Scholar, Sun Yat-sen University China, US Department of State

David KiteManaging Director & COO

David is a Managing Director at Chicago Atlantic and serves as COO of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc., our affiliated mortgage REIT. David began his career as a commodities trader with Commodities Corp where legendary traders Paul Tutor Jones, Bruce Kovner and Louis Bacon launched their careers. Soon after, David founded K&K Capital Management, where he created a proprietary trading strategy which at its peak managed in excess of $250 million and generated average annual net returns of 19% for nearly a decade.  After, David became the Managing Partner of Lionheart, a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds. In 2013, David transitioned to real estate as Principal and COO of Free Market Ventures where he oversaw all aspects of the company including deal structure, capital raising, due diligence, acquisitions, asset management and dispositions.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BA (Economics), University of Illinois

Andrew LovittGeneral Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Andrew is General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Chicago Atlantic. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Andrew was an attorney in the Private Credit group at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, where he advised lenders and borrowers in numerous finance transactions, including cash flow and asset-based transactions, leveraged buyouts, refinancings, recapitalizations, and loan repayments.

JD, University of Pennsylvania Law School
BA, Purdue University

Matthew TaylorPartner & CEO, Chicago Atlantic Trident

Matthew has nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience. He has lead companies in all life cycles, from venture-backed, to distressed asset turnarounds.  His industry experience includes telecommunications, healthcare, finance, defense, and technology.  He previously served as CEO-in-Residence of a Venture Studio and has raised and deployed capital in both Venture and Private Equity transactions. He is an active start-up investor and board member.  He began his career as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps, where he served 10 years.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
MSc, (Finance) Southern Methodist University
BS, Indiana University

Dmitriy LampertPartner & COO, Chicago Atlantic Trident

Dmitriy joins Chicago Atlantic Trident following a sixteen year legal career, most recently as Partner of international law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and before that at Jones Day, leading private equity and credit dealmaking, risk mitigation and restructuring. As a deal lawyer, Dmitriy has advised banks, direct lenders and other financial institutions in a broad array of financing transactions, including real estate as well as traditional and sponsor led M&A and LBOs. He is also accustomed to advising corporate trustees, third party administrative agents, servicers, issuing and paying agents and other providers in all stages of domestic and international structured transactions involving conventional debt, syndicated debt, asset-backed securities, CDOs, CLOs and municipal finance. Dmitriy is a first-generation Ukrainian-American immigrant. He manages the group’s legal and operational teams and is able to effectively translate and negotiate with international parties. 

JD, Law, The George Washington University Law School
Certificate, International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London
BA (Computer Science and International Relations), Lake Forest College

Konstantinos NakisPartner & CFO, Chicago Atlantic Trident

Konstantinos (Gus) joined Chicago Atlantic as co-founder of Chicago Atlantic Trident strategy. He is Partner and CFO of Chicago Atlantic Trident and a member of the Investment Committee. Prior joining Chicago Atlantic Konstantinos worked at International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group.

MSc (Finance), London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)
MSc (Applied Mathematics), George Washington University
BSc (Mathematics and Economics), George Washington University

Hayden KellyPartner, Head of Investor Relations

Hayden, currently a Partner at Chicago Atlantic and Head of Investor Relations, brings with him a wealth of experience in capital raising and investor relations. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Hayden dedicated two years to the orthopedic field. During his pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, he contributed his expertise to Novo Nordisk. Following graduation, he assumed a pivotal role as one of five partners tasked with the growth and maintenance of a $14.5 million orthopedic sales territory for Stryker Orthopedics in Brooklyn, NY. Within Chicago Atlantic, Hayden has been instrumental in forging new client relationships and fortifying the firm’s existing client base. Presently, his responsibilities encompass managing investor relations, with a specific focus on Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), family offices, and institutional clients for Chicago Atlantic’s private funds. Notably, Hayden is also pursuing further education at the University of Chicago.

BS, University of Delaware

J.T. ParisiCorporate Counsel

J.T. is Corporate Counsel at Chicago Atlantic.  Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, J.T. was an attorney in the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins LLP and the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.  His experience ranges from advising lenders, corporate borrowers and private equity sponsors in multi-million and billion dollar transactions, including acquisition financing, debtor-in-possession and distressed situations, leveraged debt, general corporate and fund financings on a domestic and international scale.

JD, Vanderbilt University Law School
BA, Indiana University

Phil SilvermanInterim Chief Financial Officer

Phil currently serves as the Interim Chief Financial Officer of our publicly traded mortgage real estate investment trust (“REIT”), Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ: REFI). Mr. Silverman brings over 10 years of finance and accounting experience to Chicago Atlantic with a focus on financial reporting, operations, and internal controls for investment management firms ranging from $100 million to over a $1 billion in assets under management.

From June 2021 to September 2022, prior to his appointment as the Interim Chief Financial Officer of REFI, Mr. Silverman served as the Vice President and Assistant Controller for the firm’s private credit funds, and Chief Financial Officer of Chicago Atlantic Group, LLC. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Phil spent nearly 9 years with BDO USA, LLP, where he most recently served as a Senior Manager in the Financial Services and Private Equity group, responsible for end-to-end execution of audits of private equity and venture capital funds, small business investment companies, business development companies and other asset managers.

He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Ryan MuranakaManaging Director, Digital Mining

Ryan is a Managing Director at Chicago Atlantic, leading the Digital Mining strategy. He played a key role in developing over 2 exahash of bitcoin mining data centers and has experience in negotiating power agreements with utilities. Additionally, he oversees the management of Chicago Atlantic’s fleet of bitcoin miners.

Ryan also has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate bridge financing, having overseen more than $2 billion in directly originated secured real estate loans across various asset classes. Before joining Chicago Atlantic, Ryan worked in loan origination and asset management for family offices and public corporations, including Yam Capital and IMH Financial Corporation, where he was affiliated for 15 years.

BS (Business & Communications), Arizona State University

Jia PengSenior Advisor, Digital Mining

Jia recently joined Chicago Atlantic Digital Mining as a Senior Advisor. She has over 18 years of experience in investment banking, global capital markets, asset allocation, and private investing. She is a founding partner of Flying Tiger Capital, a family office investment platform. Prior to Flying Tiger Capital, Jia was a senior banker at the Leveraged Finance and Global Capital Markets department of UBS Investment Bank in New York. She is an energy and power sector specialist and well-versed in the U.S. electric power market. Over her decade-long investment banking career, she has provided M&A, IPO financing, and various types of capital strategy advisory services for Fortune 100 corporations and large private equity firms. Jia also worked at Citigroup and GE Capital earlier in her career and was a co-founder of a New York-based Macro hedge fund. With a wealth of global capital market experiences under her belt, she turned her attention to venture investing in recent years with a focus on AI, Fintech, and Web3. Her investment portfolio includes category leaders in AI/AR space, such as tomorrow.io and XR Health. Jia currently serves on the Board of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII), a prestigious Chicago-based non-profit organization with over 2 million cumulative members worldwide.

Jia lives in Chicago with her family. She is a mother of two young children, an avid skier, and a certified alpine ski instructor.

Jasmine Yu ZhangSenior Advisor, Digital Mining

Jasmine brings over a decade of experience in entrepreneurship, technology, and investments to Chicago Atlantic Digital Mining. She is a founding partner of Flying Tiger Capital, a family office and venture capital firm, and a 2021 LinkedIn China Top Voice and Venture Partner at VU Venture Partners. Before her investment career, she co-founded two startups, and worked at Nordson Corp, Nokia, and HERE Technologies. With experience in Asia and throughout Europe, Jasmine graduated in Strategic Decision and Risk Management at Stanford University and holds a Master of International and Development Economics from the Australian National University. She is passionate about promoting gender equality and financial education for adults and children alike. A world traveler, Jasmine has visited over 45 countries and currently lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two young children.

David EnrightManaging Director, Credit

As a debt investor with over 21 years of experience in the specialty finance space, David has completed over 300 deals comprising over $7.5 billion in total credit. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, David was a SVP and responsible for the strategy of Specialty Finance and C&I lending at S&T Bank (NASDAQ: STBA). Previously, he was National Head of Sales at First Midwest Bank and Co-founder of Specialty Finance for First Financial Business Capital, a division of First Financial Bank. While at both First Midwest and First Financial Business Capital, David worked on a number of specialty finance transactions including mezzanine loans, unitranche in almost every industry sector, asset-based lending, technology, software, turnaround, rediscount and many more. He began his career at National City Bank focused on a wide array of industries and loan structures.

BA (Economics),  Kenyon College

Jack FlahertyManaging Director, Credit

Jack joins after 14 years at GAM in New York City as Investment Director and co-head of credit strategies firmwide and also was co-manager of GAM’s unconstrained/absolute return bond strategy responsible for credit positions ranging from investment grade to high yield debt including both asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities allocations. In addition, he has extensive experience in structured credit, trade finance, lending strategies and insurance linked securities. He was previously global co-head of credit fixed income and global head of emerging markets at UBS and worked as a managing director at Barclays Capital in charge of credit fixed income.

Jack Flaherty holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois, an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago and the Series 7, 63 and 24 qualifications. He is currently living in Los Angeles.

Thomas GeoffroyManaging Director, Head of Accounting and Finance

Thomas Geoffroy serves as the Principal Financial and Accounting Officer & Head of Accounting and Finance for Chicago Atlantic Group. Mr. Geoffroy has 20 years of accounting and finance experience with expertise in financial reporting, operations and internal controls for the financial services industry including extensive investment fund experience. Before joining Chicago Atlantic, Mr. Geoffroy was Chief Financial Officer of a NASDAQ listed mortgage REIT, a publicly traded credit-focused asset management firm, and family office. Prior to that he was Finance and Operations Principal (CFO), General Securities Principal and Chief Compliance Officer for United Capital Markets, a registered broker-dealer specializing in structured finance products. Mr. Geoffroy worked as Controller at Ares Management, and before that he served as Vice President of Fund Administration and Financial Reporting at S.A.C. Capital Advisors. Mr. Geoffroy spent 9 years as a CPA with Ernst & Young where he was a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Organization’s hedge fund audit practice.

He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Kristi KeeleyController, Private Funds

Kristi serves as Controller, Private Funds at Chicago Atlantic and is responsible for financial accounting and reporting of Chicago Atlantic’s private investment vehicles.

Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, she worked as a Manager at KPMG, gathering over 6 years of experience in accounting and taxation. During her tenure at KPMG, she focused on private credit and private equity fund clients, gaining exposure to many facets within the industry and region.

BS (Accounting & Finance), DePaul University
Kristi holds the CPA designation and is a CFA charter holder.

Christopher LeeController, Private Funds

Chris has a strong background in financial accounting and reporting of private investment vehicles. He has extensive experience in fund administration, including venture capital funds and private equity funds. With his role as Controller at Chicago Atlantic and previous positions at Aduro Advisors, Alter Domus, and RSM, Chris has developed a deep understanding of managing and overseeing financial operations in the investment industry.

In addition to his expertise in finance, Chris also possesses knowledge and skills in process automation using Python and VBA. This proficiency allows him to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency in financial operations. Whether it’s leveraging Python for data analysis or utilizing VBA to automate repetitive tasks, Chris utilizes his technical capabilities to drive process improvement and optimize financial processes.

MS (Data Science) – Northwestern University
BS (Accounting) – University of Illinois at Chicago

Chris holds the CPA designation.

Alan SchuchnerChief Analytics Officer

Alan is a Chief Analytics Officer at Chicago Atlantic focusing on underwriting and portfolio management. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Alan spent 5 years of his career in management consulting, having worked with multiple clients focusing on strategy and operations across various industries, including financial services, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and others. During his consulting career, Alan conducted multiple assessments of the business operating model of important national players and provided strategic recommendations to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs through digitalization, automation, and resource management. Alan has also worked as an underwriting analyst for Stonegate Capital, a Chicago-based ABL firm, performing financial analysis, implementing a portfolio management system, and making recommendations on loan pricing and terms.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BSc (Industrial Engineering), ITBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Lev SlavinVice President, Analytics

Lev is a Vice President at Chicago Atlantic focusing on analytics. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Lev spent 12 years of his career providing hands-on expertise in corporate finance, strategy, and analytics as a consultant to entrepreneurial companies in a broad range of industries ranging from fintech to healthcare to education. During his consulting career, Lev focused on building the tools and processes that facilitate fact-based decision making, strategic planning and financial management necessary to a company’s successful development. For 10 of those years, Lev also worked in curriculum innovation and academic support at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he was instrumental in developing and teaching a simulation-based capstone MBA course in which teams integrate knowledge from several business disciplines to grow a struggling startup into a successful competitor in a rapidly evolving industry. Lev spent the first 8 years of his career on an internal consulting team at CSX Transportation and in risk management at Citigroup.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BS (Finance), University of Florida

Elizabeth QuinlivanVice President, Credit

Liz is a Vice President, Credit at Chicago Atlantic and is responsible for deal structuring, underwriting, and portfolio management of private debt investments. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, her credit experience spans underwriting and portfolio management in both bank and private debt settings. Liz was a cash flow lending underwriter in Fifth Third Bank’s Leveraged Finance group, a leveraged buyout cash flow lending underwriter and portfolio manager at Madison Capital Funding in their software and technology enabled services team, and she structured and underwrote M&A and growth capital financings for a private debt social impact fund. Prior to her credit career, Liz worked in consulting and strategic advisory for nearly 5 years at Ocean Tomo in their valuation practice.

MBA (Finance & Business Strategy), DePaul University
BA (Economics), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Matt BradyVice President, Real Estate Credit

Matt Brady is a Vice President, Real Estate Credit at Chicago Atlantic. He is responsible for analyzing commercial real estate lending opportunities, assessing risk, building financial models and evaluating borrower and guarantor financial strength. Matt brings 20 years of commercial real estate lending experience to the team. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Matt was responsible for underwriting loans for YAM Capital, one of the largest national family office bridge lenders focused on bridge loans for commercial real estate. Previously he was with IMH Financial Corporation, a public reporting commercial real estate bridge lender, for 16 years where he played an integral role in the firm’s funding and management of over $1 billion in debt and equity investments.

MBA, Arizona State University
BS, Arizona State University

BJ Garing, RAVice President, Real Estate

BJ is Vice President of Real Estate at Chicago Atlantic. BJ brings over 18 years of Architecture and Construction experience to Chicago Atlantic.  As a Project Director at UPMC Corporate Construction and Real Estate, one of Western PA’s prominent Hospital systems, BJ’s responsibilities included Project management, design, equipment planning, contracts & construction oversight. Most recently, BJ was part of the team overseeing the New UPMC Presbyterian Bed Tower, a 17+ story 1.2 million sf addition and renovation to serve 636 all new state of the art patient rooms and 12 additional OR’s.

Prior to joining UPMC Corporate Construction and Real Estate in 2008, he was with Perkins Eastman as an Associate, BJ has more than 13 years of experience in a variety of project types. He was involved with the firm’s work in senior living and has worked on projects across the full continuum: supportive housing, CCRCs, assisted living, long-term care and chronic care hospitals. His oversight provided continuity in design quality, documentation, technical execution, and process.

BJ actively supports youth hockey as a volunteer coach and is a licensed architect in the State of Pennsylvania.

ARCH, Kent State University
BS, Kent State University

Ali ZamaniSenior Director, Equity & Credit

Ali is a Senior Director at Chicago Atlantic focusing on equity and credit investments with emphasis on investment research, execution and portfolio management. He has over 13 years of investment and capital markets advisory experience. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic Group, Ali spent ~4 years at a North American hedge fund covering public and private equity as well as structured product investments across various industries. Prior to that, Ali spent six years in investment banking at BMO Capital Markets and other investment banking institutions covering a multitude of sectors including Tech, Telecom, Media, Metals & Mining, and Diversified Industries. To date, he has been involved in over $10 billion of M&A, equity, and debt financing transactions.

Master of Financial Economics (Finance), University of Toronto Rotman School of Management & Economics
Master of Arts (Economics), York University
Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Economics) — York University
Bachelor of Science (Honours in Biology), York University

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

Holder of Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) Designation

Steven ErnestVice President, Originations

A longtime advocate and investor in cannabis, Steve has worked in the cannabis space since 2015. He first began his journey as an angel investor and then, in 2016, became a serial entrepreneur as a key founding member for two cannabis investment bank advisories, Mazakali and Sharp Capital. Before moving into cannabis, Steve worked as a wealth management advisor at J.P. Morgan, managing a book worth more than half a billion dollars for his clients. Regardless of industry, Steve has spent the entirety of his career focused on building community. He is passionate about building relationships, advising brands, and consulting with companies looking to navigate the capital markets. He views himself as and strives to be a connector of dots in the cannabis landscape. In his spare time, he sits on the finance committee for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the largest global youth-led network dedicated to ending the War on Drugs. An avid researcher and writer, Steve has appeared on multiple cannabis podcasts and written editorials and informative articles for industry leading publications like MJBiz.

BS (Risk Management and Finance),  Illinois State University

Alex RigosVice President, Underwriting

Alex is a Vice President at Chicago Atlantic focusing on underwriting and portfolio management of private debt investments in cannabis and non-cannabis companies. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Alex spent 4 years in private credit, most recently at LBC Credit Partners, focusing on underwriting direct lending investments to private equity sponsor-backed companies in a variety of industries. Alex spent the first 5 years of his career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in underwriting, portfolio management, and origination roles across the commercial banking and specialty lending platforms. In his last few years at Bank of America, he performed as the senior underwriter in a specialty lending group focused on complex recurring-revenue debt structures.

BS, University of Dayton

Nathan BergerVice President, Underwriting

Nathan is a Vice President at Chicago Atlantic, focusing on underwriting and portfolio management of private debt investments. Nathan has 5 years of experience spanning roles in underwriting, corporate finance and investor relations, and investment banking. Nathan was most recently an Investment Associate with AFC Gamma (NASDAQ: AFCG), an institutional capital provider to the cannabis and commercial real estate industries. Prior to this experience, Nathan worked on the Corporate team at Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR), a leading healthcare REIT, supporting the company’s corporate financial planning and investor relations functions. Nathan began his career at Livingstone Partners as an Analyst supporting M&A and debt advisory mandates in the Industrials and Business Services sectors. He completed internships with Capstone Partners, a middle-market investment bank, and Morgan Stanley in private wealth management.

BS (Finance), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
MBA (Finance & Healthcare Management), Johns Hopkins University

Edward StumDirector, Borrower Operations

Ed is the Director of Borrow Operations at Chicago Atlantic and brings over 30 years of operational and managerial experience. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Ed was the Chief Operating Officer of Parea Biosciences and Keystone Centers for Integrative Wellness, a Pennsylvania medical marijuana vertical. Before working in the cannabis sector, Ed was the Executive Vice President of Manufacturing Operations where he achieved success in pharmaceutical facility, medical device, and military systems design and manufacture, leading to award-winning systems for Pfizer, ITH Pharma, TOMI Environmental Solutions, BAE Systems, and Newport News Shipbuilding. Additionally, Ed is certified as a six-sigma blackbelt, lean practitioner, and quality professional, with proficiency in seed-to-sale and quality management systems in the cannabis space.

MBA, The Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business
BS (Mech Engineering), The Pennsylvania State University

Bill DeuchlerChief Investment Strategist

Bill is Chief Investment Strategist at Chicago Atlantic with more than 30 years of investment experience serving a wide range of investors. In his current role, Bill works closely with institutions, family offices and high net worth individuals. Prior to joining the team, Bill was Chief Investment Officer for two family offices where he led the investment teams and was responsible for investment strategy and asset allocation.  His start in the asset management business was as President and Chief Operating Officer of Vantage Consulting Group, a Virginia-based investment consulting firm focused on bespoke investment advice to institutions and an early pioneer in hedge funds, private equity, and resilient portfolio construction. Bill currently serves as the independent Trustee of the Winter Park (FL) Police Pension Board and was a former member of the investment committee for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, International.  He currently resides in Winter Park, Florida.

BSE (Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering), University of Michigan
MBA, Colgate Darden School of Business Administration, University of Virginia

Genia KimDirector, Investor Relations

Genia is a Director in the Investor Relations department where she is responsible for overseeing marketing, client services, and sales support for the firm’s private fund offerings. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Genia worked in the Client Group at GCM Grosvenor responsible for leading investor operations and marketing efforts spanning across the alternative investment platform. Prior to that, she helped to establish and manage sales operations to support a growing business development team within the Investor Partners Group at Golub Capital. Additionally, Genia has held positions at other alternative asset management firms to support and strengthen relationships with institutional investors.

MBA, University of Oxford
BS, University of Illinois Chicago

Mark GallivanDirector, Investor Relations

Mark Gallivan serves as a Director of Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic, where he brings over 17 years of expertise in the financial services industry to his role.

Before joining Chicago Atlantic, Mark held a number of key positions at various firms. He led the go-to-market team at a fintech startup, where he helped create personalized portfolios for investors. Prior to that, he served as a Regional Director and Manager at Dimensional Fund Advisors for five years. Mark also spent six years as a Regional Director at SEI Investments, and before that, he was a Regional Consultant with AssetMark for five years.

He earned an MBA from Arizona State University and a BS in Business Management from the University of Minnesota. Mark also holds a Certified Financial (CFP) designation. With a strong educational background and extensive experience, Mark is committed to forging lasting relationships with clients and helping them achieve their investment goals.

Jeffrey GillisVice President, Investor Relations

Jeffrey is a Vice President, Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic. He works in Business Development at Chicago Atlantic with a background in sales and marketing management. While obtaining his Bachelor’s degree, Jeffrey worked for State Farm where he was responsible for utilizing analytical data to develop strategies for new business opportunities. Following graduation, Jeff played collegiate baseball while obtaining a Master’s degree. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic he worked in business development for Profile Magazine, a marketing and publication firm. Jeff has significant experience in renegotiating contracts for various high growth businesses and integrating field insights from corporate strategy to improve execution.

MBA, Goldey-Beacom College
BA (Marketing / Marketing Management), Goldey-Beacom College

Hugo Della MottaDirector, Investor Relations

Hugo is the Director of Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic Group and has more than 12 years of experience in international investor relations and fund-raising strategies. Throughout his career, Hugo had developed fruitful business connections with RIAs, family offices, financial advisors and wealth managers. In his current role at Chicago Atlantic, he will be developing international client relationships with allocators in the Latin America, and Caribbean regions. Prior to join Chicago Atlantic, Hugo was Associate Director at Participant Capital Advisors a registered investment adviser with domestic and offshore investment vehicles.

He holds a degree of Business Administration from University of Economic Sciences, Cordoba, Argentina; he loves soccer, and resides in Miami, FL.

Elaine LauDirector, Investor Relations

Elaine is a Director of Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic with a background in investment banking and alternative investments. Prior to joining the team, Elaine spent 5 years with HSBC in London working in retail banking and credit risk before specializing in the oil & gas and industrials sector for large multinational companies across the US, Europe, and Asia markets. Following this, Elaine joined a fine wine and whisky investment company where she served as the head of portfolio strategy and client management, setting up a dedicated portfolio management division to strengthen the existing 5,000+ client relationships and attract new business revenue for the company. Currently, Elaine is based between London and Bordeaux where she serves as the investor relations lead for Chicago Atlantic’s European investors as well as supporting investor relations in Asia.

Elaine grew up in Hong Kong and speaks Cantonese. She enjoys hiking, table tennis and running and is currently studying for her Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Diploma Level 4 in Bordeaux, where she is also currently learning French.

Raul MarkosDirector, Investor Relations

Raul is a Director of Investor Relations with over 10 years of experience in various financial centers worldwide. Before joining Chicago Atlantic, Raul worked as an independent senior advisor to a prominent Latin American family-owned financial services conglomerate. Prior to that, he held directorial positions at Vistra, a global fund administrator and third-party trustee, based in both London and Miami. Raul’s diverse experience has also taken him to leading international professional services firms in New York City and Frankfurt, Germany.

Fluent in English, Spanish, and German, Raul has master’s degrees from the University of Barcelona and EAE Business School in Spain. He has also completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Cologne, Germany and holds the internationally recognized Trust and Estate Practitioner, TEP, designation.

At Chicago Atlantic, Raul strives to build strong relationships and is committed to delivering exceptional service and strategic guidance to clients.

Sameer SawaqedVice President, Investor Relations

Sameer Sawaqed is a Vice President, Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic. He started his career at UPM, a European company where he completed a 12-month sales and leadership rotational program here in the US and Europe. Sameer then joined Enfusion, a fintech company that went public a year later. He went on to become a Regional Director at Vise, helping manage roughly $500 million in AUM. Here, he focused on managing existing relationships with advisors, adding more AUM and bringing new RIAs on the platform. Currently, he works closely with RIAs and family offices for Chicago Atlantic’s private fund.

Sameer holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Loyola University Chicago and is pursuing further education at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Hector GonzalezVice President, Investor Relations

Hector is a Vice President, Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic. He brings over 5 years of experience in private banking, investments and client servicing. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Hector was a Second Vice President and an Associate Portfolio Advisor at Northern Trust. He worked on a Wealth Advisory team responsible for over $4 Billion in Assets Under Management. He collaborated with Investment Advisors to understand the overall investment strategy and may provide input for revisions as goals and objectives change and in the context of client needs working closely and proactively with the broader client service team to identify and execute on areas of opportunity.

Hector currently resides in Miami, FL. He enjoys playing tennis, golf, padel and watersports such as wakeboarding. During the Winter, he is an avid snowboarder/skier.

BS (Finance), Bentley University

Jesse SolomonVice President, Investor Relations

Jesse is a Vice President of Investor Relations at Chicago Atlantic and brings five years of fundraising experience across Family Offices, High Net Worth Individuals, Venture Capital, and Institutional Investors. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Jesse was a Vice President at Sixpoint Partners, a PNC Bank company that provides diversified services to the middle-market private equity industry. During his time at Sixpoint Partners, Jesse focused on primary fund placement and managed the company’s relationships in the New York area. Before joining Sixpoint Partners, Jesse was the Co-Founder and President of Mickey, an innovative technology company focused on modernizing global commodities transactions. In his role, Jesse oversaw sales, hiring, and capital formation for the company, raising over $10M from top VC firms Lightbank and Lerer Hippeau. Prior to co-founding Mickey, Jesse led sales for Endeavor Content Live, a production house that struck licensing deals globally with film and entertainment companies such as Lionsgate, Warner Brothers, and other Hollywood film studios.

Jesse received a BM degree from the University of Miami and also holds a FINRA Series 7 license. While a student, he was Vice President of the Sigma Chi fraternity, a member of the University’s basketball practice squad, and a singer in the Frost Extensions. Jesse is a two-time cancer survivor and actively mentors others through Imerman Angels.

Lucie KimVice President, Investor Relations

Lucie Kim is a Vice President in the Investor Relations department where she is responsible for servicing our existing client base. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Lucie was a Senior Vice President of Operations overseeing operations and technology for multiple real estate entities for a Chicago-based consulting firm. Prior to that, she was a Director in the Institutional Services Group for a Chicago-based real estate investment firm where she was responsible for establishing relationships and managing portfolios for multiple institutional investors. With over 20 years of experience, Lucie has held positions at other firms with a focus on portfolio management and building and managing relationships with institutional investors.

Dennis HsuVice President, Loan Servicing

Dennis Hsu is a Vice President, Loan Servicing at Chicago Atlantic overseeing the loan administration team and other operations functions. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Dennis spent 7 years at Morningstar Investment Management as a trader and portfolio administrator focusing on technology implementation and scaling operations of the trading team. In addition, Dennis was the principal trader and administrator on portfolios worth a total AUM of $7 billion.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BA (Economics), Northwestern University

Kevin VargasVice President, Client Services

Kevin Vargas is a Vice President of Client Services at Chicago Atlantic, bringing over eight years of extensive experience in investor relations and accounting. Previously, Kevin held a key role at Brauvin Real Estate, a renowned Chicago-based commercial real estate investment firm, where he successfully managed investor relations and day-to-day operations. He provided investors with detailed information on their investments from inception and ensured accurate distributions, including the sale of a notable $200 million real estate fund. Kevin launched his career at KPMG, one of the world’s largest accounting firms, as an audit associate in their Real Estate and Investment Management Division. Outside of his professional pursuits, Kevin maintains an active lifestyle, engaging in weightlifting, football, and exploring the vibrant city of Chicago with friends and family.

BS (Accountancy), DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois

Lauren MelfiAssociate, Client Services

Lauren is an Associate in Client Services at Chicago Atlantic where she is responsible for servicing our existing client base. With a background in operations at a Real Estate and Mortgage firm, she dedicated 8 years to establishing and optimizing standard operating procedures.

Aneeqa AzharSenior Operations Associate

Aneeqa Azhar serves as Senior Operations Associate assisting Chicago Atlantic’s Operations and Accounting Departments and brings over five years of Financial Services experience to Chicago Atlantic. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, she worked as an Operations Analyst at Optiver on the Back Office and Engineering Team and as an Analyst at Performance Trust Capital Partners and at Northern Trust Corporation.

BS (Finance), University of Illinois at Chicago

Christian KennedySenior Operations Associate

Christian is a Senior Operations Associate at Chicago Atlantic and brings 4 years of finance and operations experience in the alternative loan market and broadly syndicated loan market. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, he spent 3 years at First Eagle Investments within their alternative credit business, where he was a Senior Operations Analyst for their Asset Operations team. Christian started his career in financial services and Cortland Capital Markets (now Alter Domus), a middle market solution provider for alternative investment managers.

BS (Economics), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Jenny ChanDirector, Marketing

Jenny is the Director of Marketing at Chicago Atlantic with over 20 years of experience in investments and asset management. Prior to joining the firm, Jenny worked for a crypto fintech company serving as the Sales/Marketing Director and Director of Investor Relations. Before entering the crypto world, Jenny worked with CI Investments as a Marketing Director, leading efforts for their Assante Wealth Management and CI Private Wealth businesses supporting financial advisors, HNW, family offices, and RIAs. Jenny also has deep product marketing experience serving as the Manager of the Global Product Marketing team at Franklin Templeton Investments covering Fixed Income, Equity, Managed Solutions, Real Estate, and Alternatives for mutual funds, ETFs, SMAs and private funds for institutional and retail clients. Jenny held progressively senior positions at the institutional investment consultant firm, Cambridge Associates, supporting the research, capital markets, consulting, and firmwide operations functions, culminating with her role as Associate Director overseeing strategic projects. Jenny began her career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan as a Financial Analyst in their NYC office.

MBA, Georgetown University
BS (Economics), Vassar College

Olga CukrowskaAssociate Vice President, Marketing

Olga is an Associate Vice President of Marketing at Chicago Atlantic. She brings with her over 15 years of various marketing, digital, social and communications experience, together with a decade of actuarial experience in pensions and investments. Her roles have spanned actuarial consulting, institutional sales support, end-investor copywriting and everything in between. Her actuarial science background gives her a solid foundation to understand and explain the technical aspects of financial solutions, while her design aesthetic and conversational writing style allows her to engage and inform the target audience in a clear and accessible way.

BSc (Actuarial Science), University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Robert CooperAssociate Vice President, Analytics

Robert is an Associate Vice President of Analytics at Chicago Atlantic. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Robert spent 11 years of his career in management consulting. As a consultant, Robert worked with numerous companies across a wide array of industries. Robert helped clients advance their analytical capabilities by building business intelligence dashboards, developing machine learning models, and everything in between. On all his engagements, Robert brought an eye for how his clients could better leverage their data to achieve their strategic objectives. Through this approach, Robert was able to lead his clients to significant successes, such as helping a telecommunications company migrate to a cloud data platform to reduce its data footprint by $5M and helping an engineering firm harness predictive analytics to improve its bidding profitability by 30%.

MBA, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
BA (Economics), University of Chicago

Suresh NilavarIT Manager

Suresh serves as the Information Technology Manager for Chicago Atlantic.  Suresh brings over 17 years of IT experience.  He started his career with tech MSPs in NYC for small and mid-size business clientele, then migrated to managing IT for hedge funds.  In his previous management role, he architected the IT infrastructure for a mid-sized hedge fund across 3 offices in the US, Europe, and Asia. In his spare time, Suresh enjoys staying active, playing piano, and keeping up to date with technology.

BSBA (Information Systems), Xavier University

Amir RonAccounting Manager

Amir is the Accounting Manager responsible for month-end closing, intercompany reconciliations, cash forecasting, and tax compliance. Prior to Chicago Atlantic, Amir was an Accounting Analyst at Tekcapital, LLC, working alongside the CFO of a publicly traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange Marketing (AIM). Amir served as a Senior Staff Accountant at Pinchasik, Yellen, Muskat, Stein, LLC working on various assurance engagements for non-profits and for-profit companies, prepared tax returns for individuals, partnerships, S-Corp, C-Corp, and trusts, and worked on 25+ eminent domain litigation cases. Amir also worked as a Forensic Analyst at Ospina, Everett, Shechter, LLP and as a Project Accountant with Euro Capital Properties, LLC.

BS (Finance & Accounting), University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business

Daniel VincerSenior Fund Accountant

Daniel is a Senior Fund Accountant at Chicago Atlantic. Daniel brings 6 years of accounting and financial analysis experience to Chicago Atlantic. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Daniel was a Senior Accountant with Cardone Capital working on all aspects of Real Estate funds and as an analyst at GEO Group within their Financial Planning & Analysis team.

Master of Accounting (MAcc) Nova Southeastern University

Dariana AltamarAccountant

Dariana Altamar is an Accountant at Chicago Atlantic. Previously, Dariana served on the accounting team for New Look Vision Group where she focused on collecting, tracking and reconciling the company’s finances. Prior to that role, Dariana worked at Quintero & Partners, a financial advisory firm, where she was responsible for overseeing agents to ensure they provided the proper long-term strategies for building wealth and managing risk.

BA (Finance w/ Economics minor), Florida International University

Jennifer CarterSenior Accounting Analyst

Jennifer is a Senior Accounting Analyst at Chicago Atlantic focusing on financial reporting for our funds and their investors. Jennifer brings 4 years of accounting and tax experience to Chicago Atlantic. Before joining Chicago Atlantic, Jennifer was a senior fund accountant at Blue Vista Capital Management, a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm. Prior to that, Jennifer spent 3 years at Plante Moran providing tax compliance services.

BS (Accounting), Illinois Wesleyan University

Cole ThompsonBusiness Development

Cole works in Business Development at Chicago Atlantic directly supporting the Originations and Credit teams. Cole brings over 8 years of consulting, corporate finance, and wealth management experience to the firm. Most recently, Cole served as a Director for a boutique registered investment advisor where he focused on strategy and relationship management. Prior to that role, Cole worked at Ares Management and BDO where he was responsible for corporate planning and performing third party opinion valuations on various business enterprises.

BSBA (Finance & Entrepreneurship), University of Arizona – Eller College of Management

Arvind VigSenior Associate, Underwriting

Arvind is a Senior Associate at Chicago Atlantic focusing on supporting all aspects of the investment process including underwriting, originating, and portfolio management of both public and private investments in cannabis and non-cannabis companies. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Arvind spent 2 and a half years working at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), a leading global asset manager with over $200 Billion of Assets Under Management, 80% of which is managed in-house. Arvind started his career at OTPP in the Private Equity department. He was on the technology team which executed direct private equity transactions within Enterprise Software and Tech Enabled Services, including the acquisition of a leading Legal Technology provider Mitratech. Arvind then transitioned into an internal consulting role in the Office of the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), where he developed enterprise-wide strategic initiatives on behalf of the CIO.

BCom, University of British Columbia, Leslie Wong Fellow

Luis CardenasAssociate, Credit

Luis is an Associate at Chicago Atlantic focusing on supporting all aspects of the investment process including underwriting, originating, and portfolio management. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Luis worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at BMO Capital Markets.

BS (Finance), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Niko Mamatas Analyst, Underwriting

Niko Mamatas is an Analyst focusing on underwriting and portfolio management. Prior to joining the team, Niko completed an internship with Chicago Atlantic, where he worked with the Underwriting team. Niko currently resides in Chicago, IL.

BA (Finance), Michigan State University – Eli Broad College of Business

Lila HuddlesAnalyst, Investor Relations

Lila is an Analyst on the Investor Relations team at Chicago Atlantic. Prior to joining the team, Lila completed an internship with Chicago Atlantic, where she worked with the Underwriting team. Lila recently graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, and was a four-year member of the Women’s Division I Lacrosse team.

BS (Human and Organizational Development/Business), Vanderbilt University

Briget BrewHR & Operations Manager

Briget serves as HR & Operations Manager at Chicago Atlantic Group in the Chicago office. 

Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, she worked as a Facilities & Office Manager at Monroe Capital for over 10 plus years, focusing on the day-to-day operations of several offices throughout the US.

Hilary AbtsExecutive Assistant

Hilary is an Executive Assistant to the Founding Partners at Chicago Atlantic Group. Hilary joins Chicago Atlantic Group from ZS Associates spending the last 2 years as a Meetings & Travel assistant. Prior to ZS, Hilary spent 5 years based in Dubai as a flight attendant for Emirates.

BA, DePaul University

Hadi Al AlawiSenior Advisor

Hadi Al Alawi Chairman & CEO of Al Hayat Group Hadi Al Alawi is the Chairman and Founder of Al Hayat Group, which was established in the early 1990s as a holding company to oversee the diversified interests held under sole ownership, joint ventures, and equity stakes of varying sizes. Hadi is an experienced businessman with extensive regional and international networks who has successfully propelled various start-up ventures into industry leaders with record-breaking growth and expansion within highly competitive markets. Hadi is also the Managing Director of Al Alawi Group of Companies, founded in the early 1930s by his late father.