Private Credit Funds - The Buzz and How to Access Them

Private Credit Funds were estimated to be over $1 Trillion in the U.S. in 2024 and over $2 Trillion globally.  This is an emerging funding source that professionals should be more familiar with.  How to contact them and work with them (and work at them) will be covered.  Apollo and Citi recently launched a $25 Billion Private Credit Fund.  

Private credit professionals from lenders to legal will lead a discussion on the buzz around this growing debt financing option. 

Our seasoned panel will answer pressing questions, such as pros and cons of private credit and why companies of all sizes are tapping it to fund their growth goals? 

Peter G. Williams, Co-Head of Private Credit | Cahill Gordon and Reindel

Peter joined the firm from one of the world’s largest private credit institutions, where he was a Managing Director and formerly served as the U.S. Head of Structuring, a role in which he lead structuring, negotiation and documentation for private credit transactions. Prior to moving in-house, Peter was an attorney at a leading national law firm, where he focused on private credit transactions.  Given his experience on every side of a transaction, Peter has a unique commercial perspective and a detail-oriented outlook to solve complex corporate financing or transactional issues that leading direct lenders, private credit funds, institutional investors, and investment banks may face. He also has extensive experience in structuring and executing private credit transactions across the entire capital structure including traditional first lien, unitranche, stretch senior, second lien and subordinated loan transactions, preferred stock, structured equity, and equity co-investments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-williams-5396a919/

Jack Bernstein, Managing Director | Monroe Capital

Jack is responsible for originating, structuring and executing new investments within the East Coast region. Mr. Bernstein has over ten years of experience in the financial services industry. He started with Monroe Capital in 2015 in an underwriting and portfolio management capacity before joining the firm’s origination team. Prior to Monroe, Mr. Bernstein was an Associate at HIG Capital’s credit fund affiliate, Bayside Capital, where he focused on underwriting and portfolio management. Prior to Bayside, he was an Analyst in the Investment Banking division at Deutsche Bank, where he worked on financing and M&A transactions for companies within the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.  Mr. Bernstein earned his B.B.A. from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and his M.B.A. from Columbia University.      https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-bernstein-a1a13521/

Jay Liebowitz, Managing Director | Centerstone

Jay leads the firm's debt advisory and principal investing teams, bringing over 20 years of financial industry experience. Prior experience includes managing director at Post Advisory, a high-yield credit manager, where he invested in and advised on transactions across healthcare, pharmaceuticals, consumer wellness, and animal care. Jay was also a principal at Blackstone Credit (formerly GSO Capital Partners), focusing on high-yield, distressed, and mezzanine investments across industries. Jay graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-liebowitz-8abb9354/

Moderator, Dayna Fields, Senior Private Credit Reporter at Octus 

Dayna covers deals and trends in private credit, private equity and M&A. A native Chicagoan, she moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to spearhead SoCal coverage for Mergermarket, a global B2B data and intelligence platform now owned by ION Analytics. In 2024, she moved to NYC as a senior private credit reporter for Octus (formerly Reorg Research, owned by Permira). Fields is a 2023 inductee of Marquis Who's Who in America and a 2014 award-winning columnist by the National Newspaper Association. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynafields/