Our Team
Our team has decades of experience at premier financial services businesses across both alternative asset management and M&A. We believe that we bring a differentiated approach across industries that helps our clients and portfolio companies navigate economic cycles with expertise and precision.
Jeffrey Kaplan is a Founding Partner of Andalusian Credit Partners. He is also the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Andalusian Private Capital and Advisory, a private investment firm founded in 2020, and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
From 2011 to 2020, Mr. Kaplan was the Chief Operating Officer of Appaloosa Management, where he oversaw Appaloosa’s operations and private investing activities. Mr. Kaplan was also responsible for leading and executing acquisitions and managing the firm’s investor and banking relationships. Mr. Kaplan began his investment banking career at Merrill Lynch in 1987 and ultimately served as Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Sponsors and Corporate Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Kaplan has cultivated an extensive network of relationships with C-suite executives, corporate board members, financial sponsors and investment bankers.
He is also the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Andalusian Private Capital and Advisory, a private investment firm founded in 2020, and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Nicholas Savasta is a Founding Partner of Andalusian Credit Partners. Mr. Savasta is also the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Andalusian Private Capital and Advisory and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. Savasta was previously Managing Director and Co-Head of the Strategic Investments Group at Michael Dell’s MSD Partners. Mr. Savasta worked as a senior merchant banker with Allen & Company and began his career as an investment banker in Morgan Stanley’s Corporate Finance Division.
He is a member of the Leadership Board of Harvard University’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Mr. Savasta also served as a member of the Executive Board of the MIT Sloan School of Management. He was a guest lecturer at Yale University, where he taught the school’s Introduction to Alternative Investments Seminar.
Mr. Savasta is a member of the Economic Club of New York and is a member of The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In 2018, he was appointed to The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. He earned a B.S. in International Affairs from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service with honors and received his M.B.A. from MIT.
He was a Fulbright Scholar and a Truman Fellow. He is fluent in French, Italian and Arabic, and is conversational in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is the Executive Chairman of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Ferguson served as the 17th Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System from 1999 to 2006 and as a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System since 1997.
After leaving the United States Federal Reserve, Mr. Ferguson served as the President and CEO of TIAA ($1.4 Trillion of AUM) from 2008 to 2021. Mr. Ferguson has been a member of the Board of Directors of Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOGL) since 2016.
Mr. Ferguson is currently the Steven A. Tananbaum Distinguished Fellow for International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2006–2008, Mr. Ferguson worked at Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company, where he served as Chairman of the firm’s America Holding Corporation, Head of Financial Services and a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Ferguson has also worked as an Associate and Partner at McKinsey & Company.
Mr. Ferguson holds a B.A. in Economics, a Doctoral degree in Economics and a Juris Doctor degree, all from Harvard University.
Joseph M. Otting is a Vice Chairman of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Otting served as the 31st United States Comptroller of the Currency from 2017 to 2020. The Comptroller of the Currency is the administrator of the federal banking system and chief officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC supervises nearly 1,400 national banks, federal savings associations and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks operating in the U.S.
As the Comptroller, Mr. Otting also served as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Prior to being sworn in as the Comptroller of the Currency, Mr. Otting was President and CEO of OneWest Bank, N.A. from 2010 to 2015 when it was acquired by CIT Group. Before this, Mr. Otting was Vice Chairman and Head of the Commercial Banking Group at U.S. Bank.
Mr. Otting holds a B.A. from the University of Northern Iowa.
Aaron Kless is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Andalusian Credit Partners. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Andalusian Credit Company (“ACC”).
Prior to joining Andalusian, Mr. Kless was Head of Non-Sponsor Direct Lending at Apollo Global Management. He has also held tenures as Managing Director in the U.S. Private Capital Group at BlackRock and Senior Principal in the Global Private Equity Group at Merrill Lynch & Co. Previously, he was an Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Mr. Kless graduated with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with B.A. degrees in Political Science and U.S. History and received his JD with Highest Honors from the George Washington University School of Law.
Shamit Grover is a Vice Chairman of Andalusian Credit Partners, as well as Vice President of ACC.
Mr. Grover previously served as a Managing Director at Michael Dell’s MSD Partners, where he led or supported the firm’s investments in Owl Rock, WCG Clinical, Ultimate Fighting Championship, BrightView, Transaction Network Services and OneWest Bank, among others. Prior to his time at MSD Partners, Mr. Grover worked in the Global Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions Groups at Merrill Lynch.
Mr. Grover received his B.S. from Harvey Mudd College where he double majored in Engineering and Economics.
Kris Gagnon is the Chairman of the Investment Committee of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Gagnon was previously the Chief Credit Officer of OneWest Bank N.A., where he oversaw the growth of the de-novo commercial lending portfolio. Prior to his role at OneWest, Mr. Gagnon was the Chief Risk Officer of Global Corporate and Investment Banking at Bank of America, where he had single-signature authority on commercial loans in excess of $10 billion.
Mr. Gagnon holds a Bachelor’s degree from California State University Fullerton.
Terry Olson is the Chief Financial Officer of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Olson was previously the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of First Eagle Alternative Credit, where he led the financial and operations teams as well as guided key strategic initiatives of the firm. Mr. Olson was previously the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of THL Credit Advisors prior to the acquisition of THL Credit by First Eagle.
Prior to his roles at First Eagle and THL Credit, Mr. Olson was previously the Director of Finance at Highland Capital Partners where he was responsible for financial, tax and operational matters for the firm's funds. Mr. Olson started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Mr. Olson holds a B.S. in Accounting from Boston College.
Kimberly Smith is the Chief Capital Formation Officer of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Ms. Smith was previously the Chief Capital Formation Officer at Techstars, where she led the strategy and execution of fundraising, deal sourcing and investor relations for the global network of entrepreneurs and mentors. Prior to her role at Techstars, Ms. Smith was a Partner and the Director of Marketing and Investor Relations at Owl Creek Investment Management, where she managed the communication and relationships with existing and prospective investors, as well as the firm's branding and marketing initiatives. Ms. Smith also previously held roles at Davidson Kempner Capital Management and ABN AMRO Bank.
Ms. Smith is the Chair of the Board of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. She is also a trustee of the Bridge Golf Foundation and the Group for the East End. Additionally, Kimberly is on the advisory board of MeshEd, an EdTech company based in New York City.
Ms. Smith received her M.B.A. from Fordham University and her B.A. from Middlebury College.
Chris di Bonaventura (Chris) is a Senior Partner at Andalusian Credit Partners.
Chris began his career in financial services out of college at Coopers & Lybrand, where he earned his Certified Public Accountant designation. After business school, Chris then spent 20 years as an investment banking calling officer at Smith Barney/Salomon Smith Barney/Citi before transitioning into a wealth management support role in Smith Barney’s Private Wealth Management group.
His next role at Citi was to build, with a colleague, the Citi Family Office program, a professional development program and attendant offering of family office services for a select group of Smith Barney financial advisors. With the joining of Smith Barney’s and Morgan Stanley’s wealth management units in 2008, Chris transitioned the 150 Citi Family Office advisors (and their $250 billion of assets under management) into Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management unit. Upon closure of the joint venture in 2009, he joined the domestic leadership team of Morgan Stanley PWM.
After a short stint at MSPWM, Chris moved to Fidelity Family Office Services to oversee client management, help devise and execute a new strategy for the business and build a bespoke investment team to serve single and multi-family offices. Chris retired from Fidelity at the end of 2020.
In addition to his work with Andalusian, Chris serves on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations: Pioneer Institute and New England Forestry Foundation, as well as various advisory boards at Yale University. He is a graduate of Yale College and earned a master’s degree from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Christopher Kill is a Senior Managing Director of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Kill was previously a senior investment professional at Apollo, where he was co-head of underwriting for the direct lending team, which supported multiple investment vehicles, including both BDCs (public and non-public).
Prior to joining Apollo in 2016, Mr. Kill started his career at GE Capital, and continued with its successor Antares Capital, where he held a variety of roles across unitranche, cash flow and asset-based lending.
Mr. Kill received a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and a M.S. from the University of Rochester.
Joseph Woolf is a Managing Director of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Woolf was previously an Executive Vice President at OneWest Bank, where he launched and led its Media & Entertainment Finance division.
Mr. Woolf has also successfully created and established entertainment lending divisions for Citibank and Union Bank. Mr. Woolf was a Managing Director at CarVal Investors, a subsidiary of Cargill Incorporated. Mr. Woolf started his banking career at Irving Trust (later Bank of New York).
Mr. Woolf holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Art History from Boston University and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Steve Heiner is a Managing Director at Andalusian Private Capital and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. Heiner was previously an investment banker at Morgan Stanley within the Media & Communications group. At Morgan Stanley, Mr. Heiner focused on Sports and Media M&A. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he was a management consultant at Accenture focused on the TMT sector.
Mr. Heiner holds a B.S. in Finance & International Business from the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University and an M.B.A. from New York University.
Kush Kothary is a Managing Director and the Head of Strategy of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Kothary was previously a Director in the U.S. Private Capital Group at BlackRock where he was responsible for originating, underwriting and monitoring direct middle market investments.
Prior to joining the U.S. Private Capital Group, Mr. Kothary was in the Corporate Development and Strategy Group at BlackRock, where he was responsible for identifying and executing growth opportunities including acquisitions, strategic investments, JVs and partnerships / alliances as well as analyzing major strategic, operational and organizational issues within the firm. In this role, Kush was involved in a number of transactions including Credit Suisse's ETF arm, MGPA and BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors.
Mr. Kothary received a B.S. in Finance, summa cum laude, from Rutgers University.
William Himler is a Principal at Andalusian Private Capital and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. Himler was previously an investor at The Carlyle Group, where he focused on investment opportunities for The Carlyle Global Partners fund.
Mr. Himler began his career at Barclays within the Financial Sponsors group. Mr. Himler graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Politics.
Brian Bulger is a Vice President of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Bulger was previously a Vice President in the U.S. Private Capital Group at BlackRock, where he was responsible for underwriting, executing and monitoring middle market private credit investments.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Bulger was in the Leveraged Finance Group at Société Générale, where he was responsible for providing advisory and financing services to private equity firms in support of middle market transactions.
Mr. Bulger received a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
Jordan Gershman is a Vice President at Andalusian Private Capital.
Mr. Gershman was previously an investor at Olympus Partners, where he focused on investment opportunities across a variety of industries. Mr. Gershman began his career at Morgan Stanley within the Transportation & Logistics group.
Mr. Gershman graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Economics.
Hera Koliatsos is a Vice President at Andalusian Private Capital and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Ms. Koliatsos was previously an investor at L Catterton, where she focused on investment opportunities in the consumer sector. Ms. Koliatsos began her career at Deutsche Bank within the M&A group.
Ms. Koliatsos graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics.
Tim Geoffrion is an Advisory Partner at Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. Geoffrion was previously a Vice President for Norwest Equity Partners and a Senior Associate for Calera Capital. Earlier in his career, Mr. McClain worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at J.P. Morgan.
Mr. Geoffrion holds a B.A. from Williams College and a M.B.A. from The MIT Sloan School of Management.
Michelle Forman is an Advisory Partner at Andalusian Private Capital and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Ms. Forman was previously a Vice President at Houlihan Lokey. She began her career at Bank of America.
Ms. Forman holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and a M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Jason McClain is an Advisory Partner at Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. McClain was previously an Investment Banker at Arlington Capital Advisors and Goldman Sachs.
Mr. McClain holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, a M.A. in International Economics and Development from Johns Hopkins and a M.B.A. from The Wharton School.
Donnie Brooks is an Associate of Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Brooks was previously an Associate in the Underwriting and Portfolio Management Group at Churchill Asset Management, where he was responsible for underwriting, executing and monitoring direct middle market investments.
Prior to joining Churchill, Mr. Brooks was in the Leveraged Finance Capital Markets Group at Antares Capital, where he was responsible for structuring and syndicating debt financings for private equity-backed companies.
Mr. Brooks received a B.S. in Finance and International Business from Indiana University Bloomington.
Josh Stonberg is an Associate at Andalusian Private Capital and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. Stonberg was previously an Investment Banking and Growth Equity Associate for The Raine Group.
Mr. Stonberg graduated from The Wharton School with a B.S. in Finance and Legal Studies.
Carlos Zuniga is the Controller at Andalusian Private Capital, Andalusian Credit Partners and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mr. Zuniga was previously the Co-Head of the Valuation Department for Golub Capital and prior to that served as the Director of Finance for the Management Company at Golub Capital. Mr. Zuniga started his career as an auditor at KPMG.
Mr. Zuniga is a CPA and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from Montclair State University.
Carl Rizzo is the Chief Compliance Officer at Andalusian Private Capital and Andalusian Credit Partners.
Mr. Rizzo previously served as a Director with Foreside Financial Services LLC and Alaric Compliance Services LLC and prior to that served as assistant general counsel of several well-known firms in the bank and/or insurance company channels of the U.S. asset management industry, most recently (2001-05) with Bank of America Corporation.
Mr. Rizzo holds a B.A. degree from Davidson College, a J.D. degree from the University of Richmond, VA, and an LL.M (Securities Regulation) degree from Georgetown University.
Christine Menville is the Office Manager at of Andalusian Private Capital, Andalusian Credit Partners and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Ms. Menville was previously an Executive Assistant at Wyndham Worldwide, where she focused on supporting the CFO. Ms. Menville has over 20 years of experience successfully supporting C-level Executives.
Ms. Menville graduated from Lesley University with a M.A. in Expressive Therapy and from Rutgers with a B.A. in Psychology.
Heather Greenstone is an Executive Assistant at of Andalusian Private Capital, Andalusian Credit Partners and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Mrs. Greenstone concurrently holds the position of Founder and CEO at Personal Concierge Co., a corporate and lifestyle support service catering to high-level executives spanning various industries. Mrs. Greenstone has over 15 years of experience in executive support roles preceding her entrepreneurial venture.
Mrs. Greenstone graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, with a B.A. in Telecommunications.
Natalie Puente is an Executive Assistant at Andalusian Private Capital, Andalusian Credit Partners and Andalusian Sports Advisors.
Ms. Puente has 7 years of administrative and executive assistant experience and began her career supporting real estate professionals. Ms. Puente was previously an Executive Assistant to the CFO of a real estate development and property management company.
Ms. Puente graduated from Montclair State University with a B.S. in Biology.
