Name: FFA University - Europe
Start: 2024-03-13T09:00:00Z
End: 2024-03-14T13:00:00Z

Greg Andrews

ANZ

Career Conversation: A Discussion with the FFA NextGen Committee

11:30 AM | 2024-03-14

Greg Andrews

Associate Director | ANZ

Greg Andrews is an Associate Director in ANZ’s European Financial Sponsors practice, and focuses on origination and execution of subscription line, hedging, and transaction banking requirements for Financial Sponsors clients across the ANZ network.

Greg has been at ANZ for nine years, and was previously part of ANZ’s Lending Services (workout and insolvency) team in Melbourne, before joining the Financial Sponsors team in Hong Kong, later moving across to London. Greg was a member of the inaugural FFA NextGen committee in Asia, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Arnaud Arrecgros

Maples Group

Subscription Credit Facility: Guarantee and Security

10:15 AM | 2024-03-14

Arnaud Arrecgros

Partner | Maples Group

Arnaud Arrecgros is head of Maples and Calder (Luxembourg)'s Finance team at the Maples Group. He has extensive experience in cross border financing and banking transactions, including corporate debt facilities, acquisition, asset and real estate financing and restructurings, funds financing in connection with the setting up of bridge and capital commitment facilities, securitisations, as well as capital markets matters. He represents both borrowers (including private equity and hedge funds) and lenders on lending transactions and all types of secured transactions, advising in particular on the setting up of security packages and issues surrounding collateral in the context of debt restructuring transactions.

Arnaud is recommended by Legal 500, where he is described as, "very reliable and provides good quality, timely advice" and has a "strong capability in cross-border transactions and his availability to assist with urgent client matters at any time of day or night."

Eleni Askianaki

SMBC

Credit Enhancements in Fund Finance: ESG and Ratings

11:45 AM | 2024-03-13

Eleni Askianaki

Director | SMBC

Eleni is currently a Director in the Sustainable Finance, Loan Capital Markets team for EMEA at SMBC BI in London. Prior to joining the Sustainable Finance team Eleni spent c. 8 years in the Loan Capital Markets Origination team at SMBC and before joining SMBC, she spent 3 years at Barclays Capital in London. Within the Loan Capital Markets Origination team Eleni has covered a broad range of clients within the EMEA region, with the majority of her time spent covering private equity-led Leverage Finance transactions. Eleni has a broad range of deal experience in IG and sub-IG space, Leverage Finance & HY and Infrastructure Finance. Drawing from extensive loan origination and syndication experience, Eleni brings a market-oriented and practical perspective to Sustainable Finance transactions.

Joel Buckett

Deutsche Bank

Career Conversation: A Discussion with the FFA NextGen Committee

11:30 AM | 2024-03-14

Joel Buckett

Vice President | Deutsche Bank

Joel joined Deutsche Bank in 2022 as a Vice President in the fund finance team, with end-to-end responsibility for the execution of fund and GP financing facilities. Prior to joining DB, Joel held roles in FIG coverage at Lloyds Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Joel is a member of the FFA’s NextGen Committee, which is focused on establishing a forum exclusively for the benefit of junior fund finance professionals. Joel was also recognized as a Rising Star by the FFA in 2023.

Parisa Clovis

A&O Shearman

Subscription Credit Facility: Covenants

9:00 AM | 2024-03-14

Parisa Clovis

Partner | A&O Shearman

Parisa Clovis is a debt finance partner in the London office of A&O Shearman.

Parisa’s experience focuses on funds finance acting for borrowers and sponsors (both domestic and international) in connection with NAV and hybrid facilities, subscription line facilities, GP support lines and refinancings across a range of sectors and asset classes in the fund finance market. Parisa also has substantial experience in advising lenders in respect of funds finance transactions with the addition of undertaking a six-month secondment with a French bank.

Kate Downey

Fried Frank

Fund Structures - Understanding the Basics

9:15 AM | 2024-03-13

Kate Downey

Partner | Fried Frank

Kate Downey is a corporate partner resident in Fried Frank's London office, and head of the Firm's European Private Equity Funds Practice. Ms. Downey advises fund sponsors and financial institutions across a broad range of asset classes, including private equity, venture and growth, infrastructure, credit and real estate. She counsels fund managers on carried interest, co-investment and other incentive arrangements, including leveraged co-investment arrangements. She also has considerable experience advising on a broad range of other international private equity transactions, including secondary portfolio acquisitions and synthetic secondaries, fund and management company restructurings and other general corporate matters. Ms. Downey co-chairs the European Committee of Women in Fund Finance, a group focused on recognition and promotion of women leaders within the alternative investment fund finance industry.

Chris Elson

Proskauer

The LPA - Track A

10:30 AM | 2024-03-13

Chris Elson

Partner | Proskauer

Chris is a partner in the firm’s Corporate Department and a member of its Private Funds Group.

Chris advises fund managers on fundraising and fund structuring across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth, venture capital and credit funds. He also advises sponsors on tailored liquidity solutions, internal governance, ongoing fund maintenance and compliance matters.

Chris has experience in management spin-outs as well as the structuring of carried interest and employee co-investment incentive plans. He also advises a number of institutional investors on secondary transactions and primary investments.

Chris has been recognised as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for Investment Fund Formation & Management: Private Funds in Legal 500 UK 2024.

Greg Fayvilevich

Fitch Ratings

Credit Enhancements in Fund Finance: ESG and Ratings

11:45 AM | 2024-03-13

Greg Fayvilevich

Global Head of Fund & Asset Management, Managing Director | Fitch Ratings

Greg Fayvilevich is a Managing Director and global head of Fitch Ratings' Funds & Asset Managers group, based in London. The Funds group is responsible for Fitch’s coverage of money market funds, local government investment pools, and bond funds. Greg’s team is responsible for assigning and maintaining ratings, developing rating criteria and models, and publishing research on analytical and regulatory developments affecting the sectors the group covers.

Previously, Greg was a member of the Financial Guarantors group at Fitch. Prior to joining Fitch, Greg worked for ACE Group.

Greg earned a BS in finance from Rutgers University.

Sarah Francis

Maples Group

Subscription Credit Facility: Guarantee and Security

10:15 AM | 2024-03-14

Sarah Francis

Partner | Maples Group

Sarah is a partner of Maples and Calder's Banking and Finance team in the Maples Group's Dublin office. Sarah has extensive experience advising on domestic and cross-border banking transactions. Sarah's practice focuses on advising lenders and borrowers in relation to corporate debt facilities, fund financing, acquisition financing, real estate financing (investment and development), fund financing and debt restructurings.

Sarah was elected as a partner in 2016. Prior to joining the Maples Group, she worked in the banking team at Allen & Overy in London and Addleshaw Goddard in Manchester. IFLR 2021 has ranked Sarah as 'Highly Regarded' and clients attest that Sarah is "Very clear communication, technically very strong and very personable" and "Excellent project management skills, customer service, attention to detail, responsiveness, knowledge of their field and communication". In Chambers Europe 2021, clients report that Sarah is "really commercial" and note her ability to give "sensible, commercial advice". She attracts further praise for her direct involvement in matters. Her broad practice encompasses real estate development finance, acquisition finance and loan-on-loan facilities.

Member of the Law Society of Ireland
Member of 100 Women in Finance

Alex Griffiths

MUFG Investor Services

Subscription Credit Facility: Covenants

9:00 AM | 2024-03-14

Alex Griffiths

Managing Director, Fund Finance | MUFG Investor Services

Alex Griffiths is Managing Director for Fund Finance at MUFG Investor Services. Based in London, Alex and his team oversee the firm’s fund finance offering in Europe as part of the global business — focusing primarily on subscription and NAV finance—and are responsible for originating, structuring, and executing transactions, as well as managing client relationships throughout deal life cycles. Alex has more than 15 years of industry experience. Prior to joining MUFG Investor Services, he served as a senior finance lawyer with several leading international law firms, specialising in fund finance, and also covering leveraged finance and restructuring/special situations.

Helen Griffiths

Investec Bank plc

Creative Fund Financing - Track B

10:30 AM | 2024-03-13

Helen Griffiths

Head of Structuring, Fund Solutions | Investec Bank plc

Helen is the Head of Structuring for Investec’s fund solutions business. Her role focuses on designing solutions and developing relationships with funds and fund managers across difference strategies throughout the lifecycle of the fund. Helen works closely with the team’s distribution and fund raising platforms for capital call, GP/co-invest and NAV financing. Helen has been connected to the fund finance industry for nearly 20 years.

Todd Hooper

HPS Investment Partners

Andrew Husdan

Clifford Chance

Side Letters, Subscription Agreements and Investor Letters

11:45 AM | 2024-03-13

Andrew Husdan

Partner | Clifford Chance

Ranked by both Legal 500 (Leading Individual) and Chambers (Band 1), Andrew is the co-head of the Clifford Chance fund finance practice and has a first class reputation in the area of funds finance, acting for both sponsors, lenders and investors for over 10 years.

As well as traditional capital call and bridge financings, Andrew also leads on more innovative and complex structured financings. These involve hybrid financings, NAV lending (across different asset classes, including real estate, private equity, direct lending and secondaries), preferred equity structures (including back-levered prefs), continuation funds, off-balance sheet / SRT structures and non-bank financings (involving both loans made by non-bank lenders to funds, as well as fund-raising structures used to originate non-bank capital, in particular in the insurance and pension company space.)

Andrew is also sought out by participants in the market (who are considering becoming lenders in relation to existing financings) in order to obtain his views (e.g. via red-flag reviews and enforcement memo analysis) on the transaction structure and documentary package of the existing financing. In effect, this means that even where Clifford Chance are not lead counsel on a transaction, they are still getting exposure to a range of documentation and facilities via such 'review instructions', providing a comprehensive overview of the market.

Andrew is a regular speaker at Fund Finance Association conferences, and has led various training initiatives and talks, including as part of the FFA University programme.

Samantha Hutchinson

King & Spalding LLP

Creative Fund Financing - Track B

10:30 AM | 2024-03-13

Samantha Hutchinson

Partner | King & Spalding LLP

Samantha is a Fund Finance partner at King & Spalding and leads Fund Finance team based in the firm’s London office. With over 20 years of experience in the fund finance market, Samantha represents financial institutions, private market and other asset managers across all fund finance products, including subscription lines, primary and secondary leverage and liquidity lines, GP and executive financings, co-investment facilities and various distribution solutions across all asset classes. Samantha is consistently recognised as an industry leader and leading practitioner by Chambers UK, Legal 500 UK, IFLR 1000, IR 1000 Women Leaders, and The Drawdown Most Influential Fund Finance Experts. She was also featured in the 2020 edition of The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list, which highlights the UK’s “most daring, innovative and creative lawyers.”

Ben Jones

Wells Fargo

Jessica Lai

Blackstone

Matt Lilley

Mayer Brown

Advanced structuring issues in Fund Finance: Multiple creditor classes

10:15 AM | 2024-03-14

Matt Lilley

Partner | Mayer Brown

Matt Lilley is counsel in the Banking & Finance practice of the London office. He has extensive experience acting for lenders, sponsors, funds and borrowers on lending transactions in the infrastructure and funds finance sectors. Matt's funds finance experience covers many asset classes and fund structures (including private equity funds, credit funds, infrastructure funds, secondary funds, real estate funds, emerging market funds) and he has advised on a wide range of transactions covering subscription facilities, NAV/asset back facilities, hybrid facilities and co-investment facilities). His practice also includes corporate infrastructure financing (both acquisition financing and refinancings), acting for both lenders and sponsors/borrowers on a variety of funding structures, including traditional bank financings, institutional funding arrangements and private placement issuances, and establishment of common terms platforms.

Billal Malik

Citi

Career Conversation: A Discussion with the FFA NextGen Committee

11:30 AM | 2024-03-14

Billal Malik

Head of Subscription Credit Finance | Citi

Billal is Head of Citi's Subscription Credit Finance team and Law Firm Financing business. Billal has been with Citi for 14 years, and always had roles focussed on private equity clients. Billal established the Fund Finance Association's Next Generation network, which currently has chapters in the US, Europe and Asia with over 1000 members. He was awarded the Fund Finance Next Generation Member of year in 2020 for his efforts in promoting mentorship, network, career enhancement and charity opportunities for future fund finance leaders. Billal holds a first class honours degree from Imperial College London and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Association professional. Billal is an Associate Fellow of University of Oxford and is a Board Member of Great Ormond Street Hospital. Billal has a keen interest in sport in particular soccer and padel.

Emma Russell

White and Case LLP

Closing Remarks

6:30 PM | 2024-03-14

Emma Russell

Partner | London | White and Case LLP

Emma Russell is a partner and heads the EMEA Fund Finance Practice in the London office of White and Case. Emma is an experienced loan finance lawyer with over twenty years of experience in the global fund finance and structured and specialty finance. Her practice focuses on the full range of fund lending products across all fund sectors, (including private equity, real estate, secondaries, infrastructure, and hedge) from capital call facilities, hybrid/NAV facilities, to general partner support, co-invest facilities and portfolio acquisition facilities and assisting funds with structuring. Emma has significant experience advising credit funds and their lenders in relation to leverage facilities to CLO’s/CDO’s and securitisation vehicles. Emma’s experience also includes advising both lenders and funds on private equity, receivables financing, asset based lending, speciality finance, real estate fund structuring, and acting for both lenders and sponsors in relation to investment and development real estate finance and leverage restructurings. Emma co-chairs the European Committee of Women in Fund Finance, a group associated with the Fund Finance Association, which is focused on recognition and promotion of women leaders within the alternative investment fund finance industry.

Ed Saunders

Goodwin Procter LLP

Subscription Credit Facility: Covenants

9:00 AM | 2024-03-14

Ed Saunders

Partner | Goodwin Procter LLP

Ed Saunders is a partner and co-chair of Goodwin’s Fund Finance Group. He is also in the Business Law department, a member of its Private Equity group and Debt Finance legal practice area.

Ed has acted for managers, general partners, funds, banks, non-bank lenders, and other market participants on a range of products across the fund finance sector. His extensive experience includes advising on subscription line, umbrella and managed account financings, net asset value (“NAV”) and hybrid fund facilities across various asset classes, preferred equity arrangements and management and co-investment liquidity lines.

He has also counselled clients including private equity, real estate, debt and infrastructure funds on various financing elements of fundraisings and investor negotiation.

Ed is listed as a key lawyer for Fund Finance by Legal 500, with the practice also ranked. Client testimonials include “I would recommend Edward Saunders for the quality of service and level of commitment towards getting the deal done on a compressed timeline.”

Aimee Sharman

Clifford Chance

Kate Sinclair

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Laura Smith

Travers Smith

Tom Smith

Debevoise & Plimpton

NAV Facilities

9:00 AM | 2024-03-14

Tom Smith

Partner | Debevoise & Plimpton

Thomas Smith is an English-qualified partner in the Finance Group of Debevoise & Plimpton. He leads the firm’s global fund finance practice.

Recommended by Chambers UK, Legal 500 UK, and IFLR1000, he acts for borrowers, sponsors, funds and financial institutions on a wide range of fund level financing transactions.

Mr. Smith was named by The Drawdown in its list of the most influential experts in fund finance, stating that “Smith has become a key driver in establishing ‘what is the market.’” In Chambers UK, where he is listed in the top band of fund finance lawyers, clients describe him as “probably the best all-round fund finance lawyer in the market,” and highlight that his “commercial focus and depth of knowledge is second to none.” In The Legal 500 UK, which recommends him for fund finance and acquisition finance, Mr. Smith is described as displaying “exceptional advisory skills,” and is called “a highly effective deal lawyer, and a very good collaborator in the industry.” He receives praise for his “strategic guidance, underpinned by deep market insight.”

Mr. Smith joined Debevoise in 2007. He graduated in 2002 with an LL.B. from the University of Nottingham and went on to study at Nottingham Law School in 2003, where he obtained an LPC with distinction. He was admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales in 2006.

Paul Tannenbaum

Proskauer

The LPA - Track A

10:30 AM | 2024-03-13

Paul Tannenbaum

Partner | Proskauer

Paul Tannenbaum is a Finance partner and member of the Private Capital Team (working closely with the Private Funds Group).

Paul has extensive experience acting for lenders, borrowers and financial institutions on both fund financings and acquisition and leveraged finance transactions.

Paul's fund finance experience includes advising GPs and lenders in connection with traditional subscription lines, hybrid and NAV facilities, co-investment facilities, GP support facilities, management fee facilities, asset leverage facilities for credit funds, loans to separate managed accounts and fund of fund financings.

Paul has been recognised by Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner for Fund Finance and as a key lawyer for Bank Lending.

Chu Ting Ng

Reed Smith

Subscription Credit Facility: Guarantee and Security

10:15 AM | 2024-03-14

Chu Ting Ng

Partner | Reed Smith

Chu is a partner in the Financial Industry Group and specialises in fund finance. Chu joined Reed Smith in September 2013 as a trainee.

Chu acts for a variety of borrower and lender side clients, with a primary focus on banks and other financial institutions on the full range of fund finance products including subscription line facilities, Net Asset Value (NAV), hybrid, co-investment and general partner support facilities.

In addition to advising on financing aspects, she also has in-depth knowledge of fund documentation and the business needs of credit, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and ESG funds. She is experienced in advising lenders on tailoring security packages for various fund structures, and also assisting sponsors at the fund structuring and documentation stage to take into account their specific financing needs.

Jill Wilson

Lloyds Bank

Closing Remarks

6:30 PM | 2024-03-14

Jill Wilson

MD, Global Head of Financial Sponsors | Lloyds Bank

Jill leads the Financial Sponsors business which is responsible for managing the relationships with leading Financial Sponsors clients globally.

Jill has over 25 years of experience in Financial Services across a range of leadership roles spanning client, product and operational businesses. Jill has deep experience in private markets including across leveraged and structured finance, debt restructuring and the current leadership of the Financial Sponsors business and teams in the UK and US, which also includes being directly responsible for the business’ fund financing propositions.

Jill holds a BA in Politics and International Relations, is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland and is currently on the Board of the Fund Finance Association.

James York

NatWest Markets Plc

FFA University - Europe

Last updated 02/20/24.

Greg Andrews

Arnaud Arrecgros

Eleni Askianaki

Joel Buckett

Parisa Clovis

Kate Downey

Chris Elson

Greg Fayvilevich

Sarah Francis

Alex Griffiths

Helen Griffiths

Todd Hooper

Andrew Husdan

Samantha Hutchinson

Ben Jones

Jessica Lai

Matt Lilley

Billal Malik

Emma Russell

Ed Saunders

Aimee Sharman

Kate Sinclair

Laura Smith

Tom Smith

Paul Tannenbaum

Chu Ting Ng

Jill Wilson

James York