Dhiren Jhaveri

Kuvare Founder & CEO

Before founding Kuvare, Dhiren Jhaveri was a member of the executive committee of Sammons Financial Group, where he led corporate development and investment risk. Sammons Financial Group (SFG) is the holding company for Midland National Life Insurance Company and North American Company for Life and Health (NACOLAH). Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co. and Barclays.

Brian Roelke

President & Chief Investment Officer

Brian leads the investment team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He brings decades of industry experience to the role, most recently as Head of Private Capital at Nuveen/TIAA, where he was also a member of the Board of Directors of Churchill Asset Management, TIAA’s middle market lending affiliate, and Churchill’s investment committee. Brian is a former board member of the Institutional Investors Roundtable, the Private Placement Investors Association, and the SOA’s Private Placement Experience Committee. He earned a BA in history and economics from Colgate University and an MBA in finance and accounting from New York University, where he was a Stern Scholar and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Ira Kaplan

Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Management

Ira leads the portfolio management initiatives for Kuvare Insurance Services. He has 25 years of industry experience and previously managed core credit strategies and asset management relationships at Prosperity Life, was Head of US Admin Re® Portfolio Management, was on the board of directors for Aurora National Life and was with MetLife's portfolio management unit. Ira is a CFA® Charterholder with an MBA in finance from New York University and a BS in Statistics & Biometry from Cornell University.

Joseph Orofino

Managing Director, Head of Investment Risk Management

Joe leads the investment risk function at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 20 years of industry experience, most recently as an operating partner for Further Global Capital Management where he sat as part of the executive team in two portfolio companies. Prior to that, he led Aflac’s investment initiatives in non-core fixed income, alternative and public equity asset classes and was responsible for more than $10 billion of assets. Prior to Aflac, he held senior investment and risk management roles at Swiss Re. While in investments at Swiss Re, he was responsible for more than $20 billion of outsourced assets in fixed income, private debt and alternatives, prior to that he was Head of Fixed Income Market Risk for Swiss Re’s $120 billion general account. He started his career in structured finance at Moody’s. Joe received an MBA and BS in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and is currently on the Board of Trustee’s as Financial Officer for the Port Jefferson Free Library.

Jason Powers

Managing Director, Head of Credit

Jason is responsible for the private credit, CLO, asset-backed and corporate credit sectors for Kuvare Insurance Services. Before joining Kuvare, he spent 17 years at Wells Fargo Securities, most recently as Co-Head of the Corporate Debt Finance group, where he managed the structured credit and CLO businesses as part of the Asset-Backed Finance unit. Prior to that, Jason worked in the High Yield Special Products team at Banc of America Securities focusing on restructuring advisory services for stressed and distressed high-yield issuers. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of South Carolina.

Robert C. Restrick, IV

Managing Director, Head of Commercial Real Estate

Bob leads the commercial real estate investment efforts for Kuvare Insurance Services. With decades of industry experience, he was Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending at Sabal, establishing a CMBS platform and brought their first securitization to market. He also served as Head of Walker & Dunlop’s investment management and was CEO for their commercial property funding business. Restrick’s additional experience spans notable senior leadership positions with CreXus Investment Group, Annaly Capital Management's Commercial Real Estate Group, CWCapital Investments, GMAC Commercial Capital Initiatives, Pentalpha Capital, Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley. Restrick has a BA degree in political science and economics from Bucknell University and MBA in finance from Rutgers University.

Donald Haber

Managing Director, CRE Head of Credit & Underwriting

Don leads credit and underwriting for the commercial real estate investments effort. He has over 40 years of varied experience in commercial real estate debt and equity. He previously held senior positions in the commercial real estate groups at numerous financial institutions and publicly-traded mortgage real estate investment trusts, including Lehman Brothers, GMAC-Commercial Capital Initiatives, Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald—CCRE, Annaly Capital Management, Ladder Capital Finance and Exantas Capital. Don started his professional career as a certified public accountant at KPMG. He is a graduate of The University of Florida, Fisher School of Accounting.

Robert Karner

Managing Director, CRE Head of Originations

Bob leads CMBS and commercial mortgage originations at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 37 years of commercial mortgage & CMBS experience. Most recently Bob served at Annaly Capital Management in different roles including heading capital markets, originations & underwriting. Bob previously served as co-head of the CMBS syndication desk at Morgan Stanley. Bob has a BBA in Finance and an MS in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin.

Faisal Kassam

Managing Director, Head of ABS

Faisal leads the firm’s Asset-Backed investment efforts for Kuvare Insurance Services. He has 10 years of industry experience and previously at Waterfall Asset Management, he led the origination and structuring of private Asset-Backed debt facilities and special situation private equity investments collateralized by a wide variety of traditional loan and esoteric asset types. Faisal began his career at Guggenheim Partners, where he originated and structured esoteric Asset-Backed securities, executed M&A transactions for specialty finance and fintech companies and invested in special situation aircraft debt and equity transactions. Faisal attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a BA in Economics.

Sana Petersen

Managing Director, CRE Head of Asset Management

Sana is a Managing Director, Head of Asset Management on the Commercial Real Estate Investment team at Kuvare Insurance Services. Prior to joining, Sana was a director in the Commercial Real Estate Capital Markets/Securitization and the Commercial Real Estate Warehouse Lending at Citigroup for over a decade. Prior to joining Citigroup, Sana was a Vice President within the Capital Markets & Securitization Group at CWCapital. Sana began her career in Commercial Real Estate Finance at GMAC Commercial Mortgage. She is a licensed certified public accountant, and she holds an M.B.A from Cornell University in Finance and a B.B.A, magna cum laude, from Georgia State University in Accounting. Sana is the Chair-Elect of the CREFC Women’s Network. She is also an active member of the CREFC Mentoring Program.

Thomas A. Shanklin

Managing Director, Head of Corporates

Tom leads the Corporate Credit team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has 25 years of experience sourcing, structuring and underwriting credit oriented private investments as both agent and principal. Most recently, Tom led the development and execution of Nationwide’s alternative credit strategies and was a voting member of the Corporate Alternatives Investment Committee. Prior to Nationwide Tom held various capital markets roles at Deutsche Bank and SunTrust (now Truist Bank). Tom earned a BSBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Emory’s Goizueta Business School.

Rachel Hudson

Director, Head of Private Placements

Rachel is the Head of Private Placements at Kuvare Insurance Services. She has over 10 years of industry experience, most recently in Private Placements at MetLife Investment Management, where she originated bilateral and club deals and underwrote agented transactions. Prior to that, she worked at J.P. Morgan in Public Finance, where she executed taxable and tax-exempt debt financings. Rachel holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Grace Kim

Director, Head of CLOs

Grace focuses on the CLO investment efforts for Kuvare Insurance Services. She has over 15 years of structured finance experience, most recently at Apollo. Grace began her career at Deutsche Bank where she focused on originating and structuring Asset-Backed securitizations across various asset classes. Following Deutsche Bank, she worked at UBS within the Structured Credit Products group. Grace attended Columbia University, earning a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.

Peter Chung

Director, ABS

Peter is a Director on the asset-backed investment team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 15 years of industry experience, most recently at Deutsche Bank, where he structured asset-backed securities collateralized by a variety of traditional and esoteric assets. Prior to that, Peter was a Director at Wells Fargo with a focus on structured products. He previously worked at Fitch Ratings as a credit analyst focusing on asset-backed securities. Peter earned a bachelor's degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Alex Paroda

Vice President, Commercial Real Estate

Alex is a Vice President on the Commercial Real Estate Investment team at Kuvare Insurance Services. In this role, he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and structuring investment opportunities. Prior to joining Kuvare in 2021, Alex worked for Sabal Capital Partners focusing on CMBS origination and underwriting. Prior to joining Sabal, Alex worked at Cushman and Wakefield where he focused on underwriting bridge and construction loans. Alex graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, concentrating in Finance and Business.

Rafael Rojas

Vice President, Investment Risk Management

Rafael is part of the Investment Risk Management team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 15 years of industry experience across multiple asset classes including equity, fixed income and derivative products. Previously, he worked at Citibank Global Markets Inc. in the treasury transformation office overseeing the implementation of liquidity stress testing reports. Prior to Citi, he held market risk roles at DTCC, Deutsche Bank and Swiss Re responsible for the assessment of daily margin sufficiency, stress testing and enterprise resiliency. Rafael started his career in structured finance at Moody’s. Rafael received an BS/MS in applied mathematics from New Jersey Institute of Technology and MBA from New York University School of Business.

Matthew Xirinachs

Vice President, Corporate Credit

Matthew is a Vice President on the Corporate Credit team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has 7 years of industry and private market experience. Prior to joining Kuvare in 2020, Matthew most recently worked within Blackstone’s Insurance Solutions group where he was involved in the development, structuring, and portfolio management of investment solutions for insurers. Prior to that, Matthew served various roles across Blackstone and was a member of Blackstone’s Credit, Real Estate, and Corporate Development groups. Matthew graduated from Fairfield University’s Dolan School of Business with a BS in Finance and International Business.

Josh Carruthers

Associate, ABS

Josh is an Investment Associate at Kuvare Insurance Services. Before joining Kuvare, Josh was an Associate at boutique investment bank, GreensLedge Capital Markets, where he provided advisory and capital markets solutions to ABS and CLO issuers. Prior to GreensLedge, Josh was an Analyst at Mizuho Securities. Josh has focused his career on asset-backed securitizations covering asset classes including litigation finance advances, personal loans, student loans, middle market corporate loans, and other esoteric consumer and commercial receivables. Josh received bachelor of science degrees in economics and finance from the University of Delaware.

Spencer Jordan

Associate, ABS

Spencer is an Associate on the Asset-Backed team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 4 years of experience working in private markets. At his previous role at Waterfall Asset Management, he executed and helped manage a portfolio of private Asset-Backed transactions secured by small business loans, consumer debt, real estate, oil & gas, and other esoteric assets. Spencer began his career as an intern at Waterfall, where he rotated between the Whole Loan Trading and Asset-Backed groups. Spencer received a BS in Business and Political Economy from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Nicholas Charles

Analyst, Portfolio Management

Michael DiMiceli

Analyst, Corporate Credit

Mike is an investment analyst with Kuvare Insurance Services. He is involved in credit origination, underwriting, and portfolio management initiatives. Prior to Kuvare, Mike was an analyst at Societe Generale where he worked on financial reporting, liquidity management, and ALM. Mike holds a B.S. in finance and economics from Rutgers Business School.

Will Pass

Analyst, Commercial Real Estate Investments

Will is responsible for supporting the Commercial Real Estate Investments team at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has one year of commercial real estate experience. Most recently, Will interned at Kuvare Insurances Services on our Commercial Real Estate team and previously with Guggenheim Partners as an Investment Summer Analyst. Will earned his Bachelor Science Management in Finance and Management and a Minor in Business of Real Estate from Tulane University.

Griffin Smuts

Analyst, ABS

Ana Morales

Managing Director, Head of Business Development & Product Strategy

Ana leads Business Development and Product Strategy for Kuvare Insurance Services. Prior to joining Kuvare, Ana was a Senior Relationship Manager within Goldman Sachs’ Insurance Asset Management team where she was responsible for leading relationships and business development efforts with new and existing clients. Ana also spent six years at BlackRock where she led and built the exchange-traded funds insurance distribution team. She began her career at Morgan Stanley in client relationship management roles within the Fixed Income Middle Markets and Private Wealth Management groups. As a former New York City Teaching Fellow, she earned a master’s degree in Education with a Bilingual Extension from the City University of NY. Ana earned a BBA with a major in Accountancy and a minor in Marketing, magna cum laude, and varsity letters in cross country and track & field from the University of Notre Dame.

Brian Kurtz

Head of Investment Operations & Reporting

Brian leads the investment operations and reporting functions at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 19 years of industry experience, most recently as Director of Investment Operations, Reporting, and Analysis at Sammons Financial Group. Previously, he worked at Deloitte within the assurance practice, where he served financial services clients. Brian attended Bradley University, earning a BS in Finance and Quantitative Methods.

Thomas J. Pasuit

Chief Legal Officer

Tom is the Chief Legal Officer at Kuvare Insurance Services. Prior to joining Kuvare, Tom spent over 16 years with MetLife, most recently as the head of MetLife Investment Management’s Fixed Income and Alternatives legal team. Tom began his legal career with the law firm of Connell Foley, LLP, where he specialized in bankruptcy and financial restructuring. Tom earned a BA in English Literature from the College of the Holy Cross and a JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Enzo Incandela

Deputy Chief Legal Officer & Assistant Secretary

Enzo counsels the investment team on transactional matters and provides legal support on a range of regulatory, governance, compliance and contract matters for Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 20 year of finance industry experience, most recently as Associate General Counsel at OFS Capital Management. Enzo previously practiced at Paul Hastings LLP and Ice Miller LLP, specializing in a wide range of financing and private equity transactions. Prior to his legal career, Enzo worked at UBS and Morgan Stanley (previously Smith Barney). Enzo is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and North Central College.

Marla G. Berger

Head of Commercial Real Estate Legal

Jack Chen

Head of Private ABS Legal

Jack is the Head of Private ABS Legal at Kuvare Insurance Services. Jack has over 25 years of experience in the structured finance/structured products space, including positions with Centerline Capital, HillMark Capital Management and Moody’s Investors Service. Most recently, Jack supported MetLife Investment Management’s fixed income legal team, focusing primarily on Private ABS transactions. Jack earned a BA from Columbia College, Columbia University and a JD from Fordham University Law School.

Frank Ingraham

Compliance Director, Chief Compliance Officer, Cipperman Compliance Services

Frank leads KIS’ compliance program. He has over 20 years of experience with a variety of firms, including Prudential Financial and Guardian Life Insurance. Most recently, Frank was the Chief Compliance Officer of Pruco Securities, LLC. Prior to this role, he was the Head of Supervision at Guardian Life Insurance and its broker-dealer, Park Avenue Securities, LLC. Frank earned a B.A. in Criminal Justice and an MBA from DeSales University. He has earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designations from The American College, and the Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional (CRCP) from the FINRA Institute at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.

Daniela Quintanilla

Vice President, Business Development & Product Strategy

Daniela Quintanilla, CAIA, Vice President, is responsible for business development and product strategy at Kuvare Insurance Services. Previously, Daniela was a Vice President at BlackRock, where she spent 8 years. Most recently, she led the iShares East Coast Insurance Distribution Team. Ms. Quintanilla earned a B.A. in political science and history from Columbia University and is currently completing an MBA at Columbia Business School. Ms. Quintanilla is a CAIA Charterholder and a member of the CAIA Association.

Marie Zimny

Controller

Chris Blake

Manager, Operations & Reporting

Chris brings a breadth of investment and operational experience to Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 20 years’ experience his prior roles in investment management, asset custody, and fund accounting. He was most recently focused on the custody aspect of trading operations with Millennium Trust Company. He earned a bachelor s degree in finance from DePaul University in Chicago.

Roberto Garibay

Manager, Data Integrity

Roberto supports the investment operations functions at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 18 years of industry experience, most recently as an Insurance Client Service & On-Boarding Specialist at Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC. Previously, he worked at CNA Insurance within the Investment and Finance areas, where he served as an accounting manager. Roberto attended University of Illinois at Chicago where he earned a BS in Accounting and was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Casey O’Brien

Trading Settlements Associate, Operations & Reporting

Casey supports the investment operations functions at Kuvare Insurance Services. He has over 17 years of industry experience, most recently as a Trade Desk Assistant at Nuveen on the Fixed Income desk. Casey attended University of Illinois at Chicago where he earned a BA in Economics.

Sandra Pulido

Paralegal

Sandi is a Paralegal at Kuvare Insurance Services. Prior to joining Kuvare in 2022, she spent nearly 15 years at MetLife focused on investments law, primarily supporting the fixed income investments unit. She worked on the origination and settlement of private placement debt transactions, specializing on secondary purchase and sale trades. Sandi holds a Paralegal Certification from the National Academy for Paralegal Studies.

Abbey Cox

Operations Analyst, Operations & Reporting

Abbey is a member of the settlements team as an Operations Analyst for Kuvare Insurance Services. Previously, she worked in operations at Wilbanks Smith and Thomas Asset Management in Virginia, where she handled reconciliation of accounts, alternative investments, and reporting for financial service clients. Abbey earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of St. Francis, studying finance and business management.

Jaiwen He

Operations Analyst, Data Integrity

Michael Pardun

Operations Analyst, Operations & Reporting

Michael is a member of the Settlements team as an Operations Analyst for Kuvare Insurance Services. Michael has one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Michael worked/interned at Reynolds Consumer Products as a Data Analyst. Michael attended Illinois State University where he earned his BS in Mathematics.

Tyler Shwachman

Trading Settlements Analyst, Operations & Reporting

Tyler is a member of the Settlements team as a Trading Settlements Analyst for Kuvare Insurance Services. Tyler has one year of industry experience. Most recently, Tyler interned at Reich Bros Finance on the equipment financing team. Tyler attended the University of Illinois where he earned a BA in Economics.

Jill E. Berls, SHRM-CP, PHR*

Director, Human Resources

Jill Berls leads the Human Resources function for Kuvare Insurance Service. She brings over 25 years of human resource experience to her current position and has worked primarily in the Financial Services sector throughout her career. As an HR generalist, her experience spans across Recruiting, Training and Development, Talent Management, Corporate Culture Development, and Benefit and Payroll Administration. Jill’s strengths lie in her Employee Relations skills and her ability to provide a strong workforce for the betterment of the company.

*Kuvare shared professionals

Ann Mengelson-Clark*

Vice President, Technology

Ann leads the life and annuity technology platform for the domestic companies of Kuvare, including Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company, United Life Insurance Company and Lincoln Benefit Life. Ann has over 25 years of experience in the life and annuity industry. Prior to joining the team at the Kuvare platform level, she served as Corporate Technology Officer for Guaranty Corporation. Ann holds BS and MS degrees from Louisiana State University.

*Kuvare shared professionals