Get to Know Us
Ali Hamed
Partner
Ali is a Partner at CoVenture. He co-leads firm management, capital raising, and deal sourcing, and is a member of the investment committee of CoVenture's credit and venture subsidiaries (CoVenture Management, CV19 Venture Partners, and Crossbeam Venture Partners). Ali attended Cornell University from 2010 to 2014, where he played Varsity Baseball.
Brian Harwitt
Partner
Brian is a Partner focused on CoVenture's Credit business. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Brian was an investment banking analyst at Guggenheim Securities focusing on healthcare. Brian received a BS Summa Cum Laude from Cornell University.
Elizabeth Ostrander
Partner | Chief Operating Officer
Elizabeth is a Partner and the Chief Operating Officer at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Elizabeth was the Director of Business Development at a boutique investment banking and capital markets firm. Elizabeth received a BA from Boston College. She is a C.F.A. charter holder.
Isaac Strulowitz
Partner | Chief Financial Officer
Isaac is a Partner and the Chief Financial Officer at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Isaac worked at Ernst & Young and The Blackstone Group. Isaac received a BSc from Yeshiva University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Naved Sheikh
General Counsel
Naved is General Counsel of CoVenture. Before joining the CoVenture team, Naved was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, where he served as lead counsel for the infrastructure, secondaries, Asia-focused private equity and growth capital teams and other private investing businesses within Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Naved previously served as in-house counsel at Blackstone and as an associate at the global law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Naved received a BA in architecture from Yale College and a JD from Cornell Law School.
Stan Friedman
Chief Human Resource Officer
Stan is the Chief Human Resource Officer and the Principal of Alpha HC Consulting, LLC which provides HR consulting to investment management firms. Before founding Alpha HC Consulting, he served as a Managing Director and Chief HR Officer for Fortress where he oversaw HR for their public entity, designed the HR function that facilitated the firm's growth and played a major role in their increase in AUM. He was also involved in C-suite recruitment, reorgs, resolving operational issues, and communication strategies for portfolio companies within Fortress' private equity fund. Stan has been a speaker and guest panelist at numerous industry events, an adjunct professor teaching management courses at Baruch College and currently serves as a member on three advisory boards. Stan received a BA from NY State University College and Fredonia and a MA from Columbia University.
Joe Iraci
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer
Joe is Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer of CoVenture. Prior to joining CoVenture, Joe spent 8 years as Director at Adherence LLC, a regulatory compliance consultant with an affiliated law firm where he managed numerous broker-dealer and registered investment advisory clients. Before Adherence, Joe held roles as Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of NorthCoast Asset Management and Associate Counsel, and eventually Director of Legal Affairs of Kenmar where he was responsible for various legal and compliance requirements associated with the multiple regulated entities and managed account platforms. Joe began his career as a consultant-analyst at Iridian Asset Management. Joe received a JD/MBA from Pace University and a BA from Fordham University College of Business.
Michael Breitstein
Managing Director
Michael is a Managing Director focused on CoVenture's Credit business. He has over 10 years of special situations credit experience. Previously, Michael raised a $100mm+ venture facility at Mighty, and created a FinTech product integrated with Mighty's SaaS platform, leveraging data science to enhance investment returns. Prior to Mighty, Michael focused on distressed credit at Aurelius Capital and private credit at Melody Capital. He began his career as an investment banking analyst in restructuring at Rothschild and Bank of America. Michael received a Bachelor of Science with Distinction from Cornell University.
Dan Bailey
Managing Director
Dan is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of CoVenture's Hybrid Capital Solutions strategy. He has over 12 years of private capital investment and advisory experience. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Dan was a Principal at Two Sigma Investments, where he was primarily responsible for making middle market private equity investments in the financial services industry with a focus on opportunities across specialty finance, insurance/insurtech, asset management, capital markets, and financial technology. Prior to Two Sigma, Dan held roles in private credit at The Carlyle Group and private equity at American Capital (acquired by Ares). He began his career as an investment banking analyst in leveraged finance at Wells Fargo. Dan received a B.A. from Cornell University and a MA from the University of Southern California.
Lei Tie
Managing Director
Lei is a Managing Director focused on CoVenture's Credit business. He has over 17 years of experience in securitized credit. Prior to joining CoVenture, Lei co-founded a fund manager in Singapore and led a structured credit team with a primary focus on APAC. Previously, he was the Head of ABS at LibreMax Capital in New York. Lei also spent time in various securitized credit roles at Barclays Capital, Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan, focused on principal finance, origination and structuring. Lei received 2 BS's and a MS from Carnegie Mellon University.
Graham Kohan
Managing Director
Graham is a Managing Director focused on CoVenture's Hybrid Capital Solutions strategy. He has over 12 years of private capital investment and advisory experience. Prior to CoVenture, Graham was a Principal at Golub Capital in the Credit Opportunities Group where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring and monitoring opportunistic debt and equity investments. Prior to Golub Capital, Graham was a Director at BC Partners Advisors LP with a focus on deal origination, execution and monitoring across the credit platform’s opportunistic credit and middle market lending strategies. Prior to this position, Graham held roles in private credit at The Carlyle Group and HIG Capital. Graham began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at RBC Capital Markets. Graham received a BSE from the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Jim Sellner
Senior Vice President
Jim is a Senior Vice President at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Jim worked at SS&C Technologies, MUFG Investor Services and JPMorgan. Jim received a BS, MS and MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Will Shao
Vice President
Will is a Vice President on the Credit investment team. His responsibilities include portfolio monitoring and diligence. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Will worked as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney. Will received a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Cornell University.
Meghan Hillery
Vice President
Meghan is a Vice President at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, she was an underwriter at Capital One focused on technology, media, and telecom companies. Meghan received a BSc from Cornell University.
Kevin Johnson
Vice President
Kevin is a Vice President of Finance at CoVenture. Prior to joining the Coventure team, Kevin worked at Ernst & Young and served as a Senior Manager at BDO. Kevin received a BBA and MS from Baruch College. He is an IRS Enrolled Agent.
Eric Kagan
Vice President
Eric is the Vice President of Finance at CoVenture. Prior to joining the Coventure team, Eric worked at KROST CPAs (previously known as Krost, Baumgarten, Kniss & Guerrero) and Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt. Eric receieved a BS from California Lutheran University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Katie Williams
Vice President
Katie is a Vice President at CoVenture, focusing on operations. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Katie worked to establish and build the Product Control function within Blackstone Credit. Prior to Blackstone, Katie held various operations, finance, and accounting roles across the asset management industry. Katie received a BS in Finance and Accounting from Indiana University and is an inactive Certified Public Accountant.
Dalia Bauman
Vice President
Dalia is a Vice President on the Hybrid Capital Solutions investment team. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Dalia was an associate in the Credit Opportunities fund at The Carlyle Group where she was focused on diligencing, structuring, and sourcing opportunistic credit investments. Prior to Carlyle, Dalia was a Private Credit analyst at Goldman Sachs. Dalia received a BS from the University of Maryland.
Mike Gallagher
Vice President
Mike is a Vice President on the Credit investment team. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Mike worked as an Assistant Vice President at Global Atlantic Financial Group focused on private asset-based investments and insurance capital optimization. Previously, Mike held roles at Guggenheim Securities as an investment banking Analyst and at Moody’s Corporation as a credit rating Analyst. Mike received a BS from NYU Stern School of Business, where he competed in Varsity cross-country and track and field.
Danielle Mahon
Senior Associate
Danielle is a Senior Operations Associate at CoVenture. Her responsibilities include operations and investor relations functions across the firm. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Danielle worked on Morgan Stanley’s Corporate Buyback team. Danielle received a BBA from Loyola University Maryland.
Madison Lawton
Senior Associate
Madi is a Senior Associate on the asset management team. Her responsibilities include portfolio monitoring and reporting. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Madi was working as an analyst in structured finance, focusing on residential mortgage backed securitizations, at Ernst and Young. Madi received a BS from the University of South Carolina.
Mauricio Alfonso
Controller
Mauricio is a Controller at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Mauricio worked at Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt and White Nelson Diehl Evans CPA firms. Mauricio received a BS from Chapman University.
Kaitlin DiDomenico
Controller
Kaitlin is a Controller at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Kaitlin served as the Assistant Controller for an Austin-based, private equity firm focused on real estate and subordinate debt markets and at Ernst and Young as a Senior on their Global Compliance and Reporting team. Kaitlin received two BSs from Old Dominion University. She is a licensed CPA in Virginia.
Jack Stummer
Associate
Jack is an Associate on the Credit investment team. His responsibilities include portfolio monitoring and diligence. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Jack worked as a Credit Analyst at Metropolitan Partners Group and as an Investment Banking Analyst at Deutsche Bank. Jack received a BS from Northwestern University.
Richard Cho
Associate
Richard is an Associate on the Credit investment team. His responsibilities include portfolio monitoring and diligence. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Richard worked as an investment banking analyst at Lazard. Richard received a BA from Cornell University.
Philip Aleksich
Associate
Philip is an Operations Associate at CoVenture. His responsibilities include operations and investor relations functions across the firm. Prior to joining CoVenture, Philip was an associate for PartnersAdmin, a California-based fund administrator. Philip received a BA from UC San Diego.
Matthew Bohdan
Associate
Matt is an Associate on the asset management team. His responsibilities include portfolio monitoring and reporting. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Matt was working at KPMG as an analyst in structured finance, focusing on asset-backed securitizations and valuation of fixed income products. Matt received a BA from UCLA.
Sydney Belcher
Associate
Sydney is an Associate on the finance and operations team. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Sydney was working at UBS Financial Services as a Wealth Strategist, focusing on financial planning and investment research. Sydney received a BA from UCSB.
Alexa Holzberg
Executive Assistant
Alexa is an Executive Assistant at CoVenture. Prior to joining the CoVenture team, Alexa worked in the financial services industry handling client operations and serving as an executive assistant to company CEO’s and VP’s. Alexa received a BA from the University of Delaware.
Savneet Singh
Advisor
Savneet is an advisor at CoVenture. He is also the CEO of PAR Technology Corporation. Previously, he was the co-founder of GBI, the first electronic platform that allowed investors to buy, trade, and store physical precious metals. The company is now one of the largest independent providers of precious metals in the United States, and as a result Savneet was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list and Crain's 40 under 40. Prior to GBI, Savneet was an investment analyst at Chilton Investment Company where he covered investments in the technology, alternative energy, and infrastructure space. Prior to Chilton, Savneet worked in the investment banking department of Morgan Stanley. He received his BS from Cornell University, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Par Technology (NYSE:PAR), Transeastern Power Trust (TSX:BPWR), CoinTheory and Produce Pay Inc.
Glen Chesir
Advisor
Glen serves as a Board Member and Strategic Advisor for CoVenture. Additionally, Glen is a Founding Partner of Merchant Investment Management, is a member of the Board of Directors of Spotter, a member of the Board of Directors for Wave Sports and Entertainment, and is a partner in Piton Investment Management. Previously, Glen was an analyst for Cedar Glade Capital, a boutique hedge fund specializing in distressed investments and litigation finance. Glen graduated Cum Laude from Brandeis University.