People moves and key promotions in securitisation

This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees Medalist Partners appointing a former Cantor Fitzgerald senior executive as partner and head of structured credit. Elsewhere, the EIF has named a new head of securitisation, while Davis Polk has promoted six – including two securitisation specialists – to partner.

Medalist Partners has appointed James Buccola as partner and head of structured credit, as the firm continues to strengthen its structured credit and asset-based private credit investing platform. Buccola has more than two decades of investing, trading and management experience in structured credit and asset finance. He was previously head of fixed income at Cantor Fitzgerald, which he joined in December 2017, and worked at Credit Suisse and Deloitte before that.

Meanwhile, the EIF has promoted Georgi Stoev to head of securitisation. Based in Luxembourg, he was previously head of Northern Europe & CEE securitisation, having joined the fund as a structured finance analyst in March 2009.

Law firm Davis Polk has elevated David Kennedy, Aliza Slansky and four other senior team members to partner. The other lawyers to have been promoted include Brett McMahon, Zachary Frimet, Aaron Ferner and Michael Senders, who work across a range of asset classes.

Kennedy, who is based in New York, advises direct lenders, financial institutions and corporate borrowers on transactions including asset-based lending and securitisations. He also advises on leveraged buyouts, acquisition financings, private debt, debt restructuring transactions, and NAV and back-leverage facilities. Kennedy is promoted from counsel, having rejoined the firm in 2022 from Pinsent Masons. He previously had a three-year spell at Davis Polk and a one-year stint at King & Wood Mallesons.

Slansky is also based in New York and is promoted from the role of counsel in the firm’s tax practice. She focuses on derivatives and structured finance, M&A deals, capital market transactions including IPOs and joint ventures.

Beka Credit has recruited structured finance banker Pablo Perez as md, responsible for leading the creation of innovative financial vehicles to drive company growth. Perez was previously executive director and head of Iberia SPG origination and structuring at JPMorgan, which he joined in July 2007. Before that, he worked at Fitch and Banco Espirito Santo.

Maples and Calder has promoted Matthew St-Amour to partner in its Cayman Islands office. St-Amour advises borrowers and lenders on structured finance and bankruptcy remote structures, derivatives, and secured lending transactions including fund finance. He joined the firm in 2022 having previously spent 12 years at Slaughter and May.

And finally, Aon has promoted its current head of analytics for reinsurance in the Asia Pacific region, Peter Cheesman, to head of analytics for risk capital, APAC. Cheesman’s role will now also incorporate oversight of APAC commercial risk. Based in Sydney, he will report to Paul Shedden, global head of advanced risk analytics for Aon’s risk capital, and George Attard, ceo of APAC for reinsurance. Cheesman joined Aon 13 years ago, having previously spent 10 years at Guy Carpenter.

Corinne Smith, Kenny Wastell