Nicole Lawrence Senior Director -Senior Strategist Moody's Analytics

Nicole Lawrence is a Senior Director – Strategist for the Moody’s Analytics. She is responsible for strategy, management and marketing in Moody’s Analytics Structured Solutions group. Her expertise spans across several ABS and CLO markets. In addition, she is responsible for the Structured Solutions Research team.

Prior to joining Moody’s Analytics, Nicole held various roles with T-REX and B Asset Manager (BAM), focusing on analyzing and investing in esoteric and consumer ABS markets. Before BAM, she spent 11 years at PPM America, most notably as a Vice President, where she was responsible for investments across several ABS and CLO asset classes. Nicole began her career as an ABS ratings analyst for Moody’s Investors Service. Nicole has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Arlene Kearns Senior Director - Structured Finance Product Strategy Moody's Analytics

Arlene Kearns is a Senior Director in the Structured Finance business of Moody’s Analytics. She is responsible for driving business and product initiatives that will grow the Structured Finance Product Suite globally.

Prior to joining Moody’s in 2010, Arlene held Structured Finance positions at Banc of America Securities, Lehman Brothers and Standard & Poor’s. Her experience spans banking, credit analysis, proprietary trading, and M&A.

Arlene earned a BA in Economics and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Annabel Schaafsma Managing Director, Global Structured Finance Moody's Ratings

Annabel Schaafsma is a Managing Director and Global Head of the Structured Finance Group within Ratings and Research. She is responsible for a global team that both assign primary ratings as well as the surveillance of existing ratings covering all asset types including Asset Backed Securities, Corporate and Residential Mortgage Backed Securities, Structured Credit and Covered Bonds.

Annabel has many years of experience in credit analysis, as well as managing credit professionals. Annabel first joined Moody’s in 2001 in the Structured Finance Group where she went onto leading teams assigning Primary ratings to Residential Mortgage Backed securities and the surveillance of Consumer Asset Backed Securities in EMEA. Prior to her current role she worked in Credit Strategy and Standards Group responsible for the Methodology Development Group. Prior to joining Moody’s Annabel worked for Credit Suisse in the Credit Risk Management department in various roles in London and New York. In 2006 Annabel joined Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Credit Research for the Structured Credit Investment team that invested in structured finance instruments. Before re-joining Moody’s in 2010, Annabel was head of Traded Credit Risk Management for Standard Chartered Bank in London responsible for the identification and analysis of credit risks within the firm’s trading business.

Annabel is passionate about diversity and inclusion; she is the executive sponsor of the Moody’s UK Women’s Business Resource Group. Annabel holds an undergraduate degree in Economics focused in finance and accountancy from Manchester University

Atsi Sheth Managing Director, Chief Credit Officer and Global Head of Credit Strategy & Standards Moody's Ratings

Atsi Sheth is Managing Director and Global Head, Credit Strategy and Research.

Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research group includes global teams focused on Macroeconomic Research, Default & Ratings Analytics and Global Emerging Markets as well as regional credit strategy teams each focused on Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA.

Together these teams establish and articulate Moody’s house views on the trends that drive risk across countries, sectors and asset classes. They undertake in depth data driven analysis and leverage the expertise of ratings and research analysts across Moody’s to generate global, regional and sector insights on macro-economic, political, policy, technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.

In her capacity leading the group, Atsi also serves as a spokesperson on Moody’s analytic views, engaging with investors, the media and a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders.

Atsi is a long-time champion of Moody’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) as well as our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. She serves as co-chair of the CSR Thought Leadership & Solutions working group and the Senior Advisor to Moody’s Asian Leadership Initiative - a Multicultural Business Resource Group.

Prior to her current role, Atsi was Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for the Americas and before that Managing Director in Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. She has also served as Chief Economist at Reliance Capital and taught courses on International Political Economy and Emerging Markets at Columbia University and Northwestern University. Atsi has a PhD from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Bombay University.

Christina Padgett Associate Managing Director, Corporate Finance Moody's Ratings

Christina Padgett is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group and leads the Leveraged Finance Research and Analytics team. She spends most of her time chairing speculative grade rating committees and producing credit research with a focus on the leveraged finance market and private equity.

Before joining Moody’s, Christina was a vice president at JPMorgan Chase in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Prior to her experience in investment banking, Christina finished the bank’s Credit Training program and worked in Europe Corporate Finance and Credit Audit. She received a Masters in International Political Economy from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in History from William Smith College.

Harpreet Anand Portfolio Manager Oak Hill Advisors

Harpreet S. Anand is a Portfolio Manager & Partner at Oak Hill Advisors, a leading alternative investment firm with $61 billion of capital under management across performing and distressed credit investments in North America and Europe. He serves on various firm committees including the compliance committee, investment strategy committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Previously, Mr. Anand had senior research responsibility for automotive, building products, chemicals, metals & mining, paper & packaging and aerospace & defense industries. Prior to joining OHA in 2006, he worked at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in its Leveraged Finance/Financial Sponsors Group. 

Mr. Anand earned a B.B.A., with Honors, from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

David Musicant Managing Director, Investment Development & Capital Markets American Securities

David Musicant joined American Securities in 2011. David founded and manages American Securities’ Investment Development and Capital Markets Group (IDG). IDG is responsible for managing deal origination, executive resources, and debt/equity capital markets strategy/execution across portfolio companies.

Prior to joining American Securities, David was with Bank of America/Merrill Lynch for 15 years. In 2003, he launched Bank of America/Merrill Lynch’s Middle Market Financial Sponsor Coverage effort, serving as a Managing Director and a member of the Global Sponsor Management Committee. David was the leader of American Securities’ sponsor coverage relationship at Bank of America for seven years. Prior to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, he held positions in the retail financial advisory businesses at Lehman Brothers and Alex Brown. Earlier in his career, David founded and managed the Corporate Client Coverage Group at Montgomery Securities, which was responsible for the Personal Wealth business of the firm’s Corporate Finance and Financial Sponsor clients.

David received a BA in Economics from Rutgers University. He serves as a Member of the Board of the Musicant Family Brain Trust.

Julia Chursin Vice President - Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance Group Moody's Ratings

Julia Chursin is an Vice President - Senior Analyst in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group (CFG) that produces research on corporate defaults and recoveries and trends in high-yield/ leveraged finance space. She is also responsible for collecting, maintaining and analyzing data in Moody's Ultimate Recovery Database used to support Moody’s LGD Assessments (LGDAs), as well as other products/services at Moody’s Analytics.

Julia has both co-authored and published her own special comments/research on default-recovery trends across various sectors and involving various types of debt facilities. Notably, her own publications and other special comments she co–wrote with Moody’s senior analysts have been featured among Moody’s high-profile research in top-tier media outlets. Julia has directly contributed to greater visibility of Moody’s B3 Negative and Lower Ratings List among investors and the media by publishing quarterly special comments, monthly newsletters and creating comprehensive data visualizations.

Julia joined Moody’s CFG in January 2013 from Moody’s Public Finance Commercial group, where she handled various aspects of business and pricing relationships with rated issuers and their bankers/financial advisors.

Prior to joining Moody’s in September 2010, Julia worked as an investment associate at UBS Financial Services, where she supported a wealth management team in various aspects of the business involving execution of investment strategies and development of asset allocation models for portfolios of high- net-worth clients, in addition to researching and analyzing performance of various investment vehicles/products.

Julia received her MBA in Finance from Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College (CUNY).

Derek Gluckman Vice President – Senior Covenant Officer Moody’s Ratings

Derek Gluckman is a Vice President – Senior Covenant Officer in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Derek specializes in covenant analysis and research, with particular focus on leveraged loans.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Derek was a managing associate in the banking and finance practice group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP and was previously an associate in the leveraged finance and transportation finance practice groups at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. His practice focused primarily on representing agents and lenders in commercial banking transactions.

Derek holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.S. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Mimi Eng Vice President - Senior Analyst, Structured Finance Moodys Investors Service

Mimi Eng is a Vice President-Senior Analyst in Moody’s Structured Finance Group and is responsible for rating U.S. primary CLO transactions and structured notes. Prior to joining Moody’s, Mimi worked at New York Life Investments, where she was a product manager focused on CLOs and, before that, she worked at JP Morgan Securities in the CLO/CDO structuring team. Mimi has also previously held positions in derivatives marketing with JP Morgan Securities and with Bankers Trust Company.

Mimi holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.B.A from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Amherst College. She is also a CFA charterholder.

Sean Griffin Managing Director, Deputy Head of CLO Primary & Head of Private Credit CLOs JP Morgan

Sean Griffin serves as Deputy Head of Global CLO Primary and Head of Private Credit CLOs. During his time at JP Morgan, Mr. Griffin has executed transactions on behalf of a variety of issuers, including private equity, hedge fund, asset/money manager, and insurance companies. Mr. Griffin utilized CLO/CDO technology to provide clients with access to capital and address their business goals, whether it be growth of AUM via traditional CLO/CDO issuance or more specialized bespoke financing solutions. Mr. Griffin's experience covers cashflow and market value securitization products and spans multiple asset classes with a focus on corporate credit/bank loans. 

Mr. Griffin received a BA in Mathematical Economics from Brown University.

Angela Best Director, Structured Products MetLife

Angela Best is a Director in Structured Products responsible for Collateralized Loan Obligation investments for MetLife Investment Management (MIM). She is responsible for portfolio management, research and credit underwriting across U.S., European, and Private Credit CLOs.

Over the course of her career at MetLife, Best has held roles in Trading, Strategy, and Product Development. 

 Best holds an MBA from Cornell University, and a BA in Economics and Finance from Fordham University. She holds FINRA Series 7 (General Securities), 24 (General Principal), 57 (Securities Trader), 63 (State Agent) and 99 (Operations Professional) licenses. She serves on the Structured Finance Association (SFA) CLO committee and is a Cabinet member for Women in Securitization (WiS).

Adrienne Dale-Burns Portfolio Manager Onex Credit

Adrienne is a Portfolio Manager and member of the Investment Committee of Onex Credit, with a focus on the firm's CLO and loan strategies.

Prior to joining Onex Credit, Adrienne worked at MidOcean as a Portfolio Manager focused on CLOs. Previously, Adrienne spent 14 years working within the Credit Investments Group at Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM), primarily as a senior credit analyst covering various sectors. Prior to that, Adrienne worked on the sell-side as a Senior High Yield Analyst at CIBC World Markets.

Adrienne received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business. Adrienne currently serves on the board of the Fixed Income Investors Network (FIIN).

Andrea Usai Associate Managing Director, Business & Consumer Services, Corporate Finance Group Moody's Ratings

Andrea manages the Business & Consumer Services team within the North America Corporate Finance Group, where he oversees coverage of around 200 US investment and speculative grade issuers. 

Andrea joined Moody’s in 2011 and prior to his current role, he managed the North America Banks & Specialty Finance Team within the Financial Institutions Group for several years. Before moving to New York in 2018, Andrea was a lead analyst covering a portfolio of large European banks and securities firms domiciled in several European countries, both from London and Paris. In addition, he spent some time in Hong Kong where he supported local analysts on the coverage of banks and securities firms in the region. 

Prior to joining Moody’s, Andrea was a banking supervisor with the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) for eight year. His experience at the UK financial regulator also included an industry secondment to Fidelity International in the UK, and an international secondment to the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel (ACP) Banque de France, the Paris-based French banking regulator. Andrea started his career at Banca Intesa in Italy where he worked as a private banker, as a corporate banker and he also worked as an analyst at Bloomberg Financial Markets in London. 

Andrea serves as the co-chair of the New York Pride Business Resources Group (BRG). He holds a degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Cagliari (Italy) and an MSc in International Banking and Finance from London Metropolitan University. He is a native Italian speaker and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Matthew Jones Vice President – Senior Credit Officer Moody's Ratings

Matthew Jones is a Vice President - Senior Credit Officer within the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s. Matthew currently specializes in the Software, Connectivity and Communications Equipment industries. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2006, Matthew spent 16 years in the banking industry including positions as Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance Group at CIBC World Markets and as Senior Vice President in the Technology Media and telecommunications group at Royal Bank of Scotland. Matthew also has an extensive background restructuring troubled credits. Matthew is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of TuftsT University with a Bachelors's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also holds an M.B.A. degree from Columbia University.

Edmond DeForest Senior Vice President, Business & Consumer Services, Corporate Finance Moody's Ratings

Ed DeForest is a Senior Vice President on the Technology and Services team. Ed covers a portfolio of services and software companies in a range of verticals.

Ed joined Moody’s in February, 2012 from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he shared responsibility for leading a team of examiners reviewing the wholesale loan portfolios of the 10 largest New York-based banks. Prior to his work at the Fed, Ed was a managing director with D.B. Zwirn, where he was the global head of asset management. While there, Ed managed the credit and illiquid risk department, with a portfolio of about $5 billion of assets under management. Ed also worked for 19 years at JPMorgan Chase, in both the credit and lending and the investment banking departments, covering a range of companies in the Technology, Telecommunications, Cable TV, Publishing and Broadcasting sectors. Ed has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. is from Carnegie Mellon University

Sean Cray AVP-Analyst Moody's Ratings

Sean Cray is an AVP-Analyst on the Business and Consumer Services team within the US Corporate Finance Group. Sean covers a portfolio of services and software companies across various verticals including consulting, business process outsourcers, deathcare and others. Prior to joining the Services team in 2020, Sean covered investment grade and speculative grade issuers throughout the telecom, media, consumer products and gaming industries. Prior to joining Moody's in 2008, Sean worked as a financial analyst at AIG.

Sean holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Rutgers University.

Vladimir Ronin Vice President - Senior Analyst Moody’s Ratings

Vladimir Ronin is a Vice President – Senior Analyst in the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service. Vladimir is responsible for a portfolio of both investment and non-investment grade companies in pharmaceutical, and healthcare service provider sectors. During his time at Moody’s, Vladimir supported the credit analysis of speculative grade companies in various industries including healthcare, food & beverage, and consumer durable manufacturers.

Vladimir graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in History. He received his MBA from NYU Stern School of Business with concentrations in Corporate Finance and Financial Markets and Instruments, and is a CFA charterholder.

Safat Hannan AVP-Analyst, Capital Equipment, Corporate Finance Group Moodys Investors Service

Safat Hannan is a lead analyst in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. He is responsible for a portfolio of issuers in the Aerospace & Defense and Manufacturing sectors. He was previously a lead analyst covering not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare systems in the United States in Moody’s Public Finance Group. Prior to becoming a credit analyst, Safat was a manager in Moody’s Internal Audit Group specializing in operational audits of various regulated Moody’s Investors Service functions including the core ratings process. 

Prior to joining Moody’s in 2013, Safat was a Senior Auditor with the public accounting firm Mazars. He received both his B.A. in Political Science and M.S. in Accountancy from the University at Albany. Safat is an active CPA licensed in the State of New York.