Our People

Stephen A. Schwarzman is Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone. Mr. Schwarzman has been involved in all phases of the firm’s development since its founding in 1985. The firm is a leading global asset manager with $371 billion Assets Under Management (as of June 30, 2017).

Mr. Schwarzman is an active philanthropist with a history of supporting education and schools. Whether in business or in philanthropy, he has always attempted to tackle big problems and find transformative solutions. In 2015, Mr. Schwarzman donated $150 million to Yale University to establish the Schwarzman Center, a first-of-its-kind campus center in Yale’s historic “Commons” building. In 2013, he founded an international scholarship program, “Schwarzman Scholars,” at Tsinghua University in Beijing to educate future leaders about China. At $500 million, the program is modeled on the Rhodes Scholarship and is the single largest philanthropic effort in China’s history coming largely from international donors. Mr. Schwarzman currently maintains his position as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Schwarzman Scholars. In 2007, Mr. Schwarzman donated $100 million to the New York Public Library on whose board he serves.

Mr. Schwarzman is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, The Business Council, The Business Roundtable, and The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is co-chair of the Partnership for New York City and serves on the boards of The Asia Society and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, as well as on The Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, Beijing. He is a Trustee of The Frick Collection in New York City and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2007, Mr. Schwarzman was included in TIME’s “100 Most Influential People.” In 2016, he topped Forbes Magazine’s list of the most influential people in finance. The Republic of France has awarded Mr. Schwarzman both the Légion d'Honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at the Commandeur level. Mr. Schwarzman is one of the only Americans to receive both awards recognizing significant contributions to France.

He is also the Former Chairman of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, charged with providing direct input to the President of the United States from business leaders through a non-partisan, non-bureaucratic exchange of ideas.

Mr. Schwarzman holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Management and on the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors.

Hamilton (“Tony”) E. James is President, Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, and a member of the board of directors of our general partner, Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. He is also a member of Blackstone’s Management Committee and sits on each of the firm’s investment committees.

Prior to joining Blackstone Mr. James was Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Private Equity at Credit Suisse First Boston and a member of the Executive Board. Prior to the acquisition of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette by Credit Suisse First Boston in 2000, Mr. James was the Chairman of DLJ’s Banking Group, responsible for all the firm’s investment banking and merchant banking activities. Mr. James joined DLJ in 1975 as an Investment Banking associate. He became head of DLJ’s global M&A group in 1982, founded DLJ Merchant Banking, Inc. in 1985, and was named Chairman of the Banking Group in 1995. He is a Director of Costco Wholesale Corporation and has served on a number of other corporate Boards.

Mr. James is a Trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Member of The Boards of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Health System, Member of the Center for American Progress Board of Trustees, Vice Chairman of Trout Unlimited’s Coldwater Conservation Fund, Trustee of Woods Hole Oceanographic, Trustee of Wildlife Conservation Society, Advisory Board member of The Montana Land Reliance, and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of American Ballet Theatre. He is also a former member of the President’s Export Council - Subcommittee on Technology & Competitiveness.

In 2016, Mr. James co-authored Rescuing Retirement, a book proposing a solution to America’s looming retirement crisis.

Mr. James graduated magna cum laude with a BA from Harvard College in 1973 and was a John Harvard Scholar. He earned an MBA with high distinction from the Harvard Business School and graduated as a Baker Scholar in 1975.

J. Tomilson Hill is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hedge Fund Solutions group, Vice Chairman of Blackstone and a member of the board of directors of our general partner. Mr. Hill was elected to the board of directors of our general partner effective March 20, 2007. He also sits on the firm’s Management Committee. Mr. Hill previously served as Co-Head of the Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory group before assuming his role as Chief Executive Officer of BAAM. In his current capacity, Mr. Hill is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day activities of the group, including investment management, client relationships, product development, marketing, operations and administration. He is a member of the board of directors of Patria Investment Limited.

Before joining Blackstone in 1993, Mr. Hill began his career at First Boston, later becoming one of the Co-Founders of its Mergers & Acquisitions Department. After running the Mergers & Acquisitions Department at Smith Barney, he joined Lehman Brothers as a partner in 1982, serving as Co-Head and subsequently Head of Investment Banking. Later, he served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Lehman Brothers and Co-President and Co-COO of Shearson Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.

Mr. Hill is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations where he is Chairman Emeritus of the Investment Committee and serves on the Council’s board of directors, and is a member of the board of directors of Lincoln Center Theater, where he is Chairman Emeritus. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. He serves on the Investment Committee of the Smithsonian Institution. He currently serves on the board of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Telluride Foundation, the Advantage Testing Foundation, the Friends of the High Line, and of Our Lady Queen of Angels School, a parochial school (K-8th grade) in Spanish Harlem. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Christie’s and a member of the board of directors of First Eagle Investment Management, Hamilton Insurance Group, Limited and Advantage Testing, Inc.

Joseph Baratta is Global Head of Private Equity and a member of the firm's Management Committee.

Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Baratta has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Universal Orlando, Nycomed Pharmaceuticals, Houghton Mifflin, Spirit Group and was responsible for Blackstone's investments in First Eagle Investment Management, Seaworld Parks and Entertainment, Merlin Entertainments Group, Center Parcs, Tragus Group, Southern Cross and ICS Group. In 2001, Mr. Baratta moved to London to help establish Blackstone’s corporate private equity business in Europe.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Baratta was with Tinicum Incorporated and McCown De Leeuw & Company. Mr. Baratta also worked at Morgan Stanley in its mergers and acquisitions department. Mr. Baratta graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University where he currently serves on the University's Board of Directors. He serves as a director of Blackstone portfolio companies First Eagle Investment Management and Penn Engineering. He is also a trustee of the Tate Foundation in Britain and serves on the board of Year Up, an organization focused on youth employment.

Michael S. Chae is the Chief Financial Officer at Blackstone and serves on the Management Committee. Mr. Chae has management responsibility over the firm’s global finance, treasury, technology, and corporate development functions. Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Mr. Chae has served in a broad range of leadership roles including Head of International Private Equity, Head of Private Equity for Asia/Pacific, and overseeing Private Equity investments in various sectors and the investment process for the Tactical Opportunities fund. Mr. Chae led or was involved in numerous Blackstone investments over that time period. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Chae worked at the Carlyle Group, L.P. and prior to that with Dillon, Read & Co. Mr. Chae graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, and received an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He has served on numerous boards of private and publicly traded portfolio companies. Mr. Chae is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lawrenceville School and Chairman of its Investment Committee, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society.

Jonathan D. Gray is Global Head of Real Estate and a member of the board of directors of Blackstone. He also sits on the firm’s Management Committee. Since joining Blackstone in 1992, Mr. Gray has helped build the largest real estate platform in the world with $102 billion in investor capital under management. Blackstone’s portfolio includes hotel, office, retail, industrial and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Mr. Gray currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and is a board member of Invitation Homes. He also serves on the board of Harlem Village Academies and Trinity School. Mr. Gray and his wife, Mindy, established the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine focused on the prevention and treatment of certain genetically caused cancers.

Mr. Gray received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, as well as a BA in English from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Joan Solotar is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, Head of Private Wealth Solutions and External Relations and serves on the Management Committee. Ms. Solotar oversees the firm’s Private Wealth Solutions business, which delivers solutions to institutional and high net worth clients. Additionally, she manages global shareholder relations and public affairs.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Ms. Solotar was with Bank of America Securities where she was a Managing Director and Head of Equity Research. Prior to joining Bank of America, she was a consistently highly ranked Institutional Investor “All-America Research Team” financial services analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Credit Suisse as a Managing Director.

Ms. Solotar Chairs the Board of Directors of Blackstone’s Charitable Foundation. She is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the East Harlem Tutorial Program and the East Harlem Scholars Academies. She is the author of a Harvard Business Review article entitled “Truths for our Daughters,” as well as “Truths from My Daughter.”

Ms. Solotar received a BS in Management Information Systems from the State University of New York at Albany and an MBA in Finance from New York University.

Bennett Goodman is a Co-Founder of GSO Capital Partners (“GSO”) and Senior Managing Director of Blackstone. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Blackstone and sits on the firm’s Management Committee.

Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Goodman focuses on the management of GSO, which is Blackstone’s credit investment platform with over $85 billion of assets under management in various direct lending strategies, leveraged loan vehicles and distressed investment funds.

Before co-founding GSO in 2005, Mr. Goodman was the Managing Partner of the Alternative Capital Division of Credit Suisse. Mr. Goodman joined Credit Suisse in November 2000 when they acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette ("DLJ") where he was Global Head of Leveraged Finance. Mr. Goodman joined DLJ in February of 1988 as the founder of the High Yield Capital Markets Group. Prior to joining DLJ, Mr. Goodman worked in the high yield business at Drexel Burnham Lambert from 1984 to 1988.

Mr. Goodman graduated from Lafayette College and the Harvard Business School. He currently sits on the board of Lincoln Center and the Central Park Conservancy. He received Institutional Investor’s 2012 Money Manager of The Year Award and the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from Euromoney Magazine for his career achievements in the global capital markets.

J. Albert (Tripp) Smith is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, and a Founder of GSO Capital Partners Before co-founding GSO, Mr. Smith was Global Head of the Capital Markets Group within the Alternative Capital Division of CSFB. The Capital Markets Group had $16 billion of assets under management including CSFB's credit opportunities fund, mezzanine investment fund, CDO business and hedge fund-of-fund business. Prior to that, Mr. Smith was a Managing Director and Global Co-Head of CSFB's Leveraged Finance Group. His responsibilities included the coordination of CSFB's global origination, distribution and trading activities relating to high yield securities, leveraged loans, high yield credit derivatives and distressed securities. Additionally, Mr. Smith was a member of CSFB's Investment Banking Operating Committee, Fixed Income Operating Committee and Co-Chair of the Bank/High Yield Finance Committee. He was also a member of CSFB's Management Council. Mr. Smith joined CSFB in November 2000 when it acquired DLJ, where he was Global Head of High Yield Capital Markets. Mr. Smith had been a member of DLJ's high yield team since he joined the firm in 1993. Prior to that, he worked for Smith Barney and Drexel Burnham Lambert. Mr. Smith received a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.

Stephen H. Can is Senior Managing Director and Co-head of Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Mr. Can is the founding member of Strategic Partners, joining DLJ in 2000 as a Managing Director. Before joining Strategic Partners, Mr. Can worked with the IBM Pension Funds where he co-managed a $7.9 billion private equity portfolio with a focus on both secondary and primary investing. Mr. Can is the Chairman of the Strategic Partners Investment Committees, and previously served on the investment committee of CS Private Equity Strategies, L.P., Real Estate Capital Partners IV, L.P., Credit Suisse Selected Partners, L.P, and Credit Suisse First Boston Fund Investments VII, L.P.

Mr. Can received an A.S. in Business Administration from J.C.C. S.U.N.Y. in 1980, a B.A. magna cum laude in Accounting from Plattsburgh S.U.N.Y. in 1982 and an M.S. in Finance from the Krannert Business School at Purdue University in 1984 where he was named outstanding graduate instructor. Mr. Can subsequently earned C.P.A., C.M.A., and C.F.M. designations.

Verdun S. Perry is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary fund of funds business, which it acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013.

Mr. Perry joined Credit Suisse in November 2000 when it acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”), where he was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division before joining Strategic Partners the year it was founded. Mr. Perry sits on Strategic Partners’ Investment Committees and his current responsibilities include fundraising, deal-sourcing, negotiating and executing secondary transactions and co-investments, as well as various post-purchase fund monitoring activities. Previously, Mr. Perry worked in the strategic investments group at Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon and Eckhardt, Inc. and in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley & Co.

Mr. Perry received a B.A. from Morehouse College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Mr. Perry serves on the boards of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).

Qasim Abbas is a Senior Managing Director with Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Abbas was a Portfolio Manager with Trafalgar Asset Managers (a European credit-focused hedge fund), where he invested and traded in European Asset-Backed and Mortgage-Backed Securities across a range of asset classes. Prior to that, he was responsible for establishing a Europe-focused mortgage loan portfolio trading and investment desk at UBS AG in London. Before joining UBS AG, Mr. Abbas spent eight years at Citigroup in emerging markets, securitization, and asset-backed special situations roles.

Mr. Abbas graduated from Clark University with majors in Economics and Government.

Angelo Acconcia is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group, based in New York, and leads Blackstone's private equity investment activities in the oil & gas sector on a global basis. Since joining Blackstone in 2004, and prior to fully dedicating his time to energy and the oil & gas sector, Mr. Acconcia has been involved in the execution of several important Blackstone investments, including Graham Packaging, Ondeo Nalco, TRW Automotive and Texas Genco. Mr. Acconcia has either led or played a critical role in every one of Blackstone’s oil and gas investments, including: Alta Energy, Beacon Oil & Gas, Brix & Harvest, GeoSouthern, Gavilan Resources, Guidon Energy, Huntley & Huntley, Jetta Energy Permian, Primexx, LLOG, Osum Oil Sands, Royal Resources, and Vine Oil & Gas.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Acconcia worked at Morgan Stanley & Company's Investment Banking Division in their Global Energy and Mergers and Acquisitions departments in both the U.S. and Canada. Prior to that, Mr. Acconcia worked at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s Investment Banking Division in Canada and separately in Hong Kong.

Mr. Acconcia is a member of the Investment Committee for Blackstone Energy Partners II, a $4.5 billion Blackstone private equity fund dedicated exclusively to the energy sector, and also serves as a director of Beacon Oil & Gas, Brix & Harvest, Gavilan Resources, Guidon Energy, Huntley & Huntley, Jetta Energy Permian, Primexx, LLOG, Osum Oil Sands, Royal Resources, and Vine Oil & Gas. Mr. Acconcia received an Honors degree in Business from Queen's University in Canada, where he graduated with First Class Honors.

A.J. Agarwal is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and leads Blackstone’s U.S. Core+ real estate business.

Prior to launching and leading Blackstone’s Core+ business in 2014, Mr. Agarwal was co-head of U.S. Acquisitions and oversaw more than $15 billion of equity commitments and $50 billion of transactions across all real estate asset classes. In addition to leading the Brixmor and Extended Stay Hotels IPOs, he was directly involved with and led investments across all sectors, including Blackstone’s investment in malls through General Growth Properties, limited service hotels through Apple REIT 6 and Extended Stay Hotels, luxury hotels through Hotel del Coronado, shopping centers through Brixmor and multiple other grocery-anchored portfolios, and office buildings such as One Market Plaza in San Francisco. Mr. Agarwal joined Blackstone in 1992 and is a member of Blackstone’s Real Estate Investment Committee.

Mr. Agarwal graduated from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Martin Alderson Smith is a Senior Managing Director and Head of the Corporate Development Group. Mr. Alderson Smith focuses on group strategy and evaluation of new business initiatives.

Before taking up his current role, Mr. Alderson Smith was the Managing Partner of Blackstone’s M&A advisory business and a Senior Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group. In that capacity, he worked on a wide array of insurance and asset management projects, including representing the State Regulators of New York, New Jersey, Iowa, Maryland and Washington on the proposed demutualization and conversion of John Hancock, MetLife, Prudential, Principal, Carefirst and Premera Blue Cross. He also was retained by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Insurance Department to review a number of corporate transactions including the affiliation of Highmark with West Penn Allegheny Health System, and Highmark’s acquisition of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania. In addition, he has advised clients including Aviva, State Street, AIG and Ullico on a spectrum of acquisitions, divestitures and partnership transactions. He is a Blackstone designated Director of Patria Investimentos S.A., Blackstone’s affiliate in Brazil.

Before joining Blackstone in 1991, Mr. Alderson Smith was with First Boston in London and New York for eight years.

Mr. Alderson Smith holds an MA from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Christine Anderson is Senior Managing Director of Global Public Affairs. She oversees Blackstone's public relations, branding, marketing and internal communications functions and advises on government affairs. She manages Blackstone’s dealings with the media and serves as a primary spokesperson for the firm.

Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Ms. Anderson served as Communications Director to the former Governor of New York. Prior to that, she served as the Governor's Press Secretary and Director of Marketing and as Communications Director on the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Before working in state government, Ms. Anderson was an Associate Director of Corporate Communications at UBS AG supporting US media relations and serving as a spokesperson for the company’s US Wealth Management division. During the 2004 Presidential election cycle, she served as a Deputy Press Secretary on the Kerry-Edwards campaign. Ms. Anderson also previously worked as an Account Director at the public relations firm Brunswick and as a Segment Producer for ABC News' “Good Morning America” after starting her career in the Press Office of the Clinton White House.

Ms. Anderson received a BA from The College of the Holy Cross, and serves on the Blackstone Women’s Network’s Steering Committee, as well as on the board of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation.

Lionel Assant is Senior Managing Director and European Head of Private Equity for Blackstone, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Assant has been involved in various European investments and investment opportunities.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Assant was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs where he worked for seven years in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Asset Management and Private Equity divisions.

Mr. Assant graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique with a Master’s degree in Economics. He serves as a Director of Tangerine, Intertrust, Alliance Automotive Group, Armacell, Rhodia Acetow and Clarion Events. Mr. Assant served on the boards of Gerresheimer, Klockner Pentaplast, Mivisa and United Biscuits. He is also a Trustee of Impetus-PEF, a charitable foundation which provides resources to improve the lives of children and young people living in poverty.

Gautam Banerjee is a Senior Managing Director and Chairman of Blackstone Singapore. Mr. Banerjee served as Executive Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Singapore for nine years until his retirement in December 2012. He spent over 30 years with the firm in various leadership roles in Singapore, India and East Asia. Mr Banerjee is an independent director on the Board of Singapore Airlines Limited, Piramal Enterprises Limited, The Indian Hotels Company Limited and GIC Private Limited. He is a Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation and his roles in the not-for-profit sector include serving on the Governing Board of Yale-NUS College and the Legal Service Commission of Singapore. Mr. Banerjee is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA). He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from Warwick University in 1977 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the same university in 2014. Mr. Banerjee was a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2007 to 2009 and was awarded the Public Service Medal by the Singapore Government in 2014.

Gideon L. Berger is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and is Head of Risk Management and Technology for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Berger is responsible for hedge fund manager risk analysis, as well as risk monitoring and analysis of BAAM funds.

Before joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. Berger was a Founder and President of Ez-Ways, Incorporated, a technology startup, where he also served on the Board of Directors. Prior to that, Mr. Berger was a Founder and Principal of a consulting firm specializing in the design and implementation of database and enterprise solutions.

Mr. Berger received a BA in Mathematics and Physics from Vassar College, an MS in Applied Physics from Columbia University and a PhD in Computer Science from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.

Joshua Blaine is a Senior Managing Director in Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Mr. Blaine is based in New York and sits on the Investment Committee for each of the SP Funds. He founded the Strategic Partners London office in 2004. Since joining Strategic Partners in 2001, Mr. Blaine has led or been involved in several hundred secondary transactions, co-investments and primary fund commitments on a global basis across the LBO, mezzanine/credit, real estate, venture capital and fund-of-funds categories. He is currently an advisory board member or observer of several U.S. and European buyout and mezzanine funds. Before joining Strategic Partners, Mr. Blaine worked in the Private Fund Group at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he was part of a small dedicated team responsible for selling almost $2 billion of the firms private equity partnership interests through a series of secondary market transactions. He previously worked in the Corporate Finance Department at UBS. Mr. Blaine received a B.S.M. in finance from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. He graduated cum laude and was the recipient of the Dean’s Service Award. Mr. Blaine is a member of the Tulane Fund Advisory Board and a member of the City Harvest Leadership Council.

David S. Blitzer is the Global Head of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities group, and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Blackstone Tactical Opportunities employs an opportunistic investment strategy across asset classes, industries and geographies and seeks to capitalize on time-sensitive or non-traditional investment opportunities that are differentiated and difficult to source, analyze or execute.

Since joining Blackstone in 1991, Mr. Blitzer has been involved in the execution of Blackstone investments across a variety of asset classes, including establishing and leading Blackstone’s European private equity business.

Mr. Blitzer is based in New York and graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Blitzer currently serves on the Boards of Harlem RBI, an East Harlem social services and educational organization, the Riverdale Country School, the Advisory Board of the Mount Sinai Surgical Department, and the Board of Overseers at the Wharton School.

Brendan Boyle is a Senior Managing Director responsible for private wealth management distribution. Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Boyle was an independent consultant in the financial services industry, advising some of the leading asset management, broker/dealer and insurance companies, as well as some select private equity firms, in all aspects of business development. Prior to that, Mr. Boyle spent twenty-five years in senior management positions in the private client and asset management areas at leading Wall Street firms, including Smith Barney, Prudential Securities and UBS/Paine Webber. During this time his responsibilities included heading up product areas such as mutual funds, insurance and annuities, trust services and managed accounts. In addition, he served as chief operating officer and marketing officer of proprietary asset management businesses. Mr. Boyle is a founding member and former director of the Forum for Investor Advice. Mr. Boyle received a BA degree from Marist College.

Martin Brand is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group.

Mr. Brand leads Blackstone’s private equity investments in financial institutions, and co-leads private equity investments in technology. In addition, he is a member of the Investment Committee of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities funds.

Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Brand has been involved in the execution of the firm's investments in Kronos, Ipreo, Optiv, Knight Capital Group, BankUnited, PBF Energy, Exeter Finance, Cine UK, Kabel BW, NCR, Performance Food Group, Lendmark, Kabelnetz NRW, JDA, New Skies, NHP, OSUM, Primacom, Sulo, Travelport, First Eagle Investment Management, and Vistar.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Brand worked as a derivatives trader with the FICC division of Goldman Sachs in New York and Tokyo, and with McKinsey & Company in London.

Mr. Brand received a BA/MA in Mathematics and Computation, First Class Honors, from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a director of Kronos, Ipreo, Exeter Finance, Optiv, First Eagle Investment Management, and Lendmark. Mr. Brand serves on the Board of Directors of the Park Avenue Armory, the Harvard Business School Club of New York and the Watermill Center. He is a Trustee of the American Academy Berlin.

David L. Calhoun is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Portfolio Operations of Blackstone and a Member of Blackstone’s Management Committee. Mr. Calhoun joined Blackstone in January of 2014 and oversees a team within the portfolio operations group focused on creating and driving added value initiatives with Blackstone portfolio company CEOs.

Previously, Mr. Calhoun served as Executive Chairman of the Board for Nielsen from January 2014 to January 2016. He joined Nielsen in 2006 as Chief Executive Officer shortly after it was acquired by a consortium of private equity investors including Blackstone. Throughout his seven years’ tenure, Mr. Calhoun led Nielsen’s transformation into a leading global information and measurement company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NLSN) and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Before Nielsen, Mr. Calhoun served as Vice Chairman of The General Electric Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Infrastructure, the company’s largest business unit. During his distinguished twenty-six year tenure at GE, Mr. Calhoun ran multiple business units, including GE Lighting, GE Employers Reinsurance Co., GE Aircraft Engines, and GE Transportation (Aircraft and Rail). Earlier in his career at GE, he held a wide range of operating, finance, and marketing roles across the company, including within GE Plastics and GE Capital.

Mr. Calhoun serves on the Board of Directors of The Boeing Company and Caterpillar. Effective April 1, 2017, Mr. Calhoun became the Chairman of the Board for Caterpillar. He is the co-author with Rick Kash of the book “How Companies Win.” Mr. Calhoun is a 1979 graduate of Virginia Tech, and is a member of Virginia Tech’s Pamplin Advisory Council, which advises the university on student and alumni issues. He is also the Chair of the Governance, Organization and Nominating Committee for Boeing.

Kenneth A. Caplan is a Senior Managing Director and Global Chief Investment Officer of the Real Estate Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Mr. Caplan has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in the United States, Europe and Asia. These include major acquisitions such as Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels, Trizec Properties and La Quinta. Prior to his current role, Mr. Caplan was Head of Real Estate Europe. Before joining Blackstone, he was at Lazard Frères & Co. in the real estate investment banking group.

Mr. Caplan received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a John Harvard Scholar. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep.

James Carnegie is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone. He is based in Sydney. Mr. Carnegie was previously a Senior Adviser for Australia in 2012. Prior to that, he was a partner at Archer Capital, one of Australia’s leading domestic private equity firms and a Director of the Macquarie Direct Investment group, Macquarie Bank’s private equity division. Mr. Carnegie received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne as well as an M.B.A. with Distinction from Harvard University. He is currently on the board of Antares Restaurant Group and Ixom.

Thomas Carrier is a Senior Managing Director within the Private Wealth Solutions group, heading U.S. family capital, foundations & endowment, and large Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) investor channels aimed at helping investors achieve customized solutions through access to Blackstone’s integrated multi-asset platform.

He joined Blackstone from Offit Capital, an advisory firm focused on building global, multi-asset class investment portfolios for individuals, families, and non-profit institutions. At Offit Capital he was a Partner and served as the Chair of the Firm’s Investment Strategy Committee. Prior to Offit, Thomas spent 14 years as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley where he focused on Technology, Real Estate, and Financial Sponsor Coverage in the Firm’s Menlo Park, London, and New York offices.

Thomas is a graduate of Duke University and the Harvard Business School.

Michael Casey is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations and Business Development for the real estate group. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Casey worked at Cliffwood Partners LLC from 1998 to 2007, where he was the President of the firm. Prior to joining Cliffwood Partners LLC, he was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager of Heitman Capital Management. Prior to Heitman, he spent twelve years with JMB Realty Corporation and its affiliates on the investment side of the business. Mr. Casey received a B.B.A. in Real Estate and Finance in 1980 and an M.B.A. in Real Estate in 1983 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.

John Cashwell is a Senior Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group at Blackstone. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Cashwell has worked directly within GSO Capital Partners, with a focus on fund raising for GSO’s public and private investment funds. He also serves as the senior relationship manager to many of GSO’s largest clients. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Cashwell held senior marketing roles at investment firms including Seix Investment Advisors, Citigroup Alternative Investments and Allianz Global Investors. Mr. Cashwell received a BS in Finance from Villanova University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Beth Chartoff is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations and Business Development for GSO Capital Partners. Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Ms. Chartoff worked as a Director in Investment Banking at Banc of America Securities in the Financial Sponsors Group. Prior to that she was in the investment banking groups of Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette where she worked on a variety of financing, M&A, and restructuring transactions in the consumer and retail and media and telecommunications industries. Ms. Chartoff received a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of American Ballet Theater.

Menes Chee is a Senior Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Group. He is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments in private opportunities and capital markets. Mr. Chee joined Blackstone in 2009, as a Managing Director of GSO Capital Partners, and transferred to Tactical Opportunities in 2012.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Chee was a Principal with TPG-Axon Capital, where he invested globally in equity and credit in public markets and private transactions. Prior to that, he was a private equity investment professional with Texas Pacific Group. Previous to TPG, Mr. Chee worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in the Merchant Banking Group and at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette in the Leveraged Finance Group.

Mr. Chee graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A. from the College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Frank Cohen is a Senior Managing Director with the Blackstone Group based in New York. He is the Global Head of Core+ Real Estate and a member of the firm’s real estate investment committee.

Since joining Blackstone in 1996, Mr. Cohen has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate transactions. He has been involved with many of the firm’s notable investments, including Equity Office, CarrAmerica Realty, Trizec and IndCor Properties.

Mr. Cohen received a BA from Northwestern University, where he graduated from the Honors Program in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, with a double major in political science. He serves as a director for Hudson Pacific Properties, as well as for several Blackstone portfolio companies, including Equity Office. He is also a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and on the WCAS Board of Visitors at Northwestern University.

Brett Condron is a Senior Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Condron is involved in new business development and product management, as well as servicing existing client relationships.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Condron worked with Putnam Investments in Boston, MA. His most recent role was Senior Vice President and Account Manager in Putnam's Global Institutional Management group, where he was responsible for new business development and client relations in the United States.

Mr. Condron received a BS in Finance and Marketing from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

Giovanni Cutaia is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Asset Management in the Real Estate Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Cutaia was at Lone Star Funds where he was a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Commercial Real Estate Investments Americas. Prior to Lone Star, Mr. Cutaia spent over 12 years at Goldman Sachs in its Real Estate Principal Investments Area as a Managing Director in its New York and London offices.

Mr. Cutaia received a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Amit Dixit is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Private Equity in India, based in Mumbai. Since joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Dixit has been involved with various investments and investment opportunities in India and South Asia. Previously, Mr. Dixit was a Principal at Warburg Pincus. Mr. Dixit received an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai where he was awarded the Director’s Silver Medal for graduating at the top of his program. He currently serves as a Director of Intelenet Global Services, IBS Software Pte Ltd, S.H. Kelkar, Trans Maldivian Airways, Jagran Prakashan, Mid-Day Infomedia, Hindustan Power Projects, Monnet Ispat & Power and NCC. Mr. Dixit was previously a Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Igarashi Motors India.

Mr. Paulo Eapen is a Senior Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners focused on the origination and management of private credit investments, spanning distressed, rescue capital, refinancing and LBO acquisition financings. These investments span a wide variety of industries and geographies, primarily headquartered in Europe.

Before joining GSO Capital in 2007, Mr. Eapen was with Citigroup Private Equity focused on private equity and mezzanine debt principal investments, and was a founding member of the Citigroup Private Equity London office. Prior to Citigroup Private Equity, he worked in investment banking with Salomon Smith Barney, primarily in the M&A and Utilities practice.

Mr. Eapen has a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and is an Infantry Officer in the Singapore Armed Forces. Mr. Eapen is on the boards (as a director or observer) of EMI Music Publishing, Welcome Break Ltd., Ring International / Helios, and Morson Group plc. Additionally, Mr. Eapen is on the board of directors for the Ubuntu Education Fund, a charitable organization.

Mohamed El Beih is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group. Mr. El Beih is involved with institutional client coverage and managing BAAM's sovereign relationships in the Middle East. He also oversees BAAM’s multi-asset solutions and long-only businesses. He is involved in business strategy and new product development.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. El Beih was an Investment Advisor at Morgan Stanley International in the Private Wealth Management division in London, where he was responsible for Middle East client coverage and business development. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked at Goldman Sachs International in London, and spent five years as a Financial Advisor for Associated Securities Corp. in Los Angeles, California.

Mr. El Beih is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also serves as a Board Member of ABANA, the U.S. organization for finance professionals and institutions with interest in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr. El Beih received a BA in International Relations from the University of Southern California, where he graduated magna cum laude, and his MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Nadim El Gabbani is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in London.

Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. El Gabbani has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in BankUnited, Bayview, Exeter, First Eagle, Lendmark, Michaels Stores, Service King, Sithe Global Power, Stearns, and TeamHealth. He serves as director of Michaels Stores and Stearns Lending. Mr. El Gabbani also serves as a director of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, a U.S. government fund seeking to encourage economic development in Egypt through investments in private companies.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. El Gabbani worked at Qalaa Holdings, where he was involved in the evaluation and execution of private equity transactions in North America and the Middle East. Mr. El Gabbani received a B.A. in Physics from Columbia College and an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was selected as a Baker Scholar.

Kristen Eshak Weldon is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group based in London.

Ms. Eshak Weldon is co-head of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s London office. She is involved in portfolio management, including overseeing commodity investments. In addition, she is involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring.

Before joining Blackstone in 2004, Ms. Eshak Weldon worked at J.P. Morgan, initially in the Derivatives Structuring and Origination group, focusing on interest rate derivative strategies. She then worked on the Commodity Derivatives team where she was responsible for marketing and structuring commodity products across the metal and energy sectors.

Ms. Eshak Weldon received a BS in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University.

George Fan is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Chief Operating Officer of GSO Capital Partners. Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Fan was a Director in the legal and compliance department of Credit Suisse First Boston, overseeing the Financial Sponsors Group of the Corporate and Investment Banking Division, as well as the Leveraged Finance Group.   Additionally, Mr. Fan was counsel to the Investment Banking Committee and Bank/High Yield Finance Committee.   Mr. Fan joined CSFB in November 2000 when CSFB merged with Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, where he was a Vice President in the legal and compliance department with responsibilities in debt originations. Prior to that, Mr. Fan was an associate at the law firm of Latham & Watkins, where his practice focused on originations of high yield securities. Mr. Fan holds an AB from Harvard College and a JD from the University of Chicago.

John G. Finley, a Senior Managing Director, is the firm's Chief Legal Officer and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Finley was a partner at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he headed the global mergers and acquisitions group.

Mr. Finley has a BS in Economics, summa cum laude, from The Wharton School, a BA summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD cum laude from the Harvard Law School.

David Flannery is a Senior Managing Director of the Blackstone Group and Co-Head of the Capital Solutions strategy for GSO Capital Partners. The strategy focuses on rescue lending and other public and private special situations.

Before joining GSO Capital, David was a Portfolio Manager with Anchorage Capital Group, focused on illiquid credit investing. Prior to joining Anchorage, David worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”) where he held several global group head roles. David was the Chief Risk Officer of Global Banking & Markets. He was responsible for all aspects of risk management for the global institutional businesses, including sales and trading, investment banking, corporate and commercial lending, and commercial real estate. Previously, he served as the Global Head of Leveraged Finance & Capital Markets for BAML. In this role, he was responsible for the global origination, structuring and syndication of high yield bonds, bridge loans, and syndicated bank debt. Before joining BAML, David was the Global Head of Leveraged Finance at Deutsche Bank, where he focused on private equity sponsor relationships and transactions. David began his career at Bankers Trust Company in 1992 in the high yield bond department.

David graduated from Villanova University. He works closely with Cycle for Survival, a Sloan-Kettering sponsored organization, and with Harlem RBI. David, his wife and three children reside in Manhattan.

David I. Foley is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Energy Partners. Mr. Foley is based in New York and is responsible for overseeing Blackstone’s private equity investment activities in the energy & natural resource sector on a global basis. Since joining Blackstone in 1995, Mr. Foley has been responsible for building the Blackstone energy & natural resources practice and has played an integral role in every private equity energy deal that the firm has invested in, including: Premcor, Kosmos Energy, Texas Genco, Sithe Global Power, PBF Energy, Global Offshore Wind, GeoSouthern, LLOG Exploration, Royal Resources, Cheniere, and EagleClaw Midstream. Mr. Foley received a BA and an MA in Economics, with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from Northwestern University and received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Brian F. Gavin is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and is Chief Operating Officer of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. Gavin was a Partner in Arthur Andersen's Hedge Fund Advisory and Capital Markets group.

Mr. Gavin received a BS in Accounting from New York University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Greg Geiling is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, and the Head of the Hedge Fund Solutions Special Situations Investing Group (Blackstone Strategic Opportunity Fund).

In addition, Greg is involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Geiling was a Portfolio Manager at Duquesne Capital Management, overseeing investments in the technology, media and telecom sectors. Mr. Geiling started his career in the Equity Research Department at J.P. Morgan where he was responsible for several technology industry segments including wireline equipment, wireless equipment, and data networking. Mr. Geiling was ranked each year from 1997 to 2002 on the Institutional Investor All-American Research Team for his coverage of several technology sectors including being ranked the #1 analyst on Wall Street covering the telecommunications equipment industry. Upon the acquisition of J.P. Morgan by Chase Manhattan, J.P. Morgan Chase named Mr. Geiling to the role of Chief Technology Strategist.

Mr. Geiling holds a BS in finance from Lehigh University.

Stuart M. Grant is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Head of Real Estate Asset Management for Asia/Pacific. Mr. Grant also oversees the MB Asia Real Estate Fund and has day-to-day asset management responsibility for all of the Real Estate Group's investments in Asia/Pacific. In 2000, Mr. Grant moved to London to help establish Blackstone's real estate private equity business in Europe. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Grant has been involved in the firm's investments in Broadgate, NHP, Nido, Center Parcs, Tysan, Valad, Embassy, SCPG and various other office, hotel, industrial, retail and residential investments. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Grant was an International Executive at the Jardine Matheson Group based in Asia from 1990 to 1999. Mr. Grant graduated from The University of St. Andrews and earned an MSc from New York University. He currently serves on the boards of Tysan, Valad, Embassy and SCP and previously has served on numerous boards of portfolio companies. He is a former Trustee of The Prince of Wales’ Dumfries House Trust, serves as a member of the North Asia Executive Committee of the Urban Land Institute.

Rob Harper is a Senior Managing Director and Head of U.S. Asset Management in the Real Estate group. Since joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. Harper has been involved in analyzing Blackstone’s real estate equity and debt investments in all property types. Mr. Harper has previously worked for Blackstone in Los Angeles and London, where he served as Head of Europe for the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies business. Mr. Harper currently serves as a board member of Invitation Homes and Park Hotels & Resorts.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Harper worked for Morgan Stanley’s real estate private equity group in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Mr. Harper received a BS from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia

Christopher Heady is the Chairman of Asia Pacific, Head of Real Estate Asia and is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone. Mr. Heady is based in Hong Kong and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Real Estate group’s investment activities and personnel in Asia.

Mr. Heady joined Blackstone in 2000 and has been involved in a variety of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Since 2007, Mr. Heady has played a key role in the Real Estate Group’s Asia expansion including establishing teams and executing investments in Greater China, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Heady was with Morgan Stanley in London and New York, where he was involved in real estate private equity. Mr. Heady received a BA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, where he graduated with honors. He currently serves on the board of ANREV, Embassy Office Parks and 151 Property Group.

Tyler Henritze is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Head of US Acquisitions based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Mr. Henritze has been involved in over $75 billion of real estate investments across all property types. Notable transactions include the acquisition of GE Capital’s real estate business, Strategic Hotels, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Motel 6, Extended Stay Hotels, Equity Office Properties, CarrAmerica, LaQuinta and Wyndham International. Mr. Henritze currently serves as a board member of Park Hotels and Resorts, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Motel 6 and BRE Select Hotel Corp and is a former board member of Hilton Worldwide and La Quinta.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Henritze worked at Merrill Lynch, where he was an Analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking group.

Mr. Henritze received a BS in Commerce from The McIntire School at the University of Virginia where he graduated with distinction. He also helped found and serves on the investment community board of CityYear New York.

Todd Hirsch is a Senior Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Group. Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Hirsch was a Managing Director and Head of Credit Structuring at Deutsche Bank where he sourced and structured transactions for a wide range of corporate and institutional clients across multiple products including credit opportunities, asset finance, specialty finance, commercial real estate, bank and non-bank financial institutions, ABS and CLOs. Prior to DB, Mr. Hirsch was responsible for sourcing and managing private equity investments in underperforming companies as a Vice President at Littlejohn & Co. LLC. Mr. Hirsch was a senior executive at several middle market companies that were sold to private equity firms prior to joining Littlejohn. He started his career at Schroder Wertheim & Co. as an analyst after graduating magna cum laude from Duke University.

Robert Horn is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and Co-Head of GSO Capital Partners’ energy platform. Mr. Horn sits on the investment committees for GSO’s energy funds, and serves on the Board of Directors of various companies involved in the upstream, midstream and oilfield service sectors, including FourPoint Energy, GeoSouthern Haynesville, Riverbend Oil & Gas, Indigo Haynesville, Gulftex Energy, Sanchez EagleFord and Compass Well Services.

Prior to joining GSO Capital Partners, Mr. Horn worked in Credit Suisse’s Global Energy Group, where he advised on high yield financings and merger and acquisition assignments for companies in the power and utilities sector.

Mr. Horn received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University, where he graduated with academic honors. Currently, Mr. Horn serves on the Board of Directors of companies involved in oil and gas production, oilfield services and midstream, including Compass Well Services, River Bend Oil & Gas, Mediterranean Resources, Gulftex Energy, FourPoint Energy, LLC, TapStone Energy, LLC and 3Bear Energy, LLC.

Min Zaw Htoo is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of Opportunistic Investing for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2017, Mr. Htoo led Anandar Capital Management as Founder and CIO. Before the launch of his own firm, Mr. Htoo was a day-one Partner at Magnetar Capital where, as a Senior Portfolio Manager, he invested in both fundamental and quantitative strategies. Mr. Htoo began his investment career as an Analyst at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and then as a Portfolio Manager at Citadel. Prior to that, Mr. Htoo worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley & Company’s Investment Banking Division.

Mr. Htoo received a BA in Business Economics with Honors from Brown University. He was honored with The Wall Street Journal Award for earning the highest departmental GPA and was elected as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Honor Society for Economics.

Edward Huang is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in Hong Kong.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Huang was most recently a Managing Director and Partner at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia where he focused on private equity investments in China and successfully led transactions in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and consumer sectors. He was also a member of the Asia Investment Committee. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley’s private equity unit, Mr. Huang was a Vice President and Associate in Morgan Stanley’s Media & Communications Investment Banking Group in Hong Kong and New York. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Huang worked in the Financial Institutions Group at Merrill Lynch in New York.

Mr. Huang is currently a director of Pactera Technology International Ltd, and previously served as a director of Sihuan Pharmaceutical (Hong Kong listed), China Flooring (Hong Kong listed), China XD Plastics (NASDAQ listed), CIMIC Industrial Group and Shanghai CIMIC Tile (A-share listed).

Mr. Huang received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Yale University.

Christopher James is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities. Mr. James is a member of the Investment Committee for the Tactical Opportunities funds. Prior to launching Tactical Opportunities in 2012, Mr. James previously managed a number of the firm’s business development efforts and strategic initiatives across asset classes and investment products. Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. James has led the organization of a number of new Blackstone investment products as well as the execution of the firm’s initial public offering and the firm’s investments in GSO, Pátria Investimentos and Strategic Partners. Mr. James received a BS from Duke University and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Timothy Johnson is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and the Head of U.S. Originations BREDS, based in New York. Mr. Johnson is involved in sourcing, underwriting, negotiating and structuring debt investments across all asset types and geographies. Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Johnson was a co-founder of BroadPeak Funding, a boutique commercial real estate finance company based in Los Angeles. Prior to founding BroadPeak, Mr. Johnson was a Vice President in the Lehman Brothers Global Commercial Real Estate Group where he worked from 2002-2008. While at Lehman his responsibilities included sourcing, structuring, underwriting and executing large structured finance transactions as well as select equity investments. Mr. Johnson received a BA in Mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross where he graduated cum laude.

Robert Jordan is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and is a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Special Situations Investing Group.

Mr. Jordan is involved in hedge fund manager risk analysis, risk monitoring and analysis of the BAAM funds, as well as the evaluation of special investment opportunities.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Jordan worked as a Portfolio Manager in fundamental equity and Head of Special Projects for Xaraf Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund manager. Mr. Jordan was the Portfolio Manager of a hedge fund for Morgan Stanley Investment Management / FrontPoint, having moved his team from Morgan Stanley’s equity division, where he was a Portfolio Manager and Analyst in proprietary trading since 2000. Earlier in his career at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Jordan was a Trader in Program Trading and Equity Derivatives. Mr. Jordan began his career at Susquehanna Investment Group, where he was a Trader of equity and sector index options after training in foreign currency options.

Mr. Jordan received an AB cum laude from Harvard College with concentration in Computer Science, and an MBA from M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Pilar Junco is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management Distribution group, based in London and responsible since 2013 for Private Wealth Management outside of the US.

Prior to this role, Ms. Junco also worked in the Investor Relations and Business Development Group where she was involved with raising capital for Blackstone's funds and managing investor relations in Europe since 2008.

Ms. Junco joined Blackstone in 2006 as the Chief Operating Officer of the European Private Equity team where she was responsible for a variety of organizational and operational matters.

Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Junco worked at the Boston Consulting Group as a Project Leader in London for three years and at JP Morgan’s Structured Finance teams in London and New York for over four years. She has also worked for the Financial Times, both as a writer and as part of the editorial team.

Ms. Junco received an MBA from INSEAD. She graduated from University College London with a B.Sc. in Economics and from the University of Siegen (Germany). She speaks fluent German, Spanish and French.

Julia Kahr is Senior Managing Director in the Corporate Private Equity group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Ms. Kahr has been involved in analyzing numerous investments in the communications and general industrial sectors.

Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Kahr was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group, where she worked with companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, pharmaceuticals, media and entertainment, and consumer goods.

Ms. Kahr received a BA in Classical Civilization from Yale University where she graduated summa cum laude. She received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Ms. Kahr is also the sole author of Working Knowledge, a book published by Simon & Schuster in 1998.

Farhad Karim is a Senior Managing Director, Global General Counsel of Real Estate, and Chief Operating Officer of Real Estate Europe based in London. Mr. Karim is responsible for the oversight and coordination of all legal affairs relating to Blackstone’s global real estate business. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Karim has also been involved in a number of real estate acquisitions, dispositions, financing, and other initiatives throughout Europe. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Karim was a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where he worked on a variety of real estate transactions in Asia, Europe, and North America. Mr. Karim received a BA (Honours) from McGill University and a Masters in International Affairs and JD from Columbia University.

Jonathan Kaufman is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in New York.

Mr. Kaufman leads the Private Equity Group's global debt capital markets activities, including Blackstone Energy Partners and Tactical Opportunities, and works across Blackstone’s investment businesses on various credit and equity-related matters. Mr. Kaufman joined Blackstone in 2007 and previously worked as a Vice President in the Restructuring & Reorganization Group, where he advised a number of companies and lenders in their chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and special situation investments. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Kaufman was a Manager of M&A at Platinum Equity, where he evaluated and executed private equity investments in a wide range of industries.

Mr. Kaufman received a BA in History from Amherst College, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Jasvinder Khaira is a Senior Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Group. Prior to joining Tactical Opportunities, Mr. Khaira was a member of Blackstone’s Private Equity Group and GSO Capital Partners. He has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Global Tower, Michael Stores, Hafnia Tankers, Wireless Capital Partners, Locuspoint, Springcastle Holdings, Eletson Gas, B2R, Phoenix Towers, T4U Holding Brasil, Pretium Resources, Stornoway Diamond, Diamonds Direct, Ascenty, Lundin Gold, and Natural Resource Partners. In addition, Mr. Khaira is involved in Blackstone’s investments in non-performing loans, structured credit, and regulatory capital transactions. Mr. Khaira has been involved in a variety of strategic Blackstone business initiatives and special projects, including, the firm's initial public offering and acquisition of GSO Capital in 2008.

Mr. Khaira received a BS in Business and a BA in History from the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Carol Kim is a Senior Managing Director and Head of the Investor Relations & Business Development Group in Asia and is based in Hong Kong. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Kim has been involved with investor relations and new business development in Asia. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Kim was based in New York as a Vice President in the Absolute Return Strategies Group at Lehman Brothers, where she was responsible for client communications and reporting to its hedge fund and fund of hedge funds clients. Prior to joining Lehman, she was Director of Marketing at Continuity Capital, LLC and a Marketing Associate at P. Schoenfeld Asset Management. Ms. Kim began her career in investor relations at LG Electronics in Korea and Allied Properties in Toronto. Ms. Kim received a BA in Urban and Economic Studies from the University of Toronto. She is a Co-Founder and Board member of 100 Women in Finance.

Daisuke Kitta is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate group based in Tokyo. Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Kitta has been involved in analyzing various real estate investment opportunities in Japan. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Kitta worked at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for originating and executing real estate transactions in Japan. Mr. Kitta received a degree in Economics from Nihon University and also graduated with a B.S. from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.

Sean T. Klimczak is the Global Head of Infrastructure and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Klimczak has been involved in the execution of several Blackstone investments, including various Sithe Global investments (including Goreway, Bujagali, GNP Mariveles and SKS), Cheniere Energy Partners, Fisterra, PQ Energy, Utility One Source, Meerwind, Transmission Developers, American Petroleum Tankers and The Weather Channel.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Klimczak was an Associate at Madison Dearborn Partners. Prior to that, Mr. Klimczak worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley & Company’s Investment Banking Division.

Mr. Klimczak received a BBA in Finance and Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with the highest academic standing in his class and was selected as a Baker Scholar, a John L. Loeb Fellow, a Henry Ford II Scholar and a William J. Carey Scholar. Mr. Klimczak serves as a director of Sithe Global, Cheniere Energy Partners, Fisterra, PQ Energy, Onyx Renewables, Utility One Source, Meerwind, Transmission Developers and The Blackstone Charitable Foundation. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s College and as a member of the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Advisory Council. Mr. Klimczak was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2015.

Peter Koffler is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and General Counsel for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Koffler served for 19 years as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Twenty-First Securities Corporation, an institutional trading and investment firm. Mr. Koffler began his legal career at Baer Marks & Upham.

Mr. Koffler received a BA from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He received a JD, with honors, from Hofstra University School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Law Review.

Andrew Lax is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Head of Asset Management Europe, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. Lax has been involved in over $40 billion of real estate investments across all property types, including Equity Office Properties Trust, Hilton Hotels Corporation and Sunwest Senior Living. Most recently, he has played a key role in the creation and growth of IndCor Properties. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Lax worked for TD Securities’ real estate group. Mr. Lax received a B.Comm. from the University of British Columbia, where he graduated with honors.

Arthur Liao is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Chief Financial Officer of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Liao was a Senior Manager in Ernst & Young's Financial Services Office where he supervised audits, maintained client relations, and provided other advisory services to hedge fund, structured product, investment advisor, bank and broker dealer clients.

Mr. Liao received his BS in Accounting and his MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Doug Logigian is a Senior Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. He is a portfolio manager for a number of funds in the Special Situations and Distressed Groups. Mr. Logigian also sits on the various investment committees across the Special Situations Funds. Prior to his portfolio management responsibilities, Mr. Logigian served as the Head Trader across the GSO alternatives platform, where he oversaw the operations of the trading desk and transacted in all of the asset classes in which GSO trafficked.

Prior to joining GSO Capital in 2006, Mr. Logigian worked as an Associate at Citibank where he was responsible for managing a book of high yield cash bonds and credit default swaps on the Credit Trading Desk.

Mr. Logigian received a BA with honors from Harvard University.

Joseph Lohrer is a Senior Managing Director and National Sales Manager for the Private Wealth Management Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Lohrer worked with Legg Mason, Inc. where he was the Head of National Sales for the National Broker Dealer Channel overseeing the distribution of all Legg Mason products within wirehouses. The product vehicles included mutual funds, separately managed accounts, closed end funds, college savings plans, and alternative investments products. Joe began his career at Smith Barney in 1985 and held various home office and field positions prior to having his responsibilities expanded to National Sales Manager for Citi Asset Management.

Mr. Lohrer graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

Brad Marshall is a Senior Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. He is a senior portfolio manager in GSO's Performing Credit Group and oversees GSO’s investment responsibilities with respect to FS Investment Corporation I, II, III and IV ("FSICs") and sits on the investment committees across GSO’s Performing Credit Funds.

Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2005, Mr. Marshall worked in various roles at RBC, including fixed income research and business development within RBC's private equity funds effort. Prior to RBC, Mr. Marshall helped develop a private equity funds business for TAL Global, a Canadian asset management division of CIBC, and prior to that, he co-founded a microchip verification software company where he served as chief financial officer.

Mr. Marshall received an MBA from McGill University in Montreal and a BA (Honors) in Economics from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada.

Joshua Mason is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies Group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Mason has focused on liquid real estate debt investments, primarily in the CMBS market, focusing on all parts of the capital structure. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Mason was at UBS from 2006 to 2008, where he was a Managing Director responsible for a proprietary CMBS investing team. Prior to joining UBS, Mr. Mason worked at Merrill Lynch from 1997 to 2006, where he was a Director and senior CMBS secondary trader. Mr. Mason received a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College.

Kathleen McCarthy is a Senior Managing Director and Global Chief Operating Officer of the Blackstone Real Estate group. She is based in New York. Ms. McCarthy provides global leadership for Blackstone's Real Estate business including oversight of Investor Relations and Business Development, Human Resources, Finance and Legal & Compliance. Blackstone has the largest real estate platform in the world with over $100 billion in investor capital under management. Blackstone’s portfolio includes hotel, office, retail, industrial and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. McCarthy worked at Goldman Sachs, where she most recently was a Vice President focused on investments for the Real Estate Principal Investment Area. Ms. McCarthy began her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Strategic Advisory Group within the Investment Banking Division. Ms. McCarthy received a BA with Distinction from Yale University.

Ms. McCarthy serves on the Board of City Harvest, which focuses on ending hunger in New York City through food rescue and distribution.

John McCormick is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of Global Business Strategy for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. McCormick has overall responsibility for BAAM’s global marketing and client services functions. He also works closely with other members of senior management to establish strategic priorities for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s business globally and to ensure that those priorities are addressed on an ongoing basis.

Before joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. McCormick was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, where he worked with clients in the financial services industry on a wide variety of strategic and operational issues. Before joining McKinsey, Mr. McCormick practiced law in Davis Polk & Wardwell’s investment management group, as Corporate Counsel at Reuters America, and as General Counsel and VP of Business Development for Norbert Technologies. Mr. McCormick also served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Mr. McCormick received a BA from Vassar College and a JD from Yale Law School.

Bruce McEvoy is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. McEvoy has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Catalent, GCA Services, MB Aerospace, Performance Food Group, RGIS Inventory Specialists, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, TeamHealth, Vistar, and Vivint.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. McEvoy was an investment professional at General Atlantic where he was involved in the execution of private equity investments in Europe. Prior to that, Mr. McEvoy worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Mr. McEvoy received an AB in History from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. McEvoy serves as a Director of MB Aerospace, Performance Food Group, RGIS Inventory Specialists, TeamHealth, Vivint, and Vivint Solar.

Robert McMullan is a Senior Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. McMullan has been involved in raising capital for Blackstone's private investment funds. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. McMullan worked with FBR Capital Markets as co-head of the Financial Sponsors Group.   Prior to that he was with DLJ/CSFB where he was responsible for financial sponsor coverage and equity and mezzanine private placements in Dallas and New York. Mr. McMullan received a BS in History from Vanderbilt, and an MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nadeem Meghji is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and Head of Real Estate Americas, based in New York. Mr. Meghji has played a leadership role in Blackstone's investment activity in the US, including the acquisition of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, Biomed Realty Trust, and Brixmor Property Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Meghji worked as an associate at the Lionstone Group.

Mr. Meghji received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Meghji serves as a board member for the Lupus Research Alliance and is the Co-Chair of the annual Rally Against Lupus fundraiser.

Seth Meisel is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity group and is based in New York.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Meisel was a partner at Bain Capital. While at Bain Capital, Mr. Meisel was involved in leading and executing investments in the chemicals, industrials, and packaging sectors. Prior to that, he was with Mercer Management Consulting (Oliver Wyman) in New York and Hong Kong.

Mr. Meisel received a BA in Economics from Princeton University cum laude and an MBA from Harvard Business School with High Distinction as a Baker Scholar.

Prakash Melwani Sr. Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer Prakash A. Melwani is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and is based in New York. He is Chief Investment Officer of the Private Equity Group and chairs each of its Investment Committees. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Melwani has led Blackstone’s investments in Kosmos Energy, Foundation Coal, Texas Genco, Ariel Re, Pinnacle Foods, RGIS Inventory Specialists, Performance Food Group, Crocs and Ascend Learning. He serves as a Director of Ascend Learning, Crocs, RGIS Inventory Specialists and Blackstone strategic partner, Patria. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Melwani was a founding partner of Vestar Capital Partners and served as its Chief Investment Officer. Prior to that, he was with the management buyout group at The First Boston Corporation and with N.M. Rothschild & Sons in Hong Kong and London. Mr. Melwani received a First Class Honors degree in Economics from Cambridge University, England, and an MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar and a Loeb Rhodes Fellow. Mr. Melwani sits on the Boards of St. Bernard’s School in New York City and The Akanksha Fund. He serves on the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School, the President's Council on International Activities at Yale University, and the Board of Cambridge in America. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Olivier F. Meyohas is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group based in London.

Mr. Meyohas is the co-head of Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s London office. He is responsible for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group's business in Europe and maintains and develops senior client relationships in the region.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Meyohas spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs where he was a Managing Director. He held a number of senior positions in their Capital Markets group, with his last role being Co-Head of the Pension Advisory Group. In that capacity, he advised major European corporations and pension schemes on asset-liability risk management, strategic asset allocation and portfolio construction. He also advised on pension buy-out solutions and on M&A-related pension situations. He is a member of the Investment Committee of Pembroke College, Oxford University.

Mr. Meyohas received a BA (Hons) in Modern History from Pembroke College, Oxford University.

Alan Miyasaki is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Head of Real Estate Asia Acquisitions based in Singapore. Mr. Miyasaki is responsible for the for the day-to-day management of the Real Estate group’s investment activities in Asia. Since joining Blackstone in 2001, Mr. Miyasaki has been involved in a variety of real estate transactions in both the United States and Asia. Since 2007, Mr. Miyasaki has played a key role in building Blackstone’s Real Estate business in Asia including executing investments in Greater China, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia . Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Miyasaki was with Starwood Capital Group, where he worked in acquisitions. Mr. Miyasaki received a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated cum laude.

Ryan Mollett is a Senior Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Mollett is a Portfolio Manager focused on distressed and special situation investing. Mr. Mollett is a senior member of GSO’s Global Distressed Investment Team and is a Joint Portfolio Manager of GSO’s Capital Solutions Funds, Credit Alpha Funds and the Special Situations Funds. He also is on the Investment Committee for these funds. Mr. Mollett also serves as a Portfolio Manager of GSO Community Development Capital Group LP, a fund formed to provide land acquisition and development capital in partnership with residential homebuilders.

Before joining GSO in 2011, Mr. Mollett was a Director at BlackRock where he served as a Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst. Prior to joining BlackRock, he was a Trader at First New York Securities. Mr. Mollett began his career as a Consultant with Gemini Realty Advisors.

Mr. Mollett received a B.A. in History from Princeton University and an MBA in Finance and Investment Management from Yale University.

Kishore Moorjani is a Senior Managing Director and leads the Asia efforts for Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Moorjani was the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Credit Asia Capital, an Asian special situations investment firm he established in partnership with the Blackstone Strategic Alliance Fund. Prior to that, Mr. Moorjani was Co-Head of Asia at D.B. Zwirn, a $5 billion special situations investment firm, where he was involved in launching the Asian investment business. From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Moorjani was with Colony Capital, where he held various positions across several of the firm's offices, including serving as the CEO of Colony Capital Taiwan. Mr. Moorjani moved to Asia in 1995 with CBRE, where he was part of the founding team for the Indian operations that established the firm as a preeminent real estate services firm in India.

Mr. Moorjani received an MBA in Real Estate Finance and a BBA in Finance/Strategy (honors) from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.

Ian Morris is a Senior Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Morris is involved in top-down investment strategy, asset allocation and macroeconomic analysis for BAAM.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Morris was Chief US Economist at HSBC in New York for ten years, managing the firm’s North American macroeconomic research team and providing advice and forecasts on macro trends and risks to clients, including financial institutions, non-financial corporations, central banks and sovereign wealth funds. Prior to that, Mr. Morris was a Global Economist with HSBC in London for three years and in Melbourne for two years. Prior to joining HSBC, Mr. Morris worked for PaineWebber in London.

Mr. Morris has authored many thematic research publications, including “A Froth Finding Mission (Jan 2006)”, a 100-page report that anticipated the 2006-09 housing bust.

Mr. Morris holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia and an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of London.

Thomas Morrison is a Senior Managing Director in the Blackstone Capital Markets group. Mr. Morrison leads the firm’s Equity Capital Markets effort across our investment businesses globally. He assists Blackstone's portfolio companies in equity related situations, and manages the firm's relationships with public equity market investors.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Morrison was the Global Head of Equity Capital Markets at Sanford Bernstein, where he was also a member of the Management Committee. Previously, Mr. Morrison was the Global Head of Equity Syndicate at Bank of America, where he was also a member of the Equities Management Team, the Equity Capital Markets Operating Committee, and the Equity Commitment Committee. Prior to that, Mr. Morrison worked in the Equity Capital Markets groups at Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs.

Mr. Morrison received a BA from Harvard College, majoring in Economics. He also received an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, with majors in Management, Finance, and Marketing. Mr. Morrison also studied at the University of London, University College.

Dr. Gerry Murphy is Chairman of The Blackstone Group International Partners LLP, Blackstone's principal European entity. He is also Chairman of Tate & Lyle plc, a Non-Executive Director of Intertrust NV and a Director of International Shopping Direct (UK).

Before joining Blackstone in 2008 as a Senior Managing Director in its Corporate Private Equity group, Dr. Murphy served as CEO of Kingfisher plc, Carlton Communications plc, Exel plc and Greencore Group plc. Earlier in his executive career, he held senior operating and corporate positions with Grand Metropolitan plc (now Diageo plc) in Ireland, the UK and the USA. He has served as a Non-Executive Director of British American Tobacco plc, Merlin Entertainments plc, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, Abbey National plc, Novar plc and Hornbach Holding AG and he also served as Chairman of Invest Europe, the Brussels-based industry association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure firms and their investors.

Dr. Murphy was educated in Ireland and received his PhD in food technology from University College Cork and MBS in marketing from University College Dublin

William (Bill) Murphy is a Senior Managing Director and the Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone, leading the Blackstone Innovations and Infrastructure team. Mr. Murphy is responsible for the firm's technology efforts.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Murphy was founding Chief Technology Officer for Capital IQ. Mr. Murphy was responsible for overseeing all product design, development, infrastructure and technology support and was involved with all operations of the business.

Before Capital IQ, Mr. Murphy led teams at Sapient, delivering solutions for large clients primarily in financial services. He received a BSE in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Anthony Myers is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Head of Real Estate Europe, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2001, Mr. Myers has been involved in a number of real estate investments, both in Europe and in the US, including Multi Corporation, Logicor, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Portfolio, Invitation Homes, Hilton Hotels and Equity Office Properties. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Myers was Executive Vice President and COO at Balfour Holdings, Inc., a residential and commercial land development company acquired by affiliates of Blackstone in 1997. Before joining Balfour, Mr. Myers was an Associate Director in the Bear Stearns Real Estate group. Mr. Myers received a BSc (Honors) in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from Columbia University. Mr Myers serves as a Director of Multi Corp.

Todd Myers is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Private Wealth Solutions, External Relations, Corporate Services and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Mr. Myers oversees Strategic Planning, Finance, Human Resources, and Operations. Previously, he was Global Head of Strategic Incentives for Blackstone managing the firm’s compensation and incentives programs. Prior to this role, Mr. Myers was Corporate CFO of the firm.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Myers was the Chief Operating Officer of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Head of Business Development and Strategy, leading corporate strategy and acquisitions globally.

Mr. Myers graduated from Brown University with a BA in Economics.

Mr. Nash is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and Co-Founder and Chairman of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies. Mr. Nash is a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee for both Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and Blackstone Real Estate Advisors. He is also Executive Chairman of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, a NYSE listed REIT, and is the Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of the Board of the Blackstone Real Estate Income Funds, which is a complex of registered closed-end funds. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Nash was with Merrill Lynch from 1997 to 2007 where he led the firm’s Real Estate Principal Investment Group - Americas. Prior to 1997, Mr. Nash held various positions with Barclays Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and Deloitte Haskins & Sells. Mr. Nash received a B.S. in Accounting from State University of New York at Albany, as well as an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.

Jason New is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of Special Situation Investing for GSO Capital Partners. Mr. New focuses on managing GSO's public investment portfolio with a specific emphasis on stressed and distressed companies and on sourcing direct special situation investment opportunities. Mr. New is a member of the GSO Investment Committee.

Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. New was a senior member of Credit Suisse's distressed finance group. Mr. New joined Credit Suisse in 2000 when it acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”), where he was a member of DLJ's restructuring group. Prior to joining DLJ in 1999, he was an associate with the law firm Sidley Austin LLP where he practiced law in the firm's corporate reorganization group.

Mr. New received a JD from Duke University School of Law and a BA, magna cum laude, from Allegheny College.

Jan Nielsen is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in Hong Kong. Mr. Nielsen is also the Chief Operating Officer for all businesses in Asia-Pacific.

Since joining Blackstone in 2005 in London, Mr. Nielsen has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in TDC and Merlin and Merlin's acquisitions of LEGOLAND, Gardaland and The Tussauds Group. Since moving to Asia, Mr. Nielsen has been involved in Blackstone’s investment in Leica Camera, Antares Restaurant Group, Ixom and Simone. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Nielsen worked at Morgan Stanley in London and Menlo Park.

Mr. Nielsen received a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Business Administration and Economics from The University of Aarhus in Denmark. Mr. Nielsen is also a CFA Charterholder. He serves as a director of Antares Restaurant Group, Ixom, LEGO and Simone.

Tuhin Parikh is a Senior Managing Director based in Mumbai, and has oversight responsibilities for Blackstone’s real estate operations in India. Since joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Parikh has been involved in identifying and evaluating Indian real estate in several sectors, and recently completed three significant transactions in India, including the acquisition of a 12.9 million square foot business park development, the acquisition of a 1.9 million square foot office park in Pune, and the acquisition of a 50% interest in Embassy Holding Company which owns 20.9 million square feet across three Class A office parks in India. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Parikh was the CFO and subsequently CEO of TCG Urban Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., a national level office developer and asset owner in India. Mr. Parikh received a Bachelor in Accountancy from Mumbai University and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad).

Robert Petrini is a Senior Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners where he focuses on private debt and middle market private equity investing. Mr. Petrini has been involved in the firm's investments in the debt and equity of numerous private companies as well as public market investments. Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Petrini was a Principal in Credit Suisse First Boston's Alternative Capital Division. Mr. Petrini joined CSFB when the firm acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Prior to the acquisition of DLJ, Mr. Petrini was a member of DLJ's Leveraged Finance Group, specializing in financial sponsor transactions. Mr. Petrini graduated magna cum laude with a BS in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Petrini is a member of the Boards of Directors of Stolle Machinery and United Site Services and also serves as a board observer on many of GSO's investments.

Chad R. Pike is a Senior Managing Director and is Vice Chairman of Blackstone Europe. Mr. Pike is a member of the Investment Committee for the Tactical Opportunities funds. Prior to helping launch the Tactical Opportunities business, Mr. Pike was on the Investment Committee and was the Co-Head of the Real Estate Group where he was responsible for building and managing BREP’s business outside the United States, opening and overseeing the group’s offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

Since joining Blackstone in 1995, Mr. Pike has led the acquisition of over $20 billion of investments in the United States, Europe and Asia by Blackstone’s real estate and tactical opportunities funds. Significant purchases include the European Deutsche Bank office portfolio, Vitus Immobilien, Nido Student Housing, Center Parcs, Broadgate, Chiswick Park, Pluto Finance and Rothesay Life.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Pike was with the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund, where he was involved in the purchase of non-performing loan portfolios and real estate operating companies.

Mr. Pike received a BA in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with honors. He currently serves on the Boards of Rothesay Life, Pluto Finance and the Valad European Diversified Fund. Mr. Pike is also a Board Member of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where he is Chairman of the Freshwater Fish Subcommittee and he is a Board Member of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund.

Stephen Plavin is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone’s Real Estate Debt Strategies group and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, a Commercial Mortgage REIT managed by Blackstone. Mr. Plavin is a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee for both Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and Blackstone Real Estate Advisors. He is based in New York.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Plavin was Chief Executive Officer of Capital Trust, Inc and CT Investment Management Co., LLC, a commercial real estate debt investment manager and rated special servicer that was wholly owned by Capital Trust and acquired by Blackstone in December 2012. Prior to joining Capital Trust in 1998, Mr. Plavin was co-head of Global Real Estate for The Chase Manhattan Bank and Chase Securities Inc.

Mr. Plavin received a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Jonathan Pollack is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Pollack has been responsible for overseeing our real estate debt investment strategy. He is also a member of the firm’s real estate investment committee, and serves on the board of Blackstone Mortgage Trust.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Pollack was a Managing Director and Global Head of Commercial Real Estate, as well as Head of Risk for Structured Finance, at Deutsche Bank. Mr. Pollack joined Deutsche Bank in 1999 from Nomura Group.

Mr. Pollack received a BA in Economics from Northwestern University. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the East Harlem Tutorial Program.

David Posnick is a Senior Managing Director of the Blackstone Group and the Chief Investment Officer of the Capital Solutions Funds for GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Posnick has been with GSO since 2007 and is a Joint Portfolio Manager of the Blackstone / GSO Capital Solutions Fund and a member of its Investment Committee. Prior to joining GSO, Mr. Posnick was a Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the Corporate and Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse. Mr. Posnick spent 15 years in Credit Suisse and DLJ's Los Angeles office, where he helped to build Credit Suisse's leveraged finance and sponsor coverage businesses, and also served as Head of the Financial Sponsors Coverage Group and of Credit Suisse's Los Angeles office. Mr. Posnick began his career in the investment banking division at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Mr. Posnick received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from UCLA. He is currently a Director or Board Observer of American Seafoods, Motorcycle Aftermarket Group and City Ventures.

Doyle Queally is a Sr. Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2009, Mr. Queally has been involved with the marketing of all GSO public and private investment products with a geographic focus of the Midwest and West Coast of the United States, including many of the firm’s strategic partnerships. Before joining GSO Capital, Mr. Queally was a Senior Vice President of Institutional Sales and Relationship Management for ING Investment Management. Prior to ING, he was a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns Inc, where he worked for over twenty years. At Bear Stearns he was a structured mortgage product specialist with extensive experience covering banks, money managers and hedge funds. In addition, he spent three years at the International Management Group (The Mark McCormack Organization) in Cleveland, Ohio, where he helped develop the team sports division. He started his career at IBM in New York City, specializing in banking. Mr. Queally received a BA in economics from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He also holds series 24, 7 and 63 licenses with FINRA.

Robert Ramsauer is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in London.

Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Robert has been involved in Blackstone's investments in Gerresheimer, Leica Camera, Mivisa, New Skies, Orangina Schweppes, Tangerine, United Biscuits, Versace and ISD.

Before joining Blackstone, he worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in London. Robert received a BSc in Philosophy and Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He currently serves on the Boards of Leica Camera, Tangerine, Versace & ISD.

Robert Reid is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is a member of the Firm’s Private Equity Investment Committee. Mr. Reid worked for several years in Blackstone’s London offices and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Reid has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s private equity investments in Europe and in the U.S., including investments in Adelphia Communications, Centennial Communications, Charter Communications, Crowley Digital (Salmon PCS), Extended Stay America, FiberNet, Hilton Hotels, PaeTec, Scout24, The Nielsen Company, Intelenet and SESAC. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Reid worked in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co. Mr. Reid received an AB in Economics from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Reid is a Director of Scout24, Intelenet and SESAC.

Paige Ross is a Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of Human Resources at Blackstone. In this role she oversees human resource management globally for the firm. Ms. Ross brings more than 25 years of experience in talent development and strategic planning across a multitude of industries and geographies. Prior to joining Blackstone, Ms. Ross served as the Managing Director of Talent Management at Centerbridge Partners, with a focus on leading Talent Management across the portfolio companies. She has also held senior human resources leadership positions at Pfizer, Avon and PepsiCo. Ms. Ross earned her BA at Stony Brook University and PhD in Applied Organizational Psychology at Hofstra University.

David Roth is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Roth has been involved in sourcing and analyzing Blackstone’s real estate investments in several markets and types of property.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Roth was a Principal in the acquisitions group at Walton Street Capital where he was involved in numerous real estate transactions

Mr. Roth received a BA with a major in Government from Dartmouth College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. He also received a JD from New York University School of Law. Mr. Roth is also a CFA® charter holder.

Michael Ryder is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in New York. Before joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Ryder was a Managing Director and member of the Investment Committee at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners where he was responsible for investments in the energy, chemicals and diversified industrials sectors. Prior to that, he worked as an investment banker in Morgan Stanley’s Global Energy and Utilities Group. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Ryder was a management consultant with Bain and Company and Marakon Associates. Mr. Ryder received a Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honors and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Mr. Ryder also received an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. Mr. Ryder currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Scholarship America.

Rafic Said is a Senior Managing Director responsible for overseeing the Blackstone’s activities in the Middle-East, and is based between London and Dubai. He has spent the past eleven years establishing, developing and managing relationships with governmental, institutional and private investors across the Middle East, delivering the firm’s investment and advisory services. Mr. Said is also a member of the Blackstone Diversity Committee. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Said was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs & Co. for seven years, focused on institutional client management in Europe and the Middle East for the firm’s Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities Division. Mr. Said started his career at Robert Fleming in the Equity Capital Markets Group, covering emerging market corporate and government clients. He received a BSc Honors Degree in Economics & Philosophy from City University London.

Louis Salvatore is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of Portfolio Management of GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Salvatore focuses on coordinating all of GSO's Investment Committee functions as well as sourcing and investing capital in both public and private opportunities. Mr. Salvatore is a member of GSO's Investment Committee. Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2005, Mr. Salvatore was a Principal of DLJ Investment Partners, the mezzanine fund of CSFB's Alternative Capital Division. Mr. Salvatore joined CSFB in 2000 when it acquired DLJ, where he was a member of the Merchant Banking Group. He had been a member of DLJ's Leveraged Finance Group, specializing in corporate restructurings. Prior to that, he worked for Kidder Peabody. Mr. Salvatore received a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

John M. Samuels is a Senior Managing Director and the Chairman of Global Tax at Blackstone. Before joining the firm, Mr. Samuels worked at General Electric as the Vice President and Senior Counsel for Tax Policy and Planning for almost 30 years and was responsible for the company’s global tax policy, tax planning and tax compliance operations. Mr. Samuels is a Chairman of the Alliance for Competitive Taxation (ACT), Chairman of the International Tax Policy Forum, and is the George W. and Sadella D. Crawford Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School, where he teaches U.S. taxation of international transactions. Prior to joining GE, Mr. Samuels was a partner in the law firm of Dewey, Ballantine and served in the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as the Deputy Tax Legislative Counsel and Tax Legislative Counsel of the U.S. Department of Treasury. Mr. Samuels is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, a Trustee of the American Tax Policy Institute, and received the Tax Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to tax policy. Mr. Samuels is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago Law School, and received an LLM in Taxation from NY Law School.

Vik Sawhney is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Chief Operating Officer of the Private Equity group. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Sawhney worked as a Managing Director in the Financial Sponsors Group at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for managing the firm’s relationships with Blackstone and several other large private equity firms. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mr. Sawhney was an Associate at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Vik represented Blackstone as a Rockefeller Fellow during 2010-2011. He currently serves on the Board of Harlem RBI, an east Harlem social services and educational organization, and is also a Trustee of the Rye Country Day School. Mr. Sawhney received a BA, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also received a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Donald (Dwight) Scott is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and President of GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Scott oversees the management of GSO and sits on the investment committees for GSO’s energy funds, mezzanine funds and rescue lending funds. Prior to his current role, Mr. Scott managed the energy investing activity at GSO, where he remains active. Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Scott was an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of El Paso Corporation. Prior to joining El Paso, Mr. Scott served as a Managing Director in the energy investment banking practice of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Mr. Scott is currently a Director of TapStone Energy, LLC, FourPoint Energy, LLC, GEP Haynesville, LLC and Legacy Reserves LP. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of KIPP, Inc., the Board of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, and the Wall Street for McCombs Board. Mr. Scott graduated from the University of North Carolina and the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business.

James Seppala is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Head of Europe Acquisitions, based in London.

Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Seppala has been involved in a number of Blackstone’s investments in the United States and in Europe, including Multi Corporation, Logicor, and the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Portfolio.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Seppala was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co, where he spent 10 years focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in Europe and the United States on behalf of Goldman Sachs’s real estate private equity group.

Mr. Seppala graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2001.

M. Craig Shepherd is a Senior Managing Director focused on life sciences investing across the firm's businesses.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Shepherd worked for the prior seven years as a Managing Director with DRI Capital, a life sciences private equity firm dedicated to the acquisition of pharmaceutical royalties through its managed funds Drug Royalty I, II and III. From 2010-2017, Mr. Shepherd was a member of the DRI Investment Committee and leadership team, and he also served on the board of DRI’s third fund, Drug Royalty III GP. Prior to DRI, he worked at Amgen for approximately eight years in various roles of progressive responsibility, based at both Amgen’s global headquarters in California and its international headquarters in Switzerland.

Mr. Shepherd holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a law degree from McGill University and a BA from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Shepherd serves as a Trustee of the American Kidney Fund, and as a corporate director of Medcan Health Management.

Mustafa M. Siddiqui is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity group and is based in London. Mr. Siddiqui leads Blackstone’s private equity investment activities in the energy sector across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Since joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Siddiqui has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Siccar Point Energy, Black Rhino Group, Royal Resources, Alta Energy, and Graham Packaging. Mr. Siddiqui currently serves as a director of Siccar Point Energy and Black Rhino Group. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Siddiqui was an investment professional at Springbok Capital Management LLC and an Associate at General Atlantic LLC and began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Siddiqui received an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an AM in Regional Studies from Harvard University. He also received an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. Mr. Siddiqui is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Neil P. Simpkins is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone in the Private Equity Group. He has global responsibility for portfolio management activities and investments in the healthcare services, packaging, and industrial sectors. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Simpkins has led the acquisitions of TRW Automotive, Vanguard Health Systems, TeamHealth, Apria Healthcare Group, Summit Materials, Gates Corporation, and Change Healthcare.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Simpkins was a Principal at Bain Capital. While at Bain Capital, Mr. Simpkins was involved in the execution of investments in the consumer products, industrial, healthcare, and information industries. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mr. Simpkins was a consultant at Bain & Company in the Asia Pacific region and in London. Mr. Simpkins is also Chairman of Americans for Oxford, Inc., Oxford University’s primary charitable organization in North America.

Mr. Simpkins graduated with honors from Oxford University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves as a Director of Gates Corporation, Apria Healthcare Group, Summit Materials, Change Healthcare, and TeamHealth.

Kathleen Skero, a Senior Managing Director in the Finance Group, is the firm's Finance Director and Principal Accounting Officer. She is responsible for the FSG and BAIIAR groups. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2009, Ms. Skero worked at Merrill Lynch for 29 years in a variety of positions, including CFO of its Global Wealth Management division and Global Controller, where her responsibilities included oversight of the firm's books and records, SEC reporting, accounting policy, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Ms. Skero received a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and a J.D. from Fordham University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Daniel H. Smith is a Senior Managing Director in GSO Capital Partners and oversees GSO’s Customized Credit Strategies unit, which includes various commingled credit funds, permanent capital vehicles, CLOs, closed end funds and leveraged and unleveraged separately managed accounts (SMAs). Additional responsibilities include serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the closed-end investment companies managed by the unit.

Prior to joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Smith was Managing Partner and Co-head of RBC Capital Market’s Alternative Investments Unit at Royal Bank of Canada in New York. Mr. Smith joined RBC in 2001 from Indosuez Capital, a division of Crédit Agricole Indosuez, where he was a Co-Head and Managing Director overseeing the firm’s debt investments business and merchant banking activities. Prior to Indosuez Capital, Mr. Smith was a Principal at Frye-Louis Capital Management in Chicago. He began his career in investment management in 1987 at Van Kampen American Capital (f/k/a Van Kampen Merritt), a mutual fund company in Chicago where he held a variety of positions including co-head of the firm’s high-yield investment group and head of the firm’s equity fund complex.

Mr. Smith received a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Masters in Management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Michael Sotirhos is a Senior Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. based in New York. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Sotirhos was a Partner at Atlantic Pacific Capital, Inc., a placement firm focused on raising Private Equity, Real Estate and Hedge Fund capital from institutional investors worldwide. While serving in the firm's London and Greenwich, CT offices, he was involved in all facets of the fund raising business from business development, origination and marketing strategy to account coverage responsibility in the US, Canada and the Middle East. Prior to joining Atlantic Pacific, Mr. Sotirhos was in the Private Equity Placement Group at Merrill Lynch & Co. based in London where he raised capital from investors across Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Sotirhos received both a BA and JD from Georgetown University.

Scott Soussa is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s Ventures Platform.

In his current role, Mr. Soussa leads the Strategic Alliance and Strategic Capital Holdings initiatives, in addition to his involvement in the broader Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Previously, Mr. Soussa was Head of Due Diligence in the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where he led a cross-functional team charged with evaluating and monitoring underlying hedge fund managers which encompassed front office, business and operational, risk management and legal due diligence.

Before joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Soussa was Controller of Lava Trading Inc., a securities trading technology company. Prior to that, he worked in Arthur Andersen's Hedge Fund Advisory and Capital Markets Group.

Mr. Soussa received a BS in Accounting from Binghamton University, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma. He is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Michael’s Mission, a charity focused on improving the quality of life and treatment options for colorectal cancer patients, families and caregivers. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

William J. Stein is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Asset Management in the Real Estate group.

Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Mr. Stein has been involved in the direct asset management and asset management oversight of Blackstone’s global real estate assets. Blackstone’s portfolio includes hotel, office, retail, industrial and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Mr. Stein serves on the boards of Hilton Worldwide, Brixmor and Extended Stay America. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Stein was a Vice President at Heitman Real Estate Advisors and JMB Realty Corp.

Mr. Stein received a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Christopher Striano is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Private Equity group and the Tactical Opportunity group.

Mr. Striano has had overall responsibility for the fund accounting, tax and financial reporting for the Blackstone private equity and tactical opportunity funds. In addition to the financial aspects, Mr. Striano focuses on portfolio company analytics including valuations, Limited Partner relations and marketing support, and Financial Planning. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Striano has worked with in various groups in Financial Services and has been involved in strategic planning projects including the firm's IPO, Ratings Process, and served as Head of the Firm's Financial Planning and Analysis Group. His responsibilities included the firm's global forecast process, business unit and firm-wide strategic planning, Managing Ratings Agency Relationships, New Business Initiatives, and various special projects.

Mr. Striano received a B.S. in Accounting and a minor in Finance from St. John's University.

Stephen W. Sullens is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of Portfolio Management for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Sullens oversees portfolio management for all of BAAM's multi-manager programs. He is responsible for directing the manager research team in hedge fund manager selection and monitoring.

Before joining Blackstone in 2001, Mr. Sullens served as a Director with Citi Alternative Investment Strategies, Citigroup's hedge fund investment center. In that role, he was responsible for manager selection and monitoring, as well as portfolio management. Previously, Mr. Sullens served as Manager of Alternative Investments for The Walt Disney Company, where he directed the company's alternative investment program, including investments in private equity, real estate, venture capital and hedge funds. Prior to his six years at Disney, he was an analyst with Trammell Crow Ventures, a real estate investment advisory firm.

Mr. Sullens received both a BA in Economics and an MS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Andrea Valeri is a Senior Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Group and is based in London. Mr. Valeri has led several Tac Opps investments including European NPLs, Gems Education and Versace. Prior to joining the Tactical Opportunities Group, Mr. Valeri was with Blackstone’s Private Equity Group where he was involved in a variety of private equity transactions including Jack Wolfskin, Center Parcs, Gardaland and Kabel BW. Before joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Valeri was a Vice President at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Prior to that, Mr. Valeri worked at Bain & Co. Mr. Valeri received an MBA from Columbia University, where he graduated with honors and a Master’s degree in Engineering and Management from the University of Padua, where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Valeri serves as a Director of Center Parcs, Lombard, Jack Wolfskin, Gems Education and Versace.

Peter Wallace is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group. Mr. Wallace was based in London for several years, having helped to build Blackstone’s corporate private equity business in Europe. Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Mr. Wallace has led or been involved in Blackstone’s investments in AlliedBarton Security Services, Allied Waste, American Axle & Manufacturing, Centennial Communications, Centerplate (formerly Volume Services America), CommNet Cellular, GCA Services, LocusPoint Networks, Michaels Stores, New Skies Satellites, Outerstuff, Ltd., Pinnacle Foods/Birds Eye Foods, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (formerly Busch Entertainment Corporation), Service King, Sirius Satellite Radio, Tradesmen International, Universal Orlando, Vivint, Vivint Solar, and The Weather Channel Companies.

Mr. Wallace graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. Mr. Wallace serves on the Board of Directors of Michaels Stores, Outerstuff, Ltd., SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Service King, Tradesmen International, Vivint, Vivint Solar, The Weather Channel Companies, and is a trustee of the Children’s Aid Society.

Tim Wang is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Head of Real Estate China, based in Hong Kong.

Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Wang has been involved in evaluating real estate investments in China and managing the Greater China portfolio. Mr. Wang led the initiation, sale and restructuring of some of the key investments in China.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Wang worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Real Estate Principal Division in China. He was involved in acquisitions and asset management. Prior to that, Mr. Wang worked for 10 years in various real estate development companies in China and Australia.

Mr. Wang received a Master for International Business degree from Curtin University of Technology. He also has a Bachelor Degree in Economics from Zhejiang University in China. Mr. Wang serves as a member of the ICSC China leadership board and is the Deputy Chairman of SCPG Group.

Michael Whitman is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of the European Business of GSO Capital Partners. He focuses on private and public investment opportunities and is a member of GSO’s Investment Committee.

Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2006, Mr. Whitman was a Managing Director with Citigroup Private Equity. Prior to joining Citigroup Private Equity, Mr. Whitman worked in Salomon Smith Barney's High Yield Capital Markets business from 1996 through 2000. From 1994 through 1996, Mr. Whitman was a corporate finance analyst at Salomon Brothers.

Mr. Whitman received a B.A. in History from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Whitman serves as a director of Alcontrol and The Miller Group.

Robert Zable is a Sr. Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners' Customized Credit Strategies Group, a member of its Investment Committee and a Portfolio Manager. Before joining GSO Capital, Mr. Zable was a Vice President at FriedbergMilstein LLC, where he was responsible for credit opportunity investments and junior capital origination and execution. Prior to that, Mr. Zable was a Principal with Abacus Advisors Group, a restructuring and distressed investment firm. Mr. Zable began his career at JP Morgan Securities Inc., where he focused on leveraged finance in New York and London. Mr. Zable received a BS from Cornell University, and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Zawadzki is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and Co-Head of GSO Capital Partners’ energy platform. Mr. Zawadzki oversees GSO’s activities in the energy sector and sits on the investment committees for GSO’s various energy funds. Mr. Zawadzki also serves as a Portfolio Manager of Community Development Capital Group, GSO’s land banking business. Prior to joining GSO in 2006, Mr. Zawadzki was with Citigroup Private Equity, where he completed numerous private equity and subordinated debt investments. Previously, Mr. Zawadzki worked in the investment banking division of Salomon Smith Barney, focused on the media and telecommunications industries. Mr. Zawadzki received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Zawadzki serves on the board of directors of Sequel Energy Group, C&J Energy Services, 3Bear Energy, Twin Eagle Resource Management, and Community Development Capital Group.

Liping Zhang is a Senior Managing Director and Chairman, Greater China of Blackstone.

Mr. Zhang has over 30 years of financial industry, corporate management and government sector experience. He commenced his career at China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation in Beijing in the early eighties and held a number of senior positions at other organizations including Co-CEO, Greater China and Vice Chairman of the Global Investment Banking Department of Credit Suisse, Managing Director of Pacific Concord Group, Managing Director and Geographic Head - Greater China Region of Dresdner Banking Group and Director of Merrill Lynch Investment Banking Division.

Mr. Zhang graduated from Beijing University's school of International Business & Economics and received a master’s degree in International Affairs and International Law from St. John’s University in New York. He also attended NYU Stern's MBA program. He is currently a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee, Guangxi Autonomous Region, a member of the Board of Trustees of Beijing University of International Business and Economics, a member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Financial Services Advisory Committee and the Asian Financial Forum Steering Committee.

Alan Kerr is a Senior Advisor for GSO. Prior to becoming a Senior Advisor, Mr. Kerr was a Senior Managing Director in GSO and was responsible for managing the European activities of GSO’s Customized Credit Strategies Unit ("CCS"). Mr. Kerr was co-head of Harbourmaster prior to its acquisition by GSO. He joined Harbourmaster at its inception in 2000. Mr. Kerr has 18 years of experience in the industry, including high yield bank loans, CLOs and bank loan funds. Formerly, Mr. Kerr was with Ernst & Young as a Financial Services Group Manager. Mr. Kerr has an honours Commerce Degree (Banking & Finance) from University College Dublin, a Master's in Accountancy from University College Dublin, and is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Michael A. Petryczenko is a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Mr. Petryczenko is involved with overseeing the financial reporting, tax structuring and treasury operations related to Strategic Partners’ secondary private equity funds. Before joining Strategic Partners, Mr. Petryczenko was the Tax Manager for the Peabody Fund, an opportunistic real estate fund jointly managed by J.P. Morgan and The O’Connor Group. Prior to joining the Peabody Fund, Mr. Petryczenko was a Tax Manager at Ernst and Young, LLP in the Real Estate Group. His clients included DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and SL Green Realty Corp. Mr. Petryczenko received a BS in Accounting from St. Francis College, New York and an MS in Taxation from Pace University, New York. He subsequently earned the C.P.A. designation.

John J. Studzinski CBE is Vice Chairman, Investor Relations and Business Development and Senior Managing Director of Blackstone where he holds special responsibility for sovereign and institutional investor relationships, as well as important and influential pools of international family capital.

Mr. Studzinski joined Blackstone in 2006 as Global Head of Blackstone Advisory Partners, which he ran for a decade. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he also has an MBA from the University of Chicago. He joined Morgan Stanley in New York in 1980 and since then has spent much of his career in London, where he served as Head of European Investment Banking and Deputy Chairman of Morgan Stanley International before moving to HSBC in 2003 as a member of the Group Management Board.

Mr. Studzinski is a Non-Executive Director of the Home Office of the UK Government and serves as Chair of the Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee in addition to chairing the Prime Minister's Business Against Modern Slavery initiative. He is Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, a UK-based charitable foundation that nurtures the careers of outstanding young artists, and Chairman of Create London. Mr. Studzinski serves on the U.S. boards of The J. Paul Getty Trust, Scholars at Risk, Tate Americas Foundation, Signature Theatre, and the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE).

He is Director Emeritus of Human Rights Watch and is Co-founder and Chair of the Arise Foundation, which partners with local networks to stop human trafficking. Mr. Studzinski is also Vice Chairman of The Atlantic Council and a member of The Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Studzinski holds the Papal honors of Knight of the Order of St. Gregory and Knight Commander of Saint Sylvester and in 2004 was awarded the Beacon Prize for Philanthropy. He received the Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy and the Prince of Wales Ambassador Award for his work with the homeless. In 2007 Mr. Studzinski was voted Banker of the Year by The Bank of England. In 2008, the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List named him Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the Arts and Charity.

Byron Wien is Vice Chairman in the Private Wealth Solutions group where he acts as a senior adviser to both the Firm and its clients in analyzing economic, social and political trends to assess the direction of financial markets and thus help guide investment and strategic decisions.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Wien was Chief Investment Strategist for Pequot Capital and before that served for 21 years as Chief (later Senior) U.S. Investment Strategist at Morgan Stanley.

In 1995, Mr. Wien co-authored a book with George Soros on the legendary investor’s life and philosophy, Soros on Soros - Staying Ahead of the Curve. In 1998 he was named by First Call the most widely read analyst on Wall Street and in 2000 was ranked the No. 1 strategist by SmartMoney.com based on his market calls during that year. Mr.Wien was named to the 2004 Smart Money Power 30 list of Wall Street’s most influential investors, thinkers, enforcers, policy makers, players and market movers. He appeared in the “Thinker” category.

In 2006, Mr. Wien was named by New York Magazine as one of the sixteen most influential people in Wall Street. The New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) presented Mr. Wien with a lifetime achievement award in 2008.

Mr. Wien received an AB with honors from Harvard College and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is on the Investment Advisory Committee of The Open Society Foundation, a member of the Investment Committees of Lincoln Center and The Pritzker Foundation. He is a trustee of the New York Historical Society and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the JPB Foundation.

Greg Beutler is an Operating Partner in the Corporate Private Equity group based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Beutler has been involved in portfolio management and monitoring. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Beutler worked at General Electric, most recently as General Manager of the Electronic Products business in GE Energy. Prior to that he had several other GE assignments including European Supply Chain Director at GE Power Controls, General Manager of Global Sourcing at GE Lighting, as well as roles in GE Corporate, GE Plastics, GE Silicones and GE Power Systems divisions. In addition Mr. Beutler worked at Webvan, Inc. as Vice President of Merchandising and Symmetrix, Inc., a management consulting firm, as Vice President of the Industrial Sector Practice. Mr. Beutler received a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Engineering, cum laude, in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, and an M.B.A., with distinction, from Harvard University.

Bob Llamas is an Operating Partner with primary responsibilities to assist Blackstone’s portfolio companies with leadership and organization effectiveness, senior executive staffing, talent management, and human resources practices.

Before joining Blackstone in 2016, Mr. Llamas was Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Community Empowerment at Univision Communications Inc. Prior to Univision, he was the Chief Human Resources and Public Affairs Officer for the Nielsen Company. In addition, Mr. Llamas has also served as Chief Administrative Officer of The Cleveland Clinic, Chief Human Resources Officer of Lehman Brothers Inc., and was a Corporate Officer of General Electric where he headed up Human Resources for three of their largest businesses.

Mr. Llamas received a BS in Marketing Management from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California and an MS in Organization Development from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Overly is an Operating Partner in the Corporate Private Equity Group, and is based in New York . Mr. Overly is involved in monitoring, advising and supporting with Lean Operational Excellence, and Supply Chain improvement, strategic opportunities in Blackstone's global portfolio company holdings. Before Joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Overly was Vice President of Global Fixture Operations at Kohler Company, where he was responsible for their global manufacturing operations including the entire supply chain from procurement to shipment of finished product through a multi warehouse Regional Distribution Center network. Prior to that, he served 25 years at General Motors Corporation and Delphi Corporation in numerous Operations and Engineering positions with global responsibilities. Mr. Overly has a BS in Industrial Management from the University of Cincinnati, and a Masters in Business from Central Michigan University.

Dr. Robert Galvin is Operating Partner of Equity Healthcare. Before joining Blackstone, Dr. Galvin was Executive Director of Health Services and Chief Medical Officer for General Electric, in charge of the design and performance of GE's health programs, including both health spending and the services delivered in its global medical clinics. Dr. Galvin is a nationally recognized leader in the areas of market-based health policy and financing, quality measurement and payment reform. Dr. Galvin is a member of the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Science, and sits on the IOM’s Board on Health Care Services. Dr. Galvin received his BA and MD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Boston University.

Abhishek Agarwal is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Agarwal has been involved in analyzing real estate investments in various property sectors across several geographies in Europe. Mr. Agarwal currently focusses on Blackstone’s real estate investments in Italy and has worked on various transactions, including the acquisition and sale of the Broadgate estate, the acquisition of Multi Corporation and the refinancing of Chiswick Park. He also served on the board of Broadgate. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Agarwal worked as a software developer with Microsoft, and was involved in the development of Microsoft Windows' Vista. Mr. Agarwal received a B. Tech. in Information Technology from the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Allahabad, where he was placed on the Deans Merit List. He completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore where he graduated with the Gold medal.

Samir Amichi is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Amichi has been actively involved in a variety of European real estate acquisitions, disposals, and financings with a total investment value of more than $3 billion. Mr. Amichi has experience in analyzing all major classes of real estate including office, retail, residential and non-performing loans. Previously, Mr. Amichi spent 7 years in Goldman Sachs International’s real estate private equity group focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in Europe and 2 years at The Richemont Group overseeing the set-up and growth of its global real estate investment business. Mr. Amichi received an M.Sc. in Management from the HEC business school in Paris, where he majored in Economics.

David Andrews is a Managing Director in the Finance Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Andrews has been involved in international financial planning and analysis and international management reporting for the firm. He is also involved with enhancing process and technology workflows within the international financial group. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Andrews was a Director in the Fixed Income Chief Operating Office at Credit Suisse, supporting the Global CFO with financial management information and re-engineering existing reporting systems and financial processes. Prior to that, he held a variety of management reporting positions at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Andrews is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Douglas Armer is a Managing Director in the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies group.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Armer was a Managing Director at CT Investment Management Co., LLC, a commercial real estate investment manager and rated special servicer that was wholly owned by Capital Trust, Inc. and acquired by Blackstone in December 2012. As Managing Director, Mr. Armer handled the firm’s capital markets and finance activities. Prior to joining Capital Trust, Inc. in 2004, Mr. Armer was involved with developing the India-based capital markets group of Global Realty Outsourcing. Previously Mr. Armer held positions in Corporate Finance at Gerard Klauer Mattison and at PaineWebber Commercial Real Estate Securities.

Mr. Armer holds a B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Rochester, where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Saif Assam is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Mr. Assam is a member of Blackstone's Middle East team, and mainly focuses on private equity and credit. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Assam worked for the Dubai Government's direct investment / private equity arm. Previously, Mr. Assam was at Monitor Group's Boston and London offices. Mr. Assam received a Master's degree in Engineering from Cambridge University. Mr. Assam is a representative in the United Kingdom Blackstone Group International Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Alberto Avanzo is a Managing Director within GSO Debt Funds Management Europe focused on the origination and management of private credit investments across the capital structure in the Italian market. Mr. Avanzo is based in Milan where he heads the local branch of the asset management of the Fund. Before joining GSO, Mr. Avanzo spent more than 30 years in credit with experiences at Izurium Capital, a UK based Private Equity fund, Morgan Stanley Investment Management in London where he was Global Co-Head of the Senior loans business, WestLB London as Head of Italian Leverage Finance and Sanpaolo IMI where he also ran Leverage Finance. Mr. Avanzo started his career as credit analyst at Continental Illinois Bank. He has a law degree and a MBA at Bocconi University in Milan.

Geoffrey Bailhache is the firm’s General Counsel in Europe.

Mr. Bailhache is a Managing Director and is based in London. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Bailhache was a corporate associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges' London office, where he worked for a number of corporate and private equity clients on a broad range of leveraged buyouts, public takeovers and cross-border M&A transactions. Mr. Bailhache is a member of the Legal & Technical Committee of the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association and the Financial Services Working Group of Invest Europe. He is also on the Board of the European Private Equity Roundtable. Mr. Bailhache received an LLB in law from the University of Nottingham.

Marc Baliotti is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. He joined GSO in 2005 and is a senior member of GSO’s mezzanine team, handling sourcing, due diligence, structuring, and management of investments for the funds. Prior to joining GSO Capital, Mr. Baliotti was a Principal of AIG Highstar Capital, an energy and infrastructure-focused private equity fund with over $5 billion of assets under management. His responsibilities there included sourcing investment opportunities, negotiating and structuring transactions, and managing portfolio company investments. Prior to that, Mr. Baliotti worked at Advanstar Communications Inc., a portfolio company of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (DLJMB), and as an Associate at DLJMB. Mr. Baliotti received a B.S. in Economics with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from Villanova University while on active duty in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Baliotti serves on the Board of Directors of Colt Defense and Heartland Food Companies, and he previously served on the boards of American Ref-Fuel, ArrMaz Custom Chemicals, Bluewater Thermal Processing, and Heartland Automotive Holdings.

Marisa Beeney, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of GSO Capital Partners LP, Managing Director. Ms. Beeney oversees all legal and compliance matters relating to Blackstone’s credit focused business. Prior to her role as General Counsel, Ms. Beeney worked on a variety of legal matters within GSO Capital, including new business initiatives, fund structuring and related issues for fund investments, leverage facilities and certain compliance issues. Before joining GSO Capital in 2007, Ms. Beeney was an attorney at DLA Piper within the finance group. Prior to that, she worked at Latham & Watkins primarily on project finance and development transactions, as well as other structured credit products. Ms. Beeney holds a BS in Engineering from Cornell University, and a JD, magna cum laude, from Boston University.

Anthony W. Beovich is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Beovich has worked in the financial reporting group and is involved in tax research and tax compliance for all Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) funds.   Mr. Beovich has also been involved with tax matters relating to fund formation and BREP acquisitions and dispositions. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Beovich was a Tax Manager at Deloitte & Touche, where he provided tax services to real estate investment trusts, opportunity funds and partnerships in the real estate industry. Mr. Beovich received a BS in Accounting from St. John's University and an MS in Taxation from Long Island University.   He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ron Bernstein is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2016, Mr. Bernstein was a Managing Principal at Great Spruce Capital Partners, an investment and development company that he founded. Prior to Great Spruce, Mr. Bernstein spent over 8 years at Marathon Asset Management where he was a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the Marathon Real Estate Group. Previously, Mr. Bernstein spent over 8 years as a principal investor at Goldman Sachs in its Real Estate Principal Investments Area/Whitehall Funds.

Mr. Bernstein received a BA from Northwestern University, where he graduated from the Honors Program in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, with a double major in Economics.

Vijay Bharadia is a Managing Director in the Finance Group. He is the firm's International Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Bharadia was First Vice President and the Co-CFO for European Equities at Merrill Lynch & Co. Mr. Bharadia received a BSC (Eng) in Computing Science from Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Dmitry Biryukov is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Biryukov has been involved in the design and development of BAAM’s proprietary software systems, which support all aspects of the group's operations.

Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Biryukov worked as a Senior Developer for America ToGo (ATG) designing software solutions for BAAM. Before ATG he was a System Architect for RPT Group (now Red Vision), a title searches and real property data solution company. Prior to that, Mr. Biryukov worked as Principal Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Kyrgyzstan, Moscow and Arlington, Virginia in a variety of software development projects for USAID, Russian Oil and Gas clients and the US DOD.

Mr. Biryukov graduated with a MS in Computer Science from the Kyrgyz Technical University.

Amy Blake is a Managing Director in the Finance Group. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Blake has been involved with the Financial Planning & Analysis team in further developing our firmwide financial and management reporting. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Blake worked as a Vice President in the Chief Operating Office for the Global Markets and Investment Banking Group of Merrill Lynch. In this role, she focused on developing and implementing various control processes and business management initiatives. Prior to that, she held a number of roles in the Chief Financial Office focused on financial reporting, as well as administrative, control and regulatory initiatives. Ms. Blake began her career at Arthur Andersen LLP where she was a senior auditor in the Financial Services Division. Ms. Blake received a BS in Accounting from Lehigh University, and an MBA New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Greg Blank is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group where he focuses on investments in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sectors. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Blank has worked in both the New York and Hong Kong offices and has been involved in the execution of Blackstone investments, including NCR, Kronos, JDA, Ipreo, and Optiv.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Blank was an Associate at Texas Pacific Group (TPG) in San Francisco where he was involved in the evaluation and execution of private equity transactions. Prior to that, Mr. Blank worked in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. focused on Technology, Media and Telecommunications clients.

Mr. Blank received an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Blank also earned an MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. Mr. Blank serves on the Board of Directors of NCR, Kronos, and Ipreo.

J. Richard (“Dik”) Blewitt is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners and focuses on structured finance/credit investments. He also is the Senior Portfolio Manager for Carador Income Fund PLC.

Before joining GSO in 2014, he was a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Securitized Asset Team at Blackrock, as well as the Partner in charge of Securitization and Insurance Products for the R3 Capital Hedge Fund. Prior to Blackrock acquiring R3, Mr. Blewitt was Head of Securitization at R3/Lehman Brothers Global Principal Strategies. Mr. Blewitt was formerly a Managing Director and Global Head of Distribution for the Global Structured Products Group at Bank of America Securities, and also having previously worked at JP Morgan in Structured Finance.

Mr. Blewitt earned a BS in finance from Lehigh University, and an MBA in Finance / International Business from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Byron Blount is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Blount has been involved in the oversight of various Blackstone investments in the healthcare, industrial and hospitality sectors. Before joining Blackstone, he was EVP for Blackstone's LXR Luxury Resorts affiliate for five years. Prior to that, Mr. Blount was a Principal at Colony Capital LLC for 11 years, responsible for sourcing and structuring new investments, consummating transactions valued in excess of $5 billion and serving on the boards of seven Colony portfolio companies during his tenure. Mr. Blount received a BS from the University of Southern California and an MBA from USC's Marshall School. He is a member of the National Graduate Business Honor Society.

Robert Bosselman is a Managing Director, and Head of National Accounts in the Private Wealth Solutions Group. In this role, Mr. Bosselman oversees the relationship management team responsible for covering Blackstone’s intermediary partners across wirehouses and private banks, as well as both regional and independent broker-dealers.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Bosselman was a Managing Director at UBP Asset Management where he was Head of Sales and Client Service for North America. While there, he led sales and relationship management for both institutional, and high net worth clients, across alternative investments including commingled, customized and advisory accounts. In addition, he sat on the Management Committee responsible for running the day to day operations of the North American business. Prior to that, Mr. Bosselman was a Vice President of Business Development at Deutsche Bank AG where he marketed products in the bank’s Trust & Securities Services group, covering the Healthcare and Industrials sectors. Prior to that, Mr. Bosselman worked with the investment banking unit of BDO Seidman LLP, marketing and structuring management and employee-led buyouts, as well as leveraged recapitalizations for middle market companies.

Mr. Bosselman received a BS in Finance and International Business from the University of Delaware.

Gregorio Bravo is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Bravo has been involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring, as well as portfolio analytics and risk assessment.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Bravo interned for a summer with the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Bravo received a BSc in Economics with a concentration in Financial Markets from the London School of Economics. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Tia Breakley is a Managing Director and the Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of the Infrastructure Group. Previously, Ms. Breakley served as Deputy General Counsel of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where she was actively involved in the oversight and coordination of legal and regulatory matters relating to BAAM’s multi-manager and direct trading platforms as well as structuring of the group’s customized multi-manager products.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Ms. Breakley worked as Counsel in the Private Investment Funds Group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Prior to that, Ms. Breakley was an Associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she worked on various matters including, private investment fund formations, joint ventures and mergers & acquisitions.

Ms. Breakley received a BA from the University of Virginia and a JD from Columbia Law School. Ms. Breakley serves on the Board of Trustees of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

Jeppe Brøndum is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group based in Copenhagen.

Mr. Brøndum is involved with client service and new business and product development in Europe.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Brøndum was a Director for BlackRock where he was developing and managing client relationships with Nordic institutional investors. Before BlackRock, he held a similar position at Barclays Global Investors. Prior to that he worked as Head of Fund Distribution for Danske Capital, the asset management arm of Danske Bank, where he was responsible for developing client relationships in Europe. He began his career as a Financial Analyst at Danica Pension focusing on manager research and selection and portfolio management of multi-asset portfolios.

Mr. Brøndum received an MSc Economics & Business from Aarhus University.

Stephen Buehler is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Blackstone Individual Investor Solutions, a strategic initiative within the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

In this role, Mr. Buehler helps lead the Individual Investor Solutions initiative, including the development, structuring and operation of regulated investment fund solutions, and all strategic business development initiatives. Prior to his role as COO of Individual Investor Solutions, Mr. Buehler performed due diligence and monitoring procedures on the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s existing and prospective underlying hedge fund investments from a business and financial perspective. In addition, Mr. Buehler assisted the Hedge Fund Solutions Group's senior management team identify and implement strategic growth plans and best practices.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Buehler worked at Merrill Lynch as a Relationship Manager for the firm’s hedge fund clients. Prior to that, Mr. Buehler was a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Assurance Practice.

Mr. Buehler received a Bachelor of Accountancy and Bachelor of Business Administration from Mississippi State University where he graduated summa cum laude. He also received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Buehler is a Certified Public Accountant.

Susan Burkhardt is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners.

Since joining GSO in 2013, Ms. Burkhardt has been involved in new business initiatives, fund structuring and related issues, as well as a variety of compliance matters.

Immediately prior to joining GSO Capital, Ms. Burkhardt worked at The D. E. Shaw Group. Before that, she worked at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York and London, where she focused on the formation of alternative investment funds. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Clifford Wallace, Chief Judge Emeritus of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Ms. Burkhardt received a BS in Biological Sciences, summa cum laude, from The University of Notre Dame, and a JD from The University of Virginia School of Law, where she was a member of the Editorial Board of the Law Review, elected to the Order of the Coif and awarded the Z Society Shannon Award for Outstanding Contributions to Academic Excellence.

Sharon Burley is a Managing Director in the Finance Group. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Burley is involved with the firm's tax compliance and reporting. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Burley was the Director of Tax at The Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, a privately-held multinational investment company. Prior to this, Ms. Burley was a tax manager with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Stamford, CT. Ms. Burley received a BSBA from Bucknell University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

William Burt is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and the Chief Operating Officer of the BAAM Portfolio Solutions Group. Prior to that, Mr. Burt was involved in performing operational due diligence and monitoring procedures on the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s underlying hedge fund managers.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Burt was a Senior Associate at McKinsey & Company, where he worked with clients in the high tech industry on a wide variety of strategic and operational issues. Before McKinsey, he was an Analyst in Blackstone’s Hedge Fund Solutions Group and an Accountant in Arthur Andersen’s Hedge Fund Advisory and Capital Markets Group.

Mr. Burt received a BBA in Accounting from the College of William and Mary, where he graduated with distinction. He also received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Mark Burton is a Managing Director in Strategic Partners and is based in New York. Mr. Burton oversees the investment activities of Strategic Partners’ real estate funds and sits on the Investment Committee for each of the SP RE Funds.

Prior to joining Strategic Partners in 2014, Mr. Burton was a Managing Director at H/2 Capital Partners, an institutional investment manager focused on commercial real estate credit. While at H/2, he led the sourcing, pricing, and execution of the firm’s distressed commercial mortgage opportunities in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to that, Mr. Burton spent over 11 years at Goldman Sachs in its Global Special Situations Group (SSG) as a Vice President overseeing domestic commercial real estate investing, commercial mortgage and mezzanine lending, and distressed commercial mortgage acquisitions.

Mr. Burton received a BS in Finance from Georgetown University.

Marion-Sophie Buten is a Managing Director in the GSO-Origination Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Ms. Buten has been involved in the ongoing analysis and evaluation of investment opportunities across several industry categories out of the New York and London offices.

Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Buten worked as an Associate Director within the Leveraged Finance and the Corporate Finance departments at UBS Warburg's offices in Zurich, London and New York.

Ms. Buten received a Master of Management degree, with distinction, from the European School of Management, where she completed a three-year master's program in Paris, Oxford and Berlin. Ms. Buten is fluent in German, French and English.

Ruaraidh Campbell is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where he is involved in product development, internal analytics and risk due diligence.

Prior to rejoining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Campbell was a Vice President and Head of Analytics and Risk at Summit Rock Advisors, an outsourced-CIO firm managing over $8 billion in assets under management. Before Summit Rock Advisors, he worked at Blackstone from 2004 to 2012, where he focused on risk management and portfolio construction for the Hedge Fund Solutions platform.

Mr. Campbell received a BA in Economics and Foreign Affairs with a minor in Applied Math from the University of Virginia. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Mike Carruthers is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners, and is involved in various performing and distressed investments, including direct financing, primary syndication, secondary trading, and portfolio purchases, across various target sectors. He is based in London. Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2006, Mr. Carruthers was an investment banking analyst in Credit Suisse's Toronto office from 2005-2006. During this period, he worked on a variety of transactions including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and leveraged buyouts. Mr. Carruthers graduated with Honours in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Ramesh Chakrapani is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Special Situations Investing group.

Mr. Chakrapani joined Blackstone as part of the Corporate / Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory group where he advised on merger transactions, restructurings, capital raises, joint ventures / partnerships and other corporate advisory engagements across a range of industries and sectors.

Before joining Blackstone in 1999, Mr. Chakrapani worked at eVolution Global Partners, a Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Bain & Company and TPG affiliated firm, and Credit Suisse First Boston in the M&A Group.

Mr. Chakrapani received a BA in Economics and International Studies from Yale University.

Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Chamberlain has been actively involved in Blackstone’s investments in Ixom and Antares Restaurant Group. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Chamberlain was a Vice President at Unitas Capital, where he was responsible for a number of investments across the Asia Pacific Region. Previously, Mr. Chamberlain was an Associate at Babcock & Brown and an Analyst at ABN AMRO and he worked as a Civil Engineer at McConnell Dowell Engineering. Mr. Chamberlain received a B.E. and a B.Comm. from the University of Melbourne. He also received an M.S. in Finance with High Distinction from the University of New South Wales.

Amy Chen is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Ms. Chen heads up the tax compliance and reporting function for all GSO investment funds and its affiliated entities. Her responsibilities include managing the tax compliance and reporting obligation both in the US and in foreign jurisdictions as well as FATCA compliance. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Chen was a Director of Tax at Amber Capital Investment Management where she was responsible for all tax matters related to the investments funds as well as the management company. She collaborated with the investment team, operation team and legal team on all portfolio transactions. Prior to joining Amber Capital, she was a Senior Tax Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers’s asset management tax group based in New York where she provided a wide range of tax services to private investment fund clients. Ms. Chen was also a Tax Manager at Arthur Andersen’s financial services tax group based in New York where she provided similar tax services to private investment fund clients as well as international banking clients. Ms. Chen received her BBA in Accounting from Bernard M. Baruch College. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institution of Certified Public Accountants.

Brian Chi is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in Hong Kong.

Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Chi has been involved in Blackstone’s investment in Xinrong Medical. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Xinrong Medical. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Chi was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia where he focused on private equity investments in China. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Chi worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Citi Investment Banking Division in New York.

Mr. Chi received a B.A. in Economics and Math from Brandeis University, where he graduated summa cum laude, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School

Joseph Chien is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group based in Tokyo. Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Chien has been involved in a variety of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in Asia.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Chien was an Executive Director at GreenOak Real Estate Advisors in New York, where he focused on acquisitions in the U.S., Greater China, and India. Previously, he worked at Morgan Stanley in their real estate investing and mergers & acquisitions departments in New York and London.

Mr. Chien received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, summa cum laude, where he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Byung Ug Choi is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. He is based in Hong Kong. Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Choi has been involved with marketing for various Blackstone fund products, primarily with respect to Korea. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Choi was a Director with Citigroup Global Markets Asia focusing on marketing and structuring CDO products. Previously, he worked as a portfolio manager at Samsung Fire & Marine and Samsung ITMC. He also worked for Hyundai Motor Company as an export sale manager for the Middle East region. Mr. Choi received an M.I.M. from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a B.A. in Law from Korea University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Brad Colman is a Managing Director with GSO. Mr. Colman focuses on originating, analyzing, executing and monitoring credit investments across a diverse range of industries for the business development companies sub-advised by GSO.

Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Colman worked as a Director in the Strategic Investments group at PartnerRe, a Senior Associate in the sponsor finance team at American Capital, and an Analyst in Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group.

Mr. Colman graduated magna cum laude from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business with a BS in Finance, Accounting, and Operations.

David Corey is a Managing Director in Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Mr. Corey focuses on originating, evaluating, structuring and negotiating secondary private equity transactions and sits on the Investment Committees of each of the Strategic Partners funds.

Before joining Strategic Partners in 2001, Mr. Corey worked as an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions departments of Davis, Polk & Wardwell in New York and Skadden Arps in Los Angeles.

Mr. Corey received a BA in History from Northwestern University, where he graduated cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Corey also earned a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law, where he was a member of the California Law Review and a multiple Jurisprudence Award recipient. Mr. Corey sits on the Advisory Boards of partnerships managed by Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Co., FTV Capital and Scale Ventures. In addition, Mr. Corey serves on the Board of Directors for Juma Ventures.

Sean Cort is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners and the Head of Middle Office and Operations. Before joining GSO, Mr. Cort was Chief Administrative Officer of Fortress Investment Group, overseeing the managed account platform, global trading activities, financial planning and strategic initiatives for the hedge fund business. Prior to that, he worked at Credit Suisse where he managed the Prime Services client documentation team, responsible for client fund onboarding, operational and credit related issues.

Before Credit Suisse, he worked at Credit Agricole overseeing U.S. capital markets activities and the integration of the U.S. operations of Credit Lyonnais and Credit Agricole. Mr. Cort also worked at Deustche Bank AG where he covered the Global Markets business supporting various trading desks. He began his career at Goldman Sachs where he was focused on a broad range of financial products and infrastructure initiatives for the firm.

Mr. Cort received a JD from Boston University and BA from the University of Rochester, with a Management Certificate from the Simon School of Business.

Tania Daguere Lindbäck is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in London.

Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Ms. Daguere has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Sulo, Centerparcs, ICS and Pulse.

Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Daguere worked at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions division in London and Paris.

Ms. Daguere received a Diplôme de Grande Ecole from the Hautes Etudes Commerciales School of Management in Paris with a Master’s Degree in Finance.

Amit Dalmia is a Managing Director in the Corporate Private Equity group and is based in Mumbai. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Dalmia has primarily been involved in monitoring the performance and development of Blackstone portfolio companies in India. Before joining Blackstone, Mr.  Dalmia had diverse operational experience of over 13 years with Hindustan Unilever India ("HUL") in various management and business leadership roles ranging from finance and accounts to commercial and supply chain. Mr. Dalmia He has undergone a management training program with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and subsequently worked extensively on in-company training at Unilever. Mr.  Dalmia received a B. Com. (Hons. ) from St. Xaviers' College from the University of Kolkatta, India. He is also a Chartered Accountant (CA), Company Secretary (CS) and Cost Accountant (ICWA) with three Gold Medals for securing first-ranks in the country.

Simon Davies is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group, based in London. Mr Davies is involved in the tax structuring and compliance matters for the international investments of the Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) funds, with particular focus on the structuring of BREP acquisitions and dispositions in Europe.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr Davies worked as a Senior Manager in the Investment Management and Real Estate team at PricewaterhouseCoopers and specialized in the tax structuring of international real estate funds and investments.

Mr. Davies received a MEng in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Raphael de Botton is a Managing Director in the Corporate Private Equity group, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. de Botton has been involved in Blackstone's investments in Tangerine, TDC, Tragus, Versace, AAG and ISD.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. de Botton worked at Lazard in the Mergers and Acquisition division, in New York. Mr. de Botton graduated from ESSEC Business School with a Master’s degree in Finance and from the French National Institute of Telecommunications with a Master's of Science. Mr. de Botton serves as a director of Tangerine, AAG and ISD.

Joe DeFalco is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and the Chief Operating Officer of the Special Situations Investing Group.

Prior to that, Mr. DeFalco was involved in performing operational due diligence and monitoring procedures on the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s underlying hedge fund managers from a business/financial perspective.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. DeFalco was an Assurance Manager in PricewaterhouseCooper’s Alternative Investment Fund practice.

Mr. DeFalco received a BA in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with distinction. He also received a MS in Accounting from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Nicole Degnan is a Managing Director in the Finance group and is the Chief Internal Auditor of Blackstone. In this role, she reports directly to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, leading the firm’s global internal audit practice. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2009, Ms. Degnan worked at Merrill Lynch for over 10 years in various roles across Global Wealth Management, the Office of General Counsel and Chief Financial Office. Ms. Degnan began her career at Deloitte LLP where she was a Senior Attorney in the International Tax Practice. Ms. Degnan received a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in Accounting from Seton Hall University, and a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she was a member of the Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. She is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association and a court approved mediator for the State of New Jersey.

Ravi Desai is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Desai is involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection, and monitoring, as well as structured and corporate credit investments.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Desai was a Managing Director at Caprok Capital. Prior to Caprok, Mr. Desai was a Portfolio Manager at Tolis Advisors, and prior to that, a Vice President at Bear Stearns.

Mr. Desai received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University.

Andrew Dowler is a Managing Director in the Public Affairs Group.

He is involved with the public positioning of Blackstone and its investment platforms across Europe serving as a primary spokesman for the firm. He also handles Blackstone’s government relations activities in Europe.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Dowler was a Partner of Finsbury, the UK’s leading financial and corporate communications consultancy. His clients at Finsbury included Blackstone and, over the last 20 years as a communications consultant, he has specialized in working for alternative asset management companies. He also played a major role on many of the most high-profile mergers and acquisitions (hostile and agreed), re-financings and restructurings of the European market since deregulation in the 1980s. Prior to moving into public affairs, Mr. Dowler worked in politics as a researcher and speechwriter.

Mr. Dowler has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Politics from the University of Southampton and serves on the board of Action Breaks Silence, the UK-based charity which tackles sexual and gender-based violence.

Andrea Drasites is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group. Ms. Drasites is involved in the asset management of Blackstone’s domestic retail investments including Brixmor (formerly Centro), Equity One, Regency, DDR, Glimcher, Kimco and Edens portfolios as well as other retail projects inside of Blackstone’s hotel and office platform.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Ms. Drasites worked at Equity One, Inc., a publicly traded shopping center REIT, where she was responsible for asset management as well as acquisitions and dispositions across the US. Prior to Equity One, Inc., Ms. Drasites worked for Woolbright Development, a shopping center owner and developer based in Boca Raton, Florida.

Ms. Drasites received a BA in International Business from Rollins College and an MBA from the University of Florida.

Jean-Christophe Dubois is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in London. Mr. Dubois is involved with portfolio management, asset management and transaction activities across our continental European businesses. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Dubois was a Managing Director at Archon, Goldman Sachs’ European real estate and distressed loan management platform. Prior to this role, Mr. Dubois held multiple leadership positions at Archon, including Head of Italian Management Platform, Head of European Acquisition, Head of Loan Management and Asset Manager. Mr. Dubois received a degree in engineering from Ecole Centrale de Marseille and a Master in Finance from ESCP Europe.

Richard S. Dziurzynski is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Dziurzynski is involved in hedge fund manager risk analysis, as well as risk monitoring and analysis of the BAAM’s funds.

Before joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Dziurzynski worked at Five Mile Capital Partners (FMCP) as Head of Risk Management and Quantitative Analysis, where he set up standards for risk management and transparency of disclosure, managed the implementation of firm-wide risk management systems, and was involved in the startup of hedge funds. Prior to joining FMCP, he served as a Vice President at AIG Trading Group, where he established firm-wide methodologies and standards for the computation and reporting of market risk and limits, and managed a team responsible for middle office and market risk management. Prior to that, Mr. Dziurzynski served as Senior Vice President and Head of Market Risk Management at DKB Financial Products, Director in Global Market Risk Management at Barclays Group (USA), and Vice President in trading/research at Greenwich Capital Markets. He began his career at Salomon Brothers as Assistant VP in Mortgage Research in 1987.

Mr. Dziurzynski received an MSc in Applied Mathematics and an MSc in Applied Mechanics from Warsaw Technical University in Poland, where he graduated summa cum laude. He also received a PhD in Applied Mathematics from University of California, Berkeley.

Michael Eglit is a Managing Director of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Eglit has handled evaluation of real estate debt investments in several property types. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Eglit worked for Wrightwood Capital, where he worked on the origination, underwriting, and asset management of structured senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and JV equity commercial real estate investments. Mr. Eglit graduated with honors in Economics from Lehigh University and received a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Mr. Elliot Eisenberger is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO in 2007, Elliot has been involved in tax planning and consulting for GSO Capital and its affiliated entities. His responsibilities include the implementation of efficient tax investment and entity structures as well as managing GSO's tax compliance and reporting obligations. Before joining GSO Capital Partners, Mr. Eisenberger was the Director of Tax at Amaranth Advisors LLC where his responsibilities included providing tax consulting with respect to investment transactions, fund structure and other general tax issues as well as ensuring that the fund was in compliance with all Federal, State and International tax filings. Prior to joining Amaranth in 2003, Mr. Eisenberger was with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in its capital markets tax group where he provided a wide range of tax services to a number of hedge fund clients. Mr. Eisenberger was also with Ernst & Young LLP, providing similar tax services to hedge fund clients. Mr. Eisenberger holds a BS in Accounting from Ramapo College of New Jersey and a Masters of Science in Taxation from Fordham University. Mr. Eisenberger is a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in the State of New York.

Pinda Eng is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Ms. Eng has been involved in accounting, financial reporting and investor reporting for the Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) funds and investment entities. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Eng worked at UBS Investment Bank as a Director and Business Unit Controller in the Commercial Real Estate Trading Group. Prior to UBS, she worked at Credit Suisse First Boston as a Senior Associate in the Capital Markets Group. Prior to Credit Suisse First Boston, she was an auditor in PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Financial Services Group. Ms. Eng received a BS in Accounting from Hofstra University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Mary Lynn Eubanks is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2005, Ms. Eubanks has focused on marketing and client relationships. Prior to that, Ms. Eubanks was an Associate in the investment banking groups at CSFB and Merrill Lynch, focusing on financing and M&A transactions in the Media and Telecom industry.   Prior to Merrill Lynch, Ms. Eubanks was an analyst in Wachovia Corporation's investment banking group. Ms. Eubanks received a BS in Management from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

Michael Fabiano is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Fabiano is involved with both debt and equity investments with a specific focus on stressed, distressed, and special situations.

Prior to joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Fabiano was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley where he was a member of the Leveraged Finance team and worked on numerous leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations. Mr. Fabiano holds a BS in Business Administration with honors from Georgetown University and an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago.

Marcelo Fedak is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in São Paulo. Mr. Fedak is involved in sourcing and analyzing investment opportunities in Latin America. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Fedak was at BTG Pactual where he was a Partner and Head of Real Estate, overseeing over $3 billion of assets under management across Latin America. Prior to that, Mr. Fedak worked at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse and was involved in various M&A and capital market transactions across multiple industries. Mr. Fedak received a BA in business from FGV - Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo.

Louis-Simon Ferland is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Ferland has been actively involved in a variety of European real estate acquisitions, disposals and financings, with a total investment value of more than $8 billion. Mr. Ferland has experience in analysing all major classes of real estate including retail, office, logistics and residential.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Ferland spent 3 years in Merrill Lynch's real estate private equity group focused on pan-European equity investments and 3 years as a lawyer in New York City.

Mr. Ferland received a dual degree in Common and Civil Law from McGill University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Alessandro Fiascaris is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in London.

Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Mr. Fiascaris has been involved in a variety of real estate acquisitions in Europe and Asia/Pacific.

Mr. Fiascaris received a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University and an MBA from Stanford.

John Fitzpatrick is a Managing Director in the Blackstone Innovations and Infrastructure group. Mr. Fitzpatrick oversees various projects and initiatives across the entire Innovations and Infrastructure group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Fitzpatrick worked at Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor’s, for seven years where he was most recently the Head of Product Design. Before Capital IQ, Mr. Fitzpatrick worked in the Global Wealth Management division of Merrill Lynch (The Sullivan Group).

He received a BS in Finance from St. John’s University.

Michael Fronte is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 1999, Mr. Fronte has been responsible for overseeing the accounting and financial reporting of the Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) funds and related investment entities. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Fronte worked for 11 years in Public Accounting, including as an Audit Manager in Arthur Andersen's Real Estate and Hospitality Services Group, where he provided auditing, accounting, and consulting services to global real estate companies. Mr. Fronte received a BS in Accounting from Long Island University School of Professional Accountancy.   He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Amy Garges is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Ms. Garges is involved in compliance matters focusing on internal compliance review.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Garges worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as an Audit Manager in the Banking Capital Markets practice where she supervised audit teams, maintained client relationships, and provided accounting advisory services to financial institutional clients. Prior to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, she worked at Franklin Templeton Investments as a Tax Audit Supervisor where she managed multiple tax audits and assisted with tax planning projects.

Ms. Garges received a BA in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jason Giordano is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Giordano has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Pinnacle Foods, Birds Eye Foods, Wishbone, Crocs, Outerstuff, Polymer Group, Fiberweb, Providenica, and Acushnet (Titleist) and in analyzing investment opportunities across various industries, including Consumer Products, Education, Paper & Packaging, Chemicals and Industrials.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Giordano was an Associate at Bain Capital where he evaluated and executed global private equity investments in a wide range of industries. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. focused on Communications, Media and Entertainment clients.

Mr. Giordano received an AB with High Honors from Dartmouth College, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar. Mr. Giordano currently serves on the Board of Directors of Crocs, Outerstuff, and Healthmarkets.

David Goldberg is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners.

Since joining GSO Capital Partners in 2008, Mr. Goldberg has been involved with overseeing the accounting for the Blackstone and GSO Mezzanine Funds.

Before joining GSO Capital Partners, Mr. Goldberg was an Assistant Vice President at Lehman Brothers in the Real Estate Private Equity Group overseeing two real estate mezzanine funds. Prior to that Mr. Goldberg worked as a manager in the joint venture group at New Plan Excel Realty Trust. Mr. Goldberg began his career in the financial services group at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Goldberg received a BA from Queens College, City University of New York, where he graduated cum laude, with a major in Accounting and Information Systems and a minor in Economics. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Chris Graham is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group based in Los Angeles and oversees West Coast acquisitions. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Graham worked at J.P. Morgan as a Managing Director and served as the West Coast real estate acquisitions team leader. Previously, he was a manager for the Archon Group where he was involved with commercial investment opportunities and dispositions in the western region. Mr. Graham received a BS from the University of Southern California.

Jason Gregory is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Gregory has been involved in the legal structuring and negotiation of the group’s customized multi-manager portfolios and direct trading platforms and investment opportunities.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Gregory was an Associate at White & Case LLP where he focused on the formation of private investment funds and the negotiation of investments for institutional clients in private investment funds.

Mr. Gregory received a JD from the Fordham University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude, and a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Siddhartha Gupta is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in Mumbai. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Gupta has been involved in sourcing and analyzing real estate investments in India. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Gupta was Vice President in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Real Estate Private Equity group. Mr. Gupta holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and is also a Chartered Accountant (India).

Justin Hall is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2007, Mr. Hall has been involved in analyzing, evaluating, and executing private investments across various industries. Before joining GSO Capital, Mr. Hall worked as an analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Hall graduated cum laude with a BA in Information Science from Cornell University.

Andrew K. Hamada is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions group based in Japan. He is the Head of BAAM Japan Business Strategy.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Hamada was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, where he was a product specialist and oversaw the Alternative Investment Group’s investment products and lead the manager due diligence process. Mr. Hamada was also responsible for relationships with financial institutions, large pension plans, and pension consultants. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Hamada worked at Legg Mason’s Quantitative Analysis Group as a research consultant and was a research assistant at the Biostatistics Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.

Mr. Hamada graduated from Johns Hopkins University where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematical Sciences/pre-medicine.

Olivia John is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and is based in New York. Ms. John currently focuses on new investment opportunities in the multifamily sector. Since joining Blackstone in 2007, Ms. John has been involved in analyzing real estate investments in several property sectors and has worked on various transactions, including the Extended Stay Hotels acquisition and the Hilton Worldwide refinancing and IPO. From 2010-2012, Ms. John was based in Blackstone’s London office, where she worked on the RBS U.K. loan portfolio acquisition. More recently, Ms. John has played a key role in the creation and expansion of LivCor, Blackstone’s apartment portfolio company.

Ms. John graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a BS in Economics and was also a Joseph Wharton Scholar.

Kevin Hannon is a Managing Director in the Finance & Administration Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Hannon has been involved with Finance Reengineering and Implementation. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Hannon was with Merrill Lynch, serving as Director of Financial Re-engineering. Prior to that, he was a Vice President in the investment Management Division at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Hannon also worked at Hyperion Solutions, as Lead consultant in the Accounting Technology practice, and at Merck-Medco as an Accounting Project Leader. Mr. Hannon received a BS/BA in Accounting from the University of Vermont, and an MBA in Professional Accounting from Fordham University. Mr. Hannon is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ronald Hartman is a Managing Director in the Information Technology group and leads the firm's IT Finance function. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Hartman worked at Credit Suisse where he held a variety of finance and operational roles over the past eleven years. Most recently he was the Director of Expense Management for Investment Banking Technology. Prior to Credit Suisse he held finance, planning, and consulting positions with Think New Ideas, McGraw Hill and The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. Mr. Hartman received his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, with honors, from the State University of New York at Binghamton and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School.

Alexandra Hill is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Hill has focused her efforts on raising capital for Blackstone's private investment funds, with a primary focus on Blackstone's real estate efforts. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Hill was Vice President of Investor Relations at Colony Capital, a real estate investment manager.   Prior to joining Colony, Ms. Hill worked at the law firm of Clifford Chance as a member of the corporate mergers and acquisition department. Ms. Hill received a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a JD with honors from the George Washington University School of Law.

Daigo Hirai is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in Tokyo. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Hirai has been involved in evaluating real estate investments and asset management of the MB Asia Real Estate Fund Japan portfolio. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Hirai was a Vice President in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Real Estate Private Equity group based in Tokyo. Prior to that, he worked for Goldman Sachs Realty in asset management across asset classes, including office, residential, retail, hotel and golf courses. Mr. Hirai was also involved in the IPO project of Accordia Golf (TSE: 2131) and various corporate workouts. Mr. Hirai received a BA in Economics of Business Administration from Keio University and an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University as a scholarship student of The Rotary Foundation.

David Hirsh is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group. Since joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. Hirsh has been involved in the asset management of investments in the hotel, office, retail, industrial and health-care sectors. In addition, from 2009-2012 Mr. Hirsh spent significant time restructuring and extending the debt on our investments, ultimately completing transactions totaling $16 billion (notable transactions include Equity Office, La Quinta, Carr America and Boca Resorts) and more than $1 billion of DPOs. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Hirsh worked at Citigroup for 15 years including six years in real estate asset management, where he led the hotel group, and five years in corporate finance specializing in corporate real estate and project lending. Mr. Hirsh received a BBA in Accounting from Pace University and an MS in Real Estate Development and Investment from New York University. Mr. Hirsh is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the New York University/Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Advisory Board and a member of the Board of Directors/Treasurer of the Thyroid Cancer Care Collaborative.

Kathleen G. Hogan is the Head of Operations and a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Ms. Hogan’s responsibilities include the management of the financial reporting, regulatory reporting, fund accounting, middle office management reporting and overall operational functions within BAAM. Ms. Hogan’s oversight includes operational technology and process re-engineering projects as well as the selection, contract management and performance measurement of third party relationships with directors, administrators and custodians.

Before joining Blackstone in 1999, Ms. Hogan worked as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche LLP, specializing in the financial services industry.

Ms. Hogan graduated from Pace University with a BBA in Public Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Alex Howell is a Managing Director at GSO Capital Partners based in London. He evaluates corporate credit investments in loans, bonds and CDS across a variety of industries. He focuses on distressed and special situations including restructurings. Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2012, Mr. Howell was an Executive Director in high yield and distressed credit at Nomura. Prior to Nomura, he was an Associate at Lehman Brothers, where he began his career in mergers and acquisitions before moving into the fixed income division as a desk analyst assessing investments on the credit trading desk. Mr. Howell holds a BSc in Economics from University College London and an MSc from the London School of Economics.

Tabea Hsi is a Managing Director in the Chief Legal Office.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Ms. Hsi practiced securities law at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. Prior to that, she worked in higher education and in the non-profit sector in Germany.

Ms. Hsi received a BA in English from the University of Virginia, an M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Law Review.

Thomas Iannarone is a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of GSO's Customized Credit Strategies business unit. Previously, Mr. Iannarone was associate general counsel at GSO responsible for new business initiatives, daily trading and transaction activities and general legal and compliance matters. Before joining GSO, Mr. Iannarone worked at Morrison & Foerster in its corporate transaction group. Prior to that, he worked at Bingham McCutchen in its private equity and corporate practice groups. Mr. Iannarone received a BA from Siena College and a JD from Villanova University School of Law.

Ek Indharameesup is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2006, Mr. Indharameesup has been involved in the design, development, and support for all internal applications used by the management, operations, risk, legal, and accounting teams. Before joining GSO, Mr. Indharameesup was a Vice President in the Information Technology Group at Credit Suisse responsible for various development projects for the Alternative Capital Division and the Product Control group. Prior to that, he worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in Zurich as a development project manager for the Financial Reporting and Accounting Policy group. Before moving to Europe, Mr. Indharameesup was a senior developer responsible for the implementation of several management and regulatory reporting systems at CSFB in New York. Mr. Indharameesup received a BS in Computer Science from Columbia University and an MA in Economics from New York University.

Jeffrey Iverson is a Managing Director in the Legal and Compliance Department and is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions and Treasury Solutions businesses and the Chief Compliance Officer for Blackstone’s Strategic Partners business.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Iverson was the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Pulse Capital Partners in New York and before that he held the same role with RiverRock European Capital Partners in London. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Iverson was an Executive Director at Lehman Brothers and later Nomura Securities in London in the Investment Banking Legal group. Mr. Iverson began his career as an associate in the London office of Weil Gotshal and Manges, specializing in international corporate finance transactions, and before that in the Palo Alto office of Cooley Godward, specializing in venture capital and private equity as well as corporate governance matters.

Mr. Iverson received a BA magna cum laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from the University of California at Davis.

Malcolm Jackson is a Managing Director in the Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group in Singapore. His investments have included; the Northview Group (Kensington Mortgages and Ascenden Loan Servicing), Ripon Mortgages, Arena Living and National Lifestyle Villages. Prior to joining the Tactical Opportunities Group, Mr. Jackson was a Managing Director in the RBS Special Opportunities Fund where he was heavily involved in the establishment of Shawbrook Bank and Arrow Global Group plc. Mr. Jackson received degrees in Law and Commerce from Otago University, is a Chartered Accountant, and was admitted as a Barrister

Amit Jain is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in Mumbai. Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Jain worked at McKinsey & Company focusing on infrastructure and financial projects in India. Prior to that, Mr. Jain worked at Hindustan Unilever limited ("HUL") where he worked primarily in the manufacturing and supply chain area, setting up and operating manufacturing plants in HUL. Mr. Jain received a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur where he received the "Institute Silver Medal" and a P.G.P. (equivalent to an M.B.A.) from the Indian School of Business ("ISB"), Hyderabad where he was awarded the "ISB Scholar of Excellence."

Lama Kanazeh is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group and is based in London.

Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Kanazeh has focused her efforts on raising capital for Blackstone's private investment funds, with a primary focus on Blackstone's real estate efforts.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Ms. Kanazeh worked at Credit Suisse in London where she was an Associate in the Real Estate Finance Group focusing on distribution of CMBS and high yield commercial real estate debt products. Prior to joining Real Estate Finance, Ms. Kanazeh was an analyst in the Consumer Products Group, where she was involved in the analysis and execution of merger transactions and equity financings.

Ms. Kanazeh received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University.

Marlena Ann Kaplan is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Ms. Kaplan has been involved in overseeing the fund accounting team and managing key third-party administrative relationships.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Ms. Kaplan was Chief Financial Officer for Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors, L.P. where she was responsible for all financial and operational aspects of the business. She also acted as Director for certain funds and assisted in the transition of a team from Cadogan Management, LLC where she served as the Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2012 and Senior Controller from 2007 to 2009. Ms. Kaplan has extensive accounting, operations, and investor relations experience in the financial services industry including positions as a Controller and Vice President of Operations at Onex Capital Management, L.P, Controller at Moon Capital, Product Specialist and Relationship Manager at Robeco/Weiss, Peck & Greer.

Ms. Kaplan received a BBA degree from Hofstra University and an MBA degree from Baruch College, City University of New York. Ms. Kaplan is a Certified Public Accountant, has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and was an adjunct professor of Accountancy at Baruch College.

Katharine Keenan is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Debt Strategies Group, where she is involved in originating and acquiring real estate debt positions across property types, including senior loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity. Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Ms. Keenan was a Vice President at G2 Investment Group, where she was involved in real estate and private equity investment activities. Prior to joining G2, Ms. Keenan was an Associate at Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds, where she specialized in acquisitions and asset management. Prior to Lubert-Adler, she worked at Lehman Brothers as an Analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group where she took part in modeling, valuation analysis and structuring for a wide variety of M&A and capital-raising transactions. Ms. Keenan graduated cum laude with an A.B. in History from Harvard College.

Randall Kessler is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners, and is principally involved in analyzing, evaluating, executing, and monitoring middle market private equity and mezzanine investments across a diverse range of industries. Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2007, Mr. Kessler worked as an Associate at Silver Lake Partners, focusing on large-cap technology private equity investing in the United States and internationally. He previously served as an Analyst in Lazard LLC's healthcare mergers and acquisitions group. Mr. Kessler received a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude, with concentrations in Finance and Legal Studies.

David N. Kestnbaum is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Kestnbaum has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Alight Solutions, SESAC, Tradesmen, Outerstuff, AlliedBarton Security Services, DJO Global, and AVINTIV, and in evaluating investment opportunities across multiple sectors, including Business Services, Transportation & Logistics, Leisure, Apparel, and various other industries.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Kestnbaum was a Vice President of Vestar Capital Partners, where he analyzed and executed private equity investments in multiple different sectors. Prior to Vestar, Mr. Kestnbaum worked in investment banking as a member of JPMorgan’s Financial Sponsor Group, where he executed a variety of private equity-related M&A and financing transactions.

Mr. Kestnbaum holds a BA in Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He currently serves as a Director of Alight Solutions, SESAC, Tradesmen, Outerstuff and DJO Global, and was previously a Director of AlliedBarton Security Services.

Bilal Khan is a Managing Director in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group and is based in New York.

Since joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Khan has been involved in the execution of several Blackstone investments, including various Sithe Global investments, Fisterra Energy, PQ Energy, Transmission Developers, American Petroleum Tankers and Lonestar Generation. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Khan was an Associate at GTCR Golder Rauner, where he was involved with the analysis and execution of private equity investments in a wide range of industries. Prior to that, Mr. Khan worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Lazard Frères focused on Power & Utilities clients.

Mr. Khan received a BS in Applied Economics from Cornell University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He also received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Khan serves as a Director of Fisterra Energy, PQ Energy, Sithe Global and Lonestar Generation.

Brian Kim is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at Blackstone. Mr. Kim is currently the Head of Acquisitions and Capital Markets of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Kim has played a key role in a number of Blackstone’s investments including the take private and subsequent sale of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, the acquisition of Peter Cooper Village / Stuyvesant Town and the creation of BRE Select Hotels Corp., Blackstone’s select service hotel platform.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Kim worked at Apollo Real Estate Advisors, Max Capital Management Corp. and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Kim has served as a board member, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Managing Director of BRE Select Hotels Corp since May 2013 and as a board member of La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LQ), a portfolio company of a Blackstone fund, since November 2015. Mr. Kim received an AB in Biology from Harvard College where he graduated with honors.

Joshua Krapf is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Krapf is involved in risk exposure tracking, aggregation, and analytics. He is also involved in process engineering aspects of new and existing products.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Krapf worked as a Research Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Thomson Reuters where he valued and analyzed deals. Prior to that, Mr. Krapf worked as a Portfolio Analyst for The Bailey Group (currently part of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney) focusing on portfolio construction and risk analysis.

Mr. Krapf received a BA in Economics and an MA in Applied Economics from The University at Buffalo.

Valerie Kritsberg is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. She is a portfolio manager for FS Energy and Power Corp (“FSEP”) and sits on the investment committee for FSEP. Since joining GSO, Mrs. Kritsberg has focused on GSO's public market investments including distressed and special situation investments across multiple industries. Mrs. Kritsberg has also been actively involved in various private market investments at GSO.

Prior to joining GSO in 2005, Mrs. Kritsberg worked in Credit Suisse First Boston's Global Energy Investment Banking Group. At Credit Suisse, she worked on various equity, leveraged finance and M&A transactions for a number of corporate and private equity clients.

Mrs. Kritsberg received a B.S. from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Stephan Kuppenheimer is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners responsible for capital markets, including the leverage and financing of GSO’s funds and investments as well as the syndication of certain portfolio holdings.

Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Kuppenheimer was a Senior Managing Director at Stifel Financial where he served as Head of Principal Investing and Head of Debt Capital Markets. Prior to that, Mr. Kuppenheimer was founder and CEO of FSI Capital, an alternative asset management company. Previously, Mr. Kuppenheimer was head of CLOs, structured funds and new products for Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Kuppenheimer received a JD from Emory University School of Law and a BA from Colgate University.

David Landgraf is a Managing Director and Head of the Conference and Event Management group. Mr. Landgraf is involved with all aspects of Corporate Conference and Event Planning for Blackstone.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Landgraf worked for Barclays Capital as Head of Global Marketing, Americas, with Goldman Sachs as Head of Events for Learning and Professional Development, with Arthur Andersen LLP, and with the National Security Agency (NSA) in Ft. Meade, Maryland.

Mr. Landgraf is on the board of The Council of Protocol Executives, and a long standing member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and a member of the Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP). He is a former Adjunct Instructor at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, where he taught many aspects of the conference and event industry.

Michael Lascher is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and the Global Head of Real Estate Debt Capital Markets, based in New York.

Mr. Lascher oversees the financing of all of Blackstone’s real estate investments, and since joining the firm in 2012, has been involved in over $60 billion of asset, stock and portfolio-level financings for investments such as BRE Select, Brixmor, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Equity Office Properties, Extended Stay America, Indcor, Invitation Homes, La Quinta and Hilton. He is also responsible for obtaining fund-level leverage utilized by Blackstone’s real estate investment vehicles.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Lascher was a Managing Director with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate where he asset managed a portfolio of real estate investments. From 2004 until the company's bankruptcy, Mr. Lascher was a member of Lehman’s Global Real Estate Group where he focused on the origination, structuring and closing of CMBS financings. He previously was an associate in the real estate group of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Mr. Lascher received a BA in History and Communications from The University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Jane Lee is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. She is involved in managing new capital formation activities and investor relations for the Customized Credit Strategies unit. Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Ms. Lee worked at Royal Bank of Canada for four years, where she was most recently a Partner in the Debt Investments Group and was responsible for the origination of new CLO transactions. Prior to that, Ms. Lee was a Vice President at Indosuez Capital with similar responsibilities. Prior to Indosuez Capital, Ms. Lee was a Director in the Loan Products Group of Fitch IBCA, Inc., where she was involved in rating collateralized debt obligations and other credit derivative transactions. Ms. Lee began her career at Loan Pricing Corporation and was a senior portfolio analyst involved with consulting on various banks' commercial loan portfolios. Ms. Lee received a BA in Economics and Operations Research from Columbia University.

Daniel H. Lee is a Managing Director in the Chief Legal Office. Mr. Lee focuses on transactional and related support for the Private Equity Group, Tactical Opportunities Group, Blackstone Advisory Partners and the Firm’s strategic mergers and acquisitions.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Lee worked at Goldman Sachs in New York as a Vice President and Associate General Counsel in the Merchant Banking Division (PIA) and in Asia at the Seoul office. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Lee was an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the Mergers and Acquisitions group.

Mr. Lee received a BA from Cornell University and JD from Boston University School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review.

Brian Lee is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group, where he is involved in hedge fund manager diligence and internal analytics.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Lee was a Senior Analyst at Tremblant Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund, where he assessed investment opportunities and also managed a fund of funds. Prior to Tremblant, he was a Portfolio Manager at Hudson Bay Capital managing a fundamental and event-driven long/short equity portfolio, and a Senior Analyst at Morgan Stanley in the Principal Strategies Group, where he evaluated and managed investments in fundamental and event-driven equity and credit. Mr. Lee started his career at Salomon Smith Barney in corporate finance advisory.

Mr. Lee received a BSE in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Doris Lee-Silvestri is a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of GSO Capital Partners (“GSO”), Blackstone’s credit investment platform. At GSO, Ms. Lee-Silvestri was most recently the head of the fund accounting and financial reporting group. Before joining GSO in 2006, Ms. Lee-Silvestri held a variety of positions at Merrill Lynch Investment Advisors and JP Morgan Partners within the respective finance and accounting teams. In addition, Ms. Lee-Silvestri worked at McGladrey LLP, a global public accounting firm where she supervised audits and provided advisory services to investment advisors and private equity and hedge fund clients. Ms. Lee-Silvestri received a BS in Accounting from Rutgers University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Scott Leister is Managing Director, Global Head of Facilities and Real Estate for Global Corporate Services. He will oversee facilities, corporate real estate, design and construction, critical systems and corporate services.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Leister worked at KCG Holdings, Inc. as the Global Head of Real Estate, Facilities and Administration where he managed a comprehensive global services team across multiple functions. Prior to KCG Holdings, Inc., Mr. Leister had consulting experience in the areas of land development and civil engineering, as well as general construction.

Mr. Leister has a BS in Civil/Construction Engineering from Temple University and an MS in Civil Engineering from Drexel University.

Alex Leonard is a Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager and Loan Trader within GSO Capital’s Customized Credit Strategies Group, part of GSO Fund Management Group Europe (which was formerly Harbourmaster Capital Management prior to its acquisition by GSO in early 2012). Also, Mr. Leonard is a member of the CCS Europe Investment Committee and the GSO European CCS Management Committee.

Prior to 2012, Mr. Leonard was a Director and Co-Head of Portfolio Management and Trading at Harbourmaster, primarily involved in fund structuring, portfolio management and trading. Before joining Harbourmaster in March 2006, Mr. Leonard was a Director at Depfa with responsibility for management of Depfa’s public sector asset CDO program. Prior to joining Depfa, Mr. Leonard worked for 5 years as a Senior Structurer and then Co-Head of Euro Capital Structures (the structuring team for the UniCredit Group). Prior to joining ECS, Mr. Leonard worked as a quantitative analyst in ING Barings and Airbus Industry’s aerospace finance team. Mr. Leonard received an M.A. in Economics from University College Dublin and an MBA with distinction from Trinity College Dublin School of Business.

Wesley LePatner is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the global Core+ business and the Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT).

Before joining Blackstone in 2014, Ms. LePatner spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of the Real Estate Investment Group within the Asset Management Division. Prior to that, Ms. LePatner worked in Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Principal Investment Area and the Real Estate Investment Banking Group.

Ms. LePatner received a BA from Yale University, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Eric Liaw is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group based in New York where he is focused on Blackstone’s private equity investment activities in the energy sector. Since joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Liaw has been involved with Blackstone’s investments in Guidon Energy, Huntley & Huntley, Jetta Energy Permian, Primexx, and Royal Resources.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Liaw was a Principal at TPG Capital where he evaluated and executed investment opportunities in the energy sector. Prior to TPG, Mr. Liaw was an associate at Bain Capital, where he focused on private equity investments in a wide range of industries.

Mr. Liaw received his BA, with highest honors, and BBA, with highest honors, from the University of Texas at Austin and received his MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School. Mr. Liaw is currently a director of Guidon Energy, Huntley & Huntley, Jetta Energy Permian, Primexx, and Royal Resources.

Gary Lin is a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management Distribution group, based in Singapore.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Lin worked at J.P. Morgan in the Alternative Investments Group in Hong Kong and Singapore, most recently as an Executive Director where he was responsible for the Southeast Asia business. Before moving to Asia, Mr. Lin spent 9 years working for financial services firms in the US, primarily in New York. At Morgan Stanley, he developed distribution strategies for hedge funds, private equity and real estate products. Mr. Lin began his financial services career at Merrill Lynch where he covered private families and small institutions.

Mr. Lin received an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science.

Susannah Lindenfield is the firm's General Counsel for Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms Lindenfield served as counsel to KBC Financial Products covering the Asian fund of funds, the hedge fund derivatives and convertible bonds businesses. Ms Lindenfield began her legal career as a lawyer at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton where she worked for seven years advising on a variety of leveraged finance, restructuring and cross-border M&A transactions.

Ms Lindenfield received an LLB in English and French Law from King’s College London, a maîtrise en droit privé from the Université de Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne and an LLM in comparative law from McGill University in Montreal. She is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales and as an attorney in New York State. Ms Lindenfield is proficient in French and Spanish.

Xinyu Liu is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Liu is involved in portfolio management, primarily focused on fixed income, global macro, emerging markets and systematic trading strategies. In addition, he is involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring.

Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Liu worked at UBP Asset Management, a fund-of-hedge-funds, where he was a Portfolio Manager and the head of global macro, multi-strategy and emerging market strategies. Prior to joining UBP, Mr. Liu worked at American Express Alternative Investments where he was a Senior Analyst and portfolio manager and JP Morgan Chase in New York where he was a European interest rate derivatives trader.

Mr. Liu received a BA from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China and an MBA in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

James Lock is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and is based in London. Mr. Lock is oversees Blackstone’s real estate investments in the U.K. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Lock has been involved in a number of Blackstone’s investments in the office and retail sectors including Chiswick Park, Broadgate, Devonshire Square and Stratford City, and Blackpool Shopping Centers. Mr. Lock has also led the acquisition of Blackstone’s U.K. industrial portfolio, totaling c. $1.1bn TEV. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Lock was Head of Capital Markets at Ballymore Group, a pan-European property company, and a Senior Director at CB Richard Ellis. Mr. Lock received honors in Real Estate Management from Oxford Brookes University.

Colleen Longobardi is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Longobardi has been involved with ongoing analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary fixed income investments across the cable, telecommunications and media industries. Prior to joining GSO Capital in 2005, Ms. Longobardi was with the Royal Bank of Canada, where she was a Vice President in the Debt Investments group. Previously, she worked at American Capital Access Corp., where she was Vice President in its Asset Management Group. Ms. Longobardi began her career in GE Capital's Financial Management Program. Upon graduation, she held various Analyst positions in the Retail Finance, Commercial Lending and Corporate Finance divisions as well as an Associate position in the Asset Securitization Group, where she was actively involved in the structuring, execution and management of related transactions. Ms. Longobardi received an MBA in Finance from New York University's Stern School of Business and a BS in Finance from Siena College, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Vincent Lu is a Managing Director in the Corporate Debt Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2001, Mr. Lu has been involved in analyzing, evaluating, executing and monitoring mezzanine investments across a diverse range of industries.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Lu was a Vice President at J.P. Morgan and an Executive Director at Warburg Dillon Read, where he completed over 50 leveraged finance transactions.

Mr. Lu received a joint BS/BA degree from Duke University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar.

Patty Lynett is a Managing Director and the Global Head of the Strategic Incentives Group for Blackstone. Ms. Lynett manages the global planning, execution, financial reporting, compliance and technology related to the firm’s compensation and incentives programs. Previously, Ms. Lynett had roles as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Private Equity Group from 2008 to 2016 and of Blackstone Advisory Partners from 2005 to 2008.

Before joining Blackstone in 2005, Ms. Lynett was an Investment Banker in the structured finance groups at Citibank and Credit Suisse/DLJ and was responsible for transaction execution primarily in the Energy sector.

Ms. Lynett received a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago where she graduated with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Rashmi Madan is a Managing Director based in London with GSO Capital Partners. Ms. Madan handles marketing and investor relations for European investors. Before joining GSO Capital in 2011, Ms. Madan worked for 8 years in Credit Sales and Structured Credit at JPMorgan where she focused primarily on raising capital for CLO managers, hedge funds and private equity funds from European institutional investors. Prior to that, Ms Madan spent five years at Morgan Stanley working in Leveraged Finance and Debt Capital Markets in London and New York, respectively. Ms. Madan received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Cornell University where she majored in Industrial and Labor Relations.

Qahir Madhany is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and is based in New York.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Madhany spent over 7 years at Westbrook Partners where he worked on a variety of real estate transactions across the United States. Mr. Madhany began his career as an Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Deutsche Bank.

Mr. Madhany received a BSE in Biomedical Engineering and a BS in Economics from Duke University.

Martin Makowiecki is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Makowiecki has been involved in the design and development of the group’s proprietary software systems, which support all aspects of the group's operations.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Makowiecki worked as a Senior Software Developer at Bluematrix. Previously, Mr. Makowiecki worked at Lehman Brothers as a Senior Software Developer in the core infrastructure group. Prior to Lehman Brothers, he worked as a Software Developer in the IT Threat and Vulnerability Management group at JPMorgan Chase. Prior to time with JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Makowiecki worked as a Research Programmer at Princeton University on the PlanetLab project.

Mr. Makowiecki received a BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University and an MS in Computer Science from Princeton University.

Matt Manewal is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Manewal is involved in the legal structuring of the group’s multi-manager portfolios as well as due diligence on and negotiation of hedge fund manager relationships.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Manewal served as the Associate General Counsel of FNY Capital Management LP and Clarium Capital Management LLC, each a New York-based hedge fund manager. Prior to that, Mr. Manewal was an associate in the New York office of Latham & Watkins LLP, where he worked primarily on mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Manewal received a JD from UCLA School of Law and a BA from Yale University.

Anthony F. Marone, Jr. is a Managing Director of Blackstone and the Chief Financial Officer of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies group, based in New York. Mr. Marone also serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT) overseeing its accounting, reporting, and tax compliance functions.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Marone was a Vice President and Controller at Capital Trust, Inc., the predecessor business to BXMT. Previously, Mr. Marone worked in the Real Estate Assurance practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he provided audit and other assurance services to various real estate companies.

Mr. Marone received a B.S. and an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant

Walter McClure is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. McClure has been involved in investment evaluation, portfolio analytics, and risk assessment for BAAM’s Special Situations Investing Group, as well as trading for all BAAM products.

Previously, Mr. McClure was responsible for trading and risk reporting of a global multi-asset portfolio for Xaraf Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund manager, where he also worked as a quantitative portfolio manager. Prior to joining Xaraf, Mr. McClure was a Quantitative Portfolio Manager and Researcher in a proprietary trading group in Morgan Stanley's equity division. Earlier in his career at Morgan Stanley, Mr. McClure was a Trading Systems Programmer developing high-frequency trading systems and quantitative research and trading infrastructure. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. McClure was a Trading Systems Programmer at Blackwood Trading developing stock execution and high frequency trading strategies.

Mr. McClure received a BS in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Connecticut.

Mattia McDonough is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and the Chief Operating Officer of the Ventures Platform which includes the Strategic Alliance and Strategic Capital Holdings initiatives. Prior to that, Ms. McDonough was involved in performing operational due diligence and monitoring procedures on the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s underlying hedge fund managers from a business/financial perspective.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2003, Ms. McDonough worked in Arthur Andersen’s Hedge Fund Advisory and Capital Markets group and also in the Controllers group of Morgan Stanley.

Ms. McDonough received a BA in Economics and Accounting from the University of Scranton. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Robert McEwan is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Mr. McEwan focuses on the accounting and operations of the BAAM direct trading platform.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. McEwan was a Senior Manager in Ernst & Young’s Asset Management practice, where he supervised audits and provided other advisory services to hedge funds, private equity funds, fund of funds, structured products, investment advisors and hedge fund and private equity administrators.

Mr. McEwan received his Bachelors of Accountancy from the University of Glasgow and Masters in Finance from the University of Strathclyde. He is a Chartered Accountant in Scotland and Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.

Patrick McKeon is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. McKeon is involved in performing operational due diligence and monitoring procedures on the Hedge Fund Solutions Group's underlying hedge fund managers from a business/financial perspective.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. McKeon worked in the financial services division of Arthur Andersen and also in the Investment Management Funds group of KPMG.

Mr. McKeon received his BA in Economics and Accounting from the College of the Holy Cross and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Daniel T. McMullen is a Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager in GSO Customized Credit Strategies and is responsible for overseeing trading and capital markets efforts. He is responsible for the portfolio management of GSO’s separately managed accounts and commingled funds. Mr. McMullen is a member of the U.S. Investment Committee, Management Committee and Global Structured Credit Investment Committee. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. McMullen worked at CIBC World Markets, most recently as a Director and Senior Investment Analyst for the structured investment vehicles managed by Trimaran Advisors, L. L. C. Prior to that, Mr. McMullen was a Director in the Investment Banking Group at CIBC, specializing in the aerospace and defense industries. Before joining CIBC in 1996, Mr. McMullen was employed at The Chase Manhattan Bank where he worked in the Corporate Finance Healthcare Group. Mr. McMullen has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and received a B.A. from the University of Rochester where he graduated cum laude.

David Mehenny is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Mehenny is involved in new business development and product development.

Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Mehenny was a Director in Ivy Asset Management’s Strategic Solutions and Development Group where he was responsible for project management, transaction execution, and product development, as well as leading the group’s capital markets activity from London. Prior to joining Ivy, Mr. Mehenny held various positions at OLEA Asset Management (a FX/FI Global Macro hedge fund), Cairo Financial Centre, Orascom Projects & Touristic Development, and Schlumberger Wireline Services.

Mr. Mehenny graduated magna cum laude from the American University in Cairo with a BSc in Physics, and received his MBA from London Business School.

Craig Miller is a Managing Director in the Finance Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Miller has been involved in the accounting, tax, and financial reporting for various roles within finance. He currently co-heads Financial Planning & Analysis, Business Development, Blackstone Affiliated Investors Investments Accounting & Reporting as well as overseeing the Registered Investment Advisors. In addition, Mr. Miller is involved with several compliance related matters and was involved with the firm's initial public offering. Before joining Blackstone in 2001, Mr. Miller worked in the Financial Services group at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he provided auditing and accounting services to global investment companies. Mr. Miller received a BS in Accounting as well as a MS in Taxation from St. John's University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Chaim Miller is a Managing Director in the Finance Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Miller has been involved in the development and implementation of global tax planning strategies for the firm and its Private Equity funds, including structuring both domestic and cross-border investments and transactions. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Miller worked as a Vice President in the New Product Development group at Merrill Lynch & Co. In that role, he developed and executed alternative structures and platforms to achieve tax, accounting and regulatory efficiency for various fixed-income products. Prior to that, he was an Associate in the Tax group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Miller received a J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a James Kent Scholar.

Alan Milstein is a Managing Director on the GSO Hedge Fund team within the GSO Capital Partners Group.

Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Milstein has been responsible for trading the leveraged loan assets for both the GSO Debt Funds and the GSO Hedge Funds groups.

Mr. Milstein joined Blackstone from Royal Bank of Canada in July 2005, where he was a Vice President in the Debt Investments group with similar responsibilities. Previously, Mr. Milstein worked at Indosuez Capital, where he was responsible for trading high-yield bond assets in various portfolios. Prior to that, Mr. Milstein worked at Prudential Securities as a high-yield bond trader.

Mr. Milstein received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Albany and an MBA in Finance from Fordham University.

Asheesh Mohta is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in Mumbai. Since joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Mohta has been involved in analyzing real estate investments across the residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Mohta worked as Assistant Vice President with the real estate arm of The Chatterjee Group, one of the first private equity investors in India. He was responsible for the treasury and resource raising functions for the group across a pan-Indian portfolio of properties. Mr. Mohta received a Bachelor’s of Commerce (honours) degree from the University of Calcutta and an MBA from the Indian School of Business.

Alexander Moseley is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Mr. Moseley is primarily focused on emerging market investments.

Before joining Blackstone in 2016, Mr. Moseley worked as an emerging market debt Portfolio Manager and Senior Sovereign Specialist at Schroders. Prior to that, Mr. Moseley worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager-Sovereign at ICE Canyon, an alternative investment firm specializing in emerging market debt, and as an emerging market debt and currency strategist at AllianceBernstein. Mr. Moseley served as a senior financial and economic analyst in the Emerging Markets Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and in the emerging markets group at the U.S. Treasury. He also worked in investment banking at TM Capital Corp.

Mr. Moseley received a BA in Government (International Relations) and Russian & Eastern European Studies from Cornell University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He received a MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in International Economics.

John-Paul (JP) Munfa is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group based in New York.

Mr. Munfa worked at Blackstone from 2004 to 2009, and following the completion of an MBA, rejoined Blackstone in 2011. Mr. Munfa has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Cheniere Energy Partners, Global Offshore Wind, PBF Energy, GridLiance, Utility OneSource, Lonestar Generation, Apria Healthcare, TRW Automotive, and Seaworld Parks & Entertainment. He is currently a director of Cheniere Energy Partners, GridLiance, and Global Offshore Wind. Prior to joining Blackstone’s Private Equity Group in 2006, JP worked in Blackstone’s Restructuring & Reorganization Group from 2004-2006, where he was involved in the execution of several restructuring and M&A transactions.

JP received an AB in Economics from Harvard College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Eric Nadan is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. As a member of GSO's Capital Solutions Funds team, Mr. Nadan is principally involved in originating, analyzing, executing and monitoring debt and equity investments across a diverse range of industries.

Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2012, Mr. Nadan worked as a Principal at Diamond Castle Partners, focusing on middle-market private equity investing. Previously, he was an Associate at Forstmann Little & Co., an Analyst at DLJ Investment Partners, CSFB Private Equity's mezzanine investment fund, and an Analyst in the investment banking division at CSFB, in the Financial Sponsors Group.

Mr. Nadan graduated with a BS in Economics, summa cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Sebouh Nahabedian is a Managing Director and Co-Deputy Chief Operating Officer of GSO Capital Partners.

Previously, Mr. Nahabedian was the Head of Strategic Planning and Analysis at GSO responsible for GSO’s global forecasting and strategic planning. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Nahabedian has worked in various groups within Blackstone’s Financial Services group and was involved with several corporate strategic initiatives such as Blackstone’s initial public offering, credit ratings assessments and certain new business initiatives including corporate acquisitions.

Mr. Nahabedian received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Villanova University and an MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Kamal Naqvi is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group based in London.

Mr. Naqvi is involved in portfolio management, primarily focussed on commodity investments. In addition, he is involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring.

Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr Naqvi was a Managing Director of Credit Suisse where he was Global Head of Metals Trading and EMEA Head of Commodity Sales. He joined Credit Suisse in July 2007 after four years at Barclays Capital, where he was responsible for coverage of hedge funds and institutional clients across commodity products, after previously being a Director in the commodity research team. Prior to that, he spent six years as a commodities analyst with Macquarie Bank in London, after having worked for CRU International in London as part of both the lead/zinc and precious metals teams. He began his career as a project manager/economist for the Mining & Mineral Processing Division of the Tasmanian State Government Department of Development and Resources.

Mr. Naqvi holds degrees in Law and in Economics, with honours, from the University of Tasmania.

Nentcho Nentchev is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Nentchev has been involved in LP relations strategy and supporting business development and fund-raising for Blackstone's private investment funds. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Nentchev worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where he was an associate. Mr. Nentchev received a BS from the University of Redlands and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

Brett Newman is a Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate Investor Relations and Business Development. Since joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Newman has performed various roles across the firm, including in the Corporate Development Group where he executed acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships on behalf of Blackstone. As a member of Blackstone’s M&A investment banking business, Mr. Newman also advised a wide range of clients on numerous transactions in the financial services industry.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Newman provided M&A consulting services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Newman received a BSBA in finance and accounting from Bowling Green State University and an MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Grace Nicosia is a Managing Director and Global Head of Corporate Services. She oversees facilities, real estate, construction, office services, physical security, travel, corporate cards, research, physical records, procurement for all related vendors and publishing for all offices globally.

Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Ms. Nicosia worked at Apollo, where she was the Global Head of Corporate Operations. Prior to that she had similar roles at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Donna Karan.

Ms. Nicosia received an MBA from Hofstra University and a BA in Political Science from NYU.

Jason O’Briant is a Managing Director of Human Resources at Blackstone. In this role, he partners with the firm’s Private Equity, Private Wealth Solutions, Hedge Funds Solutions, and External Relations to develop a comprehensive people and talent management strategy. He brings significant global experience to the role, with expertise in Talent Management, Organizational Development and Effectiveness, and Strategic Planning across a variety of businesses.

In recent prior experience, he held several senior human resources positions at Pfizer including most recently Global Lead for Organizational Effectiveness for Global Established Pharma, and HR Leadership roles for Europe as well as Africa & Middle East. He began his career at Georgia-Pacific as a Manager in HR. He earned his BA from Mississippi State University and an MBA from Union University.

Patrick A. Ochs is a Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Chief Technology Officer of GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Ochs has designed and implemented a systems architecture that leverages both vendor packages and proprietary systems. Prior to integration with The Blackstone Group, he oversaw the design and implementation of the hardware infrastructure at GSO Capital. Before joining GSO Capital, Mr. Ochs was a Vice President in the Alternative Capital IT Group of Credit Suisse. His responsibilities in this group included supporting the technology needs of the Credit Opportunities Fund (which spun off as GSO Capital Partners) and designing a cross-fund reporting platform. Prior to joining Alternative Capital IT, Patrick was in Strategic Change Management of Credit Suisse First Boston, in which he participated in numerous projects including the creation of a global cross-product trades, positions and cash data warehouse and the establishment of a new CSFB bank and broker-dealer in Mexico City. Mr. Ochs was also the Chief Technology Officer of CapitalEngine. com, an internet company focusing on commercial real estate debt and equity brokerage, a Senior Consultant in Deloitte and Touche, LLP, and MIS Manager of Rudin Management Company. Mr. Ochs received a BA in Mathematics with a minor in English from Kean University.

Fiona O’Connor is a Managing Director and Head of Credit at GSO Debt Funds Management Europe (formerly Harbourmaster Capital prior to its acquisition by GSO in early 2012) . Also, Ms. O’Connor is a member of the CCS Europe Investment Committee and the GSO European CCS Management Committee. Prior to 2012, Ms. O’Connor was Head of Credit for Harbourmaster for five years running a team of credit analysts responsible for all aspects of credit origination, investment selection and ongoing monitoring of its €7.5bn portfolio of leverage loans. Prior to joining Harbourmaster, Ms. O’Connor worked for Bank of Ireland, Dublin, as a Director in its Acquisition Finance Origination group and previously within its Project Finance division. Prior to joining Bank of Ireland, Ms. O'Connor worked in Corporate Credit in Australia & New Zealand Bank (ANZ) in New York and as a credit analyst in AIB in New York. Ms. O’Connor has 22 years’ experience in Acquisition Finance, Project Finance and Structured Finance. She has a Master's in Business Studies from Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business and Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin.

Sean O’Malley is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. O’Malley is involved with portfolio development, manager selection and evaluation, and ongoing monitoring for global hedged equity strategies.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, he worked as an Analyst on the Small Cap Value fund for WEDGE Capital management, a multi-strategy institutional investment company. Before WEDGE, he was a Vice President for Morgan Stanley, working as a Securities Analyst for a hedge fund within the Investment Management business and also on the proprietary trading desk within Morgan Stanley’s equity division. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Manager for Marakon Associates, a strategy consultancy, and an Engineering Manager for Ingersoll-Rand.

Mr. O’Malley received a BS in Engineering, with distinction, from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.

Cecilia Ott is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Ms. Ott oversees the investment operations function relating to the processing of underlying hedge fund investment decisions for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2002, Ms. Ott worked at C.O. Architects International as Office Administrator and Accounts Manager and managed client relations.

Ms. Ott received a BSc in Life Sciences from Queen’s University in Canada and a Postgraduate Degree in International Relations from the University of La Sorbonne in Paris, France, as well as a Postgraduate Degree in International Business from the ORT University in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Luv Parikh is a Managing Director in The Blackstone Group’s Tactical Opportunities Group in Singapore.

Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Parikh has worked on transactions in the power, infrastructure, EPC, automotive and media industries. He has been an integral part of Blackstone’s energy investment initiative in India.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Parikh worked as an Associate in the Investment Banking Department at Lehman Brothers in New York, where he was a part of the Financial Sponsors, Leveraged Finance and Corporate Advisory teams. At Lehman, Mr. Parikh worked on several financing and advisory transactions in the industrial and consumer sectors. Prior to Lehman, Mr. Parikh was a Director at an automobile distributorship company in India. He led a successful turnaround of the Company’s profitability. Mr. Parikh started his career at Prudential Securities as an Analyst in the Private Equity Placements Group within the firm’s Investment Banking Department.

Mr. Parikh received a BS in Economics, with concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1998. He also received an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2006, where he was a recipient of the Board of Overseers Fellowship and was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honors Society.

Viral Patel is a Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Fund. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Patel has been involved in the execution of the firm's investments in Ai Media, Cloudreach, Cylance, Gates, Hidrovias, JDA, Milestone Equipment Corp, Penn Engineering and Targa Resources. Prior to joining Tactical Opportunities in 2012, Mr. Patel was a Managing Director with Blackstone Advisory Partners where he focused on structured finance transactions across several industries including financial institutions, consumer, media, and healthcare. Select advisory clients include Bank Of America, Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, GIC, Qatar Foundation, Morgan Stanley, AIG, Kraft, and the New York Public Asset Fund.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Patel was a member of the Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Structured Products businesses.

Mr. Patel graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. He serves on the Boards of Ai Media, Hidrovias, JDA and Penn Engineering.

Salvatore Paxia is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Paxia is involved in the design and development of BAAM’s proprietary software systems.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Paxia worked as a Research Scientist at the NYU Center for Advanced Technology, and as a Sr. Research Scientist in the Bioinformatics Group, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

Mr. Paxia received an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Catania, Italy, and an MS and PhD in Computer Science from New York University.

David Payne is a Managing Director in the Finance group. Mr. Payne is the co-head of the Financial Planning & Business Development group which performs management reporting, strategic mergers and acquisitions and special projects in support of Blackstone business units. Mr. Payne also manages accounting and financial reporting for Blackstone Advisory Partners LP, the firm’s broker dealer, and was previously in charge of finance and accounting for the firm’s Advisory and Restructuring & Reorganization groups. Additionally, Mr. Payne is involved with Blackstone’s Registered Investment Advisor and Blackstone Affiliated Investment Reporting Groups. Previously, Mr. Payne worked in the Private Equity group where he was involved in the evaluation and execution of private equity investments across a range of industries. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Payne worked in the North American Buyout Group at TPG Capital and in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department at Morgan Stanley & Co. Mr. Payne received a BBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan, where he graduated with high distinction, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Matthew Pedley is a Managing Director in the Limited Partner Relations and Fund Placement Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Pedley has been involved in raising capital for Blackstone's private investment funds and maintaining relationships with the Firm's Limited Partners. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Pedley worked as a Vice President in the venture capital arm of AllianceBernstein, where he was responsible for venture investments in the technology sector, Limited Partner relations, fundraising and legal documentation for the fund. Prior to AllianceBernstein, Mr. Pedley was a Senior Associate at Crosslink Capital, where he was responsible for venture investments in the technology sector. He was an Observer on the boards of Evant (acquired by MANH), IM Logic (acquired by SYMC), Obopay, and Jasper Wireless; he was also involved with private investments in Good Technology (acquired by MOT) and Equinix (EQIX). Prior to his career in venture capital, Mr. Pedley was a Senior Consultant with Andersen Consulting, where he provided strategic and business process guidance to the world's largest technology companies. Mr. Pedley received his BA in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, where he was President of his Class.

Eric Perlyn is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Perlyn is involved in new business and product development, as well as servicing existing client relationships.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Perlyn worked at Morgan Stanley as an Analyst in the Global Capital Markets Group and then as an Associate in the Wealth Management Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation Group.

Mr. Perlyn received a BA in Economics from Duke University and an MBA with a Concentration in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gabriel A. Petersen is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London. Mr. Petersen is responsible primarily for asset management activities and oversees the firm’s hospitality investments in Europe. He is also involved in acquisitions with a focus on the hospitality sector. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Petersen worked for Westmont Hospitality Group as Director of Corporate Strategy and was involved in several aspects of the group’s business worldwide, focussing on strategic and investment matters. Prior to Westmont, Mr. Petersen was with InterContinental Hotels where he worked in a number of corporate positions in both Europe and Asia. Mr. Petersen studied economics as an undergraduate and holds a Master's degree in Real Estate from Reading University Business School. He has also studied Corporate Finance at London Business School. Mr. Petersen’s Master's degree dissertation was used to initiate further academic papers on real estate hotel investment, which have been published in European and USA industry publications.

Melissa Pianko is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group. Ms. Pianko is involved in the asset management of Blackstone’s US residential investments.

Before joining Blackstone in 2016, Ms. Pianko was an Executive Vice President at Gotham Organization, Inc, a privately held New York City based real estate development firm. Prior to Gotham, Ms. Pianko worked at Goldman Sachs.

Ms. Pianko received a MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Columbia University. She is on the Board of Advisors to the NYU Furman Center, the Boards of Directors of the JCC in Manhattan and the 42nd Street Development Corp.

Jeanette Pieper is a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management Group. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Pieper has focused her efforts on raising capital for Blackstone’s private and public funds, with a primary focus on the private wealth advisors in New York City.

Before joining Blackstone in the Fall of 2011, Ms. Pieper was Director of Business Development for alternative investments at UBS in New York. Prior to joining UBS, Ms. Pieper worked in the asset management and consulting divisions at both Smith Barney and Prudential Investments.

Ms. Pieper received a BA with Distinction from Simmons College.

Michael Pierog is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Pierog has been involved in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection, and monitoring as well as structured and corporate credit investments.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Pierog was a Vice President in the Distressed and Special Situations group at Barclays Capital. Prior to working at Barclays, Mr. Pierog was an associate at Davidson Kempner Capital Management.

Mr. Pierog received a BA in Economics from Amherst College where he graduated cum laude and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Marc Pillemer is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where he focuses on the Strategic Capital Holdings initiative within the Ventures Platform.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Pillemer was a Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs & Co in the Financial Institutions Group of the Investment Banking Division. Since 2007, Mr. Pillemer focused extensively on providing strategic advisory services to leading traditional and alternative asset management firms. In his prior role, Mr. Pillemer was responsible for the coverage of the alternative asset management sector in the U.S. Mr. Pillemer joined Goldman Sachs in 2000, and prior to joining the Financial Institutions Group he worked in both the Securities Division and Investment Management Division in various roles.

Mr. Pillemer earned a BCom in Actuarial Studies and Finance from Macquarie University at Sydney, Australia.

Juergen Pinker is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Pinker has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Intertrust, ATC, Elian, Scout24, Armacell and Rhodia Acetow.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Pinker worked as a Director at Strategic Value Partners focusing on European distressed situations. Before that, Mr. Pinker was an Associate Director at The Carlyle Group.

Mr. Pinker received a master degree in economics and business from WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management. Mr. Pinker serves on the Board of Directors of Armacell and Rhodia Acetow.

Chris Placca is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Placca has been involved in administrative, accounting, tax and financial reporting matters for Blackstone's private equity funds. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Placca was the U. S. Controller at Apax Partners, L. P., a London based private equity firm. At Apax, Mr. Placca was primarily involved in fund management, administration and financial reporting for its U. S. private equity funds and well as financial reporting and daily operations for the U. S. management Company. Prior to that, Mr. Placca was a Vice President at CCMP Capital Advisors, a New York based private equity firm. Mr. Placca was involved in deal execution, funds administration and operational issues. Mr. Placca received a BS, in Business Administration from Rider University.

Jurij Puth is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. He is based in Frankfurt and is leading GSO’s origination and execution efforts for the German speaking region. He is involved in various performing and distressed investments, including direct financing, secondary trading, and portfolio purchases, across various target sectors.

Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2006, Mr. Puth was an analyst at Credit Suisse European Financial Sponsors Group in London. During this period, he focused on financing of a variety of deals including leveraged buyouts, recapitalisations, and public-to-private transactions.

Mr. Puth holds a Master of Science in International Management, specialized in Finance and Accounting from Cass Business School in London, as well as a Diplôme Grand Ecole and a Diplom Kaufmann (German and French equivalents) from ESCP-EAP, Paris and Berlin. He is fluent in English, German and French and has intermediate knowledge of Spanish.

Paul D. Quinlan is a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Blackstone Real Estate group. Mr. Quinlan was previously the CFO for Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and Blackstone Mortgage Trust. Prior to this, he was a member of Blackstone Finance, where he served as Head of Financial Planning & Business Development, with oversight of management and public reporting, as well as strategic acquisitions such as Capital Trust/BXMT. Mr. Quinlan also served as the CFO for Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Quinlan worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, focusing on strategic corporate M&A and private equity investments. Mr. Quinlan received a BS in Finance cum laude from Georgetown University and an MBA with distinction from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Peter M. Rand is a Managing Director and Head of Global Client Operations & Reporting for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Rand is involved in marketing, product development, and client service operations and reporting for BAAM.

Before joining Blackstone in 2000, Mr. Rand was a Senior Research Associate at Greenwich Associates, a consulting firm providing competitive market research and strategic consulting to senior management at leading financial institutions worldwide.

Mr. Rand received a BS in Small Business Administration from the University of Vermont.

Sheila Rapple is a Managing Director and Head of the Internal Sales and Service Desk for the Private Wealth Management Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Ms. Rapple worked with Legg Mason, Inc., where she held a number of different roles. Her most recent role was Director, Separately Managed Account Product Manager in Legg Mason's retail distribution unit, where she was responsible for SMA product maintenance, product development, platform placement, sales, marketing, operations, and client service. Ms. Rapple began her career with Smith Barney Asset Management working in their sales and marketing team promoting Smith Barney mutual funds and separately managed accounts.

Ms. Rapple received a BS in Marketing & Management from Siena College.

Omar Rehman is a Managing Director in the Legal and Compliance Department and is the Chief Compliance Officer for Blackstone’s private equity and tactical opportunities businesses. In addition, Mr. Rehman handles the firmwide conflicts clearance process. Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Rehman was Global Head of Compliance for the Merchant Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. Prior to that role, Mr. Rehman was a Vice President in Investment Banking Compliance at Goldman Sachs. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2006, Mr. Rehman was an associate at the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton where he specialized in capital markets transactions and corporate governance issues. Mr. Rehman received his undergraduate degree from Duke University cum laude. Mr. Rehman was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar at Columbia University School of Law, where he received a J.D., and graduated with a master’s degree in law from the Université de Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne.

C.B. Richardson is a Managing Director in the Legal and Compliance Department and the Chief Compliance Officer of Blackstone Advisory Partners. He is also responsible for many firm-wide compliance matters.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Richardson was Head of Investment Banking, Syndicate and Corporate Compliance, Americas at Barclays. He was also the Head of Compliance, Brazil, Canada and Mexico and the U.S. Institutional Broker-Dealer Branch Office Compliance Manager for Barclays. Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President providing compliance coverage to the global capital markets and investment banking groups at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Before that, he was Assistant General Counsel, Securities and Corporate Governance at SPX Corporation. Before SPX, Mr. Richardson was a corporate associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Mr. Richardson began his career as a captain in the JAG Corps in the US Army serving with the Third Infantry Division, Mechanized.

Mr. Richardson received a BA, cum laude, in Public Policy from Duke University, and a JD from New York University. He serves on the Duke University Chapel Advisory Board.

Brad Rudner is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group, where he is involved in new business and product development, as well as servicing existing client relationships.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Rudner was a Director at Aetos Capital, where he was the Head of Global Business Development and Client Relations for Aetos’ alternative strategies. Prior to joining Aetos, Mr. Rudner was a Vice President at Lazard Asset Management where he was involved with institutional new business development and client service focusing on public and corporate pension funds and endowments and foundations. He was also a member of Lazard’s global consultant relations team.

Mr. Rudner received a BA in Economics from Duke University.

Thomas Ruffing is a Managing Director of Blackstone's Real Estate Debt Strategies group and is based in New York. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Ruffing was Chief Credit Officer of CT Investment Management Co., LLC, a commercial real estate investment manager and rated special servicer that was wholly owned by Capital Trust, Inc. and acquired by Blackstone in December 2012. Mr. Ruffing’s responsibilities include asset management of the investment portfolios, as well as special servicing and CDO collateral management activities for Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies. Prior to joining Capital Trust, Inc., Mr. Ruffing worked at JP Morgan Chase in the Real Estate & Lodging Investment Banking Group. Mr. Ruffing’s responsibilities included structured corporate real estate finance transactions, major asset property sales, and the restructuring and workout of real estate loans. Mr. Ruffing holds a B.S. and an M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Michael Ryan is a Managing Director within GSO Debt Funds Management Europe (formerly Harbourmaster Capital prior to its acquisition by GSO in early 2012) and is based in Dublin. Mr. Ryan is involved in all aspects of credit origination, investment selection and ongoing monitoring of GSO’s CDO portfolio in Europe. Prior to joining Harbourmaster, Mr. Ryan worked for Hypo Real Estate Bank and KPMG (in both Transaction Services and Financial Services). Mr. Ryan has a Master’s degree in Business Studies & Accounting and an honors degree in Accounting & Finance, both from Dublin City University. Mr. Ryan is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Thomas Sampson is a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management Group involved in raising capital for Blackstone’s private and public funds in the Midwest region. Prior to joining Blackstone in January 2012, Mr. Sampson worked with Legg Mason, Inc. where he was a Sales Director covering the Midwest region. The products included mutual funds, separately managed accounts, closed end funds, college savings plans, and alternative investment products. Mr. Sampson spent 15 years at Legg Mason, Citi Asset Management and Smith Barney Asset Management. He graduated from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Finance.

Lindsay Sampson is a Managing Director and HR Business Partner supporting the Finance, BXii and Global Corporate Services teams. In this role, Lindsay partners with her clients and the global HR team to develop a comprehensive people and talent management strategy, which includes organizational design, training and development.

Before joining Blackstone, Lindsay was the Global HR Business Partner for Finance, Risk, Compliance and Legal at BNY Mellon. She also spent over 10 years at Barclays Bank in a variety of senior HR positions across multiple geographies including the US, UK, Japan and South Africa. Most recently, she was the senior HR Business Partner for Infrastructure in the Americas, and the Head of HR for the Corporate and Investment Bank in Africa.

Lindsay earned her BA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and her MPA in Policy Analysis and Evaluation from Baruch College, CUNY.

Diego San Jose is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and is based in Madrid. Since Joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. San José has been involved in a variety of real estate investments across Europe. Most recently, he has been focused on equity and debt acquisitions in Spain. Previously, Mr. San Jose worked in the leveraged finance group at BNP Paribas. Mr. San Jose received Master's degrees from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and Paris-Dauphine, with an exchange program at LMU in Munich.

Elizabeth Sandler is a Managing Director and COO of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies group and is based in New York. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2016, Ms. Sandler spent 15 years at Deutsche Bank, most recently as Managing Director and COO of the Risk Division. Previous roles at Deutsche Bank included COO of Structured Finance and COO of Commercial Real Estate. Ms. Sandler began her career at Prudential Financial and has an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from Duke University.

Alberto Santulin is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Santulin is involved in portfolio management and in hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring. He is primarily focused on multi-strategy, event, arbitrage and reinsurance strategies.

Before joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Santulin worked at Rasini & Co. Inc., a European fund-of-hedge-funds, where he opened and ran the New York office. Prior to joining Rasini, Mr. Santulin worked in London for Banque Paribas where he was in Fixed Income Derivatives Sales & Trading covering Italian institutions and hedge funds.

Mr. Santulin received a BA with a major in Finance from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. His degree dissertation is titled "Hedge Funds: Evolution and Investment Strategies." He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Avneesh Saxena is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where he is involved in research and development of systematic strategies.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Saxena was a portfolio manager in the Global Asset Allocation group at AQR Capital Management. At AQR, Mr. Saxena helped develop quantitative models to trade fixed income, currencies and equities in the firm’s risk premia and other alternative fund offerings. Before AQR, Mr. Saxena worked as a quantitative researcher at Carlyle-Blue Wave Partners. Before that, he was a quantitative researcher at Amaranth Advisors. Mr. Saxena started his career as a quantitative analyst at Deephaven Capital Management.

Mr. Saxena received a BTech from IIT Guwahati, an MS from University of Virginia, and an MBA from NYU Stern. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Florian Schaefer is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and is based in Hong Kong.

Since joining Blackstone in 2004, Mr. Schaefer has been involved in over $10 billion of real estate acquisitions, disposals, and financings across all property types in Europe and Asia. Since 2010, he has been involved in the Real Estate Group’s expansion in Asia including sourcing and executing investments in Australia, Singapore, Korea and Greater China. Most recently he has played a key role in building Blackstone Real Estate’s core plus business in Asia.

Mr. Schaefer received an MBA from the EBS University, Germany, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an MSc in Real Estate Finance with distinction from the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

Paul Schlaack is the COO and a Managing Director in the Investor Relations and Business Development Group. His role is to coordinate the marketing and investor relations functions for all of Blackstone's investment products globally. Prior to taking on this role, Mr. Schlaack worked in Blackstone's financial advisory business for twelve years, where he focused on several transactions in a variety of industries. Mr. Schlaack received a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Craig Schortzmann is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group focusing on the Ventures Platform.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Schortzmann was a Principal at Asset Management Finance LLC (“AMF”), a division of Credit Suisse, which focused on making principal investments in alternative and traditional asset management firms. While at AMF, Mr. Schortzmann focused on new investment origination, structuring and underwriting, and transaction execution.

Mr. Schortzmann received a BA in American History from Wesleyan University. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations.

Brady Schuck is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. As a member of GSO's Capital Solutions Funds team, Mr. Schuck is principally involved in originating, analyzing, executing and monitoring debt and equity investments across a diverse range of industries.

Before joining GSO Capital in 2012, Mr. Schuck worked as a Vice President with DLJ Investment Partners, the mezzanine fund of Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division, where he primarily focused on evaluating and executing subordinated debt investments. Prior to Credit Suisse, Mr. Schuck worked at Duff & Phelps, specializing in corporate finance and valuation consulting services, and at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, in their management and technology consulting division.

Mr. Schuck received a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. Mr. Schuck is also a CFA Charterholder.

Li-Chian See is a Managing Director in the Legal & Compliance Group and is based in Hong Kong. Ms. See handles regulatory and compliance matters for Blackstone in Asia. Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Ms. See spent close to 15 years at Goldman Sachs in the Compliance department where she performed a variety of roles in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York and London for the investment management division, recently as global head of the surveillance function in asset management. Previously Ms. See worked in the Stock Exchange of Singapore (renamed Singapore Exchange). Ms. See received a Bachelor degree in Economics and Statistics at the National University of Singapore and passed CFA Level III in 2000.

Ilan Sender is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Sender has been involved in equity hedge fund manager evaluation, selection and monitoring as well as analyzing individual equity transactions.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Sender worked at several hedge funds, primarily in the long-short equity and event-driven space. His most recent role was Managing Director at Claar Advisors. Previously, he was a Senior Analyst at Owl Creek Asset Management.

Mr. Sender received a BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University, where he graduated with high distinction and was elected to the Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi Engineering honor societies. He graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar.

Andrea Serra is a Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities group. Mr. Serra is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments opportunities. He has been involved in the execution of the group’s investments in Springcastle Holdings, Eletson Gas, B2R, and Ascenty. In addition, Mr. Serra is involved in Blackstone’s investments in life settlements, non-performing mortgages, consumer loans, structured credit, and regulatory capital transactions. Mr. Serra serves on the Board of Directors of Eletson Gas and Viva Capital.

Prior to joining Tactical Opportunities, Mr. Serra was an associate in Blackstone's Private Equity Group in London and New York, where he was involved in the execution of Blackstone's investments in Southern Cross, Orangina, Klöckner Pentaplast, PBF Energy, and Vivint. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Serra worked at Goldman Sachs in its Merger & Acquisitions Department in London.

Mr. Serra received a degree in Business Management from the Bocconi University of Milan, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Emily Sharko is a Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer for Tactical Opportunities based in New York. As CAO of Tac Opps, Emily is involved with the administrative management including staffing of assignments, recruiting and training, career development, performance reviews and compensation, business expansion opportunities, group culture and other administrative aspects of the group’s activities. Prior to joining Tac Opps in 2015, Ms. Sharko was the CAO for Park Hill Group, a division of Blackstone.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Ms. Sharko spent 13 years practicing law, most recently as an attorney in Morgan Stanley's U.S. Litigation Department and a Director in Citigroup's Regulatory Enforcement Group. Ms. Sharko began her legal career at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

Ms. Sharko received a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania, a Diploma in Economics from The London School of Economics, and a JD from Columbia Law School.

Brian Siegel is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Siegel is responsible for overseeing the operational aspects of the direct trading platforms within the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Siegel worked at Ziff Brothers Investments for 13 years, where he was the Director of Trading Operations. His oversight included ensuring the accuracy of the firm's books and records, securities lending, cash management, and swaps and other derivatives financing. Additionally, he was responsible for managing ZBI's prime broker relationships and other counterparties, such as ZBI's fund accounting system and trade order management system.

Mr. Siegel received a BA from Binghamton University with a dual degree in Economics and English.

Melissa Skidell is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Ms. Skidell is involved in capital raising efforts for Blackstone's real estate funds. Before joining the Investor Relations & Business Development Group, Ms. Skidell was a manager in Blackstone’s Finance Group, where she was involved with administering the internal investment program including General Partner reporting. She has also been involved in various strategic planning projects including the firm's initial public offering in 2007. Ms. Skidell received a BBA in Finance and Accounting from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Matthew Skurbe is the Treasurer and Managing Director in Finance for Blackstone. Mr. Skurbe leads all Blackstone Treasury related initiatives, including cash and liquidity management, working capital management, bank and rating agency relationship management, and balance sheet risk management. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Skurbe was the CFO for Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, a $35 billion bank housing several of Merrill Lynch's consumer lending and banking businesses. Prior to that role, Mr. Skurbe spent seven years supporting Merrill Lynch’s Treasury function and had previous roles with Amerada Hess and Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. Skurbe is also a board member of the Association for Financial Professionals. Mr. Skurbe received a BS in Accounting from Rutgers University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Michael Slattery is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in London. Mr. Slattery is involved with portfolio, asset management and transaction activities across our European businesses.

Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Slattery was a Director at Terra Firma Capital Partners focusing on private equity and real estate acquisitions, financings and restructurings. Prior to this Mr. Slattery worked as an attorney at Clifford Chance based in London and Paris.

Mr. Slattery holds a LLB (Hons) in law from Trinity College Dublin.

Josh Smith is a Managing Director and Chief Portfolio Risk Officer of GSO Capital Partners.

Since joining GSO in 2008, Mr. Smith has been focused on the enhancement of GSO's portfolio analytics and the incorporation of those analytics into the management of GSO's hedge funds. Mr. Smith sits on GSO's Conflicts and Risk Committee and chairs GSO's Counterparty Sub-Committee. Further, he is a member of GSO's New Products Committee and Valuation Committee. Prior to joining GSO, Mr. Smith worked for ten years in financial consulting.

Mr. Smith completed a Masters program in Financial Engineering at Columbia University and has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from Williams College. Further, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Iliana Sobczak is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Iliana worked at FrontPoint Partners as the Co-Product Specialist for the FrontPoint Multi-Strategy Fund. Prior to FrontPoint, Iliana was a member of the U.S. Institutional Advisory Group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where she focused on delivering the resources and capabilities of the firm to institutional investors. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Iliana was an Investment Consultant at Mercer Investment Consulting, where she provided institutional clients with advice on overall plan strategy and structure, manager selection and evaluation, investment policy development and performance measurement.

Iliana received a BA cum laude in business and international relations from Lake Forest College and an MBA with concentrations in finance, strategic management and entrepreneurship from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Iliana holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. She is a member of the CFA Institute and the New York Society of Security Analysts.

Peter Song is a Managing Director, and the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, of Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Mr. Song focuses on transactional and operational management, oversees all client reporting and all legal activities related to the secondary business. Mr. Song sits on the Investment Committee for each of the Strategic Partners Funds.

Before joining Strategic Partners in 2000, Mr. Song worked in the corporate groups of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, both in New York.

Mr. Song received a B.A. with honors, in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1991 and a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law in 1995.

Nigel Spencer is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Spencer is involved in the design and development of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group's proprietary software systems, which support all aspects of the group’s operations.

Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Spencer worked as a Senior Technical Consultant for Lab49, developing software for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Prior to joining Lab49, he worked as an independent Software Consultant for Viterra developing highly-distributed, real-time software solutions to support the company’s agricultural business. Prior to Viterra, he worked as a Development Team Leader at Infor within their Australian Public Sector Solutions Group. In that role he led a development team responsible for building key infrastructure utilized in the redevelopment of their public sector solutions software.

Mr. Spencer graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of South Australia.

Karen Sprogis is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 1995, Ms. Sprogis has been involved in the asset management of Blackstone’s investments in the U.S. and Canada across various property types, and is involved in capital raising efforts for Blackstone’s real estate funds. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Sprogis was a Vice President at Kleinwort Benson, where she was an international equity sales trader. Prior to that, Ms. Sprogis was a Portfolio Manager at JMB Institutional Realty Corporation. Ms. Sprogis received a BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Marshall S. Sprung is a Managing Director and Global Head of Compliance at Blackstone. Before joining the firm in 2016, Mr. Sprung was Co-Chief of the Asset Management Unit of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement. In this capacity, Mr. Sprung oversaw a nationwide program of investigations focusing on investment advisers, investment companies, mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and other investment vehicles managed by investment advisers. He co-led a team of nearly 80 attorneys, industry experts and other professionals in all 12 SEC offices, and was responsible for directing the SEC’s asset management-related enforcement efforts. In recognition of his leadership and integrity, he received the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Leadership in 2015. Mr. Sprung had previously served as AMU Deputy Chief and Assistant Director in the Enforcement Division. He joined the SEC in 2003 as a staff attorney in the Enforcement Division after working for five years as a litigation associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles, and serving as a law clerk to the Hon. A. Joe Fish on the U.S. District Court in Dallas. Mr. Sprung received his JD from New York University School of Law, where he served as Executive Editor of the New York University Law Review, and his BA with honors from Brown University.

Hayley A. Stein is a Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Ms. Stein is involved in a variety of compliance, regulatory and legal matters. As CCO, Ms. Stein is responsible for the oversight and coordination of the compliance responsibilities relating to the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2005, Ms. Stein was an Associate in the Financial Services and Investment Management Group of Dechert LLP where she focused on various matters, including private investment fund formations, the private placement of securities and investment adviser compliance.

Ms. Stein received a BA in Economics from Barnard College and Columbia University and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Geoffrey Stockwell is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners based in Singapore, focusing on marketing, fundraising and client relationships. Before joining GSO Capital in 2005, Mr. Stockwell was a senior analyst at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, the private equity fund of Credit Suisse's Alternative Capital Division. Prior to that, Mr. Stockwell worked as an analyst in investment banking at Lazard. Mr. Stockwell received a BS in commerce from the University of Virginia.

Justin Sunshine is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in New York, where he focuses primarily on investments across the Healthcare industry. Mr. Sunshine has worked in both the New York and London offices, and has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Change Healthcare, Apria Healthcare Group, Intertrust, ATC, Scout24 and TeamHealth.

Mr. Sunshine joined Blackstone in 2009 and was initially in Blackstone Advisory Partners where he executed a variety of transactions, primarily focused in the telecommunications sector. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Sunshine worked in the strategy practice at Accenture where he advised companies in the natural resources sector.

Mr. Sunshine holds a BBA in finance from the University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business, where he graduated with high honors. Mr. Sunshine also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he was the recipient of a two-year Chicago Booth merit scholarship. He serves on the Board of Directors of Apria Healthcare Group, Change Healthcare and TeamHealth.

Steve Suss is a Managing Director of Blackstone and leads multi-asset platform fund administration. Prior to joining Blackstone in September 2015, Mr. Suss was a Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the alternative investment group at Bank of America responsible for the financial, operational and regulatory functions for the internally managed registered and non-registered Hedge Fund, Private Equity and Real Estate fund products within their Private Wealth Management business. From 1986 to 2006, Mr. Suss held numerous leadership positions, including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Heirloom Capital Management, L.P., Chief Financial Officer at Westway Capital LLC, Controller of Wexford Capital LLC, and Chief Financial Officer of PaineWebber Futures Management Corporation. Mr. Suss received a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Allie Sweeney is a Managing Director in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Ms. Sweeney is involved in capital raising efforts for Blackstone's private real estate funds.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Ms. Sweeney worked at Dune Real Estate Partners, where she was a Vice President for Investor Relations. Ms. Sweeney began her career in 1999 at Goldman Sachs and spent close to ten years in the Real Estate Principal Investment Area, where she was involved in acquiring and managing investments on behalf of the Whitehall family of funds. From 2000 until 2004, Ms. Sweeney was based in London where she focused on investment opportunities in Western Europe.

Ms. Sweeney received a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours) from Queen’s University. She is a member of PREA.

Daniel Sylvia is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. Sylvia is involved in hedge fund valuation analysis, performance measurement, management reporting and business process re-engineering.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Sylvia worked as a Senior Fund Controller in the Fund Accounting group at Ivy Asset Management in 2010 where he was involved in NAV calculations, preparation of financial statements and footnotes, and research of technical issues. Prior to that, Mr. Sylvia was a Senior Accountant at KPMG where he supervised audits, maintained client relations, and provided other advisory services to banks and other financial services companies.

Mr. Sylvia received a BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University.

Kimmo Tammela is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in Singapore. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Tammela manages the Real Estate finance team in Asia and has overall responsibility for all financial and tax-related matters of BREP’s Asian investments. In addition, he oversees the fund level operations and financial and tax matters of the MB Asia Real Estate Fund. Before joining Blackstone, he worked in real estate private equity for Bank of America and Merrill Lynch in Singapore. Prior to that, Mr. Tammela spent fourteen years at Goldman Sachs in London in various principal investing roles. Mr. Tammela received a BA in Economics and International Affairs from Brown University and a Masters in International Finance from Columbia University.

Poh Heng Tan is a Managing Director with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2008, Mr. Tan has been involved with the analysis of CLOs, including CLO managers due diligence as well as the underlying loan portfolios and the structures for each deal. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Tan worked in Washington Square Investment Management as a senior portfolio manager of a London listed fund that invests largely in CLO equity. Prior to that, he worked in DBS Bank, S&P, IDEAglobal and IBJ focusing on credit and structured credit products. Mr. Tan received his Bachelor Degree with a major in Financial Analysis from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was awarded Ernst & Young Gold medal for Derivatives Securities Analysis.

Larry Tharp is a Managing Director and Chief Engineer with GSO Capital Partners. Prior to joining GSO in early 2013, he worked for five years at EIG Global Energy Partners, most recently as Senior Vice President, where he worked on a wide variety of transactions in the energy space totaling over $5B. For three years prior to EIG, he was a Director of NGP Capital Resources Company where he concentrated on origination, evaluation and structuring of upstream mezzanine investments. Before NGPC, Mr. Tharp worked for nine years as a Senior Vice President with Compass Bank in the Energy Group where he was responsible for all technical evaluations of the energy credits. Prior to Compass, he spent 12 years in the upstream energy industry working as a Reservoir and Production engineer for Texas Eastern, Howell Petroleum and Coastal Oil and Gas. Mr. Tharp received a BS in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.

Kate Thomas is a Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Group where she oversees all investor relations, fundraising, and client service initiatives.

Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Ms. Thomas spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer of the Alternative Investments Solutions Group within the Asset Management Division. Prior to that, Ms. Thomas was a Vice President within Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Private Equity Group. Ms. Thomas began her career as an Analyst in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs.

Ms. Thomas graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a BA in Economics.

Jamey Thompson is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where he is active in the creation and management of a systematic strategy platform.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Thompson was the Co-Head of the Credit Group at Citadel, LLC where he led a team managing strategies in corporate credit securities and derivatives and served on the firm’s Portfolio Committee. Before joining Citadel, he was a structured credit trader at King Street Capital Management in New York where he was a member of the firm’s Risk Committee.

Mr. Thompson received a BS in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and an MA and PhD in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. Mr. Thompson is also an Adjunct Professor in the Systems and Information Engineering Department at the University of Virginia where he teaches courses on financial engineering and data science.

Weston Tucker is a Managing Director in the External Relations & Strategy Group, and is Head of Investor Relations for Blackstone. Mr. Tucker also serves as Head of Investor Relations for Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Blackstone's publicly traded commercial mortgage REIT. Since joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Tucker's primary responsibility has been managing Blackstone’s interface with public shareholders and the equity analyst community. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Tucker was an equity research analyst for JPMorgan, covering the telecom and cable sectors. He began his career at AT&T, where he worked in a variety of finance roles including investor relations and communications, as well as corporate development. Mr. Tucker graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Business Administration from Ohio State University.

Judy Turchin is a Managing Director and Global Chief Compliance Officer of the Real Estate Group. Ms. Turchin is responsible for the oversight and coordination of all compliance matters relating to Blackstone’s global real estate business.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. Turchin was a Senior Vice President and Legal Officer at Lehman Brothers Real Estate Private Equity. Prior to that, she was with the law firm of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz in the real estate department.

Ms. Turchin received a BA from Rutgers College, with honors, a Certificate in Government Studies from the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and a JD from Fordham Law School.

Christopher J. Tynan is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and the Head of Real Estate Australia, is based in Sydney.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Tynan was a Managing Director with Morgan Stanley where he led real estate investing activities in Australasia for Morgan Stanley's real estate funds.

Mr. Tynan received a Bachelor of Commerce (Merit) and a Bachelor of Laws from University of New South Wales.

Pete Vaglio is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group focusing on the Ventures Platform.

Since joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Vaglio has been primarily focused on deal execution and diligence for the acquisition of equity interests in alternative asset management firms for Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings and hedge fund seeding transactions for the Blackstone Strategic Alliance Funds. Mr. Vaglio also works on private equity and hedge fund formation, strategic initiatives, regulatory and operational matters for the Ventures Platform.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Vaglio was an associate in the investment management group at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and the corporate group at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, focusing on various corporate and asset management transactions, private equity fund formation and regulatory and compliance matters.

Mr. Vaglio received a JD from Seton Hall University and a BA from Boston College.

David Van Vlack is a Managing Director & Director in the Finance and Administration group. Since joining Blackstone in 1995, Mr. Van Vlack has been involved with all facets of the administration of the firm’s side-by-side investment program. His responsibilities have included the calculation of investment and income amounts at the fund level and the individual investor level and the handling of financing issues for individual investors, including the placement of financing, loan repayment and the analysis of financing costs. Mr. Van Vlack has helped to lead the development and implementation of enhanced computer systems and financial models to administer the side-by-side program. He has also been involved in various strategic planning projects for the firm. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Van Vlack was an Investment Manager at Fosterlane Management Corporation, where he was involved in performing financial analysis relating to the firm’s existing investments as well as potential investments. Mr. Van Vlack received a BA in History from Fordham University and an MBA in Finance from Pace University.

Panayot Vasilev is a Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Real Estate Europe, based in London. He has overall responsibility for all accounting, reporting, operational and treasury activities in support of the European real estate business. Additionally, Mr. Vasilev oversees finance deal support, valuations support, and portfolio company finance coordination.

Before joining Blackstone in 2016, Mr. Vasilev served as the CFO for GE Capital Real Estate Europe where he was responsible for Accounting and Controllership, Financial Planning and Analysis, Treasury, Tax, BD Finance and Pricing, Sourcing and Operations. Prior to joining Real Estate in 2008, Mr. Vasilev served on the GE Corporate Audit Staff leading global audit teams focused on GE Capital. He is also a graduate of the GE Financial Management Program.

Mr. Vasilev received a BA in Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria.

Michael Vrana is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London. Mr. Vrana leads Blackstone’s real estate acquisitions in the U.K. and Ireland.

Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Vrana has been involved in a number of Blackstone’s investments in Europe, including the acquisitions of Max Property Group and Multi Corporation.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Vrana was a Vice President at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he spent eight years focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in North America on behalf of Goldman Sachs’ real estate private equity group.

Mr. Vrana graduated from Duke University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Kristopher Weiner is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Special Situations Investing group.

Mr. Weiner joined Blackstone from Waterfront Capital Partners where he was a Sector Head specializing in Consumer equities. Prior to Waterfront he was a Partner and Senior Analyst at Avesta Capital Advisors. During his time at Avesta he was responsible for leading the research efforts within the Consumer Discretionary universe. Before joining Avesta in 2002, Mr. Weiner worked at Moore Capital Management, and Putnam Investments.

Mr. Weiner received a BA cum laude, with distinction in the major in History from Yale University.

Jacob Werner is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Werner has been involved in analyzing Blackstone's real estate investments in all property types and has worked on a variety of transactions, including Equity Office Properties, CarrAmerica, Trizec, 1140 Avenue of the Americas and the former New York Times Building. Before joining Blackstone's Real Estate group, Mr. Werner was an analyst in Blackstone's Restructuring and Reorganization group where he assisted in advising on a variety of restructuring transactions, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber and General Motors Corporation. Mr. Werner received a BS from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia where he graduated with distinction.

Caroline Widman is a Managing Director in the Human Resources Group. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Widman has focused on Blackstone's organizational development efforts, including the firm's performance evaluation process. She has also been involved in Human Resources systems and process development initiatives, and has managed many firm charity campaigns, diversity and training programs. Before joining Blackstone in 2004, Ms. Widman worked as a Program Coordinator at Reach Out and Read of Greater New York. Ms. Widman received a BA in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and an MA in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.

Robin Wynn is Managing Director and Global Head of Employee Relations in the Human Resources group. Ms. Wynn focuses on coaching and guiding senior business leaders on employee issues. She also oversees the “Respect at Work” program and engages in various initiatives to help mitigate and control the firm’s risk.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Wynn worked as a HR Business partner supporting the liquids businesses in the Citi Alternative Investments business at Citigroup. She also played a key role supporting the Global Private Equity business at Warburg Pincus. She has held the following positions: Vice President, Senior HR Generalist at Deutsche Bank; Divisional VP, HR Generalist/Employee Relations Officer at UBS PaineWebber; and Assistant Vice President of Technology Staffing and a variety of roles at Chase Manhattan Bank.

Ms. Wynn received a BA in Behavioral Sciences from Concordia College and a MS from Fordham University.

Ms. Wynn is also the recent author of a Harvard Business Review article entitled “When to Bring in a Professional Coach."

Alex Yang is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in Hong Kong. Before joining Blackstone in 2016, Mr. Yang was a Principal at TPG Capital Asia, based in Beijing, where he focused on private equity investments in China across various industries including healthcare, industrials, consumer and retail, and financial services. Prior to joining TPG Capital Asia, he worked as Vice President at Olympus Capital Asia in Hong Kong focusing on environmental services and clean energy investments in China, an Associate in Morgan Stanley’s Industrial Investment Banking Group in New York and as an attorney in Kirkland & Ellis’ Private Equity Group in Chicago. Mr. Yang previously served on the board of HCP Packaging. Mr. Yang received an M.B.A. from University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a J.D. from University of Minnesota Law School, and a L.L.B. from Peking University Law School in China.

Jimmy Yung is a Managing Director in Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies based in Los Angeles and oversees West Coast debt investments. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Yung was Head of Originations and member of the Investment Committee for TPG Real Estate Finance Trust. Previously, he was Head of Originations for Deutsche Bank’s US Commercial Real Estate Special Situations business focused on principal high yield finance and distressed debt acquisitions. Mr. Yung received a BA from Georgetown University.

Alexander Zarzhevsky is a Managing Director in GSO Capital. He focuses on the analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary fixed income investments across multiple industries. Before joining GSO Capital Partners in 2005, Mr. Zarzhevsky worked at Royal Bank of Canada as a Senior Associate with primary responsibility for research and analysis of investments within the collateralized debt portfolios. Previously, Mr. Zarzhevsky worked at Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd, where he was an Assistant Vice President within its leveraged finance group. At Mizuho, Mr. Zarzhevsky recommended investments across a wide range of industries on behalf of the bank's three CDO funds, in addition to underwriting exposures for the bank. Mr. Zarzhevsky received a BS in Business Administration (concentration Finance) from Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business. He is also a CFA Charter holder.

Seth Zeleznik is a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Special Situations Investing Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Zeleznik has been involved in sourcing and evaluating direct investment opportunities as well as hedge fund manager evaluation. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Zeleznik worked at Bear Stearns as an analyst in the CDO Group and on the Fixed Income Emerging Markets Desk.

Mr. Zeleznik received a BS in Economics at the Wharton School of Business with concentrations in Finance and Operations and Information Management and a BAS from the School of Engineering with a major in Systems Engineering, at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Michael Zerda is a Managing Director and Head of Europe for the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies business. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Zerda spent six years at LaSalle Investment Management overseeing the set-up and growth of its debt investment and special situations group. Prior to that, Mr. Zerda worked in Merrill Lynch's real estate private equity group as a Vice President focused on pan-European equity investments and at Archon, Goldman Sachs’ real estate and distressed loan management platform. Mr. Zerda received a BA in Finance from the Neely School of Business at Texas Christian University, where he graduated with honors.

Howard Zhang is a Managing Director in the Real Estate group, based in Hong Kong. As the leader of the asset management team for the greater China portfolio, he coordinates the day-to-day operations of the asset management team. He is also involved in the evaluation of new acquisition opportunities in the region. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Zhang was Chief Investment Officer at Infrared NF Investment, where he was responsible for property investment activities in China. Prior to that, Mr. Zhang worked for Citi Property investors focusing on acquisitions China. Mr. Zhang received a Bachelor Degree in Architecture from Tsinghua University in China and a Master Degree in Real Estate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Thomas Zimmerhaeckel is a Managing Director in the Private Equity group, based in Singapore.

Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Zimmerhaeckel has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investment in The Tussauds Group and Klöckner Pentaplast and has evaluated investments in various industries.

Before joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Zimmerhaeckel worked in the Utilities Group at UBS in London.

Mr. Zimmerhaeckel holds a Diploma from the European School of Business, Reutlingen (Germany), and a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures Européennes from Reims Management School (France).

Don Anderson is an Executive Director and Chief Sustainability Officer in the Private Equity Group, based in New York.

Mr. Anderson is responsible for evolving sustainability initiatives that deliver cost effective quantitative and qualitative results across the Blackstone Capital Partners' portfolio companies.

Before Joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Anderson was Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development at ICF International, where he sold and managed energy efficiency and sustainability projects in the BRIC countries and Europe. Prior to that, he provided strategic consulting to corporations, ENERGY STAR, and The US Green Building Council (LEED) associated with operational excellence and sustainability in large portfolios.

Mr. Anderson has a BA with a concentration in energy from the University of Maryland and an MS in Solar Technology from Arizona State's College of Architecture.

Amy Stursberg serves as Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, where she has overseen and led Blackstone’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, bringing four innovative programs to twenty states across the county. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Stursberg served on the transition team for Governor Eliot Spitzer. She also managed the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s award of $35 million in cultural enhancement grants and $30 million in community grants in Lower Manhattan. Previously, Ms. Stursberg served as Director of the September 11th Fund and held various positions at the Office of Management and Budget at the Office of the Mayor in the City of New York, as well as at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. She has also served as a university administrator and foundation officer. Ms. Stursberg received her BA with honors from the University of Michigan and her Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She was recently appointed to serve on the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE).

Blake Vogt is a Executive Director in the Private Equity Group. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Vogt has been involved in the development and coordination of Blackstone’s eSourcing program within Private Equity’s Portfolio Operations Team. Before joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Vogt worked at Emerson where he held various positions in the Global Supply Chain Organization including eSourcing Specialist, Global Commodity Manager, Director Strategic Sourcing, and Director eSourcing and Systems where he was responsible for administrating the eSourcing toolset and processes across the enterprise globally. Mr. Vogt received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology from the University of Southern Illinois and an M.B.A. from St. Louis University.

TIMUR AKAZHANOV is a Principal in the Private Equity Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Akazhanov has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Biomet and Gates Corporation. He currently serves on the board of Biomet. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Akazhanov was an investment professional at Bain Capital where he focused on industrial and healthcare sectors. Prior to Bain, Mr. Akazhanov was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Akazhanov received an AB in Economics from Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He also received an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was selected as a Baker Scholar, Thomas M. and Edna E. Wolfe Scholar and Henry Ford II Scholar.

Daniel Aron is a Principal with GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Aron focuses on originating, analyzing, executing and monitoring credit investments across a diverse range of industries for the business development companies sub-advised by GSO.

Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Aron worked as an Analyst in the Leveraged Finance group at Barclays Capital.

Mr. Aron received a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis with a major in Finance and minors in Accounting and Music

John Barlow is a Principal in Private Wealth Management and is based in New York.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Barlow was the Director of Investor Relations and Business Development for Battery Global Advisors, a multi-family investment advisor originally established for the partners of Battery Ventures. Prior to Battery, Mr. Barlow was a Director in Bank of America’s Alternative Investment Group where he led the development and distribution of the Group’s third-party products, which included a single manager program consisting of several privately-offered funds, a registered multi-manager hedge fund of funds, and a sub-advised private multi-strategy real estate fund. Jack joined Bank of America via its acquisition of FleetBoston Financial, where he had been a Senior Manager inside FleetBoston’s Corporate Strategy and Development Group.

Mr. Barlow received a B.A. from Hobart College and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

David Barry is a Principal in GSO Debt Funds Management Europe , the CDO manager within the GSO Capital Partners Group (formerly Harbourmaster Capital prior to its acquisition by GSO in early 2012). He is based in Dublin and is involved in the on-going analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary loan market investments across multiple industries. Prior to GSO's acquisition, Mr. Barry worked as a Director within the Investment Team at Harbourmaster for 5 years where his primary responsibilities included analyzing investment opportunities as well as representing Harbourmaster on restructurings and workouts. Mr. Barry received a B.Comm in Banking and Finance from University College Dublin.

Nathaniel Bayko is a Principal in the GSO Debt Funds Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2000, Mr. Bayko has been involved in the ongoing analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary fixed income investments across multiple industries. Mr. Bayko received a BBA from the University of Michigan Business School, where he graduated with honors. He also received a Masters of Accounting degree from the University of Michigan

Colin Bennett is a Principal in the Tactical Opportunities Group. He oversees the financing of investments in the Tactical Opportunities Group.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Bennett was a Director on the Structured Credit team at Deutsche Bank. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Mr. Bennett worked at UBS in the Securitization Group as an Executive Director. Prior to that, Mr. Bennett was at Merrill Lynch within the Global Structured Finance & Investments team.

He received a BA in Economics from Duke University.

Jessica Rosen is a Principal at GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2005, Ms. Rosen has been involved in the ongoing analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary fixed income investments across multiple industries. Before joining GSO Capital, Ms. Rosen worked at Wachovia Securities as a Director in Loan Portfolio Management with primary responsibility for managing credit relationships. Prior to that, Ms. Rosen was a Senior Credit Products Specialist responsible for leading the credit origination, underwriting and structuring function of the firm.  Ms. Rosen began her career as an Associate in SunTrust Banks' officer training program. Ms. Rosen received a BS in International Business and Finance, summa cum laude, from Auburn University and her MBA with High Distinction from Georgetown University.

Naveen Bhatia is a Principal in the Tactical Opportunities Group. Mr. Bhatia is involved with sourcing, evaluating, and executing investment opportunities. He has been involved in the execution of the group’s investments in Trimaran, PMI Group, RG Barry Corporation, Caesars Acquisition Company, JDA Software, BTIG, and NCR Corp.

Before joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Bhatia was with 40 North Industries LLC, a private investment firm where he focused on distressed debt and special situations equity investments, both public and private. Prior to 40 North, Mr. Bhatia was with Keffi Group, Ltd., a family office in New York. From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Bhatia was with Eagle Lake Capital LLC, a private investment partnership focused on fundamental, value investing across the capital structure. He started his career as a member of the Restructuring Group at Rothschild. Mr. Bhatia received a BA in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Bhatia has served on various creditor committees, equity committees and boards, currently serving as a Director of JDA Software, RG Barry, PMI Group and the Chairman of the Board of Cotton Holdings, Inc. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and teaches Applied Security Analysis I & II.

Anthony Borreca is a Principal with GSO. Since joining GSO in 2010, Mr. Borreca has been involved in analyzing private equity, mezzanine and distressed investments in the energy industry. Before joining GSO, Mr. Borreca worked for Blue Source's Carbon Investment Fund helping invest capital in low-carbon infrastructure projects. Before Blue Source, Mr. Borreca worked for Credit Suisse's Energy Investment Banking group, where he worked on multiple M&A and financing transactions. Mr. Borreca received a B.A. in Economics from Colby College, where he graduated cum laude.

Bonnie Brookshaw is a Principal of GSO and is part of the Portfolio Management Team within the Customized Credit Strategies group based in New York. Bonnie is focused on the management and implementation of the day-to-day investment strategy and compliance across the separately managed account and commingled fund business.

Upon joining Blackstone in 2002, Ms. Brookshaw's responsibilities included transaction logistics, settlement functions and preparation of information used for compliance testing and reporting. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Brookshaw worked at CIBC World Markets as an Operations Assistant for the structured investment vehicles managed by Trimaran Advisors, L.L.C.

Ms. Brookshaw received a BA from the State University of New York at Oswego where she graduated cum laude.

Craig Burns is a Principal in Blackstone's Real Estate Debt Strategies group and is based in New York.

Mr. Burns’ responsibilities include asset management of the investment portfolios. Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Burns was a Vice President with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate where he asset managed a portfolio of the estate's real estate investments. From 1997 to 2008, Mr. Burns was a member of Lehman’s Global Real Estate Group where he focused on the origination, structuring and closing of CMBS financings and principal investments. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Burns was a Vice President at TriMont Real Estate Advisors, a commercial real estate advisory and services provider, where his responsibilities included asset management of a multi-client portfolio and business development.

Mr. Burns received a BA in Economics from St. Lawrence University.

Josh Carson is a Principal in the Real Estate Group. Mr. Carson is involved in the asset management of Blackstone’s US office investments.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Carson was a Senior Vice President at L&L Holding Company, a privately held real estate company, where he focused on acquiring and redeveloping office buildings in New York City. Prior to joining L&L, Mr. Carson worked on acquisitions for New Boston Fund, a real estate investment management firm. Mr. Carson began his career at McKinsey & Company.

Mr. Carson received a BA in Economics and Russian magna cum laude from Middlebury College.

Cliff Chen is an Principal in the Real Estate group and is based in Hong Kong. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Chen's primary responsibilities have included evaluating and executing real estate investments in China and Australia. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Chen worked as a Manager at Macquarie Capital's Real Estate Industry team in Hong Kong, covering corporate advisory, principal investment as well as real estate fund raising in China. Mr. Chen received an MPhil from Cambridge University, an MSc and a BSc from University of Lancaster.

Younghee Choi is a Principal in the Investor Relations & Business Development group and is based in Hong Kong. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. Choi has focused on capital raising and new investor relation development for Blackstone’s private funds. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Choi was an Associate in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Real Estate Private Equity group where she was involved in real estate investment and asset management in Seoul. Ms. Choi received a B.Arch from Syracuse University.

Zach Crump is a Principal with GSO Capital Partners. Mr. Crump is the Global Head of Trading for all of GSO's funds, specializing in the High Yield and Distressed public markets in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Crump joined the firm’s London office in 2015, responsible for the management and daily trading activities for GSO’s European trading operation, and relocated back to NYC in early 2017. Prior to joining GSO in 2015, Mr. Crump worked as a Senior Distressed trader at Barclays in both the US and Europe. At Barclays, he was responsible for risk-taking and trading decisions for the firm’s global Distressed and Special Situations credit portfolio. Mr. Crump received a BS in Finance from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.

David Cunningham is a Principal in GSO Capital’s Customized Credit Strategies Group, part of GSO Fund Management Group Europe (which was formerly Harbourmaster Capital Management prior to its acquisition by GSO in early 2012) . At Harbourmaster, Mr. Cunningham was part of the portfolio management group where he was involved in the day-to-day investment strategy for the CLOs and was also involved in capital formation and investor relations. Prior to joining Harbourmaster in 2007, Mr. Cunningham worked as a credit analyst in WGZ Bank focusing on structured finance transactions. Mr. Cunningham received his BE in Electronic Engineering from University College Dublin and his MSc in Financial & Industrial Mathematics from Dublin City University. Mr. Cunningham is also a CFA charterholder and a CAIA Charter Holder.

Michael Danberg is a Principal of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies Group and is based in New York. Mr. Danberg’s responsibilities include asset management for the investment portfolios, as well as special servicing. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Danberg was a Senior Asset Manager at CT Investment Management Co., LLC, a commercial real estate investment manager and rated special servicer that was wholly owned by Capital Trust, Inc. and acquired by Blackstone in December 2012. Before joining Capital Trust, Mr. Danberg was a Director in Barclays Capital US Real Estate Capital Markets Group, where he handled the workout of a large portfolio of structured commercial real estate debt and equity positions. Prior to joining Barclays, Mr. Danberg was a Director in Citigroup’s Commercial Real Estate Finance Group, where he was involved in negotiating, structuring, underwriting, documenting and closing fixed and floating-rate principal transactions, large loan CMBS and related subordinate debt. Mr. Danberg received a B.S. in Civil Engineering, magna cum laude, from Union College, Schenectady, NY and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Florent Danset is a Principal in the Real Estate Debt Strategies Group and is based in London. Since joining Blackstone, Mr. Danset has been involved in sourcing, underwriting, negotiating and structuring real estate debt investments across all asset types in the UK and Continental Europe. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Danset was an Assistant Vice President at Partners Group responsible for originating, underwriting, and executing real estate debt and equity transactions in Europe with positions in London, Switzerland, and San Francisco. Prior to joining Partners Group, Mr. Danset was an Analyst at ANZ Investment Bank in Singapore. Mr. Danset received an M.Sc. in Management from the ESSEC business school in Paris. Mr. Danset is a CFA charterholder.

Caroline Dunbar is a Principal in the Private Wealth Solutions group in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, she has been involved in raising capital for Blackstone’s private funds, with a primary focus on covering family offices and ultra-high-net-worth private investors the United States and Latin America. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Dunbar worked at Merrill Lynch, most recently in the Private Banking and Investment Group as a Senior Financial Analyst. Ms. Dunbar earned her MBA from the University of Mississippi and holds a BS in Business Management from Presbyterian College. She also holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation.

Michael Dupuis is a Principal in the Private Wealth Management Group involved in raising capital for Blackstone’s private and public funds in the Pacific Northwest region. Prior to joining Blackstone in January 2012, Mr. Dupuis was a Senior Vice President in the Private Client Services Division of the Trust Company of the West responsible for business development and client service of endowment, foundation and family office clients. Before joining TCW in 2002 he was a Vice President of Roxbury Capital Management. Earlier he was the Director of Marketing for Munn, Bernhard and Associate. He began his investment career in 1985 with Smith, Barney, Harris, Upham in New York as a financial advisor and was a Vice President of Kidder, Peabody & Company in a similar capacity. Mr. Dupuis holds a BS from The Ohio University.

Donatella Fanti is a Principal in the Real Estate Group, based in London. Ms. Fanti is involved in Blackstone's real estate asset management activities, with a particular focus on the group's Italian real estate portfolio of office, retail, and hospitality assets.

Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Fanti was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley, based in Milan, where she spent 7 years focused on investments and asset management on behalf of Morgan Stanley's real estate investing team.

Ms. Fanti graduated summa cum laude from the Politecnico di Milano in 2006.

Tiffany Fariole is a Principal in the Real Estate Investor Relations & Business Development group. Ms. Fariole joined Blackstone in 2008 and is involved in capital raising efforts for Blackstone's Real Estate funds. Previously, she was involved in legal and compliance matters primarily relating to Blackstone’s real estate business. Ms. Fariole received a BA in Political Science from American University.

Andrew Fenet is a Principal in the Real Estate group and is based in New York. Mr. Fenet focuses on capital raising efforts for Blackstone's Real Estate funds. Previously, he was focused on new investment opportunities in North America across several property types. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Mr. Fenet was a Vice President in Morgan Stanley’s Real Estate Investment Group where he was responsible for new investments across all property types for the opportunistic and core real estate funds. Mr. Fenet received a BS in Economics from Vanderbilt University where he graduated magna cum laude and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management where he was awarded the Sears Scholarship.

Mack Fuller is a Vice President with GSO Capital Partners. Since joining GSO Capital in 2010, Mr. Fuller has been involved with the ongoing analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary fixed income investments across multiple industries. Before joining GSO Capital, Mr. Fuller worked at Callidus Capital Management, LLC as a Vice President, where he evaluated loan and high yield investment opportunities across multiple industries. Prior to that, Mr. Fuller was a Vice President at JP Morgan Chase and Company where he worked on originating and structuring leveraged loans for middle market companies. Mr. Fuller began his career as a Credit Analyst in Chase Manhattan Bank's Global Credit Training Program. Mr. Fuller received a BBA with a major in Business Management and a minor in Business Law, magna mum laude from Pace University/Lubin School of Business, and his MBA with a concentration in Finance from Columbia Business School, where he attended as a Credit Suisse First Boston Fellow.

Barry Gallagher is a Principal in GSO Debt Funds Management Europe (formerly Harbourmaster Capital prior to its acquisition by GSO in early 2012). He is based in Dublin and is involved in the analysis and evaluation of fixed income investments across multiple industries. Prior to working at Harbourmaster, Mr. Gallagher worked as a Chartered Accountant. Mr. Gallagher received a BBS Lang. in Business Studies and French from Trinity College Dublin.

Fran Golden is a Principal in the Private Wealth Solutions group in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Golden has been involved in business development for Blackstone’s public and private funds, with a primary focus on building relationships with financial intermediaries in the United States.

Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Golden worked at Legg Mason, where he was responsible for sales and client service for Legg Mason’s equity, fixed income and alternative portfolios. Mr. Golden earned his MBA from the Widener University where he also holds a BS in Business Management.

Wataru Goto is a Principal in the Real Estate group and is based in Tokyo. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Goto has been involved in evaluating real estate investments in various property types and managing investments in Japan. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Goto was an Associate in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Real Estate Private Equity group, where he was involved in acquisition, restructuring and portfolio management. Mr. Goto received bachelor from Aoyama University.

Florian Hager is a Principal at GSO Capital Partners based in London. He is involved in both debt and equity investments with a specific focus on stressed, distressed and special situations. Before joining GSO Capital Partners, Mr. Hager worked in Blackstone’s Restructuring & Reorganization Group where he advised debtors and creditors on in-court and out-of-court restructurings. Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Hager worked at Lehman Brothers / Nomura in London, where he advised clients across the Industrial and Technology sectors on M&A, DCM and ECM transactions.

Mr. Hager graduated from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and holds an MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Frank Han is a Principal in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group, based in Hong Kong.

Since joining Blackstone in 2012, Mr. Han has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Pactera Technology and Xinrong. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Pactera. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Han worked in the Buyout Group at the Carlyle Group, where he was involved in the evaluation and execution of transactions in the industrials sector in both the U.S. and China. Mr. Han has also worked at the Asian Special Situations Group at Goldman Sachs and the Corporate Finance Practice at McKinsey & Company.

Mr. Han received a BS in Finance and Accounting from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, where he graduated magna cum laude and a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Adam Hermida is a Principal with GSO Capital Partners. As a member of GSO's Capital Solutions Funds team, Mr. Hermida is principally involved in originating, analyzing, executing and monitoring debt and equity investments across a diverse range of industries. Before joining GSO in 2010, Mr. Hermida worked as an analyst at Moelis & Company and also as part of the Recapitalization and Restructuring Group at Jefferies & Company. Mr. Hermida received a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Ola Hixon is a Principal in the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 2013, she has been involved with the asset management of the residential portfolio including Invitation Homes. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Hixon was a Vice President at The JBG Companies and previously worked at UBS Global Asset Management as well. She began her career at Citigroup in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group in New York. Ms. Hixon received her BBA from The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

William Hobbs is a Principal with GSO Capital Partners and is focused on sourcing, analyzing, executing and monitoring private investments across a diverse range of industries.

Before joining GSO, Mr. Hobbs was a Director at Blackstone Advisory Partners where he was responsible for advising a broad range of clients on M&A transactions and related matters. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Hobbs was a Senior Associate at Arcapita and focused on private equity investments across a variety of industries, with responsibilities that involved the acquisition, divestiture and active management of portfolio companies. Prior to joining Arcapita, Mr. Hobbs was a Senior Analyst at Dubin Clark & Co., a middle market private equity firm. Previously, he was a Summer Associate at Plainfield Asset Management and a Financial Analyst at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin.

Mr. Hobbs holds a BBA in Finance, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hobbs is also a CFA Charterholder.

Haide Hong is a Principal in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Mr. Hong has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Clarion Events, Intertrust, Merlin/LEGOLAND and Scout24. He serves as director of Clarion Events. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Hong was a Vice President at Providence Equity, where he was involved with the analysis and execution of private equity investments in the telecom, media, technology and education sectors. Prior to that, Mr. Hong was an Associate at Lehman Brothers, where he worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions division. Mr. Hong received a BA in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Hilary Hung is a Principal in the Investor Relations & Business Development Group. She is based in Hong Kong. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Hung has been involved in raising capital for Blackstone's private investment funds. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. Hung worked at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong in the Investment Banking Division. Ms. Hung received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ryan Ingle is a Principal in the Real Estate Group.

Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Ingle has been involved in asset management activities across the U.S. and analyzing real estate investments in several property sectors. Mr. Ingle has been involved in various transactions including La Quinta, Extended Stay, Motel 6, IndCor and BioMed.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Ingle worked in Citi's investment banking division in the Real Estate & Lodging group where he was involved in a variety of M&A, equity and debt transactions.

Mr. Ingle received a BS in Finance and a BA in Spanish from the University of Kansas where he graduated with highest distinction and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Natacha Jamar is a Principal in the Corporate Private Equity Group. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Jamar has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in ICS, Pulse, Versace, ISD and Armacell. Ms. Jamar serves on the Board of Directors of Armacell.

Before joining Blackstone's London office in 2009, Ms. Jamar was a Summer Analyst in the New York office. Ms. Jamar graduated cum laude from Princeton with an A.B. in Economics, and Certificates in Spanish and Finance.