Our Team
Meet Our Team
We are an experienced team of cross-disciplinary investors and operators, leveraging our extensive expertise to identify and unlock attractive investments. We are particularly proud of our solutions-oriented, collaborative, and responsible culture, which we bring to every opportunity for the benefit of all our stakeholders.

Burcu Akdere Akkus
Team Member
Team Member

- Credit trading and research – 10+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Burcu was Vice President at Bank of America Securities in the emerging markets credit trading desk, focusing on distressed and special situations, across Latin America
- Prior to Bank of America, Burcu worked as a credit trader with UniCredit Bank on the CVA trading desk
- Burcu has an MBA from Columbia Business School, an MSc in Financial Mathematics from London School of Economics and BSc in Electronic Engineering from Bogazici University

Guillermo Barquín

- Distressed investment – 20+ years of experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Guillermo was a Partner at PwC’s Corporate Finance business unit, leading the financial services industry in Spain
- At PwC, he assisted financial institutions in their deleveraging processes in 10+ countries
- He has completed over 50 transactions, including mayor carve-outs from financial institutions and portfolio acquisitions/ disposals, with an aggregated value of over $ 80 billion
- Guillermo holds a MBA from the Instituto de Empresa (ie), a Postgraduate Diploma in Structured Finance and Private Equity from the Instituto de Empresa (ie), a Postgraduate Diploma in Data Telecommunications and Networks from the University of Salford and a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Electronic Engineering

Guilherme Capparelli
Team Member
Team Member

- Real Estate investing across listed and private equity firms – 5+ years experience
- Prior to Deva Capital, Guilherme worked at Fortress Investment Group as a Real Estate Acquisition Associate in London
- Guilherme has worked on ~€500 million worth of transactions across Europe
- Worked in Latin American Real Estate Equity Research at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs
- Guilherme holds an MBA from INSEAD and has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sao Paulo

Benjamin Chu
Team Member
Team Member

- Corporate credit investing – 3+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Benjamin was an Associate in Morgan Stanley’s Corporate Lending
- His experience includes completing 12 acquisitions/ disposals and 17 loan underwritings with an aggregate transaction value of $81 Billion
- Benjamin received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baruch College Zicklin School of Business

Marie Dempsey
Team Member
Team Member

- Distressed investing – 25+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Marie was responsible for the asset management of Deutsche Bank’s multi-billion euro non-performing loan book in Europe, CEE, and Latin America
- She has experience across all the aspects of the non-performing load deal life cycle with particular focus on asset and servicer oversight. During her tenure at GE Capital, AIG, and Lehman Brothers, she managed over €15 Billion of non-performing loan investment across more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. She has experience in a wide array of asset types including commercial and residential real estate, as well as consumer unsecured credits
- Marie holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Trinity College, Hartford Connecticut

Jose Luis Garcia-Lascurain
Team Member
Team Member

- Distressed investing – 25+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Jose Luis was Head of Distressed Assets for IFC across Latin America
- He has invested over $1.5 Billion of equity in enhanced yield investments and led over 100+ acquisitions/disposals with a value of $20 Billion across Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia
- His experiencing includes establishing NPE platforms for Goldman Sachs, Gramercy Funds, PineBridge Investments, and AIG
- Jose Luis holds an MBA in Strategy, Finance & Marketing at Purdue University and a BS in Chemical Engineering at Universidad Iberoamericana

Reid Gobieski
Team Member
Team Member

- Credit research – 1.5+ years experience
- Prior to Deva Capital, Reid was 3 junior research analyst at Vanguard, where he rotated through the High Yield and Structured Products teams. There, he was responsible for coverages in American and European TMT as well as investments in ABS and CMBS securities
- Reid received an MSc in Quantitative Finance from the NYU Stem School of Business and a BA in Mathematics & Economics from NYU

Patrick Hablal
Team Member
Team Member

- Opportunistic investments in real estate, operating and financial assets- 20+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital as Chief Investment Officer, Patrick was a Managing Director for Lone Star in London and spent 14 years originating and underwriting investment opportunities across Europe
- Investment and financing experience in commercial and residential mortgages NPL portfolio in Wester and Eastern Europe, CDO, CMBS portfolio and single names and multiple direct equity investments in various commercial real estate assets and hospitality, with 3 total investment volume in excess of USD 10bn
- Worked for Merrill Lynch real estate finance division and BNP Paribas in London. Began his career in the securitisation team of Paribas in Paris
- Patrick holds a Master’s degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Master’s degree in Management Science from Lyon III University in collaboration with EM Lyon Business School

Michele Isidori
Team Member
Team Member

- Distressed Investing – 5+ years experience
- Prior to Deva Capital, Michele worked at IFC as an Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group
- He has completed 20+ acquisitions/dispositions of portfolios across asset classes with a value in excess of $2 Billion across Europe
- Michele holds an MSc in Finance and a BSc in Economics & Finance from Bocconi University

Nicole Jones
Team Member
Team Member

- Asset backed financing, corporate credit and derivative structuring – 4+ years of experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Nicole was an associate in Goldman Sachs’s investment banking division focused on structured credit financing solutions with a particular emphasis on Latin America
- Before that Nicole worked in Goldman Sachs’s Global Market division as an associate helping design financing and derivative solutions for strategic long-term investors
- Nicole received a BSc in Finance, magna cum laude, from Northeastern University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst program candidate

Josep M. Julia
Team Member
Team Member

- Distressed investing – 20+ years experience
- Prior to co-founding Deva Capital, Josep was Global Head & Chief Investment Officer of Distressed Asset Recovery Program at the International Finance Corporation
- Vast experience with acquisition and resolution of distressed assets across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Middle East, with a value in excess of $8 Billion
- Worked at Lehman Brothers Private Equity and LBO team, identifying and analysing new opportunities
- Prior at iSOCO he participated in the largest first financing round for a software company in Spain to the value of €20 million
- Josep holds an MBA from NYU Stern school of business and B.A. in Finance from ESADE

Simon Latimer
Team Member
Team Member

- Special situations, corporate credit, and real asset investing – 10+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Simon was a Vice President in Blackstone’s Strategic Opportunity Fund
- Before Blackstone, Simon also worked at North Wall Capital focussing on special situations, Fortress Investment Group focussing on real estate private equity and distressed investments, and Citi, focussing on Shipping, Offshore, and Industrials
- Simon received a BSc Hons in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP Law School

Viktor Levkanic
Team Member
Team Member

- PE and distressed assets investments – 20+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Viktor was CEO of APS Investments Sarl, and CIO & Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the APS holdings
- He has acquired and managed over €1.5 Billion non-performing, sub-performing and performing loan portfolios and special situations in the emerging markets of Europe
- Viktor was an Investment Banking Director & Vice Chairman of the Board of Slavia Capital Group.
- Viktor holds an MSc in International Finance from the University of Economy in Bratislava, also degrees from Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien, Georgetown University and Charles University in Prague

Claudia Madrid

- Banking and finance regulation, mainly in capital markets, investment services and recovery – 15+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Claudia worked at Axactor Spain as Compliance Officer
- Claudia began her professional career at R&C Abogados (Financial Regulatory & CII) and has also worked at Royal Bank of Canada as Legal Director and Secretary of the BoD
- Claudia holds an MSc from CEPC in Administrative and Constitutional Law, an Banking and Finance specialization course at the Business school CEF, and European Community Law at the Complutense University of Madrid. She also holds 2 Law BSc, in México at the Autonomous University and in Spain

Tariq Melhem
Team Member
Team Member

- Investing alternative assets – 10+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Tariq worked at Varde Partners as an Investment Director in the Financial Service team
- He has completed 20+ acquisitions/dispositions in private equity, portfolios and special situations with a value of $1 Billion across Europe
- Worked at AnaCap Financial Partners where he invested private equity and portfolio opportunities across Europe
- Tariq has received a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London and is a CFA charter holder

Adriana Muñoz
Team Member
Team Member

- Legal experience in M&A, distressed situations and corporate transactions – 5+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Adriana worked at Pérez-Llorca
- Adriana holds joint master’s degree in Corporate Law and for Access to the Legal Profession from IE Law School, as well as a Law degree in French and Spanish from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) and Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne (France)

Alfonso Muñoz
Team Member
Team Member

- Credit management services and distressed loans – 10+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, Alfonso was Director of Mergers & Acquisitions at Intrum AB
- He has completed 25+ acquisitions/investments across 10+ European and Latin-American countries
- He was co-founder of Finex Trade Group, and also worked for Citi within the investment banking division, and at PwC
- Has also worked for Citi within the investment banking division and at PwC.
- Alfonso holds a MBA in International business from Texas Graduate School of International Management and a Bachelor in Economics from the University of Texas

Patricia Peña
Team Member
Team Member

- Distressed investing and special situations – 5+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva Capital, she worked at Banco Santander in Spain in the NPAs, Debt Restructurings and Corporate Investments team
- Worked at Volotea as Strategy Assistant to the CEO, and at Goldman Sachs in the Distressed Debt Investing team
- Patricia has a MBA graduate from Columbia Business School, holding a dual degree in Law and Business Administration from Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Spain

Claudio N. Rechden
Team Member
Team Member

- Legal experience in distressed investments and litigation – 20+ years experience
- Prior to joining Deva, Claudio was the IFC’s lead counsel for special operations in LAC and Asia
- Worked on 40+ cross border workouts and disputes across LAC, Europe and Asia in manufacturing, financial services, health and education, mining and infrastructure
- Prior to IFC he worked at a Brazilian law firm practicing litigation
- Since 2009 Claudio teaches cross border debt restructuring as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, and has taught at Stanford Law School and University of Miami Law School
- Claudio holds a LLB from the Pontifical Catholic University (Brazil) and an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center
Senior Advisors
Paul Grinberg
Currently serving as Executive Chairman of Social Leverage Acquisition (NYSE: SLAC), a $345M Special Purposes Acquisition Corporation targeting companies in the FinTEch, Enterprise Software and Consumer Technology sectors. He is also a senior adviser to Flexpoint Ford, a $2 billion private equity firm, and Blenheim Chalcot, a venture builder with nearly £1 billion in assets under management. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Axos financial (NYSE: AX), a $15 billion asset technology-driven financial services company that provides innovative banking products and services. Paul retired at the beginning of 2019 from a 14-year career with Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq: ECPG). His most recent role at Encore was President, International and Corporate Development, overseeing Encore’s International operations and corporate development efforts. Prior to that, he served as Encore’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Grinberg earned his degree from Columbia University.
Jeff Hoberman
Currently works with several start-ups that focus on new technologies. Mr. Hoberman graduated from Yale in 1989 and Harvard Law School in 1992. After graduation, he moved to Argentina where he worked with Domingo Cavallo’s economic team on a number of legal reforms related to growth and wealth distribution. He played an active role in the restructuring and privatisation of the Banco Hipotecario (National Mortgage Bank). Subsequently, he set up Recovery, which grew to be the largest manager of distressed assets in the region. Recovery later incorporated IFC and BTG as partners and was later sold to Itau. After exiting Recovery, Jeff set up two companies, one working on consumer credit and the other with receivable management, which were later both sold.
Adrian Macedo
Mr. Macedo is a Managing Director at ORIX Corporation USA where works with the Chief Investment Officer to source and execute new investments to expand the firm’s capabilities in the U.S. Mr. Macedo is a seasoned investment professional with over twenty years of private equity and investment banking experience including senior positons at Lone Star Funds (aggregate capital commitments of $95 bn), ENESA (family office), UBS and Evercore. At Lone Star, he helped deploy close to $4.0 bn in equity commitments via more than ten different transactions, and at ENESA he sourced, underwrote and managed investments and was the COO of two portfolio companies. Mr. Macedo started his career as an investment banker at UBS and Evercore. Mr. Macedo previously served as a member of the board of directors of Polanco Labs, Dynamic Bulk, Arclin, Odyssey Infrastructure and P&S Transportation and currently serves as an advisor to the board of directors of Prefere Resins and Deva Capital. He holds an MBA and MIA from Columbia University and a BSc in Economics from ITESM.
Tolga Uzuner
Chief Investment Officer of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE: AEL). Mr. Uzuner is responsible for executing the company’s alpha asset strategy and building its subsidiary asset management firm. Prior to joining AEL, Mr. Uzuner was a Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Apollo Global Management, where he held a number of different positions including CIO of Athene Asset Management Europe, and Co-Head of the Financials, Insurance and Emerging Markets Groups. Previously Mr. Uzuner worked at JP Morgan Chase, as Managing Director in the Chief Investments Office. He graduated from the MIT, and holds a Master of Science in Finance from the London Business School as well as a PhD Computer Lab from the University of Cambridge.