Société Générale recently brought on Laurie Lawler as a Managing Director to head up non-traditional ABS lending and origination in the private debt financing space. She joins SG from HSBC, where she ran the Structured Finance platform in the Americas, which consisted of a suite of product offerings ranging from securitization to capital call and middle market loan financing. Laurie brings 17 years of experience to SG in the origination, structuring and execution of asset-backed financings ranging from traditional conduit securitizations to more esoteric fund financing transactions. Prior to joining HSBC, Laurie spent five years within Citi's Global Securitized Markets division executing securitization transactions. In her new role, Laurie will support SG's efforts in the financing of non-traditional ABS assets such as capital calls and other asset classes, while supporting increased connectivity with private equity firms and alternative asset managers.

National Australia Bank appointed John Allan-Smith as its new Head of Coverage (US) based in New York. John was previously the Head of Funds & Asset Managers at Barclays based in New York and prior to this, had numerous roles at RBS across London and New York. In this new role, John will lead the team responsible for managing NAB’s relationships with funds and financial sponsors but also clients across sectors more broadly. John will begin with NAB in early December and will be joined by another recent appointment, Sarah Elliott. Sarah is in the process of moving from NAB’s Sydney office, where she currently manages relationships in the funds sector – she will be transferring to New York to perform a similar role as key relationship contact for U.S.-based funds clients. John and Sarah will report to Patrick (Paddy) Ryan, the General Manager/Global Head of Financial Institution relationships for NAB, and they will be supported by a growing structuring and execution team for funds in New York led by Alex Bolton. This team also recently added Jorge Grafal from SMBC New York. 

Validus has expanded its global financial services with the addition of Sarah Lobbardi as a Partner and Head of Fund Finance Advisory in London. Sarah joined Validus from Lloyd’s and will play a key role in the further growth of Validus’s offering to the alternative investment industry. With the launch of this new service, Validus now provides an independent debt advisory service to support and assist sponsors seeking to establish and refinance fund finance facilities. Financing solutions will be tailormade to suit the specific needs of funds through all their different life cycles. This includes advising general partners and fund managers on capital calls, asset-backed lending and hybrid facilities, liquidity needs, GP leverage and structuring issues. Validus will source optimal solutions available in the market, reducing refinancing risk and allowing clients to focus on their business. 

If you would like to include a personal update in the next edition of FFF, email us at fund-finance-friday@cwt.com.