Test Description
Jody Meraz
Head of Research
Kayne Anderson Renewable Energy Infrastructure
Kayne Anderson Renewable Energy Infrastructure
Test Description
Jody Meraz is a partner and senior managing director for Kayne Anderson. He is responsible for providing support for the firm’s energy and infrastructure marketable securities portfolios. Mr. Meraz is an assistant portfolio manager for Kayne Anderson Midstream/Energy Fund (NYSE: KMF) and is a co-portfolio manager of Kayne Anderson Renewable Infrastructure Fund, Kayne Global Infrastructure Fund and Kayne Equity Yield Strategies, L.P. Mr. Meraz joined Kayne Anderson in 2005 and has held various positions at the firm, including research analyst, and has been a key member of the team that has executed more than 70 private investments in public equities (PIPEs). Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, he was a member of the energy investment banking group at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he focused on securities underwriting transactions and mergers and acquisitions. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Meraz was in the Merchant Energy group at El Paso Corporation. Mr. Meraz earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago in 2010.
Justin Campeau is a portfolio manager of Kayne Anderson Renewable Infrastructure Fund, L.P., and has been since inception. Justin also serves as a senior analyst within the energy infrastructure marketable securities group, with a focus on renewable and other energy infrastructure companies. Mr. Campeau has been instrumental in the firm’s investing activities in listed renewable infrastructure since 2013. During his time at the firm, he has supported investment efforts in energy infrastructure, power & utilities, downstream & refining, coal and mining, and marine transportation. Prior to focusing on marketable securities investments in 2010, Mr. Campeau was an associate in Kayne Anderson’s Houston office, where he supported the Energy & Infrastructure team’s private equity investment activities. Mr. Campeau earned a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University in 2006.
David LaBonte is a senior research analyst responsible for covering energy infrastructure companies, as well as various other publicly traded companies in the energy and renewable power industries.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2005, Mr. LaBonte was a managing director in the U.S. Equity Research Division of Citigroup/Smith Barney. He was responsible for providing research coverage in all facets of energy infrastructure. Mr. LaBonte was named a top ranked research analyst for stock selection in polls by the Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine. Mr. LaBonte has been credited for providing “groundbreaking research” within energy infrastructure by Gas Processor’s Report, a leading industry publication. His energy infrastructure research has also been featured in Barron’s and Investor’s Business Daily as well as Fortune, Individual Investor, and Smart Money magazines. Mr. LaBonte was an Alerian Hall of Fame inductee in 2017 for his research and analysis.
Mr. LaBonte earned a B.S. in Finance from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1993. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Preston (P.J.) Fielding is a Vice President at Kayne Anderson, and a senior analyst in the renewable energy infrastructure group. Mr. Fielding is responsible for providing equity research and has been focused on the listed renewable infrastructure since 2015. Mr. Fielding has also worked on select private renewable infrastructure transactions as part of the firm’s renewable energy infrastructure private equity business. Prior to joining the marketable securities group, Mr. Fielding was an associate in Kayne Anderson’s growth private equity group, where he was primarily responsible for identifying and analyzing investment opportunities. He also assisted with the monitoring of portfolio companies and deal execution. Mr. Fielding graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Chander Bishnoi is a senior portfolio analyst for the firm’s marketable securities activities. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Mr. Bishnoi was an assistant director at The UCLA Foundation where he was part of the investment management team that managed UCLA’s Endowed Fund. From 2005 to 2011, Mr. Bishnoi was responsible for sourcing investments, conducting diligence, and making investment recommendations across the equity, fixed income, distressed debt, commodities, real estate, and buy-out asset classes. Mr. Bishnoi started his career as an investment banker in the technology investment banking group at Deutsche Bank Securities. Mr. Bishnoi earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Gordon Hamilton is an associate for KA Fund Advisors, LLC. He is responsible for providing analytical support in the area of master limited partnerships (MLPs) and other midstream companies.Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2018, Mr. Hamilton was an analyst in the Natural Resources Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he focused on the analysis and execution of corporate mergers, acquisitions and capital markets transactions in the midstream, upstream and oilfield services sectors.Mr. Hamilton earned a B.B.A. in Finance with a Specialization in Alternative Asset Management from Southern Methodist University in 2016.
Dan Park is a portfolio analyst for the firm’s marketable securities activities. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Mr. Park was a Senior Portfolio Advisor at Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management where he was an Investment Specialist and member of the domestic equity research and portfolio management group. He has approximately 20 years of experience in the investment management industry. Before joining Kayne Anderson Rudnick in 1999, Mr. Park was a Senior Analyst in the Performance and Asset Management Divisions of Wilshire Associates, Inc. Mr. Park earned a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge.
Patrick Songsanand is a research analyst for the firm’s marketable securities activities and is responsible for global infrastructure investments including the power, renewable energy, and oil & gas sectors. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2017, Mr. Songsanand was a portfolio manager at DoubleLine Capital in their global infrastructure group. Prior to DoubleLine, he was a member of the investment team at EIG Global Energy Partners (and its predecessor, TCW’s energy & infrastructure group). Prior to TCW, Patrick was an analyst at Lazard Middle Market (formerly Goldsmith Agio Helms), advising financial sponsors and companies on M&A transactions. Mr. Songsanand served in the United States Navy as an officer and aviator, flying in the E-2C Hawkeye carrier-based aircraft. He was selected as an exchange officer to serve with the Royal Air Force, operating the E-3D Sentry (AWACS) command and control aircraft in combat over Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Songsanand is a CFA charter holder and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the School of Engineering.
Gary Ghazarian is the Director of Operations, Marketable Securities for Kayne Anderson. He is responsible for overseeing prime broker and counterparty relationships, trading operations, and risk management activities related to the firm’s marketable securities products. He has more than 15 years of experience in the investment management industry. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2004, Mr. Ghazarian was a senior vice president with our former affiliate firm Kayne Anderson Rudnick, where he was responsible for institutional client relations and marketing. From 1995 to 2000, he was a vice president for Wilshire Associates, responsible for fixed-income analytics and consulting. Mr. Ghazarian earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Vanessa Contreras is a trading assistant for the marketable securities group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and is responsible for managing all administrative trading duties. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 1994, Ms. Contreras worked as an administrator in the medical field. Ms. Contreras attended Utah Valley University.
Evan Ben-Ner is trading operations manager for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, Mr. Ben-Ner was one of the founding partners of Bay Mutual Financial, LLC, a FINRA member broker-dealer focused on providing wealth management, brokerage services, and retirement plan consulting. During his seven years at Bay Mutual, he served as Chief Compliance Officer, Operations Manager, and Financial and Operations Principal. From 1996-1999, he served as Head of Wrap-Fee Trading and Assistant Portfolio Manager for Roxbury Capital Management, a mid-size investment manager specializing in large and mid-cap growth investments. Mr. Ben-Ner earned an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business in 2003 and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992. He is a CFA charterholder and maintains ten securities registrations (FINRA Series 4, 7, 24, 27, 53, 55, 63, 65, 79, and 99).
Mike Lombardo is the director of ESG strategy at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors where he is responsible for the firm’s overall ESG strategy and consideration of ESG issues in the investment process. Mr. Lombardo brings over 13 years of ESG investing experience to Kayne Anderson. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2018, Mike was a vice president of ESG Research at Calvert Research and Management, where he helped lead the ESG research team, developed best practices for integrating ESG into the investment process, and engaged dozens of portfolio companies on material ESG risks. Throughout his career, Mr. Lombardo has taught at George Washington University School of Business, where he developed a course on ESG investing. His previous experience also includes international development and policy work across multiple organizations domestically and internationally. Mr. Lombardo is currently a member of the advisory committee of ECPAT-USA and has served on a number of advisory committees of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Mr. Lombardo received his B.A. in Psychology from Boston College and an M.A. in International Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Michael O’Neil is the chief compliance officer of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, Mr. O’Neil was a compliance officer at BlackRock Inc., where he was responsible for regulatory compliance matters related to trading and portfolio management activities across equity, fixed income and alternative assets. Mr. O’Neil earned a B.A. in International Business and Management from Dickinson College and M.B.A. and L.L.M. degrees from Boston University.
Matt Barbabella is acting general counsel for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2013, Barbabella practiced corporate law at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he focused on securities and corporate governance matters. Barbabella earned a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale College in 2005 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2010.
Jim Baker serves on the Board of Directors and is President and Chief Executive Office of KYN and KMF. Mr. Baker is a partner and senior managing director for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and serves as president for Kayne’s closed-end funds. He is responsible for providing analytical support for investments in master limited partnerships and other energy sub-sectors.Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2004, Mr. Baker was a director in the energy investment banking group at UBS Securities LLC. At UBS, he focused on securities underwriting and mergers and acquisitions in the MLP industry. Prior to joining UBS in 2000, Mr. Baker was an associate in the energy investment banking group at PaineWebber Incorporated. Mr. Baker earned a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995 and an M.B.A. in Finance from Southern Methodist University in 1997.
Paul Blank is a partner, Chief Operating Officer and head of strategic planning and external affairs at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. In his role, Mr. Blank is a senior member of the Firm’s executive team and serves on each of the firm’s investment committees. Mr. Blank is the co-portfolio manager of Kayne Anderson Non-Traditional Investments (KANTI), the firm’s fund which invests across the Kayne platform. Additionally, he serves as liaison between senior management, investment teams and sales and marketing group providing strategic positioning and guidance on development opportunities for the firm. Mr. Blank is also responsible for external and internal communications and public affairs. Prior to re-joining Kayne Anderson, Mr. Blank was a partner at the multi-media firm Joe Trippi & Associates where he provided senior strategic counsel, media relations and campaign management to corporations, non-profits, unions and political leaders worldwide. He helped pioneer the use of cutting-edge technologies in communications campaigns and served in leadership positions on two Presidential campaigns and as a senior adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown’s successful 2010 gubernatorial election. Early in his career, Mr. Blank worked at Kayne Anderson as a junior analyst, mainly focused on energy infrastructure. Mr. Blank graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in political science from Duke University and is a cum laude graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy.
Richard Kayne is the Founder and Co-Chairman of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles-based manager of alternative investment strategies. The firm serves a distinguished client list of institutions, endowments, foundations, family offices and high net worth individuals.
Mr. Kayne founded Kayne Anderson in 1984, and has grown the firm through a disciplined, personal investment philosophy that emphasizes niche opportunities with attractive return expectations and lower risk characteristics. Mr. Kayne and the firm have long shared the importance of deploying knowledge and sourcing advantages as part of this philosophy.
Today, the firm is one of the premier alternative asset managers specializing in oil and gas, energy infrastructure, credit, specialty real estate, growth private equity and marketable securities. Recognized as the industry leader in energy infrastructure investments, the firm is the largest investor in energy pipelines in the United States.
In addition to co-founding Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Mr. Kayne founded Kayne Anderson Rudnick, a traditional investment management firm. Mr. Kayne grew that firm to over $10 billion in assets under management and sold it in 2001 to the Phoenix Companies.
Mr. Kayne is a trustee of and the former chairman of the Investment Committee of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Foundation and is a trustee of and former co-chairman of the Investment Committee of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.
He began his career in the mid-1960s as an analyst with Loeb, Rhodes & Co. in New York and was a principal of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Inc., where he managed private accounts, a hedge fund and a portion of firm capital.
Mr. Kayne earned a B.S. in statistics from Stanford University in 1966 and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1968.
Ron Logan is a partner and senior managing director for Kayne’s closed-end funds..
Prior to joining KACALP in 2006, Mr. Logan was an independent consultant to several leading energy firms. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Senior Vice President of Ferrellgas Inc, with responsibility for the firm’s supply, wholesale, transportation, storage, and risk management activities. Before joining Ferrellgas, Mr. Logan was employed for six years by Dynegy Midstream Services where he was Vice President of the Louisiana Gulf Coast Region and was also responsible for the company’s business development activities. Mr. Logan began his career with Chevron Corporation in 1984, where held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing, trading and commercial development through 1997.
Mr. Logan earned a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1983 and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago in 1994.
Terry Quinn is the vice chairman for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and is responsible for managing new business opportunities and client relations. He is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, oversees the Direct Lending group and serves on the Firm’s Credit, Real Estate and PE Investment Committees.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, Mr. Quinn was a founding partner of a merchant banking firm specializing in private equity and advisory services. He was president and CEO of five operating companies and a member of the executive committee of a leading regional bank. Mr. Quinn was the manager of pensions and investments for the 3M Company and founding CEO of a leading mezzanine fund group. Mr. Quinn has served on the boards of several public and private firms. He is a member of the Los Angeles WPO.
Mr. Quinn earned a B.A. in Economics in 1973 and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1974.
Jessica Ekeberg is a member of the team for Kayne Anderson’s opportunistic credit and private renewable infrastructure strategies.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2017, Ekeberg worked in the global investor relations group at Tennenbaum Capital Partners, where she led investor relations for its public BDC and was responsible for client servicing for its private funds. Prior thereto, Ekeberg worked in business banking at First Republic Bank.
Ekeberg earned a B.S. in Psychology and Communication Studies with a minor in Business Institutions from Northwestern University.
Al Rabil co-founded Kayne Anderson’s real estate private equity platform in 2007 and serves as KA Real Estate’s managing partner and chief executive officer. In these roles he sets the strategic direction for KA Real Estate, oversees KA Real Estate’s overall investment activities, and leads fundraising for all KA Real Estate investments. KA Real Estate currently manages approximately $11 billion of AUM across both debt and equity investment funds. Immediately before founding KA Real Estate, Rabil founded and was a principal of two real estate investment firms, RAMZ, LLC and Rabil Properties, LLC, where he developed and acquired a portfolio of more than $250 million of off-campus student housing properties. Prior thereto, Rabil served at UBS as managing director and head of the real estate banking group for the Americas and Europe. During his tenure there he played a key role in making UBS a market leader in both syndicated debt and large loan CMBS, consummating more than $25 billion in transactions. Rabil began his career in the real estate finance group of the Bankers Trust Company. Rabil earned a B.A. cum laude from Yale University in 1985 and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University in 1988.
Vanessa Contreras is a trading operations assistant for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors’ liquid infrastructure strategies, where she is responsible for managing all administrative trading duties. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 1994, Contreras worked as an administrator in the medical field. Contreras attended Utah Valley University.
Katie Lanktree is a senior vice president of investor relations for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2017, Lanktree worked in business development at Red Mountain Capital Partners, an activist hedge fund based in Los Angeles. Prior to Red Mountain, Lanktree worked on the marketing team at Davidson Kempner Capital Management in New York City. Lanktree began her career at Perry Capital. Lanktree earned a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University. For nearly a decade she has served on the executive committee of the NYC Hope Gala, a non-profit dedicated to the fight against pediatric cancer.
Ms. Polcari is the director of personnel at KA Real Estate. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, Polcari was heavily involved in philanthropic and advocacy work and was director of development and finance for Headstrong, a nonprofit organization that provides free, mental health treatment to combat veterans. Prior thereto, she focused on a number of issues including children’s rights and welfare, education, special needs individuals and the arts. She worked as a court appointed special advocate and translator for Hispanic children in the foster care system. Polcari began her career on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange where, in the space of twelve years, she worked at Donaldson Lufkin, Oppenheimer and Co., Goldman Sachs, and Blumenthal Securities, where she was made partner and became the first Hispanic woman to become a member of the NYSE. Polcari studied finance at the New York Institute of Finance and studied psychology at Pace University.
Connor Niemann is a research analyst for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors’ liquid energy infrastructure and renewable infrastructure strategies, where he is responsible for equity research and portfolio analysis.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2021, Niemann was a senior consultant in EY’s management consulting practice in New York City where he focused on power & utilities, helping Fortune 500 clients achieve large-scale transformations through performance improvement and value maximization.
Niemann earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Southern California.
Michael Schimmel is a senior managing director and portfolio manager for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors’ liquid infrastructure credit strategies, where he is responsible for the management and analysis of portfolios investing in high yield bonds, convertible bonds and leveraged loans.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2005, Schimmel was a credit analyst and trader at Akanthos Capital Management, LLC, a Los Angeles based hedge fund that specializes in convertible arbitrage and capital structure arbitrage. Prior to that, he worked for seven years as a high yield analyst at Trust Company of the West, where he followed cyclical industries including petrochemicals, metals/mining, and paper/packaging. Schimmel has approximately 20 years of experience analyzing and managing high yield debt investments.
Schimmel earned a B.A. in Economics from Pomona College in 1993 and an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2001.
Randy Laufman is an assistant portfolio manager and senior credit analyst with a focus on domestic infrastructure sectors including energy, transportation, telecommunications, aerospace and defense. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2014, Laufman worked as a senior credit analyst at Odeon Capital Group, LLC focusing on opportunities in high yield, distressed and convertibles.
Prior thereto, Laufman worked for over ten years as a senior analyst with Imperial Capital, LLC, primarily focusing on the marine transportation sector, convertible bonds and other opportunities in high yield and distressed.
Laufman earned a B.S. in business from Indiana University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter-holder and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Los Angeles.
Sophie Gunderson is a research analyst for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors’ liquid energy infrastructure and renewable infrastructure strategies, where she is responsible for equity research and portfolio analysis.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2022, Gunderson was a managing consultant for Guidehouse’s wholesale energy market consulting practice where she focused on forecasting wholesale electricity prices and capacity expansion builds across North America. These forecasts helped utilities, investors and developers construct integrated resource plans, estimate asset valuations and maximize asset profits.
Gunderson earned a B.S. in Geological Engineering in 2019 and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Sustainable System Engineering, expecting to be completed in 2023. Both degrees were earned from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
J.C. Frey is a managing partner at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. and has been at the firm for more than 23 years. During his tenure, he co-founded Kayne’s listed energy infrastructure group and has grown it into one of the leading energy infrastructure platforms. More recently, he has expanded the infrastructure platform to include renewables and was named co-head of Kayne’s renewable platform. Mr. Frey is one of the longest-tenured portfolio managers in the listed infrastructure sector, and currently oversees more than $3 billion in assets consisting of equity and debt securities.
Mr. Frey joined Kayne in 1997, launched Kayne’s first energy infrastructure fund in 2000, and has served as portfolio manager since its inception. As a co-founding partner of KA Fund Advisors, LLC, the adviser to Kayne’s publicly traded closed-end funds, he was instrumental in the creation and initial public offering of Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYN) in 2004, the largest publicly traded energy infrastructure closed-end fund in the market today. Mr. Frey was also responsible for the 2010 initial public offering of and public investments for Kayne Anderson NextGen Energy & Infrastructure, Inc. (NYSE: KMF).
As co-head of renewables, J.C. has helped position Kayne’s strategy to invest in the global energy transition. He created and launched the first renewable energy infrastructure fund of its kind in 2017, and participated in the creation of Kayne’s first mutual fund in 2020. Additionally, Mr. Frey oversees a team of 20 investment professionals and manages several other commingled partnerships and separate accounts on behalf of a distinguished list of high net worth, family offices and institutional clients.
Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, Mr. Frey was an audit manager in KPMG Peat Marwick’s financial services group, specializing in banking and finance clients, and loan securitizations. Mr. Frey is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a B.S. in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University in 1990 and a Master of Taxation from the University of Southern California in 1991.
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