Espresso Capital

Alkarim Jivraj has more than 25 years of experience across technology investment banking, venture capital, and venture debt. Prior to Espresso Capital, which he joined in 2013, he founded and ran the Intrepid Business Acceleration Fund and led the corporate finance advisory firm Intrepid Equity Finance. He started his career at Yorkton Securities, heading software investment banking and co-managing two in-house investment funds. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business and a BA in History from the University of Toronto.

Serves as Chief Investment Officer of the firm.

Gordon Henderson is Managing Director, Portfolio Management at Espresso Capital, which he joined in 2020, and has more than 20 years of experience in finance. He started as an investment banker at HSBC working on corporate finance and M&A before moving into asset management, where he managed long/short, alternative credit, and derivative strategies across multiple sectors and geographies. He holds an MA from the University of St Andrews and an MBA from the University of Toronto, and has served on several public and private company boards.

Jyotin Handa is a Managing Director at Espresso Capital, where he oversees strategic and corporate finance activities such as institutional equity and debt capital raising, fund management and structuring, and financial management. Before joining the firm in 2016, he worked in corporate finance and investor relations at Maple Leaf Foods and was a Manager at Ernst & Young LLP. He holds a B.Comm in Finance and Economics from the University of Toronto and is a CPA.

Mark Gilbert is a Managing Director on Espresso Capital's Originations team, where he sources new clients seeking growth capital. He has more than 20 years of sales and underwriting experience in financial institutions, including a role as Regional Market Leader in the Technology practice at BMO and an earlier position at Chubb Insurance serving the energy and resources sector. He holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and a BComm from the Smith School of Business at Queen's University.

Marcel Réthoré is a Director on the underwriting team at Espresso Capital, handling due diligence and loan monitoring operations since joining in 2022. Before Espresso, he worked in KPMG's Deal Advisory group, providing corporate restructuring, corporate finance, and valuation advisory services to companies across various industries. He holds a Bachelor of Management and Organization Studies from the University of Western Ontario and is a CPA, CA.

Mark Presacco is a Director on the credit team at Espresso Capital, where he leads due diligence for new loans, monitors ongoing operations, and manages a portfolio of equity fund investments. He previously worked as a Manager in KPMG's Financial Institutions Audit Practice. He holds a BBA from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and is a CPA.

Rajat Aiyer is a Senior Associate at Cerity Partners Ventures, where he focuses on investments in the food and agriculture sector. He can be reached at raiyer@ceritypartners.com.

Anova Hou is a Junior Data Engineer at Espresso Capital, working in venture debt. Previously, Hou was a research intern at UBC Computer Science's multimodal user experience lab, focusing on human-robot interaction in augmented reality, avatars, and social computing, and held roles in web design and development at a SaaS company and as Creative Director and Web Developer at GadflyAI. Hou studied Business and Computer Science at UBC Sauder.

Marie Eley is a Senior Accountant at Espresso Capital and part-time Controller for Michael Vukets & Associates. She has 10 years of experience in office management and controller roles, covering financial management, office administration, human resources, payroll, accounting, inventory control, reconciliation, and IT management. Her background includes managing teams of two to eight people, year-end closing, and handling audit processes with accounting firms, the CRA, and the Ministry of Finance.

Oksana Kulagina is an accountant at Espresso Capital with more than 20 years of experience in full-cycle accounting, payroll administration, and financial reporting across the finance, technology, and media industries. Her work includes payroll processing in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, as well as intercompany reconciliations, tax filings, and audit preparation.

Sherrisse Facey is a CPA, CGA serving as Director, Corporate Controller at Espresso Capital. Her experience spans the financial services industry, including public company reporting and work at a Big Four accounting firm across multiple jurisdictions.

Sonia Egbe is an Intermediate IT Support Specialist at Espresso Capital, where she works on corporate IT systems and projects using technical support skills. She has experience in IT operations and is fluent in English with intermediate proficiency in French.

Enio Lazzer is a banking executive with more than 25 years of experience across finance, investment banking, capital markets, operations, and technology. Prior to joining Espresso Capital in 2014, he held senior roles at CIBC World Markets, including divisional CFO, COO, and Head of Prime Brokerage, and served as VP and CFO of The Northern Trust Company, Canada. He holds a BBA in Accounting and Finance from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a CPA, CA.

Will Hutchins leads Espresso Capital's Originations team and brings over 20 years of corporate finance experience, having joined the firm in 2015. He was previously Director of Investment Banking at TD Securities, where he advised technology, media, and communications clients on debt and equity financing, M&A, and corporate strategy, and earlier practiced corporate finance and M&A law at Stikeman Elliott in Toronto and Paul, Weiss in New York. He holds an LLB and MBA from the University of Ottawa and a BA in History from Queen's University.

Will Jin leads the credit team at Espresso Capital, where he joined in 2017, and has worked in corporate finance and venture capital investing for over 25 years. Before Espresso, he was a senior member of the investment team at Covington Capital, overseeing more than 50 venture capital investments, and earlier worked at The Hathaway Corporation, a Toronto M&A advisory and corporate finance firm. He holds an MBA and HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and is a CFA charterholder.

Previously a Product Marketing Manager at Snap Inc.; holds a BSc from the University of Waterloo.

Previously a Senior SWE in Test at Oracle; holds a BSc in CS from Odessa National Polytechnic.