Metropolitan Partners

Paul K. Lisiak founded Metropolitan Partners Group in 2008, where he serves as Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, overseeing investment strategy, sourcing, and research. Earlier he managed a venture capital strategy backed by the Man Group, acting as interim executive for three portfolio companies, and began his career at Lazard Asset Management in the High Yield group. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and was an English-Speaking Union Fellow.

Alex Verba works at Metropolitan Partners, where his role covers managing and evaluating the firm's portfolio company investments, including financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. He previously served as Senior Vice President at A&J Capital, managing a real estate portfolio, and worked on turnaround engagements at Alix Partners as well as direct investments in high yield, leveraged loans, and distressed assets at TIAA-CREF and CIT. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University, an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania's Lauder School, and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School.

Fred Ganning has served on Metropolitan's Investment Committee since 2012 and has held leadership and advisory roles at the firm across business development, investment due diligence, firm management, and portfolio oversight. He previously spent over 25 years at the Man Group PLC and ED&F Man Holdings Ltd., where as Managing Director he set the strategic direction for the ED&F Man Cocoa and Coffee division and oversaw physical and futures trading across London, New York, Singapore and Brazil. He holds an M.B.A. in Quantitative Analysis and a B.S. in Finance from Seton Hall University, where he is adjunct faculty.

Richard Lin is a Managing Director at Metropolitan Partners, where he sources, evaluates, structures, and executes deals. He joined the firm in 2013, having previously worked in special situation private equity at Black Diamond Capital Management and GSC Group, and earlier as an investment banker at Bank of America. He graduated cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Anthony Siragusa is a Vice President at Metropolitan Partners, where his work involves managing, working out, and evaluating the firm's portfolio of assets. He previously served as a Senior Analyst at LBC Credit Partners, handling portfolio management and private credit investment analytics, and earlier worked as an Analyst in JPMorgan Chase's Middle Market Banking division. He holds a B.A. in Finance from the Villanova School of Business.

Chris Dolan is a Vice President at Metropolitan Partners, where he handles deal execution and portfolio analytics. He previously served as a Vice President at Johnsen Fretty & Company, a media-focused investment bank, advising on M&A, leveraged buyouts, and debt and equity financings, and earlier worked as a Supply and Trading Associate at ExxonMobil. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Jake Barrett is a Vice President at Metropolitan Partners, where he works on deal execution and portfolio analytics. He previously worked as an Investment Professional at Värde Partners on their Financial Services and Diversified Private Credit team, and earlier as an Associate on the Private Credit team at Neptune Financial. He holds a B.S. in Business and Economics with a minor in Mathematics from St. Lawrence University.

JD Sheldon is a Principal at Metropolitan Partners, where he works on sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments as well as asset management, concentrating on the consumer debt finance vertical. He joined the firm in 2019 after serving as CFO of CreditMax, a lender to debt buyers, where he oversaw funding of more than $400 million across over 1,500 transactions. Earlier he held several roles at Equable Ascent Financial, and he holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Augustana College and an M.A. in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Wilmer Cerda is a Principal at Metropolitan Partners, where he handles the management, workout, and ongoing evaluation of the firm's portfolio of assets. Before joining the firm, he advised companies on financial restructurings and operational turnarounds within AlixPartners' corporate restructuring practice. He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a B.S. from Columbia University.

Founding Partner of Female Founders Fund advising India Internet Fund on early-stage investments and founder networks.

Aaron Dalal is a Senior Associate at Metropolitan Partners, where he handles management and ongoing evaluation of the firm's portfolio of assets. He previously worked as an Analyst at S&P Global Ratings, focusing on credit risk analysis and monitoring of obligors in the energy sector. He earned a B.A. in Economics and a Master of Applied Data Science from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

Alex Roesch is a Senior Associate at Metropolitan Partners, where his work covers deal execution and portfolio analytics. He previously worked as an Investment Professional on the credit team at Runway Growth Capital, a venture debt-focused BDC, and held roles as a Program Manager at LivePerson and as an investment banker at Lazard and Cascadia Capital. He holds a B.S. in Finance and Economic Consulting from Indiana University.

Andrew Koff is a Senior Associate at Metropolitan Partners, where he works on managing, supporting, and evaluating the firm's portfolio of assets. He previously worked as an investment banker at Bank of America on the Consumer & Retail coverage team and as a management consultant at Sharma Strategy Group serving large cap CPG and distribution services clients. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University, an S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Bertan is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Metropolitan, where he handles corporate, commercial, regulatory, and compliance legal matters. He previously worked as an associate at several international law firms advising on capital markets and M&A transactions across sectors, and began his career at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York. He holds a B.S. in Management from Binghamton University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and is admitted to the New York Bar.

Daniel Leger leads investor relations, marketing, and communications at Metropolitan Partners, drawing on more than 23 years in asset raising. He was previously Managing Director and Head of Marketing and Investor Relations at MGG Investment Group, and has held senior roles at Akre Capital Management, Geosphere Capital, Steel Partners, and BRI Partners. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. from Concordia University in Montreal.

Erik Warren works on fund analytics at Metropolitan Partners. He previously served as Director of Data Analytics for Frontier Communications' Internal Audit department, leading a data science team building AI and robotic process automation tools, and sat on Frontier's Generative AI oversight and governance committees. His earlier experience spans corporate finance and investment banking, and he holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Temple University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida.

George Alifragis leads the curation, management, and scaling of the firm's Operating Expert network. He spent over 12 years in management and executive roles at Bell Canada, and later held executive positions as COO at Sryas and Chief Customer and Innovation Officer at Altima Telecom. He currently serves as Chief Innovation Officer on the Executive Board of the Cyber Security Global Alliance and is a member of the Forbes Business Council.

Jack DePerrior is a Senior Associate at Metropolitan Partners, where he oversees existing credit investments by monitoring key credit metrics and working with management on strategic and operational milestones. He was previously an Investment Banking Associate at H.C. Wainwright, executing equity, debt, and M&A transactions for healthcare companies, and before that worked in operational strategy consulting at EY. He earned a B.A. in Economics from George Washington University, where he was a Presidential Scholar.

Jason Bircann oversees loan agency, reporting, and operations at Metropolitan Partners, along with firmwide strategic initiatives and data management. He previously served as a Senior Performance Reporting Manager at H.I.G. Capital, handling investor and management reporting for the Credit platform, and earlier worked at Sculptor Capital Management and J.P. Morgan Hedge Fund Services on CLO compliance, credit operations, and business process outsourcing. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University and is a CFA charter holder.

Jason Tighe oversees fund operations, capital markets, analytics, and accounting at Metropolitan Partners, drawing on more than 20 years in private equity finance and operations. He previously held senior finance roles at Prospect Ridge and Affinius Capital (formerly Square Mile Capital), where he built the finance and analytics functions for a real estate debt platform exceeding $3.0 billion. He began his career at Ares Management (formerly Apollo Real Estate/AREA Property Partners), spending 13 years in finance roles and becoming Head of US Finance, and holds a B.A. from Binghamton University.

Julia Ran is an Analyst at Metropolitan Partners, where she works on deal execution and portfolio analytics. She previously served as an Analyst on the investment team at Cliffwater, an alternative investment management and advisory firm. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from New York University.

Julian Weldon has more than 30 years of experience in legal and credit markets. Before joining Metropolitan, he served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at CIFC Asset Management, an alternative credit firm, and previously held the same roles at Garrison Investment Group, where he worked on investments, investor and operating partner relationships, financings, and product development. Earlier, he was Senior Counsel in the Banking Department of Allen & Overy LLP in New York and London; he holds an LL.B. from the University of East Anglia and is qualified both as a Solicitor of England & Wales and a member of the New York Bar.

Mackenzie Matscherz is a Senior Reporting and Operations Associate at Metropolitan Partners Group, where the role focuses on finance operations and reporting. Areas of work include data analytics and visualization.

Maithili Purandare leads the development and scaling of Metropolitan's Operating Expert Network. She previously worked in Strategy & Operations at iCapital and Deep 6 AI, covering strategy, capital raising, and business operations, and began her career at Morgan Stanley. She holds a B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Rutgers University.

Michael Egan oversees data integration, automation, and software engineering across Metropolitan Partners. He has over 30 years of experience in financial technology and alternative investment management, having previously been Chief Operating Officer of Technology at Jain Global and Director of Technology at Atalaya Capital Management, where he built engineering, data science, and infrastructure teams. He co-founded Adroit Trading Technologies, a fintech firm focused on OTC trade execution, and earlier held senior technology roles at Bridgewater Associates, Amaranth Advisors, and UBS. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University.

Morgan Melnikoff leads capital markets at Metropolitan Partners, working on co-investment opportunities, limited partner relationships, and third-party capital partnerships, with a background in investor relations, fundraising, and business development across alternative investments. She previously managed investor relations at Luxor Capital Group, co-founded Everpoint Health (a national COVID-19 testing provider), and began her career at Ernst & Young's Financial Services Organization. She holds an M.S. in Accountancy from Notre Dame and a B.S. in Business Administration from Fordham, and is a CPA.

Priya Ponnapula is Vice President at Metropolitan Partners Group, where her work spans business strategy, project management, analytics, and communications. Over more than six years in the public and private sectors, she has worked on organizational change initiatives, stakeholder management, investor pitches, and corporate communications. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University with a specialization in International Finance and Economic Policy, and is a certified PMP.

Scarly Almonte leads investor relations at Metropolitan Partners, handling investor relationships, communications, and fundraising. She previously worked in investor relations at Figure Technologies, on the capital raising team at Monomoy Capital Partners, and supported investor relations at WL Ross & Co., after starting her career as an associate at Three Bridges Capital. She holds a B.A. in Finance from Baruch College.

Sean Browne serves as Vice President of Operations at Metropolitan Partners, handling investment operations, reporting, and loan agency. Before joining the firm, he was an Investment Operations Specialist on the Fixed Income Public Operations team at Prudential Financial, where he processed trades and payments on debt products and handled custody reconciliation. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from The College of New Jersey School of Business.

Sharon Casalino is Senior Integrator at Metropolitan Partners, where she works on cross-functional strategy and execution of the firm's ONE platform, including system interoperability, AI-driven workflow, and agentic automation. She has more than a decade of experience in technical implementations and product management across enterprise SaaS and financial services, previously serving as VP of Product Management at iCapital and holding product roles at Flatiron Health, SummitSync, LiveRamp, and Yext. She holds a B.A. from Duke University.

Sydney Ahmed is a Senior Associate at Metropolitan Partners, where she monitors and advises portfolio companies and evaluates their performance. Before joining the firm, she was a Director at FTI Consulting, where she provided advisory services on financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. She holds a B.A. in Economics and English Literature from the University of Southern California.

Tara Battaglia is Assistant Controller at Metropolitan, where she manages management company accounting operations and reporting and supports fund accounting financial reporting. Before joining the firm, she worked in accounting roles across several sectors, including gas and oil. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from South Hills School of Business & Technology.