Article courtesy of Nicholas Dumas (Aflac Global Investments)
The ACIC is thrilled to welcome the following new members since August 2021:
- John Beck (Hogan Lovells)
- Nicholas Dumas (Aflac Global Investments)
- Inderveer Hothi (Akin Gump)
- Niki Khatami (SLC Management)
- Sarah Challen McKee (Akin Gump)
- Ron Silverman (Hogan Lovells)
- Sarah Stanton (Northwestern Mutual)
- Issa Yesufu (Northwestern Mutual)
To learn more about our new esteemed colleagues, read below:
John Beck is a partner in the New York and Houston offices of Hogan Lovells LLP. As a corporate restructuring attorney, John advises institutional investors, private equity sponsors, lenders, borrowers and unsecured creditor committees on a broad array of corporate restructuring matters both in and out of court, including refinancing senior debt, converting debt to equity, and implementing exchange offers, as well as pre-packaged and pre-negotiated bankruptcy filings. John provides legal guidance to his institutional clients spanning a broad array of industries, with a particular focus on highly regulated industries such as life sciences and biotechnology, telecommunications, and aerospace.
John earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Tyler.
Nicholas Dumas is Vice President and Legal and Regulatory Associate at Aflac Global Investments in New York. Nick provides support for a variety of transactions, including public and private lending, private placements, structured credit, strategic equity investments, and alternative investments. Nick was previously at Wells Fargo, where he focused on middle market lending. Prior to that, Nick was in the banking group of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he represented banks, alternative lenders, private equity sponsors, and corporate borrowers on a variety of financings, including leveraged and acquisition finance, asset-backed facilities, and other secured and unsecured lending transactions.
Nick received his J.D. and his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.
Inderveer Hothi is a partner in the debt finance team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP in their London office. She regular represents institutional investors, financial institutions, private equity funds, hedge funds and corporate clients on a range of financing matters including private placements, direct lending, corporate finance and private debt.
Inderveer received a first class honors law degree from the University of Sheffield.
Niki Khatami is Legal Counsel at SLC Management. Based in their Toronto Office, Niki supports SLC’s Private Fixed Income group with a variety of private investment transactions including private debt, private placement, private equity, real estate finance and project finance. Niki completed her articles at the Toronto office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and practiced for several years in their banking and financial services group before joining SLC.
Niki obtained her law degree from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and her B.Sc. in Mathematics and Economics at the University of Toronto, Trinity College.
Sarah Challen McKee is an associate in the London office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. She represents institutional investors on a variety of domestic and international financing transactions including private placements, leveraged finance, direct lending, acquisition finance and financial restructurings. Prior to joining Akin Gump, Sarah trained as a lawyer at Slaughter and May in London and practiced in their banking and finance group.
Sarah received her law degree from the University of Oxford.
Ron Silverman is a partner at Hogan Lovells US LLP and is co-head of the firm’s U.S. Business Restructuring and Insolvency practice group. He represents companies, sovereign nations, banks, financial institutions, hedge as well as private equity funds, and other sophisticated investors involved in restructurings, rescue financings, distressed M&A, and insolvencies. Ron has a broad background in international restructurings, having completed restructurings in dozens of countries across the globe. He has led some of the most significant Chapter 15 cases in connection with cross-border restructurings, and wrote the Chapter 15 primer for a leading treatise. Ron’s range of experience is diverse but includes comprehensive knowledge of energy restructurings involving the power, oil and gas, solar, wind, and mining areas. Ron is also involved in restructurings related to Latin America and related to China. He led the landmark ABI Beijing Insolvency & Restructuring Symposium in Beijing. Ron was also the Vice President for International Affairs of the American Bankruptcy Institute and served on the board of directors of INSOL International. Previously, Ron served on the adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He taught a seminar on international insolvency while maintaining his private practice.
Ron earned his J.D. from the University of Connecticut and his bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Trinity University.
Sarah Stanton is Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Northwestern Mutual. Sarah is responsible for providing securities and investment legal counsel with respect to private placement, project finance, mezzanine and private equity transactions. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Sarah was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb where she represented financial institutions, lenders and borrowers in a variety of debt transactions, including secured financings and structured transactions.
Sarah received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. and M.S. from the University of Florida.
Issa Yesufu is Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI, where he advises on a broad array of domestic and international transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital investments, private equity investments, and private placements. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Issa was Assistant General Counsel, Software and Control at Rockwell Automation, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Before that, he was Chief Securities, Governance, and Finance Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Ashland Global Holdings, Inc., Covington, KY (and was in the same role at Valvoline, Inc., Lexington, KY after its spin-off from Ashland). Prior to that, Issa was Chief Counsel, Surface Systems at Cameron International Corporation, Houston, TX; Chief Counsel, Mergers and Acquisitions at NCR Corporation, Dayton, OH; and Senior Counsel, Securities and Finance and Assistant Secretary at Vanguard Car Rental, Inc. (d/b/a Alamo and National Car Rental brands worldwide), Tulsa, Ok. Before going in-house, Issa was a Corporate Associate in the New York City and London offices of Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, and in the Chicago office Vedder Price.
Issa received both his J.D. and LL.M. from Columbia Law School, New York, NY; MPA from Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA; and LL.B. from University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
