Robert Schach Managing Editor Debtwire

Rob joined Debtwire Europe in 2007 to cover the European high-yield market and went on to become Managing Editor, overseeing its stressed debt and restructuring, leveraged loan, high yield bond and sovereign coverage. Based in London, he specialised in the chemicals sector but has broad experience of reporting on all aspects of the high yield market. He was instrumental in the launch of Debtwire’s ABS product, and more recently in the development of its sovereign debt coverage.

Previously, Rob reported for two years on the European securitization market at EuroWeek, where he covered the development and subsequent collapse of the sub-prime RMBS market.

Rob began his career as a chemical engineer, initially working as a research technician for ICI Explosives in South Africa, and subsequently in the European industrial wastewater treatment sector. On the foundation of his broad industrial experience, he completed a specialist degree for business journalists and has been covering debt capital markets since.

Thomas Mayer Founding Director, Flossbach von Storch; Former Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank

Thomas Mayer is Founding Director of the Flossbach von Storch Research Institute. Before this he was Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Group and Head of DB Research. Thomas Mayer held positions at Goldman Sachs, Salomon Brothers and, before entering the private sector, at the International Monetary Fund and the Kiel Institute. Thomas Mayer received a doctorate in economics from Kiel University in 1982. Since 2003 and 2015, he is CFA Charterholder and honorary professor at University of Witten-Herdecke, respectively.

Peter Yordan Vice President J.C. Flowers & Co.

Mr. Yordán is a Vice President at J.C. Flowers & Co.  Prior to joining the firm out of business school in 2011, Mr. Yordán worked as an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co., in both New York and London.

Mr. Yordán serves on the Board of Directors of Chi-X Asia Pacific, Kreditech Holding GmbH SSL, and The OneLife Holding S.à.r.l. He received a B.A. magna cum laudefrom Middlebury College with degrees in Spanish and Film Studies, and is a Director’s List graduate of the M.B.A. program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gustav Sandstrom Senior Reporter Dealreporter

Gustav Sandstrom is a senior reporter at Dealreporter, an Acuris company, covering financial services, credit and convertible bonds.

Before joining Dealreporter, Gustav worked at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in Stockholm for five years, where he covered several Nordic financial beats. Prior to that, he was a business reporter for Thomson Financial News, covering Denmark.

Gustav trained as an economist, with degrees in Economics and Political Science from the universities of Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden.

Paul Kuhn Head of DCM Origination Corporates BayernLB

Paul Kuhn joint Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) in 2010 as Head of DCM Origination Corporates. He and his team arrange Bonds, Schuldscheindarlehen, Hybrids and other Debt Capital products for German and pan European corporate issuers.

Major public transactions were the first ever green Schuldscheindarlehen or the second biggest Schuldschein transaction on record at the beginning of 2016.

From 1998 to 2010 Paul Kuhn worked for Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) as Senior DCM Originator for corporate issuers (2005-2010) and prior to this responsibility he was a relationship manager for corporates in the US and Germany (1998-2005). Before joining LBBW he worked for the Deutsche Bundesbank (1991-1998).

Kuhn has more than 25 years of banking experience and studied successful business administration in Germany and the Netherlands.

Raoul Hessling Corporate Debt Platform BNP Paribas

Raoul Hessling is BNP Paribas’ product specialist for Corporate Schuldscheine, coordinating the bank’s origination and execution activities across all jurisdictions. He joined the bank’s Corporate Debt Platform in October 2014. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, Raoul was a director within Commerzbank’s DCM loans group where he was responsible for coordinating the origination activities with respect to Schuldschein financing. He graduated as a Diplom-Betriebswirt from Hochschule für Bankwirtschaft in Frankfurt am Main (today’s Frankfurt School of Finance & Management). Raoul is bi-lingual in German and French and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Matthias Mathieu Managing Partner Bright Capital

Before Matthias started his investment career he spent over 10 years in the German lower midmarket as CEO of the stock listed PEACHES GROUP. Previously he signed responsible for the international restructuring of a leading Austrian technology company. In the years 2010-2015 he headed the investment business of the Munich (GER) and Zug (CH) based Mountain Lake Investment. Thereafter he founded BRIGHT CAPITAL and serves since then as a Managing Partner.

Jan Klasen Director and First Vice President KfW

Dr. Jan Klasen joined KfW in March 1994 after concluding his studies of business administration at the University of Cologne. Prior to that he served an apprenticeship for two years with Deutsche Bank and gained working experience with Bayer AG in USA and Germany as well as with Deutsche Bank Capital Markets in Tokyo. After joining KfW, Mr. Klasen initially worked in the Natural Resources team as Project Manager focussing on Project Finance transaction in Latin America with. As Senior Project Manager he was engaged with telecom and satellite financing both in Europe and China, including the first domestic chinese project finance transaction without ECA-cover.

Following this he was seconded for two years to the German Ministry of Economics and Technology. He headed the project finance working group of the interministerial committee in charge for HERMES-cover decision and was in charge of aircraft finance. This responsibility saw him projects worldwide including South African ones. Back at KfW, he served as Vice President in the policy department of the Export & Project Finance division before returning as head of the team to KfW’s natural resources financing sector.

Since April 2005 Mr Klasen has new responsibilities as head of corporate strategy and development within KfW IPEX-Bank corporate affairs office.

Having obtained the first external rating of S&P for the newly founded KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH he returned to KfW itself heading since summer 2009 the Restructuring unit of KfW being responsible for all intensive care and non-performing assets of the promotional bank.

Oliver Kehren Managing Director Morgan Stanley

Oliver Kehren is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley in London and Head of EMEA SSG.  Activities include acquisitions/trading of distressed debt as part of portfolio and single name transactions and the restructuring/-financing  of distressed corporate and sovereign situations.  Oliver has extensive experience in export-/project-financing, corporate finance and financial restructurings.  He is Co-Chairman of the board of Gesellschaft für Restrukturierung TMA Deutschland e.V., an author of several publications on financial restructurings and a guest lecturer at several Universities.

Frank Grell Partner Latham & Watkins

Frank Grell is partner in Latham & Watkins’Hamburg office and chairs the German Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. His practice focuses on insolvency and restructuring, including corporate reorganizations, debt restructuring and out-of-court and in-court representation of creditors of distressed companies and investors in such companies, including in particular protective shield/insolvency plan proceedings and loan-to-own strategies.

JUVE names him as a “leading name”. Chambers Europe lists him as “key individual” and describes him as “highly experienced in cross-border restructuring cases.” 

Alexander Hug Director PwC

Alexander joined PwC in 2008 and is a Director in the German Business Recovery Services team. He focuses on complex financial restructuring and refinancing situations. Alexander has ten years of restructuring experience and was involved in leading numerous restructuring projects with a dedicated focus on financial restructuring and leveraged finance, preparation of business reviews, and validation and implementation of restructuring concepts. His expertise includes complex refinancing projects and financial restructuring of listed companies.

Yen Sum Partner Latham & Watkins

Yen Sum is a partner in the London office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Restructuring, Insolvency & Workouts Practice.

Ms. Sum specializes in acting for corporations, private equity sponsors, hedge funds, and asset managers on restructuring, special situations, and alternative and leveraged finance matters across the capital structure and credit spectrum. She also advises on M&A and buyouts acquisition finance and fund investments.

Ms. Sum has experience on cross-border situations or those requiring new or innovative thinking and multifaceted solutions to be implemented across the capital structure. She has led or has been involved in a number of notable and high-profile transactions including those which have required negotiation, management, and the balancing of various stakeholder groups and interests. These include alternative credit and other new money financings, bank/bond restructurings, schemes of arrangement, security enforcements, pre-packaged administrations, Chapter 11, and other corporate and insolvency.

Ms. Sum has experience in a range of sectors including retail, automotive, chemicals, energy and renewables, oil and gas, financial services, manufacturing and industrials, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, waste management, information technology, media and telecommunications, business and professional services, food and beverages, and gaming.

Jörn Kowalewski Partner Latham & Watkins

Dr. Jörn Kowalewski is  a partner in the German Restructuring, Insolvency & Workouts Practice. He  focuses on advising in corporate restructurings as well as in the acquisition  of companies and of distressed debt.

He focuses his practice  on advising distressed investors, lenders, lender groups and steering  committees as well as the debtors in out-of-court (financial and operational)  restructuring, acquisition of distressed companies and corporate groups and  representation in bankruptcy proceedings and in the context of insolvency plan  negotiations

Mr. Kowalewski is regularly  “recommended” as a lawyer for Restructuring and Insolvency, inter alia by JUVE.

Frank Grell Partner Latham & Watkins

Frank Grell is partner in Latham & Watkins’Hamburg office and chairs the German Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. His practice focuses on insolvency and restructuring, including corporate reorganizations, debt restructuring and out-of-court and in-court representation of creditors of distressed companies and investors in such companies, including in particular protective shield/insolvency plan proceedings and loan-to-own strategies.

JUVE names him as a “leading name”. Chambers Europe lists him as “key individual” and describes him as “highly experienced in cross-border restructuring cases.” 

Thomas Steinberger Partner - automotive transactions PWC

Since 2005 Thomas is working in the Business Recovery Services Team at PwC. Since 2009 he leads the Munich office in the area of restructuring advisory as a partner. Before, he worked as a Senior Principal at a top management advisory firm.

Joachim Englert Partner PwC

Joachim is a Partner in PwC’s Business Recovery Services practice.

He has almost 20 years of work experience advising companies and lenders in crisis situations. Joachim specializes in financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. He has extensive experience in the development and execution of strategic, operational, and financial improvement initiatives for comprehensive value creation, both for corporate clients and creditors. He spent 4 years working in the US working with PwC’s Business Recovery Services and FTI Consulting. 

Joachim holds a master degree and a PhD in Business Administration from University of Mannheim / Germany.

Robert Schach Managing Editor - Europe Debtwire

Rob manages the editorial team in London, overseeing the leveraged loan, high yield, restructuring and mid-market desks. He joined Debtwire in 2007 as a high yield reporter covering primary markets, going on to head the desk and ramping up its secondary market coverage. He became deputy editor at the start of 2011 and took over as managing editor mid 2012.

Prior to joining Debtwire, Rob reported for two years on the European securitization market at EuroWeek, where he covered new ABS asset classes such as catastrophe bonds, as well as the development and subsequent collapse of the sub-prime RMBS market.

He began his career as a chemical engineer, initially working as a research technician for ICI Explosives in South Africa, before moving to Europe taking up a technical sales role in the European industrial water treatment sector.