Corporate Private Debt Team

David is a finance, lending and leadership professional with over 20 years of experience across a broad range of debt products including asset-based lending, real estate, cash flow term lending, subordinated and mezzanine debt. He possesses extensive experience in leading high-performing teams, building brand awareness through business development activities, sourcing and negotiating new transactions, underwriting financing transactions, and managing a portfolio of borrowing relationships.

In his role as Senior Managing Director for Fiera Private Debt, David is responsible for executive leadership in managing and overseeing origination activities, assisting with the structuring and selection of credits and overseeing the day-to-day portfolio management of debt investments. He is also involved with business strategy and the development of critical processes and procedures to continually streamline the debt investment process.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in May 2024, David was Managing Director, Head of Originations at Cortland Credit Group, where he was responsible for all loan origination activities for the firm, including management of the origination team. Prior to Cortland, he has worked in loan origination and leadership roles for sub debt lender First West Capital, Roynat Capital (subsidiary of Scotiabank) and equipment lender, GE Capital. He also spent 2 years as an investment banker with BMO Capital Markets in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Equity Capital Markets business units.

He holds an undergraduate degree (B.Comm) from the University of British Columbia and an MBA (Honours) from McGill University. He lives in downtown Toronto with his wife and young daughter.

Mr. Ko is responsible for portfolio management, investment approval, and plays a leadership role in managing relationships with investors for all private debt funds. Mr. Ko is a member of the Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in July 2019, Mr. Ko had worked at Integrated Asset Management Corp. with the Private Debt Group since 2011. Mr. Ko was responsible for origination, client negotiations, deal structuring, financial analysis, due diligence, and portfolio management. Prior to joining Integrated Asset Management, he spent four years in fixed income research at DBRS, where he was an Assistant Vice President in the energy group.

Mr. Ko holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Computer Science and Commerce from the University of Toronto, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

With more than 25 years of experience in the banking industry, mostly in business financing and international trade, Daniel Patenaude joined the Fiera Private Debt Team in 2017.

An experienced business industry leader, Mr. Patenaude has held several strategic positions, helping bring a number of complex projects to fruition during his career. He has also led teams of account managers, cash management specialists and financial analysts. Mr. Patenaude also headed the National Bank’s Corporate Financing Group, leading a team of major accounts financing professionals responsible for mergers & acquisitions for Quebec.

Holding a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in international trade and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA), specialized in finance from HEC Montréal, Daniel Patenaude has an important network of business contacts.

Mr. Fracassi joined the Corporate Private Debt Team in June 2017. Mr. Fracassi has over 20 years lending experience, covering a wide range of businesses from small private companies to large publicly traded corporations. In his most recent role, he was a key contributor to Scotiabank’s Toronto-GTA Structured Commercial Banking team where he managed a loan book of over $500 million of assets. Prior to this role, Mr. Fracassi worked at HSBC Bank Canada where he led a commercial banking team and helped establish a leverage finance team. The leverage finance team worked closely with private equity sponsors by providing leveraged credit facilities in support of sponsor backed M&A activity. Earlier in his career, Mr. Fracassi held credit adjudication roles at Credit Suisse Canada and Scotiabank-Global Risk Management.

Mr. Fracassi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) from Ryerson University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Society Toronto.

Ms. Dragomirescu joined Fiera Private Debt in December 2021 after a 17-year career at HSBC Bank, where she held various senior roles within Commercial and Corporate Banking in Montreal and Toronto. Most recently, she led the South Shore and Eastern Townships region, where her mandate was to build a team of account managers and financial analysts in order to develop this strategic growth market. Previous roles include leading Quebec’s cash management team, corporate credit adjudication, client relationship management and business development. She also held a director role on the board of directors of Hong Kong Canada Business Association. Ms. Dragomirescu has extensive experience in structuring complex transactions and has guided many clients with their financing needs.

Ms. Dragomirescu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce with a Major in Finance from McGill University, where she graduated with great distinction. She also studied at Vienna University of Economics, German being one of the five languages that she speaks fluently.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in June 2020, Mr. Penelas worked at BMO Corporate Finance within the Diversified Industries Group where he was responsible for origination, deal structuring, due diligence, and execution of corporate lending transactions in Canada and Internationally. Prior to joining BMO, Mr. Penelas spent four years in the Leverage Finance Group at CIT Corporate

Finance, where he was a Director responsible for the origination, due diligence and execution of leveraged buyout supporting Canadian and US Financial Sponsors.

Mr. Penelas holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester.

With more than 22 years of experience in corporate restructuring, Mr. French joined Fiera Private Debt as Managing Director, Special Loan Management in 2021 to support the investment team on non-performing loan management, credit structuring and special situations. Mr. French is a member of the Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt, Mr. French was an Assistant Vice President at Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) where he led BDC’s Business Restructuring Unit for the Ontario and Atlantic Regions. In this role, he was responsible for strategy development and risk management related to special loans in the bank’s portfolio. Previous to this role, Mr. French was a senior practitioner in Ernst & Young’s Corporate Restructuring Group. For more than 15 years, he advised lenders, management and other stakeholders in Canadian and cross-border restructuring matters including restructuring strategy, refinancing, business viability assessment, business plan development and the preservation and enhancement of stakeholder value.

Mr. French holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chartered Accountancy and a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo. He is a CPA, CA as well as a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP) and a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT).

Matthew Tokaruk joined Fiera Private Debt as Director, Special Loan Management, in 2022. In his role, Matthew supports the management of non-performing loans and other special situations. Mr. Tokaruk brings over ten years of professional experience in business restructuring, financial institution oversight, and financial services.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt, Mr. Tokaruk was a Senior Analyst in BDC’s Business Restructuring Unit, where he worked closely with business owners and their senior management to help guide their organizations through financial, operational, and other unique challenges. Matthew held previous roles at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRAO), Canada Life Assurance Company, and Grant Thornton LLP.

Matthew Tokaruk holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) from the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. He is a CPA, CA, and CFA Charterholder.

As a Senior Director, Mr. Bhardwaj participates in all aspects of Fiera Private Debt’s investment activities with a primary focus on origination, diligence, and monitoring of investments.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in July 2019, Varun Bhardwaj worked at Integrated Asset Management Corp. with the Private Debt Group since 2015. Previously, he spent two years in pension consulting, advising defined benefit and defined contribution plans on capital market expectations, pension liabilities, and asset management.

Mr. Bhardwaj holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Wilfrid Laurier University, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.

Elliott Venessy joined Fiera Private Debt in 2019 and became a member of the Corporate Private Debt Team in 2021. As a Director, he is responsible for origination, deal structuring, financial analysis, and portfolio management. Previously, he held the position of Associate Director, where he was responsible for supporting the team in analyzing new financial transactions, assessing risk and credit structure, and monitoring the portfolio.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt, Mr. Venessy spent three years in alternative investments as a Financial Analyst with exempt market dealer Quintal & Co. Financial Services. In this role, his responsibilities included financial modeling of renewable energy projects, as well as managing client and investor relationships.

Elliott Venessy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, and a Master’s degree in Applied Finance with a specialization in Portfolio Management from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Reda Tahlaoui joined Fiera Private Debt in August 2022. As an Associate Director, he is responsible for deal structuring, financial analysis, as well as portfolio management.

Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt, Mr. Tahlaoui worked at Laurentian Bank Financial Group as part of the Business Development Team. Previously, he spent six years at the European Investment Bank, where he was responsible for the analysis, due diligence and monitoring of private debt investments, and was also assisting in origination and co-investment efforts. Earlier in his career, Mr. Tahlaoui worked for four years in multiple investment banks advising clients on ECM/DCM mandates in emerging markets.

Reda Tahlaoui holds a Master of Science in Global Banking and Finance from Regent’s University in London (United Kingdom).

Sean Grady joined Fiera Corporate Private Debt as a Senior Director in 2023 and is focused on the entire investment lifecycle from originating high-quality mid-market long-term loans, credit underwriting, and overseeing a portfolio of clients across Canada.

Sean Grady has 18 years of Banking and Corporate Lending experience and brings extensive experience in structuring cash flow transactions and underwriting both senior and junior debt financing solutions. Prior to joining Fiera, Mr. Grady worked at Centurion Financial Trust a smaller alternative private debt provider for over 3 and a half years as a Senior Director. Previously, Mr. Grady worked at Scotiabank for 14 years and held various management roles managing a portfolio of bank supplier relationships with a focus of loss mitigation. His time at the bank included 4.5 years with Roynat Capital (a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank) as a Senior Associate where he managed and grew a portfolio of clients by tailoring long-term capital solutions for mid-sized companies in Canada.

Sean Grady received a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) with a specialization in Finance from the University of Ottawa.