Ares Capital Corporation announced that Jana Markowicz was appointed as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this newly created role, Ms. Markowicz will also serve as COO of Ares Management’s (“Ares”) U.S. Direct Lending strategy where she will collaborate with the U.S. Direct Lending Co-Heads and Investment Committee members in the management of the team and strategy.

Ms. Markowicz joined Ares in 2005 as a member of the U.S. Direct Lending investment team, supporting in the negotiation and origination of private credit transactions. She has been instrumental in the growth of Ares’ U.S. Direct Lending strategy, serving as Partner, Head of Product Management and Investor Relations for this strategy and will continue to lead in this capacity as part of her new role. Prior to joining Ares 18 years ago, Ms. Markowicz started her career in Leveraged Finance at Citigroup, formerly Salomon Smith Barney, where she focused on financings for companies across a broad range of industries. She holds a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania in Engineering, with a concentration in Economic and Financial Systems.

“Jana is a proven leader on our U.S. Direct Lending team with extensive knowledge of our origination, underwriting and portfolio management process,” said Kipp deVeer, Chief Executive Officer of Ares Capital. “In her new role as COO, we believe Jana’s experience and strategic insights will help us further strengthen our market leading position and enable us to continue generating attractive long-term value for our shareholders.”