First Eagle Alternative Credit, an alternative credit manager for both direct lending and broadly syndicated investments with approximately $21 billion in assets under management, announced promotions within its Tradable Credit and Direct Lending investment teams.
Robert Hickey has been promoted to Deputy Chief Investment Officer - Tradable Credit to help oversee this over $15 billion business unit’s operations and investment decisions. Hickey joined the firm in 2004 and was formerly Senior Portfolio Manager on First Eagle Alternative Credit's Tradable Credit team. He is a Senior Managing Director and will continue to serve on the Global Investment Committee and on the Investment Committee for Tradable Credit and will report to James Fellows, Chief Investment Officer, FEAC.
“Bob has made significant contributions to our investment process and performance, and I am confident in his leadership ability as he takes on these additional responsibilities in support of the growth of our tradable credit line of business,” said Fellows.
Michelle Handy has been promoted to Deputy Chief Investment Officer - Direct Lending to help oversee the firm’s lending operations and investment decisions of the almost $6 billion direct lending platform. Handy joined the firm in 2016 and was previously Managing Director and the Head of Portfolio and Underwriting on First Eagle’s Direct Lending platform. She will continue to serve as a member of the Investment Committee for Direct Lending and of the firm’s Operating Committee reporting to Chris Flynn, President, First Eagle Alternative Credit.
“Michelle is a key contributor to the growth and success of our direct lending operations and is valued for her depth of experience in credit underwriting to position First Eagle as a trusted capital provider to middle market and sponsor-backed companies,” said Flynn. “This promotion recognizes the hard work and significant impact Michelle and the team have had in building our direct lending platform.”
Garrett Stephen has been promoted to Co-Head of Origination and Structuring. Stephen joined the firm in 2012 and was previously an originator on the firm’s Direct Lending team, responsible for origination, structuring underwriting, portfolio monitoring and capital raising. Stephen is a Managing Director and serves as a rotating member of the Direct Lending team’s investment committee covering loans in healthcare, information services and technology. Stephen will now report to Flynn.
“Garrett brings a unique background including turnaround restructuring experience coupled with extensive work as a credit investor, which has uniquely positioned him to be a market leader in origination,” Flynn said. “In this new role we’re excited about Garrett’s leadership in origination and portfolio management to further drive the firm’s performance.”
Howard Wu has been promoted to Co-Head of Origination and Structuring. Wu joined the firm in 2007 and was previously an originator on the firm’s Direct Lending team, responsible for originating, structuring, and monitoring portfolio investments. Wu is a Managing Director and serves on the Direct Lending investment committee as a rotating member covering loans in information services, technology, and healthcare. Wu will continue to report to Flynn.
“Having joined during the firm’s inception in 2007, Howard’s contribution as a long-term partner, strong underwriter and team mentor has helped drive the growth of the Direct Lending platform and development of talent,” Flynn continued. “In this new role Howard will co-lead the origination team and continue to be an impactful contributor and leader.”
“These promotions are a result of a long-running mentoring effort within our Direct Lending team led by Managing Director and Head of Direct Origination, Patrick McAuliffe, and we are proud to recognize these individuals’ accomplishments,” said Flynn. “Howard and Garrett have been great partners of mine for over 10 years, and we are confident about the continued growth of our business with their expanded leadership, while creating opportunity for both to continue to impact the investment decisions of our almost $6 billion Direct Lending platform.”