Ron Carapezzi is President & CEO of FirstLight Financial Corporation. A 24-year GE veteran, he was made a corporate officer in 2004. Ron was President & CEO, GE Commercial & Industrial Finance. In addition, Ron led four other GE business units, including Global Sponsor Finance, US Equipment Finance, Bank Loans and Capital Funding. Ron began his GE career in the Financial Management Program (FMP), taking on assignments in the U.S. and the Middle East. He holds a B.A. in Finance from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.

Michele Aguas is an Operations Analyst at FirstLight. Michele joined FirstLight from GE where she worked for over nine years, most recently as Team Lead in the Operations Department of Corporate Financial Services. She has also held operations positions at Commercial Equipment Finance. Michele holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Villanova University.

Eric Berwin is a Senior Vice President on our Bank Loans & Trading team. He comes to us from the GE Bank Loan Group where he served as a Vice President of portfolio and underwriting for four years, covering various industries including automotive. While at GE, Eric focused on investments in both the Par and Distressed markets, with extensive experience representing GE in workouts and restructurings of troubled credits. Eric’s previous experience includes working at Deutsche Bank in the leveraged finance and financial sponsors group where he originated and executed high yield and leveraged loan transactions. He began his career at Ernst & Young. Eric, a C.P.A., holds a B.S. in Accounting from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from Yale University.

Phil Carlson is Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of FirstLight. Phil has 27 years of commercial lending and leasing experience. Phil was with GE Capital for 14 years and held a series of positions in sales, sales management and general management, most recently serving as Senior Managing Director and North American Sales Manager for GE Commercial Finance, Commercial & Industrial Finance. Prior to GE, he was Director of Syndications for John Hancock Leasing Corporation. In addition, Phil started a leasing company for First NH Banks in Boston, Mass., which was acquired by Bank of Ireland, and was a senior transactor for Integrated Resources, Inc. in New York. Phil holds a M.B.A. from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. and a B.A. from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Ross Catlin is a Managing Director at FirstLight, responsible for providing our products and services to the private equity sponsor community. Ross comes to FirstLight from the Bank of Ireland's Merchant Banking/Leveraged Finance Group, where he most recently served as a Managing Director. His previous experience includes a similar position at BNP Paribas, as well as an M&A advisory role with Ernst & Young’s Corporate Finance Group. He holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, and a BA in Economics from Lafayette College.

Rebecca Chandler is a Senior Financial Analyst at FirstLight. After working as an auditor with KPMG, she joined GE Commercial Finance in 2002. Most recently, she served as a Finance Manager in the Private Equity section of GE Asset Management. Rebecca, a CPA, holds a B.S from Trinity College.

Paul Chisholm is a Vice President at FirstLight. He joins FirstLight from GE Commercial Finance where he served as an Assistant Vice President for Special Situations. Paul’s background includes working at Lehman Brothers and ExxonMobil. In addition, he served as an officer in the United States Army Reserves for seven years. He is a CFA charterholder and holds a B.S. from The University of Notre Dame, a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Matthew R. Cutri is a Senior Vice President at FirstLight. Matthew comes to FirstLight from GE Commercial Finance where, over the past ten years, he has held various origination and finance roles. Most recently Matthew was a Vice President within GE’s Bank Loan Group. Matthew began his career in GE Capital’s Financial Management Program and he has also held various origination roles within GE Corporate Lending and GE Commercial & Industrial Finance. Matthew graduated from Clarkson University with a B.S. in Marketing.

Anthony DiGiacomo is Senior Managing Director & General Counsel. He joins FirstLight with 16 years of legal experience, most recently from GE Commercial Finance, where he served as General Counsel for various GE businesses, including GE Healthcare Financial Services and GE Commercial & Industrial Finance. Prior to GE, Anthony worked in both the Banking and the Bankruptcy groups at the law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett. Anthony holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.S. from the John J. College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He has also served for five years as a Sergeant/Police Officer with the New York Police Department.

Debra Dorin is FirstLight’s VP of Operations. With over 17 years of experience in operations and accounting, she joins FirstLight from GE Energy Financial Services, where as Manager of Operations her team was responsible for the comprehensive deal administration of a $13 billion portfolio of commercial loans, leases and equity investments. Debra holds a B.B.A. from Pace University in New York.

Phil Guerin is Managing Director of origination for FirstLight. Phil has 11 years of finance and sales experience. He spent the last seven years at GE Commercial Finance, with sales roles in Capital Funding and Commercial and Industrial Finance. Phil began his career with Price Waterhouse and is a CPA. Phil holds a B.S. in accounting from Central Connecticut State University.

Terry Harris is Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer. With 19 years of credit experience, he most recently was the head of the Telecom, Media & Technology Finance Group for Silver Point Capital. Prior to Silver Point, Terry served as Chief Risk Officer for GE Commercial Finance’s Global Media and Communications business. Terry has also held senior credit positions at Bank of America Commercial Finance and Transamerica Business Credit. He began his career with four years at Price Waterhouse. Terry, a C.P.A., holds a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A. from Florida State University.

Michael Hensinger is a Senior Managing Director and head of Capital Markets for FirstLight. He has over 17 years experience in corporate finance including cash flow lending, capital markets, structured finance and portfolio acquisitions. Most recently he spent seven years with GE Commercial Finance in various leadership roles including Chief Commercial Officer for GE’s Corporate Lending business where he was responsible for strategy, marketing, research, and industry specialization. Prior roles include sales management, capital markets, and various origination roles focused on business development through the bank channel and intermediary marketplace. He holds a B.A. from Manhattanville College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University.

Penko Ivanov is Senior Vice President and Controller at FirstLight. He joins FirstLight from GE Capital Solutions, where most recently he was Global Controller – Equipment Finance Services. Penko’s previous experience includes working at PepsiCo and Ernst & Young. Penko received a B.A. in Finance and Accounting and an M.B.A. from the University of South Florida.

Christopher Jacobs is Senior Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer at FirstLight. He has over 30 years experience in the accounting and finance fields. Previously, Chris has served as Chief Financial Officer for GE Commercial Equipment Financing. Prior to this, he held positions of Controller, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer for Financial Guaranty Insurance Company. He began his career at Coopers and Lybrand where he earned his C.P.A. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from New York University.

Thomas Libretto is a Senior Associate on the Bank Loans & Trading team. Thomas joined FirstLight from Bear, Sterns & Co. Inc., where most recently he served as an Analyst in Strategic Finance. He began his career as a Management Analyst at BearingPoint, Inc. Thomas holds a B.B.A. in Finance from James Madison University.

Mike McKay is a Senior Vice President at FirstLight. He joins FirstLight from LightPoint Capital Management, where he was a Director leading the investment and portfolio management for senior secured institutional loans for industries including technology, media, telecommunications, finance and insurance. Mike’s previous experience includes 15 years at GE Commercial Finance, where he held positions of increasing responsibility in the Corporate Lending Group, eventually becoming the Chief Risk Manager for the Midwest Region. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

Steve Montross is a Senior Managing Director at FirstLight. He has over 25 years of commercial finance experience, most recently as Sales Alliance Leader for GE Corporate Lending. Steve’s other GE roles include Managing Director & Region Manager for Commercial & Industrial Finance, Managing Director & Region Manager for Global Sponsor Finance, and other leadership positions in GE’s Corporate Financial Services and Structured Finance businesses. Steve began his career at Continental Bank where he held increasingly responsible positions in the Energy lending, Special Assets and Capital Markets groups of the bank. Steve, a C.P.A., holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University and a B.B.A. from The University of Michigan.

Saurin Shah is a Vice President on the Corporate Finance team at First Light. Saurin comes to FirstLight from GE where he spent 10 years in various roles including process engineering, manufacturing, technical sales, corporate audit and six-sigma quality management for GE Plastics and GE Energy. For past 5 years, Saurin has been underwriting leverage finance transactions for GE Commercial Finance. Saurin holds a B.S. in Material Science and Engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A from NYU Stern School of Business.

Jason Van Dussen is a Managing Director of Capital Markets and head of loan distribution. Prior to joining FirstLight, Jason worked eleven years at GE, where most recently he was a Senior Vice President leading their middle market loan distribution efforts. Jason graduated with honors from Michigan State University with a B.S in Finance and also holds a M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.