Alexander Team

Michael Corcelli, Managing Member

Mr. Corcelli began his career in the private wealth management side of the business at UBS. In addition to helping the firm grow their assets under management, Michael was responsible for portfolio management and tactical asset allocation for private clients. After leaving UBS, Michael formed Alexander Alternative Capital, a global macro hedge fund that started with shorting sub-prime mortgage companies. Additionally, Michael is the Founder and Chairman of the Florida Alternative Investment Association (FLAIA), a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization which includes some of the most successful hedge funds and largest family offices both national and internationally. In 2012, Michael led an initiative to double the Florida State Board of Administration’s use of alternative investments from 10% to 20% freeing up roughly 18 billion dollars of new capital for hedge funds, private equity and venture capital. Michael earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Miami.

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Brian Valero, Head of Marketing

Prior to joining Alexander Alternative Capital, Mr. Valero worked as a Senior Marketing Analyst for Ramius, the $13 billion global alternative investment management business of Cowen Group. In his role as Analyst, Mr. Valero was responsible for formulating marketing materials, researching alternative investment managers and maintaining client relations for the firm’s hedge fund and private equity products. Prior to Ramius, Brian worked as a Business Development Analyst for Lyxor Asset Management, where he was responsible for opening investor accounts and maintaining client relationships. Brian also completed two summer internships as a Operations and Compliance intern for Hencorp’s broker-dealer and Marketing intern for Permal Asset Management, the $20 billion fund of hedge funds firm. Brian earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Political Science from Columbia University in the city of New York.

Rainford Knight, Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Knight’s experience spans both academia and industry. His academic career started as an Assistant Professor of Finance at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) in Madison, New Jersey and then was a mergers and acquisitions analyst in the financial services industry. In academia, Dr. Knight is a member of the finance faculty at Florida Atlantic University and was a member of the finance faculty at the University of Miami. His PhD is from FAU in the area of IPO pricing, distribution and market behavior. In industry, Dr. Knight’s background is varied: he was a member of a team that helped a government restructure its financial sector after a sovereign debt crisis, has been the CIO and founder of a fund of hedge funds and he has been a consultant/advisor to a number of companies ranging from early stage to mature operating businesses. Additionally, Dr. Knight is a regular speaker/moderator at hedge fund industry conferences on a variety of topics such as operational due diligence, counter party risk and cost of regulation on alternatives. Currently, Dr. Knight is a managing partner and a co-founder of the Florida Institute of Finance, an operational risk and due diligence consulting firm that also provides training, and decision support through it Fin-tech/Reg-tech software platform called EDNA.

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Ted Izatt, Project Lead

Mr. Izatt was the highest ranked Institutional Investor All-American fixed income analyst for energy for six of the seven years prior to 2008. Institutional Investor highlighted his outstanding credentials, including his ability to move markets, his significant relationships within the oil and gas industry and with investors, and his ability to see beyond financials to truly understand the company management. He was an Independent Outside Director of Forbes Energy Services Ltd. and served on the audit committee from 2012-2017. Mr. Izatt also served as a member of the board of directors of Quantum Reservoir Impact's internal operations. Prior to retiring in 2014, he had served as the Chief Investment Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Quantum Reservoir Impact. Mr. Izatt was a Senior Managing Director in the highly rated Bear Stearns’ fixed income research department from 2004 to 2008, where he covered the Global High Grade, Crossover Energy and Basic Materials industries. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Izatt was a Senior Vice President for Lehman Brothers and was responsible for coverage of oil and gas on a global basis, serving as Fixed Income Analyst at Barclays Capital’s Research Division. Prior to this from 1992-1997, Mr. Izatt worked for Moody’s Investors Service. His final assignment at Moody’s was Managing Director of the global oil and gas group, with responsibility for the ratings of oil and gas companies and energy-related project financing throughout the world. He also covered project finance and numerous companies including integrated oils, exploration and production, oil services, and drilling. Ted played a key role in establishing Moody’s analytic framework for rating project financing above the foreign currency ceilings. Earlier in his career, Mr. Izatt worked on originating, structuring and negotiating investment and commercial banking transactions for international energy corporations and domestic U.S. pipeline companies at Barclay’s de Zoete Wedd/Barclay’s Bank PLC. Mr. Izatt holds both an M.B.A. degree and a B.A. degree in journalism from Brigham Young University and spent two years in Japan doing volunteer work.