The Team

Levoyd Robinson co-founded CFI Partners in 2005.  He is responsible for firm-wide management and monitors overall portfolio construction and risk management.  Prior to forming CFIP, Levoyd was a Managing Director at Citadel Investment Group, LLC where he was the head of Global Private Debt and was responsible for managing teams in the US and London that made mezzanine and special situations debt investments, including high-yield and distressed loans, asset-based and structured financings, and cash and synthetic CLOs and CDOs.  He also was responsible for structuring, negotiating, and credit selection for $3.8 billion of cash and synthetic CDOs comprised of leveraged loans, investment grade, and high-yield credit default swaps.  Further, he managed activist distressed positions and served on several ad hoc creditor committees.  Prior to Citadel, Levoyd was a Senior Managing Director at PPM America in the Special Investment Group.  He started his career at First Chicago Corp, where he ultimately rose to become the Portfolio Manager of its proprietary distressed trading group.  Levoyd earned a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, Investment, and Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University, magna cum laude.  Levoyd is a CFA® Charterholder.  He is very civically engaged and serves on several nonprofit boards, further he is a member of the Federal Reserve’s Bank of Chicago’s Working Group on Financial Markets and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Eric Baer is a founding principal of CFI Partners.  Prior to CFIP, Eric worked at Citadel Investment Group, LLC, where he was a Fundamental Research Sector Head in cable, media, and telecom; and before that, a Senior Analyst in distressed and special situations.  Prior to Citadel, Eric worked for the Bank of Montreal as a Distressed Securities Analyst, at Federated Investors as a Corporate Bond Analyst and at First Chicago Corp. as a Federal Funds Trader.  Eric earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana University and his Master in Business Administration with honors from the University of Chicago.  He is a CFA® Charterholder.  Eric is a member of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago in the Health and Human Services Commission and serves as the President of the Philly Baer Foundation.

David is a founding principal of CFI Partners. He shares responsibility with Eric Baer for portfolio construction and management of all private debt and high-yield portfolios. Prior to CFIP, David worked for Citadel Investment Group, LLC as a Fundamental Research Sector Head for the industrial and material sector and a Senior Analyst in distressed and special situations. Before Citadel, he was a Vice President for PPM America’s Special Investment Group. He began his career at First Chicago Corporation as a Corporate Finance Associate. David earned a Bachelor of Science magna cum laude from the University of Illinois and his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a CFA^® Charterholder.

Sean is a founding principal of CFI Partners. He is responsible for managing the Fundamental Credit Research and Analysis Group for the Firm. Prior to CFIP, Sean worked at Citadel Investment Group, LLC, where he was a Portfolio Manager in the Credit Group, Head of Credit Research in London, and a Senior Analyst. Prior to Citadel he worked for the Bank of Montreal as a Distressed Securities Analyst; he started his finance career at First Chicago Corporation. Sean obtained his Bachelor of Science with highest honors in Finance from the University of Illinois, and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Chicago. He is a CFA^® Charterholder.

Mr. Couri co-founded CFI Partners. Prior to forming CFIP, Mr. Couri was a Managing Director at Citadel Investment Group, LLC; he was the founder of Citadel’s distressed investment and fundamental credit group and was responsible for overall portfolio construction and risk management for Citadel’s multi-billion-dollar fundamental credit portfolios. He was also a member of the firm-wide Portfolio Management Committee. Before Citadel, Mr. Couri was a Portfolio Manager at the Bank of Montreal, and he began his career at First Chicago Corp. where he was an Assistant Portfolio Manager/ Senior Counsel & Legal Analyst. Mr. Couri earned a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from the University of Illinois. Mr. Couri has been involved in several educational charities as a board member and board chair.

Mr. Marshall retired as associate director of research, director of the financial markets group and a senior vice president in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in March 2018. Prior to this appointment in July 2010, he was senior vice president of the financial markets group and, previously, a vice president and economic advisor in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In that position, Marshall served as the team leader for the department's macroeconomics group. His research focused on linkages between financial markets, financial institutions, and macroeconomic performance. Before coming to the Federal Reserve System, Marshall was on the faculty of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He also served as adjunct professor of finance at the University of Chicago and was an associate editor for Macroeconomic Dynamics. Marshall received a B.A. from Yale University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Mr. Walter is the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Partners and Chairman and controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also serves as a trustee or director of several organizations including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Security Benefit Corporation and the EquiTrust Life holding company. Mr. Walter grew up in Iowa and received a B.S. from Creighton University and a J.D. from Northwestern University.

Stephon Barnes is responsible for all non-investment functions of the firm.  Prior to CFIP, Stephon worked for Cyrus Capital Partners as the Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Operations. At Cyrus, he was a member of the Operating Committee, managed vendor relationships, and oversaw portfolio finance and all post-trade functions.  Stephon began his career at Brencourt Advisors, LLC where he was a Vice President and the Head of Operations and Trading- Middle Office.  He earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from Temple University.  Stephon serves on the Board of Governors for St. John’s University; he is an Executive Board Member of the LaSalle Academy and a member of the Board of Trustees for Team First.

David oversees CFIP’s strategic use of technology, including the research and development of its financial engineering and risk management platforms, and he also oversees the data science team.  David has over 29 years of experience using his scientific background to develop technologies, 20 years of which were in the financial services industry.  Prior to his tenure at CFIP, David worked at Citadel LLC for 4 years, in a variety of research labs, and an internet start-up.  He holds a Master of Science in Media Technology from MIT and a double Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in Astrophysics and Physics.  David is a member of MENSA® and volunteers as a Mentor Angel at Imerman Angels.

Steve is responsible for comprehensive portfolio optimization and risk management across the firm’s investment strategies utilizing the firm’s proprietary, integrated risk system. Prior to CFIP, Steve worked at Bank of America, Ritchie Capital Management, and Saliba Partners. Steven received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Chanel is responsible for business development, investor relations, marketing, and strategic communications for the firm.  Prior to joining CFIP, she worked in business development for GCM Grosvenor.  Chanel holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.  She is engaged civically, serving on several nonprofit boards. Chanel has received multiple awards for her civic engagement including the 2020 Association of Fundraising Professionals Annual Faces of Philanthropy “Emerging Philanthropist” Award, the 2016 Crain’s Chicago Business “20 in the 20s” designation, and the 2022 Black Woman’s Expo’s “Phenomenal Woman” Award.

Gavin provides oversight for all operational functions supporting the Firm’s active strategies, including, but not limited to, accounting, portfolio metrics, vehicle structuring, and trade settlement.  Gavin has over 14 years of experience in financial accounting at CFIP, and previously worked at KPMG.  He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business with a major in Accountancy and a minor in Finance from Miami University.  Gavin is a CFA® Charterholder.

Perry oversees public and private equity sustainable investing strategies and the integration of ESG best practices across the Firm’s equity and fixed-income portfolios.  Prior to CFIP, Perry was a Managing Director and Enhanced Equities Portfolio Manager at Guggenheim Partners, where he managed over $500 million across Guggenheim’s flagship mutual funds in equity derivative strategies.  He started his career at Goldman Sachs where he was a Global Macro Portfolio Manager and Vice President.  Perry earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Georgetown University and his Master of Business Administration in Econometrics and Statistics from the University of Chicago.  Perry is a charterholder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Market Technician (CMT), Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst (CAIA), and EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA) designations. Perry has also completed the CFA Institute’s Certification in ESG Investing, the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) certification, and is an IFRS Fundamentals of Sustainable Accounting (FSA) credential holder. The World Economic Forum has recognized Perry as a Young Global Leader in 2022. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), and an alumnus of the Robert Toigo Fellowship, which recognized Perry as a 40 Under 40 honoree in 2015.  Perry currently serves on the boards of the Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic Chapter, the Smithsonian’s D.C. Regional Council, and the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum.

Curtis leads the Firm’s business development activities for institutional investors and investment consultants across CFI Partners’ investment strategies.  Prior to joining CFIP, Curtis was a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group responsible for business development and investor relations. Prior to Carlyle, Curtis held similar institutional roles at Schroder Investment Management, BlackRock, and Prudential Investment Management.  Curtis earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Rochester, and Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Michigan.

Todd oversees the legal functions at CFIP and has over 25 years of experience in fixed-income strategies.  Prior to CFIP, he held the general counsel and chief compliance position at several credit-focused investment advisers, worked in the Credit Products Group at Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, and worked at several large law firms in structured credit.  Todd earned a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Bates College.

Jabari is Head of Public Investment Grade with responsibility for Core and Core+ portfolio construction and management.  Prior to CFIP, Jabari was the Chief Investment Officer for the City of Chicago, where he was responsible for the in-house management of a $8.8 Billion portfolio of investment grade corporates, ABS, treasuries, agencies, municipals and cash.  Prior to the City of Chicago Jabari held roles at Northern Trust Corporation (Portfolio Manager), Bank of New York Mellon (MBS/ Structured Product Analyst) and Allstate Investments (Fixed Income Specialist/ Quantitative Analyst).  He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin and his Master of Science in Finance-Financial Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.  He also obtained a certificate in financial trading and analysis from the Illinois Institute of Technology.  Jabari serves on the Chicago Regional Advisory Board for Bottom Line.

Joe is responsible for ensuring the Firm adheres to government regulations, legal obligations, and internal compliance policies.  He has over 20 years of experience working in legal, compliance, and operations for Registered Investment Advisers and Broker Dealers. Prior to CFIP, he held the Head of Operations and Chief Compliance Officer position for AMP Capital Investors US and the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer position for Brookfield Investment Management. He earned his Juris Doctorate from DePaul University and his Bachelor of Science from Indiana University.

Evan is responsible for underwriting and monitoring investments within the healthcare and financial service sectors. As an Investment Associate, Evan develops investment theses, conducts industry research, assists with portfolio management, and contributes to investment committee discussions. Prior to CFIP, Evan held an internship at CFIP. Evan received a Bachelor of Business Administration, summa cum laude, in Finance from Howard University. Evan is a CFA^® Level III candidate

Jessica is a member of the data science team and shares responsibility for data manipulation, creation, and development of data-related analytical tools for the firm. Prior to this role, Jessica was an investment analyst for CFIP. Prior to CFIP, Jessica held an internship at CFIP. She received a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in Finance with a minor in Data Analytics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, earning college honors and high distinction.

Danny is responsible for underwriting and monitoring investments within the automotive industry. As an investment analyst, Danny develops investment theses, conducts industry research, assists with portfolio management, and contributes to investment committee discussions. Before joining CFIP, Danny was an intern at CFIP. He received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois, earning highest honors.

Rachel shares responsibility for investor relations, business development, and production of Firm marketing materials.  Prior to CFIP, she worked in business development and client services at GCM Grosvenor.  Rachel earned a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University with concentrations in Marketing, Finance and Pre-Law.

Ahmed assists with internal and external reporting requirements, risk analysis, and general maintenance related to structured products. Prior to joining CFIP, Ahmed spent time as a VAT Consultant with Ernst and Young’s Indirect Tax Practice. Ahmed received a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Government from Ohio Wesleyan University.  

Cindy directly supports the Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer of the firm and assists the other partners and analysts; she also shares responsibility for general office management.  Prior to CFIP, Cindy worked for Citadel Investment Group, Lehman Brothers, and others.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Northern Illinois University.

Aurelio is responsible for underwriting and monitoring investments within the packaging, retail, food, and gaming/casino sectors.  As an investment analyst, Aurelio develops investment theses, conducts industry research, assists with portfolio management, and contributes to investment committee discussions.  Before joining CFIP, Aurelio had internships at CFIP, Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC, and Heitman, LLC.  Aurelio received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He is an alumnus of the Academy Group and sits on it’s Alumni Committee as Treasurer.  

Erin oversees the Firm’s financial reporting and daily accounting operations.  Before joining CFIP, she worked as a financial services tax manager at EY. Erin earned a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Dan supports and manages the firm’s technical infrastructure.  He has over 15 years of experience working in IT, including time at TransMarket Group and Optiver. Dan honorably served in the United States Marines Corps for four years.

Komi is the Director of Operations at CFIP. He has over a decade of experience in operational functions including trade settlements, asset valuations, and data analytics. Prior to joining CFIP, he worked as Operations Managers and later as Senior Strategy Associate as LGIM America. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Missouri – Columbia.

Jake shares responsibility for the ongoing administration of collateralized loan obligations including reporting procedures, daily operational requests, and project-based responsibilities.  Prior to CFIP, he worked at PwC.  Jake received a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northern Illinois University.

Jabari is responsible for underwriting and monitoring investments within the technology and software sectors. As an Investment Associate, Jabari develops investment theses, conducts industry research, assists with portfolio management, and contributes to investment committee discussions. Prior to CFIP, Jabari held an internship at CFIP. Jabari received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana University.

Kevin is part of the Operations Team and shares responsibility for building out the Firm’s separately managed accounts.  Before joining CFIP, Kevin worked at PwC.  He received a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.

Farukh Sarkulov is a member of the data science team and develops various data analytics and programming tools for internal operations and analysis. Prior to CFIP, Farukh held internships at the Pritzker Family Foundation and the Centre for Financial Accountability.  Farukh received a Master of Applied Science in Applied Mathematics from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from DePauw University.

Kandice is responsible for underwriting and monitoring investments within the industrial, chemical & telecommunications sectors. As an Investment Associate, Kandice develops investment theses, conducts industry research, assists with portfolio management, and contributes to investment committee discussions. Prior to CFIP, Kandice held an internship at CFIP. Kandice earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Howard University.

Dominique shares responsibilities for accounts payable and office maintenance.  Prior to CFIP, she worked as a bookkeeper for the Free Lunch Academy, an organization that promotes nonviolence amongst Chicago’s youth.  Dominique obtained an Associate in Arts in Early Childhood Education from Olive-Harvey College, and she is an alumnus of the Academy Group.

Dylan Thorpe shares responsibility for the execution of collateralized loan obligation structures and oversees accounting, settlement, and general operational processes related to structured products.  Before joining CFIP, he worked as an Audit Senior Associate at Deloitte.  Dylan earned a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University with concentrations in Accounting and Finance and a minor in Spanish.

Bill focuses on measuring risk in the fixed income portfolio. Bill has more than 10 years of experience in modeling, analyzing, and managing fixed-income assets and 10+ years of actuarial experience. He obtained a Master of Science in Finance from Boston College and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Clark University. Bill is a CFA^® charterholder.