Ali Abbas Alam is Asia Head of Leverage Finance Capital Markets, DCM and Private Credit, based in Singapore at Jefferies Financial Group.

Ali has more than 29 years of experience in Private Credit, Investment Banking, M&A, Capital Markets and Corporate C-Suite roles.

Ali joined Jefferies from Ares Capital Management, where he focused on private credit transactions in South East Asia. Prior to Ares, Ali was with Credit Suisse for 16 years in Singapore. He was founding member and co-head of the Credit Suisse Asia Financing Group.

Andrew Schantz joined Bain Capital in 2023. He is a Partner on the Credit team.

Prior to joining Bain Capital, Andrew was a Managing Director with CPP Investment’s APAC Credit team and an Executive Director with Tor Investment Management. He began his career with Citi’s Special Situations and Credit Portfolio teams in New York.Andrew received an MS from Boston College, a BS from Florida State University, and is a CFA Charterholder. 

Jason Phillips (Singapore) joined KKR in 2018 and is a Director on the Asia Credit team. He is responsible for the Asia Pacific Sponsor Finance business and the Australia and New Zealand Credit business. Prior to relocating to Asia Paci�ic in early 2023, Mr. Phillips was a senior member of the US Corporate Private Credit team in New York. Before joining KKR, Mr. Phillips was an associate on Deutsche Bank’s private credit team in both New York and London. Mr. Phillips holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University.

JD joined Deutsche Bank in 2017 and runs sales and distribution for Deutsche Bank’s Strategic Investment Group (SIG) in Asia. Over the past seven years, the team has been involved in multiple landmark transactions across the region with JD taking responsibility for managing the relationships that the SIG has with co-investors and partners relevant to those trades. SIG has a broad mandate which spans special situation direct lending, trading secondary distressed debt and fund and portfolio financing. The team has a proven track record of working with partners to source risk, invest, drive outcomes and effect profitable exits from trades.

He writes a regular market commentary which serves as a window into what the team is focused on and where there might be investment opportunities. Reach out if you’d like to be on the distribution for that.

Kathleen Aka leads Weil’s Asia Restructuring practice. Based in Hong Kong, she has over 20 years of experience advising both debtors and creditors in relation to contentious and non-contentious restructuring and insolvency matters in the Asia-Pacific region. Dually qualified in Hong Kong and New South Wales, Australia, Kathleen is skilled in guiding clients through the most challenging and complex processes of financial restructuring, creditor enforcement, formal insolvency, insolvency litigation, distressed M&A, and distressed secondary debt trading.

Kathleen’s diverse experience and comprehensive skillset straddling both contentious and non-contentious work have earned her recognition as one of the top restructuring lawyers in Asia. Kathleen was named a “Growth Driver” in the 2023-2024 A-List Lawyers by China Business Law Journal, an “Asia Future Leader” by IFLR in 2021, and a “Next Generation Partner” by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific from 2020 to 2024, amongst the others. Kathleen has a reputation for her unique capability in advising a wide range of clients across the full gamut of distressed situations, including bondholders, credit and distressed investment funds, banks, insolvency practitioners, shareholders, and distressed corporations. Her industry experience covers banking and financial services, insurance and reinsurance, health, infrastructure, energy, mining and agriculture, shipping and transportation, retail, and property.

Mr Wong is an Executive Director in Argyle Street Management Limited. Mr Wong is specialize in distress and private credit investment in Asia. He previously worked at KPMG and FTI Consulting in Hong Kong. Mr Wong is a Fellow member of the HKICPA. He holds a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology, a Juris Doctor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a Master course in Financial Engineering from Stanford University.

Rod brings with him an impressive tenure of over 37 years in the field of financial advisory. His extensive and varied experience encompasses numerous pivotal roles including CEO, member of the Executive Committees, Advisor, Director, and Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO).

Throughout his career, Rod has advised companies, boards, creditors, and stakeholders across the Asia Pacific region on complex financial and operational challenges. His judgement, practical approach, and focus on consensual outcomes have made him a highly sought-after advisor for situations requiring decisive leadership, stakeholder alignment, and value preservation.

Prior to assuming his current position, Rod was one of Asia’s most respected insolvency practitioners, with a track record of delivering returns to creditors on average of 60 cents to the dollar on his assignments. In response to strong market demand for his services, Rod now focuses on earlier-stage, company-side mandates, including board roles, Chief Restructuring Officer appointments, and special advisory roles, where he can help companies stabilise, restructure and reposition for success. His approach is centred on achieving greater returns than a formal appointment would typically deliver, while supporting the business in preserving value and pursuing a sustainable path forward.

Rod’s career is marked by strategic vision, commercial judgement, and an ability to navigate complex financial landscapes. He is recognised for helping companies and stakeholders reach practical, value-enhancing outcomes, with a consistent focus on maximising recoveries, preserving enterprise value, and positioning businesses for long-term success.

Ms. Xia joined Houlihan Lokey in 2012 and is currently the Co-head of China Restructuring, responsible for deal sourcing, execution and staff management. She has extensive experience advising clients in Asia on restructuring situations, M&A and capital raising across different industries. Her recent transactions include company-side mandates for Sino Ocean, Country Garden, Modern Land, Sunac, China Evergrande, Glory Health and Luckin Coffee; and creditor-side mandates for Shimao Group, Yestar Healthcare, GCL Energy, Hilong Group and Huachen Energy. Before joining HL, Ms. Xia was at J.P. Morgan’s investment banking division and at Morgan Stanley in New York. Ms. Xia graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a B.S. in Mathematics and Economics, and a Certificate in Markets and Management Studies. She is a native speaker of Mandarin and Cantonese and fluent in English.

Spiro Papadolias is a Partner in Gilbert + Tobin’s Banking and Projects group, specialising in banking and finance matters including acquisition finance, real estate finance and general corporate finance.

He advises major corporate borrowers, sponsors and financial institutions on complex financing transactions and has extensive experience navigating the evolving Australian credit and financing market. Spiro is a trusted adviser to his clients, with his expertise recognised by leading legal directories.

Based in Hong Kong, Vincent focuses on sourcing, evaluating, and managing credit investments across the Asia Pacific region.  Vincent was previously a member of the Americas and European Credit groups in the Toronto and London offices of CPP Investments, respectively.  Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2010, Vincent worked at Credit Suisse in Los Angeles.  Vincent holds a BA in Business Administration (Hons) from the Ivey Business School at Western University.