Our Team | Beneficient

Management Team

BEN's management team includes industry veterans with broad fiduciary, investing, and operating experience in both the credit and alternative asset markets. Our senior management team enjoys longstanding relationships with investors, general partners, and advisors of alternative asset funds.

Senior Partner Director
Chairman of the Board
CEO, Ben

Brad K. Heppner

Senior Partner Director
Chairman of the Board
CEO, Ben

Expertise: 30+ years alternative asset and financial institutions experience
Chairman of the Board and CEO, Ben; Chairman of the Board, GWG Holdings, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, PEN Indemnity Insurance Company, Ltd.
MBA, Kellogg at Northwestern University; BBA, BA, BS, Southern Methodist University

Prior: Founder of The Beneficient Company Group; Founder and CEO of The Crossroads Group (sold to Lehman Brothers and now held by Neuberger Berman); Founder of Capital Analytics (now held by Mitsubishi Union Financial Group); previously with Bain & Company, MacArthur Foundation and Goldman Sachs

Executive Vice President
Chief Legal Officer

James Silk

Executive Vice President
Chief Legal Officer

Expertise: alternative asset management, financial services, M&A and capital markets transactions, and securities regulation
20+ years of experience in the investment management and financial services industry
BS Finance, University of Virginia; JD, St. John’s University Law School, summa cum laude

Prior: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP

President & Chief Fiduciary Officer
Wealth Strategies Director

Derek Fletcher

President & Chief Fiduciary Officer
Wealth Strategies Director

Expertise: trust & estates, fiduciary services, fiduciary income taxation, estate, gift and GST taxation
25+ years of sophisticated estate planning, wealth structuring and fiduciary advisory services
Certified Public Accountant; Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; JD, University of Texas School of Law; BBA, Accounting, Texas Tech University

Prior: US Trust - Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Winstead, PC; Coopers & Lybrand

Global Head of Originations & Distribution

Jeff Welday

Global Head of Originations & Distribution

Expertise: originations and distribution leadership, selling and marketing private market and traditional asset management products and vehicles
25+ years of investment management experience
BBA, Baylor University; Certified Investment Management Analyst, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Prior: Invesco, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase
Mr. Welday is a Registered Representative of and Securities Products are offered through Emerson Equity LLC. Member FINRA SIPC. The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. and Emerson Equity LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities.

Chief Financial Officer

Greg Ezell

Chief Financial Officer

Expertise: technical accounting, accounting and reporting for public and private entities, budgeting
20+ years of accounting and finance experience
Certified Public Accountant; BBA, Henderson State University

Prior: Pure Gen Holdings, Inc., Homeward Residential Holdings, Inc., KPMG LLP

Chief Underwriting Officer

Scott Wilson

Chief Underwriting Officer

Expertise: private equity investing, corporate strategy
15+ years of experience, primarily in the alternative asset investment space
MBA and BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Prior: Highland Capital Management, McKinsey & Company

Chief Risk Officer

Yuri Mushkin

Chief Risk Officer

Expertise: portfolio risk and analytics, structured product valuation and enterprise controls
19+ years of risk management and financial services experience
MS, The London School of Economics; BS, NYU Stern School of Business

Prior: McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs

General Counsel

Art Damoulakis

General Counsel

Expertise: financial services, alternative asset management, corporate transactions and securities regulation
13+ years of experience in the financial services industry
BA, University of Maryland, College Park; MBA, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; JD, The George Washington University Law School

Prior: EJF Capital LLC; Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Chief Trust Compliance Officer & Deputy General Counsel

Nikolay Vydashenko

Chief Trust Compliance Officer & Deputy General Counsel

Expertise: securities regulation, corporate governance, private funds, securities and commercial litigation
13+ years of securities regulation and enforcement, litigation, and governance experience
JD, The University of Texas School of Law; BA, The University of Texas at Austin

Prior: U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission; Vinson & Elkins LLP

Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer

Arnold L. Greene

Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer

Expertise: HR Strategic Leadership, Culture/Employee Engagement and Diversity & Inclusion
20+ years of human resources management experience
BS, Cornell University ILR School

Prior: Extended Stay America, McDonald's Corporation, Dunkin' Brands, Yum! Brands

Directors

BEN's Board of Directors includes industry leaders with direct market experience in the key aspects of BEN's business.

Alternative Financial Institutions

Senior Partner Director
Executive Committee Chair
Nominating Committee Chair
Credit Committee
Enterprise Risk Committee

Brad K. Heppner

Senior Partner Director
Executive Committee Chair
Nominating Committee Chair
Credit Committee
Enterprise Risk Committee

Expertise: 30+ years alternative asset and financial institutions experience
Chairman of the Board and CEO, Ben; Chairman of the Board, GWG Holdings, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, PEN Indemnity Insurance Company, Ltd.
MBA, Kellogg at Northwestern University; BBA, BA, BS, Southern Methodist University

Prior: Founder of The Beneficient Company Group; Founder and CEO of The Crossroads Group (sold to Lehman Brothers and now held by Neuberger Berman); Founder of Capital Analytics (now held by Mitsubishi Union Financial Group); previously with Bain & Company, MacArthur Foundation and Goldman Sachs

Senior Partner Director
Vice Chairman
Executive Committee
Nominating Committee
Enterprise Risk Committee

Thomas O. Hicks

Senior Partner Director
Vice Chairman
Executive Committee
Nominating Committee
Enterprise Risk Committee

Expertise: private equity industry pioneer with 30+ years private equity investment experience; acquisitions across US, Europe and Latin America, private equity funds
Founder and Chairman, Hicks Holdings, LLC
MBA, University of Southern California; BBA, University of Texas, Austin

Prior: Founder of Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst; Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Hicks & Haas; Board of Directors, Carpenter Technology Corporation

Audit Committee
Credit Committee
Nominating Committee

David H. De Weese

Audit Committee
Credit Committee
Nominating Committee

Expertise: 30+ years business management, private equity, credit evaluation, investment experience
Partner of Paul Capital Advisors; Chairman of the Board, Capacitor Sciences, Inc.
MBA, Harvard Business School; BA, Stanford University; attended Stanford University Law School

Prior: Founder, Medical Innovations; Co-Founder, President & CEO, M6 Pharmaceuticals; President & CEO, Cygnus Therapeutic, Siga Technologies and Machine Intelligence Corporation; Board of Directors, OSE Immunotherapeutics SA

Director

Roger T. Staubach

Director

Expertise: 40+ years global real estate advisory experience, portfolio management, financing and capital solutions
Serves with numerous civic, charitable and professional organizations, including the Children's Cancer Fund and the United States Naval Academy Foundation
BS, United States Naval Academy

Prior: Executive Chairman of JLL Americas; Executive Chairman of The Staubach Company; 2018 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Heisman Trophy Winner, 1963; Chairman of Host Committee, Super Bowl XLV

Banking & Insurance Institutions

Senior Partner Director
Credit Committee
Compensation Committee

Richard W. Fisher

Senior Partner Director
Credit Committee
Compensation Committee

Expertise: 30+ years banking experience, trade agreements
President and CEO, RWF Financial, Inc.; Senior Adviser, Barclays PLC; Board of Directors, AT&T, PepsiCo and Tenet Health Care
MBA, Stanford University; BS, Harvard University

Prior: President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Member of the Fed's Open Market Committee; Founder of Fisher Capital Management

Senior Partner Director
Executive Committee
Compensation Committee
PEN Indemnity Insurance Company Lead Director
Enterprise Risk Committee Chair

Bruce W. Schnitzer

Senior Partner Director
Executive Committee
Compensation Committee
PEN Indemnity Insurance Company Lead Director
Enterprise Risk Committee Chair

Expertise: 30+ years private equity investment experience, insurance and other specialty financial services
Chairman, Wand Partners; Chairman, The Institute of Human Origins; Director, The Litchfield Land Trust; Director & Treasurer, Seherr-Thoss Foundation
MBA, University of Texas, Austin; BBA, University of Texas, Austin

Prior: President and CEO of Marsh, Inc.; CFO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.; Vice President & Head of M&A for Morgan Guaranty Trust Company (J.P. Morgan)

Audit Committee Chair

Peter T. Cangany, Jr.

Audit Committee Chair

Expertise: insurance entities, audit and accounting
Board of Trustees, Finance Committee Chair (previously Audit Committee Chair), Franklin College
MBA, Texas A&M University; BA, Franklin College

Prior: Partner of Ernst & Young, LLP, 1993 - 2017 (with EY, including various leadership positions, from 1980 - 2017)

Director

Derek Fletcher

Director

Expertise: trust & estates, fiduciary services, fiduciary income taxation, estate, gift and GST taxation
25+ years of sophisticated estate planning, wealth structuring and fiduciary advisory services
Certified Public Accountant; Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; JD, University of Texas School of Law; BBA, Accounting, Texas Tech University

Prior: US Trust - Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Winstead, PC; Coopers & Lybrand

Credit Committee

Dennis P. Lockhart

Credit Committee

Expertise: Private equity investment experience, financial services, international finance
Board of Directors, St. Joseph's Health System, PrimeRevenue, Invesco Mortgage Capital, and Pensare Acquisition Corp; Faculty, Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Tech
MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management; MA, Johns Hopkins University; BA, Stanford University

Prior: President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Member, Federal Open Market Committee; Managing Partner, Zephyr Group; President, Heller Financial; Chairman, Advisory Committee of U.S. Import Export Bank; senior corporate officer, Citibank

Capital Markets

Director

James Silk

Director

Expertise: alternative asset management, financial services, M&A and capital markets transactions, and securities regulation
20+ years of experience in the investment management and financial services industry
BS Finance, University of Virginia; JD, St. John’s University Law School, summa cum laude

Prior: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP

Senior Partner Director

Chairman of the Board

CEO, Ben

Executive Vice President

Chief Legal Officer

President & Chief Fiduciary Officer

Wealth Strategies Director

Global Head of Originations & Distribution

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Underwriting Officer

Chief Risk Officer

General Counsel

Chief Trust Compliance Officer & Deputy General Counsel

Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer

Senior Partner Director

Executive Committee Chair

Nominating Committee Chair

Credit Committee

Enterprise Risk Committee

Senior Partner Director

Vice Chairman

Executive Committee

Nominating Committee

Enterprise Risk Committee

Audit Committee

Credit Committee

Nominating Committee

Director

Senior Partner Director

Credit Committee

Compensation Committee

Senior Partner Director

Executive Committee

Compensation Committee

PEN Indemnity Insurance Company Lead Director

Enterprise Risk Committee Chair

Audit Committee Chair

Director

Credit Committee

Director