New York, NY – J.F. Lehman & Company (“JFLCO”), a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental industries, is pleased to announce several new hires. The firm recently welcomed Evan S. Lederman, Lionel Jolivot, Peter C. Kuper and Winfield S. Browning to the Investment Team and Ravi Patel and Mokhtar Akhtari to the Finance & Administration Team.
“The recent augmentation of our professional team reflects the firm’s momentum and continuing commitment to investments in our organization and other infrastructure improvements,” said Louis N. Mintz, Partner. “The addition of these talented individuals is expected to enhance our transaction sourcing and execution capabilities and other business processes.”
“The complementary credit experience, industry expertise and demonstrated track records of the new senior members of the Investment Team should translate into additional competitive advantages for our long-standing sector-focused strategy and enable us to best take advantage of opportunities across the entire capital structure,” added Alex Harman, Partner. “We’re excited to integrate their complementary talents into our culture of shared success.”
Investment Team Additions
Evan S. Lederman, Partner, Credit
Mr. Lederman joined JFLCO in 2023 to launch its credit team and has nearly 20 years of investing, legal and restructuring experience across the credit spectrum, ranging from performing to distressed. Mr. Lederman has chaired various creditor committees in large and complex restructurings and served on numerous public and private corporate boards, including currently serving as a director on JFLCO portfolio company, PURIS.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Lederman was a founder and Managing Partner of L J Capital Management. Previously, Mr. Lederman was a Partner at Fir Tree Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar investment firm, where he co-managed the firm’s credit, restructuring and special situations investments. Mr. Lederman began his career as a restructuring and litigation attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
A native of New York, Mr. Lederman graduated magna cum laude from New York University, where he earned a B.A. in political science and government and was the all-university commencement speaker. He also graduated cum laude from New York University School of Law, where he received a J.D.
Lionel Jolivot, Partner, Credit
Mr. Jolivot joined JFLCO in 2023 to launch its credit team and has over 20 years of experience investing across the credit spectrum, from performing to distressed.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Jolivot was a founder and Managing Partner of L J Capital Management. Previously, Mr. Jolivot served as a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Angel Island Capital, the credit arm of Golden Gate Capital, where he managed a $3.5 billion portfolio of corporate loans and bonds. Mr. Jolivot has held various portfolio management and research positions, including with Millennium Management and Fore Research & Management. He began his career as an aerospace engineer at Airbus Group (fka EADS).
A native of France, Mr. Jolivot graduated with honors (silver medal) from ENSAM Paris, where he earned an engineering degree. He graduated with high distinction from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he earned an M.B.A and was the recipient of the Leech Prize for Excellence in Finance.
Peter C. Kuper, Managing Director
Mr. Kuper joined JFLCO in 2023 and has over two decades of advisory and growth investing experience in technology sectors with high priority relevance to the aerospace, defense and government markets including cyber security, wireless technologies and space. As a result of his technical expertise, Mr. Kuper has advised government organizations at the highest levels including the Department of Defense, the White House, various intelligence community agencies, the Department of Energy and the Internal Revenue Service.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kuper served as a Senior Vice President at jCyte and a Managing Director at ClearSky Venture Capital; he also served for seven years as a Partner at In-Q-Tel, where he focused on leading investments in next-generation technology innovation for the U.S. intelligence community and other government agencies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kuper served as an enterprise software research analyst at several leading investment banks including SG Cowen and Morgan Stanley.
A native of New York, Mr. Kuper earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Rhode Island and holds a Top Secret clearance.
Winfield S. Browning, Director of Credit Strategy & BD
Mr. Browning joined JFLCO in 2023 and is responsible for overseeing credit-related strategy and business development efforts.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Browning served as a Partner and President of L J Capital Management. Previously, he was a Partner and President of Portsea Asset Management and served as a Vice President in the Marketing & Investor Relations group at Fore Research & Management. Mr. Browning started his career at Dialectic Capital Management, where he held various responsibilities in business development, trading and operations.
A native of New Jersey, Mr. Browning earned B.A. degrees in international affairs and french from Lafayette College.
Finance & Administration Team Additions
Ravi Patel, Director of Credit Finance & Operations
Mr. Patel joined JFLCO in 2023 and is responsible for overseeing credit-related operations and finance functions.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Patel served as Head of Operations for Tenor Capital Management Company, where he oversaw all trading operations, finance activity and operational and credit due diligence efforts.
A native of New York, Mr. Patel graduated from the Stern School of Business at New York University, where he earned a B.S. in finance.
Mokhtar Akhtari, Assistant Controller
Mr. Akhtari joined JFLCO in 2023 and supports the firm’s treasury, finance and accounting functions.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Akhtari served as an Assistant Controller for Standish Management. Previously, Mr. Akhtari held various finance and accounting positions with DoublePositive, TOR International Group and Standard Chartered Bank.
A native of Afghanistan, Mr. Akhtari earned a B.A. in finance from Kardan University and an M.B.A. from the Modern Institute of Management. Mr. Akhtari is a Certified Public Accountant.