GREENWICH, Conn., Dec. 09, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cross Ocean Partners announced today that Brandt Wilson has joined the firm as a Partner and Head of Hard Asset Investment Strategies. This marks Cross Ocean’s launch of a dedicated investment strategy focusing on hard asset classes. The hard asset investment strategy will initially focus on the aviation sector. Wilson will be based out of Cross Ocean’s Greenwich, Connecticut office and will focus on aviation opportunities globally.
Prior to joining Cross Ocean, Wilson was a senior managing director at Castlelake, L.P., where he was co-head of the firm’s multi-billion global aviation investment efforts. He acted as a portfolio manager and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm’s aviation investments. From 2000 to 2009, Wilson worked with Cross Ocean’s senior management team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he oversaw numerous hard asset investment activities, with an emphasis on aviation opportunities. He was most recently a managing director and co-head of the firm’s North American Illiquid Credit Trading group. In total, Wilson has 23 years of financial services experience covering public accounting, leverage finance, bankruptcy advisory and credit and hard asset investing with 16 years dedicated to investing in aviation opportunities.
“I am thrilled to partner with Brandt again and to launch a dedicated effort in the aviation finance space,” said Cross Ocean’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Graham Goldsmith. “The team and I have a longstanding relationship with Brandt and believe that he will be a key contributor to Cross Ocean going forward. Furthermore, there is a clear market opportunity in the aviation sector focusing on mid-life and older aircraft and engine leasing, and we believe that his longstanding relationships and deep expertise within the aviation industry will allow Cross Ocean to differentiate itself from other market participants.”
“This is a rare opportunity to join such a deep team with a world-class partner in Stone Point Capital,” said Wilson. “We are launching our aviation strategy with a $50 million commitment from Cross Ocean’s shareholders, which will anchor our investing and deal sourcing efforts.”
About Cross Ocean Partners
Cross Ocean Partners is a credit-focused asset management platform investing globally in stressed, distressed and structured credit investment opportunities in a broad range of asset classes, including corporate loans and bonds, hard assets, commercial real estate and liquidations. Cross Ocean currently advises more than $2.3 billion of committed capital. The firm is led by Graham Goldsmith (Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer) and Steven Zander (Co-Chief Investment Officer) and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut and London, England. The company was formed in June 2015 as a partnership between the Cross Ocean management team and Stone Point Capital LLC, a leading financial services-focused private equity firm.