Four Decades of Industry Experience

Members of Waterfall’s senior team were early participants in many of the asset finance sectors the firm now targets. The team has an international network that spans wide-ranging relationships with asset originators, servicers, banks/advisors, and fintech platforms across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Tom Capasse

Co-Managing Partner

Tom Capasse is a Managing Partner and co-founder of Waterfall Asset Management, which he launched with Jack Ross in 2005. Tom has more than 40 years of structured credit experience globally, having founded, with Jack, Merrill Lynch’s industry-leading ABS Group that completed many first-time ABS issues and purchased non-performing loans in the 1980s. Tom subsequently managed structured credit Banking & Trading groups at Greenwich Capital, Nomura Securities, and Macquarie Securities. He began his career as a Fixed Income Analyst at Dean Witter and Bank of Boston after earning a B.A. from Bowdoin College.
Jack Ross

Co-Managing Partner

Jack Ross is a Managing Partner and co-founder of Waterfall Asset Management, which he launched with Tom Capasse in 2005. Jack has more than 40 years of ABS and structured credit experience, having completed some of the earliest ABS issues at Drexel Burnham Lambert and co-founded Merrill Lynch’s ABS Group with Mr. Capasse. Jack subsequently managed International Real Estate Debt at Merrill Lynch and founded Licent Capital, a specialty broker/dealer for intellectual property securitization. He began his career as a CPA with Laventhol & Horvath and received a B.S. from the University of Buffalo in 1978 and his M.B.A from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Chris Bigos

Managing Director, North America Private Asset-Backed Credit

Chris Bigos is a Managing Director at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to joining Waterfall, Chris was the CIO of an SEC-Registered Investment Advisor where he managed credit and hybrid strategies. Previously, he was a portfolio manager at Garrison Investment Group. He was also a senior banker at Deutsche Bank Securities and worked in the Public Finance group at Morgan Stanley & Co. as well as the Asset-Backed Finance group at RBS Securities. Chris graduated summa cum laude and Beta Gamma Sigma from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Management and a B.S. in Economics.
James Cuby

Partner, Head of Europe

James Cuby is a Partner and Head of Europe at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to Waterfall, James established and co-managed the Credit Investments business at Investec Bank PLC. Before this, he was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Prytania Advisors LLP and a Credit Rating Analyst in the Structured Finance Group at S&P in London. He received a bachelor’s in economics with honors from City, University of London.
Akshay Dave

Managing Director, Corporate Credit

Akshay Dave is a Managing Director at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm, Akshay was a Managing Director at the alternative asset manager EJF Capital, where he managed investments across the capital structure in financials, fintech and real estate. He also managed a fund focused on SPACs and served on the investment committee for EJF Acquisition Corp. Before EJF, Akshay worked in the FIG banking group at Citigroup. Akshay received a B.S. in computer science and a B.S. in business administration from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jason Ebert

Managing Director, Co-Head of Residential Loans

Jason Ebert is a Managing Director at Waterfall Asset Management.  Prior to joining the firm in 2014, Jason was an Attorney at the law firms of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Akerman, where his practice focused on financial transactions and commercial litigation.  Jason’s career also includes experience serving as a Captain in the United States Army for which he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.   Jason holds a B.A. in Biology (Neuroscience Concentration) from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Florida.

John Griffin

Managing Director, Co-Head of Residential Loans

John Griffin is a Managing Director at Waterfall Asset Management. Since joining the firm in 2014, John has overseen trading, credit underwriting, and transaction management responsibilities across the loan strategies. Prior to joining the firm, John was an Associate at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., where he focused on the disposition of the bankruptcy estate's residential and small balance commercial whole loan portfolios. John holds a B.S. in Finance from Fordham University.

Hannah Hausmann

Managing Director, Consumer Credit

Hannah Hausmann is a Managing Director at Waterfall Asset Management. Hannah has over 10 years of experience in the ABS Investment Management group at Waterfall. Sectors of expertise include consumer, auto, student loan, equipment, small business, timeshare, residential, and solar. Hannah began her career as an intern in Waterfall’s summer rotational program. She received a B.S. in Finance from Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business.

Zach Liebmann

Partner, Head of CRE

Zachary Liebmann is a Partner and Head of CRE at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm, he started his career at Citigroup trading CMBS and CRE CDOs. He received his B.S.E. in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University.
Dimitris Paralikis

Managing Director, Europe Private Asset-Backed Credit

Dimitris Paralikis is a Managing Director at Waterfall Asset Management. He joined Waterfall from Marshall Wace Asset Management, where he served as an Investment Director focused primarily on private asset-backed credit investments and whole loan portfolios. Dimitris began his career in financial services at the boutique investment bank Panmure Liberum in London, covering listed alternative investment funds. Prior to his career in finance, he served as a military officer in the Cyprus National Guard, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant during his national service. He holds a BSc from the London School of Economics and an MSc from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Keerthi Raghavan

Partner, Co-CIO

Keerthi Raghavan is a Partner and co-Chief Investment Officer at Waterfall Asset Management, where he is also a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm in 2014, he was a Director for CMBS Credit Trading and Head of CMBS Research at Barclays Capital. He graduated with an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, a B.S. from Indian Institute of Technology and has more than 16 years of industry experience.
Brian Rebello

Partner, Co-CIO

Brian Rebello is a Partner and co-Chief Investment Officer at Waterfall Asset Management. In his role, he is also a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Brian was a portfolio manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. Before that he was a Vice President and Senior Credit Analyst at Deutsche Asset Management. Brian has more than 24 years of industry experience and received his MBA from Miami University and his B.S. in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India. He also holds a CFA designation.
Leo Wong

Partner, Head of Loan Strategies

Leo Wong is a Partner and Head of Loan Strategies at Waterfall Asset Management, where he is also a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, he was a research associate with Fidelity Management and Research focusing on structured product investments. He has more than 18 years of industry experience and received his B.S. in computer science and electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Russ Andrews

Partner, Co-Head of Business Development

Russ Andrews is a Partner and Co-Head of Business Development at Waterfall Asset Management. Before joining the firm, Russ was Managing Director for Alternative Investments at Wachovia Securities. While at Wachovia, he held several senior positions including head of Structured Product Syndicate and Debt Capital Markets. He started his career at Signet Bank, where he served as Senior Vice President and was responsible for Fixed Income Trading and Syndicate. Russ graduated with a B.B.A. in Finance from the College of William and Mary and received an M.B.A from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Brian Breakstone

Partner, Chief Financial Officer

Brian Breakstone is a Partner and the Chief Financial Officer at Waterfall Asset Management, having rejoined the firm in 2024.  Brian had previously served as Partner and Chief Financial Officer at Waterfall through 2021 and then managed his own consulting firm from 2021 through 2024.  Prior to joining Waterfall in early 2008, he was the Capital Markets CFO and Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers. Brian was a Vice President and CFO of the Global Structured Finance business at JP Morgan. Previous to both of those roles, he held various business controller and risk management positions at Deutsche Bank, Bankers Trust and Citigroup. He began his career as a CPA at Ernst and Young. Brian graduated with his B.B.A from the University of Michigan in 1990 and his M.B.A from New York University’s Stern School of Business in 1995. 
Sharon Eliran

Managing Director, Co-Head of Business Development

Sharon Eliran is a Managing Director and Group Co-Head of Business Development at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Sharon was a Senior Member of the Hedge Fund Capital Group at Deutsche Bank. Before this, she served roles as a structured finance banker and a private equity origination banker at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. She began her career in asset finance banking at Prudential Securities and Credit Suisse. Sharon graduated with a B.S. in Finance (summa cum laude) from Rutgers College and was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University.
Alex Kreydin
Alex Kreydin

Chief Risk Officer

Alex Kreydin is Chief Risk Officer at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to rejoining Waterfall, Alex was on the board of multiple Aviation related securitizations and an adjunct lecturer at Baruch's Real Estate Department where he teaches a course on securitization. Previously he spent nine years at Waterfall, most recently as a senior PM investing in numerous ABS sectors in both bonds and private credit. He began his career in the Residential Mortgage & Consumer Group at Wells Fargo. Alex holds a BBA in Finance from Baruch College.
Shehzad Nabi

Chief Technology Officer

Shehzad Nabi is the Chief Technology Officer at Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm, Shehzad was a Managing Director in the Asset Management division at Goldman Sachs, where he managed Fixed Income technology, Fundamental research technology and Trading technology teams. Previously, he held number of roles in London within the Global Markets division at Goldman Sachs, including head of the EMEA Program Trading, Electronic Trading and EMEA Order Management Trading technology teams. He was also a sponsor for the Women in technology career pillar within Asset Management technology. Shehzad earned a BSc in Computer Science from Kings College, University of London in 2002.
Kenneth Nick

Partner, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Kenneth Nick is a Partner, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer of Waterfall Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm in 2011, Kenneth was Managing Director and Senior Counsel to Guggenheim Partners, LLC, a multi-strategy, global financial services firm. Before joining Guggenheim Partners, LLC, Kenneth was Assistant General Counsel at Fiduciary Trust Company International, an affiliate of Franklin Templeton Resources. He began his career as a staff attorney in the legal department of Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. Kenneth has a J.D. from New York Law School and an A.B. in communication from the University of Michigan.