Business Development

Matthew Bass is Head of Private Alternatives and a member of the Operating Committee. As head of AB’s Private Alternatives SBU, he is responsible for the leadership and strategic growth of the business, which includes all of AB’s private market investment strategies. Previously, Bass held various roles in the firm’s Alternatives business (including as head of Alternatives and Multi-Asset Business Development, and COO), where he was responsible for business strategy, sourcing of new investment teams, product development and capital raising. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Bass was a program director at the US Department of the Treasury, responsible for the design and implementation of various real estate and real estate capital-markets programs pursuant to the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Before that, he was a vice president at The Blackstone Group’s GSO Capital Partners unit, where he was involved in analyzing, evaluating and executing private debt and equity investments. Bass began his career in the Financial Institutions Investment Banking Group at UBS, where he was responsible for executing M&A and capital-raising transactions for banks, asset managers and specialty finance companies. He holds a BS in finance from Lehigh University. Location: Nashville

Todd Figler is a Senior Vice President and Managing Director in the Private Alternatives Group, primarily focused on the business and product development of the firm’s credit-oriented strategies. He joined AB in 2017. Previously, Figler was the head of strategy at Prosiris Capital Management, a multi-sector credit-oriented investment manager, where he focused on the firm’s overall allocation across investment sectors and strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he was vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Cross Asset Solutions and Strategies Group, where he was responsible for the structuring and execution of derivative and funded transactions across credit and rates. Figler began his career in the Leveraged Finance Origination Group at Merrill Lynch. He holds a BS in finance from Georgetown University and a JD from the New York University School of Law. Location: Nashville

David Kuck joined AllianceBernstein in 2020 and is currently a Managing Director of Private Credit Product Strategy for AB Private Alternatives Business Development, where he is involved in business and product development, primarily for AB Private Credit Investors. Previously, he was a senior high-yield research analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, where he covered the food and beverage, food retail and restaurant sectors. Prior to that, Kuck worked in Wells Fargo’s Leveraged Finance group and BMO Capital Markets’ Food, Consumer and Retail Investment Banking group. He began his career in risk management consulting at Ernst & Young. Kuck holds a BBA and MSA from the University of Notre Dame. Location: Nashville

Jeffrey M. Saltzman is a Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Private Alternatives Business Development, responsible for sales, client servicing, and product strategy and development across the firm’s Private Alternatives platform. He helps oversee the development and expansion of Private Alternatives offerings in the institutional, private client and retail channels globally. Saltzman was previously a director with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, with sales and structuring responsibilities for the firm’s US pension, endowment, foundation and family office clients. Prior to that, he was a director in the Alternative Assets Group at RBC Capital Markets, where he performed a variety of functions, including hedge fund investing, hedge fund portfolio construction and advisory, and manager research. Saltzman holds a BA in political science from Wake Forest University and an MA in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Location: Nashville

Kate Whalen is Chief Administrative Officer for Private Alternatives at AB. In this role, Kate is responsible for day-to-day business management and strategic activities across the Private Alternatives SBU. Kate joined AB in October 2020. Previously, Kate was a senior member of BlackRock’s Credit team in New York and London. She held various leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer for European Credit. In 2017, she helped launch BlackRock’s first direct lending strategy. Prior to joining BlackRock’s Credit team, Kate was a member of the Alternative Investment Executive team, where she focused on business management and the growth of BlackRock’s alternatives platform through inorganic acquisitions. Kate was also a founding member of BlackRock’s Alternative Solutions Group.

 

Whalen joined BlackRock as an analyst within the US Wealth Advisory team in 2008. She started in sales and then moved to the Executive team where she supported the Head of U.S. Retail and COO with product development and strategy. Whalen received Penn State’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2018. She graduated from Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business in 2008 with a B.S. degree in Finance and was an inaugural member of their Sapphire Honors Program. She also attended East Normal University in Shanghai China and speaks Mandarin. Location: Nashville

Jenny Zhang joined AB in 2019 as a Director on the Global Alternatives Business Development team, where she is involved in business and product development across the firm’s Alternatives platform. Previously, she ran investor relations and client service at PDT Partners, a systematic asset-management firm, where she managed all aspects of PDT’s client service operations, assisted with the launch of three funds and served as a primary contact for all institutional relationships. Before that, Zhang was a markets analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She holds a BS in Economics with concentrations in finance and management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Location: Nashville

Philipp Lehner is a Senior Vice President, leading business development and sales efforts for AB’s Private Alternatives Platform in Europe and Asia. Before that and since 2016, he led the institutional business in the DACH region, and prior to that was director of institutional investment management for Germany and Austria in the Sales/Consultant Relations division. Before joining the firm in 2014, Lehner worked in the institutional division at BlackRock, where he was responsible for business development and relationship management with institutional investors in Germany and Austria. He joined BlackRock through its 2006 merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM). Lehner joined MLIM as a member of that firm’s graduate trainee program in 2002 and then worked in sales for the Nordic and Middle East and Africa regions; as a product specialist in Fixed Income and UK Equities; and in Transition Management. He started in the financial industry as an analyst in 2000 at Merrill Lynch Private Bank Austria, Vienna. Lehner holds a magister degree (MBA equivalent) in business administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He is also a Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA) and a Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA). Location: Munich

Anjali Aidasani joined AB in 2023 as a Vice President within AB’s Private Alternatives Business Development, where she is involved in business and product development, primarily for AB Private Credit Investors. Previously, she was at Silver Point Capital, where she did product development and research for special situations and specialty lending funds. Prior to that, Aidasani worked at BlackRock within the Global Credit Group. She holds a BA in economics from Barnard College of Columbia University. Location: New York

Sabrina Regan joined AB in 2019 is an Associate on the Private Alternatives Business Development team, where she is involved in the business development and investor relations functions for AB Private Credit Investors, as well as AB’s Commercial Real Estate Debt platform. Previously, she was a rotational associate within AB’s Client Group, working closely with the Product Development and Multi-Asset Business Development teams supporting AB’s liquid alternatives platform. Regan holds a BBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Georgia. Location: Nashville

Mia Whitfield joined AB in 2023 as an Analyst with Private Alternatives Business Development, where she is involved in business and product development for AB Private Credit Investors. Previously, she was a business development intern at Proskauer Rose. Whitfield holds a BA in political science from the University of Michigan. Location: Nashville