Private Debt & Equity

Steve Myers is a Vice President and Co-Head of the Private Debt & Equity team. Steve joined the company in 2008 and is responsible for all private debt and equity investment activities related to private equity fund investments and direct investments. He has more than 20 years of credit experience across both public and private leveraged finance markets. Throughout his career he has been involved with the origination, underwriting and management of private-equity-sponsored middle market loans. 

Prior to RGA, Steve was involved with the management of commercial credit, investment grade corporate bonds and private markets with Americo Life, Heller Financial, Merrill Lynch, and Bank of America.

Steve serves on multiple fund advisory boards and is a Board Observer for five portfolio companies.  He earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and he received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in finance from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in finance and entrepreneurship from DePaul University. 

Steve has been on the St. Louis JCC Board of Directors since 2014.

 

Kevin Prunty is Vice President and Co-Head of the Private Debt & Equity team. He is responsible for both direct and fund investments, focusing primarily on corporate subordinated debt and private equity. 

Kevin has 18 years of experience in all facets of corporate and leveraged finance, including origination, underwriting, structuring, and portfolio management across a wide range of industry sectors, as well as workout situations.  Prior to joining RGA in April 2015, Kevin managed credit transactions for LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO, Citigroup, Wachovia, M&I/Southwest Bank, and Parkside Financial. He also has direct investment experience with Caparo Group and has directly managed more than $400 million of credit exposure in his career.

Kevin serves on multiple fund advisory boards and is a Board Observer for five portfolio companies.  He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was captain of the basketball team.  He is President of the Association for Corporate Growth’s (ACG) St. Louis chapter. Kevin and his wife also co-founded Addiction is Real (AIR), a nonprofit focused on drug addiction education. 

Brett Parr is a Senior Director on the Private Debt & Equity team. He is responsible for both direct and fund investments, focusing primarily on corporate subordinated debt and private equity.

Brett has 12 years of experience in the leveraged finance and lower middle market subordinated debt and private equity, including origination, underwriting, structuring, and portfolio management across a wide range of industry sectors. Prior to joining RGA in April 2017, Brett was a Vice President at Capital For Business, Inc. (a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc.), managing a portfolio of subordinate debt and equity investments. Prior to CFB, he began his career in the Leverage Finance Group at U.S. Bank,managing direct lending relationships with private equity groups.

He earned a BS in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and an M.B.A. from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.  He is also tenured member of Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA).

Trevor Gibson is a Senior Director on the Private Debt & Equity team. He is responsible for both direct and fund investments, focusing primarily on corporate subordinated debt and private equity.

Trevor has 12 years of experience in middle market commercial banking, including origination, underwriting, structuring, and portfolio management. Prior to joining RGA in May 2017, Trevor was a Director with BMO Harris Bank, responsible for originating new opportunities and managing a portfolio of middle-market companies across a broad range of industries. Trevor started his career at LaSalle Bank in Chicago and St. Louis. After LaSalle was acquired, he was a relationship manager at First Bank and The PrivateBank, focusing on leveraged and non-leveraged transactions across multiple industries and working with both family-owned and private-equity-owned businesses. 

He earned a BSBA in Finance from the University of Missouri and an M.B.A. from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.  Prior to attending the University of Missouri, he served in the United States Navy as a Non-Commissioned Officer and helicopter aircrewman.

 

 

Sam Panke is a Director on the Private Debt & Equity team. His primary focus is underwriting funds, subordinated debt, and equity co-investments in middle market companies alongside private equity sponsors.

Prior to joining RGA in April 2018, Sam was a Vice President in the Syndicated & Leveraged Finance group at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, where he had eight years of experience in structuring and executing a broad range of transactions, including leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, across a diverse set of industries.

Sam received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Vanderbilt University, and has studied at the London School of Economics with a focus on Intermediate Micro- and Macroeconomics. He also holds Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.

Ryan Roepke is a Director on the Private Debt & Equity team.  His primary focus is underwriting funds, subordinated debt, and equity co-investments in middle market companies alongside private equity sponsors. 

Previously, Ryan was a Manager at PwC, a Big Four accounting and advisory firm.  In this role, he was responsible for audit and advisory services of public and private companies, including middle market private equity funds and their respective portfolio companies.  Ryan also worked at U.S. Bank in the Sponsor Finance group, where his primary focus was underwriting senior debt investments alongside middle market private equity sponsors. 

Ryan received a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) in accounting at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, where he played on the golf team for four years. Ryan is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Missouri.  He has been on the First Tee Young Professional Board of St. Louis since 2015.

As Senior Associate, Finance, Kassy Gardner’s primary focus is on the overall financial management of RGA’s Private Debt & Equity team, including reporting, valuation, pricing, performance monitoring, and financial systems.

Prior to joining RGA in 2018, Kassy was with Brown Smith Wallace, LLP, and with Centene Corporation. Her experience includes auditing and advisory services regarding public and private insurance companies, as well as financial monitoring and reporting of subsidized state-based health insurance marketplace exchanges.

Kassy received a Bachelor Science in accounting from Missouri State University, and is a member of the Insurance Accounting & Systems Association, Inc. (IASA).

Nick Careklas is a Senior Associate on the Private Debt & Equity team. His primary focus is underwriting funds, subordinated debt, and equity co-investments in middle market companies alongside private equity sponsors.

Prior to joining RGA in December 2017, Nick was a Senior Associate with PwC, a Big Four accounting and advisory firm. In this role, he was responsible for providing audit services to public and private companies across a wide array of industries, including publicly held retail and consumer products companies along with portfolio companies of middle market private equity funds.

Nick received both a Bachelor of Science in accountancy and Master of Accountancy from the University of Missouri – Columbia. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Missouri, and a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Bhabya Tewari is an Associate on the Private Debt & Equity team. Her primary focus is underwriting funds, subordinated debt, and equity co-investments in middle market companies alongside private equity sponsors.

Bhabya joined the team in May 2018 after completing her Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, prior to which she worked in the commercial and corporate banking industry in Mumbai, India. As a relationship manager, Bhabya was responsible for originating and underwriting commercial loans, and managing a portfolio of middle market companies across a broad range of industries. She specialized in corporate lending, trade and receivables finance, and structured loans. 

Bhabya has a Master of Finance degree from the London School of Economics (LSE), and received her Bachelor of Arts in economics and statistics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

In his role as Associate on the Private Debt & Equity team, Kyle Quatrochi primarily focuses on underwriting funds, subordinated debt, and equity co-investments in middle market companies alongside private equity sponsors.

Prior to joining RGA in 2019, Kyle was an Associate and then Senior Associate with PwC, a Big Four accounting and advisory firm. In this role, Kyle provided audit services to public and private companies in a variety of industries, including publicly traded retail and consumer products and portfolio companies of a middle market private equity fund.

Kyle received a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, and a Master of Accountancy, from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Missouri Society of CPAs.