Canyon Partners, a $26 billion global alternative investment manager, today announced the promotion of several leaders in furtherance of the continued growth and transformation of its platform.
Canyon has elevated Jeff Kivitz, who has been with the firm for almost 17 years and is currently Canyon’s Co-Head of Private Credit, to Chief Investment Officer (“CIO”). Accordingly, Todd Lemkin, formerly CIO, has left the firm after 21 years. Based in Canyon’s rapidly growing New York office, Jeff has an exemplary track record investing on behalf of Canyon’s hedge funds, private credit funds, opportunistic funds, and CLOs, particularly in the financials, technology, consumer & retail, and REIT sectors. Davide Amico, who has been with Canyon for 14 years and is currently Head of Europe, will assume Jeff’s previous role as Co-Head of Private Credit alongside Scott Borenstein, a 14-year veteran of the firm. Jonathan Barzideh and Chaney Sheffield, Partners who have been at Canyon for 17 and 16 years, respectively, have been named Co-Heads of Opportunistic Credit.
Andy Ray, who has been with Canyon for almost 17 years and is currently the firm’s Chief Strategy Officer, has been elevated to President. Randy Ko, a Managing Director and Canyon’s Head of Sustainable Investing, who has been with the firm for 12 years, has been promoted to Partner and will assume the additional role of Chief Strategy Officer.
Jeff Kivitz and Robin Potts, the CIO of Canyon Partners Real Estate, who has been with Canyon for 18 years, will be joining the Canyon Management Committee, which includes Josh Friedman and Mitch Julis, Co-CEOs and Co-Founders; Jonathan Kaplan, Chief Operating Officer; Andy Ray, President; and Stacy Silverman, Head of Business Development & Client Relations.
Mr. Friedman and Mr. Julis said in a joint statement, “2024 has been a transformational year for Canyon, from strategically important product launches to our GP/LP partnership with Dai-ichi Life, among other milestones. As we look ahead, we recognize the opportunity to further empower many of the talented leaders who have set the foundation for our success today and who will be of paramount importance to achieving our long-term vision for Canyon. While our roles leading the firm are not changing, we are fully backed by the support of a deeper bench of proven senior leaders who are well-positioned to assume progressively more responsibility.”
Canyon has achieved several notable milestones in 2024. This includes over $3 billion of gross inflows and commitments to Canyon’s platform, in large part driven by Canyon’s growing platform of private market funds; entering into a strategic partnership with Dai-ichi Life Holdings wherein the external GP capital raised was kept on Canyon’s balance sheet to be reinvested in the business; and welcoming an array of seasoned new talent to the firm. Over the past several months, Canyon has hired Managing Directors from Apollo, Sixth Street, Barings, and Varde, among others, across both its investment and client teams, and it expects additional senior hires in the new year. Canyon will celebrate its 35th anniversary in February.
About Canyon Partners, LLC
Founded in 1990, Canyon employs a deep value, credit intensive approach across public and private corporate credit, structured credit, and direct real estate lending and investing. The firm seeks to capture excess returns available to those investors with specialized expertise, rigorous research capabilities, and the ability to underwrite complexity. Canyon invests on behalf of a broad range of institutions globally.
For more information visit: www.canyonpartners.com.
