Corey S. Ribotsky
Managing Member - Head Portfolio ManagerMr. Ribotsky is the founder of the NIR Group, LLC. The NIR Group is an Alternative Asset Management Firm that provides superior long term performance in a limited number of absolute strategies. Mr. Ribotsky is a Co-founder as well as a Principal and Managing Member of Cortan Commodity Partners Commodities Partners, LLC. Mr. Ribotsky has been investing in public companies since 1992. Mr. Ribotsky graduated with a BA from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and attended The New York University, Leonard N. Stern Graduate School of Business for an MBA in Finance and Operations. Mr. Ribotsky also attended Brooklyn Law School. Prior to becoming a member of NIR, Mr. Ribotsky was a member of the investment management firm, The Rainmaker Group, LLC located in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Howard Tanney Principal & Portfolio Manager Member and Co-Founder of Cortan Commodity Partners, LLC
Mr. Tanney has been successfully trading commodities since 1983. Mr. Tanney is a member of The New York Mercantile Exchange, the largest physical commodity exchange in the world and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals. Mr. Tanney is a former member of the NYMEX Board of Directors and Executive Board of Directors and was actively involved in the systems and technology that have evolved into today.s trading platforms. Mr. Tanney graduated from Baruch College with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and from St. John.s University with an MBA in Finance. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. Prior to his tenure as a commodities trader, Mr. Tanney worked as a financial analyst at the Loews Corporation and as an accountant at Fox & Company CPA.s.
Joseph G. Parish III, Managing Partner and co-founder of NIR Capital - Portfolio Manager Distressed Credit
Mr. Parish served as head of the Asset Securitization Division in the Structured Products Group at Wachovia Securities (formerly First Union Securities). He was responsible for establishing and developing the firm’s asset-backed product capabilities which include securities underwriting and management of principal finance investments. Activities included origination, structuring and investment portfolio management across all major asset class sectors. Under his direction and leadership the division built annual lead managed underwriting volume to over $15 billion and managed conduit programs totaling $20 billion. The division consistently ranked as the firm’s leading capital markets product group for revenue, volume, and market share. Prior to establishing the Asset Securitization Division, Mr. Parish founded First Union’s Financial Institutions Group in 1985 which achieved a top market share among competing commercial banks. He began his banking career in 1978 at the National City Bank in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Parish holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Indiana University.
Scott H. Shannon, Managing Partner and co-founder of NIR Capital - Portfolio Manager Distressed Credit
Mr. Shannon spent seventeen years at Wachovia Securities (formerly First Union Securities), serving most recently as head of the Asset Securitization Division prior to his departure at the end of 2002. Previously, he had been responsible for all asset-backed origination activities. He was a founding member of the securitization business in 1992, and was responsible for the growth and development of the firm’s top-ranked commercial assets platform. Additional responsibilities during this period included the creation of the Debt Advisory unit within the Financial Services investment banking group, and the integration of the asset-backed origination functions in conjunction with the CoreStates and Wachovia mergers. Prior to his tenure in the Asset Securitization Division, Mr. Shannon was a senior member of First Union’s Financial Institutions Group, which he joined in 1986.
Karim Rozwadowski, Senior Analyst
Karim Rozwadowski is the Senior Analyst for The N.I.R. Group, LLC. Mr. Rozwadowski brings the firm event driven and activist experience from his time at activist hedge fund Wyser-Pratte Management & Co. He brings legal experience on private equity and mergers and acquisitions transactions from Simpson Thatcher and Bartlett LLP. Mr. Rozwadowski graduated from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University with a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy. He has also completed course work at Harvard Business School and the London School of Economics. Mr. Rozwadowski is currently a candidate in the CFA program and is the co-author of “Buyout Competition: The emergence of hedge funds in a world of private equity,” which was published in the Winter 2005 issue of The Journal of Private Equity.
Keith Novick, Senior Risk Analyst
Mr. Novick’s main responsibilities are to analyze and manage the risk for the fund’s portfolio, and perform due diligence on prospective companies. Mr. Novick has 20 years of risk management experience on Wall Street. Before joining NIR, Mr. Novick was an independent options trader on the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) and the Commodities exchange (COMEX). During this period, he trained, financed and managed risk for independent traders on both of these exchanges. He also managed and analyzed the risk portfolios of a group of independent options and derivatives traders. Mr. Novick graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.
Barry M. Lippe is an Analyst for The N.I.R. Group, LLC. Prior to joining N.I.R., Mr. Lippe worked as a sales associate for DealFlow Media, Inc., the publisher of The PIPEs Report. Mr. Lippe graduated from the Frank G. Zarb School of Business from Hofstra University with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. He is involved in analyzing current and future investment opportunities. He also conducts on going due diligence and review of the funds portfolio companies. He is a trained emergency medical technician. Mr. Lippe is currently a candidate for the CAIA program and is a New York State licensed Life, Accident and Health Insurance agent.
Mr. Moran is a recent graduate from Siena College School of Business with a Bachelors of Science degree in Finance. Not only was he successful in the classroom, he also succeeded as a NCAA Division I athlete in lacrosse. Through his four years he was elected to the MAAC All-Academic team, and then Siena College President and Dean’s list. While at school, Mr. Moran held a financial advisory internship position with Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets. While there, he assisted senior wealth management advisors with portfolio management. Mr. Moran is involved in analyzing current and future deals as well as performing due diligence.
Prior to joining NIR, Mr. Grober worked as a Financial Service Representative for First Investors Corporation, an investment and insurance company, where he analyzed personal financial goals and risk tolerances for high net worth individuals. Mr. Grober graduated from the School of Management at Binghamton University with a Bachelor in Finance. Mr. Grober is licensed with a NASD Series 6 & 63 and has been certified by the Investment Banking Institute, located in New York, NY. In addition he is a New York State Life Insurance agent. Mr. Grober is involved in analyzing current and future deals as well as performing due diligence.