About Castlelake

Our Team

We pride ourselves on having a culture that we believe is distinctly different from many private investment firms – one that prizes authenticity, creativity, collaboration and confidentiality.

Performance Execution Group & Human Resources

Yen-Wah Lam

Partner, Chief People Officer & President
Learn about Yen-Wah Lam

Daniel McNally

Partner, General Counsel
Learn about Daniel McNally

Brad Farrell

Partner, Chief Operating Officer
Learn about Brad Farrell

Maria Romolo

Managing Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer
Learn about Maria Romolo

David Notch

Chief Information Security Officer
Learn about David Notch

Elaine Roche

Chief Technology Officer
Learn about Elaine Roche

Stephen Venable

Deputy General Counsel
Learn about Stephen Venable

Elizabeth Turner

Managing Counsel, Europe
Learn about Elizabeth Turner

Kelli Sallemi

Managing Counsel
Learn about Kelli Sallemi

Melissa Grindell

Managing Director, Global Human Resources
Learn about Melissa Grindell

Sara Reckner

Managing Director, Treasury Management
Learn about Sara Reckner

Matt Sobraske

Management Company, Chief Financial Officer
Learn about Matt Sobraske

Yen-Wah Lam

Partner, Chief People Officer & President

Ms. Lam joined Castlelake in 2018 and is its Chief People Officer & President. In this role, Ms. Lam is responsible for supporting Castlelake’s governance and strategic direction, and managing enterprise-level risk and organizational change. She oversees all non-investment operations and internal affairs, including Castlelake’s Human Resources, Finance & Operations, and Legal & Compliance functions. She is a member of Castlelake’s Executive Committee. 

Previously, Ms. Lam led Castlelake’s global Human Resources team, responsible for guiding Castlelake’s talent strategy, nurturing the firm’s culture and guiding its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion programming. Ms. Lam became a partner of the firm in 2020.   

Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Lam was Head of Human Resources and a member of the Management Committee at FTSE-listed Jupiter Asset Management in London. Prior to Jupiter, she worked at Reuters, later BT Radianz. Ms. Lam received her B.A. from the University of Leeds and her M.A. in human resource management from the University of Westminster. She is also certified by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Ms. Lam also serves in various roles at non-profit organizations focused on supporting the British Chinese community in greater London.  

Daniel McNally

Partner, General Counsel

Mr. McNally joined Castlelake in 2019 and is its general counsel. Mr. McNally leads the firm’s Legal & Compliance team and is responsible for advising on all strategic and tactical legal activities of the firm, as well as firm governance. He became a partner of the firm in 2021. Mr. McNally is also a member of Castlelake’s Investment Review Committee. Mr. McNally has 25+ years of legal and business experience with expertise in investment management, private funds, securities, transaction structuring and execution, regulatory and compliance matters, and corporate governance. Prior to Castlelake, Mr. McNally was the general counsel, chief operating officer and principal at Stark Investments. During his 17-year tenure there, he served in a cross-functional capacity, including as a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. McNally also spent time in legal roles at Quarles & Brady, Miller Brewing Company and Apogent Technologies. Mr. McNally received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, with honors, and his B.S. in business administration and finance from Marquette University, magna cum laude.

Brad Farrell

Partner, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Farrell joined Castlelake in 2019 and is chief operating officer. In this role, Mr. Farrell is responsible for internal and external reporting, all financial and operational aspects of investment structuring, execution and valuation, and management company operations. Mr. Farrell also retains oversight of the firm’s information and technology strategy and administrative functions and serves as a member of its Investment Review Committee among other governance roles. He became a partner of the firm in 2021. Mr. Farrell has 25+ years of professional experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Castlelake, he served as the chief financial officer of Two Harbors Investment Corp., where he was responsible for operations, treasury, tax, accounting and financial reporting. During his 7-year tenure as chief financial officer, Mr. Farrell was also involved in the organization’s regulatory and corporate governance, risk oversight, transaction structuring and execution, debt and capital formation, investor reporting, technology and talent management. Prior to Two Harbors Investment Corp., Mr. Farrell served in various leadership and managerial positions within finance and accounting at GMAC ResCap, XL Capital and KPMG. Mr. Farrell received his B.S.B.A. from Drake University in accounting. Mr. Farrell is a CPA (inactive).

Maria Romolo

Managing Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer

Ms. Romolo joined Castlelake in 2021 as part of the Legal & Compliance team, focused on global regulatory and compliance programs. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Romolo was with TD as the Head of Compliance for US Wholesale Banking and Wealth as well as the CCO of TD Securities. Ms. Romolo joined TD from Societe Generale where she was a Managing Director and the Head of Compliance Strategy and Change. Ms. Romolo has over 20 years of experience in financial services, regulatory and compliance areas. Prior to joining Societe Generale, Ms. Romolo held a variety of senior roles at Barclays including the Global Head of Surveillance as well as the America’s Head of Global Compliance Services. In earlier roles, Ms. Romolo served as Chief Compliance Officer for an NYSE specialist firm, and as in-house regulatory counsel at Lehman Brothers. Ms. Romolo began her career at the NYSE in the Market Surveillance division and then later joined its Enforcement division where she litigated actions involving insider dealings, IPO allocations, falsification of documents and sales practice violations. Ms. Romolo received her J.D. from New York Law School and her B.A. from the George Washington University in political science.

David Notch

Chief Information Security Officer

Mr. Notch joined Castlelake in 2022 as the firm’s Chief Information Security Officer and leads the global security, technology infrastructure, facilities and IT vendor management programs. Mr. Notch has more than 30 years of experience in cyber security, technology and enterprise risk management. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Notch was Distinguished IT Advisor, Security and Cloud Architecture at Medtronic, and before that he was Director of Cyber Services at KPMG, where he advised clients on matters of cyber security and technology resilience. Previous to KPMG, Mr. Notch was President of Intensity Analytics, a cyber security start-up that developed patented technology in behavioral identity management and analytics. Mr. Notch has also held a number of senior roles at Thomson Reuters, including Head of IT Infrastructure Architecture and Global Chief Information Security Officer. While at Thomson Reuters, his team led the creation of the cyber security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data privacy, IT audit and electronic legal discovery programs. Mr. Notch received his master’s degree in computer and information science from the University of Minnesota.

Elaine Roche

Chief Technology Officer

Ms. Roche joined Castlelake in 2020 as part of the Information Services team, focused on development, data architecture, reporting systems and business-aligned technology support. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Roche was with Dublin Airport, part of daa PLC group, where she was focused on technology strategy, management, investment and innovation across all facets of the airport’s operations and commercial businesses. Ms. Roche received her B.A. from Trinity College Dublin in computer science. Ms. Roche is a member of Engineers Ireland, the Irish Computer Society and the Association of Data Protection Officers.

Stephen Venable

Deputy General Counsel

Mr. Venable joined Castlelake in 2015 and is part of the Legal & Compliance team, focused on a broad spectrum of Castlelake’s legal activities. Mr. Venable oversees the firm’s legal fund formation activities as well as providing support for investment transactions, particularly in the Specialty Finance and Real Assets strategies. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Venable was with Western Asset Management Company as the head of U.S. Legal, where he focused on trading activities, client service teams and agreement negotiations. Prior to joining Western Asset, Mr. Venable was with Dimensional Fund Advisors Inc., as an in-house counsel. Prior to Dimensional, Mr. Venable was with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP as a corporate transactions practice group associate. Mr. Venable received his J.D. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. from Harvard College in government.

Elizabeth Turner

Elizabeth Turner

Managing Counsel, Europe

There is no bio available at this time.

Kelli Sallemi

Managing Counsel
Ms. Sallemi joined Castlelake in 2020 as part of the Legal & Compliance team and supports the firm’s legal activities, primarily focusing on supporting its Lending program and its investment activity in Aviation. Prior to Castlelake, Ms. Sallemi was a Senior Associate with the New York office of Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, where she represented operating lessors, airlines and lenders in various domestic and cross-border aircraft finance transactions. Ms. Sallemi received her J.D. from New York Law School, magna cum laude, and a B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University in marketing.

Melissa Grindell

Managing Director, Global Human Resources

Ms. Grindell joined Castlelake in 2022 as part of the Human Resources team. She has oversight for the firm’s U.S. offices and is responsible for holistic support of the core functions of the HR department including benefits, performance management processes, learning & development programs, and talent acquisition at a global level. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Grindell was an HR Director at RSM US in Minneapolis. Prior to RSM, she worked as HR Business Partner for Activar, Inc. Ms. Grindell received her B.A. in organizational behavior from the College of St. Scholastica. She also currently holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification.

Sara Reckner

Managing Director, Treasury Management

Ms. Reckner joined Castlelake in 2017 and is part of the Treasury Management team, focused on leading Castlelake’s treasury management function. Prior to joining Castlelake, Ms. Reckner was with the Treasury group at Pine River Capital Management, where she focused on cash and collateral management, as well as capital reporting. Prior to Pine River Capital, Ms. Reckner was with MoneyGram International, overseeing foreign exchange trading and reporting. Ms. Reckner received her B.A. in finance and legal studies in business from the University of St. Thomas.

Matt Sobraske

Management Company, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Sobraske joined Castlelake in 2017 and is part of the Corporate Accounting team, focused on accounting and financial management for the Castlelake funds, management company and general partner investment entities. Prior to joining Castlelake, Mr. Sobraske was with Waycrosse, a single family office, where he managed the corporate financial reporting and budgeting along with client treasury and investment accounting operations. Prior to Waycrosse, Mr. Sobraske worked in various financial management and technology roles at Patagonia in California. He received his B.A. in finance from the University of St. Thomas and is a CPA.

Interested in joining the Castlelake Team?

Learn more about what it’s like to work for Castlelake.

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