Claudine Aquillon, Managing Partner

Claudine Aquillon serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to co-founding Arboretum Investment Advisors, LLC (“Arboretum IA”), Ms. Aquillon served as Chief Operating Officer for a multinational alternative investment manager with over $1 Billion of capital raised. Ms. Aquillon brings over 25 years of operations experience, in both the public and private sectors. During her career in the financial services industry, Ms. Aquillon has served in multiple senior management and director positions at independent leasing companies, international banks, and financial consulting and due diligence firms where her primary responsibility was to oversee and manage the administrative, financial, legal, operational and risk functions. Ms. Aquillon also brings mergers & acquisition experience, having been part of a team that structured multiple successful acquisitions in the banking and financial services industry. Ms. Aquillon received her B.A. in Business Administration & Finance from Bradford College and has a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma from Villanova University.

Michael Miroshnikov, Managing Partner

Michael Miroshnikov serves as President. Prior to co-founding Arboretum IA, Mr. Miroshnikov began his career in the equipment leasing and finance industry in 2002 and was a founder of a multinational alternative investment manager with over $1 Billion of capital raised, where he played an integral role in a variety of capacities including operations, compliance, acquisitions and executive management. Mr. Miroshnikov has spearheaded the growth and development of Arboretum IA’s acquisition and origination division. Mr. Miroshnikov possesses a specific expertise in technology, manufacturing, medical, marine, energy and aviation assets and the respective industries. He graduated with a B.A. in Investment Finance from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and received a Juris Doctorate degree from Brooklyn Law School. He also holds Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Robert “Chip” Leas, Chief Executive Officer – Arboretum Commercial Finance, LLC

Mr. Leas serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Arboretum Commercial Finance, LLC. Mr. Leas brings over 35 years of executive management experience, in both the public and private sectors. During his career in the financial services industry, Mr. Leas has been very active in industry associations having served as President of the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors, Chairman of the independent leasing companies group of Equipment Leasing Association and has held various board seats and directorships in numerous leasing and commercial finance organizations. In addition he was a member of the executive committee of First Liberty Bank, and served in multiple senior management and director positions at independent leasing companies, and financial institutions. His primary responsibility was to oversee and manage lease and loan origination, operations and risk management. In addition, Mr. Leas has provided expert testimony services, mergers & acquisition consulting, and strategic portfolio acquisition advisement.

Josh Yifat, Chief Financial Officer

Joshua Yifat serves as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Yifat has over 20 years of business finance, accounting, tax and corporate auditing experience, including positions at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, KPMG LLP, and other regional accounting firms. He has extensive experience in the alternative investments industry including hedge funds and private equity funds. Mr. Yifat served as a consultant Chief Financial Officer with a CFO outsourcing firm, providing CFO strategies and services to various small to mid-sized publicly traded companies and alternative investments funds. Prior to that, Mr. Yifat was the Chief Financial Officer of Infinity Augmented Reality, Inc., a publicly traded company on the OTC, where he provided multi-functional executive leadership on accounting, finances, operations and investor/shareholder relations. Mr. Yifat also served as a Vice President of the Managed Futures Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where he supervised 40 managed futures funds with assets under management in excess of $6.5 billion. Mr. Yifat holds a B.S. from Touro College.

Kevin Chase, CFA®, Chief Credit Officer

Kevin Chase serves as the Chief Credit Officer. Mr. Chase joined Arboretum IA in 2016 and brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. During his career, Mr. Chase has held several underwriting and credit portfolio risk management roles at large financial institutions and independent leasing companies in the Boston area. His primary focus has been underwriting and managing complex credit transactions across numerous industries. Mr. Chase received his B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University and received a Master’s of Science in Finance degree from Bentley University. He is a CFA® Charter holder and is a member of the CFA Institute and the Boston Securities Analysts Society.

Matthew Cowan, General Counsel

Matthew Cowan serves as the General Counsel and Secretary. Mr. Cowan joined the founders of Arboretum IA in 2014 as a senior staff attorney, and in 2016 became the General Counsel. Prior to joining Arboretum IA, Mr. Cowan spent several years working for small law firms with diversified areas of practice. During this time, Mr. Cowan specialized in real estate and corporate transactions, working with a wide array of corporate and individual clients both as a transactional attorney and a litigator. Mr. Cowan received a J.D from New York Law School and a B.S. from the New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is an attorney licensed in New York and New Hampshire.

Christina Oakes, Senior Vice President – Investor Relations

Christina Oakes serves as the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Ms. Oakes joined the team in 2013 and has held various positions in the investment industry since 2002. She has a unique professional background, combining experience from both buy and sell-side firms spanning private equity and venture capital, retail stocks, municipal bonds, family office, and alternative investments. Prior to joining the company, she most recently held the position of Vice President of Investor Relations at Berkeley Advisors, a real estate investment firm that managed private REITs and limited partnerships. Ms. Oakes also previously served as a Project Manager for the investments team at Capricorn Management, a Silicon Valley-based family office. Ms. Oakes received her B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance and Economics from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Kyle Manez, Senior Vice President – Operations

Kyle Manez serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations. Mr. Manez joined the team in January of 2015 as an operations analyst before moving into a Vice President role. He has been a key contributor in re-engineering the company’s systems and procedures in order to help drive revenue growth as well as improve the client experience. His primary functions include overseeing the day to day management of all Arboretum IA and 3rd party funds. Mr. Manez has worked in the financial service industry since 2011. Prior to joining Arboretum IA he has most recently worked as a registered representative for JPMorgan Securities, LLC in the Private Client/wealth management division while holding series 6 and 63 licenses. Mr. Manez received his B.A. in Business Management from Gettysburg College and is a CFA Level II Candidate.

Jessica Murray, Chief Compliance Officer

Jessica Murray serves as the Chief Compliance Officer of Arboretum IA. Ms. Murray joined Arboretum in 2019 and brings over 20 years of experience in the banking and investments industry where she has worked for a large regional bank and their broker-dealer subsidiary. Her career spanned from roles in the bank’s back-office operations and training to branch management, where in 2004 she was licensed to sell investments to retail customers. For the past 10 years, Ms. Murray’s direct compliance and supervisory experience was as a senior compliance officer for the bank’s dually registered broker-dealer and investment advisory subsidiary. Ms. Murray holds a B.S. in Business Management from Bryant University. She also holds Series 6, 7, 24, 53, 63, 65, and 99 licenses