Press Release

September 18, 2023, London: The European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Sebastian Potocean and Russell Taylor as members of its Board.

Sebastian Potocean currently acts as co-chair to the Engagement Committee, where he has overseen a range of initiatives including engagement regarding the ability of UCITS funds to participate in new money financings in distressed scenarios and the continued sponsor designation model practice.

He acts as a Managing Director within Barings’ High Yield Investments Group and sits on the firm’s European High Yield Investment Committee. He is the Head of European Research and is responsible for managing the high yield research function in analysing and transacting new and secondary investment opportunities. Sebastian is also a Board Member of the Loan Market Association.

Russell Taylor formerly acted as co-chair for the Disclosure & Transparency Committee, where he led several initiatives including the committee’s engagement with the IASB and launch of the New Deal Disclosure Questionnaire. Russell is a portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) on European high yield strategies and leads the European high yield research team at JPMAM. He has been with the firm since 2010 and in the industry since 2005.

They will replace Alex Leonard from Blackstone and Simon Peatfield from HPS Investment Partners UK who have completed their terms on the Board.

Sabrina Fox, CEO at ELFA commented: “I want to thank Alex Leonard and Simon Peatfield for their valuable contribution and commitment to ELFA and welcome Sebastian Potocean and Russell Taylor as new members of the Board. I look forward to working with them and the other Board members as we work together to effect positive change in the leveraged finance market and to meet the need of our members.”