Rabobank International has hired Ronald Grobeck, managing director, from The Carlyle Group. He will be starting in mid-October and will be responsible for the overall management of corporate collateralized debt obligations, including portfolio management, trading, structuring, analytics and operations. Grobeck will report to Sheldon Sussman, global head of structuring and portfolio management, global financial markets. He replaces E.A. Kratzman who left Rabobank in May to join Katonah Debt Advisors.
"He is really one of the top people around and we are thrilled that we were able to get him, and are excited about him joining us," said Sussman. He explained that Grobeck has a background in both leveraged loans and corporate bonds. "He has been exposed to really all facets of the business from marketing and investor relations to portfolio management. He is seasoned, experienced and I think really an ideal person to help us to continue to grow."
The group has also added two additional portfolio managers over the past few months -- Eric Hurshman and Diana Ngo -- but Sussman said he does not know whether the group will be adding any more. The firm currently has seven different corporate vehicles plus two cash-flow collateralized loan obligations. It is ramping up for additional CLO funds, but no launch date is set.
At The Carlyle Group, Grobeck was a managing director and head of marketing and investor relations in the leveraged finance group. Previously, he worked at Fischer Francis Trees & Watts and JPMorgan. Grobeck could not be reached for comment.