Our Team. Our Expertise.

Mr. Koenigsberger is Founder, Chief Investment Officer and the Managing Partner of Gramercy.  He founded Gramercy in 1998 with a vision for the firm to become a global, institutional investment management firm focused on emerging markets.  Mr. Koenigsberger has 31 years of investment experience dedicated to emerging markets with a specialization in distressed opportunistic credit strategies. Additionally, he serves as Co-Portfolio Manager for Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund III, Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund II, Gramercy Distressed Argentina Fund III, Gramercy Credit Opportunities Fund and Gramercy Venezuela Opportunity Fund.

Prior to founding Gramercy, Mr. Koenigsberger was a Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers from 1995 to 1998, where he managed the bank’s sovereign debt restructuring group.  Prior to that, he was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. for three years, where he traded performing and distressed emerging markets debt securities in New York, London and Hong Kong.  From 1987 to 1991, he held the position of Vice President at CR-P Associates, a financial advisory firm with offices in Central and South America that led sovereign debt restructurings, debt buy-backs and debt-equity swap transactions in Latin America.

Mr. Koenigsberger is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Millbrook School and also serves as the Chair of the Investment Committee for the Millbrook School Endowment.  Mr. Koenigsberger is also a member of the President's Advisory Council at Elon University and the Chancellor's Advisory Council at Texas Christian University.

Mr. Koenigsberger received a MBA in Finance from Wharton, a MA in International Studies with a concentration in Latin America from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Latin American Political Science and History of Latin America with a minor in Economics from the University of California, San Diego where he graduated with honors.  Mr. Koenigsberger completed his undergraduate and graduate theses on the Historical Origins and Implications of the Latin American Debt Crisis.

Mr. Seaman has 34 years of business management experience and joined Gramercy in 2002. Mr. Seaman has executive oversight of the firm’s business areas including accounting, operations, legal, risk management, business development and investor relations, technology, human resources and administration. Mr. Seaman is the Chair of Gramercy’s Risk Management Committee and Valuation Committee. Further, he is a member of Gramercy’s Management Committee, Compliance Committee, and EMD Asset Allocation Committee.

Prior to joining Gramercy in June 2002, Mr. Seaman spent 16 years at J.P. Morgan in several management and control roles.  He was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management’s Hedge Funds Group and Real Estate Investment Group from 2000 to 2002, where he was responsible for business growth and operational integrity. From 1998 to 2000, he was the Manager of the Emerging Markets Strategic Planning Group at J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and responsible for building a global office network. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Seaman was head of Emerging Markets Business Analysis and Development at J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. where he was instrumental in building new products and managing a complex control structure. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., he was a Vice President in the J.P. Morgan & Co. Audit Group where he specialized in management consulting to new and rapidly growing sales and trading businesses. From 1984 to 1986, he was a Senior Audit Analyst at Ernst & Whinney.

Mr. Seaman received a MBA in Finance from New York University – Stern Graduate School of Business and a BS in Accounting with a minor in Economics at Long Island University – CW Post Center School of Professional Accountancy where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Additionally, Mr. Seaman is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.

Mr. Rauch has 38 years of investment experience. He serves as Co-Portfolio Manager for Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund III, Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund II, Gramercy Credit Opportunities Fund and Gramercy Corporate/High Yield Debt Strategies.  Mr. Rauch has been, or is currently involved, as a leading creditor or advisor in the restructuring of numerous companies across emerging markets including Alestra, Arpeni, Asia Pulp and Paper, Banro Corporation, BTA Bank Kazakhstan, Berlian Laju Tanker, China Forestry, Dina, Durango, Essar Steel, Industrias Unidas, Iusacell, Mechala, Medefin, Metrogas, New World Resources, Renaissance Insurance, San Luis, Satmex, Tonon Bioenergia, Transtel and Tristan Oil. He is a member of the Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee and participates in the weekly Corporate/Distressed Credit Meeting.

Prior to joining Gramercy at the end of 2000, Mr. Rauch worked as a consultant to hedge funds managed by Van Eck Global and Farallon Capital Management specializing in the analysis of emerging markets special situations. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Rauch was President of The Weston Group, where he was responsible for overseeing the firm’s securities research and corporate debt advisory business in Latin America. In the early 1990s, Mr. Rauch worked as a Vice President with Lehman Brothers and CS First Boston in their emerging markets fixed income trading groups. In the second half of the 1980s, he was a Vice President and Trader with First Interstate Bank’s Loan Syndications Group, structuring and syndicating loan facilities to highly-leveraged American and Asian corporations. He began his career in 1980 with Swiss Bank Corporation in several credit and corporate finance roles.

Mr. Rauch received a MM in Finance and International Business from Northwestern University – Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his BA in Political Economy from Williams College. Additionally, Mr. Rauch is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Mr. Herzberg has 22 years of investment and research experience. He oversees a team of experienced credit research analysts responsible for Gramercy’s emerging markets corporate investment recommendations. Mr. Herzberg is a member of the Investment Committee and chairs the weekly Corporate/Distressed Credit Meeting. He is also a member of our Liquidity Committee. Mr. Herzberg has served on numerous creditor committees and has extensive experience in the complex restructuring of various companies in Latin America and Eastern Europe including BTA Bank I and II (Kazakhstan), Durango I and II (Mexico), Bio Pappel (Mexico), Renaissance Insurance (Russia) and Metrogas (Argentina). Mr. Herzberg serves as one of the Co-Portfolio managers for Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund III, Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund II and Gramercy Credit Opportunities Fund.

Prior to joining Gramercy in October 2002, Mr. Herzberg worked at Bear Stearns and Co., Inc. as a Research Associate in the Global High Yield department, specializing in Latin American corporate research. From 1997 to 1998, he was a junior analyst at Caspian Securities where he covered Latin American bank equities. From 1996 to 1997, he worked at GTE Service Corporation as an Associate in its International Development training program.

Mr. Herzberg received a BA in Economics and Political Science at Middlebury College.

Mr. Grills has 24 years of investment experience and is Co-Head of Gramercy’s EMD group. He is responsible for the management and investment decisions of Gramercy’s long-only EMD strategies. Along with Mr. Heiland, he manages sector specific strategies which invest in a broad range of EMD opportunities including an EMD High Yield Corporate Fund and an Asset Allocation Strategy which seek to add additional alpha through active sector rotation among the sub-sectors of EMD. Mr. Grills is a member of the Investment Committee and the Asset Allocation Committee.

Prior to joining Gramercy in May 2010, Mr. Grills was a portfolio manager and co-head of the EMD team at JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM). As a co-head, he was responsible for over $10 billion in emerging markets debt investments. Mr. Grills oversaw all investment functions for EMD within JPMAM globally and focused on the risk management and portfolio construction across EMD strategies. He was a senior member of the JPMorgan Fixed Income Macro team, comprising of 13 sector specialists, and responsible for broad market relative valuation. He was with JPMorgan for 16 years, starting in 1993, spending two years with the Structured Derivatives Group before moving to the Fixed Income Group. In the Fixed Income Group, he served as an analyst for the Quantitative Research Sub-Group focusing on portfolio construction and risk analysis. He then transitioned into a portfolio manager role for the Global Extend Markets (GEM) group and ultimately managed the EMD team.

Mr. Grills received a BS in mathematics and economics from Duke University. Additionally, Mr. Grills is a CFA Charterholder.

Mr. Heiland has 29 years of investment experience and is Co-Head of Gramercy’s EMD group. He is responsible for the management and investment decisions of Gramercy’s long-only EMD strategies. Along with Mr. Grills, he manages sector specific strategies which invest in a broad range of EMD opportunities including an EMD High Yield Corporate Fund and an Asset Allocation Strategy which seek to add additional alpha through active sector rotation among the sub-sectors of EMD. Mr. Heiland is a member of the Investment Committee and the Asset Allocation Committee and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors for Gramercy Investment Funds PLC (the umbrella Fund for all UCITS sub-funds).  

Prior to joining Gramercy in May 2010, Mr. Heiland was a portfolio manager and co-head of the EMD team at JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM). As a co-head, he was responsible for over $10 billion in emerging markets debt investments. Mr. Heiland oversaw all global investment functions for the EMD team within JPMAM while principally focusing on trading and implementation across all EMD strategies. He was a senior member of the JPMorgan Fixed Income Macro team, comprising 13 sector specialists, and responsible for broad market relative valuation. He was with JPMAM for 12 years, having initially joined as a municipal bond trader in 1997. In 1999, Mr. Heiland moved to the short term desk, taking over daily trading responsibilities of the Treasury Fund, Tax Exempt Money Market Fund, Tax Aware Enhanced Income Fund and various other corporate accounts. Before joining JPMorgan, he spent eight years at Salomon Brothers, starting in systems, graduating from the Sales and Trading program and then joining the Government Desk.

Mr. Heiland received a BS in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Mr. Ferraro has 31 years of Latin America focused investment banking and capital markets experience. As co-portfolio manager of the Capital Solutions strategy, Mr. Ferraro is responsible for recommending, sourcing and managing capital solutions transactions and direct lending opportunities across the platform. He is a member of the Capital Solutions Investment Committee and reports directly to Robert Koenigsberger, CIO.

Prior to joining Gramercy in May 2012, Mr. Ferraro served as a Managing Director with Barclays Capital, where he led a Capital Markets team that covered the firm’s largest Latin American corporate and sovereign clients focusing on debt capital markets and liability management. He played a key role in Argentina’s 2010 reverse inquiry debt restructuring, which Gramercy originated, as well as the country’s previous debt restructuring in 2005. From 2000 through 2003, Mr. Ferraro worked in Salomon Smith Barney’s Investment Bank where he was head of TMT (Technology, Media & Telecom) for Latin America. From 1994 through 2000, he was the head of the Debt Capital Markets desk for Latin America for Lehman Brothers in New York and he covered Argentina and Chile for Lehman Brothers Investment Banking as the head of their office in Buenos Aires. From 1987 through 1994, he spent time at Citibank in Sao Paulo, Brazil and in New York, where he was responsible for asset trading and for the coverage of Brazilian and Multinational clients and later on became responsible for the debt syndicate desk for Emerging Markets.

Mr. Ferraro received an MBA in Finance from Claremont Graduate School and a degree of Licenciado en Economia from Universidad Catolica Argentina in Buenos Aires.

Mr. Lanava has 22 years of investment operations experience and a 19 year tenure at Gramercy. As Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. Lanava is responsible for ensuring our policies and procedures are up to date and that employees are operating within the boundaries as set.

Prior to joining Gramercy in March 1999, Mr. Lanava was the Operations Manager for Van Eck Capital, Inc., a broker-dealer focused on emerging markets. At Van Eck Capital, Inc. he was responsible for daily operational duties including the settlement of trades and net capitalization computations. He was also responsible for opening new accounts and setting up lines of credit. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Lanava was the Settlements Officer for NCH Capital Inc., a family of hedge funds focused on Russia and the former Soviet Union, where he was responsible for the settlement of trades and custody of positions. From 1995 to 1997, he was the Operations Specialist for First Cambridge Securities Corp., where he performed back office operational duties including margin and trade correction.

Mr. Lanava received a BA in Economics from Saint Anselm College.

Mr. Joannou has 17 years of financial management and control experience. As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Joannou manages all the world-wide accounting and financial reporting obligations of the Firm inclusive of the client funds and Gramercy management company. Such oversight includes daily and monthly analysis and reporting, annual audited financial statements, cash projections and controls, expense management, tax analysis and statements, management dashboards, and special analytical projects as requested by senior management. Mr. Joannou heads the Firm's SSAE 16 SOC1 Type II compliance team and also assists the CCO and CLO with regulatory compliance.

Prior to joining Gramercy in February 2007, Mr. Joannou was a Capital Project Director for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, located in New York, NY where he managed over $800MM worth of infrastructure projects. As Project Director, he was responsible for creating and tracking multiple budgets, organizing cross-functional working groups, analyzing project risk, and awarding contracts after design review. Mr. Joannou’s management increased efficiency and productivity and resulted in higher operating capacity.

Mr. Joannou received a MBA in Management from Centenary College and a BBA in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University. Additionally, he is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.

Mr. Taylor has 16 years of legal experience and is responsible for managing the full spectrum of Gramercy’s legal affairs including the firm’s compliance with all applicable U.S. and foreign securities laws, tax laws, AML and ERISA issues. In addition, Mr. Taylor is responsible for risk management with respect to all documentation relating to trading counterparties and investment guidelines. He also manages the legal aspects of asset management and product development, assisting with position entries and exits, restructurings and fund formations.

Prior to joining Gramercy in March 2010, Mr. Taylor was with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney where he focused on the sale and distribution of various alternative products including private equity, real estate and hedge funds. From 2005 to 2009 he was with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP as an Associate in their Financial Services Department where he primarily represented investment banks and hedge funds in connection with the negotiation of various credit and equity derivatives transactions and other types of secured financing transactions. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Taylor was an Associate in the Tax Department at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP where he represented investors and asset managers with respect to legal, tax and business matters surrounding private equity fund formation, LBO transactions and private equity investments.

Mr. Taylor received a JD from Columbia University School of Law (where he graduated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar) and a BA in Sociology with a minor in Business from SUNY Albany. Additionally, he attended the Tax LLM program at New York University School of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar.

Mr. Harris has 21 years of industry experience, 16 of which have been spent at Gramercy. Mr. Harris runs all aspects of the technology department. His vast knowledge of programming languages enables Mr. Harris to update and maintain the development of all end-of-day reports, adjust code on a regular basis to meet the ever changing needs of the users and design programs to assist in the day-to-day operations of all of Gramercy’s departments. Mr. Harris researches, implements and administers new technologies ensuring that Gramercy’s technology is both SOC1 compliant and cutting edge. Additionally, he develops, manages and maintains the company’s websites and databases. On a daily basis, Mr. Harris collaborates with his team on various help desk issues, building and customizing computers, as well as designing and supervising all networks on a global level.

Prior to joining Gramercy in July 2002, Mr. Harris worked at LiveTechnology, Inc. He developed company intranets, extranets, and other web sites for many leading companies, such as Coca-Cola, Omnicom, and Shell/Texaco. He also created web sites and web applications at UGO.com. Mr. Harris worked at Internet Security Systems, Inc. (ISS) where he deployed ISS security products across large corporations’ networks. He started his career at American Management Systems, Inc. as a programmer and database administrator.

Mr. Harris received a BS in Computer Science from Binghamton University.

Mr. LaVersa has 31 years of experience working with institutional and HNW investors and their advisors globally.  At Gramercy, he heads the Business Development team and focuses on pension plans, insurance companies, endowments/foundations, fund of funds, family offices and consultants. 

Prior to joining Gramercy in 2011, Mr. LaVersa was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tower Lane Partners.  Prior to founding Tower Lane Partners, he spent 6 years at FrontPoint Partners, most recently as Co-Head of the Client Advisory Group.  From 1997 to 2003, Mr. LaVersa worked in the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs. He began his career at Federated Investors where he worked from 1987-1997.

Mr. LaVersa received a BA in Economics and History from Denison University.