Team Members
WILLIAM D. LENGA
William Lenga is the Managing Partner and CEO of Tall Tree Investment Management. Prior to founding TTIM in June 2005, Mr. Lenga was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc (MSIM) in the Senior Loan Group. Prior to MSIM, Mr. Lenga was employed by Sanwa Business Credit Corp from 1984 to 1999 where his responsibilities included co-founding the firm’s distressed trading group, managing, restructuring and disposition of the firm’s distressed assets and developing new business within the project finance, middle market, and the leveraged and full equity tax oriented business segments. Mr. Lenga began his career at Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co., where he was a senior auditor. Mr. Lenga is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Accountancy and Finance.
FRANK J. SHERROD
Frank Sherrod is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to co-founding Tall Tree, Mr. Sherrod was a Vice President in the Senior Loan Group at MSIM, where he was responsible for directing the group’s loan operations and technology functions, negotiating, structuring, and managing operational support, investor relations/reporting for the lines of credit and preferred share offerings of the senior loan funds, and the institutional separate accounts managed by the group. Before joining MSIM, Mr. Sherrod was a Vice President at Fleet Capital Leasing (fka Sanwa Business Credit Corp). During his tenure at Fleet, Mr. Sherrod held management roles within the internal audit, loan operations, credit risk management/portfolio reporting, and information technology functions. Prior to joining Fleet, Mr. Sherrod began his career at Continental Bank as an internal auditor. Mr. Sherrod is a graduate of DePaul University with a B.S. in Accountancy, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society.
DOUGLAS L. WINCHELL
Doug Winchell is a senior analyst and portfolio manager following the building materials & real estate, chemicals, containers/packaging, natural resources, ecological, electronics, finance, mining/steel, oil & gas, and utilities industries. Prior to co-founding Tall Tree, Mr. Winchell was a Vice President and Associate Portfolio Manager in the Senior Loan Group of MSIM, where he followed the building & real estate, containers/packaging, ecological, and technology industries and evaluated distressed debt opportunities. Before joining the Senior Loan Group, Mr. Winchell was a Vice President in the Van Kampen high yield municipal and corporate bonds group. Prior to joining Van Kampen, Mr. Winchell was employed by Fuji Bank, where he established their Real Estate Group that lead, syndicated, and participated in high quality real estate and project finance transactions. Mr. Winchell started his banking career with First Chicago’s construction lending group. Mr. Winchell received his B.S. in Management from University of Illinois and MBA in Management Information Systems from Dominican University.
BRIAN T. BUSCHER
Brian Buscher is the portfolio strategist at Tall Tree responsible for CLO structuring, portfolio compliance, and performance analytics. Prior to co-founding Tall Tree, Mr. Buscher was a Vice President at MSIM, responsible for managing the loan operations functions supporting the loan funds managed by the Senior Loan Group. Prior to joining MSIM, Mr. Buscher was a manager in the sales support areas of Kemper Investments, Inc. Prior to joining Kemper, Mr. Buscher was a Unit Manager and Sales Support Representative at Van Kampen. He holds a B.A. in Business from Augustana College.
BLAINE E. REED, CFA
Blaine Reed is the secondary market analyst and trader. Prior to co-founding Tall Tree, Mr. Reed was a Senior Associate in the Senior Loan Group at MSIM, where he was responsible for providing secondary market analysis and trading. Prior to managing the loan trading function, Mr. Reed was responsible for managing short-term investment within the retail loan funds managed by the Senior Loan Group. Prior to joining the Senior Loan Group, he worked in various operational and service capacities for MSIM. Mr. Reed received a B.S. in Economics from the University of Houston. Mr. Reed is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
MICHAEL J. STARSHAK, JR.
Michael Starshak is a senior analyst and portfolio manager following the healthcare, food & beverage, cinema, lodging, gaming and entertainment, restaurants, retail, consumer goods & services, business services and farming & agriculture industries. Prior to co-founding Tall Tree, Mr. Starshak was a Senior Analyst in the Senior Loan Group of MSIM, where he was responsible for following the healthcare, pharmaceuticals, gaming, lodging, and leisure industries, as well as distressed and workout transactions. Prior to joining MSIM, Mr. Starshak was a Product Manager at Labelmaster. Mr. Starshak is a graduate of Loras College with a B.A. in Marketing and a Minor in Classical Studies, and has an MBA in Finance and International Business from Dominican University.
GREGORY A. WHITE, CFA
Greg White is a senior analyst and portfolio manager following the aerospace/defense, business services, media & broadcasting, insurance, technology, telecommunications, and transportation industries. Prior to joining Tall Tree, Mr. White was a Vice President in the Senior Loan Group at MSIM, where he covered the broadcasting, chemical, technology, and telecommunications industries, including evaluation of stressed and distressed investment opportunities, and participation in various workout situations. Prior to joining the Senior Loan Group, Mr. White served in several investment roles of increasing responsibility in the Van Kampen fixed income group, covering the airport, general obligation, industrial revenue, transportation, and utility segments. Mr. White is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg Business School of Management with an MBA in Finance, and Illinois State University with a B.S. in Finance. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
