Kenneth Krizan is part of the accounting team at Advantage Capital. As a staff accountant, he is responsible for recording activity and preparing financial statements for many of the firm’s entities.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, he worked in the tax department of KPMG, LLP, where he specialized in accounting methods and tax credit services.

Kenneth received a master’s degree in Accounting with Data Analytics from the Villanova School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting Info Systems from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. He is a certified public accountant.

Clare Landreneau is an accounting manager at Advantage Capital.  She is responsible for recording activity and preparing financial statements for several of the firm’s entities.

Prior to joining the firm, Clare worked as the Treasury Manager for Service Corporation International where she managed all cash and debt related activity for the company.  Clare also worked in the banking industry for ten years as a VP and Controller for Hibernia Bank in New Orleans.

Clare received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana of Lafayette, where she majored in business management.

Selma Landry is a collateral coordinator at Advantage Capital.  As a member of the government-guaranteed lending team and the investment team she monitors collateral and covenant compliance of the portfolio companies and assists in the closing of new transactions.

Selma comes to Advantage Capital with over 20 years of experience in the lending and financial industry, serving as a credit specialist, mortgage loan processor, legal assistant, and title clerk.

Selma attended Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and received an associate degree in business from the Community College of Rhode Island.

Debra Landry serves as our Payroll & Talent Specialist, overseeing all payroll operations at Advantage Capital.

Before joining our team, she held the role of Payroll Supervisor at a prominent healthcare hospital in the Gulf South. Additionally, she worked as a Payroll Administrator at a global cold storage company, where she managed accounts receivable, payroll, and HR functions. Debra's experience extends to handling union and private pay medical matters, and she also served as a staffing supervisor.

Ashlee Lane serves as the Executive Assistant at Advantage Capital's New Orleans office, where she plays a pivotal role in providing executive support and ensuring operational excellence.

Prior to joining the firm, Ashlee worked as a senior executive assistant within the healthcare industry supporting leadership in one of Louisiana’s largest hospital systems –Ochsner Health. Ashlee was responsible for managing complex calendars, coordinating meetings, and assisting with the planning and logistics for department and organizational events.

Julie Laperouse is a Principal and Chief Talent Officer at Advantage Capital. With two decades of experience helping companies and clients create meaningful corporate cultures and establish strong, strategic people pipelines, Julie leads the human resources strategy for the firm.

Julie comes to Advantage Capital from Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company where she was Director of Culture and Talent for a team of more than 800 employees. She also served as Managing Director of Training at Emergent Method; a management consulting firm focused on helping organizations achieve their mission. As Director of Talent Development for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce, she assisted local businesses in the attraction and retention of talent including executive recruitment and recruiting program development

Julie holds a B.A. from Louisiana State University. She also serves on the Emerging Leaders Council of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and runs The Alliance, a networking consortium of professional women. In 2017, the Baton Rouge Business Report named her to the list of Most Influential Women in Business.

Adan Leal is a senior analyst on the investment team where he is responsible for providing due diligence support and structuring transactions and portfolio management. 

Prior to joining the firm, Adan was an intern at Rex, ATX Acquisitions, a real estate investment firm and startup incubator.  

Adan received his bachelor's in finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Michael Lessa is a Vice President at Advantage Capital leading the financial modeling, valuations, and planning efforts for the solar development platform.

As an experienced corporate development and project finance professional in the renewable energy industry, Michael’s prior experience includes mergers and acquisitions, investment analysis, due diligence, and board approvals resulting in the successful commissioning of some of the largest renewable natural gas projects in the U.S. Michael also has significant experience with capital budgeting and investment analysis for natural gas combined cycle and combined heat and power plants.

Earlier in his career, Michael worked in asset liability management in the insurance and financial services industry helping to manage a multi-billion-dollar derivatives portfolio for the top annuity company in the U.S.

Michael holds a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Notre Dame as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Sheri Lewis joined the syndication team as a paralegal in 2015. Ms. Barto supports the team’s efforts to syndicate tax credits, while maintaining relationships with tax credit buyers and investors.

Ms. Lewis has over 10 years of experience with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Prior to joining Advantage Capital, she served as a paralegal at Sugar Creek Capital, forming and maintaining entities in multiple states, drafting operating and partnership agreements and bylaws and maintaining responsibility for many other integral functions. She also has over 15 years of experience in the title insurance industry.

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Steven Lichtin is a managing director at Advantage Capital and chief executive officer of Advantage Renewables. In this capacity, he is responsible for the strategy and growth of the company's renewable energy development platform. A seasoned energy developer, Steven brings nearly 15 years of experience developing solar and energy storage projects in various markets across the U.S. He has managed or developed over 10GWs, and directly overseen the commercialization of over 1GW of solar and energy storage projects.

Prior to Advantage Capital, Steven was vice president of development at Cypress Creek Renewables, a renewable energy independent power producer (IPP), where he led all development activities in ERCOT, PJM and MISO. Before that, he was director of development at esVolta, an energy storage IPP, where he led development activities for ERCOT, PJM, ISO-NE and NYISO. In these roles, Steven was responsible for managing the entire pipeline from site origination, through permitting and interconnection, to start of construction.

Steven earned his MBS in Sustainability from Bard College and his BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Mary Ann Lichvar is an executive assistant at Advantage Capital. She has a background in legal assistance, banking and brokerage compliance business support.    

Prior to joining the firm, Mary Ann worked at Wells Fargo Advisors as an Independent Testing Specialist for Wealth and Investment Management (WIM).  She supported the Head of WIM Independent Testing, directors and senior manager with staffing, communications, meetings and evidence-based control testing projects. She also previously worked in the Wells Fargo Compliance department supporting the College of Risk program, Compliance committee meetings, and the Director of Internal Controls.  She was the executive assistant to the CCO of Wachovia as well as the administrative assistant to the Director of Internal Controls at A.G. Edwards.  Her career began as a legal secretary at the Weier, Hockensmith & Sherby law firm in St. Louis and she worked for several years as an administrative assistant at IBM corporation in both service and marketing.

Mary Ann received her secretary certificate with an emphasis in legal studies from Sanford Brown College.

She is married, has three children and two grandchildren.  She resides in Chesterfield, Missouri.  Her hobbies are reading, cooking and cross-stitching.

Aruda Liu is a data analyst at Advantage Capital. As a member of the data team, she is responsible for developing data systems and automations, and supporting analytics and research insights.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Aruda was at a tech startup company where she worked as a business intelligence intern.

Aruda received her master's degree in quantitative finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Franchesca Lorio provides leadership in all aspects of the firm’s accounting and financial management. As a managing director and controller of all Advantage Capital entities, she is responsible for the preparation of the firm’s financial statements and numerous other periodic reports to investors, lenders and various regulatory authorities. Franchesca is also responsible for cash management as well as the implementation and supervision of the firm’s reporting and compliance systems. In addition, she works closely with the firm’s independent public accountants in connection with the completion of the annual audits of more than 70 Advantage Capital entities.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Franchesca practiced public accounting for five years with several leading CPA firms, where she focused on tax and financial accounting matters.

Franchesca graduated cum laude from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants, the American Society of Women Accountants and the Young Leadership Council.

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Justin Lovro is an analyst at Advantage Capital. As a member of the solar investment team, Justin is responsible for sourcing investments, performing due diligence, structuring transactions, and portfolio management.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, he interned at a boutique M&A advisory firm focused on climate-tech and energy infrastructure.

Justin received his bachelor's degree in finance from New York University.

Shaina Lowe is an office manager at Advantage Capital. She brings more than a decade of experience across administrative, customer service and the hospitality sectors.

Shaina’s experience in customer-facing roles has polished her ability to excel in dynamic environments, fostering a collaborative and supportive workplace atmosphere.

Peter Lu is a senior associate at Advantage Capital. As a member of the firm’s investment team, he focuses on sourcing investments, performing due diligence, structuring transactions, and managing portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Peter was an investment banking associate covering healthcare services M&A at Guggenheim Partners.

Peter received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.

J.P. Lynch is a vice president at Advantage Capital. As a member of the firm's investment team, he provides due diligence support and monitors portfolio companies across the Midwest.

Prior to joining Advantage, J.P. worked as an analyst at Stone Carlie, supporting its business valuation and investment banking departments.

J.P. received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and general management from Boston College.

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Omair Marghoob is a Senior Associate at Advantage Capital. Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Omair worked at Nautilus Solar Energy helping raise debt and tax equity for community solar projects and at the International Finance Corporation providing project finance debt to infrastructure assets in Asia-Pacific. Omair received his master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in finance from City University of New York, Baruch College.

Jessie Marquardt serves as a senior associate on the firm’s syndication group, for which she is responsible for due diligence and transaction work for our state-based Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investments.  

Jessie brings more than 12 years of real estate and banking experience, the last 5 of which were spent working on LIHTC and affordable housing projects.  Most recently, she served as a senior multi-family portfolio analyst for Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, where she worked on all aspects of their affordable housing program from underwriting to asset management for the development of affordable housing projects which included federal and state LIHTC Tax Credits among other funding sources. Previously she was a part of the underwriting team at Wells Fargo where her duties included loan modifications and managing a team of real estate underwriters.

Jessie received her bachelor’s degree in secondary education with social studies and English endorsements from Eastern Washington University.

Allison Marshall is an external affairs manager at Advantage Capital. As a member of the firm’s solar development team, her primary responsibilities include advocating for solar initiatives, establishing community partnerships, and navigating local political landscapes to secure project approvals.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Allison worked on the Indiana House Democratic Caucus’ communications staff before joining the Marion County Sheriff’s Office where she served as the department’s public information officer.

Allison received her bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Theatre & Drama from Indiana University where she graduated with highest distinction.

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Briana Maxham is an executive assistant at Advantage Capital.

Briana plays a key role in the overall operations of the firm’s Hanover office. She serves as the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director and provides project management support for the Hanover team. Prior to joining Advantage Capital Briana worked for a local legal team as an Administrator and Paralegal. For the past 20 years, most of Briana’s experience as Manager and Administrator has been with the American Red Cross and AIM Healthcare. She is involved within her community as Guardian ad Litem, Chair of the Hartland Community Connections, and as an EMT/First Responder.

Briana holds a master’s degree In Health Education from the Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich Germany and is fluent in German, Bavarian, and English.

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Mary Beth Maygarden is director of state and investor reporting at Advantage Capital. In this capacity, she maintains compliance with all federal and state statutes and regulations applicable to the firm’s investment operations.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Mary Beth served as a paralegal for Deutsch, Kerrigan and Stiles, LLP in New Orleans, where she provided litigation support in both federal and state jurisdictions. She also assisted clients with economic redevelopment matters in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Mary Beth received her master’s degree in humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas and her bachelor’s degree in medieval studies and history from Newcomb College-Tulane University, where she graduated cum laude.

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Tiffany Mc Mahon is the executive assistant to the CIO at Advantage Capital. Along with providing executive support, she serves as the office manager handling day-to-day functions of the New York office.

Prior to joining the firm, Tiffany worked as an operations specialist in the staffing industry supporting fortune 500 companies. Tiffany was responsible for processing payroll, preparing audits, and managing the communication flow to operations boxes.  

Tiffany received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Buffalo State University.

Riley McCarthy is an associate at Advantage Capital. In his role, he is responsible for sourcing investments, supporting business development efforts and providing due diligence support.

Riley brings more than four years of experience in the investment consulting space to the team. Most recently, he was an analyst and business development team member at Prime Buchholz, LLC.

He holds a bachelor of science in actuarial mathematics with a minor in economics from the University of Pittsburgh, and is currently a CFA Level III candidate.

Alaina McClue serves as a Staff Accountant at Advantage Capital, contributing to diverse functions within the financial cycle. Prior to her role at Advantage Capital, Alaina gained experience as an accountant in the General Accounting department at Ochsner Health System.

Alaina holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Master's Degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of California, Irvine. She remains actively involved with her alma mater, Xavier University, volunteering for the Alumni chapter and serving as a class representative.

Nicholas McConnell is an associate at Advantage Capital. In his role, he is responsible for sourcing investments, supporting business development efforts and providing due diligence support.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Mr. McConnell was a summer analyst at Insight2Profit, as well as a private equity summer analyst at BroadTree Partners.

Nicholas holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.

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Jack McGinn is an analyst on the investment team where he is responsible for sourcing investments and providing due diligence support.

Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Jack was a corporate audit intern for Bank of America.

Jack received his bachelor's degree in economics from Bowdoin College.

Andrew McKinnis is a senior analyst on the investment team where he is responsible for sourcing investments and providing due diligence support.

Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a summer investment associate at Stan Johnson where he contributed to the private equity division launch and as an MBA consultant at Advanced Plastics Inc. Andrew was the PAR Chairman of the University of Tulsa Student Investment Fund and a student athlete on the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Team.

Andrew received his MBA and his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Tulsa.

Thomas McNailen is a project developer on Advantage Capital's Renewables team where he focusses on solar and battery storage market evaluation and pipeline development.

Prior to joining Advantage Renewables, Thomas was a Project Developer at Cypress Creek Renewables, a renewable energy developer and independent power producer (IPP), where he was responsible for expansion into and project development efforts within MISO.  

Thomas earned his MBA with a concentration in Energy Finance from Duke's Fuqua School of Business and his BA in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University.

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David McNaught is a vice president at Advantage Capital. As a member of the firm’s investment team, he is responsible for underwriting new investments and monitoring portfolio companies. He joins Advantage Capital with more than 10 years of experience in public accounting and finance, previously holding roles of increasing responsibility at PricewaterhouseCoopers (Assurance), Ernst & Young (Transaction Advisory), and most recently, Clayton Capital Partners (M&A Advisory).

David earned his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, a master’s in accounting from Texas A&M University, and a bachelor’s in business administration from Colorado State University where he graduated summa cum laude. Additionally, David is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, inactive).