Our Team

Vikram M. Lokur | Managing Director

Mr. Lokur has over 17 years experience in financial services including investment banking, private equity, structured finance and private wealth management. He divides his time between New York and Singapore. He also serves as a member of the investment committee of the Real Asset Energy Fund, a renewable energy power generation fund based in Milan and London. Additionally, he is as an Advisory Director to Fimeris, Inc., a private equity advisory firm focused on trans-Atlantic transactions, with offices in New York and London; and an Advisory Director to Capital Asia Partners, a Singapore based private advisory firm that works with family controlled conglomerates in South East Asia. Prior to forming MerSan in September 2010, Mr. Lokur was a Managing Director at Resource America, Inc., an asset management company with over $10 billion under management. He joined Resource America in January 2005 and was responsible for strategic partnerships and new business development in the U.S. and international markets. During his tenure with Resource America, he helped develop various businesses for the Firm including Resource Financial Fund Management, which grew from $4.5 billion in assets under management in 2005 to $13.3 billion in 2010. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Lokur served as a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston (Private Client Services). From 1999 to 2003, he worked at Morgan Stanley (Private Wealth Management). At those firms, he worked extensively with large family offices, assisting them with investments into private equity and other alternative asset classes. From 1996 to 1999, he worked in the Investment Banking Division of SBC Warburg Dillon Read, (now UBS AG); and from 1995 to 1996 in the Corporate Finance Division of Robert Fleming & Co., (now J.P. Morgan Chase). At those firms he worked in various capacities including mergers & acquisitions, equity capital markets, and corporate finance advisory; and provided coverage to numerous financial sponsors and family offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Lokur graduated with First Class Honors from the University of Buckingham in England where he was the recipient of the Sir Ernest Cassel Educational Trust award; and completed the international exchange program with Lehigh University.

Andrew C. Williams | Advisory Director

Mr. Williams is Chief Executive of Collabrium Capital, based in London. Prior to setting up Collabrium, he was Chief Executive of SVG Advisors from 2001 and a Director of SVG Plc. SVG itself was the successor to the Schroder Ventures International Investment Trust Plc. From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Williams was the Managing Director of Schroder Venture Holdings. During his time at Schroder Ventures, he was responsible for the establishment and management of numerous investment private equity investment companies with aggregate funds under management approaching US$10 billion. He established 8 diversified private equity Fund of Funds with aggregate investment capacity of over $5 billion. Those funds invested in over 100 different General Partners ranging from Europe and North America to the major Emerging Markets. Prior to going to Schroder Group, he was a Director of various Schroder Group Companies, including Co- Head of Equity Capital Markets; Head of Japan for M&A Advisory and Underwriting, Head of Schroder Securities Asia Division with operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Korea. He retired from the Schroder Group in 2000 after 25 years of continuous service. Since 2003, Mr. Williams has been a Director of CDC Plc formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation Plc, and since 2006 a Director of Macquarie Bank International Plc. Mr. Williams studied History at Christ Church College at the University of Oxford and qualified as a Barrister-of-Law at the Middle Temple. He attended the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) at the Harvard Business School in 1995

Jacques-Henri David | Advisory Director

Jacques-Henri David is Chairman of Acxior Corporate Finance, based in Paris. He has more than 25 years of experience as an industry leader in the corporate, financial, and banking sectors. Prior to Acxior, Mr. David was Chairman of Deutsche Bank France & Vice Chairman of the Global Banking division of Deutsche Bank AG. Previously he served as Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie Générale des Eaux (now Veolia Environnement), Chief Executive Officer of the Saint-Gobain Group, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Banque Stern, and Chairman of the Management Board of the Crédit d’équipement des PME (financing vehicle of SME in France). Additionally, he was Chief of Staff to René Monory, during his term as the French Minister of Finance. Since 2011, Mr. David also serves as Chairman of the Financial Activities Oversight Commission (CCAF) of Monaco. He is an Inspecteur des Finances graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, and ENSAE. From 1973 to 1986, he was a Lecturer at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. Mr. David is a Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur and a Commandeur de l’Ordre National du Mérite.

Joël-André Ornstein | Advisory Director

Joël-André Ornstein is President of Majorn Corp., a private investment firm. Majorn was established in 1989 as a joint venture partner of the global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, and the Euris/Rallye Group, a leading Paris-based family-owned investment office with more than $35 billion in assets (supermarkets, shopping centers, financial investments). He is a member of the Advisory Board of Paris-based investment bank, Acxior Corporate Finance. He is also a Senior Adviser to FSA-regulated energy merchant bankers, Clermont Energy Partners. He is a member of two Executive Boards of MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Mr. Ornstein is a pioneer of alternative asset/private equity investing, having seeded and invested alongside more than 100 managers of private equity, real estate, energy, distressed, and hedge funds over more than 20 years. He started his career at the age of twenty-two in investment banking in New York and London at Dean Witter Morgan Stanley and First Boston. He was an original member of fund investment advisory committees of Carlyle, Lexington Capital, and W.L. Ross. Additionally, he has been a director of a dozen listed and private companies. Mr. Ornstein was a Sloan Research Fellow at M.I.T. (research: the recycling of petrodollars under economics Nobel laureate, Prof. F. Modigliani). He holds a Master of Science in Finance from the M.I.T. Sloan School, a grande ecole degree, a Master and a diplomskaufmann from the ESCP- European School of Management.

Per Hornung Pedersen | Advisory Director

Mr. Pedersen has served as Chief Executive Officer of REpower Systems AG, a publicly traded company with over $1.5 billion of annual revenues. Based in Hamburg, Mr. Pedersen led REpower to become a leading international manufacturer of wind turbines for onshore and offshore applications for the global wind energy industry. He has also served as Chief Market Officer of REpower where he managed several departments including Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Key-Account Management, Contractual Risk Management, and Government Relations. Mr. Pedersen has over 20 years of senior management expertise including industrial, operating, and financial functions. In 2004, Mr. Pedersen joined Suzlon Energy A/S where he led and built Suzlon's international growth in the United States, Australia, China, Brazil, Portugal, Spain and Italy. From 2000 to 2004, he served as Group Chief Financial Officer for NEG Micon A/S (that was subsequently acquired by Vestas). From 1981 to 2000, Mr. Pedersen served as a senior Financial Officer in the construction, packaging and telecommunications sectors, focusing on change management and growth strategies. He started his professional career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co. He holds an MBA degree from the Copenhagen Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting & Finance from the University of Copenhagen.

François Wertheimer | Advisory Director

Mr. Wertheimer is Managing Partner & CEO of Capital Asia Partners, a Singapore based private investment & advisory firm that works with family controlled conglomerates in South East Asia. He has worked in Asia for over 17 years during which time he has served as CEO of HSBC Investment Bank in Indonesia; as well as Group CFO of Markmore Sdn. Bhd, Malaysia, a major diversified Asian conglomerate with interests in Oil & Gas, Mining, Property & Retail, and Construction. Mr. Wertheimer was responsible for Markmore’s investment activities, and also for managing the Private Investments Office of the two controlling shareholders. Additionally, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Hektar Group, a leading Property & Retail company in Asia listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. Prior to Markmore, Mr. Wertheimer was Head of Corporate Finance & Investment Banking for BNP Paribas in South East Asia; before which he held various senior positions at HSBC Investment Bank in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Jakarta. Before moving to Asia, he worked at Kleinwort Benson in London and in the investment banking division at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Mr. Wertheimer earned an MBA from Columbia University in New York in 1984 and a Bachelor in Business Administration from ESC Rouen, France in 1982.

Barry E. Dick | Non-Executive Director (MerSan Capital Singapore Pte. Ltd.)

Barry serves as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Opvs Group Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based investment management company that specializes in fund management and corporate advisory business, including working with early stage energy and mining companies that are based in Southeast Asia & Australia. Prior to co-founding Opvs in 2008, Barry was the Head of Distribution of debt products for Merrill Lynch in Asia, based in Hong Kong and Singapore. Barry and his team were actively involved in originating private capital transactions for the proprietary business of Merrill Lynch as well as the Firm’s large clients. Barry has worked in Asia for over 16 years, and has been responsible for running various businesses at Merrill Lynch through multiple credit cycles, including the 1997 - 1998 Asian financial crisis. During this extended period, he has advised numerous institutions, corporations, and family offices in China, Indonesia, Korea, and Australia. Barry holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a BA from Northeastern University.

W.B. “Bud” Kirchner | Advisory Director

Mr. Kirchner has 38 years of entrepreneurial, operational, transactional and international experience with numerous private equity and debt investment scenarios. He is Founder of Kirchner Private Capital Group, composed of Kirchner Investment Management Corporation, provider of private equity advisory and investment management services; Kirchner Transition Management, Inc., focused on reorganizations and workouts, and Kirchner and Company, Inc. an operationally-oriented boutique investment bank engaged with small and mid-cap companies. Mr. Kirchner has started and successfully exited companies in industries as diverse as financial services, agribusiness, airline and consulting, and has conducted corporate transactions in 30 countries. He has been a principal or agent in over 150 successful financings, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, workouts, and turnarounds. Mr. Kirchner has served as an officer and director of many public and private companies and is an advisor and confidante to a number of institutions, portfolio managers, and high net worth individuals. In 1994 Mr. Kirchner was named Ernst & Young, et. al, Entrepreneur of the Year in for recognition of the turnaround of a bankrupt company to a profitable industry leader. This company under Mr. Kirchner’s management went on to receive numerous distinctions including ranking fourth overall in a nationwide survey of all industries for profit gain over a five-year period as well as ranking in the “top 20 wealth creation companies” in a survey conducted by the Corporate Renaissance Group of all Canadian public companies. During this same timeframe over fifty direct competitors failed. The next year Mr. Kirchner was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Quality Institute of Canada in recognition of transforming a domestic business into an internationally-competitive company. This included a citation for: “entrepreneurial vision, leadership, commitment and innovation.” He is the only individual awarded both of these senior awards for entrepreneurship. Mr. Kirchner is the designer and architect of several proprietary business method models including “Crystallizing Value In Intellectual Property” as well as other models related to enhancing the value in individual companies and portfolios. He is active in a variety of philanthropic activities and co-founder of the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation, a charitable organization devoted to enriching the lives of individuals with cognitive, emotional, and/or physical impairments through programs centered on the use of multi-sensory environments.

Alan M. Harter | Advisory Director

Mr. Harter is Founder & Managing Director of Pactolus Holdings LLC, a multi-family office and private investment firm based in the Washington DC area. He has twenty years of experience in financial services at some of the world's largest financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Citi, Wachovia, and Merrill Lynch. Prior to launching Pactolus, Mr. Harter held senior positions at Morgan Stanley and Citi, and served as an Advisor for the Citi Family Office and Wachovia Wealth Management. Over the last decade, he has focused exclusively on working with families within the ultra-high-net-worth space. Mr. Harter leads the Firm's investment strategy and is responsible for the creation of a comprehensive service model tailored to each client. Pactolus incorporates traditional securities and asset management with opportunistic private equity investments that include the acquisition and management of real assets. Mr. Harter has extensive experience in collaborating with tax and legal counsel to execute global merchant banking opportunities for Pactolus and its clients. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Santa Clara University.

Patricio Prieto Larrain | Advisory Director

Patricio Prieto Larrain is an Attorney-at-Law with Prieto y Cia, a corporate law firm, headquartered in Santiago de Chile. Mr. Prieto's practice has focused on capital markets, insurance and reinsurance law and private equity investment funds. He has represented a wide range of domestic and international clients in securities offerings including IPOs, bond offerings and securitizations. He has also counseled foreign and domestic clients in insurance and reinsurance matters. Mr. Prieto is a Member of the Chilean Bar Association and listed arbitrator with the National Centre for Arbitration. He holds a J.D. from the Universidad de Chile and a Diploma in Economics of Free Competition, Fundamentals for Lawyers, from the Universidad de Los Andes.

David Philipp, CFA, CAIA | Advisory Director

Mr. Philipp is a Partner of Ambata Capital Partners, a global investment and advisory firm with a strategic focus on the Middle East and Africa and a sector focus on clean energy and sustainability. Mr. Philipp also serves as CEO of Ambata Global Advisors and is responsible for Middle East initiatives and relationships. Prior to Ambata, David was a founding partner of Gyre Capital Management. There he was the portfolio manager of the Global Asset Fund, a selection of niche hedge fund strategies covering essential resources such as water, energy (including alternative energies), metals, agriculture, infrastructure and related sectors. He also created and managed investment products focused on commodities and emerging markets. Prior to Gyre, David spent 12 years at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse in New York, London and San Francisco managing efforts in derivatives, structured finance and alternative investments. David graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is a CFA charterholder, a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, and a member of the CFA Institute and San Francisco Society of Financial Analysts.

Dr. Daniel M. Schmidt | Advisory Director

Dr. Schmidt is Managing Partner and CEO of CEPRES GmbH, based in Munich. He has more than ten years experience in both private equity investing and corporate business development. Dr. Schmidt has founded and managed several companies; including CEPRES GmbH (the Center for Private Equity Research), a pioneer in the areas of Private Equity data aggregation and research based consulting for private equity investors and fund managers. CEPRES provides the industry with unique online products that provide sophisticated market analysis for fund raising and due diligence. Formerly, Dr. Schmidt served as a Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Equity Partners and as a Principal of VCM Capital Management; which was acquired by Sal. Oppenheim Private Equity Partners GmbH. Dr. Schmidt studied Business Administration at the University of Mannheim in Germany and at Trinity College, Dublin. He earned his PhD from Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and was the recipient of an EU-funded research project for the advancement of private equity.

Benedikt M. Höfelmayr | Associate

Mr. Höfelmayr is responsible for project management and for originating and executing private capital transactions. He focuses on cross border activities, particularly in western Europe. Based in Munich, he also serves as Director of Business Development at CEPRES GmbH, the joint venture partner for MerSan in Germany. He has over five years of experience in private equity, asset management and real estate investing. At CEPRES, he is responsible for the development and implementation of new products for private equity asset allocators. He also serves as a Partner at Swiss based ONterra Invest AG, a specialized real estate advisory firm focused on industrial and office buildings and on prime agricultural farmland in the Southern Ontario region of Canada. Mr. Höfelmayr studied Business Administration at the Fresenius University in Munich.