Jessica Nels, Churchill Asset Management
Jessica Nels
Managing Director, Capital Markets
Churchill Asset Management
What led you to a career in the deal making industry?
My first job out of college was in finance, creating budgets for sales teams. I realized then that I wanted to be on the front end of a transaction and not behind the scenes. I enjoyed interacting with different management teams, learning new businesses, business models and strategies, and became energized by the ‘thrill of the deal’.
Diversity adds value in the deal-making...
If you don’t embrace diversity, you will get stuck on a hamster wheel churning out the same thing time and time again, causing you to lose your edge. By being diverse you must think on your feet and be more creative, which allows you to react quicker, be relevant and provide better outcomes.
Most memorable deal...
Every deal from July 2022 and on: pivoted our syndications strategy to a best-efforts process while the market continued to shift and delivered complete debt solutions to the sponsors in every situation.
Advice for achieving success...
Having a strong team around you that is willing to move mountains because you are grateful for, give credit to and recognize all of the hard work, commitment and sacrifices made to get there.
Profile:
Jessica is responsible for middle market club transactions, syndication and lender relationship management. Prior to joining Churchill, she was a Director on the Capital Markets team for Twin Brook Capital Partners. While at Twin Brook, she structured, underwrote, and syndicated senior debt and unitranche credit facilities for middle-market private equity sponsors. Prior to that, she held various roles at BMO Harris Bank, Antares Capital and GE Capital.
Education: B.S. in finance and accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Location: Churchill Asset Management, New York, New York.
