Global Principal Partners

		David Stickler Senior Managing Director United States and Asia dstickler@globalprincipal.com Throughout his highly successful career covering the metals and mining industry, Mr. Stickler has structured and raised capital for many of the world's highest profile steel industry projects. Mr. Stickler's global roster of clients benefit from his expertise in structuring and restructuring metals and mining transactions involving all forms of capital, including senior secured debt, private and public unsecured debt, highly structured mezzanine financing and private and public equity. Mr. Stickler is well known for his ability to raise billions of dollars of startup and expansion capital for new and growing steel companies in both Asia and North America. He has also gained a reputation for successfully designing and implementing restructuring plans for metals companies throughout the world. Prior to beginning his career as an investment banker and steel industry investor, Mr. Stickler worked in the administration of President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Stickler holds an M.B.A. degree from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. degree in accounting from Bowling Green State University. Mr. Stickler is also a certified public accountant. Mr. Stickler and his wife, Ms. Rebecca Ping Li, reside in both the United States and China.



		Ahab Garas Managing Director United States and the Middle East agaras@globalprincipal.com Mr. Garas has an established history of providing a wide array of industrial companies with mergers & acquisitions, capital raising, crisis management and restructuring advisory services. Throughout his career, Mr. Garas has demonstrated expertise in creating innovative capital structures, executing complex transactions and raising a broad range of capital for both growing and distressed companies focused within the steel sector. Additionally, Mr. Garas has led GPP’s efforts in securing many of the steel industry’s most competitive governmental economic incentive packages as well as leading the firm’s business location advisory efforts worldwide. Mr. Garas has negotiated with numerous legislative bodies, municipalities, counties, states and major utility providers combining his unique knowledge of economic incentives, tax laws and legislative statute processes to consistently deliver oversized financial incentives for clients. Mr. Garas has worked with a diverse group of business clients ranging from small start-up businesses to large multinational corporations. Mr. Garas is highly qualified to assist companies as an executive crisis manager having served clients throughout his career in both out-of-court and in court restructuring environments. Mr. Garas has also served in various executive and director roles for companies within the steel industry, most recently having served in the role of chief executive officer for one of the steel industry’s most renowned steel advisory firms during this firm’s involvement in the construction, erection and start-up of a US$4.5 billion steel mill project. Prior to joining GPP, Mr. Garas was the vice president of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Bankruptcy and Distressed Business Practice at a leading US-based financial organization. Mr. Garas also has extensive overseas experience having led his prior firm’s office in Southeast Asia where he spent several years leading Thailand’s and the region’s largest steel restructuring transaction. Mr. Garas holds M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University, where he was a Merit Scholar, and a B.A. degree from Boston University. Mr. Garas and his wife, Ms. Sara Shehata, reside in both the United States and Egypt.



		Ari Levy Managing Director United States and Asia alevy@globalprincipal.com Mr. Levy has developed a successful track record of assembling highly structured senior debt packages for his global steel industry clients. Frequently these senior debt instruments involve the participation of foreign government guarantees via export credit agencies. As a result of these efforts, Mr. Levy has been able to provide his clients with more than US$1 billion of the most efficiently-priced capital under the most challenging of market circumstances. By virtue of his experience in structuring these debt transactions, Mr. Levy is frequently called upon by strategic and financial equity sponsors in the global steel industry so that he may assist them in maximizing returns on their investments. Mr. Levy has leveraged his experience in the debt and equity markets in order to assist GPP’s clients in structuring complex project financing transactions, such as SeverCorr, LLC and the mill modernization project at Severstal North America Inc. Mr. Levy began his career on Wall Street in 1997 as an investment banker for Gleacher & Co. where he focused primarily on structuring merger & acquisitions and high yield financing transactions for his clients. He later joined McDonald Investments (today KeyBanc Capital Markets) and was promoted to Vice President of its investment banking steel industry practice. While at McDonald Investments, Mr. Levy led one of most high-profile debt restructuring and steel industry mergers in Southeast Asia via the formation of Millennium Steel Public Company Limited. Mr. Levy joined GPP as a principal in 2003. Mr. Levy obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan Business School. Mr. Levy and his wife, Mrs. Araya Ratharee-Levy, reside in both the United States and Thailand.



		Julie Payne Vice President and Controller jpayne@globalprincipal.com Ms. Payne has worked in investment banking for over ten years. During this period, Ms. Payne has worked on a number of complex investment banking and restructuring transactions including capital raising transactions, debt restructurings, buy side and sell side mergers and 363(b)(1) asset sales. Ms. Payne supports Global Principal Partners in numerous roles that include preparing transaction documents, comprehensive information memorandums, management presentations and financial schedules and has extensive contact with clients, co advisors and outside attorneys. Additionally, Ms. Payne assists clients with the organization and formation of new companies. This assistance includes providing on-site support to the client's general operating needs, systems creation and process development. Ms. Payne also serves as Global Principal Partners' controller. Ms. Payne and her husband, Mr. Art Payne, reside in the United States.