Team

Walter Gontarek is our CEO, IC Chair and Chairman. As such, he sets the firm’s strategy, articulates its culture, and manages key stakeholder relationships.

He previously served as Managing Director/Global Head of Credit Products at the Royal Bank of Canada and held senior executive roles in capital markets and consumer/SME banking in the US, Canada and Europe.

Walt holds non-executive board roles at the UK regulated arms of Catalina Re-insurance and Wiserfunding Ltd. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a Doctorate (Finance) from Cranfield University. He also holds certificates from Carnegie Mellon University (Cyber Risk Board Oversight) and Stanford University (Board Directors College).

Walt is a Visiting Fellow/Lecturer for Sustainable Finance/Financial Markets at Cranfield University and SciencesPo Paris and a Professor (Honorary) for fintech at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Deborah is a founding partner of Channel. She currently serves as CFO and Head of Strategy.

Before joining Channel in 2006, Deborah worked at Rabobank as Global Business Manager for all its capital markets activities, overseeing budgeting, planning, and other administrative functions. She previously worked at Westpac as Divisional Controller and EBRD as Principal Manager of its initial financial control policies. Deborah holds a BSc from the London School of Economics and is a chartered accountant.

As Chief Operating Officer, Ian joined Channel from his position of Managing Director at Corporate Linx, a Supply Chain Finance technology provider based in France and the UK.  He has  spent most of his career in invoice finance and asset-based lending, both here in the UK and overseas.

During his 9 years with Bibby Financial Services, he spent 6 years based in Australia & Singapore as CEO for Asia Pacific followed by 3 years in Atlanta as CEO of BFS North America.

His earlier career experience includes executive positions with General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in the UK and prior to that International Factors, a subsidiary of Lloyds Bank.

Jack is a member of the Board of Directors, Chairs its Audit & Risk Committee, and is a member of the Compensation Committee. Jack provides advice to the management team on strategic matters for 15 years and liaises with key stakeholders and shareholders as needed.

Jack previously served as senior banker in the capital markets business at Citibank in Asia and the US where he played a key role as one of the founders of the derivatives markets. He founded CapMAC and served as CEO and Chairman, including its listing on the NYSE.

He was named in March 2010 as non-executive Chairman of the Asset Protection Agency, an executive agency in the United Kingdom and subsidiary of HM Treasury, to help create a rescue for the banking crisis in the UK. Jack holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and a BS from California State University, Long Beach. He is the co-author of Managing Credit Risk, published by Wiley & Sons in 2008 and 2014 with Dr Edward Altman and Paul Narayanan.

Varda is Senior Independent Director and Chairs the Compensation Committee at Channel as well as REMCO, helping to align our values and performance aims to long-term outcomes. Varda has over 30 years’ experience in global strategy, senior business management and marketing roles, including C-suite activities.

Varda joined De Beers in 1984 and became CEO of the De Beers Diamond Trading Company (DTC) from 2006 until 2014. In 2013. She successfully completed one of the largest transfers of economic activity from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere – the multibillion dollar relocation of the DTC business from the UK to Botswana – after which Varda stepped down as CEO to pursue a portfolio career. Working across borders, she has continually developed pioneering approaches to collaborating with government partners from Southern Africa to Canada. She has overseen the creation of an international network of public/private joint-venture operations in multi-cultural environments, dealing with complex supply chain issues while delivering on the expectations of major international stakeholder relations.

Varda has completed business and management courses at Templeton College, Oxford, Cranfield and INSEAD. She is a board member or advisor at Petra Diamonds, Vulcan Cyber, and the Mineral Development Company of Botswana (Pty) Co. Varda is also a C-suite executive mentor to leading executives in global markets.

Alex leverages his 15-years of experience in private markets including asset-backed debt, fintech and specialty finance to support Channel in the MENA region with local clients.

Alex has worked with private market funds in both transactional activities (Fasanara, Crosslend) and fund board NED roles, bridging the gap between investment practice and effective oversight.

Alex is passionate about sustainability, impact and supporting entrepreneurs in many cultures and locales. He holds the MBA and International Directors certificate from INSEAD, where he also is a lecturer, teaching a core MBA course on PE & Sustainability.

Artak is a governance, risk and compliance expert with over 18 years of experience across global financial institutions and professional services. He has held senior audit and advisory roles at firms including Houlihan Lokey, First Sentier Investors, EY and Deloitte, delivering assurance, risk assessments, thematic reviews, and control enhancements across investment, corporate and transaction banking, private credit, and asset / wealth management.

His expertise spans Anti-Money Laundering /Counter-Terrorism Financing, sanctions, Client Asset Sourcebook (CASS), investment operations and regulatory remediation across the UK, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. Artak is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and Chartered Accountant, and holds additional certifications in ESG, internal audit, risk management assurance and alternative investments.

Artak advises and collaborates with Channel around three lines governance, risk culture, operations, AI ethics, etc.

Dalia Kay is an Investment Advisor and member of Channel’s investment committee. She brings
high levels of experience in trade finance, asset backed and governance issues.

Dalia served Portfolio Manager and Senior Portfolio Manager at GML and Federated Hermes Investors for 30-years and previously served as a PM at Channel.  She is  also a NED at the Women Business Club and holds a certificate from the IOD in board directorship.  Dalia holds a Master’s in Managerial Economics from University of Geneva, a Master’s in History from University of Southhampton, and is a Doctoral Researcher at Cranfield University focusing on governance structures.

Dr Gabriele Sabato is a Senior Advisor with a special focus on risk management and risk governance. Gabriele helps Channel’s senior management fine tune its risk decisioning and analytical processes for credit risk-taking activities.

Dr Sabato is a co-founder (with Dr Edward Altman) of Wiserfunding Ltd, a London FinTech that provides the Wiserfunding Z-score for global SMEs which is based on Dr Altman’s work of the past 50-years.  Dr Sabato has spent over 20-years before starting Wiserfunding in senior risk management roles across Europe for major banks and government agencies, as well as Experian. At RBS, he played a key role in driving new risk governance processes for the C-suite and the board of directors in the post financial crisis period.

Gabriele holds a PhD in Finance from University of Rome and was a visiting scholar at NYU Stern School of business.  He has published numerous studies on risk governance and risk management, including the most downloaded paper of the Journal of Banking & Finance.

Piers Weston is an Advisor to the CEO at Channel for all matters relating to ESG and sustainability.  This involves ensuring that Channel’s leadership position with regards to ESG investing and ensuring that Channel is at the forefront of implementing industry leading ESG scorecards and practices when screening investments and implementing best practice across the firm.

Piers spends most of his time at Aon in their Responsible Investment team advising pension funds and investment managers on the impact climate change will have on their portfolios and how they can incorporate ESG into their decision making. Prior to this, he worked at PwC working within their consulting finance function.

Outside of work, Piers has published a paper on the role of ESG in financial performance in The Journal of Sustainable and Finance Investment. He has presented his research to graduate students at both SciencesPo, Paris and Cranfield School of management.

Piers sits on the board of Governors for a school in Milton Keynes and has recently been appointed the Chair of the finance, staffing and premises committee.

Piers holds a Masters degree in Finance from Cranfield school of management and a BA in Politics and International Relations from The University of Sheffield.

Elaine joined Channel in 2007 and supports the finance, operations, and human resources functions of the business. She has supported various other Channel entities by providing accounting and other support services.

As Chief Operating Officer, Ian joined Channel from his position of Managing Director at Corporate Linx, a Supply Chain Finance technology provider based in France and the UK.  He has  spent most of his career in invoice finance and asset-based lending, both here in the UK and overseas.

During his 9 years with Bibby Financial Services, he spent 6 years based in Australia & Singapore as CEO for Asia Pacific followed by 3 years in Atlanta as CEO of BFS North America.

His earlier career experience includes executive positions with General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in the UK and prior to that International Factors, a subsidiary of Lloyds Bank.

Jonathan is focused on Channel’s day to day portfolio management. Prior to joining Channel in 2021, Jonathan held an operational role at Select Invoice Finance. Jonathan holds a BSc in Mathematics from De Montfort University (1^st Class).

Kristian Wilson serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Deputy Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Channel. He leads the company’s technology vision while managing its day-to-day operations.

Kristian joined Channel from Auto Integrate, the market leading maintenance authorization platform in North America, where he successfully migrated the platform to the cloud. Prior to that, he has delivered scalable technology platforms in businesses ranging in size from start-up to SME, across a variety of industries, including protecting millions of children online with Future Digital, providing the underbanked with access to competitive finance and high quality rental property with Richmond Group, and helping corporations understand their VOIP telephony with Tiger Communications.

Kristian holds an MCOMP in Computer Science from Loughborough University (1^st Class).

Sonum has experience in managing and driving the growth of trade receivables and inventory financing programmes at Trafigura.

Sonum is a Chartered Accountant and ACT certified, having FP&A and Product Control experience at JP Morgan.

Tony joined Channel Capital Advisors in February 2020 as Head of SME Business Development and leads the growth of the working capital business in the UK.