Team

Jonathan Daniel is a Principal at Knighthead Funding, LLC and oversees the real estate debt origination and asset management of the firm. Prior to joining Knighthead in 2013, Mr. Daniel was the Principal and Founder of Silo Financial Corp., a private equity-based real estate finance company formed in 2001. Throughout his career, Mr. Daniel has sourced, originated, placed and serviced, in aggregate, over $3B of commercial mortgages. Mr. Daniel has developed innovative deal structures for a diverse range of commercial property owners and created long-term relationships with mortgage brokers, attorneys, as well as real estate developers and investors. In 2010, Mr. Daniel testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee regarding alternatives for promoting liquidity in commercial real estate markets, supporting small businesses and increasing job growth. Mr. Daniel is a 1994 graduate of Syracuse University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.

Henry Boeckmann is Vice President of Loan Originations at Knighthead Funding, LLC. Prior to joining Knighthead, Mr. Boeckmann was a Director with True North Management Group, a $1B private equity firm focused on distressed/opportunistic real estate investments. While at True North, Mr. Boeckmann acquired/asset managed approximately $220MM in investment properties throughout the United States. Prior to True North, Mr. Boeckmann was a Senior Loan Originator with TD Bank where he developed a $400MM portfolio of real estate loans secured by a variety of property types including office, industrial, retail, multi-family, hotel and mixed use assets. Mr. Boeckmann began his lending career in the CMBS group at Bear Stearns and his real estate career as an appraiser with his family’s business. Mr. Boeckmann earned an AB in Economics from Bowdoin College in 1993 and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2002.

Ms. Torrado manages all legal, compliance and HR issues at Knighthead Capital Management. Prior to joining Knighthead at its launch in 2008, Ms. Torrado was a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in the High Yield/Special Situations Department where she performed the dual role of legal advisor for the distressed debt trading desk and global head of loan settlement. In her role as legal advisor, Ms. Torrado counseled the distressed group on the structure of transactions, bankruptcy and securities issues, settlement issues and post-restructuring issues. Ms. Torrado supervised the settlement of all syndicated and bi-lateral loans, trade claims and other private instruments for all divisions, including, distressed loans, par loans, derivatives and emerging markets. She was also a founding member of the Bear Stearns Women’s Network. Before joining Bear Stearns in 1997, Ms. Torrado was an associate in the Bankruptcy Reorganization/Claims Trading Department at Robinson Silverman Peace Aronson & Berman, LLP, NKA Bryan Cave, where she represented and advised investment and commercial banks and hedge funds that invest in debt obligations and securities of financially distressed companies as well as creditors’ committees, unsecured creditors and debtors in all aspects of Chapter 11 cases. Ms. Torrado graduated from Albright College with a B.A. in Political Science/French in 1990 and received her J.D. from New York Law School in 1993.

Ms. Brown joined Knighthead Funding, LLC in 2019 and is responsible for providing legal advice on matters for the company’s commercial real estate lending platform.  Prior to joining Knighthead Funding, Ms. Brown was a Partner in the Stamford office of Shipman & Goodwin LLP where she was a member of the Firm’s Real Estate and Commercial Financing practice groups.  At her prior Firm, she represented lenders and borrowers in real estate financing and commercial and residential real estate development transactions.  She has extensive experience handling complex matters involving distressed real property assets, workouts, and foreclosures.  In addition, Ms. Brown has been involved in large-scale acquisitions for real estate development projects, including mixed-use residential housing and shopping centers.  Ms. Brown has also represented landlords and tenants in commercial leasing matters, as well as buyers and sellers in connection with their high-end residential transactions.

Ms. Brown holds B.A.s in English and Political Science from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.  While in law school, Ms. Brown served as the Editor-in-Chief of Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Moot Court Board.

Peter Illuzzi is a Vice President of Loan Originations at Knighthead Funding, LLC. Prior to joining Knighthead, Mr. Illuzzi was an Associate at Centennial Bank, where he focused on credit analysis for over $500MM in acquisition, construction and recapitalization financing transactions on properties nationwide. Prior to Centennial, Mr. Illuzzi provided advisory services and sold commercial real estate debt and properties in the capital markets division of Auction.com/Ten-X.  Mr. Illuzzi began his career at BlackRock, specializing in fixed income trading analytics. Mr. Illuzzi earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Villanova University in 2009.

Eileen Xiao is a senior Associate assisting in loan originations, asset management and financial analysis at Knighthead Funding, LLC. Prior to joining Knighthead, Ms. Xiao was an Associate at Geneva Worldwide, Inc. in their financial analysis and accounting group Ms. Xiao graduated Cum Laude from Queens College in 2015 with a BA in Accounting and Finance. Ms. Xiao is fluent in Chinese (Mandarin & Fuzhounese).

Brian Kelly is an Associate in loan originations, asset management, and financial analysis at Knighthead Funding, LLC. Brian most recently earned a Certificate of Graduate Study from the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business. A graduate from the University of Vermont in 2021, he received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Finance) and was a member of the Division 1 Men’s Ice Hockey team (NCAA).

Niraj Patel serves as Senior Operations Manager for Knighthead Funding, LLC, and its affiliates. He brings over 20 years of experience in loan operations, portfolio administration, reconciliation, compliance, and loan related customer service. Prior to joining Knighthead, Mr. Patel served as a Vice President and Manager for commercial real estate loan administration at Israel Discount Bank of New York. He also held previous roles as a construction administrator, wire room manager, and AVP/manager of commercial loan operations at TD Bank (f/k/a Hudson United Bank). Mr. Patel graduated from Rutgers University with a BS in Accounting.

Prior to joining Knighthead, Ms. Wiggins was a Vice President at Fortress Investment Group where she provided bridge loans, stretch senior construction loans, and special situation loans for real estate property types including office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hotel, mixed-use, land, and billboards. Prior to that she worked at J.P. Morgan providing senior and mezzanine real estate acquisition and construction loans. Ms. Wiggins graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Finance from the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Prior to joining Knighthead Funding, Mr. Marraccini held various internship roles at Simone Development Companies where he found his passion for real estate and specialized in leasing, asset management, and development. Mr. Marraccini is a dedicated young real estate professional with a Master of Science in Real Estate, Finance, and Investment from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. Before completing his master’s degree, Mr. Marraccini earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Before joining Knighthead Funding, Mr. Karlan was the Assistant Controller at MFA Financial, a publicly traded REIT specializing in residential mortgage assets. Prior to his tenure at MFA Financial, Mr. Karlan spent six years to Ernst & Young, LLP, where he provided audit and advisory services to various real estate investment firms. Mr. Karlan earned a BS in Business & Economics and a MS in Accounting from Rhodes College. He is also a Certified Public Accountant registered in the State of New York.

Prior to joining Knighthead Funding, Ms. Basile was an Associate Attorney at Olive Tree Holdings where she assisted the General Counsel in all legal matters for the company, including the acquisition, disposition and financing of multifamily properties across the United States. Ms. Basile is a graduate of Providence College where she received a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Political Science. She received a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School, where she was an Executive Note Editor on the Brooklyn Journal of International Law.