John Brignola

John Brignola co-founded LBC Credit Partners in 2005 (with Chris Calabrese) and serves as its Managing Partner, overseeing the firm and chairing its Investment Committee. LBC is a Radnor, Pennsylvania–based private credit manager that originates, executes and manages diversified portfolios of direct loans to U.S. middle-market companies. Over its history the firm has raised more than $3 billion of capital commitments and deployed several billion dollars across 260-plus issuers, playing "from the top to the bottom of the capital structure" — senior term, unitranche, second lien, junior secured and mezzanine debt. LBC is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIFC Asset Management, where Brignola holds the title of Senior Managing Director, Direct Lending.

Brignola brings roughly 40 years of senior and junior debt and special-situations investing experience, with the past ~25 years focused on private credit. Before LBC, he held roles at Citadel Investment Group (privately-negotiated debt investments), PPM America, AT&T Capital (asset-based and special-situations lending), and Meridian Bank (asset-based lending, credit, audit and asset-recovery divisions). He has managed numerous M&A and complex debt-restructuring transactions since the late 1990s.

He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from West Chester University and a Master of Science in Finance from Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. He is also a member of the general partner of the LBC Small Cap Fund and chairs its Investment Committee.

• Whole-capital-structure lender, not equity investor: "From the beginning, we decided not to be pigeon-holed into being simply a senior or mezzanine debt provider. We play from the top to the bottom of the capital structure."
• Middle-market direct lending: Targets borrowers with $5–50M EBITDA, with $20M the "sweet spot," holding $30–40M per deal.
• Portfolio mix: "About 20% is mezzanine, with the balance split between senior and unitranche. And about two-thirds are sponsored and the rest is non-sponsored."
• Cycle-tested, relationship-driven approach: "This successful capital raise further confirms our 17-year, cycle-tested strategy of direct lending in the middle market"; emphasizes "customized solutions" built on "consistent relationships with our deal partners."
• Sectors to avoid: "Industries that are less appealing to us are staffing, restaurants and retail."
• Risk lens shaped by the 2009 cycle: "Know your partners throughout the capital structure, particularly how those lenders themselves are structured. What are their pressure points?"