Stephen Desjardins

Stephen DesJardins is a Managing Director at Czech Asset Management, L.P., a Stamford-based private credit manager focused on senior secured loans to U.S. and Northern European middle-market companies. LinkedIn lists him at Czech Asset Management and based in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, with education at The Wharton School.

Public profile databases list DesJardins as having joined Czech Asset Management in May 2014 after senior investment-banking and credit roles. ContactOut lists prior roles including Managing Director at Cantor Fitzgerald from May 2010 to May 2013, Director at Credit Suisse First Boston from March 2001 to March 2004, Founder and Principal at Encore Capital from July 1999 to March 2001, Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from August 1997 to July 1999, and M&A analyst roles at Gleacher Partners and Salomon Brothers.

His education is listed as a Wharton MBA from 1995 to 1997 and a Wharton BS from 1986 to 1990. The available public sources do not verify the stub title “Head of Portfolio Analytics,” so the verified current title used here is Managing Director.

Czech Asset Management was acquired by Voya Investment Management in November 2022 and later separated from Voya in January 2025. CAM announced that it would operate as a separate, independently owned company led by founder and CIO Stephen J. Czech; the firm described itself as a direct lending and private credit adviser with approximately $5.5B of capital under management since inception.

• CAM is not a seed or angel-equity platform based on verified public materials; it is a private credit manager providing privately negotiated senior secured loans to established middle-market borrowers.
• The firm focuses on first lien revolvers, first lien term loans, second lien term loans, and first or split-lien unitranche loans.
• Typical investment size is $25M-$170M per loan; the firm reports $70M+ average investment per borrower.
• Target borrowers generally have $75M-$500M+ LTM revenue and $7.5M-$50M+ LTM EBITDA.
• CAM says its underwriting process is “selective, highly structured, disciplined, and repeatable,” and targets borrowers with positive and stable or improving cash flow, multiple secondary repayment sources, ability for CAM to hold the entire tranche of debt it invests in, and ability to meet return targets given structural, business, and financial risks.
• The firm avoids sectors it says may create headline risk: alcohol, tobacco, firearms, adult entertainment, casinos, and cannabis.
• CAM’s stated objective is capital preservation, contractual returns, minimal volatility, quarterly income distributions, and investment-level transparency.