Commonfund exec joins Siguler Guff spin-out

Claudio Phillips, the former head of distressed funds at $26 billion Commonfund, has joined Siguler Guff spin-out MB Global Partners as a managing principal in New York.

At Commonfund, Phillips was in charge of roughly $920 million in distressed assets. He had been gradually transitioning to MB Global over the past year while moving out of his role with Commonfund and fully left the institution in May. MB Global continues to advise Commonfund on its distressed programme, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Phillips was previously a managing director at The Seaport Group responsible for running the performing and non-performing bank loan trading group and a managing director at Citigroup/Salomon Smith Barney in charge of all non-European Global Performing Loan (including emerging markets) trading.

Former Siguler Guff portfolio manager Maria Boyazny launched MB Global Partners in partnership with G2 Investment Group in October 2010. The firm has seen a lot of opportunity since the spin-out, the person said, including working with a European financial institution on a portfolio sale.

During her almost 14 years at Siguler Guff, Boyazny managed $4.5 billion in assets across the firm’s Distressed Opportunities Funds I, II, III and IV.  

MB Global Partners focuses on credit and distressed opportunities created by the global financial crisis, and plans to raise its own fund.