Investment Team

LBA Capital Advisors’ investment professionals are industry leaders in all classes of securities, equity and obligations of distressed companies. The founders’ over 30 years of distressed experience as principals – as fund managers, founders of several funds, advisors, and board members – creates unparalleled experience to achieve superior results.

Russell Belinsky – Senior Managing Partner

Russell Belinsky is a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner of LBA Capital Advisors. Mr. Belinsky also co‐founded a previous private equity firm ‐ Balmoral Advisors (Fund 1), a deep‐value, lower middle market, control oriented private equity firm. He led the firm’s investments in restructurings, turnarounds, orphaned business and other special situations generating top decile performance since inception.
Russell Belinsky was previously a senior managing director at Duff & Phelps and co‐leader of the Restructuring Advisory practice. In 1990, Russell co‐founded Chanin Capital Partners (CCP), a leading specialty investment banking firm, which was acquired by Duff & Phelps in 2006. Prior to CCP, Mr. Belinsky was with the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Mr. Belinsky earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. He earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration, magna cum laude, from Wayne State University.

Michael Accordino – Senior Managing Partner

Michael Accordino is a Senior Managing Partner. Mr Accordino was founder and Managing Partner of Playa Capital Partners. Mr. Accordino was previously a vice president at Rimrock Capital Management and co‐head of the Tactical Opportunities Group (“Tac Opps”). Tac Opps has an opportunistic and flexible mandate to invest across distressed debt, special situations and bespoke direct lending. Previously, Mr. Accordino worked within the Distressed Debt Group at Cerberus Capital Management. Michael began his career within investment banking at Peter J. Solomon Company.
Mr. Accordino earned his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and was Captain of the Men’s Varsity Tennis Team.

Advisory Board

Wesley J. Clark – Operating Advisor

Relevant experience › US Army four-star General, Supreme Commander of NATO, Kolibri Global Education
Education › Oxford University, West Point

Michael Dickey – Operating Advisor

Relevant experience › US Space Force, Sierra Nevada Corporation, US Joint Chiefs of Staff

Education › University of Colorado, Boulder

Adam Garfein – Operating Advisor

Relevant experience › Devane Advisors, Menawat & Co., Devane Corporation, University of Michigan Education
Education › University of Michigan, Penn State University

Dr. Garfein has over 35 years of experience in operational and business transformation, profit improvement, manufacturing, science and technology, software and analytics, program/project management, innovation and marketing in defense, aerospace, automotive, industrial, life sciences, medical devices,
construction management, software and government sectors. Holistic thinking and action with a collaborative approach make him an invaluable asset in navigating complex business, advanced technical and supply chain challenges.

Dr. Garfein has a Ph.D. & M.S., in Human Development & Family Studies, Gerontology from the Pennsylvania State University, and a B.A. in Psychology from University of Southern California. He has also completed Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, from the University of Michigan, Institute of Gerontology & Institute for Social Research.

Greg Jones – Operating Advisor

Relevant experience › Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Orbital ATK

Education › Pepperdine University, San Diego State University

Juho Partanen – Operating Advisor

Relevant experience › Arzon, JYU School of Business and Economics, Kytola Instruments, BlackSmith Consulting

Education › Paris School of Business, University of Jyväskylä

Sanjeev Varma – Operating Advisor

Relevant experience › German Government Agency IIC, Magna Powertrain, New Venture Gear

Education
› Syracuse University, The Indian Institute of Technology

Sanjeev Varma is a Senior Automotive Industry professional with 41+ of industry and finance experience. In the corporate world, he was Director of Marketing & Corporate Planning for Magna Powertrain, a $3 billion subsidiary of the $34 billion Magna Group. Prior to this he was a senior executive at New Venture Gear(“NVG”), a $1.6B DaimlerChrysler & General Motors Joint Venture company, where he was involved in its merger with Magna Powertrain. At NVG, he served as the Director of Marketing, Strategic Planning and Asian Sales, where he managed all marketing, strategic planning, and bizdev activities in NAFTA, Asia and Europe.

Sanjeev has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in India and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University in the US. He has completed Executive Education Programs in Finance & Marketing at Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.

Strategic Advisory Board

Steve Abbot – Strategic Advisor

Relevant experience › Deputy Commander in Chief, US European Command, Deputy Homeland Security Advisor

John Caldwell – Strategic Advisor

Relevant experience › Army R&D Acquisition Executive, US Army Commanding General

Peter W. Chiarelli – Strategic Advisor

Relevant experience › L3Harris, US Army, Secretary of Defense