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Overview   |   Our People

“The dedication, energy and innovation of our company is a reflection of the qualities that characterize our people.”


Management
Daniel G. Cohen, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the Asset Management Division
Christopher Ricciardi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Broker Dealer Division
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr., Chief Financial Officer

Douglas Listman, Chief Accounting Officer and Assistant Treasurer


Asset Management
Alex Cigolle, Strategos Capital Management
Frederick Horton, Strategos Capital Management
Paul Vernhes, EuroDekania Management Limited
Taro Masuyama, Cohen Asia


Capital Markets
Barry Mohr, Head of Trading
Ted Kallina, Chief Operating Officer
Sheldon Sussman, President, Cohen & Company, Europe
Linda Koster, Head of Sales, France and Benelux, and Head of Distribution, Asset Management, Europe
Jason Freund, Managing Director, Midwest Sales
Julie Cutler, Managing Director, Structured Credit Trading
Stuart Alper, Managing Director, Corporate Bond Trading
Scott Siemers, Managing Director, Head of High Yield Sales
David Kaplan, Managing Director, MBS Trading
Jonathan Devirian, Director, CMBS Trading
Peter Incledon, Managing Director, Agency MBS Trading


Technology & Analytics

Steven D'Agostino, Chief Technology Officer

Mark Tolani, Chief Information Officer


Risk Management

Constantine T. Boyadjiev, Risk Management


Compliance

Kenneth R. Smith, Chief Compliance Officer


Legal

Rachael Fink, General Counsel


Management

Daniel G. Cohen, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the Asset Management Division

Mr. Cohen has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company Inc. since December 2009, as the Chairman of the board of directors since October 2006 and as the execution Chairman of the Company from October 2006 through December 2009. In addition, Mr. Cohen has served as the Chairman of the board of managers of Cohen Brothers since 2001, as the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen Brothers since October 2008 and as Chief Executive Officer of Cohen Brothers since December 2009. Mr. Cohen was also the Chief Executive Officer of Cohen Brothers and its subsidiary, Cohen & Company Securities, LLC, a securities brokerage firm, from September 2001 until February 2006. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE: RAS), a real estate finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry, from December 2006 when it merged with Taberna Realty Finance Trust to February 2009, and served as a trustee from the RAIT acquired Taberna until his resignation from that position in February 2010. Mr. Cohen was Chairman of the board of trustees of Taberna Realty Finance Trust from its inception in March 2005 until December 2006 and its Chief Executive Officer from March 2005 to December 2006. Mr. Cohen has served as Chairman of Cohen Financial Group, Inc. since its inception in April 2007. Mr. Cohen is currently a director of Star Asia, a joint venture investing in Asian commercial real estate, and a director of Muni Funding Company of America, LLC, a company investing in middle-market non-profit organizations. Since 2000, Mr. Cohen has been the Chairman of the board of directors of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), a holding company for The Bancorp Bank, which provides various commercial and retail banking products and services to small and mid-size businesses and their principals in the United States. He also served as the Chairman of the board of Dekania Acquisition Corp. (NYSE Amex: DEK), a publicly held business combination company focused on acquiring businesses that operate within the insurance industry, from its inception in February 2006 until December 2006, and remained a director until its liquidation in February 2009. Mr. Cohen served as a member of the board of directors of TRM Corporation (OTC:TRMM), a publicly held consumer services company, from 2000 to September 2006 and as its Chairman from 2003 to September 2006.

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Christopher Ricciardi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Broker Dealer Division

Mr. Ricciardi has served as President of the Company since December 2009 and as Cohen Brothers’ President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of Cohen Brothers’ board of managers since February 2006. He has served as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Cohen Financial Group, Inc. since its inception in April 2007. Mr. Ricciardi has held various positions with Dekania Acquisition Corp., Muni Funding Company of America, LLC, the Strategos Deep Value Hedge Fund entities and the Brigadier Hedge Fund entities. Prior to joining Cohen Brothers, Mr. Ricciardi was a Managing Director and Global Head of Structured Credit Products for Merrill Lynch. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in April 2003, Mr. Ricciardi was a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Structured Credit Products at CSFB. Mr. Ricciardi began his career at Prudential Securities. He earned a B.A. from the University of Richmond and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and completed one term at the London School of Economics. He is also a CFA charterholder.

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Joseph W. Pooler, Jr., Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Pooler has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Company since December 2009 and as Cohen Brothers’ Chief Financial Officer since November 2007 and as Chief Administrative Officer since May 2007. From July 2006 through November 2007, Mr. Pooler also served as Senior Vice President of Finance of Cohen Brothers. From November 2007 through March 2009, Mr. Pooler also served as Chief Financial Officer of Muni Funding Company of America, LLC, a company investing in middle-market non-profit organizations. Prior to joining Cohen Brothers, from 1999 through 2005, Mr. Pooler held key management positions at Pegasus Communications Corporation (now known as Xanadoo Company (OTC:XAND)), which operated in the direct broadcast satellite television and broadcast television station segments. While at Pegasus, Mr. Pooler held various positions including Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, and Senior Vice President of Finance. From 1993 through 1999, Mr. Pooler held various management positions with MEDIQ, Incorporated, including Corporate Controller, Director of Operations, and Director of Sales Support. Mr. Pooler holds a BA from Ursinus College, an MBA from Drexel University, and was a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (license lapsed).

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Douglas Listman, Chief Accounting Officer and Assistant Treasurer

Douglas Listman has served as the Chief Accounting Officer of the Company since December 2009 and Chief Accounting Officer of Cohen Brothers since 2006. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Listman served as an associate for Resources Global Professionals (a worldwide accounting services consulting firm). From 1992 to 2003, Mr. Listman served in various accounting and finance positions including: senior accountant with KPMG; Assistant Corporate Controller of Integrated Health Services (a publicly traded provider of skilled nursing services; NYSE: IHS); Controller of Integrated Living Communities (a publicly traded provider of assisted living services; NASDAQ: ILCC); Chief Financial Officer of Senior Lifestyles Corporation (a private owned provider of assisted living services); and Chief Financial Officer of Monarch Properties (a privately owned health care facility real estate investment company). Mr. Listman is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in accounting.

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Asset Management

Alex Cigolle, Chief Investment Officer, Strategos Capital Management

Mr. Cigolle serves as Chief Investment Officer of Strategos Capital Management. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Cigolle served as vice president of Delaware Investments in the Structured Products Group. At Delaware Investments Mr. Cigolle directed the trading and structuring of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). In addition, Mr. Cigolle was responsible for credit analysis of various structured products including ABS, MBS, and CDOs. Prior to Delaware Investments, Mr. Cigolle was employed with Banc of America Securities where he was a structurer in the Structured Credit Products Group. Mr. Cigolle is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. Mr. Cigolle is also a CFA charterholder.

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Frederick Horton, Strategos Capital Management

Mr. Horton is a Managing Director at Cohen & Company where he co-manages the Strategos Deep Value MBS Fund and is involved in strategic planning for the investment management businesses. Prior to joining Cohen, Mr. Horton founded and headed the Structured Finance business at GSC Group where he assembled a 22 person team spanning fundamental and quantitative credit, trading, finance and administration. Prior to GSC, Mr. Horton was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manger in the mortgage backed securities group at the Trust Company of the West (TCW). At TCW he managed MBS and ABS portfolios, served as Deputy CIO from 1995 - 1997 and headed the structured finance area from 1997 - 2005. Prior to joining TCW Mr. Horton was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Dewey Square Investors from 1990 to 1993 and The Putnam Companies from 1987 to 1990. From 1985 to 1986, Mr. Horton was a Vice President in the Mortgage-Backed Securities Research Group at Drexel Burnham Lambert in New York. Mr Horton started his career in 1983 at State Street Bank as a Portfolio Manager for MBS portfolios. He holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Boston University.

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Paul Vernhes, EuroDekania Management Limited

Mr. Vernhes is President and Managing Director of Cohen & Compagnie SAS. He has 12 years of insurance experience. Since February 2006, Mr. Vernhes has served as chief financial officer of Dekania Corp. From January 2004 to April 2005, Mr. Vernhes was the chief financial officer of Corifrance, the French reinsurance subsidiary of Markel Corp. Prior to and in addition to Mr. Vernhes' role as chief financial officer, Mr. Vernhes served as a treaty and facultative reinsurance underwriter for Corifrance in Europe and Latin America. Previously, Mr. Vernhes served as a strategy and management consultant to the insurance industry at A.T. Kearney and Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group. Mr. Vernhes is a graduate of the Ecole de Hautes Etudes Commerciales and holds a M.Sc. in Finance from the London School of Economics. Mr. Vernhes is fluent in French, English and Spanish. He is an officer of EuroDekania Management Limited.

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Taro Masuyama, Cohen Asia

Mr. Masuyama is President of Cohen Asia and a partner of Star Asia Management LLC. Previously, Mr. Masuyama was a Managing Director, and Head of Pacific Rim Structured Credit Products and Japan Credit Sales and Marketing at Merrill Lynch. He was responsible for origination, structuring, trading and marketing of all CDOs and fund products in the Pacific Rim region as well as sales and marketing of credit products in Japan. During his seven years at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Masuyama and his team executed numerous transactions in excess of $40 billion including some of the largest and most innovative transactions, resulting in awards from IFR, Thomson Dealwatch, Asiamoney, ISR, Finance Asia, Euroweek and Nikkei. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in April 1999, Mr. Masuyama was a Vice President of Global Credit Derivatives at Bankers Trust in New York, where for five years he provided various structured balance-sheet solutions primarily to Japanese banks. Mr. Masuyama was also a management consultant at Andersen Consulting in Tokyo, Chicago and Los Angeles, where he helped multi-national corporations streamline their headquarter functions. Mr. Masuyama holds a B.A. from Waseda University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
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Capital Markets
Barry Mohr, Head of Trading
Mr. Mohr is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Capital Markets at Cohen & Company Securities, LLC. Previously, he was a Senior Vice President at Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods Inc. from 2002-2006, where he ran structured credit trading and created commoditization to the trust preferred CDO market. Mr. Mohr began his career as an institutional US government bond salesman at G.X. Clarke & Co in 1994 and transitioned into corporate bond trading at Tucker Anthony in 1997. He earned a B.A. in management and economics from Seton Hall University.
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Ted Kallina, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Kallina joined Cohen & Company Securities, LLC in the spring of 2007. His role within Cohen & Company's Capital Markets unit includes administrative and strategic planning responsibilities. Prior to joining Cohen & Company Securities, LLC, Mr. Kallina spent the previous five years of his career with GMAC-Rescap. At GMAC-Rescap, Mr. Kallina held roles in institutional and regional dealer sales. Mr. Kallina started his career in finance with Bear Stearns & Company in New York in 1993. From 1994 through 1998, Mr. Kallina worked closely with senior management to build out new fixed income sales operations in Hong Kong and Singapore. In 1998, Mr. Kallina transitioned within Bear Stearns to the corporate bond unit where he was an institutional high grade sales specialist. Mr. Kallina holds both a B.A. and M.B.A. from Georgetown University.
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Sheldon Sussman, President, Cohen & Company, Europe
Mr. Sussman is President of Cohen & Company's Europe's Capital Markets business. He is also a member of the Executive Committees of the Company's Asset Management and Capital Markets divisions. Prior to joining Cohen & Company, Mr. Sussman was Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Global Financial Markets at Robobank International, and was a Member of its Managing Board. Between 1997 and 1998, Mr. Sussman set up and managed Deutsche Bank's Credit Derivatives business in the Americas. Mr. Sussman worked for Lehman Brothers between 1991 and 1996, where as a Senior Vice President in the Fixed Income Division, he built the firm's Municipal Derivatives operation and was Global Head of Emerging Markets Derivative Products. Between 1984 and 1991, Mr. Sussman worked at Bankers Trust Company in various capacities, initially as an Associate in distressed principal investment and private placement teams, and then as a Vice President in the Capital Markets division in the rates and municipal derivatives teams. Mr. Sussman is a summa cum laude graduate of Rutgers College with a BA in Economics and has MBA and MPH degress from Yale University.
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Linda Koster, Head of Sales, France and Benelux, and Head of Distribution, Asset Management, Europe
Mrs. Koster is Head of Sales for France and Benelux, and Head of Distribution for Asset Management Europe. She is also a member of the Executive Committees of Cohen & Company's Asset Management and Capital Markets divisions. Mrs. Koster joined Cohen & Company in November 2009. Prior to joining the firm, Mrs. Koster worked from 2007 to 2009 as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs responsible for marketing structured credits and alternative investments to Dutch institutional clients. Between 1998 to 2007, Mrs. Koster worked at Merrill Lynch where she was Head of Investment Managers for the Benelux, Switzerland and France, with her most recent responsibilities being Head of the Netherlands and Scandinavia for the distribution of structured products to institutional clients. Between 1993 and 1998, Mrs. Koster worked as a Director at Lehman Brothers where she was responsible for marketing a variety of fixed income products to Dutch institutional clients. Before that, she worked as a marketer of fixed income products to The Netherlands at IBJ in London from 1991 to 1993. She received a BA in Business Administration in Hotel Management from the Hogere Hotelschool, The Hague and she earned a MSc in Finance from the London Business School.
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Jason Freund, Managing Director
Mr. Freund is a Managing Director at Cohen & Company Securities, LLC, and head of the firm’s Chicago office. Previously, Mr. Freund was a Senior Vice President at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (“KBW”), most recently focusing on institutional fixed income sales and trading. Prior to joining KBW’s fixed income team, he spent five years in KBW’s investment banking division focusing on mergers and acquisitions as well as capital raising for mid-sized bank and thrift clients. Mr. Freund began his career in 1997 as an Investment Banking Analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. in the Financial Institutions Group. He received a B.S. from Marquette University with a double major in Finance and Marketing.
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Julie Cutler, Managing Director
Ms. Cutler is a Managing Director in the Capital Markets Group of Cohen & Company Securities, LLC responsible for the trading of Asset Backed and Commercial Mortgage Backed Collateralized Debt Obligations and Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities. Ms. Cutler joined Cohen & Company Securities, LLC from Merrill Lynch, where she took a lead role in the structuring and marketing of CDO transactions across numerous asset classes. Ms. Cutler holds a B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a CFA charterholder.
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Stuart Alper, Managing Director
Mr. Alper is a Managing Director of Corporate Credit Trading in Cohen & Company Securities, LLC's Principal Trading Group. Prior to starting Cohen & Company Securities, LLC's corporate trading department, he was a Managing Director and Head of Investment Grade Trading at Royal Bank of Canada. He managed a $4.5 billion balance sheet and personally traded the utility/energy, industrial and TMT sectors of the Investment grade/cross-over space. He also initiated and helped integrate a CDS trading platform for RBC in the U.S. Prior to RBC, Stuart worked for 6 years at Bear Stearns in New York where he was a Senior Managing Director. His areas of trading expertise, while at Bear, included Utilities, Energy and TMT. Before joining Bear Stearns, Stuart was with Prudential Securities in New York, where he traded the utility and telecom space. Stuart started his career at Cowen and Company in New York where he rose to Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income.
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Scott Siemers, Managing Director, Head of High Yield Sales
Mr. Siemers joined Cohen & Company Securities, LLC in October, 2009. From May 2006 to August 2008, Mr. Siemers ran the Leverage Finance Group at Guggenheim Capital Markets. Prior to joining Guggenheim in 2006, Mr. Siemers ran SAMCO Capital Markets and Fieldstone from 2001 to 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Siemers ran the high yield trading desk at JP Morgan from 1998 until 2001. From 1996 until 1998, Mr. Siemers ran the high yield trading operations at CS First Boston. Prior to CSFB, Mr. Siemers was instrumental in the development of the high yield trading desk for Donaldson, Lufkin, Jenrette from 1993 until 1996. Prior to DLJ, Mr. Siemers joined Citicorp in 1989 as a high yield trader and ran the trading desk starting in 1991. Mr. Siemers began his career at Dean Witter Reynolds as a trader of high yield securities. Mr. Siemers earned a B.S. from Fort Schuyler Merchant Marine Academy.
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David Kaplan, Managing Director
Mr. Kaplan joined Cohen & Company Securities, LLC in May 2009. Mr. Kaplan has 25 years of experience in Securitized Products both trading and selling mortgage backed securities. Mr. Kaplan rose to Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Company as a mortgage sales specialist before moving to the buy-side as a hedge fund portfolio manager for Mariner Investment Group and Highland Financial. At Cohen & Company Securities, LLC, Mr. Kaplan is responsible for trading all non-agency mortgage products. Mr. Kaplan holds a B.A. from Brown University with a dual concentration in History and Economics and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
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Jonathan Devirian, Director
Mr. Devirian joined Cohen & Company Securities, LLC in March of 2009 as a Director in the Capital Markets group responsible for trading Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities. Prior to joining Cohen & Company Securities LLC, Mr. Devirian was a Vice President in the Global Markets and Investment Banking division of Merrill Lynch, responsible for trading CMBS from 2004 to 2009. Mr. Devirian earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Redlands and an M.B.A from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
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Peter Incledon, Managing Director
Mr. Incledon is a Managing Director and Head of Agency MBS Trading in Cohen & Company Securities, LLC's Principal Trading Group. Prior to joining Cohen & Company, Mr. Incledon was a portfolio manager at Mariner Investment Group where he managed a relative value and arbitrage strategy focused on residential MBS. Prior to that, Mr. Incledon was a Vice President and ultimately headed JP Morgan’s CMO trading efforts (2000-2005). Prior to that, Mr. Incledon was a Senior Managing Director and ultimately Co-head of the Agency CMO desk at Bear Stearns (1990-2000). Mr. Incledon started his career at Moody’s Investor Service in 1988 after earning his MBA from SUNY Albany that same year.
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Technology & Analytics
Steven D’Agostino, Chief Technology Officer

Mr. D’Agostino is Chief Technology Officer of Cohen & Company in charge of the firm’s Technology and Analytics efforts. Mr. D’Agostino and his team are responsible for the firm’s structured credit modeling software and the firm’s proprietary portfolio management and surveillance systems. Prior to joining Cohen & Company, from 2003 to 2006, Mr. D’Agostino served as Head of Technology and Analytics for the Structured Credit Products Group at Merrill Lynch. Before that, Mr. D’Agostino held a similar position at Credit Suisse First Boston from 1999 to 2003. Prior to heading up Technology and Analytics, Mr. D’Agostino worked on the structuring and trading of CMOs, CDOs, and other structured finance transactions at Credit Suisse First Boston from 1993 to 1997 and at Chase Securities from 1997 to 1999. Mr. D’Agostino holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

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Mark Tolani, Chief Information Officer

Mr. Tolani is Chief Information Officer of Cohen & Company responsible for Global IT. Mr. Tolani and his team are responsible for the architecture and implementation of the firm's proprietary portfolio management, trading, surveillance and structured credit modeling systems, and for global IT infrastructure. Prior to joining Cohen & Company, Mr. Tolani was an executive vice president at KBC Financial Products, where he was co-head of the front office technology group in the New York office for most of his four year tenure at the firm. Previously, Mr. Tolani headed an IT group at Morgan Stanley and worked in front office IT and Research groups at Union Bank of Switzerland and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Tolani was also a principal at two financial services software start-ups. Mr. Tolani is a CFA charterholder and holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

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Risk Management
Constantine T. Boyadjiev, Risk Management

Mr. Boyadjiev is a Managing Director and Head of Global Risk Management at Cohen & Company, where he is responsible for covering all aspects of the firm's risk management process, including the identification, aggregation, quantification, monitoring, and reporting of the various market, credit, operational and other risks, arising from Cohen & Company's business activities. Prior to joining Cohen & Company, Mr. Boyadjiev was a senior vice president at KBC Financial Products, where during his three and a half year tenure he was responsible for the risk management oversight of the firm's US trading operations. Previously, Mr. Boyadjiev spent three years as a vice president with JP Morgan Chase, responsible for the risk coverage of the investment bank's Global Structured Finance business. Mr. Boyadjiev also spent five years with Arthur Andersen LLP's Financial and Commodity Risk Consulting Practice. Mr. Boyadjiev holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, double majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, and Economics, and holds a M.B.A. degree from New York University's Stern School of Business.

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Compliance
Kenneth R. Smith, Chief Compliance Officer

Mr. Smith serves as the Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Operations for Cohen & Company as well as holding the position of Managing Director. Mr. Smith has been with the company since its inception and has worked for JP Morgan and the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies. Prior to entering the financial services field Mr. Smith served with the United States Air Force for six years. Mr. Smith received an honorable discharge after serving tours in South America, Europe, and the Middle East.
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Legal
Rachael Fink, General Counsel
Ms. Fink is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Cohen & Company Inc. Ms. Fink joined Cohen Brothers in June 2006. Prior to that, Ms. Fink was an associate in the Structured Finance and Derivatives practice group of the Corporate Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. Ms. Fink has also practiced law at Latham & Watkins LLP and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson LLP, both in New York. Ms. Fink has a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a JD, cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School. Ms. Fink is a member of the New York bar.
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