Our Team
Senior Leadership
Henry Cisneros
CHAIRMAN
Henry is a Co-Founder of American Triple I and serves as the firm’s Chairman. He provides the firm with governance, leadership, and helps develop relationships with asset and investor partners. Henry has been a pioneer in the investment industry for nearly 35 years, having successfully led and launched several investment platforms serving institutional investors and communities.
David J. Cibrian
CEO & CIO
David is CEO, CIO, and Co-Founder of American Triple I. He is responsible for developing and directing overall business strategies; building trusted relationships with asset and investor partners; leading high-quality investment decisions; and enforcing adherence to compliance, legal, and operating guidelines and policies.
Senior Leadership
Henry Cisneros
CHAIRMAN
Leadership in Investment Management
Henry is a Co-Founder of American Triple I and serves as the firm’s Chairman. He provides the firm with governance leadership, and helps develop relationships with asset and investor partners. Henry has been a pioneer in the investment industry for nearly 35 years, having successfully led and launched several investment platforms serving institutional investors and communities. In 2003, Henry co-founded CityView, a registered investment adviser which has invested in and completed more than 100 real asset projects in 13 states. During his time at Cityview, Henry helped to oversee the deployment of $5 billion of asset value and the formation of eight funds as a member of Cityview’s executive, investment, and audit committees. In 1988, Henry formed Cisneros Asset Management Company, a nationally recognized fixed income asset manager.
Henry is a part owner of the Siebert Williams Shank & Co., which has managed over $1.4 trillion of municipal bond offerings in more than 5,000 transactions for the funding of education, housing, health services, transportation, utilities, capital facilities, and general infrastructure projects.
Leadership in Infrastructure
In 1981, Henry became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, where he helped rebuild the city’s economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure projects and downtown improvements, including a new airport terminal, a 65,000 seat, domed-stadium, underground flood diversion for the City’s Riverwalk, and a nuclear power generation project. In 1992, President Clinton appointed Henry as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where he was credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation’s public housing developments and formulating policies which led to the nation’s highest homeownership rate.
Henry holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from George Washington University, as well as more than 20 honorary doctorates from leading universities. He currently holds the Series 7, 24, 52, 53, 63, 79, 82, 50, 72, 62, and 65 licenses.
David J. Cibrian
CEO & CIO
● David is CEO, CIO, and Co-Founder of American Triple I. He is responsible for developing and directing overall business strategies; building trusted relationships with asset and investor partners; leading high-quality investment decisions; and enforcing adherence to compliance, legal, and operating guidelines and policies. David was formerly a Managing Director with Brevet Capital, a New York City-based investment firm founded in 1998. Among other responsibilities, he headed Brevet’s firm-wide Government Financing Programs. He is experienced in various facets of fund management, including originations, underwriting/structuring, and asset management. David also served in a variety of roles during his career – lawyer, accountant, corporate executive, and investment professional. David was formerly a CPA with Ernst & Young, Los Angeles and was a practicing international and corporate attorney for 25 years, including his experience in public finance at O’Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles. David formerly served on the Board of Mirage Energy Corporation, a start-up developer of natural gas storage facilities outside of the United States, and the Board of Onko Solutions, a development stage medical device company. He was also a Senior Advisor to Civitas Capital Group, an alternative investment firm.
David is a former member of the Texas Finance Commission and the Texas Credit Union Commission having been appointed by then Texas Governor Rick Perry.David holds a Juris Doctor with honors from Georgetown Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with honors from Loyola Marymount University
Investments and Business Development
Said Nashashibi
Managing Director, Head of Investments
Said Nashashibi is a Managing Director of Investments for American Triple I. Said oversees the identification, negotiating, structuring, underwriting, and on-going management of investments for the firm reporting to the firm’s CEO and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining American Triple I, Said spent over twelve years at Alinda Capital Partners, a leading independent infrastructure fund manager with approximately $5 billion in AUM, most recently as Managing Director and member of the Global Investments team. During his time at Alinda, he was involved in the sourcing, execution, financing and ongoing management of infrastructure businesses across a range of sectors, including transportation (Interpark Holdings, Heathrow Airport and Virginia International Gateway), digital communications (Emitel, where he served on the Supervisory Board), and utility related infrastructure, where he was responsible for developing this new investment vertical.
Said began his career in investment banking at CIBC World Markets in the Industrial Growth and Services group. He received a B.A. from Middlebury College, with high honors, in 2005 and was elected to Gamma Kappa Alpha.
Anthony Huerta
Vice President
Anthony is a Vice President at American Triple I, where his primary responsibilities are negotiating, structuring, and underwriting prospective transactions and supervising deal closings. Anthony was formerly a Vice President for BRASS Funds where he was head of capital markets and responsible for sourcing and evaluating new acquisition and development opportunities. Immediately prior to this role, he was a Senior Associate with Brevet Capital, a New York City-based alternative asset manager, where he played a large role in sourcing, underwriting, structuring, and closing $450 million of investments through a proprietary government financing program. He has over 10 years of experience in alternative and real asset finance.
Anthony earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The Red McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in real estate from The University of Wisconsin – Madison.
William C. Thompson
Owner, Business Development
Bill is an Owner and Co-Founder of American Triple I. Bill was previously the 42nd Comptroller of New York City, serving eight years from January 2002 to December 2009. Bill’s extensive experience in successfully managing the finances of the nation’s largest city has afforded him unique insight into the infrastructure needs of local and state governments and gives him keen sensitivity to the expectations and requirements of large institutional investors. As Comptroller, Bill served as custodian and investment advisor to the five New York City Pension Funds, where he managed a combined portfolio amounting to more than $100 billion at the close of his tenure. In this role, Bill invested hundreds of millions of dollars in real and infrastructure assets in New York City. During his tenure, Bill also worked with leaders of the financial services industry to reform the operations of the New York Stock Exchange and spearheaded the City’s innovative Banking Development District program. Bill also served as a Senior Vice President in Public Finance in the mid-1990s.
Bill is a graduate of Tufts University. Prior to his work as Comptroller, he had served as Brooklyn Deputy Borough President and as a Member and five-term President of the New York City Board of Education.
In addition to his ATI responsibilities, Bill is Chief Administrative Officer and an equity owner of Siebert Williams Shank & Co.
Karen Hedlund
Senior Advisor
Karen is a nationally recognized infrastructure and P3 professional with particular expertise in high-speed, intercity and commuter rail projects. Karen has provided strategic and financing advice on the Gateway Program – the multi-billion-dollar project to replace the 100-year old rail tunnel and bridge connecting New Jersey and New York. For the City of Chicago, she helped evaluate a proposal by Elon Musk’s Boring Company for an express connection from the Loop to O’Hare. Karen also recently led the consultant team who produced a Business Case Analysis for a proposed high-speed rail corridor linking Vancouver, Seattle and Portland.
Karen served as Chief Counsel and Deputy Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) from 2010 to 2014, providing leadership for a $12 billion high-speed rail grant program. Karen also oversaw the FRA’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan program and represented FRA on the boards of the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation in Washington, DC and Moynihan Station Development Corporation in New York City, helping them in their station redevelopment plans.
Prior to her joining the FRA, Karen had a long career as an attorney practicing in the field of infrastructure finance and P3s, as a partner of the Mayer Brown, Skadden and Nossaman law firms.
Karen is a graduate of Harvard University (BA) and Georgetown University Law Center (JD).
Alex Black
Senior Advisor
Alex Black is a Senior Advisor to the firm with more than a decade of experience in infrastructure investment, development, and management. Alex served as Head of Portfolio Management at Alinda Capital Partners, where he supervised all of the firm’s fund vehicles and was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. During his ten years at the firm, Alinda reached a peak of $7.8 billion in equity commitments to a diverse set of infrastructure projects. Among other responsibilities, Alex was the lead partner overseeing Alinda’s portfolio company Interpark Holdings, a US parking business that successfully completed 19 follow-on acquisition investments. He was also responsible for oversight of the firm’s investment in Heathrow Airport. Alex also has operational experience developing best-in-class ESG programs and has been a noted speaker on ESG issues facing infrastructure companies. Alex aids American Triple I in a variety of matters including asset operational due diligence and building credible, risk-adjusted strategic plans for our projects.
Josie Hansen
Analyst
Josie is an Analyst at American Triple I. Her primary responsibility is to support the firm’s deal teams in all aspects of transaction underwriting, due diligence, and funding. Her focus includes consolidating and analyzing financial data, supporting the development of financial models, and spearheading research and due diligence efforts.
Josie received her Masters of Science in Finance degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she also received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.
John Paul Cisneros
Vice President
John Paul is a Vice President and Co-Founder of American Triple I. His primary responsibilities are negotiating, structuring, and underwriting prospective transactions and supervising deal closings. Immediately prior to joining ATI, John Paul was a Vice President in Siebert Williams Shank & Co.’s Capital Markets group where he focused on debt and equity transactions, as well as, advisory and strategic finance solutions for corporate clients. Previously, he was an investment professional at Palladium Equity Partners, a top quartile middle market private equity fund. At Palladium, he helped evaluate 100-plus deals per year in the financial and business services industries with an aim towards making $50 to $150 million equity investments. During his tenure, he was the primary analytical support on new equity investments and existing portfolio companies and a principal liaison to a large California-based public pension fund during Palladium’s Fund IV fundraise which invested $100 million of the $1.1 billion raised. John Paul began his career as an analyst in J.P. Morgan’s Public Finance group helping structure and underwrite debt for municipalities across the East Coast.
John Paul has a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy, Planning, and Development from the University of Southern California.
Portfolio and Risk Management
Sarah Wu
Principal, Portfolio Management
Sarah advises and oversees the Portfolio and Risk Management function at American Triple I. Sarah brings over 20 years of infrastructure investment and asset management experience to the team. Most recently, she was Head of Investments for CCA Construction, a global conglomerate in infrastructure development where she spear-headed the development of a value-add, infrastructure investment program for the Americas. Sarah spent eight years in the Global Real Assets Division of JPMorgan Asset Management, including serving as Head of Asset Management for a core, infrastructure equity strategy that included a diverse group of portfolio companies in the US and UK. Sarah also co-founded a core infrastructure debt strategy at JPMorgan following the Global Financial Crisis. Prior to JPMorgan, Sarah spent 10 years at Credit Suisse on the Global Project Finance team responsible for non-recourse lending to infrastructure companies in the transport, power, energy, and shipping sectors in OECD and emerging markets.
Sarah received a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Town and Country Planning from Manchester University.
Mark Flinn
Senior Advisor, Project Management
Mark is a Senior Advisor for American Triple I. He has more than 30 years of construction management, oversight, and consulting experience and is responsible for providing strategic and expense input during the design and planning phases of prospective projects. He and his team directly oversee and manage general contractors and other consortium members during projects’ construction and implementation phases. Mark is the Founder & Principal at SER Construction Consulting, Inc., a construction risk management firm specializing in funds control as well as design and construction management services throughout the U.S., Caribbean, and Mexico. Before founding SER Construction Consulting, he was Executive Vice President of Construction Management at FAS Construction Management. Throughout his career, Mark has helped contribute to more than $15 billion in various construction management services in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean and over $4 billion in Mexico and Latin America.
Mark has a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science from Texas A&M University and studied Geology at West Virginia University. Mark is a member of the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) both in the U.S. and Latin America.
Operations and Compliance
Michael Szymanski
CFO & CCO
Michael serves as the CFO and CCO for American Triple I. He served as the President and CEO of ZAIS Group Holdings until 2018 when the firm went through a take-private transaction. In that role, he led many strategic initiatives as the company reached $7.1 billion AUM and $166.3 million in combined revenues. Concurrently, he served as the President and CEO of ZAIS Financial Corp. Soon after his arrival to ZAIS, Michael became COO where he coordinated the response to a comprehensive SEC examination of the firm, leading to a stronger operating, legal, and compliance infrastructure. Prior to joining ZAIS Group Holdings, Michael was CEO and Co-Founder of XE Capital Management, an investment management firm specializing in structured products. Over 5 years, the firm grew to 40 employees in New York, Singapore, and India with $1 billion AUM. Michael’s first C-level role was as the CFO of Zurich Capital Markets where he managed global finance, accounting, tax, treasury, and risk management for a business specializing in structured products. At Zurich, he was instrumental in growing financing 420% and growing net income 95%. He is currently the Managing Member of Ryder’s Cove Advisors, which is based in the New York City area.
Michael received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts, and he previously held Series 7 and 24 licenses.
Investor Relations and ESG
Carlton Byrd
Managing Director, External Relations & ESG
Carlton is a Managing Director at American Triple I, where he is responsible for developing relationships with investor partners and driving the firm’s business development, investor relations, and ESG efforts. Carlton brings over 20 years of experience in infrastructure, alternative asset management, capital markets, and government service to the firm. Most recently, he was a Director in the Investor Development Group of Actis where he helped raise nearly $4 billion in energy and infrastructure funds targeting projects in the developing markets of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Prior to Actis, he was a Managing Director with Commonfund, helping lead the firm’s efforts with a variety of non-profit, pension, and other institutional investors on portfolio needs across real assets, private equity, emerging markets, and hedge funds. Carlton previously worked for the U.S. Department of Treasury during the financial crisis of 2007-2008 where he was responsible for engaging asset managers to assist in initiatives, including the Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”) and the Public Private Investment Program (“PPIP”). Carlton began his career at Goldman Sachs and served as a Lieutenant, U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War.
Carlton received a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Harvard University, a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a degree in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.
Michael Mahar
Vice President, Capital Formation
Michael serves as a Vice President at American Triple I, focusing on capital formation, investor relations, and ESG. Michael is the Founder and Managing Member of MJM Capital Partners, a boutique consulting and placement firm focused on private markets and alternative investment strategies. Prior to joining ATI, he was a Senior Associate at Brevet Capital in New York, an alternative asset manager, where his primary responsibilities were fundraising and investor relations for global asset managers, pension funds, endowments, and large family offices. Michael brings over ten years of professional experience, including project finance experience while working for Dragados USA.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Finance and Management from Georgetown University and an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. Michael is a registered representative offering securities and investment banking services through Britehorn Securities, member FINRA/SIPC. He currently holds the Series 7, 63, and 3 licenses.
Investments Committee
David J. Cibrian
CEO
David is CEO, CIO, and Co-Founder of American Triple I. He is responsible for developing and directing overall business strategies; building trusted relationships with asset and investor partners; leading high-quality investment decisions; and enforcing adherence to compliance, legal, and operating guidelines and policies. David was formerly a Managing Director with Brevet Capital, a New York City-based investment firm founded in 1998. Among other responsibilities, he headed Brevet’s firm-wide Government Financing Programs. He is experienced in various facets of fund management, including originations, underwriting/structuring, and asset management. David also served in a variety of roles during his career – lawyer, accountant, corporate executive, and investment professional. David was formerly a CPA with Ernst & Young, Los Angeles and was a practicing international and corporate attorney for 25 years, including his experience in public finance at O’Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles. David formerly served on the Board of Mirage Energy Corporation, a start-up developer of natural gas storage facilities outside of the United States, and the Board of Onko Solutions, a development stage medical device company. He was also a Senior Advisor to Civitas Capital Group, an alternative investment firm.
David is a former member of the Texas Finance Commission and the Texas Credit Union Commission having been appointed by then Texas Governor Rick Perry. David holds a Juris Doctor with honors from Georgetown Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with honors from Loyola Marymount University.
Alex Black
Senior Advisor
Alex Black is a Senior Advisor to the firm with more than a decade of experience in infrastructure investment, development, and management. Alex served as Head of Portfolio Management at Alinda Capital Partners, where he supervised all of the firm’s fund vehicles and was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. During his ten years at the firm, Alinda reached a peak of $7.8 billion in equity commitments to a diverse set of infrastructure projects. Among other responsibilities, Alex was the lead partner overseeing Alinda’s portfolio company Interpark Holdings, a US parking business that successfully completed 19 follow-on acquisition investments. He was also responsible for oversight of the firm’s investment in Heathrow Airport. Alex also has operational experience developing best-in-class ESG programs and has been a noted speaker on ESG issues facing infrastructure companies. Alex aids American Triple I in a variety of matters including asset operational due diligence and building credible, risk-adjusted
Carlton Byrd
Managing Director, External Relations & ESG
Carlton is a Managing Director at American Triple I, where he is responsible for developing relationships with investor partners and driving the firm’s business development, investor relations, and ESG efforts. Carlton brings over 20 years of experience in infrastructure, alternative asset management, capital markets, and government service to the firm. Most recently, he was a Director in the Investor Development Group of Actis where he helped raise nearly $4 billion in energy and infrastructure funds targeting projects in the developing markets of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Prior to Actis, he was a Managing Director with Commonfund, helping lead the firm’s efforts with a variety of non-profit, pension, and other institutional investors on portfolio needs across real assets, private equity, emerging markets, and hedge funds. Carlton previously worked for the U.S. Department of Treasury during the financial crisis of 2007-2008 where he was responsible for engaging asset managers to assist in initiatives, including the Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”) and the Public Private Investment Program (“PPIP”). Carlton began his career at Goldman Sachs and served as a Lieutenant, U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War.
Carlton received a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Harvard University, a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a degree in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.
Said Nashashibi
Managing Director, Head of Investments
Said Nashashibi is a Managing Director of Investments for American Triple I. Said oversees the identification, negotiating, structuring, underwriting, and on-going management of investments for the firm reporting to the firm’s CEO and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining American Triple I, Said spent over twelve years at Alinda Capital Partners, a leading independent infrastructure fund manager with approximately $5 billion in AUM, most recently as Managing Director and member of the Global Investments team. During his time at Alinda, he was involved in the sourcing, execution, financing and ongoing management of infrastructure businesses across a range of sectors, including transportation (Interpark Holdings, Heathrow Airport and Virginia International Gateway), digital communications (Emitel, where he served on the Supervisory Board), and utility related infrastructure, where he was responsible for developing this new investment vertical.
Said began his career in investment banking at CIBC World Markets in the Industrial Growth and Services group. He received a B.A. from Middlebury College, with high honors, in 2005 and was elected to Gamma Kappa Alpha.
Michael Szymanski
CFO & CCO
Michael serves as the CFO and CCO for American Triple I. He served as the President and CEO of ZAIS Group Holdings until 2018 when the firm went through a take-private transaction. In that role, he led many strategic initiatives as the company reached $7.1 billion AUM and $166.3 million in combined revenues. Concurrently, he served as the President and CEO of ZAIS Financial Corp. Soon after his arrival to ZAIS, Michael became COO where he coordinated the response to a comprehensive SEC examination of the firm, leading to a stronger operating, legal, and compliance infrastructure. Prior to joining ZAIS Group Holdings, Michael was CEO and Co-Founder of XE Capital Management, an investment management firm specializing in structured products. Over 5 years, the firm grew to 40 employees in New York, Singapore, and India with $1 billion AUM. Michael’s first C-level role was as the CFO of Zurich Capital Markets where he managed global finance, accounting, tax, treasury, and risk management for a business specializing in structured products. At Zurich, he was instrumental in growing financing 420% and growing net income 95%. He is currently the Managing Member of Ryder’s Cove Advisors, which is based in the New York City area.
Michael received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts, and he previously held Series 7 and 24 licenses.