Management Team

Eric is Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Barings BDC, Inc. In addition to these roles, Eric is President of Barings LLC, where he leads and manages cross-asset investment teams, corporate strategy, business development, product management, investment business management, research analytics and quant, permanent capital, special situations, and marketing and communication. Eric also works closely with all the investment teams at Barings LLC. Prior to his current role, he served as Head of Private Assets.

Eric has worked in the industry since 1990 and his experience has encompassed leadership positions in investment management, investment banking, leveraged finance and risk management. Prior to joining Barings in 2013, Eric served as Head of Market and Institutional Risk for Wells Fargo, was on Wells Fargo's Management Committee, and was a member of the Board of Directors of Wells Fargo Securities.

Before the acquisition of Wachovia, Eric worked in Wachovia's Global Markets Investment Banking division and served on the division's Operating Committee where he had various leadership positions, including Head of Wachovia's Global Leveraged Finance Group.

Eric is an Executive Sponsor of both the Veteran’s and the Out & Allies Employee Resource Groups. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce.

Matthew Freund serves as the Company's President. He is also President of Barings Capital Investment Corporation and Barings Private Credit Corporation. Mr. Freund is also a board member for Eclipse Business Credit, a specialty lender focused on providing asset backed loans. Mr. Freund was previously a member of Barings’ Global Private Finance Group, responsible for executing, underwriting, and monitoring North American private finance investments. He has worked in the industry since 2009.

Prior to joining the firm in 2015, he worked for US Bank structuring bank loans to support leveraged buyouts for private equity sponsors. Prior to joining US Bank, Mr. Freund worked in underwriting and analytical roles at Bank of America as part of corporate and middle market coverage.

Matthew has a B.S.B.A. degree from Saint Louis University and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Elizabeth Murray serves as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. She is also the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Barings Capital Investment Corporation and Barings Private Credit Corporation. Additionally, she serves as Treasurer of Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund. She is also a board member for Rocade LLC, a specialty finance company focused on litigation finance. Elizabeth previously was the Chief Accounting Officer for the Company, BCIC and BPCC and previously served as the Vice President of Financial Reporting at Triangle Capital Corporation prior to the externalization of the investment management of the Company to Barings LLC.

Prior to joining Triangle Capital Corporation in 2012, she worked in Financial Planning and Analysis for RBC Bank, the U.S. retail banking division for Royal Bank of Canada. Prior to RBC Bank, Elizabeth spent seven years at Progress Energy, Inc. and held various positions in finance, accounting and tax, most recently in Strategy and Financial Planning. Elizabeth began her career as a Tax Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Elizabeth is a graduate of North Carolina State University where she obtained a B.S. degree in Accounting and a Master of Accounting degree. She is also a North Carolina Certified Public Accountant.

Itzbell Branca is the Chief Compliance Officer of the Company. Ms. Branca also serves as the Chief Compliance Officer for Barings Capital Investment Corporation, Barings Private Credit Corporation, Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund, Barings Corporate Investors, and Barings Participation Investors. Ms. Branca is a member of the Barings LLC Legal team.

Prior to joining Barings LLC in 2019, Ms. Branca worked in various roles during her tenure at LPL Financial (2007 – 2019) including roles in regulatory examinations, broker-dealer supervision, business risk management, compliance, and Co-Head of Complex Products Supervision.

Ms. Branca holds B.S. degrees in Finance and Marketing and Multinational Business from Florida State University and an MBA from DeVry University.

Bryan High serves as the Company’s Co-Portfolio Manager. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Barings Capital Investment Corporation and Barings Private Credit Corporation. He is the Head of Barings’ Global Private Finance Group, Head of Capital Solutions, and a Co-Portfolio Manager for Capital Solutions funds. He is responsible for leading a team that originates, underwrites and manages global private finance investments and serves as an interim member of the North American Investment Committee. He joined the firm in 2007, and has extensive experience in public and private credit, distressed debt / special situations and private equity.

Prior to joining Barings, he was an investment banker at a boutique M&A firm where he advised on middle market transactions. He also worked at Banc of America Securities LLC in the restructuring advisory group. He currently serves on the investment committees for Capital Solutions, U.S. High Yield and Global Private Structured Finance. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Eclipse Business Capital LLC and Coastal Marina Holdings, LLC.

Mr. High graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Joseph Mazzoli serves as the Company’s Head of Investor Relations & Client Development. Joseph has worked in the industry since 2012. Prior to joining the firm in 2022, he worked for Wells Fargo Securities’ Leveraged Finance Sales and Trading Group, where he worked as a Senior Investment analyst covering loans and bonds in the healthcare, packaging, real estate, and DATS sectors. Before that, Joseph worked in the Equity Research Department of Wells Fargo Securities covering BDCs and private credit. In a prior role at Wells Fargo Securities, Joseph worked on the Leveraged Loan Syndicate desk with a focus on structuring and underwriting syndicated loan transactions. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the College of Charleston and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Albert Perley serves as the Company’s Treasurer. He is also the Treasurer for Barings Capital Investment Corporation and Barings Private Credit Corporation. Albert is a member of Barings’ Permanent Capital team, working within the Barings BDC Complex and related Joint Ventures. He is also a board member of Sierra Senior Loan Strategy JV I LLC, a joint venture with Barings BDC. He has worked in the industry since 2012.

Prior to joining the firm in 2021, Albert worked in investment banking at Wells Fargo Securities, where he underwrote CLOs and leveraged lending credit facilities to numerous private credit managers. Before Wells Fargo, Albert was an analyst at Collwick Capital, a Charlotte-based multi-family office.

Albert holds a BA in Economics from Connecticut College.

Ashlee Steinnerd, is the Company’s Chief Legal Officer and the Head of Regulatory at Barings LLC. Ms. Steinnerd also serves as Chief Legal Officer of BCIC, BPCC, Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund, Barings Corporate Investors, Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund, and Barings Participation Investors. Ms. Steinnerd has been a member of the Barings LLC legal team since 2019, advising Barings LLC on a variety of regulatory issues.

Prior to joining Barings LLC, Ms. Steinnerd was Senior Counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate. Ms. Steinnerd held several roles during her tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission between 2011 and 2019.

Ms. Steinnerd holds a B.S. in Applied International Finance and Applied International Economics from the American University of Paris, France and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law.