Life Settlements: Management Team

Management Team

Allen Gold, Senior Managing Director is also the CEO of the Lionheart Group, a strategic development and investment banking firm. Lionheart assists companies in developing and executing the strategies that will create the valuation and investment criteria for their next level of capital infusion; in many cases it designs and facilitates the fund raising structure and manages the process. In 1985, Mr. Gold founded Venturelease, one of the first equipment lease companies to underwrite transactions for early stage venture capital financed companies in Silicon Valley. This operation became a division of the Ally Group of Companies. Until 1999, Mr. Gold was the Chairman and CEO of the Ally Group. A diversified asset management and venture investment company, the Ally Group originated and underwrote over $1 billion in investment transactions and employed 30 professionals. Mr. Gold is an innovative and entrepreneurial financial services executive with strong fund development and management experience

In 1991, Mr. Gold founded the Environmental Allies Group of Funds, a division of the Ally Group. The Environmental Allies Funds primarily invested in development stage environmental technology companies and in environmental project finance opportunities. Energy Efficiency Finance Corporation was formed in 1993. Mr. Gold raised three funds with a total of $50 million in equity and made over 100 investments. In 1997, Mr. Gold founded and became the President, CEO and licensee of Critical Capital Corporation, a $30 million venture capital fund licensed by the SBA as a Small Business Investment Company. Mr. Gold was responsible for obtaining the company’s license from the SBA. This fund invested in emerging growth companies in retail, food service and manufacturing. It was established in partnership with Sands Brothers & Co, a NYSE investment banking firm. Sands Brothers acquired Mr. Gold’s interest in 2000.

Principals and Senior Advisors

David N. Firshein is a principal at Lionheart Capital. David has been a commercial financier and financial entrepreneur for over 23 years, working in most aspects of corporate lending, equity finance, and venture capital. He has completed approximately $750 million worth of corporate finance transactions during this career timeframe.

The first $200 million of such transactions occurred during David’s first ten years in the field, while working in a senior marketing and then senior management role at two San Francisco Bay Area asset-based lending and investment banking companies, ATEL Financial Corporation and the former Ally Capital Corporation (part of the Ally Group) respectively. In 1994, David left Ally Capital to found his own private corporate finance and advisory business, "Cascade Capital Corporation", both an advisory firm and a licensed commercial finance lender & broker in the State of California, based in Fairfax (Marin County).

Since founding Cascade Capital over 13 years ago, David has successfully completed over $500 million worth of corporate financings. These transactions have included bank revolving credit & term debt facilities, equipment leases, private placement of unsecured notes, bridge loans, mezzanine debt, turn-around financings and sponsor, stretch or distressed type equity. Of note, David has several times performed successful large & complex investment banking assignments involving mergers & acquisitions or restructuring of ownership positions, up to over $200 million in transaction size. Also included in David/Cascade Capital's activities since it’s founding has been a significant amount of time spent in the venture capital and early stage business arena. This included originating over $25 million of private angel equity and first, second and third round venture capital in an advisory or executive capacity for nine different early stage enterprises, eight of which Cascade Capital invested in directly, often leading such funding rounds with its own funds.