Managing Partners
Team
Board of Advisors
Sean Stiefel
Sean Stiefel founded Navy Capital in 2016, and assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2019. Prior to founding Navy Capital, Mr. Stiefel was a research analyst and trader for Northwoods Capital Management Partners, a TMT-focused global long/short hedge fund. Mr. Stiefel had previously served as an associate within an equity long/short fund at Millennium Partners, and he began his career as an equities trading analyst for Barclays Capital. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
John Kaden
John T. Kaden is Executive Chairman of Navy Capital. Prior to joining Navy, Mr. Kaden was the co-Portfolio Manager at Northwoods Capital Management Partners, a TMT-focused global long/short hedge fund. Prior to joining Northwoods, Mr. Kaden was the Founder and Managing Partner of Cynthion Partners, LLC from 2006 through the end of 2013, a global macro thematic hedge fund. Prior to founding Cynthion Partners, Mr. Kaden worked in the Strategic Division of Blackrock. Mr. Kaden began his career as a macro strategist for The G7 Group, a global consulting firm that advises its clients on macroeconomic and political developments that affect financial markets. Mr. Kaden graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.B. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Scott Franzblau
Scott has over 30 years of investment and product development experience specific to alternative investments. Prior to co-founding Benchmark Plus, Scott founded Parkway Capital Corporation, a NASD registered broker/dealer focused on assisting Institutional, Financial and Family Office investors with the design and implementation of alternative and private equity exposure. Prior to forming Parkway Capital, Mr. Franzblau served as Senior Vice President with CIBC/Oppenheimer. Scott earned a BA in Economics and a BS in Political Science from Rutgers University in 1979, where he currently serves as a member of the Rutgers University Board of Overseers.
Jim Weil
Mr. James A. Weil, also known as Jim, has been the President of Insl-x Products Corporation since 1979. Mr. Weil is lead investor and an advisor for NY Fuel Distributors, LLC. Previously, Mr. Weil gained experience in all areas of general management and product development by working at Stevens Paint, which he later acquired and changed its name to INSL-X Products Corp and later led its sale to Berkshire Hathaway. He serves as a Director of DioGenix, Inc. He is a Member of National Paint and Coatings Association. Previously, he spent time doing philanthropic work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Gilda’s Club of Westchester, where he was awarded the coveted Red Door for his time as a member of the board of directors, exceptional service and funding of their programs for patients and survivors of cancer. He was also a member of the board of trustees of Boston University’s School of Communications. Mr. Weil received his BS Degree in communications from Boston University in 1972.
Rob Stavis
Rob Stavis is a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and is primarily focused on financial services and investments in emerging software and hardware technologies. He’s been actively investing for more than 15 years and currently serves on the board of directors for fintech companies such as Betterment, Knewton, Gerson Lehrman Group, and United Capital Financial Partners, along with education startups including 2U and BrightBytes. He was an early investor Skype (acquired by eBay), consumer web application Hunch (acquired by eBay), and mobile gaming company OMGPOP (acquired by Zynga). Rob entered venture capital after a 15-year career at Salomon Smith Barney, where he was co-head of global arbitrage trading, a member of Salomon’s operating and risk-management committees and chaired the recruiting committee. He earned his degrees in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and education from the Wharton School of Management.
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Compliance Officer
Kevin McLaughlin
Kevin McLaughlin joined Navy Capital in February 2019 as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. McLaughlin has over twenty-five years’ experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Navy Capital, Mr. McLaughlin spent over two years at MANA Partners LLC in various roles including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to MANA, Mr. McLaughlin spent eight years each at Karamaan Group, LLC and Colden Capital Advisers LLC as their Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer where he oversaw all aspects of accounting, tax, back office operations, compliance, administration and client reporting. Prior to Karamaan and Colden, he worked for eight years in various rolls at Tiger Management LLC. Mr. McLaughlin began his career at Rothstein, Kass & Company, P.C. auditing hedge funds and broker dealers. He received his M.B.A in Professional Accounting from Rutgers University and his B.S. in Biology from Syracuse University.
Head of Research
Chetan Gulati
Chetan Gulati joined Navy Capital in 2019 as Partner and Head of Research. Mr. Gulati brings nearly 20 years of experience to Navy’s team, having begun his career practicing law at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz, where he focused on corporate restructurings and finance. He joined Perry Capital in 2007, and was ultimately appointed to run Perry’s London operations from 2010-2016. Most recently, Mr. Gulati was a Partner at Smith Cove Capital. He holds a BA from the University of Rochester and a JD from Yale Law School.
Analysts
Dennis Deng, CFA
Dennis Deng joined Navy Capital in 2019 as an Analyst after spending five years covering technology and consumer stocks at Infinitas Capital, a long/short equity Registered Investment Adviser. Mr. Deng graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University with an M.F.E. degree in Financial Mathematics, a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, and a B.A. in Economics. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.
Michael Song
Michael Song joined Navy Capital in July 2021 as an Analyst. Most recently, Mr. Song spent 10 years focused on the consumer and retail sectors at Freshford Capital, a long/short hedge fund. Prior to Freshford Capital, he was a Vice President at Greenhill & Co., an investment bank focused on M&A/restructuring advisory. He began his career as an investment banking analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. He holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a BBA from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Director of Investor Relations
Jaci Daudt
Jaci Daudt joined Navy Capital in 2019 as Director of Investor Relations. Most recently, Jaci served as Vice President of Investor Relations at Belle Haven Investments, a $10bn municipal bond manager. Prior to Belle Haven, Jaci was on the sell-side as an equity sales trader at both Piper Jaffray and Autonomous Research, covering mostly NY-based institutions. A born and raised Minnesotan, Ms. Daudt holds a BSB in Finance from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management.