The Team
CESAR A. BAEZ — Founder and Managing Partner
Mr. Baez is the Founder and Managing Partner of Centinela Capital Partners, to which he brings more than 27 years of senior executive responsibilities in private equity, asset management, media and investment banking. Prior to
founding Centinela, he served as Head of Strategy, Institutional Business Development and Private Equity for Deutsche Bank Alternative Investments, a division of Deutsche Bank Asset Management. Before that, Mr. Baez was the first
Head of Alternative Investments for the State of New Jersey Investment Division, a $72 billion defined benefit plan, where he helped establish the fund’s first alternative investment program with a 13%-15% allocation to Private
Equity, Real Estate and Absolute Returns Strategies. Prior to that, he was Co-founder and Partner of Momentum Media Capital, a New York City-based investment firm that focused on Hispanic and ethnic media companies in the U.S.
market. Mr. Baez previously served as Partner and Principal of Hicks Muse Tate & Furst, also of New York, where he co-founded the firm’s Latin America private equity investment initiative. Mr. Baez also served as President and CEO
of CEI Media Holdings, the largest media holding company in Argentina, with assets in broadcast and cable TV, publishing and sports marketing. In 2006, Mr. Baez, was awarded the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which pays
tribute to U.S. citizens from various ethnic backgrounds. The honorees are awarded for showing outstanding qualities in their personal and professional lives, yet maintaining the richness of their particular heritage. Mr. Baez
serves on the Advisory Board of the Toigo Foundation. He earned a B.S. degree in Economics and Business Administration from Wagner College of New York, NY.
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ROBERT D. TAYLOR — Partner
Mr. Taylor is a Founding Partner of Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela, he was a Founder and Managing Director of Blue Capital, a middle market private equity firm whose investment strategy centered on
post-acquisition value-creation. At Blue Capital, Mr. Taylor was responsible for all aspects of the investment process and firm leadership. Prior to that, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where, during his eleven-year
tenure, Mr. Taylor gained extensive experience improving the performance of large, complex, for-profit, and not-for-profit enterprises. He has also distinguished himself as an experienced counselor of chief executives and senior
executive teams, with a track record of helping such individuals improve their respective companies’ operations. Mr. Taylor has served on numerous corporate boards both private and public. He also serves, or has served on the
boards, of several not-for-profit organizations, including the National Urban League, where he is currently Senior Vice Chairman, the Los Angeles Urban League, California Science Center, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Management Board, and Stanford Law School Board of Visitors. Mr. Taylor earned a B.S. in engineering, summa cum laude, from California State University, Northridge, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and an MBA from the Stanford
Graduate School of Business.
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FIDEL A. VARGAS — Partner
Fidel A. Vargas is a Founding Partner of Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining the Firm, he was the Managing Director of TMG Advisors, an investment/consulting firm specializing in business development, strategic planning,
and government affairs. Before that, Mr. Vargas was a Co-Founder and served as a Managing Director of Reliant Equity Investors. Reliant is a management-centric private equity investment firm that invests in later-stage, middle
market companies. Prior to Reliant, Mr. Vargas served as Managing Director of TMG Ventures, a private equity firm focused on acquiring and operating low-tech manufacturing and service companies. Before joining TMG, Mr. Vargas
served as Mayor of Baldwin Park, California, a city of 75,000, twenty miles Northeast of Los Angeles. At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Vargas became the country’s youngest elected Mayor of a major city. Mr. Vargas has served on
several public and private sector boards, including Sponsors for Education Opportunities, Operation Hope, Inc., the Los Angeles County Water Districts, President Clinton’s Advisory Council on Social Security, President Bush’s
Commission on Strengthening Social Security and President Bush’s Commission on Presidential Scholars. Mr. Vargas was selected by Time Magazine as one of the Top 50 young leaders in the United States and by Hispanic Magazine as one
of the Top 30 young Hispanics in the United States. Mr. Vargas graduated with honors from Harvard University with a B.A. in Social Studies and received his MBA from Harvard Business School, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship
and General Management.
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CHRISTOPHER T. FARRINGTON — Partner
Christopher T. Farrington is a Partner at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela in 2007, he was a Director in the Alternative Investments Group and Head of U.S. Private Equity at Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. He
was responsible for executing primary fund investments, equity co-investments and secondary transactions, and involved in all aspects of sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, negotiating investment terms, portfolio
strategies, and investment monitoring. During his tenure of six-plus years, he was responsible for investing in excess of $1 billion in private equity partnerships, as well as equity and debt co-investments. He also led the
analysis, structuring, and execution for the structured secondary sale of a non-core portfolio of 120 fund investments totaling approximately $270 million of NAV, which represents one of the largest secondary transactions by number
of fund interests. At MetLife, Mr. Farrington also served on the limited partner advisory committees of eight buyout funds, and was a member of the Institutional Limited Partners Association. Prior to joining MetLife, Mr.
Farrington was a Senior Associate in the Leveraged Finance groups at CIBC World Markets and Fleet Corporate Finance, where he was responsible for providing senior and mezzanine debt acquisition financing for private equity
sponsors. He also worked as a preferred stock trader at Merrill Lynch & Co. Mr. Farrington earned a B.A. degree in Economics from Duke University and an MIA with a concentration in international finance and economic policy from
Columbia University.
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JAN LE CHANG — Vice President
Jan Le Chang is a Vice President at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela in 2007, she was at Ares Management, an alternative asset management firm focused on private equity and leveraged finance. At Ares, she was
involved in all aspects of investor relations and marketing. Prior to that, Ms. Le Chang was with Grove Street Advisors, where she served as the primary liaison and key point of contact between the CalPERS and Grove Street
organizations. She was also involved in the evaluation, due diligence, and fund manager selection process for venture capital and private equity funds. Prior to Grove Street Advisors, Ms. Le Chang was a Research Analyst with
William O'Neil & Co., where she covered the construction, automotive and banking industries. Ms. Le Chang earned a B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in English from the University of California Los Angeles.
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SOPHIE LIANG — Associate
Sophie Liang is an Associate at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela in 2007, Ms. Liang was at Nationwide Insurance Company and specialized in private equity evaluation, due diligence and selection. While at
Nationwide, she was responsible for investing in excess of $150 million in the technology and infrastructure sectors. Prior to Nationwide, Ms. Liang worked at UBS Financial Services, Inc., where she was an Associate, performing
market research on future trends of wealth management and the Asian hedge fund industry. Previously, Ms. Liang was with The Boston Company Asset Management LLC, where she focused on fixed income and international equity products,
serving as the primary liaison between the Firm and its institutional investors, custodies, and brokers. Previously, Ms. Liang was an Analyst at China Eagle Securities, responsible for providing in-depth research on emerging trends
and key value drivers in various industries in the Greater China area. Before joining China Eagle, Ms. Liang was at State Street Bank & Trust, where she was involved in the accounting, evaluating, and pricing aspects of their
mutual fund business. Ms. Liang earned a B.A. degree in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.
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MARK PERRY — Associate
Mark Perry is an Associate at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela in 2008, Mr. Perry spent 5 years as a Systems Engineer in the aerospace & defense industry, most recently at The Boeing Company where he worked
in the business development group focusing on the design and implementation of next-generation communication satellite systems. Mr. Perry graduated with honors from UCLA with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and has an M.S. in
Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Mr. Perry received his MBA with a concentration in finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management where he graduated with honors and was a recipient of the J. Fred Weston Award
for academic excellence in finance.
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AMY WANG — Associate
Amy Wang is an Associate at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela in 2008, Ms. Wang was an Investment Banking Analyst in the public finance group at Citigroup, where she focused on housing and infrastructure
finance. Ms. Wang graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration.
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RREZARTA KRASNIQI — Assistant Controller
Rrezarta Krasniqi is an Assistant Controller at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela, she spent 3 years at Deloitte & Touche LLP as a Senior Auditor. During her time at Deloitte, she primarily audited private
equity and alternative asset management firms. Her clients included Apollo Management, Morgan Stanley, Forstmann Little, Ehrenkranz & Ehrenkranz, Fenway Partners, Harvest Partners, Vestar Capital Partners, TCP and Private Equity
Investment. As a Senior Auditor, her responsibilities included: preparing budgets, financial statements and analysis and recalculation of management fees, carried interest, capital calls and distributions and partners’ capital
balances. Rrezarta received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting from Pace University.
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SUZANNE KUNITZ — LA Office Manager
Suzanne Kunitz is the Office Manager for the Los Angeles Office at Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela in 2008, Suzanne was a conference planner at the Center for Corporate Innovation (CCI), where she focused
on coordinating executive roundtables for CEOs of Fortune 500 firms. Before CCI, Suzanne had a variety of experiences in the dot.com space. Prior to that, she worked at McKinsey & Company’s Los Angeles Office as an executive
assistant for 15 years. She worked as a bilingual translator and secretary for the United Nations Development Program in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, before coming to Los Angeles in 1977.
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LYUDMILA G. POLUPANOVA — NY Office Manager and Human Resources Administrator
Ms. Polupanova joined Centinela Capital Partners, LLC in 2006. She is the New York Office Manager and Human Resources Administrator for Centinela Capital Partners. Prior to joining Centinela Capital, Ms. Polupanova was Account
Executive and Assistant Branch Manager in Manhattan for Dream House Mortgage Corporation. Ms. Polupanova emigrated to the U.S. in 1996 from Krasnodar, Russia. After studying English at Bentley College, she went on to major in
Biological Sciences and minor in Business Administration at the University of Rhode Island.
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