Jess Larsen is the Founder & CEO of Briarcliffe Credit Partners.

Experience
Jess Larsen has transformed Briarcliffe into a firm recognized as the leading private credit placement agency, including being selected as Private Debt Investor 2022 Advisory and Placement Agent of the Year (Americas). Though launched in 2021, Briarcliffe’s success has been years in the making, a product of Jess’s extensive experience in private credit and raising capital across private markets.

Prior to founding Briarcliffe, Jess was a Partner and CEO Americas at global placement agency First Avenue Partners where he rebuilt the US business to become a leading firm, ranking number one in private credit and number three in infrastructure.

Jess had similar success at this previous firm, Highland Capital Management. As Global Head of Institutional Sales & Marketing, he revamped its institutional business, rebuilt its product offerings, and assembled a team that became the firm’s most profitable business unit per dollar managed. Earlier, Jess established and led the European Family Group at Merrill Lynch in London, a unit providing investment banking services to Europe’s largest families.

Thought Leader
Jess is a leading expert on private credit and his insights on industry trends are often cited in major financial media, including Bloomberg, Bloomberg Radio, Private Debt Investor, Refinitiv, Alternatives Watch, and PitchBook, among others. He is also a frequent guest on industry podcasts and has appeared on Nasdaq’s TV series, Top Quartile. Jess has led and spoken at multiple conferences and panels, including at SuperReturn, PDI Forum, and LPGP Connect.

Education & Community
Jess serves as Chair of Royal Albert Hall America, an American affinity group of the London center for arts and sciences. While living in Dallas, he served on the board of the World Affairs Council. Jess studied in Cambridge, Antwerp, and holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Copenhagen Business School.