Leadership

Martin Cabrera Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM), a global investment bank and institutional brokerage firm, and Cabrera Capital Partners (CCP), a real estate development and investment firm.

Martin has more than thirty years of experience in the financial services industry. Martin founded CCM in 2001 in Chicago, and since then the firm has grown to become a global financial enterprise with 8 offices nationwide and dedicated trading personnel resources in London. CCM has issued over $2.9 trillion in debt and equities for municipalities and corporations domestically and internationally. The firm’s taxable fixed income and global equities trading desks transact over $2.7 billion in securities daily. Martin started CCP in 2007 and the firm has become an expansive real estate development and investment firm that provides advisory services including development, acquisition, and management.

Martin serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Ignatius College Prep, and is on the board of World Business Chicago, INTERSECT Illinois, and Homeboy Industries, among others. He has been featured in news publications that include CNBC, Crain’s Chicago Business, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and Axios.

Martin earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Northern Illinois University and studied at the London School of Economics. He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 4, 7, 24, 53, 55, 57, 63, and 79.

Robert Aguilar is the President of Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM), a global investment bank and institutional brokerage firm, and Cabrera Capital Partners (CCP), a real estate development and investment firm.

Robert helped start Cabrera Capital in 2001 and officially joined in 2003, assuming the dual role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. He became President of CCM and CCP in 2023. In these roles he has exhibited an unparalleled dedication to excellence for clients and a keen eye for identifying opportunities to propel the company forward. Leveraging his profound understanding of finance and operations, Robert has been instrumental in driving two decades of exponential growth, expanding the firm’s client base, diversifying its services, and establishing its global presence.

As a Chicago native and a product of the public education system, Robert is passionate about giving back to his local community and its schools. He currently serves as a member of the Chicago Public Media Board of Directors and the Chicago Blackhawks Society. Robert has been featured in news publications that include The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, and Negocios Now.

Robert holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University. He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 24, 27, 50, 53, 54, 55, 57, 63, 79, and 99.

Santino Bibbo is the Managing Director and Head of the Capital Markets Division at Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM), a global investment and institutional brokerage firm. He has over 25 years of investment banking experience in both the private and public sectors, overseeing products in the corporate, public finance and trading areas. 

Santino joined CCM in 2003 as the fifth employee of the firm’s Chicago headquarters. Over two decades Santino grew alongside the company. He quickly worked his way up to the managerial positions of Vice President, Senior Vice President, and Managing Director as a result of his ability to provide immeasurable value to his clients and compelling insights on how to strategically expand CCM business. In his current role he is responsible for coordinating CCM’s efforts in providing corporate clients with capital markets services.

Santino received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance from Bocconi University. He also completed an executive program at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and holds FINRA professional securities licenses Series 7, 24, 53, 63, and 79.

Dave serves as Managing Director and Head of Global Equities at Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM). He is a 20+ year veteran of the financial services and financial technology industries. Drawing upon his expertise in quantitative prime brokerage and low latency trading architecture and infrastructure, Dave looks to leverage technology and data analytics to drive productivity and increase efficiency. He has held multiple leadership positions focused on revenue growth, product launch, and strategic planning.

As Managing Director at CCM, Dave is responsible for overseeing the firm’s global equity business activities, including trading, sales, and adherence to global regulatory and market structure. Since joining the firm in 2019, he has led the global equities division to record volumes and growth for five consecutive years and established dedicated trading personnel resources in London. Dave’s success at CCM is rooted in his commitment to integrity in all aspects of business and supporting his team as they broaden their skill sets in global equities. Today Dave manages a team of 15 professionals, consisting of full-time sales traders, trade support, equity sales, and operations, who trade global equities on a 24/6 schedule.

Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University, and FINRA professional securities licenses Series 7, 24, 57, and 63.

Thomas is the Managing Director and Head of Public Finance and Municipal Capital Markets at Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM), a global investment bank and institutional brokerage firm. He brings over 35 years of experience in the municipal bond market to CCM. In the role, Thomas oversees a team of seasoned professionals underwriting, trading and selling bonds to traditional and non-traditional investors.

Prior to joining CCM, Thomas was a Managing Director at Citigroup, where he built and managed multiple business lines. As head of Municipal Capital Solutions Marketing at Citi, Thomas managed a salesforce based in the U.S., London, and Hong Kong, creating municipal products for domestic and international investors. Previously, he founded Citi’s municipal high yield trading and research franchise, which is widely recognized as the industry leader.

Thomas holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from The London School of Economics, a Master of Public Administration degree from The Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Lewis and Clark College. His philanthropic interests include healthcare and higher education. He was a member of Lewis and Clark College’s Board of Trustees for 12 years.  He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 9, 10, 52, 53, 63, and 79.

Marisela Rosales Lawson is Managing Director and Head of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM), a global investment bank and institutional brokerage firm. She brings more than 25 years of experience helping Fortune 500 and global enterprises transform through data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and enterprise technology. 

In her role at CCM, Marisela leads strategic initiatives focused on leveraging AI and emerging technologies to drive growth, efficiency, and innovation across the firm’s revenue-generating businesses. She is currently leading the development of an AI platform to support the launch of a new real estate fund and works closely with senior management and Managing Directors across the platform to identify high-impact opportunities, advance new capabilities, and strengthen long-term business performance. 

Prior to joining CCM in 2026, Marisela was a Managing Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Transformation and Technology practice, where she advised executive leadership teams across North and South America on enterprise data strategy, AI adoption, and digital transformation. Her work spanned the high-tech, insurance, manufacturing, and legal sectors. 

Earlier in her career, Marisela was the Founding Partner and CEO of Sagence, Inc., a data management and analytics consulting firm acquired by PwC in 2022. At Sagence, she advised Fortune 500 clients on global data strategies and operating models that helped position organizations to capitalize on the AI era and deliver measurable financial and operational results. 

As a Chicago-based executive, Marisela is passionate about giving back to her local community through education and the arts. She currently serves as a Board Member of the Big Shoulders Fund and as Vice Chair and Trustee of the Merit School of Music. 

Marisela holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from DePaul University. 

Frank Sinatra Jr. is the Managing Director and Head of the Taxable Fixed Income Department at Cabrera Capital Markets. Frank has 25+ years of extensive experience in Investment Grade Trading and Sales, and is committed to growth and excellence in the fixed income space.

Prior to joining Cabrera Capital, Frank served as Senior Managing Director and Head of IG Trading and Sales at RW Pressprich, where he led the institutional sales and trading team. His career also includes more than a decade at FTN Financial, where he advanced from Vice President to Senior Vice President and Head IG Credit Trader, overseeing large-scale trading operations, risk controls, and institutional client relationships. Earlier in his career, Frank gained foundational experience in credit trading at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, a division of Goldman Sachs.

Frank earned his BA in Business Administration from Wagner College and completed an Executive Education Program at Columbia University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Jae Kim is the Managing Director and Head of M&A Advisory at Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM), a global investment bank and institutional brokerage.  He is based in the Chicago office.  

Jae has over 20 years of investment banking experience, advising public and private companies, financial sponsors, family businesses and owner/entrepreneurs on a range of strategic transactions including mergers, acquisitions, company sales, corporate divestitures, refinancings and capital placements.  He has represented clients in a range of sectors including industrials, technology, consumer and services. 

Prior to joining CCM in 2025, Jae was a senior investment banker with Robert W. Baird, Mesirow and Fifth Third Securities.    

Jae received his BA in Economics from New York University.

Mario Carrasco is the Managing Director and Head of Central Region for Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM). He brings over 20 years of experience to the role, serving as a lead banker and lead manager/co-manager on hundreds of Public Finance transactions that account for over $100 billion in par.   

As Managing Director and Head of National Public Finance, Mario oversees CCM’s municipal finance transactions across all credit sectors, and focuses on building a team that encompasses experienced, trustworthy, proven, and tenured Public Finance professionals. His team is known for providing best-in-class service to CCM’s hundreds of clients nationwide and effectively expanding CCM’s platform. Since starting in 2022, Mario and the CCM team have served as Lead Manager, Senior Manager and Co-Manager on well over $80 billion in par, which is well above the historical statistics at the firm. 

Mario served as past Chair and former board member of the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Science from St. Mary’s University and is a registered FINRA securities representative currently holding Series 7, 24, 50, 52, 66, 79, and SIE licenses. 

Douglas A. Johnson serves as the Managing Director at Cabrera Capital Partners. He is an experienced real estate executive with more than two decades of leading complex development, capital, and asset management initiatives across healthcare, life science, medical office, and senior housing sectors. He brings deep, full-lifecycle expertise spanning deal structuring, development execution, asset optimization, and capital recycling, with a proven ability to deliver sustained value through disciplined strategy and execution.

Prior to joining Cabrera Capital, Doug founded DevCon Advisory, where he served as Owner and Managing Principal, providing strategic advisory services to institutional real estate clients with a focus on financial analysis, technical assessment, and capital planning. He spent 17 years at Ventas, Inc., where he served as Vice President, Head of Construction and Development. He led more than $3 billion in development projects, managed a $500 million annual capital program, and delivered over $100 million in stabilized NOI.

Doug holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a BS in Construction Engineering and Management from Purdue University, and a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania.

Anshul Agrawal is a seasoned investment banking executive with over 10 years of experience spanning M&A advisory and capital markets. Currently serving as Director at Cabrera Capital Markets in Chicago, Anshul leads complex transactions and capital solutions for clients across diverse industries. 

Prior to joining Cabrera, Anshul held senior roles at Moelis & Company and RBC Capital Markets, where he advised on high-profile mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and strategic initiatives. His expertise covers the full deal lifecycle, from origination to execution, with a proven track record of delivering value to clients.

Anshul began his career in financial analysis and economic consulting, holding positions at Sigma-Aldrich, Ernst & Young, and Amsum & Ash. He holds an MBA in Accounting and Finance from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and BSB in Finance and Economics from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Anshul is FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licensed.

Chris Bergstrom is Cabrera Capital Markets’ Head of Transportation Public Finance where he oversees the firm’s coverage of transportation clients nationwide and develops tailored capital solutions and credit marketing strategies. Based in New York City, Chris has 20 years of public finance experience during which he has senior managed over $19 billion of bond offerings across a wide range of transportation modes and financing structures.

Prior to joining Cabrera in 2024, Chris was Co-Head of Transportation Public Finance at UBS and served as a transportation coverage banker at J.P. Morgan for 13 years prior to that. In addition to the issuance of municipal bonds for public sector clients, Chris’ experience includes debt financing for public-private partnerships and credit lending solutions for airline special facility development. Chris previously served as the Associate Representative for Airports Council International-North America’s Finance Committee Steering Group where he worked on a taskforce with USDOT to expand access to Federal lending programs and developed a risk disclosure framework. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 52, 53, 63, and 79.

Ben Cardenas is a seasoned finance professional with expertise in municipal bond underwriting, corporate finance, advisory services, fixed income, and real estate. Drawing on over 20 years of experience in government, finance, and leadership, Ben collaborates with banking working groups to develop and execute funding strategies for clients, optimizing debt structures and achieving cost-effective, tailored solutions to meet their specific needs. Holding Series 7, 52, and 63 securities licenses, Ben works with states, cities, water districts, and school districts to deliver innovative financial solutions.

With a background in federal policy and local government, including roles with the U.S. House of Representatives, the school board for the third-largest district in LA County, and as an Assistant City Manager overseeing large budgets and teams, Ben brings a unique perspective to financial solutions, leveraging expertise in policy, finance, and leadership to drive client success.

Dan Cohen serves as Head of Municipal Trading at Cabrera Capital where he oversees risk management, market analysis, and liquidity for institutional clients. During Dan’s 25+ year career in trading, he has managed up to $500 million in balance sheet, executed daily operations, including P&L generation, risk management, market value extraction, asset protection, selling, and trading for a proprietary portfolio. Dan has used strategic hedging tactics to construct portfolios, define risk tolerance, drive decision-making, and assess investment objectives. 

Before joining Cabrera Capital, Dan was a Managing Partner at MTR Municipal Strategies which was a private investment fund which focused on Municipal and Sovereign bond strategies. Prior to his time at MTR Municipal Strategies, he spent 12 years as a Director/Municipal Bond Trader at RBC Capital Markets, where he oversaw the intermediate trading desk. 

Dan holds a Bachelor of Science from State University Of New York at Potsdam. Dan resides on 3 charitable boards which include “The Saratoga Regional YMCA”, “The Section 16H Group”, & “Friends Of Recreation”. He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 24, 53, and 63.

Carlos Desmaras is an experienced public finance banker that has provided a broad range of investment banking services to municipal bond issuers. He has served as senior manager on over $9 billion in tax-exempt financings for a variety of issuers including: states; local governments; revenue- based credits; asset, project, and structured finance transactions; and private activity industrial development bonds.

Carlos’ investment banking and consulting work includes engagements for the States of Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, Empire State Development Corp., Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, NY State Environmental Facilities, Corp., and more. He earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. He holds Series 7, 50, 53, and 63 FINRA licenses.

Eddy Angélica Encinales is Chief of Staff to the CEO at Cabrera Capital Markets. In this role, she supports the CEO in managing his priorities and external engagements, and serves as a strategic advisor, ensuring his vision is implemented efficiently across the organization.

Prior to her current position, Eddy worked at the Aspen Institute for five years, growing from a program coordinator to a senior program manager in two different divisions of the organization – Ascend, a program focused on family prosperity, and Latinos & Society, focused on wealth creation for the Latino community. While at Aspen, Eddy managed internal systems and operations; supported policy initiatives that promoted economic opportunity for families; built a national program for Latino entrepreneurs; and organized numerous events, including a series of Summits in partnership with the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic opportunity for Hispanics. Before working at the Aspen Institute, Eddy worked at Opportunity Nation, a national campaign to close the opportunity gap in America, and Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey, a community organization.

Eddy graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics. She serves on the Junior Board of Iskali, a Chicagoland faith-based organization for young people, and is a proud Aspen Institute Ricardo Salinas Scholar. She holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 52, and 63.

Steve Goff is a Director in the Taxable Fixed Income division of Cabrera Capital Markets. He is responsible for sales and trading in all U.S. Treasury securities as well as in all U.S. Government-Sponsored Enterprises. Steve also leads the firm’s electronic market making activities in U.S. Treasuries and is the primary sales coverage for many large municipalities and institutional money managers throughout the country. Additionally, he led Cabrera Capital’s U.S. Treasury trading with the New York Fed in their Treasury Operations Counterparty Pilot Program (2013-2014).

Steve joined Cabrera Capital Markets in March of 2011, after working for two years as an institutional corporate bond trader. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 24, and 63.

Jeffrey Hotch is the Director and Head of Structured Products for Cabrera Capital Markets where he initiated, built and leads the trading and sales group for RMBS, ABS and CMBS. He oversees margin, trading, risk management and client development for the group. Jeffrey also represents the sales and trading desk in meetings with the ABS banking group and the issuers of debt. During Jeffrey’s 30+ year trading and sales career, he has worked at both primary and regional firms such as Kidder Peabody, JP Morgan, Cantor Fitzgerald and KeyBank where he was a top 10 producer. Prior to joining Cabrera Capital Markets, he was a Managing Director at Siebert, Williams & Shank.

Jeffrey graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Psychology with a focus on Economics. He teaches as a guest lecturer at Farifield University on topics such as “The Fixed Income Markets” as an adjunct to the Capital Markets class. Jeffrey was featured in FHLB Chicago’s 2024 Impact report on expanding opportunities in global capital markets. He holds FINRA professional securities licenses 7, 24, and 63.

Shawnell Holman joined the Cabrera team in 2024 and has over 25 years of municipal finance experience, including prior employment with UBS and SWS. Tasked with originating and structuring municipal bond business across Texas, she has served as lead banker on a myriad of transactions totaling over $30 billion including financings for the City of Houston, Harris County, Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority as well as various Texas school districts.  

Prior to employment on the private side, Shawnell managed the City of Houston’s $13 billion debt and $2 billion investment portfolios for a decade. As the Deputy City Controller for the City of Houston, Shawnell was involved in various financings, including the $3 billion restructuring for the City’s utility system, oversight of the City’s multi-billion variable rate debt program (i.e., commercial paper, auction rate securities, SIFMA index floating rate notes, revenue anticipation notes, and put bonds) and refunding totaling over $10 billion that generated in excess of $200 million in savings. Prior to joining the Controller’s Office, Shawnell managed budgets totaling over $500 million for the City’s Police and Fire Departments. 

A former middle school teacher, Shawnell, earned a BA in Economics and English from Rice University and an MBA from the University of Houston at Victoria. She holds the following FINRA licenses: Municipal Securities Representative (Series 52), Municipal Securities Principal (Series 53), and Uniform State Law (Series 63).

Merita Kulpinski serves as Lead Municipal Underwriter for Cabrera Capital Markets where she oversees new issue pricing on Municipal bond deals. During Merita’s 30+ year career, she has priced almost 1 trillion in Tax-Exempt debt for municipalities throughout the country.  

Merita has been with Cabrera Capital Markets for 17 years. Prior to that, she started her career at First Chicago/Banc One Capital Markets underwriting both competitive and negotiated deals. Merita holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University. She also holds the following FINRA licenses - Series 7, 53, and 63.

Tiffany Madigan serves as General Counsel and head of Legal & Compliance for Cabrera Capital Markets, where she oversees the firm’s legal risk management, regulatory adherence, and corporate governance strategy. Her responsibilities span the firm’s core business lines—including trading, underwriting, and advisory—where she provides strategic counsel on deal structuring, transactional execution, and regulatory obligations, while also guiding internal policies and governance frameworks to support sustainable growth and operations.

Prior to joining Cabrera, Tiffany spent nearly a decade at two international law firms advising banks, investment funds, corporate borrowers, and issuers on a wide range of capital markets matters, including complex financial instruments and cross-border transactions. Earlier in her career, Tiffany worked for ABN Amro in project finance and international securitizations.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Tiffany is admitted to the bar in Illinois.

Manuel (Manny) Perez serves as a Director at Cabrera Capital Partners, where he focuses on real estate and public finance.

Prior to Cabrera, Manny was Deputy Mayor at the City of Chicago, leading Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s local, state, and federal legislative agenda. During his tenure, Manny shepherded thousands of legislative items at the city level, including Chicago’s first-ever casino, civilian oversight of police, and passage of annual operating city budgets exceeding $16 billion.

Before joining City Hall, Manny was the campaign manager for Mayor Lightfoot and served as the Intergovernmental Affairs Director for her transition. He has led a variety of campaigns at the local, state, and federal level, including Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García’s successful run for Congress in 2018. In Cook County government, Manny served as Special Assistant to the President of the County Board, Chief of Staff to the County Clerk, and Chief of Staff to then-Commissioner Garcia.

Manny serves on the board of St. Leonard’s Ministries, the board of the Princeton Club of Chicago, and the advisory board of the People’s Bank. He graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and is currently pursuing his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He holds FINRA professional securities licenses series 7, 52, and 63.

Ricardo Salazar serves as a Director within Public Finance for Cabrera Capital and is the head of the Dallas office. He provides banking, credit, and issuer focused analysis across all municipal finance sectors with a special emphasis on the public K-12 Texas school market.

A native of the Rio Grande Valley, Ricardo moved to Dallas to work as a Public Finance Analyst for Hilltop Securities (previously First Southwest) in their financial advisory practice. After a few years at Hilltop, Ricardo joined the Dallas Independent School District and completed 13 years of service. During Ricardo’s tenure at Dallas ISD, he served in many roles including bilingual elementary school education as a 2nd grade teacher, Budget Services analyst and later Manager, and most recently as Manager-Treasury Services (with a focus on financial planning and analysis). He handled all cash flow analysis and projections for both the District’s GO and bond funds, investment portfolios, and handled credit monitoring and reporting for the debt and investment portfolios. Ricardo was involved in over $2.8 billion in bond issuance and $3.6 billion in bond authorizations during his tenure at Dallas ISD.

Ricardo received his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Public Administration from the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. He holds FINRA SIE certification as well as licenses Series 7, 52, and 63.

Nelda is the Head of Operations at Cabrera Capital Markets, bringing 20 years of experience in the financial industry. Over the course of two decades, she has built deep expertise in managing middle- and back-office functions across domestic and international markets, ensuring seamless trade processing, settlement, and regulatory compliance.

Jeff Worf serves as Chief Compliance Officer for Cabrera Capital Markets where he oversees compliance with applicable rules and regulations issued by the Securities Exchange Commission, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and numerous state securities offices. His areas of responsibility include anti-money laundering, registrations and regulatory filings, and monitoring conduct of the firm’s registered representatives.

Jeff has worked in various compliance roles for over 30 years including Chief Compliance Officer within several major financial institutions, including JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Guggenheim Securities. In those positions, he managed teams of insurance and securities compliance professionals throughout the US, conducted due diligence of multi-million-dollar acquisition candidates resulting in integration of several compliance programs, and served as an Officer and Director of numerous legal entities and as Anti-Money Laundering Officer.

Jeff received his bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College and Master of Business Administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He holds Series 6, 7, 24, 52, 53, and 63 registrations from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.