LEADERSHIP TEAM
Mark J. DeTrempe, Managing Director & Partner
mdetrempe@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2215
Mr. DeTrempe’s responsibilities include client development and transaction management and execution. Mr. DeTrempe has worked in structured finance since 1986. He began his career at First Chicago Leasing Corporation, where he became Vice President and Co-Head of the Sales and Syndications Group. From 1992-2010, he was Managing Director/Partner of Cornerstone Financial Advisors Limited Partnership. In 2010, he co-founded Cornerstone Financial Advisors, LLC. In addition to his general transaction responsibilities, Mr. DeTrempe is responsible for strategic direction of Cornerstone and its portfolio management business. Mr. DeTrempe received a Masters of Management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University, and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame.
Aaron J. Karstens, Managing Director & Partner
akarstens@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2224
Mr. Karstens is responsible for client development, transaction management and the structuring and analysis of transactions, credit and project finance related. From 2000-2007, Mr. Karstens held the positions of Associate, Manager, and Vice President at Cornerstone Financial Advisors Limited Partnership. He then worked in the Structured Asset Finance department for Wachovia, where he was principally engaged in structuring lease investments, as well as tax partnerships for renewable energy projects. In 2010, he co-founded Cornerstone Financial Advisors, LLC. Mr. Karstens has an M.B.A. in Finance and a B.S. in Mathematics, each from The University of Iowa.
Jason B. Klapper, Managing Director & Partner
jklapper@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2217
Mr. Klapper is responsible for client development, transaction management and the structuring and analysis of transactions, credit and project finance related. Prior to joining Cornerstone Financial Advisors Limited Partnership in 1999, where he held positions of Associate, Manager and Vice President, Mr. Klapper held positions in capital markets and underwriting for Aries Capital Inc., a real estate finance group. In 2010, he co-founded Cornerstone Financial Advisors, LLC. Mr. Klapper graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics, concentrating in Finance and Real Estate.
Tyler Fauerbach, Managing Director
tfauerbach@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2209
Mr. Fauerbach brings over 15 years of experience in renewable and conventional energy project finance, investment, development and construction. He has worked on the origination, due diligence and portfolio management of over 2 gigawatts of power generation assets in the US and Latin America. This includes utility, commercial and residential-scale solar, utility scale wind, gas fired power generation, biomass and hydroelectric generation. In addition, Mr. Fauerbach has experience in the oil and gas, mining and agribusiness industries. Most recently Mr. Fauerbach was a Managing Director with Entropy Investment Management (“EIM”), the renewable energy investment platform for York Capital Management. Prior to joining EIM, Mr. Fauerbach headed the project finance efforts for solar developer and EPC, Sunetric. Prior to joining Sunetric, Mr. Fauerbach established and led US Bank’s power project finance practice. Mr. Fauerbach started his project finance career at CoBank, ACB. Mr. Fauerbach holds an MBA from the University of Denver and a BS in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from Purdue University.
Thomas Boeje, Managing Director
tboeje@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2208
Mr. Boeje is responsible for client development, transaction management, structuring, capital raising, and the acquisition and disposition of asset-based investments primarily in the energy sector. Mr. Boeje brings over 13 years of structured finance and investment banking experience with a focus on renewables and conventional power generation in North and South America. Before joining Cornerstone, Mr. Boeje held positions as a Director at Siemens Financial Services, where he executed various strategic initiatives, including assisting in establishing the company’s tax equity platform, and as Head of Tax Equity at Truist Securities where he managed the bank’s tax equity activities. During his career, Mr. Boeje has deployed in excess of $8bn of capital in the energy sector (across project finance debt, development capital, mezzanine debt, tax equity, and common equity), spanning various technologies (solar, wind, fuel cell, standalone storage, hydro, and conventional power generation), and geographies (United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Argentina). Mr. Boeje holds a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Economics from the State University of New York at Albany.
Brent A. Meller, Vice President
bmeller@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2218
Mr. Meller became a member of the Cornerstone team in August 2011 and is responsible for client development, transaction management and the structuring and analysis of transactions, credit and project finance related. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Mr. Meller worked within the Asset Finance Group at Citibank focusing on aviation, rail, power and renewable energy financings and portfolio management. Mr. Meller has also worked at Fifth Third Bank in their corporate finance department and at Dana Commercial Credit in their structured finance division. Mr. Meller has an M.B.A from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Bowling Green State University.
Brian P. Fairchild, Vice President
bfairchild@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2210
Mr. Fairchild is responsible for the structuring and analysis of transactions and providing credit and project finance advisory services. Before joining Cornerstone in August 2014, Mr. Fairchild was a Director at Robert W. Baird & Co., advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital market transactions, and other corporate finance activities since 2007. Mr. Fairchild received an M.B.A from Kellogg School of Management and a B.S. in Economics from Vanderbilt University.
Michael Gadsden, Senior Director
mgadsden@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2213
Mr. Gadsden joined Cornerstone in 2017, having previously worked in energy market analytics, valuation, risk management, and restructuring advisory. He specializes in pricing complex portfolios of contracted and merchant energy assets. Mr. Gadsden was previously a Managing Consultant with Filsinger Energy Partners, where he represented Energy Future Holdings during one of the power industry’s largest Chapter 11 restructurings. As a graduate student, he analyzed energy and climate change policy for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Mr. Gadsden holds an M.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College.
Mike Elchinger, Senior Director
melchinger@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2212
Mr. Elchinger brings over fifteen years of experience in renewable energy project finance and M&A. Prior to joining Cornerstone in March 2023, Mr. Elchinger was Vice President of Project Finance and M&A at Novis Renewables. In this role he led a team of six in M&A, financial analysis, and structuring for the joint venture between Falck and Eni, closed 1GW of utility-scale PV and ESS acquisitions and raised over $200MM of financing across partnership flips, sale leasebacks, and debt financings. He also managed the evaluation of a 70GW ($100B) acquisition pipeline, bidding on over 4GW ($5B) of projects. Prior to joining Novis, Mike spent six years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as a management consultant where he led project finance, development and systems integration engagements with a variety of clients including DOE, DOD and USAID. He holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Virginia, a Master of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business, and a Master of Science in Sustainable Systems from the School of Natural Resource and Environment.
Jon Newman, Director
jnewman@cfallc.com
(847) 444-2203
Mr. Newman is responsible for the structuring, pricing, and due diligence of project finance transactions and other advisory services. Before joining Cornerstone, Mr. Newman led Project Finance and M&A at Novis Renewables (a renewable energy developer), a joint venture between Renantis SpA and Eni SpA. In this role, he closed over 1 GW of in-development and operating asset acquisitions and managed the development financing of an 8+ GW pipeline. Mr. Newman also worked at Fluence Energy, a global leader in energy storage technology, and Deloitte Consulting. He holds a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University, and an M.B.A. and M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan.