Highland adds Whetstone, Brennan to business development team

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., Jan. 26 – Highland Capital Management, LP hired institutional business development professionals Laurie Whetstone, managing director, and Kieran Brennan, director, according to a press release.

The firm said it expanded its business development team in anticipation of increased opportunities in distressed credit, one of its core strengths.

Whetstone, based in San Francisco, joins Highland from Bernstein Private Wealth Management, an integrated investment arm of AllianceBernstein. She brings nearly two decades of experience as a trusted adviser to institutional investors and high net worth individuals.

Additionally, Whetstone offers unique perspective on the needs of allocators, having been on the affiliate committee of the State Association of California County Retirement Systems.

Brennan joins Highland as a director in the firm’s New York office. He comes to Highland from Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group where he was vice president on the U.S. institutional sales team of the Canadian-based asset manager. Brennan started his career in the institutional sales and marketing group at First Eagle Investment Management.

Highland currently operates stressed and distressed credit strategies within various portfolios across the platform. It established a dedicated distressed private equity fund during the last credit cycle, focusing on control-oriented investments in senior secured loans of companies in complex distressed situations.

“Given the size of the high yield credit market today, even minor disruptions could create considerable opportunities in the distressed space, which is one of Highland’s biggest strengths,” Trey Parker, Highland’s co-chief investment officer, said in the release.

“The expanded team will connect us to the investors and allocators who understand this dynamic and recognize the need to position capital in anticipation of this opportunity.”

Highland is a Dallas-based investment management firm.

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