Team
ManagemenT
- Charles Thoma is Managing Partner and founder of Cognitive Corporate Finance.
- Charles started his career with KPMG’s Corporate Strategy group in London in 1993, where he advised large European companies on international expansion, market reviews and corporate development plans. In 1999, he moved to Paris to help set up KPMG’s Strategy group, where he advised a number of French clients such as: Pierre & Vacances, Maison de la France, RATP and La Poste on strategy and reorganization issues.
- In 2000, he transferred to KPMG’s Restructuring group, which subsequently became Kroll Talbot Hughes and where he stayed until 2008. Charles advised a variety of European corporations, investment banks and PE houses on stressed and distressed situations relative to their investments. For two years he worked with OCP, a large, 18,000-employee, Moroccan mining group to regain control of its underperforming activities, to restructure its balance sheet and to address a wide range of problems associated with subsidiaries and JVs in other continents.
- Simultaneously, Charles worked on a range of operational restructuring, bankruptcy, and ailing structured finance and securitization projects. These included: leading the contingency planning and crisis management efforts for Gate Gourmet in the UK as part of its turnaround and return to profitability; assisting with Swiss Air’s exit from AOM, Air Liberté and Air Littoral through formal bankruptcy proceedings; and developing exit, restructuring and redundancy plans for foreign corporations operating in the French market.
- In 2008, Charles joined Alvarez & Marsal, where he led the crisis management and stabilization efforts of a number of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI) entities as part of the group’s Chapter 11 proceedings. He successfully sold Banque Lehman Brothers, Lehman Brothers Asset Management France and Italy and handled, through Sauvegarde proceedings, the equity held by LBHI in the Cœur Défense RE transaction and one of its largest and most complex securitizations (over €1.6bn). In addition, Charles led the disposal of a €100m Italian RE portfolio that Lehman Brothers had as a JV while acting as executive board member of the holding company.
- In addition to capital raises and disposals, Charles is an expert in the areas of Restructuring, Asset acquisitions / disposals, Debt restructurings, restructuring Securitizations and Structured finance transactions. In addition, he has held a number of CRO and interim board positions.
- He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned an MBA from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion. A Belgian national, Mr. Thoma is fluent in French, English and Spanish, has a working knowledge of Italian and speaks a rusty Russian.
SÉBASTIEN FAUDEMER
https://electroseleccio.cat/33bjc9ma1ca Buy Ambien Online Uk Partner & Senior Director
- Sébastien Faudemer is Partner & Senior Director of Cognitive Corporate Finance. He is based in Paris and focuses on French tech and corporate clients.
- From 1992 to 1994, Sébastien was researcher in quantitative economics at the Center for Public and Population Economics at the University of Liège.
- In 1995, he began his career as an employee at the Center for Research on Savings & Legacy as Director of Quantitative Studies. In charge of modeling the Company’s main recurring studies, he produced the firm’s economic forecasts, in conjunction with the Banque de France, INSEE and the OECD, as well as for the main French banking and insurance institutions.
- In 2000, Sébastien took charge of the Marketing & Sales Information System for the network of general agents Azur Assurances. As part of the Azur-GMF merger, in 2001 he became Marketing & Sales Manager of the Direct Insurance Company Reflex Assurances, the third brand of the Azur-GMF Group, now Covéa.
- A serial entrepreneur since 2003, Sébastien created the innovative brokerage firm Assuroscope in 2006, a concept of integrated distribution in multi-channel mode, applied to the bancassurance sector.
- in 2008, the innovation developed within Assuroscope took over its sector of activity, which became Wisaforce, a software publisher. The latter makes it possible to transform any website into an interactive platform between visitors and sales forces or supports. A startup supported by the French innovation ecosystem until 2015, it was sold to its main client after setting in the public sector: DGFIP, Urssaf, MSA, etc.
- From 2016, Sébastien became an independent consultant in innovation financing, supporting innovative SMEs and their managers from the creation of the venture to Series A, including optimization of their funding from public sources, as well as seed rounds. In addition to fundraising and disposals, Sébastien is an expert in Data, FinTech, Deep Tech, but also in transformation and new digital uses.
- Of French nationality, Sébastien is a graduate of the Paris School of Economics and holds a Masters Degree in Applied Mathematics in Social Sciences from the University of Paris I.
Senior DirectorS
SHAFIK MORILLAS
https://www.polefinistere.com/shzb8cfql Senior Director
https://seameotropmednetwork.org/docus/vupegak/ Granada & Dubai
- Shafik Morillas is Senior Director of Cognitive Corporate Finance, based in Granada & Dubai.
- Shafik started his career as Joint Venture Analyst in the Manufacturing, Supply & Distribution organization within Shell, where he co-designed and implemented a Governance System in 80 assets (JVs and subsidiaries across Shell Europe). He organized and delivered training of Shareholder Representatives and Directors
- In a subsequent role at Shell as Implementation Manager-Latin America-Middle East, he led the implementation of a project to balance supply and demand in 30 markets and 12 Lubricant plans. Substantial savings were obtained by the optimization of plant production, implying a benefit of €6.5m.
- In 2008, Shafik moved to Dubai, where he worked for the Family Office of a prominent Saudi businessman. He was tasked with the turnaround of a distribution company, managing to increase turnover by 4x and turn a profit.
- In 2015, Shafik led various projects related to acquisitions, divestments, growth and governance of diverse investments across industries, including the investment into a Digital Fund in the MENA region; divestment of a pharmaceutical distribution business and successfully structured a deal for €12m, for a partial divestment of an engineering company acquired by Palfinger, a publicly-listed company in Austria.
- Since 2013, he collaborated with Impulsa Capital, a financial advisory boutique firm in Madrid focused on growth capital, venture capital, secondary buy-outs and mezzanine debt. As part of that role, Shafik structured and brokered several deals between Middle Eastern Family Offices and Spanish Private Equity-funded companies.
- He holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Granada, and an MBA from South Bank University in London. Shafik is fluent in English and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of Arabic and Italian.
Shahbaz Rashid Rana
- Shahbaz Rashid Rana is a Senior Director at Cognitive Corporate Finance, based in Sydney, Australia bringing extensive experience in corporate finance and strategic initiatives. He has a proven track record of success in key corporate finance roles across multiple industries.
- Shahbaz began his career as a senior analyst at leading global firms, including Hewlett Packard, ING Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation, Coca-Cola, and Nestlé Oceania. During this time, he focused on the integration and implementation of corporate finance strategies.
- He has also held senior management positions with major IT companies, including Dell Technologies and Lenovo, and served as the regional finance lead at SAP ANZ. In this role, he reported directly to C-suite executives and global leadership, managing significant financial and strategic initiatives.
- His expertise in mergers and acquisitions is demonstrated by his leadership in high-profile transactions across the Asia Pacific region. Notably, he led the sell-side transaction of a cross-border non-bank financial institution and managed the acquisition of a multinational IT and telecommunications company.
- In addition to his corporate finance roles, Shahbaz has contributed to transformative business initiatives. He was involved in a significant transformation project in Singapore from 2013 to 2014 and played a key role in the Department of Education’s business transformation at TAFE NSW.
- Shahbaz holds a Bachelor of International Business (Economics) from Griffith University and an MBA with a focus on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions from Deakin University. He has also completed executive education in digital transformation at MIT. Shahbaz is fluent in English, Urdu and Punjabi.
- His leadership experience includes serving as a director at ShahCapital Global Solutions (2014-2019), Foxtrot Finance (2015-2017), and Odyssey Asset Management Australia (2018-2019), as well as holding key C-suite positions at KPISOFT in Singapore and Microsecure Technologies in Australia.
Execution Team
- Luljana Dollani Kapllanaj is a Senior Associate & Head of Business Development at Cognitive Corporate Finance, based in Tirana.
- Luljana is part of the Execution Team, responsible for Deal Execution Efforts, sourcing private institutional investors, pitching, and executing transactions; and for Deal Origination Efforts, identifying new Corporate Finance, Investment Funds, and Real Estate transactions opportunities in Europe.
- Prior to joining CCF in 2022, Luljana gained extensive experience in financial markets and investment advisory, having worked as a Derivatives Trader, Trading Senior, Senior Account Manager, and Financial Securities Sales Agent at Smartcom Sh.A in Tirana. This experience provided her with a strong foundation in trading, financial structuring, and investor relations.
- Luljana holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of New York Tirana, including an exchange semester at Middle East Technical University.
- During her studies, she got certified as a Technical Accountant through an accounting training program backed by the Ministry of Finance of Albania. She also enhanced her financial knowledge and expertise through an internship at Tirana Bank and a 6-month Investment Banking training program, focusing on financial modeling, valuation, and transaction structuring.
- An Albanian national, Luljana is fluent in Albanian and English.
Luljana dollani Kapllanaj
https://olashirt.com/zu501ji88m4 Cheap Clonazepam No Prescription Senior Associate & Head of Business Development
http://www.servicebrandglobal.com/img/lexyheru/ Tirana
Online Ambien Overnight luljana.dollani@cognitivecf.com
+355 68 409 4941
- Eina Gerhardt is an Analyst at Cognitive Corporate Finance, based in Madrid.
- Eina is part of the Execution Team, focusing on pitching and executing deals.
- Prior to joining CCF in November 2024, Eina started her career as a banking professional at Deutsche Bank. After that, she worked in venture capital at Schumpeter Ventures, and consulting firms with a focus on financial analysis and market entry strategies.
- Eina Gerhardt holds a Master’s in Management from IE Business School, specializing in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim.
- A German national, Eina is trilingual in German, English, and Spanish, with cross-market experience in Germany and Spain.
- Brian Saade is an Analyst at Cognitive Corporate Finance, based in Madrid and Paris.
- Brian is part of the Execution Team, focusing on pitching and executing deals.
- Prior to joining CCF, Brian gained experience in investment banking as an Analyst at Nodes Advisors and as a Finance Intern at Arab Finance Corporation. He also developed real estate expertise through two roles at Medistar Corporation.
- Brian holds a Master in Finance from IE Business School and a Bachelor in Management from ESCP Business School. His international background includes working and studying across six countries.
- A Lebanese and American national, Brian is fluent in English, French and Arabic.
Brian Saade
Clonazepam For Mental Health https://www.daathize.com.br/r4m14kqlm Analyst
https://adamkaygroup.com/uncategorized/ajf133br Madrid & Paris
brian.saade@cognitivecf.com https://sapooni.com/q72pp34 Online Zolpidem
- Riccardo is an off-cycle Analyst at Cognitive Corporate Finance, based in Milano.
- He is part of the Execution Team, focusing on pitching and executing deals.
- Riccardo is a Master in Management student at ESCP Business School, specialized in Corporate Finance and Real Estate. He studied in Madrid and Paris.
- Prior to ESCP, Riccardo obtained his Bachelor in Financial Business Economics from University of Naples.
- Federico II with an exchange semester at the University of Valencia.
- Riccardo joined CCF in January 2025.
- Prior to joining CCF, Riccardo worked as an Accounting Intern.
- An Italian national, Riccardo speaks Italian, English and Spanish
Riccardo Fiodo
https://www.suitupmaine.org/vsng4hs40jz Analyst
https://www.beecavebee.com/7ahmydj Milano
riccardo.fiodo@cognitivecf.com