Executive Management Team
Your experience … Is our experience.
M. Fyzul Khan
Fyzul Khan is the Chief Executive Officer of Silver Leaf Partners. Mr. Khan began his career in the hedge fund division of Oppenheimer & Co. where he gained experience in the formation and management of hedge funds.
In 1998, Mr. Khan joined a startup money manager, Orbitex Management, Inc., a registered investment adviser to mutual funds. Moving up to the parent company, Mr. Khan became the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Orbitex Financial Services Group. As a member of the senior management team of this financial services holding company, Mr. Khan played a critical role in the growth and management of the organization’s subsidiaries which included mutual funds, hedge funds, fund servicing companies, investment advisers, trust companies and broker/dealers.
He then joined Mr. Meehan and the management team of Gemini Fund Services, LLC, a spinout from the Orbitex family, where he participated in a company-wide restructuring of the firm. With the financial support of the Chairman of Gemini, Mr. Khan & Mr. Meehan formed Silver Leaf Partners in January of 2003 to take their buy-side/sell-side experience to provide sell-side services to the professional investment management community.
Mr. Khan is a graduate of City University of New York, and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Widener University School of Law with a concentration in corporate and securities law. Mr. Khan is a member of the New York Bar and holds the FINRA Series 4, 7, 24 and 63 securities licenses.
Kevin P. Meehan
Kevin Meehan is the President & Chief Operating Officer of Silver Leaf Partners. Mr. Meehan began his 20 year finance career with American Express Company. Mr. Meehan’s investment services career took shape when he joined KPMG Peat Marwick’s investment services consulting practice. In that capacity, Mr. Meehan provided consulting services to money managers and acquired a wealth of knowledge of the investment management business.
Capitalizing on his experience, Mr. Meehan joined Orbitex Management, Inc. shortly after the business was launched in 1998 as the head of operations. Moving up the ranks of the organization to the parent company, Mr. Meehan took a more strategic role as he integrated the operations of various subsidiaries, including its money management firms with affiliated broker dealer and other servicing firms to achieve company-wide efficiencies.
Mr. Meehan’s successes resulted in his posting as the President of Gemini Fund Services, LLC, the organization’s fund administration subsidiary. At Gemini, Mr. Meehan implemented extensive operational and technology changes. As a result, Gemini is now a successful $9BB enterprise. With the financial support of the Chairman of Gemini, Mr. Meehan and Mr. Khan formed Silver Leaf Partners in January of 2003 to take their buy-side/sell-side experience to provide sell-side services to the professional investment management community.
Mr. Meehan is a graduate of St. John’s University, with a B.S. in Finance and an MBA with a concentration in Marketing. Mr. Meehan holds the FINRA Series 7, 24, 27, and 63 securities licenses.
Tyler L. Defibaugh
Tyler Defibaugh is the Director of Trading and Operations of Silver Leaf Partners.
A trader all of his professional career, Mr. Defibaugh joined the trading team of Monument Advisors, LLC. Over his 5 year career at Monument, Mr. Defibaugh established himself as a standout trader and became the firm’s head trader where he traded the firm’s derivatives book and implemented technology trading updates, including a rollout of a sophisticated electronic trading platform. Successes on the trading desk led to a senior management role that included oversight of Monument’s middle office operations.
Upon the acquisition of Monument Advisors by Orbitex Financial Services Group, Mr. Defibaugh played an instrumental role in combining the trading operations of the successor investment adviser and became Head of Trading for the larger combined entity where he established trading relationships, developed reporting packages and established best practices on the trading desk. In 2001, he also played an instrumental role in the build out of the organization’s affiliated hedge fund manager, Nebo Management, LLC.
Upon the launch of Silver Leaf Partners, Messrs. Khan and Meehan immediately tapped Mr. Defibaugh to join the firm. Mr. Defibaugh has since been instrumental in building and overseeing the firm’s trading operations, and his experience has been a leveraged asset by Silver Leaf’s clients.
Mr. Defibaugh holds the FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 24, 55, and 63 securities licenses.
Jim Giovinazzo
Jim Giovinazzo has joined Silver Leaf Partners as Institutional Sales Manager. Jim has over 10 years experience in the financial services industry, specializing in Sales & Trading and working with various electronic platforms. Jim has experience trading on both the buy-side & sell-side where he has managed numerous institutional relationships. Prior to joining Silver Leaf Partners, Jim was Director of Sales at FutureTrade Securities where he played a critical role in acquiring and maintaining new business. Jim brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience. Most recently he was working with BNY ConvergEx in an institutional sales and trading capacity for LiquidPoint and the Electronic Trading division. He was a Bank of New York veteran having been with BNY Brokerage and Pershing where he managed the transition of all clearing accounts.
Jim’s Wall Street career began on the trading desk where he worked as a trader for Weiss Peck and Greer ultimately trading exclusively for high net worth individuals, hedge funds and other institutional clients. Jim’s current responsibilities include business development, execution services and building new relationships for Silver Leaf Partners. Jim holds an MBA in Finance and Management from St. John’s University and is a graduate of Manhattan College, with a B.S. in Finance. He has also earned his certification in Investment Analysis from New York Institute of Finance and holds the series, 6,7,55 and 63 licenses.
