Lynn Tilton
Lynn G. Tilton | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 22, 1959 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, CEO |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Creating, owning, and managing collateralized loan obligations; CEO of Patriarch Partners, LLC |
Lynn G. Tilton (born April 22, 1959) is an American entrepreneur known for creating, owning, and managing collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). She serves as the chief executive officer and sole principal of Patriarch Partners, LLC and its related entities, a holding company overseeing 75 businesses. Earlier in her career, Tilton held investment banking positions at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.
Early life and education
Tilton was born in The Bronx and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, where she completed her studies at Teaneck High School, graduating in 1977. Her father, Jerry Garfinkle, who worked as a schoolteacher in New York City, played a pivotal role in her upbringing; he passed away from a brain tumor while she was a junior in college. She identifies her ancestry with a tradition of Kabbalah scholars. Tilton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from Yale University in 1981 and later obtained an MBA with a focus on Finance from Columbia University.
Career
Tilton launched her professional journey at Morgan Stanley in 1981. Following the completion of her MBA, she took on investment banking roles at Goldman Sachs, Kidder Peabody, and subsequently Merrill Lynch until 1989. She then held an executive position at Long Drive Management Trust, a fund specializing in special situations investments, and founded Papillon Partners, Inc., which offered tailored research, valuation, and transaction services for sellers dealing with bank loans and high-yield bonds.
By 1998, Tilton had retired from her partnership at Amroc Investments. Upon returning to New York in 2000, she collaborated with Dennis Dolan from Nomura to acquire distressed commercial loans and assemble them into CLOs during the market’s early phase. As economic conditions improved, the value of securities managed by Patriarch Partners increased. Since 2000, through affiliated funds of Patriarch, Tilton has owned and restructured more than 240 companies generating combined revenues of $100 billion. She previously held the roles of chairman and CEO at MD Helicopters, Inc., a producer of commercial and military helicopters; served as interim CEO of Dura Automotive Systems, a Tier 1 supplier to automotive and transportation original equipment manufacturers; and acted as CEO of cosmetics firm Stila.
In October 2011, Tilton was featured in an interview on the television program 20/20 with host Barbara Walters. She frequently appears on CNBC and occasionally contributes articles to The Huffington Post.
Awards and honors
On January 21, 2011, Tilton was recognized as the "Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year" during the 8th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards held in Beverly Hills, California, acknowledging her leadership in successfully revitalizing Patriarch portfolio firm MD Helicopters (MDHI).
On December 18, 2012, she was presented with the Mosaic Women Legend Award by Diversity Woman Magazine at the National Diversity Woman Business Leadership Conference, celebrating her role in preserving American employment.
Tilton earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Achievement Award on September 5, 2014, which honors outstanding professional accomplishments alongside significant social contributions.
Additionally, in 2014, she was honored with the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Award recognizing her entrepreneurial successes.
Controversies
In March 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Tilton of defrauding investors involved in her collateralized loan obligation (CLO) funds. In response, she initiated legal action against the SEC on April 1, 2015, seeking to block these allegations. Ultimately, an SEC administrative law judge dismissed the claims on September 27, 2017.
Furthermore, a June 2016 article in The New York Times associated the failure of ambulance service provider TransCare with Patriarch and Tilton.
Personal background
According to information from Patriarch Partners' official website, Tilton married Kevin Wayne Tilton while attending Yale University as a junior; their marriage ended in divorce in Florida in 1995. The couple has one daughter. Tilton maintains residences in both Middletown, New Jersey and Highland Beach, Florida.