Kite was established in 2023. The Partners began working together in 2012 and over that time have deployed and managed over $7bn of assets and issued $10bn in debt financings across transportation, specialty finance, renewable energy and logistics

Jared Keating

Partner

Jared has an established track record sourcing, underwriting and structuring investments across the financial services, specialty finance, transportation, infrastructure and renewable energy sectors

Prior to Kite, Jared helped found the Private Investments and Real Assets businesses at Napier Park Global Capital, raising and deploying approximately $2 billion of equity AUM across 8 private equity funds. At Napier Park, he built and managed a $7.5 billion investment portfolio comprised of transportation and industrial equipment assets, including aviation, renewable energy generation and storage, railcar leasing and manufacturing
Prior to Napier Park, Jared was focused on financial services and various industrial sectors at Eurazeo, Camulos Capital and Lazard Frères & Co. in London, Paris and New York
Jared currently serves on the Board of Directors of Transam Trucking Holdings Limited, a leading provider of transportation and logistics services to the music and live performance sectors in the UK and Europe, serving the top acts in the world, and on the Advisory Board of Hans Global Security, a provider of security and logistics services worldwide
Jared graduated with an A.B. from Princeton University and earned a Masters in International Affairs, cum laude, from l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris with a concentration in Energy Studies

Steve Ciampi

Partner

Steve Ciampi has over 35 years’ experience in investment management, capital markets and managing financial services businesses

Steve was most recently Managing Director of Seraph Aviation UK, a global aircraft lessor and investment manager, where he was amember of the firm’s Management Committee and had responsibility for business development, distribution and capital market activities
Previously he ran Napier Park’s London office and helped build the Real Assets business, raising institutional equity commitments targeting railcar leasing, aircraft and other equipment and transportation investments
Prior to Napier Park, Steve worked at Smith Barney and then Citigroup holding various positions and most recently being responsible for European Business Development and Sales for Citigroup Alternative Investment’s Hedge Fund Management Group
Steve graduated with a B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University

Jon Whitty

Director

Jon Whitty has more than 13 years’ experience in investment management across multiple asset classes

Jon was Head of Investor Services and Marketing at RWC Partners (now Redwheel)
During the 11 years at RWC he helped to grow assets and build out the Business Development function with a focus on servicing institutional clients. Over this period assets increased from $3bn to $25bn with significant growth in the US, Australia and Europe
Jon graduated with a BEng from University College London & London School of Economics in Mechanical Engineering with Finance and has a Masters in Economics from Cardiff Business School

Lou Nardi

Senior Advisor

Lou Nardi has a total of more than 40 years’ experience in aviation and sell-side fixed income departments with roles in sales, trading and research including managing those departments

Prior to Kite, Lou spent 10 years as Chief Credit Officer and Debt Placement Arranger for Seraph Aviation Group and its predecessors. He placed over $2 billion of aviation loans with institutional investors. He also was instrumental in the successful placement of an $800 million ABS transaction.
Prior to Seraph, Lou spent 30+ years in sell-side High Yield departments with roles in sales, trading and research including managing those areas at such firms as BMO Capital Markets, Credit Lyonnais Securities, Nomura Securities and Bear Stearns. He was involved in placing over $3 billion of new issue bonds across a wide variety of industries including gaming, energy, industrial, and consumer among others. He also provided research to investors in those industries and others to facilitate secondary market trades.
Before switching to the High Yield market at Bear Stearns, Lou ran their Private Placement distribution effort successfully placing securities for a multitude of issuers primarily with insurance companies. He gained those skills during his tenure in the Investment Department of an insurance company and at a fixed income research firm
Lou graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Economics and from New York University with an M.B.A. in Finance. He has also earned a Chartered Financial Analyst designation