Management Team

Jeff Cohen
CEO and President

Prior to cofounding Carvant, from 1997 – 2008, Mr. Cohen was a Managing Director in the Global Asset Backed Finance Group at Merrill Lynch in New York.  As head of Consumer and Commercial Finance, he led a team that developed and managed principal finance, asset backed finance, private equity investment and m&a relationships for clients engaged in the origination, servicing and securitization of financial assets with a primary focus on the auto finance industry.  In this capacity, he committed in excess of $12 billion in capital to companies such as Nissan, Mitsubishi, Capital One and AmeriCredit and was responsible for managing a several billion dollar balance sheet.

He began his career in public accounting, working for Kenneth Leventhal & Co. and became a CPA.

He received his B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Cohen can be reached at (516) 750-0039, or by email at jcohen@carvant.com.

Robert Micalizzi, Jr
Chief Operating Officer

Prior to cofounding Carvant, from 2008 to 2010, Mr. Micalizzi was a principal in AmRock Advisors LLC, an advisory and consulting practice focused on new business development, valuation and due diligence for a variety of top hedge funds, banks and specialty finance companies.

From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Micalizzi was a Director at Merrill Lynch in New York, as part of their Global Asset Backed Finance Group, Principal Investments.  While at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Micalizzi worked with many captive and national finance companies, playing key roles in whole loan purchase transactions as well as the development, implementation and management of auto flow programs.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, from 1999 to 2003, Mr. Micalizzi was the Director of Credit Extension and Risk Management at CarMax Auto Finance, where he was responsible for originations, yield management, credit policy development, portfolio risk management, portfolio analysis and loss forecasting on more than $1.2 billion in annual originations.

From 1993 to 1999 Mr. Micalizzi held several operational positions of increasing responsibility with Aegis Consumer Finance, an indirect, sub-prime auto finance company operating nationally.

He received his Bachelor's degree in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University in New York.

Mr. Micalizzi can be reached at (516) 750-0038, or by email at rmicalizzi@carvant.com.