Andre Hakkak | Official Profile on The Marque

Andre Hakkak’s Biography

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Andre Hakkak is Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of White Oak Global Advisors. He is a distinguished finance industry professional, company founder and entrepreneur, bringing innovative investment products and solutions to asset management and finance.

White Oak is a global investment management firm with over $10 billion in assets and 450 professionals across its financing affiliates. As a mission-based company, it supports small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) with financing solutions promoting their well-being and growth initiatives. To date, White Oak has financed over 20,000 SMEs in the US, UK, Canada and Australia with its product suite of 25 bank-like lending solutions, including asset-based lending, PACE and equipment leasing. In total, White Oak has deployed $24 billion of capital.

Andre is an advocate of decreasing global carbon footprint and has led initiatives ranging from solar energy financing to supporting plant-based plastic companies. Since its founding in 2007, White Oak has originated over $6 billion in capital for ESG and impact-oriented investments... Andre Hakkak is Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of White Oak Global Advisors. He is a distinguished finance industry professional, company founder and entrepreneur, bringing innovative investment products and solutions to asset management and finance.

White Oak is a global investment management firm with over $10 billion in assets and 450 professionals across its financing affiliates. As a mission-based company, it supports small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) with financing solutions promoting their well-being and growth initiatives. To date, White Oak has financed over 20,000 SMEs in the US, UK, Canada and Australia with its product suite of 25 bank-like lending solutions, including asset-based lending, PACE and equipment leasing. In total, White Oak has deployed $24 billion of capital.

Andre is an advocate of decreasing global carbon footprint and has led initiatives ranging from solar energy financing to supporting plant-based plastic companies. Since its founding in 2007, White Oak has originated over $6 billion in capital for ESG and impact-oriented investments and is dedicated to developing climate change, alternative energy and healthcare solutions. It maintains a partnership with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Andre previously founded Alpine Global and served as Chief Investment Officer. Prior to this, he founded Suisse Global Investments, where he served as Portfolio Manager. He began his career at Robertson Stephens & Co. in investment banking.

Throughout his career, Andre has been a sought-after executive and served as a board member for companies, foundations and philanthropic endeavors. In his free time, he enjoys scuba diving, wake-surfing, mountain biking and tennis. He frequently comments on current market trends and has been featured in financial publications including Bloomberg, Reuters and Pensions & Investments.

Andre holds a BS in Finance & Marketing from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. moreless

Andre Hakkak’s Newsfeed

ABL Advisor

White Oak Deploys Nearly $1.5B in Lending Activity in 2022

“The current economic landscape continued to drive demand on the borrower side for flexible lending solutions," said Andre Hakkak. "Investors continued to show their appetite for a private credit strategy that offers bank-like lending within an asset management framework. I’m thrilled by the impact we had in 2022."

Andre Hakkak’s Background

White Oak Global Advisors LLC

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

2007 - Present

White Oak Global Advisors, LLC is a global alternative asset manager that focuses on developing finance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses in order to facilitate growth, refinancing and recapitalization. Andre also serves as Co-portfolio manager and on the firm's Investment Committee.

Alpine Global Management, LLC

Founder & Chief Investment Officer

2000 - 2007

New York, NY, USA

Andre founded Alpine Global after serving at the helm of Suisse Global. Alpine Global is a strategic investment management firm that focuses on alternative fixed income and real estate investments.

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Current Board Positions

Panasas

Board Member

Sunnyvale, CA, USA

Panasas provides high-performance data storage solutions that help support research and innovation across many industries in the world.

Media

White Oak Global Advisors Partners with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board

Quoted

Oct 2020

Bryn Mawr, PA, USA

"We are pleased to further formalize our ESG risk management and underwriting processes by leveraging SASB standards as a baseline,” said White Oak’s Chief Executive Officer, Andre Hakkak. “This partnership underscores White Oak’s commitment to ensuring our underlying business processes create a variety of attractive ESG-compliant credit investment opportunities.”

Subordinated Lenders Stuck in the Middle

Quoted

Sep 2020

New York, NY, USA

Andre shares his thoughts in this article that discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected parts of the subordinated debt market, especially due to its place in the middle of the capital structure between senior debt and equity.

Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up

Quoted

Jul 2020

In Credit Flux's quarterly report on credit, the Credit Rendezvous, Andre Hakkak was invited to share his thoughts on the fiscal stimulus deployed to combat the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns.

White Oak Global Advisors Expands Commitment to Impact Investing

Profile

Jun 2020

New York, NY, USA

Andre Hakkak, CEO of White Oak Global Advisors, says “Given the times, responsible investing could not be more relevant. Small and middle market businesses have been struggling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and as one of the few approved small business lenders alongside bigger banks...we are able to play a key role in helping these business owners get back on their feet."

Asset-Based Loan providers step up with capital in uncertain environment

Quoted

May 2020

New York, NY, USA

“In today’s environment, revenues for businesses may drop by as much as 25%. Furthermore, cash flows are going to be tight to negative, resulting in liquidity constraints for loans that were highly leveraged on an adjusted basis,” said Andre regarding the opportunities for ABL lenders.

Private Equity Global Outlook 2020

Quoted

Jan 2020

London, UK

Andre comments on the private equity global outlook for 2020, saying, “I expect investors to be more discerning with their private credit portfolio – distinguishing between managers focused on sponsor-based term loans and those that can provide differentiated, diverse credit exposure.”

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Interviews

COVID and SMEs with Andre Hakkak, chief executive officer of White Oak Global Advisors

Interview

Feb 2021

Andre Hakkak, CEO of White Oak Global Advisors LLC, says “White Oak has been busy. We are a facilitator of money transferred from the government into the real economy. Our UK affiliate has given out roughly £250m to around 800 businesses and is the sixth or seventh largest CBILS lender. We’re proud to do out part in getting taxpayer money into the real economy."

Finding Opportunities in the Private Debt Market

Interview | ABF Journal Podcast

Jan 2021

For the 25th episode of the ABF Journal podcast, Andre Hakkak, CEO and Co-founder of White Oak Global Advisors, shared his thoughts on the current private debt market. He gave an overview of 2020 and the first few weeks of 2021 and highlighted potential opportunities and risks across the direct lending spectrum for the rest of this year.

Accreditation

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

Series 7, 63, and 24

1991

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the self-regulating body for the financial industry that is responsible for setting standards and defining regulations that professionals in the industry are guided by.

Publications

Don’t lose sight of ESG in distressed investing amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Co-Author

May 2020

London, UK

Andre and Teresa Cutter advocate for maintaining ESG principles despite distressed investing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair elaborate on why lending money during the pandemic must be for the benefit of businesses.

Commentary: Private debt as the new private equity amid COVID-19

Co-Author

Apr 2020

New York, NY, USA

Andre writes about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests private debt as the new private equity amid the pandemic as 'consumer sentiment and spending fade away.'

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Press Releases

White Oak Provides $51.5 Million Commitment to HRB Brands to Finance Acquisition of Personal Care Brands From Helen of Troy

Nov 2021

New York, NY, USA

CEO Andre Hakkak sees this as a great opportunity for White Oak to partner with leading private equity group Tengram, and to be a part of HRB Brands' continued growth.

White Oak Global Advisors, LLC Makes Key New Hires to Expand Aviation Finance Offerings

Press Release

Feb 2020

New York, NY, USA

Andre comments on White Oak’s expansion to accommodate its new aviation finance offerings and says, “We are pleased to add Bob, Asa and Greg to our Commercial Aviation team...I’m confident that their decades of experience in aviation leasing, financing and asset management... will allow them to provide tailored and comprehensive solutions for our clients.”

Andre Hakkak’s Education

UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Bachelor of Science | Finance and Marketing