Steve Czech

Steve Czech, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Czech Asset Management

Steve Czech serves as both the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer for Czech Asset Management, a private credit asset management firm offering first and second lien floating rate senior secured loans primarily to middle market companies.

His firm provides small companies that don’t fit with commercial banks due to industry consolidation or regulatory changes with services and funds bearing his initials–Mikey in memory of the rare form of pediatric cancer that caused the death of his son.

Early Life and Education

Steve Czech was born in New York City to parents who both worked in journalism: his father was a journalist while his mother taught art classes. He graduated with an AB degree from College of William and Mary before going on to earn a master’s in education from Old Dominion University.

Czech has over 32 years of experience in credit and corporate finance, founding his firm in 2011. His company provides direct lending investment advisory services that include sourcing, structuring, underwriting, monitoring and restructuring corporate loans.

He and his wife also run the Mikey Czech Foundation, taking a percentage of profits from their asset management firm’s profits to fund research into the type of brain cancer which killed his son, Mikey Czech. Furthermore, they make significant donations to active-duty and retired Navy SEALs as well as first responders.

Professional Career

Steve Czech’s diverse professional experience allows him to provide illustrations for corporate and editorial clients such as Sports Illustrated, Arthur Anderson, Cessna, McDonald’s and Sprint as well as numerous books. His illustrations can be seen across these publications.

He is also a founding member and Chairman of the Board for The Mikey Czech Foundation, as well as serving on its Advisory Board at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business as an active Laureate Member of its Dean’s Society Laureate Member as well as being inducted into Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Benacerraf Society.

He serves as both the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Czech Asset Management, LP, an alternative investment firm focused on direct lending to middle market companies. Their $4.3 billion in committed capital includes privately negotiated cash-flow- and asset-based first and second lien secured debt loans that they manage.

Achievement and Honors

Steve Czech and his family are significant donors and advocates for causes related to terminally ill children, active-duty and retired Navy SEALs and their families, high-school, college and graduate students as well as supporting Stanwood YMCA.

Beginning as a fifth grader at Holy Trinity School in Brainard and continuing at St Mary’s and East Butler schools, he also sang in choirs and barbershop quartets while in high school. Following graduation from Hastings College he transferred to UNO where he served as first chair tuba player in both wind ensemble and marching band sections before graduating VanderCook College of Music with a master’s in music education.

He has co-authored two books on Slavic case semantics with Laura Janda.

Personal Life

Stephen Czech, 55, oversees several funds bearing his initials such as the $1.8 billion SJC Onshore Direct Lending Fund III LP. With 32 years of credit and corporate finance experience – including setting up direct lending credit funds – Stephen has distinguished himself in establishing and running direct lending credit funds.

Jim Keneally, Mikey Czech’s East School classmate and an East School classmate himself, remembers him fondly as an enthusiastic sports fan who “always was kind to everyone”. Unfortunately, 11-year-old Mikey died tragically of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma brain cancer a mere five years later in 2008.

The Czechs have strived to honor their son’s memory by funding DIPG research through their foundation, pledging a percentage of asset management firm profits to this cause and making significant donations and advocating for terminally ill children, active-duty Navy SEALs, first responders and their families.

Net Worth

As a hedge fund manager, he has amassed considerable wealth. His firm Czech Asset Management LP oversees more than $5 billion in committed capital and specializes in offering loans to companies not usually considered desirable by commercial banks for regulatory or strategic reasons.

According to reports, this company invests in middle-market companies with revenue between $75 million and $500 million, through private-negotiated first and second lien floating rate senior secured loans.

Established in 2011, Voya Investment Management now comprises this office located in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Their portfolio management team will join Voya Fixed Income upon finalizing of this deal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *