Managing Director & Head of Sponsor Finance
CoBank
jbekerman@cobank.com

Joana Ryan Bekerman is Managing Director and Head of the Sponsor Finance team at CoBank. Bekerman has over 25 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles in leverage finance, sponsor coverage, M&A and capital markets.  Most recently, Bekerman was a Senior Managing Director and member of the Investment Committee for SVB Capital’s Private Credit Funds.  She joined SVB in 2021 after two years with CoBank, where she held roles in both the Capital Markets and Communications groups.  Prior to CoBank, Bekerman worked for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group across their Sponsor Coverage, Leverage Finance, and Project Finance teams for 20 years.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science cum laude from Boston College and her Master of Business Administration from Thunderbird – The American Graduate School of International Management.  Bekerman and her family live in Denver, Colorado.