Why Attend
The right people in one room
The attendee list is curated with intention, bringing together senior investors, restructuring advisors, investment bankers and legal leaders from across the credit ecosystem. Every conversation has the potential to become a valuable relationship, opportunity or perspective.
Insights from the people shaping the market
Gain perspectives from the investors, operators and advisors driving today’s credit markets, as well as the Octus experts who analyze, report on and advise on the industry’s most important developments. Expect candid conversations that move beyond the news cycle and into what matters next.
Get ahead of what's next
From private credit and liability management to technology and market structure, the Forum is designed to help attendees understand the developments likely to shape decisions, capital flows and opportunities in the months ahead.
Agenda
A curated afternoon of discussions featuring senior investors, advisors, bankers and legal leaders from across the credit ecosystem. Explore the trends, transactions and market developments influencing where credit goes next. Speaker confirmations and session details shared with registered attendees as confirmed.
Request an InviteThe people shaping credit markets.
Speakers
Michael Arougheti
Partner, Director, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Ares
Mr. Arougheti is a Co-Founder, the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Ares Management Corporation. He is a member of the Ares Operating Committee, the Ares Enterprise Risk Committee and is Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ares Charitable Foundation. He additionally serves as a Director of Ares Capital Corporation.
Prior to joining Ares in 2004, Mr. Arougheti was employed by Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) from 2001 to 2004, where he was a Managing Partner of the Principal Finance Group of RBC Capital Partners. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Indosuez Capital and Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Mr. Arougheti serves on the Board of Directors of Operation HOPE, a not-for-profit organization, and on the Board of Trustees of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Additionally, he is a co-owner of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles. Mr. Arougheti received a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics, cum laude, from Yale University.
Lauren Bilzin
Partner
Paul, Weiss
Lauren Bilzin is a partner in the Capital Solutions & Restructuring Group at Paul, Weiss. Lauren focuses on distressed investments and liability management transactions, advising sponsors, investors, issuers and creditors in connection with a broad range of sophisticated and bespoke debt, equity and hybrid solutions across the capital structure.
Previously, Lauren served as the Head of U.S. Restructuring and a principal at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a global institutional alternative investment management firm, where she led the workouts of distressed investments, navigated legal and intercreditor disputes, and structured capital solutions and liability management transactions.
Lauren was named among Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers” (2025-2026), which recognizes attorneys helping companies navigate ailing economies and uncertain times. While at Yale Law School, she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Jonathan Kaufman
Global Head of Blackstone Capital Markets (BXCM)
Blackstone
Jonathan Kaufman is the Global Head of Blackstone Capital Markets (BXCM), responsible for the debt and equity financing activity across broader Blackstone Private Equity Strategies, including Energy Transition, Infrastructure, Tactical Opportunities, Growth, Asia, Life Sciences, BXPE and BXINFRA.
BXCM has structured and led over $1 trillion of issuance since inception. Mr. Kaufman also works across Blackstone’s credit investing platforms to generate capital deployment and revenue opportunities.
Mr. Kaufman joined Blackstone in 2007 and previously worked as a Vice President in the Restructuring & Reorganization Group, where he advised a number of companies and lenders in their chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and special situation investments. Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Kaufman was a Manager of M&A at Platinum Equity, where he evaluated and executed private equity investments in a wide range of industries.
Mr. Kaufman received a BA in History from Amherst College, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mr. Kaufman is a member of the Board of Trustees of Park Children’s Day School.
Rachel Strickland
Global Chair of Business Restructuring
Ropes & Gray LLP
Rachel Strickland is global chair of the firm’s business restructuring practice and brings decades of experience to advising distressed companies and investors in complex restructuring matters. Companies turn to Rachel in Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings, while top private equity firms, hedge funds, and strategic investors seek out her guidance when maximizing recoveries and acquiring distressed targets. She also has significant experience in mass tort restructuring matters.
An iconic setting for meaningful conversations
The Pool NYC
The Seagram Building
99 East 52nd Street
New York, NY, 10022
The Octus New York Forum takes place at The Pool, one of New York City’s most iconic venues and a landmark destination for business, culture and hospitality. Bringing together senior leaders across private credit, restructuring and leveraged finance, the Forum is designed to foster candid discussion, meaningful networking and the exchange of ideas among the people shaping today’s credit markets.
