Stamford, Connecticut, Thursday 28th May 2009 - Aladdin Capital Holdings LLC (Aladdin) today announces the appointment of Stephen Mandella as its Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Mandella’s appointment is indicative of Aladdin’s continued strategic development and further strengthening of the firm’s operational efficiency and corporate governance.
Prior to joining Aladdin, Mr. Mandella was Senior Managing Director at New York Life Investment Management, where he was responsible for managing an autonomous multi-boutique investment business.

Previously, Mr. Mandella spent 25 years at Merrill Lynch and & Co., as, most recently, First Vice President and CFO of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers for the Americas. During this time he was responsible for initiating, developing and instilling a financial discipline and process throughout the asset management business within the region. From 1995 – 1999 Mr. Mandella served as CFO and Director of Merrill Lynch’s Latin American sector, responsible for coordinating financial activities across three Merrill Lynch segments (Capital Markets, Retail Distribution and Asset Management). In this role he facilitated start-up Cash Equity Trading Operations in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina and local debt trading capabilities in Brazil. In 1985 Mr. Mandella received the Merrill Lynch Presidents Award for a Mortgage-Backed Trading Strategy Analysis. He holds an MBA in Finance from St John’s University and a BS in Accounting from SUNY Buffalo.

Commenting on the appointment, Neal Neilinger, Vice-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer said:

"Mr Mandella’s extensive international experience and strong corporate background will serve us extremely well as we continue to develop and grow our investment banking business. We are delighted to have him on our team."