Management Team

Robert M. Murphy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sterling Capital Growth LLC, is one of the most prominent leaders of New York’s financial industry and former Vice-Chairman of the board of directors of the NYSE. Over the course of his career, he relentlessly pursued efficient markets and drove the implementation of responsible corporate practices. Mr Murphy began his career in finance on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) in 1976 and became a member of the NYSE as a specialist partner of M.J. Meehan & Co. in 1982. Since then, he’s been an integral part of the NYSE, serving on the Quality of Markets Committee, Market Performance Committee, Technology Planning and Oversight Committee, Corporate Accountability and Listing Standards Committee and the NYSE Foundation Committee. He was also a liaison to the Institutional Traders Advisory Committee, Governor of the Stock Exchange, and a floor official before becoming the Vice-Chairman, Director and the most senior member of the Exchange from 1998 to 2003. In addition, Mr Murphy served a three-year term on the Board of the Securities Industry Association and served two terms as a Director of the Specialist Association.
Apart from his roles in the NYSE, Mr Murphy served as a Chief Executive Officer of LaBranche & Co. LLC and a member of the Board of Directors of its parent company,
LaBranche & Co. Inc., the largest specialist trading firm on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to that, Mr Murphy was a President and Chief Executive Officer of Robb, Peck, McCooey Specialist Corporation.

The scope of Mr Garner’s responsibilities is to invest in, acquire, reposition, construct, develop, and manage residential and commercial properties; real estate investment consulting; project management; preparation of executive summaries for commercial mortgages; commercial mortgage underwriting analyses; developing real estate investment plans; produce operating and cash flow statements; property finding and due diligence; selection of project consultants; perform real estate-related research; package and broker commercial mortgage and business loans.

Alex is a seasoned entrepreneur specializing in oil product supply agreements within Sterling Capital Growth LLC’s Commodity Trading Division. For several years, he has skillfully identified and negotiated key agreements, ensuring seamless oversight of all exports linked to refinery contracts. In addition to his primary role, Alex heads the compliance department, leveraging his forensic expertise to manage financial contracts at major institutions. As a member of the executive branch, he plays a pivotal role in steering global operations within the sector.

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Forming part of the executive branch for global operations in that sector.

Dr. Napoleon Kotey joined the Sterling team in 2013. He is a native of Ghana and holds dual citizenship between Ghana and the United States. He was a Senior Scientist with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4 Atlanta Georgia where he oversaw the implementation of best management practices and other efforts to control non-point source pollution of water bodies under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Joseph Michael Araiz is a highly accomplished financial executive with over 40 years of experience in real estate, mortgage bonds, fund and asset management, commercial real estate, equity placements, and security transactions. Throughout his career, he has transacted over $12 billion in real estate mortgage bonds, over $2 billion in fund and asset management, $2 billion in commercial real estate and other loans, $1 billion in equity placements, and over $10 billion in security transactions.

Mr. Araiz has a wealth of experience in the financial industry, having held executive positions or owned firms such as Allen and Co, Cowen and Co, Gruntal, MJ Whitman, Third Avenue Funds, Ladenburg Thalmann, Imperial Capital, Further Lane Securities, FL Asset Management, Osprey Opportunity Funds, and Toro Capital Partners.

In addition to his financial expertise, Mr. Araiz has experience in government policy, financial technology, and public/private partnerships. He is known for his ability to execute ambitious undertakings across a variety of industry sectors and has a proven track record of success.

Mr. Araiz graduated from Brandeis University and currently lives in both New York City and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is a respected leader in the finance community and is highly regarded for his expertise and experience. With his extensive background in finance and his ability to successfully navigate complex financial markets, Mr. Araiz is well-positioned to continue driving growth and success in his current role.

Mr Arslanian has served as counsel and secretary/ treasurer of Sterling since forming the company in 2009 and has continuously maintained Sterling ’s good corporate standing and attended to matters of compliance with applicable laws and regulations.Mr. Arslanian received his Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School of UnionUniversity and a BA from Syracuse University He brings more than fifty years of legal practice in New York and New Jersey to Sterling. He was Assistant Counsel at Chemical Bank prior to joining the Wall Street firm of Soon & Sons and its Englewood New Jersey office, serving high wealth clients. He has maintained his own practice since 1980, serving a domestic and international client base of individuals and entities and has a dossier developed over a decade of worldwide experience in petroleum and commodity transactions. Mr Arslanian represented the U.S. interests of the Marangoni Companies of Italy and its whole tire-to-energy technology from 1986 to 1997 and from 2000 to the present time serves as Designated Agent with the U.S. DOT for its new tire manufacturing operations. Mr Arslanian served as a consultant for the Chinese and New York handbag manufacturing operations of Talene Reilly, Inc. from 2006 through 2009.