Kaj Vazales serves as a managing director for Oaktree Capital Management’s Distressed Debt strategy, where he heads the team’s investing efforts across a number of industries in North America and also oversees the group’s North American recruiting efforts. Mr. Vazales is responsible for sourcing, underwriting and executing publicly traded and private investments in the areas of distressed and stressed credit, private equity, leverage finance and equities. During his tenure, Mr. Vazales has had primary coverage responsibility for a significant number of sectors and made investments in the auto, specialty finance, gaming, commercial real estate, retail/consumer and oil and gas industries. Prior to joining Oaktree in 2007, Mr. Vazales worked as an analyst in the Financial Restructuring Group at Houlihan Lokey, advising creditors and distressed companies on strategic alternatives. He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics, cum laude.