John Martin

John Martin served as managing partner and co-CEO of Antares Capital, LP, a private debt credit manager, until May 2019 when he retired after a successful 30-year career in private equity. 

He was a founding partner of the original Antares Capital in 1996 – a startup that provided acquisition financing capital to the portfolio companies of private equity firms across North America.  Over the course of nine years, Antares grew to become one of the largest providers of acquisition capital to private equity sponsors in the middle market.

Following the firm’s acquisition by GE Capital in 2005, John became President and CEO of the newly branded GE Antares Capital and helped to direct the strategic vision of the business.  In addition, he presided over numerous acquisitions and divestitures, including the sale of the firm to CPPIB for $12 billion in August 2015.  Subsequently, Antares went on to raise more than $6.5 billion in the CLO market from a global investor base comprised of banks, pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers.  Following the acquisition by CPPIB, John sat on the Antares Investment Committee throughout his tenure at the company and was a member of the board of directors.  At the time of his retirement, the firm’s CAUM was more than $25 billion.

John earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame in 1982 and served as a member of the Mendoza College of Business Advisory Council for 12 years.  He was also recently appointed as the first chair of the newly established Advisory Council for the IDEA Center, an innovation and entrepreneurship facility at Notre Dame.

He serves on the board of the Executives Club of Chicago, is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and is a Director of the Western Golf Association in January 2020.  John also serves as a board member of the Midtown Educational Foundation and is actively involved in several non-profit organizations in the Chicago area.