Carl Adams

Head of Structured Debt

Carl Adams is Managing Executive Officer of SMBC and SMFG, Deputy Head of SMBC Group in the Americas, and Head of the Structured Debt Business. Carl is based in our New York office.

In his role, Carl is responsible for overseeing and building the firm’s structured product businesses, which include Project Finance Debt & Advisory, Leveraged Finance, Fund Finance, Transportation, Leasing, and Global Trade Finance. Carl is also responsible for the Latin America region. The Americas team is a consistent leader in project finance and advisory business, and a top five global provider of subscription finance.

Carl is an executive sponsor of our employee-led resource group UNIQUE, which promotes awareness and understanding of neurodiversity and disability through education and advocacy.

Carl joined the firm in May 2013. He was named in April 2020 as Head of Structured Debt, which includes Specialized Finance, Fund Finance, Strategic Credit Products, Global Trade Finance, the Transportation Department, and Sumitomo Mitsui Leasing and Finance.

Prior to Carl’s appointment to his current roles in 2020, he was Managing Director, General Manager, and Head of Specialized Finance, Latin America, and the firm’s Real Estate Finance business. His role comprised project finance, municipal finance, U.S. private placements, and Latin America. Carl was named Head of the former Real Estate Finance Department in April 2019. His first role with SMBC Group in the Americas was General Manager and Head of Specialized Finance and Latin America.

Carl held senior leadership roles at other financial institutions, including Chase Manhattan, in its São Paulo office, developing its Structured Finance business; Banco Santander S.A. as Head of Latin American Structured Trade Finance; Managing Director and Head of Origination & Structured Finance for Latin America and Co-Head of Emerging Markets at WestLB, where he built a successful leading franchise in Latin America and as Senior Managing Director and Head of Structured Finance/Americas for Espirito Santo Investment (ESI), where he focused on establishing a structuring and lending platform for the infrastructure and energy sectors in North and South America. His experience encompasses future flow securitization, structured and corporate finance, project finance, cross-border leasing, and treasury risk management with a focus on Latin America.

Carl has a Bachelor of Arts in political science and Spanish from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, and a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management-Thunderbird.