Faris Saah

Faris has over 20 years of first-hand global financial markets experience. Over the span of his career, Faris has been actively involved in professional training including both in-house instructor roles at Accenture, Morgan Stanley and Blackstone as well as designing and teaching classroom-based courses for GLG, Moody’s Analytics, Fitch, Columbia Business School, MIT, Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Arts and Sciences where Faris has been a Senior Lecturer since 2013. Faris has designed and delivered many courses in finance to students ranging from entry-level Analysts and Associates to CEOs and Executive Chairmen. Specific professional courses Faris has taught include: Financial Analysis and Model Construction, Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Credit Analysis, Portfolio Theory, Construction, Measurement and Management, and Structured Credit. Additional specialized courses include Alternative Asset Management, Leveraged Finance/LBO Analysis, Acquisition Finance, Property Finance and Debt Capital Market Instruments. Faris has extensive knowledge of global capital markets and has delivered training to audiences of all levels in North America and Europe. Faris has actively engaged with budge bracket banks, international commercial banks and leading universities by providing engaging classroom-based courses on the practical application of corporate finance concepts using spreadsheets and advanced Excel techniques. Faris’ ability to simplify and illustrate even the most complex of topics has resulted in positive feedback from clients.Over his career, Faris has worked in the alternative asset management and leveraged finance industries at the Blackstone Group (GSO Capital), Pequot Capital Management, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan. He specializes in the valuation and management of leveraged loans, high yield securities and structured credit assets. At GSO Capital, Faris was the Head of US Credit Research for the firm’s CLOs, BDCs, SMAs and Closed End (’40 Act) Funds. As a banker, he has advised clients on their creditworthiness in debt capital markets transactions, including obtaining initial credit ratings and advising on the capital structure and credit rating implications of various strategic transactions such as acquisitions, LBOs and share buybacks. Faris holds an MS in Finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Virginia Tech. Faris serves on the MIT Education Council and is an active advocate of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Faris speaks many languages including French, Arabic, and Mandarin.