Jay is a veteran investor and strategist whose career in global finance spans more than four decades at the intersection of law, markets, and geopolitics. Best known for leading one of the most consequential sovereign-debt recoveries in modern history, Jay built his reputation on the ability to translate complex legal and political challenges into financial opportunity.
A graduate of Yale and Columbia Law School, Jay began his career as an attorney before moving to Wall Street, where he established one of the first trading desks for defaulted sovereign debt at Lehman Brothers. His early work in emerging-market finance helped pioneer the market for distressed-country obligations.
In 1995, Jay joined Elliott Management Corporation, where he became a senior portfolio manager specialising in sovereign-debt enforcement and cross-border recoveries. Over more than twenty years, he led investment strategies across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia.
Jay's leadership in Elliott’s long campaign to recover defaulted debt from the Republic of Argentina became a defining moment in the evolution of sovereign finance—culminating in a landmark settlement valued at roughly $2.4 billion. The case reshaped market expectations around creditor rights and enforcement, establishing precedents still studied by policymakers and investors today.
Since retiring from Elliott in 2016, Jay turned his focus to writing and advising. His debut novel, Undermoney (Scribner, 2022), channels his firsthand experience in global finance into a vivid portrait of how money and power really work.
Today, Jay continues to advise institutions, investors, and policymakers on sovereign debt recovery and in other distressed situations. He is a frequent commentator on international disputes, the politics of debt restructuring, and the evolving balance between creditors and sovereigns in an era of economic volatility.
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