Rafael De Paoli founded FCL after more than two decades advising executives, owners, and financial sponsors through complex, high-stakes decisions at some of the world’s most demanding financial institutions. Over his career, he has led or advised on more than $55 billion of transactions, spanning mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets, leveraged finance, project finance, and restructurings.

Prior to founding FCL, Rafael led a global banking team at HSBC, one of the world’s largest financial institutions. In that role, he managed a $5.5 billion debt portfolio and advised senior executives and sponsors on capital structure, growth initiatives, and strategic transactions across multiple geographies. The experience gave him a front-row view into how large institutions evaluate risk, value businesses, and make long-term capital decisions.

Before HSBC, Rafael served as Global Head of the Special Opportunities Group at Aladdin Capital Management, a $15 billion hedge fund, where he focused on complex and distressed investment situations. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Restructuring at Merrill Lynch Investment Banking in New York, advising companies and stakeholders in high-profile restructurings, including debtor-in-possession financings, 363 asset sales, plans of reorganization, and distressed-for-control transactions.

Rafael began his post-MBA career at GE Capital, where he was selected for the firm’s highly selective Risk Management Leadership Program, gaining hands-on experience across capital markets, securitizations, and restructuring.

At FCL, Rafael brings this institutional experience into the lower middle market with a very different objective: helping founders navigate transitions with clarity, alignment, and confidence. He works directly with owners from the first conversation through closing and beyond, applying the discipline, pattern recognition, and decision-making rigor of large institutions—without the bureaucracy—to support founder-aligned transactions and long-term value creation.