Executive Team

Mr. Crystal has over 30 years of experience in private equity, investment banking, hedge funds and wealth management.

From 2013 to 2019, as a Managing Director at Tricadia Capital Management (now Corvid Peak Capital Management), Jim was the portfolio manager principally responsible for Tricadia’s private equity investments in the financial services sector, overseeing funds with over $450 million in commitments and serving on various portfolio company boards.  In this capacity, he identified and structured Tricadia’s investment in CV Holdings in 2015 and has been a director of the company since that time.

Prior to joining Tricadia, Jim was a Managing Director at Rockefeller & Co., one of the largest multi-family offices and a predecessor firm to Rockefeller Capital Management, where he designed custom alternative investment portfolios for large clients and served as portfolio manager of the firm’s proprietary alternative investment vehicles from 2008 to 2013.  Prior to joining Rockefeller, he was a Senior Managing Director and a Portfolio Manager of a hedge fund at Bear Stearns Asset Management.

From 1997 to 2004, Jim was a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co., serving approximately five years in the Investment Banking Department and two years in the Asset-Backed Investments Group.  Before joining Bear Stearns, he was a Director at predecessor companies to UBS Investment Bank from 1988 to 1997.

Mr. Crystal received his B.A. magna cum laude from Yale College and an A.M. from Harvard University.

In 1983, John received a degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (which he attended on a soccer scholarship), and in late 1984, he started and developed Pioneer Capital Corporation. In 1998, Pioneer signed its first large credit facility - a $20 million structured finance facility.  At that time, John was one of the youngest individuals in the industry to sign a structured finance agreement of this size.  In 2004, IFC Credit Corporation purchased Pioneer Capital.

In 2004, John started Centra Financial Corporation as an investment vehicle.  In 2008 another corporate entity - Centra Leasing, Inc was created to handle all leasing activities.   In 2014, Centra introduced the equipment financing industry’s first truly all-electronic signing process.  In minutes, Centra can now approve and fund a transaction over a customer’s cell phone.

Personal Achievements: 

• Annual Conference Chairman of the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers (NAELB) in 2006 and 2018.
• Started Pioneer Capital Corporation and built it into a $40 million firm (in yearly new originations).
• Over 29 years experience in the leasing industry.
• Had complete credit authority during his tenure at Pioneer and has personally approved over $700,000,000 in small ticket transactions.
• Has extensive experience in credit, sales, collections and portfolio management.
• Has been a lecturer at numerous conferences regarding anti-fraud credit techniques.

Mr. Tarkowski has over 15 years of corporate finance and real estate experience. Prior to rejoining CV, he was a Director at Verus Commercial Real Estate Finance with a focus on loan originations, loan closings, and asset management. He started his career at Colliers Macaulay Nicolls where he supported transactions across all asset types including Industrial, Office, Retail, and Multifamily properties. After Colliers CMN, Mr. Tarkowski led the finance team for a property management firm focused on small to mid-size mixed-use condominium associations in the greater Chicagoland area. During that time, he advised and modeled financial strategies for a wide variety of clients to ensure financial solvency during a time of higher defaults and vacancies brought on as a result of the Great Recession. He also has experience in various other finance platforms including a servicer and asset manager of residential NPLs, an originator and asset manager of CRE bridge loans, and a small balance equipment finance company. Mr. Tarkowski earned a B.S. in Regional Development from the University of Arizona and his MBA in Finance from Bellevue University.

Mr. De Mata has over 17 years of accounting, audit, tax, and financial reporting experience with focus on real estate Prior to joining CVH, he was an Assurance Senior Manager at Ernst Young LLP serving various types and sizes of public and private clients including consumer products, technology, manufacturing, private equity, real estate, hospitality, and construction companies He has experience with SEC reporting and corporate accounting issues such as debt, equity, consolidations, fair values, and revenue recognition Mr De Mata graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant with the California Board of Accountancy.