Charles M. Trunz is a Managing Director and senior credit executive with more than 20 years of experience spanning leveraged finance, high-yield and distressed credit, credit risk, underwriting, portfolio governance, and credit transformation across major financial institutions. He combines firsthand experience in the leveraged credit markets with more than a decade of senior leadership in enterprise credit, providing a distinctive perspective on complex capital structures, downside risk, recovery, documentation, and credit quality.
Currently, Charles serves as Managing Director and Head of Strategic Credit Solutions at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). He leads a nearly 100-person credit strategy, quality assurance, and portfolio governance organization across the Americas. His responsibilities include underwriting standards, credit risk frameworks, portfolio oversight, quality assurance, watchlist and early-warning capabilities, and credit training. He serves as a senior credit authority across leveraged lending, corporate, hedge fund, fund finance, and structured credit portfolios. In addition, he serves as Global Business Owner of Credit Transformation and Innovation, leading initiatives focused on improving credit processes, policy efficiency, and analytical effectiveness through emerging technology.
Charles brings substantial experience navigating stressed and distressed credit situations, including restructurings, workout processes, downside and recovery assessments, documentation risk, and the development of underwriting standards designed to strengthen credit discipline. His advisory leadership roles at Promontory Financial Group and Berkeley Research Group further broadened his expertise in credit analytics, risk modeling, leveraged lending frameworks, portfolio management, and institutional risk strategy.
His foundation in the leveraged finance markets was established through senior roles at Barclays Capital, Scotia Capital, and Clark Dodge & Co., where he worked across high-yield, distressed debt, bank debt, leveraged finance, and structured credit. He helped establish leveraged finance and distressed debt platforms, developed relationships with institutional investors and hedge funds, structured credit products, and served on an investment committee. This market-facing experience continues to inform his approach to credit judgment, capital structure analysis, and risk assessment.
Throughout his career, Charles has built and led analytical teams, developed credit professionals, chaired cross-functional governance forums, and advised senior executives on complex credit and risk decisions. He regularly engages with Chief Risk Officers, business leaders, and global counterparts across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, and has established credibility with issuers, private equity sponsors, arranging banks, institutional investors, and other sophisticated market participants.
Charles holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Known as Chas to family and friends, he grew up as the oldest of four boys and attended Chaminade High School, where he lettered in football, wrestling, and lacrosse. An avid golfer, tennis player, platform tennis player, and Ironman competitor, Chas’ true passion is coaching young athletes. He coaches field hockey, ice hockey, wrestling, and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse through Manhasset’s PAL sports program. Chas and his wife, Kristin, live in Manhasset, New York, where they are raising their three children, Holly, William, and Charlotte.