Dean is a Managing Partner at Southern Waters Capital ("SWC"), an experienced investment banker and asset manager with a strong financial and legal background. He began his career on Wall Street in 1993 and founded Bergen Capital Inc., a successful investment banking and broker dealer, in 1998. At Bergen Capital, Dean established a successful project-based affordable housing underwriting program in the public finance markets, as well as through Fannie Mae and FHA. In 2005, the firm was acquired by BB&T Bank (now Truist Bank), and Dean was chosen to lead their project finance underwriting and syndication, as well as the special opportunities group, acquiring distressed multifamily housing project loans among other assets. He has a reputation for being a profitable and opportunistic asset manager, while also safeguarding the bank's capital. Throughout his career, Dean has been involved in transactions worth billions of dollars in investment-grade loans and high-yield debt. He has also served on creditor committees, acted as a bond tender agent, advised trustee banks, and has taken an active ownership role in credit workouts involving multifamily housing, healthcare, detention facilities, and student housing. Dean holds a degree in finance from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1995.