Burford Capital, a finance and asset management firm focused on law, appointed Kenneth A. Brause to the role of CFO, effective May 3. Brause will be based in Burford Capital’s New York office.

Jim Kilman, the current CFO of Burford Capital, was appointed in August 2019 to serve for up to two years, after having previously served as senior advisor since 2017. Working with an executive search firm, Burford Capital undertook a search for Kilman’s successor late last year. After reviewing candidates, Brause emerged as Burford Capital’s preferred choice. Kilman will spend a three-month transition period with Brause before returning to his senior advisor position.

Brause has 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, with a focus in specialty finance. Most recently, he was CFO of OnDeck Capital. Previously, he held a number of executive roles at CIT Group, including serving as treasurer of its bank and parent company, and, before that, serving as CFO of its North American banking business, president of small business lending and head of investor relations.

Before CIT, Brause held senior roles at American General, the Bank of New York and Bankers Trust. He started his career as a consultant with Booz Allen.

“I’m delighted to welcome Ken as Burford’s new CFO,” Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, said. “With Spencer Stuart’s assistance, we conducted an extensive search for our new permanent CFO, and Ken stood out as someone with high quality, career-long specialty finance expertise across a range of strategic and operational roles, including wholesale funding markets. I believe Burford will benefit from his wide range of experience as we continue our growth trajectory and our ongoing expansion of our U.S. capital markets presence.”