Ruslan Patlavsky
Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Blackbeard Asset Management Ltd
Ruslan is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Blackbeard Asset Management Ltd., a Cyprus-based, CySEC-regulated investment manager specializing in emerging market high-yield and distressed credit. He brings over 15 years of experience in global credit markets, with deep expertise in complex restructurings and special situations.
After beginning his career in equity research and capital markets, Ruslan shifted his focus to distressed opportunities in 2014, joining ICU during a period of severe corporate and sovereign dislocation in Ukraine. There, he originated, restructured, and exited a wide range of public and private credit positions, establishing a strong track record in restructuring cases across Central and Eastern Europe.
In 2020, he co-launched ICU’s Distressed Credit Special Situations strategy, expanding his investment focus to global emerging markets. He led origination, restructuring negotiations, institutional fundraising, and team development, with the portfolio spanning Europe, MENA, Latin America, and Asia. This role positioned him as a recognized specialist in cross-border distressed credit investing.
In 2022, Ruslan founded Blackbeard to institutionalize this expertise, targeting complexity-driven mispricings across emerging and frontier markets through a disciplined, process-driven approach.
He holds an MBA in Finance from Central European University and completed an exchange at the Schulich School of Business, York University.
