Leonard M. Tannenbaum founded Fifth Street in 1998. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fifth Street Asset Management Inc.
Prior to launching Fifth Street, Mr. Tannenbaum gained extensive small company experience as an equity analyst for Merrill Lynch. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of Fifth Street Asset Management Inc., Mr. Tannenbaum currently serves on the Boards of Directors of several Greenlight Capital-affiliated entities, the Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative, the U.S.-Cuba Business Council and the Norwalk Aquarium. He has previously served on the Boards of Directors of many other companies, including Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc., Assisted Living Concepts, Inc. and WesTower Communications, Inc.
Mr. Tannenbaum graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in Economics. Subsequent to his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Tannenbaum received an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School as part of the Submatriculation Program. He is also a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Mr. Tannenbaum has received a number of awards and honors for his leadership and contributions to the industry, including the M&A Advisor Leadership Award in 2013, the YJP Leadership & Achievement Award in 2014 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist (New York region) both in 2013 and 2015. He was also named one of America’s 20 Most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under in 2012.