USA Fencing

Lianne Merchant currently has her own capital raising business firm Cortlandt Partners Ltd., a real estate private equity firm, affiliated with Young America Capital.  She developed her expertise in capital raising at Park Hill, previously owned by Blackstone. Prior to Park Hill, she was head of marketing and investor relations for iStar Financial, a structured finance company.  She began her real estate career at GE’s pension fund.

Merchant is a past president of the New Rochelle Board of Education and the New Rochelle Library. She is currently on the United States Fencing Foundation, the Historic Landmarks Review Board, and the Westchester Children’s Museum. Lianne was previously elected to the USA Fencing board in 2014 and served one term.

Her alumni service to Brown University includes the Women’s Leadership Council (through 2021), the President’s Leadership Council for Libraries (William Williams award), the BAA Board of Governors, leadership roles on the Inman Page Black Alumni Council and fundraising roles for her class and the Alumni of Color Initiative in the Boldly Brown campaign.

Merchant earned her Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and her MBA Real Estate Finance and Finance from Columbia University.

Lianne and her husband, Gregory, live in New Rochelle, N.Y. and have two sons.  Both are recruited saber fencers at UPenn where Julian graduated in 2019 and Marcel is a freshman.