Alex Preston was born in 1979 and lives in London with his wife and child. He is Global Head of Trading in The Carlyle Group's Leveraged Finance division and is a regular commentator on the loan and credit markets, including appearances at industry conferences in Europe, Japan and the US. He previously worked as a trader in an investment bank. His grandfather, Samuel Hynes, is Woodrow Wilson Emeritus Professor of English at Princeton University. Alex has written song lyrics for numerous performers, including a top ten hit. Alex has had work published in The New Statesman, Attitude, and The Observer and previously worked in Paris in the fashion industry where one of his jobs was auditioning models for catwalk shows. He is currently training for a triathlon and working on his second novel.