John Howe founded Old Hill in 1996 and has over 25 years of experience investing and managing credit and asset based lending transactions. Howe is Old Hill’s CEO and responsible for overall portfolio construction. He also serves as the chairman of the Firm's investment committee. Prior to Old Hill, Howe was a managing director at Nomura Securities in New York from 1990 to 1995, where he oversaw the $40 billion Government Securities Business Unit. Before joining Nomura, he was a senior vice president at Kidder Peabody, where he managed and traded fixed-income securities for seven years.

Howe earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University and graduate degree from Columbia University, with a specialization in international business. He was a captain in the United States Army, serving ten years in active and reserve units.