Private Equity Fast Pitch (Northstar)

Jeffrey Armbrister, Managing Director, Head of Direct Equity Investments

Jeff is a Managing Director and the Global Head of Direct Equity Investments where he is responsible for direction and oversight of the firm’s direct equity investment platform. 

Jeff has over 20 years of private equity and public market investing experience, and has served on the board of directors of several portfolio companies and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2018, Jeff was a Managing Director at Versa Capital Management, where he focused on making control-oriented, special situations, debt and equity investments in middle market companies across a variety of industries. While at Versa, Jeff participated in all major investment functions and his responsibilities included origination, underwriting, transaction execution and portfolio company development. Prior to joining Versa in 2003, Jeff was an Equity Research analyst at Oppenheimer + Close. He has also held private equity, venture capital, corporate development and investment banking positions at Berwind Financial Group, Redleaf Group, ICG Commerce and Wheat First Butcher Singer, respectively. Jeff received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia

Today we speak to the authors of The Caesars Palace Coup: How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Power and Greed of Wall Street

https://tinyurl.com/caesarsbook

This is where Oceans 11 meets Chapter 11

It was the most brutal corporate restructuring in Wall Street history. The 2015 bankruptcy brawl for the storied casino giant, Caesars Entertainment, pitted brilliant and ruthless private equity legends against the world's most relentless hedge fund wizards.

In the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Big Short comes the riveting, multi-dimensional poker game between private equity firms and distressed debt hedge funds that played out from the Vegas Strip to Manhattan boardrooms to Chicago courthouses and even, for a moment, the halls of the United States Congress. On one side: Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital. On the other: the likes of Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital, and Appaloosa Management.

The Caesars bankruptcy put a twist on the old-fashioned casino heist. Through a $27 billion leveraged buyout and a dizzying string of financial engineering transactions, Apollo and TPG—in the midst of the post-Great Recession slump—had seemingly snatched every prime asset of the company from creditors, with the notable exception of Caesars Palace. But Caesars’ hedge fund lenders and bondholders had scooped up the company’s paper for nickels and dimes. And with their own armies of lawyers and bankers, they were ready to do everything necessary to take back what they believed was theirs—if they could just stop their own infighting.

These modern financiers now dominate the scene in Corporate America as their fight-to-the-death mentality continues to shock workers, politicians, and broader society—and even each other.

In The Caesars Palace Coup, financial journalists Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap illuminate the brutal tactics of distressed debt mavens—vultures, as they are condemned—in the sale and purchase of even the biggest companies in the world with billions of dollars hanging in the balance.

Sujeet Indap is the U.S. editor of the Lex Column at the Financial Times, where he contributes stories across the paper. He has written extensively on the intersection of corporate finance and corporate law. Indap was previously an investment banker before he joined the Financial Times in 2013. He is a graduate of Pomona College and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Indap lives in Manhattan, NY, with his wife.

Max Frumes leads a news team at Fitch Solutions covering corporate debt and restructuring. He previously was the founding editor of a leading publication covering corporate bankruptcy, and before that reported for S&P’s Leveraged Commentary & Data and The Deal. Frumes received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MSJ from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

Chris Cathcart is a Managing Partner and currently serves on the Management and Investment Committees of The Halifax Group. Chris joined Halifax in 2007 and leads business development for the firm. He is responsible for origination, evaluation and recommendation of investment opportunities and management of the firm’s network of investment sources. Chris has more than 20 years of experience leading and advising small businesses. Chris received an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University with a concentration in finance, accounting and entrepreneurship and graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University. Chris is a long suffering Wake Forest sports fan. When not lamenting the current on-field performance of his beloved Demon Deacons, he serves on the board of deacons at his church, enjoys spending time with his young family and endures distance running.

Gina is a founding partner of GP Capital. Gina founded Luna Strategies in 2016, where she counseled companies and their leaders on complex strategic issues and growth initiatives. She also serves on the board of public and privately held companies. Prior to founding Luna Strategies, Gina held senior executive roles with JPMorgan Chase during her 22-year career at the company. Most recently, she served as Chairman of the Houston Market and Managing Director of Chase Commercial Banking. Gina is a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Houston Branch, and St. Luke's Health System. She also serves as a trustee of The Texas A&M Foundation. The Welch Foundation. The Welch Institute for Advance Materials and Baylor College of Medicine. She was elected chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership in 2015 and continues to serve on the board and executive committee. She was the founding chairman of Houston Exponential and serves as a senior advisor to HX Venture Fund. Gina is a summa cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance and management. Gina serves on the Management and Investment Committee of GP Capital.

Marshall Adkins joined Raymond James in 1995 and serves as the head of the firm’s Energy Investment Banking practice.

Marshall Adkins joined Raymond James in 1995 and serves as the head of the firm’s Energy Investment Banking practice.

Prior to this role, Mr. Adkins served as the director of Energy Research and focused on oilfield services and products. Prior to Raymond James, he spent 10 years in the oilfield services industry as a project manager, corporate financial analyst, sales manager, and engineer.

He holds a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Episode 6 features David Iverson a Managing Director and Food & Agriculture Group Head at Lazard Middle Market.

Today they’ll be discussing Lazard’s specialized vertical of consumer food & beverage, the current shifting trends within the industry and how branding differentiates their products.

We invite you to listen to Dave's view on current industry dynamics, the evolution of our middle market food & agriculture practice and Lazard's differentiating factors.

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For this episode, we’ve created a montage of our past podcast guests providing their advice to recent graduates interested in investing banking or private equity.

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Our host, Jeff Henningsen, President of Lockton companies in Houston, will be speaking with Clay Hunter, a St. Louis native and Harvard grad, who began his career in Investment Banking before transitioning to traditional Private Equity 15 years ago, and then several years ago joining the Stephens group, a Little Rock-based family office with over 8 decades of successful investments and partnerships with a wide range of companies and management teams. Their approach is a simple and straightforward idea:  partner with exceptional management and provide the resources needed to achieve their strategic vision in order to build long-term value.

Christopher W. Kersey serves as the Founding Managing Partner of Havencrest Capital Management, and prior to founding Havencrest, Dr. Kersey served as a Managing Member and Partner of Camden Partners Holdings, LLC.

From 2011 to 2017, Dr. Kersey served as the Chairman of the Board of Johns Hopkins Medicine International. During that time, Dr. Kersey helped spearhead John Hopkins Medicine International's growth from an emerging pioneer to the established leader in global collaborative health care partnerships by engineering innovative private sector - public sector partnerships with blue-chip institutions such as Saudi Aramco in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HCL Healthcare in India and Pacifico Salud in Peru.

In 2010, Dr. Kersey was elected to the boards of trustees of Johns Hopkins Medicine and the iconic Johns Hopkins Hospital, U.S. News & World Report's #1 ranked hospital in the United States for 21 consecutive years.

Dr. Kersey also serves on the boards of directors of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Endowment Fund and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) — a joint venture based in Saudi Arabia and one of the world's largest population health management initiatives. Dr. Kersey is also a member of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Compensation Committee, the Johns Hopkins Medicine Patient Safety and Quality Committee and the Johns Hopkins Hospital Credentials Committee.

In 2017, Dr. Kersey was elected to the board of trustees of the GuideStone Funds, the largest Christian mutual fund in the world with more than $12 billion in assets under management, where he serves on the Investment Management Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee.

Dr. Kersey earned his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Stanford University, his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Emory University School of Medicine and his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School.

Ross is a Managing Director at Berkshire Partners in Boston. He began his career in private equity over 35 years ago.  Ross joined Berkshire Partners in 1993 and became a Managing Director of the firm in 2000.  During his tenure, Ross has represented the firm’s interests on a wide range of portfolio company boards, including:  Advanced Drainage Systems, Asurion, Bare Escentuals, Carter’s, Inc., CrossFit, Melissa & Doug, Torres Unidas, and Tower Development Corporation.  Prior to Berkshire Partners, Ross worked at a start-up merchant bank, at Bain & Co. and in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co.  He earned a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Ross enjoys travel adventures with his family, exploring the great outdoors, and a variety of sports including biking, golf, tennis, and skiing.  He is engaged in several non-profit organizations including The Imago Dei Fund, which he cofounded with his wife, Emily, in 2010, Seed a Stanford GSB-led initiative that is working to end the cycle of global poverty, and the Dartmouth College President’s Leadership Council. Ross and Emily raised their three now grown children in Needham, Massachusetts, where they currently reside.

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Jim is the Managing Partner of Huron Capital. In addition to sourcing, evaluating, executing and managing investments, Jim is responsible for setting strategy and managing the operations of the firm. Jim is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and the Huron Capital Board of Directors.

His experience includes mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings and restructurings for middle market businesses across a variety of industries. Prior to joining Huron Capital in 2007, Jim was with Conway MacKenzie, Inc., a boutique firm focused on restructurings and special situations. Prior to Conway, Jim was an investment banker with Robert W. Baird & Co. Although his experience covers a range of industries, he is focused primarily on niche segments within the business services space, including facility, infrastructure, and utility services.

B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Villanova University; M.B.A. from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

David Tayeh joined the Firm in 1999 as a Partner in the Private Equity team. From 2003 to 2005, David served as the Chief Financial Officer of Jostens, Inc., a former Investcorp portfolio company. Prior to Investcorp, David was a Vice President with DLJ. ​

In 2015, David rejoined Investcorp as the Head of North American Private Equity from CVC Capital Partners where he was a Partner from 2011. David is a member of Investcorp’s Operating Committee, Investment Committee and the Financial & Risk Management Committee. ​

He currently serves on the board of directors of AlixPartners, CrossCountry Consulting, Fortune International, Health Plus Management, ICR, KSI Auto Parts, RESA Power, Revature, Roadsafe, Sunrise Produce, Alex Lee, and Arab-American Family Support Center.

David holds a BA degree in Politics, Economics, Rhetoric and Law from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania

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Doug McCormick is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of HCI Equity Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm focused on partnering with family and founder owned manufacturing, service and distribution companies. Doug has been an active investor in numerous markets to include aerospace, defense, distribution, food services, packaging, manufacturing, outsourced business services, transportation and logistics. He currently serves on the board of AmercareRoyal, Echelon Supply & Service and Pacific Defense and serves as board chair for Consolidated Hospitality Supplies, MSI Express, SDS Rx and Tech24. 

Doug actively supports the veteran community as the Chairman of Team Red, White and Blue. He is also a member of the board of trustees and Chair of the investment committee for the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE); a board member of The Heritage Group, founding member of Capital For Children, and a 2011 Henry Crown Fellow.

Doug is the author of Family Inc. and uses this content to empower others with financial literacy skills, with an emphasis on the veteran community. His work and recommendations regarding investing and personal finance topics have been cited or featured by leading media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The NY Times, USA Today, CNBC, PBS, NPR, TIME, Investor’s Business Daily, Fast Company, The Larry Kudlow Show, Huffington Post, Motley Fool, The Art of Manliness and others.

Before founding HCI Equity, Doug was a Managing Partner at Thayer Hidden Creek and Thayer Capital and worked in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co. He also served as a Captain in the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division. Doug received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he served as First Captain of the Corps of Cadets and Captain of the Army Wrestling team.

Greg is a Managing Principal at Windjammer Capital, where he co-leads the firm’s Management and Investment Committees. Greg has over 30 years investment experience including 24 years of private equity investing since joining Windjammer in 2000 to help establish the firm’s East Coast presence. In conjunction with Windjammer’s other Managing Principal, he is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the firm and management of the investment staff, diligence/operating protocols, the partnerships, and administrative functions. He currently serves on the boards of BioXCell, Radix Wire & Cable, Fecon, Hilco Vision, TRG, Component Hardware Group and Propel Health; he previously served on the boards of Hermetics Solutions Group, Parts Town, Heritage Food Service Group, Advanced Instruments, Protective Industries (“Caplugs”), S.T. Specialty Foods, Rotex Holdings and Maxcess International. Prior to joining Windjammer, Greg was with Prudential Capital's Corporate Finance Group in Dallas, Texas, where he was responsible for originating, structuring and managing private debt and equity investments in companies located in the Southwest United States. At Prudential, Greg was involved in transactions aggregating approximately $2 billion spanning a variety of industries. Greg received his BBA from The University of Texas at Austin and has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Connor joined Solomon after 11 years at FocalPoint Partners, where he was a Managing Director in their Business Services practice. During his tenure, he co-founded and expanded FocalPoint’s Chicago office.

Over the course of his 15-year career, Connor has advised clients across the most active Human Capital and Professional Services sub-sectors, including Professional Staffing, Healthcare Staffing, Consulting and Business Process Outsourcing. Select recent transactions include:

• The sale of 8020 Consulting to ShoreView Industries
• The Planet Group’s (a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners) acquisition of Strive Consulting
• The sale of The Planet Group to Odyssey Investment Partners
• The sale of ADI Strategies to Huron Consulting (Nasdaq: HURN)
• The sale of Rightpoint Consulting to Stella Point Capital
• The sale of The Planet Group to MidOcean Partners
• The Recapitalization of Amerit Fleet Solutions by Elm Park Capital (aka Atalaya Capital Management) and Seacoast Capital
• The sale of BrandRep to Millpond Equity Partners
• The sale of Heartland Automotive, a portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, to Wynnchurch Capital
• The sale of Easy Ice to Freeman Spogli

Mike McGill is a Managing Director, Strategic Capital at Cowen and was a co-Founder of MHT Partners. 

Prior to founding MHT, he spent five years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and CS First Boston where he managed the execution of M&A advisory and corporate finance transactions for middle-market companies. Prior to joining DLJ, he was at Lehman Brothers where he focused on M&A advisory.

He is an active member of the Maverick Gold chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and in 2019 was named Investment Banker of the Year by D CEO Magazine. 

Mike earned an MBA, with distinction, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BBA in Finance and Real Estate.

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Nate Wasson is Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of HalBar Partners. Based in Chicago, Nate leads strategic fund initiatives related to the research and development of HalBar Partners’ investment theses. He is responsible for investment management, impact strategy, and leadership of the firm. He also serves as a Co-founder and principal member of Alvearia* and Founding member of the Angel/VC group Keiretsu Forum Chicago. Nate’s prior experience includes consulting with JPMorgan, Principal and Managing Director for Bank of Montreal’s US Private Bank, developer of Capital Group’s Midwest family office practice, and Senior Managing Director with Silicon Valley Bank. During his tenure developing investment platforms, strategies and office practice, he served as a subject matter expert in private equity, secondaries, impact investment potential and portfolio construction. Nate holds an undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management with a concentration in asset management, where he studied under Nobel Laureate Robert Schiller, David Swensen, and AJ Wasserman.

Jeffrey Stevenson is the Managing Partner of VSS and has overall responsibility for the management of the firm and each of its funds. Mr. Stevenson joined VSS in 1982, shortly after its formation, and founded its private equity business in 1987. Mr. Stevenson is the Chairman of the investment committee and has served on the boards of over 31 portfolio companies and currently serves as a member of the board of the following VSS portfolio companies: Center for Rheumatology, Ambulatory Management Solutions, Ascent Behavioral Health, BRC Healthcare, Specialty1 Partners, Pacesetter Health, Coretelligent, ITN Networks, MetSchools, Southern Theatres LLC.

Previously, he served as a director of Advanstar, Brandshop, Cambium Learning, Canon Communications, Cast & Crew, De Telefoongids, Mediatel, Ebiquity, Hanley Wood, ITE Group, Pepcom, Tax Credit Co., TMP Worldwide, and Yellow Book USA, among others. Mr. Stevenson serves as a member of the finance committee for the not-for profit organization, Fraxa Research Foundation. He is also involved with the following organizations: YPO/WPO, SBIA Board of Governors and Lincoln Center Leadership Committee. He previously served on the board of Dojan TV Holdings, and as the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vencerx Therapeutics. Mr. Stevenson holds a BA from Rutgers College.

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We are excited to present a montage of quotes and mottos from prior guests that have inspired them throughout the years in both their careers and personal lives. 

As we begin a new year, we hope this special episode sets the stage and provides you with a new mind set for conquering the challenges & opportunities that lie ahead.

Pat Maciariello is Chief Operating Officer of Compass Group and a member of Compass Diversified’s Investment Committee, which is responsible for evaluating all of the organization’s investment opportunities. In this role, he manages Compass’s investment teams and is responsible for financial and strategic oversight of its subsidiaries.  Pat is currently a director and the Chairman of BOA and Lugano Diamonds. He is also a director of 5.11, Inc., ErgoBaby, Altor Solutions,  and the Sterno Group.  Pat joined Compass Diversified in 2005. Before that, he was with Bain & Company and Deutsche Banc Alex Brown. Pat is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Columbia Business School.  

He lives in San Juan Capistrano, CA with his wife, his two daughters, and their dog and cat, Rocky and Adrian. In his free time. he loves horse racing, fantasy football, hiking and doing escape rooms with his family. When he was younger (and fitter) he was an avid runner and completed eight marathons. 

Craige L. Stout serves as Chief Executive Officer of Stout, a 600-person global investment bank and advisory firm founded in 1991. With 23 offices around the world, Stout focuses on corporate finance, transaction advisory, valuation advisory, and dispute consulting.  Having worked on over 1,000 projects, his experience is broad and diverse in the fields of investment banking, litigation consulting, and valuation advisory.

Prior to founding the firm, Craig was with Price Waterhouse in it’s Valuable Services Group.

Mr. Stout is a recipient of the Crain’s 40 under 40 award and Ernst & Young’s 2002 Entrepreneur for the Year Award.

Craige and his wife, Molly, have been married for20 years and have three children (Carson (19),Sim on (17),and Estelle (14)). After living in the Chicago area for 18 years (and Detroit for 10 before that), they moves to Dallas in June 2019.

Mr. Stout has served or is serving on numerous non-profit boards, including: YPO Gold-Dallas Maverick Chapter, YPO Gold-Chicago Chapter (Past Chapter Chair), YPO -Chicago Chapter (Past Chapter Chair), the Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit, Inc. (Past President); Museum of Science and Industry – President’s Council; the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University; Respiratory Health association of Metropolitan Chicago; Junior Achievement of Chicago; Perspective Charter Schools.

Craige has served or is serving on several for-profit boards, including Stout; Solstice Consulting, LLC; Kirco Seniors Housing Fund, LP; Flow stone Partners; and BxC Partners.

Vikram Agrawal is a mission-driven, operationally-focused investment and management professional who believes that everyone deserves an opportunity to be successful, however they define success.

Vikram is currently collaborating with Texan businessman and environmentalist Trammell S. Crow with a dual mandate focused on leading investments and catalyzing impact in environmental sustainability and resilience. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of American Resilience Partners (a Texas-based, entrepreneurial private investment firm) and supports the international non-profit EarthX as the Director of EarthxCapital (EarthX's team that has a mission to help raise awareness, educate, convene, and catalyze impact related to sustainability investment and business innovation).

Vikram has 15 years of investment and management experience across several industry sectors in the United States and the emerging markets (Latin America & the Caribbean and Europe, Middle East, & Africa) through his prior roles with Citigroup (a global investment bank), International Finance Corporation (private sector arm of the World Bank Group focused on sustainable development), Patriarch Partners (a multi-billion dollar turnaround-focused private investment firm dedicated to saving American jobs by saving iconic American companies), and Prophet Equity (a middle-market private equity firm that makes control investments in strategically viable & underperforming companies).

Vikram received his MBA from Yale School of Management, where he was a recipient of the Award for Excellence in Ethics and Leadership. He received his Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he studied International Political Economy, and is currently a member of the Board of Governors for the Georgetown University Alumni Association.

Dominique Mielle is a Wall Street veteran with a comprehensive knowledge of corporate finance, capital markets, and the bankruptcy process.  She was a partner and senior portfolio manager at Canyon Capital, a $25 billion hedge fund, where she worked from 1998 to 2018. In 2017, she was named one of the “50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds” by the Hedge Fund Journal and E&Y. After retiring in 2018 she started writing. Her book, Damsel in Distressed: My life in the golden age of hedge funds, was released on September 7, 2021. She is a Forbes contributor on hedge funds, distressed investing and women in finance.

One of the only senior women in the hedge fund business, she played key roles in complicated bankruptcies, serving as a leading creditors’ committee member for Puerto Rico, and as a restructuring committee member for U.S. airlines in the wake of the September 11 attacks. She was a director of the board and the audit committee chair for PG&E during its fifteen-month bankruptcy process and emergence, and now serves on several corporate boards: Digicel Group, ReadyCap, Tiptree, Osiris Acquisition and Studio City. 

Todd Ofenloch is a Managing Director in the Boston office of H.I.G. Capital. Since joining the firm in 2009, he has been responsible for evaluating and executing new investment opportunities, as well as working with certain existing portfolio companies.

Todd has over 15 years of experience investing in middle market private equity transactions and has worked on investments in a broad range of industries, including building products, business services, enterprise software, food and consumer products, hospitality and travel services, and media and marketing services.

He currently serves on the boards of several H.I.G. portfolio companies.

Prior to H.I.G., Todd was an investment professional at Parthenon Capital Partners, GTCR, and The Halifax Group. He began his career as an investment banker at Lazard Frères, specializing in mergers & acquisitions advisory services.

Todd graduated with Bronze Tablet honors from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Accountancy (CPA) and received an M.B.A. with honors from Columbia Business School.

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Episode 42 of the Private Equity Fast Pitch Podcast features Robert Frost, the Chief Executive Officer of Lazard Middle Market who has nearly two decades of investment banking experience. Mr. Frost also serves as Co-Head of the Industrials group and has represented companies in a wide range of industrial sectors, including chemicals, automotive, building products, capital equipment, and engineered components.

Representative transactions include advisingPrior to joining Lazard Middle Market in 2008, Mr. Frost spent nine years in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice of Piper Jaffray & Co. Prior to his career in investment banking, he spent seven years in public accounting with Deloitte & Touche LLP. 

Mr. Frost also serves on the Alumni Executive Board of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Frost graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Certified Public

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Episode 73 features Brandon Bethea, a Co-Founder and Partner of Aterian Investment Partners who serves on the Investment Committee. Mr. Bethea has been a private equity investor since 2000.  Prior to Aterian, he was a Principal with Insight Equity, an investment professional with Freeman Spogli & Co and began his career with Salomon Smith Barney’s investment banking division.

Since 2015, Mr. Bethea has also served on the Endowment Committee of Christ Church in Pelham, New York. Mr. Bethea received his AB from Harvard University where he was a member of the Varsity Men’s Tennis Team. Mr. Bethea also earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Brandon originally hails from Oklahoma and in another life would aspire to be the Sooners’ Offensive Coordinator.

Brad is a Partner of LMP and a member of its Investment Committee. He joined the firm in 2009. Prior to LMP, Brad was part of the Financial Institutions Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he focused on M&A and capital raising transactions for the firm’s investment banking clients. Previously, Brad was an Assistant Vice President in Bank of America’s Finance Group. Brad began his career in a strategic advisory group within Wachovia Corporation.

Brad is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of ACU-Serve, Omni Healthcare Financial, Pathstone, S&S Health, SRS Acquiom and STP Investment Services, and previously served on the boards of Commercial Credit Inc., First Allied Holdings Inc. and LSQ Funding.

Brad received an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance and Accounting from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Parisi helps family and independent businesses sell or recapitalize their companies’ capital structure, realize a liquidity event, transfer ownership to next generation, or combine with a larger partner to accelerate growth.

Prior to joining Carl Marks Advisors, Mr. Parisi was a Managing Partner of FPG Advisory where he focused on all aspects of sourcing and executing deals, including structuring, due diligence, financing, and post-transaction integration throughout North America and internationally.

Previously, he was a senior investment banker at Jefferies & Company where he was instrumental in building the General Industries Group into one of the firm’s largest and most profitable units. He maintained a broad industry specialization, working closely with companies in the basic materials, chemicals and capital goods sectors.

Earlier, Mr. Parisi was a Vice President with KeyBanc Capital Markets, focusing on middle-market consumer companies, including Food & Beverage and Retail. Before his investment banking career, Mr. Parisi worked in the private equity division of The Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. He began his career with Ernst & Young.

Mr. Parisi earned a BS in Accounting from the University of Scranton and an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a FINRA Registered Representative and a Certified Public Accountant.

Today, Jeff will be speaking with Kurt Haras with Quarton International. With 27 partners and 60 employees, Quarton has global operations with offices from Detroit to London ... along with a combined track record of more than 500 transactions totaling over 15 billion dollars.

They’ll be discussing what differentiates Quarton’s approach within the market and current industry trends.

Head of Secondary Investments Private Equity

Responsibilities at Schroders Capital

Christiaan van der Kam is the head of Schroders Capital’s secondary investment program, responsible for all secondary investment activities globally.

Background

Prior to joining Schroders Capital in 2020, Christiaan spent more than 12 years at Unigestion, where he co-lead the global secondary investment program and was responsible for all secondary investments in North America and Asia. Prior to that, he worked at New Amsterdam Capital, a hedge fund based in London, where he provided financial and advisory services to companies. Christiaan started his private equity career at ATP Private Equity from 2001–2006. ATP is the largest pension fund in Denmark and one of the largest private equity
investors globally.

Education

Christiaan holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business and a Master degree in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Brian McGee is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at New Water Capital with over 20 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Before joining New Water, Brian was a senior member of the Transaction team at Sun Capital Partners, where he most recently served as a Principal. Prior to joining Sun Capital in 2007, Brian was a Senior Associate at Chanin Capital Partners, a boutique investment bank focused on debt restructurings, special situations and bankruptcy advisory. Brian began his finance career with Banc of America Securities Investment Banking as an Analyst in the Industrials Group. Brian earned a BA in both Economics and Political Science from Davidson College.

Scott is a Partner at HighVista Strategies where he co-leads the firm’s Private Equity strategy and is a member of the Private Equity Investment Committee. He joined HighVista in 2023 as part of its acquisition the former FLAG Capital Management business from abrdn. Prior to joining FLAG in 2007, Scott was a Principal at Portico Capital LLC, and a Senior Associate at J.H. Whitney & Co. Previously, he worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. Scott received a BA from Colby College and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

Leon is a Partner at Palladium Equity Partners and it is part of the firm’s Management Committee. Palladium is the oldest minority-owned private equity buyout firm in the industry with over $3 billion of assets under management.

Leon joined Palladium in 2007 and Brujis is responsible for originations and underwriting as well as helping lead the firm’s business services practice. Prior to joining Palladium, Leon worked in the mergers and acquisitions group at Lehman Brothers. 

Leon is an graduate from The George Washington University where he obtained a B.S. and M.S in Engineering.

Husband to a wonderful woman, father to three great kids. He is originally from Argentina.

Charles K. Gifford, Jr., Senior Partner

Charlie co-founded New Heritage Capital in 2006 and has been investing private equity in founder-owned, lower middle market business es for 23 years.  He focuses his efforts on generating proprietary investment opportunities, developing and maintaining intermediary relationships and providing capital markets expertise in the areas of transaction pricing and structuring. Prior to joining Heritage, Charlie spent two years at a start up sports venture. His previous experience also includes two years at Smith Barney in Boston and New York.

Charlie earned a Masters in Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Denison University.

Jeff co-founded Agellus Capital in 2024 after spending 13 years in the private equity industry. Prior to Agellus, Jeff was a Managing Director at Thompson Street Capital Partners. Prior to Thompson Street, Jeff was a Senior Associate at Audax Private Equity. Prior to Audax, Jeff served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. Jeff holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton, and an MBA from Wharton. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, son, and daughter.

Episode 71 features Marshall Adkins, a Managing Director and Head of Energy Investment Banking at Raymond James.

Marshall gives us great insight into what to expect in the energy markets for next few years, as well as the leading indicators that suggest the energy space will be an attractive place to focus your attention.

 Marshall Adkins joined Raymond James in 1995 and serves as the head of the firm’s Energy Investment Banking practice. Prior to this role, Mr. Adkins served as the director of Energy Research for 25 years and focused on oilfield services and products. Prior to Raymond James, he spent 10 years in the oilfield services industry as a project manager, financial analyst and engineer. He holds a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bogdan Gogulan has 20 years of experience in finance, product and business development. Before initiating NewSpace Capital, he had accumulated a unique combination of cross-border experience in communication, security and defense industries. He served as VP of international operations and business development for AT Communication (Switzerland), Defendec (Baltics) and Katmerciler (Turkey), managing breakthrough projects for security and defense agencies in the Middle East and Central Asia. For years, he managed alignment and cooperation with UN agencies (BOMCA/UNDP, BOMNAF, UNODC, UNHCR, IOM) and security organizations (NATO, OSCE, ISAF). Prior to that, Bogdan worked for American Express (USA, UK) and Deutsche Bank (UK). As global sales development Program Manager and Head of Industry Analytics at American Express he was responsible for global partnerships development with top tier clients. Since 2010, Bogdan has been actively involved with UN Alliance of Civilization’s (UNAOC) participating as an OYW Ambassador in the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ initiative.

Bogdan holds a BSc in Financial Economics from University of Essex and graduated from Abingdon & Whitney College. He is a co-founder and CEO of NewSpace Capital GP S.A.

Steve is a Founding Partner and the Managing Partner of BVP. Steve combines financial expertise with a disruptive approach to value-add strategies in private equity. Previously, Steve was a Co-Founder and a Managing Partner of a lower-middle market private equity fund focused on the consumer sectors.

Steve was previously a corporate lawyer at Kirkland and Ellis, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Steve received his BA in East Asian Studies with honors from Harvard College in 1992 and his JD from Harvard Law School in 1995. He was the New York State High School Chess Champion in 1988.

Steve is married to his wife, Gretchen, and has three boys, Andrew, Joshua and Matthew.  In addition to spending time with his family, Steve is passionate about traveling, classic rock music, Disney and the Buffalo Bills.

Stephen is a Managing Director and Head of Private Equity. In his role, he focuses on forming long-term partnerships with leading private equity managers, including buyouts, growth equity and venture. Stephen serves on the Investment Committee, which is directly responsible for the firm’s asset allocation strategies and the selection of investment managers for client portfolios. Stephen has over 15 years of industry experience, most recently at the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments, where he focused for eight years on growing the private equity investment program for the University’s $13 billion endowment and $2 billion pension fund. As a senior team member, Stephen played an active role in investment committee discussions across public equity, private equity, real assets, and absolute return strategies. Prior to joining Penn, Stephen was a Senior Associate at Princeton University’s endowment. At Princeton, he worked in private investments across buyouts, venture capital, natural resources, and real estate. Before Princeton, Stephen was a Principal with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he led a wide range of projects in the firm’s Corporate Finance, Technology & Telecom, and Healthcare practice areas. Stephen began his career in telecommunications software for Nortel Networks. Stephen holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Yale University. He is a CFA® charterholder. In addition, he is an Investment Committee member for a global non-profit.

Pardis Nasseri

CEO & President, Palm Tree LLC

Pardis Nasseri is a driven entrepreneur and the architect of Palm Tree, the modern M&A advisor. The firm integrates investment banking, strategic finance, and transaction support services for private equity sponsors, business owners, and management teams. Over the course of his career, Pardis has been personally involved in successful M&A transactions with an aggregate value of over $30 billion.

Pardis began his career in M&A with the transaction services practice of PwC, as an investment banker with Jefferies, and an investor with Platinum Equity. He founded Palm Tree in 2010 and grew the firm from its roots as a boutique M&A consultancy to a nationwide enterprise offering a suite of integrated financial services. The firm became a registered member of FINRA in 2020 and is led today by a team of accomplished managing directors who execute on engagements worldwide.

The Los Angeles Times has recognized Pardis as a visionary leader who prepares organizations for next-level growth, and The Los Angeles Business Journal has recognized Pardis among the most influential private equity advisors in the nation. Pardis is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization, where he serves on the board of its Santa Barbara chapter. He is a recurring guest lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, has served as a panelist at M&A and entrepreneurship events, and has moderated panels at the annual ACG business conference.

Pardis graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a double major in Business Economics and Philosophy and is currently attending the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Dr. Sherry Nasseri, reside in Montecito, California with their two children.

Jeff Hooke is a senior finance lecturer at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business.  Earlier, he was a managing director at Focus, LLC, an investment bank serving middle market companies.  He served as Vice President of Research at the Committee on Economic Development. Previously, Hooke operated his own consulting firm, was a director of Emerging Markets Partnership (a $5 billion private equity fund), a principal investment officer of the World Bank Group, and an investment banker with Lehman Brothers and Schroder Wertheim, respectively, two prominent securities firms based in New York.   

In addition to " The Myth of Private Equity," Hooke is the author of four other books:  Security Analysis on Wall Street (1998, 2nd edition 2013), M&A:  A Practical Guide to Doing the Deal (1996, 2nd edition 2015), The Dinosaur Among Us: The World Bank and Its Path to Extinction, and The Emerging Markets (2001). He has co-authored several peer-reviewed academic papers in finance and has written many position papers for non-profit think tanks. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BS from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Besides Hopkins, Mr. Hooke has taught at several universities and the New York Institute of Finance. He lectures on finance topics at industry forums around the world, including the CFA societies of New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington, London, Paris, Moscow, Munich, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Beijing, and Bangkok.

Meahgan is well known in the Middle Market M&A community for her knowledge of and views on investing trends, creative and effective deal sourcing techniques, macro-market perspectives and best-practices in which private equity firms can bridge the gap between “Main St. and Wall St.”

Meahgan is the Chairwoman of the Association of Corporate Growth’s “Women of Leadership” committee, was named one of McGuire Woods’ “Women to Know in Private Equity” and has been a featured speaker at multiple professional association conferences as well as “Women in Business” focused events.

Meahgan is a Director of Business Development for Palladium Equity Partners where her primary focus is on new investment generation and intermediary, founder, executive and corporate relationship management across North America and Europe. Furthermore, Meahgan assists portfolio companies with add-on acquisition strategy development and the sourcing of tuck-in opportunities.

She received her Master’s in Business Administration from Duke, The Fuqua School of Business and her B.B.A. from William and Mary’s Mason School of Business.

Episode 21 of the Private Equity Fast Pitch features David Felts, a Managing Director of TM Capital Corp., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. David’s expertise encompasses a range of transaction types and spans industry verticals including textiles, building products, consumer / retail and industrial services. He is highly regarded as an architect of portfolio company divestitures for many well respected middle market private equity firms and is a frequent panel speaker at middle market M&A industry conferences.

Prior to joining TM, David was a Managing Director at Brookwood Associates, where for over a decade he focused primarily on middle market M&A advisory. Previously, he was a founding partner at Equity Capital Partners and a Director at Prudential Securities Investment Banking, where he spearheaded the growth of Prudential’s successful Consumer / Industrials Industry Practice Group.

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John Garcia

Strategy, Driving Engagement Deliverables

John’s diverse experience includes leading as an Executive and Entrepreneur in multiple start-ups, small and midmarket companies, and Fortune 500 businesses across energy, tech, life science,  food & beverage, and transportation/logistics industries. He has extensive experience in IP licensing,  corporate strategy, marketing, private equity, M&A, technology R&D, manufacturing, sales, operations, and board leadership. John currently leads Solyco as managing director and several companies as a strategy executive through management consulting engagements and others as a board member, investor, managing partner, and/or shareholder.

John has been a keynote speaker on affecting strategy for Fortune 500 companies, Universities, and various leadership groups.

John is a community contributor and leader through Gen Next Global Membership, participation in a symposium on energy and technology through the MIT alumni association, appointment as a Charter School Board Member by the State of Michigan, Advisory Board Member for the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Oakland University, selected as L.B.P. Elite 40 under 40, Big Brother in BBBS for over 10 years, and Leadership Detroit Graduate, among others.

Erik has spent his entire career in the investment industry and prior to founding Ethos was a Managing Partner leading Abry Partners. During his 20-year tenure at Abry he originated, supervised, and sold companies in information services, digital infrastructure, enterprise systems, healthcare IT, financial services and media, representing an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $11 billion. Additionally, as a Managing Partner at Abry Partners, he served on investment committees, and oversaw recruiting of all investment professionals, research, and information technology. He also managed relationships with limited partners, headed its Heritage Fund and was a key partner in raising $17 billion across 15 funds. Prior to joining Abry Partners, Erik was an investment professional at New Century Holdings, the Baupost Group, and Apax Partners.

In addition to Erik’s professional activities he serves on the Board of Advisors of the International Council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, and the Advisory Board of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital. As an active alumni advisor for Harvard Business School and Brown University, he spends time with students helping them think about life after academia and how their contributions can make a difference in the world. Previously he served on the boards of the Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and the President’s Advisory Council on Internships at Brown University.

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Paul is a founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital. He has extensive M&A experience, decades of diverse public company board service, and proven management ability. Mr. Hobby’s sector expertise ranges from network infrastructure to downstream energy (both renewable and traditional gas fired) to media and telecom. His executive roles over time include Columbine JDS Systems, which became the world’s largest provider of back-office media software, CEO of Alpheus Communications, which built out the largest alternative fiber optic network in Texas, and CEO of Texas Monthly, expanding the print media brand to include podcasts, social media, a national alliance with Creative Artists Agency, and syndicating content through new channels that include Apple News, Flipboard, Pocket, Random House, Google News, Audm and Trip Advisor.

Paul has served as the Chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Texas General Services Commission and the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Paul holds a BA in History from the University of Virginia and a JD from the University of Texas Law School.

Paul serves on the Management and Investment Committee of GP Capital.

Mr. Hollingsworth is Managing Partner of five private equity funds with over $350 million under management. He has 30 years of experience in private equity investing and investment banking with the funds mentioned above, Paine Webber Incorporated (now UBS), and First Boston Corporation (now Credit Suisse). He served on the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, was Chairman of VisitDallas, was Chairman of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and also has served as the Vice Chairman of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority. Mr. Hollingsworth currently serves on the boards of Continental Electronics Corporation, Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, Frac Tank Rentals LLC (Managing Member), Oil Works, Inc. (Chairman), Trinity Forge, Inc. (Chairman), Mall Area Redevelopment Board, Safety Storage, Inc., and Yellow Checker Cab Company of Dallas/Fort Worth, Inc. He is a former board member of the City of Dallas Reinvestment Zone Board, the City of Dallas Privatization Technical Subcommittee, the LBJ Executive Board, which developed the construction plan for IH 635 Freeway, and the University of Texas Southwestern University Hospitals and Clinics Board of Visitors. Mr. Hollingsworth was a Director and largest shareholder of Accessbancorp which was successfully sold in 2022 to Texas Regional Bank. A Harvard College Scholar, Arthur Hollingsworth earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from Harvard University and has served as Chairman of the Harvard Club of Dallas. He received Harvard's Albert H. Gordon '23 Award. He is an inductee in the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame for his role as Co-Captain of the National Championship 1985 Harvard Rowing Team, as referenced in Devin Mahony's book, The Challenge. (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989. Print.) In January 2009, the Dallas Business Journal awarded Mr. Hollingsworth with the Community Impact Dealmaker of the Year award. Mr. Hollingsworth was honored as the 2014 Human Relations Award recipient by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. A direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton, Mr. Hollingsworth serves as President of the Alexander Hamilton Scholars Board of Directors (www.hamiltonscholars.org). Mr. Hollingsworth's daughter is currently a senior at Harvard College and Co-Captain of the Harvard Cheerleading Team.

Dr. Alice Mann with Blue Wolf Capital is an Operating Partner. The Blue Wolf Capital Funds are a family of private funds which focus on transformational investments in middle market companies.

For over 20 years, Dr. Mann has advised senior executives to build high-performing leadership teams, develop winning talent strategies, and design organizations that achieve outstanding performance results. As the human capital leader, Dr. Mann drives Blue Wolf’s human capital due diligence and works directly with the leadership of Blue Wolf’s portfolio companies to develop their talent strategies and capabilities to deliver on their value creation plans. Dr. Mann sits on Blue Wolf’s ESG committee.

Dr. Mann was named Blue Wolf Operating Partner in 2018. Prior to joining Blue Wolf, Dr. Mann was the founder and CEO of Mann Advisors from 2005 to 2018. She has assessed and redesigned scores of organizations, from high growth start-ups to global Fortune 500 companies, across all major industries and sectors. Dr. Mann has evaluated and developed executive leaders and their teams at all stages of growth to achieve their strategic priorities.

From 2007 to 2018, Dr. Mann was a Senior Consulting affiliate of Kates Kesler Organization Consulting, a preeminent organization design firm based in New York City. More recently, she was also a Leadership Coaching affiliate of Agile Synthesis, a leadership development firm that works with high-growth start-ups. Previously, Dr. Mann was a vice president at JPMorgan Chase Bank, where from 1999 to 2005 she led large-scale change and restructuring initiatives during several global bank mergers between Chase Bank, JP Morgan, Bank One and Hambrecht and Quist.

Dr. Mann has taught a graduate course in leadership at Columbia University. Her book, Future First, was published by Routledge in May 2018 and is a practical guide for future-thinking leaders based on findings from interviews with over 50 business leaders. She is a senior contributor to Forbes.com.

Dr. Mann holds a B.A. in History from Reed College and a Ph.D. and M.A. in Social and Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. Additionally, she earned a two-year Organizational Dynamics certification from the William Alanson White Institute. At JPMorgan Chase, Dr. Mann received Six Sigma Black Belt training.

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As a co-founder and partner of Crossplane Capital, Brian is responsible for sourcing and closing transactions with significant cash and profitability improvement opportunities and overseeing the lifecycle of the portfolio.  

Prior to founding Crossplane Capital, Brian was a managing director with Prophet Equity. During his 10 years there, Brian was responsible for sourcing and managing acquisitions with significant value creation upside. He served on the boards of directors of Acton Mobile, Hatch Stamping Company, Groff Tractor and Equipment, Total Plastics, Derby Fabricating and Cummings Signs.

Brian began his career as an operations improvement consultant with AlixPartners and AT Kearney. During his seven-year career as a consultant, Brian’s work primarily focused on optimizing global supply chains, reducing manufacturing complexity, improving product profitability, and reducing direct material costs within industrial companies. These included Tier I automotive manufacturing, automotive aftermarket, food distribution, food manufacturing, electronics manufacturing and consumer packaged goods.

Brian graduated cum laude with a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from The University of Texas, where he received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence.

Outside of work, Brian enjoys cheering on his three kids during their extracurricular activities and traveling the United States supporting his wife’s passion for running marathons. While he was raised in Dallas, he is proud of his West Texas family roots. Brian is a board member and former chairman of Interfaith Family Services, serves on the advisory board for the HMTF Center for Private Equity Finance at The University of Texas, and serves on the board of directors for Southern Methodist University’s Undergraduate Career Center. He is an eternal optimist about the success Vanderbilt University’s football team will have each season. Ping pong is his best sport.

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Chris Sznewajs is the Managing Partner, Founder and Investment Committee Member of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners. Mr. Sznewajs is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s investment activities along with chairing the Boards of the active portfolio companies.

Prior to founding Pacific in 2018, Mr. Sznewajs served as a Principal with The Gores Group where he focused on investing in special situations and corporate carve-outs in the industrials sector. Mr. Sznewajs also was a Manager at Bain & Company in the restructuring and turnaround practice. Mr. Sznewajs graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Finance and Accounting. He has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sey5_87-XWY

Erik Rudolph is a Managing Director at Farlie Turner and leads its Oil & Gas Services Practice as well as its Industrial Services Practices. In addition, Mr. Rudolph is co-head of Farlie Turner's Consumer Practice. Mr. Rudolph has advised a wide range of companies ranging from pure play oilfield services companies to industrial MRO companies to food & beverage companies on the consumer side.

Prior to joining Farlie Turner, Mr. Rudolph was a co-founder and Managing Director of Aquetong Capital Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused on advising founders and owners of middle-market companies on their liquidity options.
Mr. Rudolph started his investment banking career at Goldsmith Agio Helms, now Lazard Middle market, where he served as a Director in their New York office.
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Mr. Rudolph started his professional career as an attorney practicing corporate and sports law for 8 years before moving over to investment banking. He received his B.A. in Political Science from New York University and his JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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Episode 24 features Drew Spitzer, a managing director with Harris Williams. 

Prior to joining Harris Williams, Drew  worked in the General Industrial Group at Banc of America Securities and in the Investment Banking Group at Goldman Sachs.

Today they will be discussing the Energy, Power & Infrastructure section of Harris Williams and the current trends and volatility within the industry. They will also discuss how Harris Williams is adapting around the cycles and driving new business opportunities. Finally. Drew will give his insight on what differentiates applicants and interviewees interested in Investment Banking.

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Marc J. Leder, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., has been engaged in leveraged buyouts, investment banking, and business operations for more than 30 years. In addition, Mr. Leder is a member of the Sun Capital Executive Committee which oversees and manages the overall strategy of the firm. Mr. Leder received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leder is a Member of the International Counsel for the Museum Berggruen in Berlin and also sits on the Board of the Institute of Contemporary Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dave Carvajal is a builder of billion dollar businesses. As CEO of Dave Partners, Dave is a sought out advisor and consultant to Board of Directors, venture firms, CEO entrepreneurs and leadership teams of some of the most exciting growth companies in the technology space that are making the world better.

Dave built HotJobs to 650 employees, $125M in revenues, IPO and $1.2B market capitalization as co-founder. The HotJobs team experienced a second exit with the acquisition by Yahoo! in February of 2002. He built TheLadders to 400 employees and $85M in revenues.
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Graduate of executive education and leadership programs at The Wharton School, Columbia Business School, and The Harvard Business School. Bachelor’s degree from Clemson University. Husband to a great woman, father to identical twin boys, and master to Clover the wonder dog. He is an Ironman athlete, who speaks French and Spanish.

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

With over $10 billion in assets under management, The Riverside Company is one of the largest and oldest global private equity firms. Riverside makes control and non-control investments in companies with enterprise values under $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 650 transactions and currently has a portfolio that includes more than 90 companies worldwide. The firms’ specializations include healthcare, education and training, manufacturing, tech-enabled business services, software, consumer, and franchising.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Robert Landis is a Founding Partner, Origination in the New York office of The Riverside Company, a private equity firm investing in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market. Robert joined Riverside in 2002 and has over 42 years of commercial and investment banking experience gained at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown (18 years) and its predecessors, and at Citibank/ Chemical Bank.. At The Riverside Company he works with a team of 17 professionals who coordinate origination and structuring opportunities for Riverside's investment portfolios across 9 diversified funds globally.

At Deutsche, he developed industry expertise in the consumer, industrial, transportation, and telecommunications sectors and in his last position (1987-2002) he created and  led the Aerospace and Defense Group in North America. Robert previously headed the firm's North American corporate finance group as it transitioned to an investment bank in the mid 1990's. At Citibank, he was Vice President of the Multi-National Group. Prior to that, Robert was a Major (ret.) in the U.S. Army, serving 6 years active duty and 14 years active reserve with the 42^nd Infantry Division, NYARNG.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Association for Corporate Growth, NY Chapter Board Member

EDUCATION

Mr. Landis holds a BS from the University of Colorado and an MBA in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management.

Personal: Married with two children: Matthew and Moshe: wife Norma formerly of Colombia , language translator at NU Langonne

• Matthew :Notre Dame Lacrosse:  2x NCAA lacrosse defenseman of the year ( Schmeisser Award), Tewaarton Finalist ( similar to Heisman Trophy) and professional lacrosse player:  2 years Major League Lacrosse ( PLL) and one year Professional League Lacrosse ( PLL) , currently as of 2020, Ensign, U.S. Navy
• Moshe Landis: currently living in Israel, formerly member of the IDF Special Forces unit  Sayeret Yahalom

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Mr. Costabile joined the firm in 2000 and is the Global Head of PineBridge Investments’ Private Funds Group. Mr. Costabile sits on the Management Committee for PineBridge Investments. Mr. Costabile’s private equity investing and valuation experience date back to 1990. Previously, from 1997 to 2000, Mr. Costabile was a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in the Private Funds Group. Prior to that, he was the Senior Investment Officer of Alternative Investments for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Assistant Director of Venture Capital for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In both positions, Mr. Costabile focused on private equity fund investments. He received both a BSBA and an MBA from Duquesne University. He is also a CFA charterholder, holds the Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses and serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee for Duquesne University’s endowment.

This episode features the valuable advice Private Equity & Investment Banking Professionals have given for young professionals and recent college graduates.

Brandon is the Founder and Managing Director of Evercap Advisors. Throughout his career, Brandon has successfully completed numerous middle-market merger and acquisition and recapitalization transactions in the software, technology-enabled business services, industrial, and distribution industries.

Prior to Evercap, Brandon was a Managing Director at an M&A-focused investment banking firm with a 30+ year history where he led buy-side engagements for private equity firms and strategic acquirers

Brandon earned a B.B.A. in Finance from Texas A&M University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He holds the Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses. Additionally, Brandon enjoys tennis and is an advisor to the Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp.

Episode 20 features Ted Kramer, the President and CEO of Hammond Kennedy Whitney. Ted joined HKW in 2001 and has led the sourcing activities of the firm since 2002. In 2014, Ted’s role shifted as he was appointed President of HKW. In August of 2015, Ted assumed the position of President & CEO of HKW. Ted works on sourcing new investment opportunities for HKW, as well as running the day-to-day operations of the firm.

Prior to HKW, Ted was an Investment Manager at White River Venture Partners, a venture capital fund based in Indianapolis. Ted also worked for Arthur Andersen, LLP in the business consulting group. Prior to his business career, Ted played professional hockey across North America. Ted earned his MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

Ted and his wife Lynn live in Carmel with their daughter and son. Ted enjoys hitting the links when he is able to get out of the office.

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Marshall Adkins joined Raymond James in 1995 and serves as the head of the firm’s Energy Investment Banking practice. Prior to this role, Mr. Adkins served as the director of Energy Research and focused on oilfield services and products. Prior to Raymond James, he spent 10 years in the oilfield services industry as a project manager, corporate financial analyst, sales manager, and engineer. He holds a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Julia Karol is President and COO of Watermill Group. She is responsible for overall firm operations and helping Watermill portfolio companies develop and implement their strategies. Previously, as a Watermill Principal, Julia helped guide the day-to-day operations of the firm, directed the firm’s investor relations and managed fundraising initiatives for acquisitions.

Prior to joining Watermill, Julia worked at Jumpstart, a national nonprofit organization. While at Jumpstart, she managed Boston-area fundraising, coordinated communication and marketing efforts, cultivated partnerships, developed alumni relations programming, and oversaw staff recruitment efforts.

Julia currently serves as a Partner with Social Venture Partners Boston, a venture philanthropy organization which connects Boston’s most promising nonprofits with the money and minds to fuel their success. Julia has served as a Mentor for Endeavor, a global high-impact entrepreneurship movement and that promotes economic growth and job creation. She also serves as a member for the Budget and Administration Committee for Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Previously, Julia founded and served as board chair for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network in Boston. Julia is a member of ACG Boston and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and has been named as one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine for three consecutive years. In 2019, Julia received the Women of Influence Award from ACG Boston and was named one of Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 honorees. In 2017, Julia was named an Emerging Leader by the M&A Advisor.

EDUCATION:

She received a M.A. in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership from Stanford University, completed the Owners, Presidents, Managers program at Harvard Business School, and the Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and earned a B.A. from Tufts University.

Franny Jones, Managing Director, joined Sterling in 2010 to lead the firm’s fundraising and investor relations efforts. Franny brings experience from the Private Wealth Management Groups of Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers in New York, where she was responsible for fundraising, asset allocation, manager selection and investor relations for family offices and foundations. Franny received a B.A. in Art History from Princeton University.

Jeff is a Managing Principal at Windjammer Capital, where he co-leads the firm’s Management and Investment Committees.  Together with the other Managing Principals, Jeff is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the firm and management of the investment staff, diligence/operating protocols, the partnerships, and administrative functions. Jeff received his BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Jeff joined Windjammer in 2007 and has significant experience in private equity investing and mergers & acquisitions with over 30 years of experience in working solely with niche-oriented, middle-market companies. Prior to Windjammer, Jeff was a principal at an industrial-oriented private equity, where he was also a member of the firm's investment committee and was a principal at a Los Angeles-based M&A boutique firm where he provided strategic and M&A advice to middle-market entrepreneurial companies. He currently serves on the boards of AXH, Paragon Energy Solutions, IPS Group, Compex Legal Services, Vital Records Control, Mission Critical Electronics and Flinn Scientific; previously, he served on the boards of JWC Environmental, Infinite RF Holdings, and BBB Industries on behalf of Windjammer. 

Brett Hickey is the Founder & CEO of Star Mountain Capital, LLC, a $1+ billion AUM specialized U.S. lower middle-market investment firm. Star Mountain employs a data-driven approach to provide value-added debt and equity capital to established small and medium-sized companies leveraging its large market expertise, scale-driven resources, and longstanding relationships.

With approximately 30 full-time people and over 25 operating partners and advisors, Star Mountain brings proven large market expertise to help business owners maximize value. Star Mountain’s team and partners include former senior executives from GSO / Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Citigroup. Star Mountain provides flexible capital solutions including debt and equity for business owners and has a strategic primary and secondary fund business through which it invests in over 250 U.S. private businesses. This secondary business provides early liquidity to investors in U.S. lower middle-market credit and equity funds.

Star Mountain’s in-house technology team has built proprietary systems to support its data-driven approach to maximize value for investors and business owners alike. Star Mountain is a trademarked brand, including “Investing in the Growth Engine of America ®” and Star Mountain’s distinctive “Collaborative Ecosystem ®” includes hosting and participating in 100+ events per year. Star Mountain’s Charitable Foundation supports career development form women, veterans, and athletes as well as health & wellness initiatives including cancer research.

Prior to becoming a principal investor starting in the early 2000s, Mr. Hickey was an Investment Banker at Salomon Smith Barney / Citigroup Global Markets in New York City where he covered global Asset Managers and Financial Institutions. In that role, he analyzed asset managers and asset classes, ultimately working on over $20 billion in completed strategic acquisitions and capital raises.

Mr. Hickey’s board memberships include member and former Chairman of Networks for the NYC Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Global Board of Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, and Global Board of Help for Children (HFC).

Mr. Hickey received a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from McGill University (Finance Major and Accounting Concentration) and is an alumnus from Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management executive leadership program. He is a frequent guest lecturer on industry panels and at academic institutions. Mr. Hickey is also a former Canadian national gold medalist and North American medalist in speed skating.

Mr. Hickey is married with two children and lives in New York.

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Steve Gord, Partner, Hidden River Strategic Capital

Steve Gord has over 25 years of experience in the small company investment business. He is one of the co-founders of Hidden River Strategic Capital, a Radnor, PA-based SBIC fund that invests structured junior capital into owner-operator run small businesses. From 2008-2020, Steve was a co-founder and general partner in the first two funds at SBIC Boathouse Capital. Earlier in his career, Steve spent five years at BDC American Capital Strategies investing in junior capital transactions, in the consumer investment banking group at Robertson Stephens, in the M&A and private equity practices at Compass Partners and in the investment banking group at Furman Selz.

Steve obtained a BA in economics from Dartmouth and an MBA from Tuck.

Chris Burbach is a Co-Founder, Partner and the Chief Executive Officer of Fundamental Income. Chris is a member of the Board and jointly leads the Company’s Investment Committee.

Before founding Fundamental Income, Chris served as Executive Vice President of Underwriting for STORE Capital Corporation (NYSE: STOR) for seven years. In that role, he led the underwriting of approximately $12 billion in net lease investments, including over $7.5 billion in closed transactions. Chris also served as both a member and chairman of STORE’s Investment Committee. In addition to his investment and management responsibilities, Chris co-led numerous aspects of STORE’s capital markets activities, including corporate capital strategy, corporate credit ratings, the issuance of $725 million in investment grade corporate unsecured notes, and the issuance of over $2 billion in asset-backed notes, including A+ and AAA-rated notes.

Before joining STORE, Chris spent six years at Spirit Finance Corporation, where he served as the Vice President of Investment Management responsible for managing the company’s $3.5 billion real estate investment portfolio, in addition to managing the underwriting group. He also previously served as CEO of VM Management, Inc., an owner and manager of private charter schools, and as a consultant for Navigant Consulting working with construction and government industry groups. Chris earned his B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University and his M.B.A. from Arizona State University. Chris is also a CFA® charterholder.

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Jack Purcell, Managing Partner – Jack is a Managing Partner and member of the Management and Investment Committees at Ridgemont Equity Partners. He is primarily responsible for general management of the firm and additionally focuses on the group’s investment activity in the Business & Tech-enabled Services and Industrial Growth sectors, serving on the boards of a number of Ridgemont’s portfolio companies.  Jack joined Banc of America Capital Investors, the in-house private equity arm of Bank of America and predecessor partnership to Ridgemont, in 2002 and led investments across a variety of industry sectors including industrials, business services, and healthcare. He worked in various other roles throughout his BACI tenure.  Jack earned his M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Finance and a B.A. in Economics from Davidson College.

Michael Butler is the Co-founder and Chairman of Cascadia Capital, one of the most active independent investment banks in the country. He has deep capital raising and M&A expertise having been involved in hundreds of transactions worth over $5 billion throughout his career on Wall Street and at Cascadia Capital.  For over twenty years, the firm has strived to deliver the best outcomes for its clients by providing entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses and private equity firms with trusted merger and acquisition advice, capital raising and strategic advisory services.

Caroline Stevens, an Investor with MPK Equity Partners based in Dallas, Texas. Caroline is a franchise expert, having been a part of 14 franchisor investments across the home services, health, beauty and wellness, and family entertainment spaces. Prior to working in private equity, Caroline was a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. She shares how the strategic toolkit acquired while at BCG helps her in her investing career. 

Caroline currently serves on the board of the Human Trafficking Institute, an organization working to stop human trafficking at its source around the globe. She formerly served on the advisory board of the Canfield Business Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin – her alma matter. 

While a Texan through-and-through, Caroline and her husband, Logan, are avid travelers. Caroline visited her 30th country, Egypt, in 2022. 

Caroline prioritizes and enjoys time with family and friends, traveling, playing tennis and watching the Longhorns or Cowboys on a fall Sunday. 

We are excited to present a montage of quotes and mottos from prior guests that have inspired them throughout the years in both their careers and personal lives.

As we begin a new year, we hope this special episode sets the stage and provides you with a new mindset for conquering the challenges & opportunities that lie ahead.

Episode 8 of the Private Equity Fast Pitch features Dave Althoff with Duff and Phelps out of Chicago.
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In 2014, Dave was named one of the Top 50 M&A Investment Bankers by the Global M&A Network and has more than 20 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, private placement and financial restructuring.

David’s recent experience includes advising a building products company on its $240 million sale to a strategic buyer and a $190 million sale to a manufacturing company to a private equity group. He also recently advised on a $150 million capital raise to affect the spin-out of a unit of a publicly traded company.
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In this episode, they will be discussing his approach within the market, some advice he’d offer both Business Development professionals and young graduates in Private Equity as well as some valuable  insights from his years of experience in the industry.

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Jay is a Partner at Plexus Capital. Jay is a member of the senior leadership team and works alongside the other team members to chart the strategy and vision for Plexus. In addition, Jay interacts with investors, assists with sourcing new investment opportunities, and helps oversee the portfolio.

Jay is a graduate of the University of North Carolina where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Interdisciplinary Studies. After UNC, Jay was an investment banking analyst with Bowles Hollowell Conner & Company in Charlotte, NC. After BHC, Jay spent eight years as a Partner at Florida Capital Partners, in Tampa where he helped to lead the firm and to build the firm’s business development engine.

In January of 2000, Jay joined Audax Group. During his 19 years with the Audax, he served as senior member of the leadership team of Audax Group and Audax Private Equity. Jay focused on deal sourcing and business development, but also served on the investment committee and played an active role in charting the strategy and direction of the firm, contributing to recruiting, training, investor relations, professional development, financing and portfolio operations.

Jay is an active member of several M&A and business networking organizations, including YPO and ACG.

Jay is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina. Jay and his wife live in Raleigh.

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Today's special episode isn’t simply "advice". It provides deep insight into life’s journey, successes, and failures from top private equity and investment banking professionals. We’ve compiled a video of college photos from our speakers to connect the past with the present. To explore the journey and look at what it takes to achieve your dreams. 

Want to listen to a particular guest, see below:

Kurt Haras - Cowen (5:20)

Jay Jester - Plexus Capital (7:45)

Charlie Gifford - New Heritage (12:04)

John Huhn - Compass Group  (17:58)

Doug McCormick - HCI Equity Partners (20:11)

Ken Firtel - Transom Capital (24:30)

Brandon Knapp - Evercap Advisors (36:18)

Jim Mahoney - Huron Capital (40:49)

Julia Buthman - Prudential Private Capital (44:44)

Connor Mitchell - Solomon Partners (48:13)

Vikram Agrawal - American Resilience Partners (51:28)

Paul Hobby - Genesis Park (54:51)

Alex Western - Terminus Capital Partners (58:47)

Tom O’Rouke - Baypine (1:05:00)

Jeffrey Armbrister - Hamilton Lane (1:07:49)

Caroline Stevens - MPK Equity Partners (1:14:36)

Stephen Vaccaro - Hirtle, Callaghan, & Co (1:16:59)

Ganesh Rao - Thomas H. Lee Partners (1:21:13)

Jeff Eaton - Eaton Partners (1:22:51)

Arthur Hollingsworth - Lone Star Investment Advisors (1:26:01)

Dave Tayeh - Investcorp (1:27:55)

Brian McGee - New Water Capital (1:31:35)

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Adam Feinstein is the Managing Partner of Vesey Street Capital Partners.  Mr. Feinstein has 30 years of investment experience exclusively in the healthcare services sector. Prior to founding Vesey Street Capital Partners in 2014, he was a Managing Director on Wall Street and a healthcare industry executive. He held the position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Strategic Investments, and Office of the Chief Executive Officer at LabCorp. Before his tenure at LabCorp, he spent 14 years as the Managing Director in Equity Research at Lehman Brothers/Barclays Capital. Mr. Feinstein is the Chairman of VSCP’s investment committee. He is also actively involved in working with portfolio company executives and sourcing new investment opportunities. At the same time, he oversees all of the firm’s investment activities and employees.

Mr. Feinstein’s footprint in the industry is notable, as he is currently the Lead Director of AirSculpt Technologies (NASDAQ: AIRS), ScribeAmerica, Safecor Health, GastroMD, Inceptua, and PathGroup. Previously, Adam served on the board of QualityMetric, Imedex, and Surgery Partners (NASDAQ: SGRY).

From his extensive experience at Lehman Brothers and LabCorp, Mr. Feinstein has cultivated invaluable relationships within the industry.  He achieved the top ranking in the Institutional Investor All-America Research Survey for the Health Care Facilities category for 8 consecutive years. Adam is a CFA charter holder with a B.S. in Business from the Smith School at the University of Maryland. Additionally, he was a member of the Inaugural Class of Nashville’s Healthcare Council Fellows program.

Marc S. Cooper is Chief Executive Officer of PJ SOLOMON, a position he has held since 2016. He was previously Vice Chairman from 2013 to 2016 and joined the firm in 1999 as a Partner and Managing Director.

Marc S. Cooper is Chief Executive Officer of PJ SOLOMON, a leading financial advisory firm with a legacy as one of the first independent investment banks.

In 2016, Mr. Cooper led the transaction in which Natixis, the international corporate and investment banking, asset management, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, made a strategic investment in PJ SOLOMON.  The partnership with Natixis provides PJ SOLOMON clients with global advisory services and proprietary access to financing capabilities throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas.

Under Mr. Cooper’s leadership, PJ SOLOMON has significantly expanded and diversified sector coverage and today serves clients across a broad range of industries including Consumer Retail; Financial Sponsors; FinTech; Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants; Healthcare; Infrastructure, Power & Renewables; and Technology, Media & Telecommunications.

As the former head of PJ SOLOMON’s Consumer Retail Group, Mr. Cooper has advised a long roster of high-profile retailers and brands. Over the past three decades, Mr. Cooper has advised on hundreds of transactions globally, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations and restructurings, financings and shareholder activism.

Mr. Cooper serves on the boards of the Partnership for New York City and Fedcap, a non-profit dedicated to creating opportunities for people with barriers to economic well-being.  He is also a Trustee of The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board.

Prior to joining PJ SOLOMON, Mr. Cooper co-founded and served as Vice Chairman of Barington Capital Group where he oversaw its investment banking operations. He began his career in investment banking at Kidder Peabody.

Mr. Cooper holds an MBA, magna cum laude, and a BS from New York University.

John Huhn brings a 30-year track record of success in private equity, entrepreneurism and strategic consulting to his leadership of Compass Group. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in more than 75 transactions representing over $3 billion in enterprise value.

Prior to founding Compass Group, John launched and led HBM Holdings, a family office focused on diversifying its core holdings. Earlier in his career, he served as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development for Aegion (NASDAQ: AEGN), where he was responsible for corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, joint-ventures and strategic alliances. His earlier experience also includes serving as Managing Principal of an international consulting firm, where he provided strategic and organizational consulting to Global 1000 customers.

John is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he received degrees in Engineering and Business Administration.

Episode 64 of the Private Equity Fast Pitch features Nik Shah, the co-founder and managing partner of Cohere Capital.

Prior to co-founding Cohere Capital with Daniel, Nik was a Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital / H.I.G. Growth Partners where he focused on private equity investments in high-growth, entrepreneur-owned companies in the business services, technology, media, and Internet sectors. In his 12 years at H.I.G., he has served on the board of over 10 past and current H.I.G. portfolio companies.
Prior to joining H.I.G., Nik was with Landmark Growth Capital Partners in Boston, Massachusetts, a private equity firm focused on buyouts and growth equity investments in business services, manufacturing, and consumer companies. At Landmark, he was responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence, and assisting management as a board director and observer of several portfolio companies.
Earlier in his career, Nik was at AH Ventures and Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston.

Nik received his Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry with honors from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

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Anthony Maniscalco

Managing Partner & Business Head at ISCG

Anthony Maniscalco is the Managing Partner and Head of Investcorp’ s Strategic Capital Group (SCG), based in New York. SCG is focused on providing strategic and financing solutions to mid-sized private market GPs including the acquisition of minority equity interests. SCG currently manages $1.25 bn of AUM and has completed eleven minority investments across buyout, structured capital, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Anthony is on SCG's investment team and Chairperson of its investment committee. Anthony's primary responsibilities include overall business management, sourcing new investment opportunities, managing select GP relationships and overseeing portfolio construction. 

Prior to his current role, Mr. Maniscalco was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Credit Suisse’ Anteil Capital Partners. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions business at The Blackstone Group. At Blackstone, he was a founding member, key person and on the investment committee of Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings, a USD 3.5 billion private, permanent capital vehicle focused on acquiring minority interests in alternative asset management GPs.

Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Maniscalco was Head of Alternative Asset Management Banking at Barclays (and its predecessor Lehman Brothers) within its Financial Institutions Group. In this role, Anthony was at the forefront of advising GPs on selling minority stakes to other GP staking platforms. Prior to this role, Mr. Maniscalco was head of the Media and Telecom vertical within Lehman Brothers' Leveraged Finance Group. In this role, Anthony covered mid and large cap private equity firms financing buyouts across the globe. 

Early in his career, he worked at Bank of America and its predecessor Continental Bank in Chicago, focused on high yield, mezzanine, syndicated bank loans, and interim financing products.

Anthony holds a B.S. from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. 

Investcorp's perspectives can be found in their insights document available at the following link: Investcorp Insights

Vescovo grew up in Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University, a master's degree in Defense and Arms Control Studies (Political Science) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker scholar.

In December 2018, he became the first person to reach the deepest point of the Atlantic Ocean, piloting DSV Limiting Factor, a reported US$50 million submarine system (Triton 36000/2) - including its support ship the DSSV Pressure Drop and its three ultra-deep-sea robotic landers - 8,375 m (27,477 ft) below the ocean surface to the base of the Puerto Rico Trench. On February 3, 2019, he became the first person to reach the bottom of the Southern Ocean, in the southern portion of the South Sandwich Trench. As of March 2019, he was continuing to lead the Five Deeps Expedition, whose objective is to thoroughly map and visit the bottom of all five of the world's oceans by the end of September 2019.

In April 2019, Vescovo descended nearly 11 km (6.8 mi) to the deepest place in the ocean - the Challenger Deep in Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. On his first descent, he piloted the DSV Limiting Factor to a depth of 10,928 m (35,853 ft), a world record by 16 m (52 ft). Diving for a second time on May 1 he became the first person to dive the Challenger Deep twice, finding "at least three new species of marine animals" and "some sort of plastic waste." Among the underwater creatures Vescovo encountered was a snailfish at 26,250 feet and a spoon worm at nearly 23,000 feet, which was the deepest level that the species had ever been encountered.

On 7 May 2019, Vescovo and Alan Jamieson made the first human-occupied deep submersible dive to the bottom of the Sirena Deep, about 128 miles northeast from Challenger Deep. The time spent there was 176 minutes; among the samples they retrieved was a piece of mantle rock from the western slope of the Mariana Trench.

He completed the Five Deeps Expedition on 24 August 2019 when he reached 5,550 m at the bottom of the Molloy Deep in the Arctic ocean. He was the first human to reach this location.\

In 2019, Victor Vescovo was recognized by Guinness World Records as the person who has covered the greatest vertical distance without leaving Earth's surface. As part of achieving the Explorers Grand Slam (Last Degree), Vescovo climbed Mt. Everest (8,848 metres (29,029 ft)) on 24 May 2010, Earth's highest point. Almost nine years later he dove to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (−10,924 metres (−35,840 ft)), Earth's lowest point, in the deep submersible Limiting Factor on 29 April 2019, for a total vertical distance of 19,772 metres (64,869 ft).

Vescovo completed the Explorers Grand Slam (Last Degree) by climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents, and skied the Last Degree of Latitude at both the North and South Poles. Uniquely, with the successful completion of his Five Deeps Expedition, Vescovo has also dived the deepest point in each of the five world's oceans.

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In 2012, Anttila founded Grain & Barrel Spirits, a West Palm Beach-based beverage alcohol company. At home in the Southeast with production and sales partners around the world, Grain & Barrel Spirits is an innovative, emerging company with wholly owned brands including Dixie Southern Vodkawhich Anttila created from scratchand which won of a 2019 “Rising Star” Growth Brands Award from the Beverage Dynamics magazine;pre-Prohibition favorite Chicken Cock Whiskey, which Anttila resurrected; and Endless Summer Rum.

 Last year Grain & Barrel launched Dixie WildflowerHoney in partnership with the Savannah Bee Companyand its Charleston-based non-profit, The Bee Cause, which installs observation hives worldwide with the mission to develop future stewards of the planet. On a personal note, Anttila is a board member of Piper’s Angels, a foundation which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the cystic fibrosis community. Their annual Father’s Day event, Crossing for a Cure, is an 80-mile open-sea paddle board crossing from the Bahamas to Florida; in 2018, Anttila made the crossing solo in 16 hours, and he is looking forward to this year’s event.

Anttila’s career began in 2001, as an analyst for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Four years later, he found himselfin São Paulo, Brazil where he founded Cabana Cachaça, which by 2011 was named one of the top 50 spirits in the world by Wine Enthusiast magazine.From 2015 onward, Anttila straddled the finance and CPG industries, marrying the two through his investment company North End Commerce which holds Anttila’s companiesGrain & Barrel Spirits, licensing company Cloudbreak Brands, and food and snack focused Intercoastal Brands.

Anttila attended Amherst College and lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time he enjoys golf and paddle boarding, and is currently brushing up on Finnish, a language he spoke nearly fluently as a child.

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Episode 5 features Charlie Gifford, a senior partner and co-founder of New Heritage Capital. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, New Heritage Capital focuses primarily on Business Services, Manufacturing and Healthcare Services with the average Investment Size ranging from fifteen to forty million dollars.

Today they’ll be discussing how Private IPOs give founders more incentive equity and greater control, how New Hertiage Capital’s typical partnership with firms differs from their competition, and the specific characteristics they look for in recent graduates.

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Andrew Weinberg is Founder and CEO of Brightstar Capital Partners. Andrew serves as Chair of Brightstar’s Investment Committee. 

Prior to founding Brightstar, Andrew was a Partner at Lindsay Goldberg, a New York-based private equity firm. Andrew served on the Boards of 13 portfolio companies during his tenure at Lindsay Goldberg. In addition, from 2008-2011 Andrew served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Likewize.

Prior to joining Lindsay Goldberg, Andrew worked at Goldman Sachs in their Principal Investment Area (PIA). Andrew started his career at Morgan Stanley in mergers and acquisitions and leveraged finance.

Andrew received his MBA from Stanford GSB and an AB from Dartmouth College with a double major in History and Economics. Andrew serves as a trustee of the PGA of America REACH Foundation. Andrew is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He is a former member of the World Economic Forum who served on the Global Future Council on Investing and the Stewardship Board of the Forum’s Platform on Shaping the Future of Investing. Andrew has appeared on multiple panels at Milken Institute and FII conferences.

Deborah Smith is Co-Founder and CEO of The CenterCap Group, LLC and heads the firm’s Strategic Capital and M&A and Execution efforts. Prior to forming The CenterCap Group, LLC, Ms. Smith was Co-Head of M&A and a Senior Managing Director with CB Richard Ellis Investors (CB Richard Ellis's $40 billion AUM investment management business). She joined CBREI in July 2007 to co-head the build out of the firm's M&A efforts and led the firm’s negotiation and acquisition of a majority interest in Wood Partners (one of the largest multifamily developers in the United States) in 2008. From 1998-2007, Ms. Smith worked on mergers and acquisitions with Lehman Brothers, Wachovia Securities and Morgan Stanley. Ms. Smith has been involved in more than $100 billion of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring transactions. Ms. Smith has a Bachelor of Economics, with honors, and a Bachelor of Law, with honors, from the University of Sydney.

Mark is a founding partner and President of Alpine. Mark also co-founded ASG, the firm’s vertical SaaS platform. He has been involved as board member in over 25 past and present Alpine investments. Prior to Alpine, Mark has served in several CEO roles for venture and PE-backed businesses and has over 30 years of experience as an investor and operator. Mark received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, where he graduated with honors and served as a four-year letter winner and captain of the baseball team.