Air Force veteran seeks to acquire services companies that would hire other veterans 

On the anniversary of 9/11 this week I had the opportunity to talk to Air Force veteran Ryan Brown, who served in the Iraq War, about his goal of building a private-equity business.

“I am on the entrepreneurship journey and my mission is to create jobs for veterans by way of buying and building a portfolio of companies,” Brown wrote me earlier this summer in introducing himself via LinkedIn. “It’s a very ambitious goal, but I know it’s possible.”

When I caught up by phone with Brown on Wednesday, he was in Orlando looking to meet up with hospitality executives at the Hilton Americas Owner Conference. Hospitality is one of the services sectors that he has his eye on to buy businesses in through his firm, Patriot Investment Partners. Brown, who’s active in ACG, recruiting businesses in the Melbourne, Florida area, also works as a turnaround management consultant.

Below is more about Brown, who shares my predilection for bullet points, from a written Q&A lightly edited:

Continue reading “Air Force veteran seeks to acquire services companies that would hire other veterans “

Toigo Foundation gives its Groundbreakers leadership program a shot in the arm

An annual one-day summit for women in finance looking to learn leadership skills and advance more quickly in their careers is itself getting a big promotion.

With the introduction of Groundbreakers | RISE, the Toigo Foundation is giving women on both the GP and LP side of the industry the opportunity to participate in a year-long training and mentorship program.

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HGGC hiring, promotions herald fundraise 

Hiring, promotions and fundraising often go hand in hand in hand in private equity. Such is the case with Palo Alto, California-based HGGC.

Yesterday the prolific deal-maker--over the last two and a half years the firm has acquired 10 platform companies and more than 50 add-ons--said it had hired 12 new professionals across both operations and investing. That brings its headcount to close to 70. It also promoted four.

The build-up comes as HGGC gears up to raise a fourth fund likely to eclipse $2 billion in size--a healthy notch up from the $1.84 billion the firm speedily raised just under three years ago. Earlier this year, following an investment by Dyal Capital Partners, the firm announced five new hires and 10 promotions.

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Avante Capital’s Jeri Harman looks to launch third SBIC fund; may add junior professional or two


Avante Capital, a Los Angeles-based provider of uni-tranche debt, subordinated debt and minority equity investments, has set its sights on launching its third fund over the next six-plus months sporting a target in the neighborhood of $300 million including leverage.

Like its predecessors, the pool would be structured as a small business investment company, or SBIC. The Small Business Administration-managed SBIC program provides fund-level leverage up to $175 million per fund. The firm may also raise a sidecar, which could take the form of either a co-investment fund, or a non-levered, non-SBIC pool designed to appeal to investors with a distaste for fund-level leverage.

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Diverse candidates scarce, Palladium Equity open to hiring mid-level professional at any time

Fresh on the heels of closing a $1.56 billion fund, New York City-based Palladium Equity Partners is "opportunistically" looking to hire a mid-level professional--a senior associate, vice president or principal, according to Dale Pescatore, vice president.

Candidates with expertise in health care, services or industrials--three of Palladium Equity's target industries--would be particularly desirable. The 22-year-old firm, which acquires family-run, mid-sized businesses, many of them serving the Hispanic population, also values employees with a variety of backgrounds.

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Kinzie Capital’s Suzanne Yoon looks ahead to next fund, more hiring

"I do feel that as a female minority in our industry that I have an obligation to elevate women [and minorities] in all fields and industries,” said Suzanne Yoon, founder and managing partner at Chicago-based Kinzie Capital.

And Yoon said that it’s not just diversity in gender and race that she’s after in building her private-equity firm. It's also diversity in age, experience, ways of thinking. “I know that diversity produces good results,” she said.

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Accelerator for women-run funds to expand to Los Angeles, London

Private Equity Women Investor Network plans to expand Project Pinklight--an accelerator program designed to help women launch their own private equity funds. The program addresses an appalling lack of diversity among founding partners.

From beachheads in New York City and San Francisco, where participating firms have closed on a total of some $300 million, the organization plans to roll out the program to Los Angeles and London, Kelly Williams, PEWIN founding chair,  told PECW.

In each of its regional headquarters PEWIN expects to usher three to four firms through the accelerator every year, said Williams.

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Private-equity investment committees with women make better calls

Research by consulting firm McKinsey & Co suggests that companies perform best when they have women represented on their boards and in senior management. So it's perhaps not surprising that fresh research suggests a similar phenomena in private equity.

Speaking last evening at the National Arts Club in New York City, Oliver Gottschalg, professor at HEC Paris, presented research from his business school and from placement agent MVision suggesting that deals approved by diverse investment committees at buyout firms--those with at least one woman member--significantly outperform those approved by all-male investment committees.

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Trevor Noah to private equity minorities: Embrace outsider status

"People don't realize that one of the greatest gifts you can have in life is being an outsider," said South African comedian, author, and political commentator Trevor Noah to a packed ballroom in New York City last Thursday night, June 13.

"When you're an outsider you acknowledge that the world you're existing in is not your own," said Noah. "You understand that you are trying to get to something that belongs to someone else. You are the other. And when you're the other you become comfortable..."

Noah added: "When you're an insider, few things are more terrifying than being threatened with being an outsider. You feel as though people are taking away something from you. You feel like you're losing your grip on being part of."

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Clearlake’s José E. Feliciano makes $500K gift to Toigo Foundation

José E. Feliciano, co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital Group, announced a $500,000 gift to the Toigo Foundation, made jointly by his firm and by the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Supercharged Initiative.

Feliciano disclosed the gift last night during a short but rousing speech at the Toigo Foundation's annual gala in New York City during which he challenged the industry to do more to fulfill the foundation's mission of bringing more diversity to financial services.

"I'm a firm believer that financial success, financial prowess . . .

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