About Us – Rockpoint Capital

Rockpoint Capital is led by its Managing Partner and supported by a strong, diverse base of investors and advisors with decades of experience operating and growing businesses.

Nate Abebe
Founder and Managing Partner

Nathanael (“Nate”) Abebe is the Founder and Managing Partner of Rockpoint Capital.

Prior to starting Rockpoint Capital, Nate worked as an Investment Manager at Orion Resource Partners, a global alternative investment management firm focused in natural resources with $4.7 billion under management. While at Orion, Nate evaluated, executed and monitored approximately $1 billion worth of private equity transactions. Previously, Nate was a commodities trading analyst at Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital and LAMCO focusing on derivatives and quantitative structuring.

Nate has an MBA from the Wharton Business School, where he was a two-time recipient of the Howard E. Mitchell Fellowship. Nate also graduated from Rutgers University with BSc in Chemical Engineering with Distinction. He currently resides in New York, NY.

Rockpoint Capital Investors

Jim Southern

Jim Southern is a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Pacific Lake Partners and a successful Search Fund entrepreneur. Once himself a beneficiary of the model, Jim launched the first Search Fund in 1984 under the mentorship of then Harvard Business School professor H. Irving Grousbeck. This fund resulted in the acquisition of Uniform Printing, a $43 million printer of specialty insurance documents. Jim served as the company’s CEO and Chairman for 10 years. Investor returns under Jim’s tenure as CEO were 24x the acquisition capital.

Jim has invested in over 75 Search Funds as an individual investor and with Pacific Lake. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of AlphaCredit, Raptor Technologies, FastSpring, Developerprogram.com, Little Sprouts, Vector Disease Control, Scottish American, Arizona College and Boca Executive Realty. He is often a guest speaker on the Search Fund model at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School and is the subject of an HBS case on his first Search Fund acquisition. Jim holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence, and resides in Wolfeboro, NH, and Boston, MA.

Coley Andrews

Coley Andrews is a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Pacific Lake Partners. Since co-founding the firm with Jim Southern in 2009, Coley has worked with over 50 Search Funds. He currently serves as a Director at Inspired eLearning, Aquavita, dESCO, and Data Fusion Technologies and as a Board Visitor at AlphaCredit, Raptor Technologies, Scottish American, Arizona College, and Vector Disease Control International.

Prior to forming Pacific Lake, Coley worked at Tech For Less, a Colorado Springs-based distributor of new and refurbished consumer and enterprise electronics owned by two successful Search Fund entrepreneurs. Coley was also an Associate at Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, after beginning his career at The Parthenon Group, an international strategic consulting firm.

Coley graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in history and earned his MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Coley, his wife Alisa, and their four children reside outside Boston, MA.

Keith Gross

Bio: Keith Gross is a Vice President at Pacific Lake Partners. Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Keith was an Associate at Hellman & Friedman. He began his career in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, where he worked on M&A and capital markets transactions.

Keith graduated as valedictorian from Hamilton College with a degree in mathematics and economics and earned his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Andy Love

As a student of the search fund model, as a search funder/CEO of one of the most successful search funds to date, and as an active search fund investor-advisor, Andy has spent most of his career (and the last two decades) in the search fund arena.

Prior to forming Aspect Investors in 2012, he served as CEO and Co-Founder of Behavioral Health Group (BHG), a substance abuse treatment company that he formed in 2006 through his search fund, VantageCap Partners. Under his leadership, BHG was a three-time winner of the Inc. 500|5000 award (2010, 2011, 2012), where the company was ranked the 18th fastest growing private healthcare company in the U.S. (2010), and the Dallas 100 (2009, 2010, 2011) award. He led a successful exit of BHG in 2011 and stayed on as CEO through 2012. Since that time, he has partnered with several dozen searchers and has invested in over a dozen operating companies.

Earlier in his career, Andy was a founding team member at Broadband Venture Partners (BVP), a Dallas-based growth equity investment firm. Prior to BVP, Andy was an Associate Consultant with Bain & Company in Dallas. Andy is Co-President of the Dallas Chapter of the Stanford GSB Alumni Association, is a Board Member of the University of Texas Silver Spurs Alumni Association, and is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Andy is also a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Southwest Region (2011). He serves as an advisor to non-profit organizations and private companies.

Andy holds a BA in Plan II Honors, magna cum laude, from The University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors and departmental distinction. He also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an MA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Education.

Brad Buser

Brad has a decade of private equity investment experience and has spent much of that time in an operationally-focused manner across a wide variety of industries and situations. Over his investment career, Brad has led or been a key team member on more than 20 executed transactions with a combined enterprise value exceeding $1.5 billion.

Prior to joining Aspect Investors, Brad was a Principal at Insight Equity, a Dallas area-based operationally intensive middle-market private equity firm with over $1 billion in capital under management. During his nearly 7 years at Insight, he helped to lead transaction sourcing and execution efforts and spent considerable time on Boards and on the ground advising and managing portfolio companies via Insight’s “hands-on” investment strategy.

Before Insight, Brad was an investment professional at Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm where he helped to execute on Wind Point’s strategy of backing strong and proven CEOs in acquiring established businesses. Earlier, Brad was an Associate at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago.

Brad holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. While at HBS, Brad was a Summer Associate with the private equity team of The Blackstone Group. Brad graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame where he received his BBA in Finance. Brad is a CFA Charterholder and CPA.

B.A. Cullum

B. A. has extensive experience with acquisitions, business development, and real estate development. Prior to joining the Aspect team, he was the Director of Acquisitions & Business Development at ClubCorp, the largest owner/operator of private golf clubs, country clubs and business clubs in North America. During his time at ClubCorp, B.A. played a key role in the company’s acquisition of over $390 million worth of golf and country club properties. B.A.’s proactive sourcing efforts across the U.S. served as a critical component of ClubCorp’s extensive deal pipeline and directly led to a number of successful off-market transactions.

Previously, B.A. worked at JP DiNapoli Companies, a closely held real estate investment firm, and the Beck Group, a national construction and architecture company. Early in his career, B.A. was an analyst with the Dallas Cowboys, where he focused on development of the Cowboys’ new stadium and management of the Jones family’s commercial real estate development projects.

B.A. earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He also holds a Master in City Planning (MCP) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BA from Stanford University.

Sara Rosenthal

Sara Rosenthal joined TTCER as a Principal in 2017. Sara began her career in the fields of health policy research and healthcare management consulting. After earning her master’s degree in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Sara worked in real estate development, where she helped secure over $75 million in acquisition capital to purchase and renovate multifamily buildings along the West Coast. Sara then served as principal of a Napa-based design-build firm focused on sustainable residential and light commercial construction, working alongside the CEO and founder. In 2010, Sara returned to the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she co-authored the Stanford Search Fund Study (2011, 2013, and 2016) and worked with Stanford faculty and entrepreneurs to develop dozens of case studies for entrepreneurship curriculum.

Gerald Risk

Gerald is an entrepreneur, investor and educator. Gerald has spent the bulk of his career at Asurion (CFO, President and Vice-Chairman). During Gerald’s almost two decades at the company, revenue has grown from $15 million to greater than $6 billion. As an investor, he has supported the entrepreneurial journey of a large number of leadership teams in the for profit and not for profit sectors and currently serves on the Board of Directors of a number of private and public companies. Gerald has also been a Lecturer in Management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business since 2016. Gerald began his professional career with Goldman, Sachs & Co. He holds an MBA from Stanford and a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Queen’s University in Canada.

David Carver

David Carver is a co-founder of Search Fund Partners. He is on the board of iNet Interactive, FastSpring, Great Bay Software, Advanced Network Solutions, UnitedLayer, DataFusion, StaffOne, and Raptor Technologies.

David spent thirty years as an executive in the high tech industry, and has extensive experience in all phases of business, including M&A, fund-raising, corporate strategy and operations. He was CEO of HiFive!, an application service provider; CEO of Hipbone Networks, an online collaboration company; EVP and GM at Network Associates; COO of Network General; an EIR at Institutional Venture Partners; and an executive at Hewlett-Packard, including ten years in the professional service/software divisions of HP.

Dave has an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Arkansas. Dave and his wife Julia have two sons, RJ and Sam. He is active in community and non-profit organizations, having founded the Redwood Chapter of National Junior Basketball serving 650 children.

Jim Edmunds

Jim Edmunds joined Search Fund Partners in 2008 after running a company sourced through the search fund model. Jim and his partner found and acquired Celebrity Kids Portrait Studios, a leading provider of upscale children’s photography in 2005. Jim served as President and CFO of the company. He currently participates on the boards of Microdea, Neuro International, Consumeraffairs.com, Gogotech, and UCIT Online.

Before launching a search fund, Jim was an Associate at McKinsey & Company in Palo Alto. Prior to attending business school, Jim conducted business development for PetSmart.com, managed a successful political campaign in Texas, and worked in Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets at Bear Stearns.

Jim holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was named a Siebel Scholar, and an A.B. in History from Harvard University. He is the treasurer of Building Futures Now, a non-profit dedicated to helping high potential students in East Palo Alto. He lives in Menlo Park with his wife Christine, daughters Emiko and Mika, and son Koji.

Todd Tracey

Todd Tracey joined Search Fund Partners in 2016 after acquiring, running, and successfully exiting HemaSource, a company he sourced through the search fund model. HemaSource is a distributor of medical disposable products to the blood therapies markets and at the time of the sale it was one of the most successful ‘single searcher’ exits. Todd served as President and CEO of the company.

He currently participates on the boards of ComplianceLine and Elevated Billing Solutions. Prior to launching his search fund, Todd filled leadership roles in operations, sales, and finance for a variety of lower middle market companies. His broad industry background includes agriculture, telecommunications, web advertising and healthcare. He also worked as a Senior Associate for Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman).

Todd holds an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University where he was a Lerner Scholar and the Harry W. Gillies Management & Strategy Student of the Year. He graduated from Dartmouth College with an A.B. in Economics.

Richard Kelly

Rich Kelley co-founded Search Fund Partners in 2004. He currently serves on the boards of Discovia, Pet Heaven, DCI, Lund Van Dyke, Verengo, Avadyne, RIA in a Box, ISC, and Medical Positioning, Inc.

Rich Kelley has been involved in numerous small businesses and start-up companies as an operator, owner, and investor. His varied experience includes: CFO of Score Learning Centers, CEO of San Jose Giants, General Partner of the Stanford Terrace Inn, developer of houses and subdivisions, owner of office buildings and hotels, investor in successful tech start-ups (Coinstar, PLX Technology, Corcept Therapeutics). He has also invested in many limited partnerships, including venture funds, and has been involved as a search fund investor since 1994.

Rich has an MBA from Stanford and a BA from Stanford. Rich and his wife Gina have two children, Riley and Sam. He has served as an elected school board trustee and is active with the Positive Coaching Alliance and Sustainable Conservation as an advisor.

Richard Augustyn

Rich is an entrepreneur in the truest sense – he sees opportunities, builds businesses that fill needs, and creates lasting growth. In 1987, he founded NIP Group, a national leader in insurance brokering and risk management. He quickly saw a need to improve the HR model for small businesses, and founded Extensis Group. Since being in business for two decades, Extensis Group has become a national leader in HR solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. He is CEO of both companies.

True to his life-long entrepreneurial spirit, he now enjoys partnering with and mentoring search fund entrepreneurs. As an active search fund investor, he works closely with searchers at every stage to find, buy and build successful companies. He is well known for his availability, engagement level and is sought after for his practical business advice.

Rich serves on the board of Housing Wire, KGHP, PEC Safety, Sage Data Security, Windley Ely and World Wide Security.

Lawrence J. Dunn III CPA

Larry is a talented business leader with over 25 years’ experience. He has generated substantial value in high growth environments by delivering solutions in a wide array of areas, including organizational strategy, corporate development, financial reporting, cost reduction, cash flow and working capital management, and process improvement. In addition to his role at Endurance he is the CFO of NIP Group. Prior to joining NIP Group, he was Managing Director at Ally Financial and a Director of M&A and divisional CFO at AIG Group. He began his career at KPMG. Larry graduated from Pace University with a BBA in Accounting with highest honors. Larry is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Larry, similar to Rich, enjoys working closely with searchers at every stage supporting their goals to build a great company while becoming a highly successful CEO. He is committed to lend his expertise to, and generously collaborates with, all members of the search fund community.

Joe Neihaus

Joe Neihaus joined Housatonic Partners in 2001 and has been involved in numerous investments in a variety of industries since then. Prior to joining Housatonic, Joe was a Managing Director at Hellman & Friedman before joining Housatonic. During his twelve-year career at Hellman & Friedman, he was involved in several of the firm’s recurring services, media and communications investments. Earlier in his career, Joe was employed in the Merchant Banking and Mergers and Acquisitions departments at Morgan Stanley & Co.

Joe is a Director of Accurate Monitoring, Calo Programs, Circle Graphics, Efficient Forms, FIMC, ResponseLink, School Family Media, and ZircoDATA.

Joe holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Will Thorndike

Will Thorndike founded Housatonic Partners in Boston in 1994 and has been Managing Director since that time. Prior to founding Housatonic, Will worked with T. Rowe Price Associates and Walker & Company where he was named to the Board of Directors. Will has over two decades of experience investing in recurring service companies across a wide variety of industries.

Will is a Director of Carillon Assisted Living, Lincoln Peak Holdings, OASIS Group, QMC International, and ZircoDATA. Outside of Housatonic, he is a Director of WGBH, the College of the Atlantic (Chair), as well as a founding partner at FARM, a social impact investing collaborative. He is the author of The Outsiders.

Will holds an A.B. from Harvard College and M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

David Provost

David Provost is currently the President and CEO of Chemical Financial Corporation. Previously he served as the Chairman and CEO of Talmer Bank and Trust, which merged with Chemical Bank in 2016. Under his leadership, Talmer was the fastest growing bank in the country from 2010 to 2015, completing eight bank acquisitions. David also sits on the Board of Directors and acts as Chairman of the Audit Committee for Plastipak Packaging, as well as on the Board of Directors for Metro Vein Centers and UPAuto.

Andrew Provost

Andrew Provost manages day-to-day activities of Mertal and serves on the board of Metro Vein Centers and UPAuto. Prior to Mertal, Andrew was an investment professional at Blackstone Capital and subsequently Gamut Capital, where he worked on private equity investments across a wide range of industries. Previously, Andrew spent time at Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital. Andrew graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University where he was captain of the triathlon team.

Bill Egan

Bill is a founder and General Partner of Alta Communications and Marion Equity Partners, Massachusetts-based venture capital firms. He founded Alta’s predecessor firm, Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. in 1979, and has identified and backed several of America’s leading growth companies in the information technology, life sciences, and communications industries. Prior to founding Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co., Bill was a Partner at TA Associates. He began his career as a Manager of Venture Capital for New England Enterprise Capital Corporation.

He is past President and Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association, a Trustee of Fairfield University, a Member of the Board of Overseers of The Wharton School and a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Board of CRH plc, and a number of privately held companies.

Bill is also an owner of the Boston Celtics professional basketball team. Bill received a degree in Economics from Fairfield University and an MBA from the Wharton School.

Mark Egan

Mark Egan is a founder and Managing Partner at Marion Equity Partners, a Boston based investment firm. Prior to Marion, Mark focused on growth equity investments in the technology, healthcare, media, and business services industries at Polaris Venture Partners. Before Polaris, Mark began his career at Alta Communications where he executed investments in the media and telecommunications sectors. Mark also has previous experience with Comcast Corporation in business development.

Mark received a degree in Finance from Fairfield University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jose Stella

Mr. Stella is currently Co-CEO and Co-Founder of QMC Telecom, LLC, a wireless infrastructure provider. Prior to that he was the Co-Founder and President of VIU Media, Puerto Rico’s largest locally owned outdoor advertising company, until the sale of the company to Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR).

Prior to becoming President of VIU Media, he was the Co-Founder and President of Quest Management Corporation, a private equity group formed to identify, acquire, and operate a company in Puerto Rico. Previously, Mr. Stella worked at KPMG Peat Marwick in the middle-market Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Group. He also worked for UBS and Chase Manhattan Bank and received, along with his partner, the 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Puerto Rico. Currently he serves as a director of Rocket Learning, LLC , Penn Warranty, and New Media Learning. Mr. Stella graduated with high honors, with a B.A. in Economics, Finance and Investments from Babson College and graduated cum laude with an MBA from The University of Michigan.

Duane Phillips

Duane Philips

Duane Phillips had a 28-year career with Horsley Bridge Partners, a venture capital and private equity fund-of-funds investment manager with offices in San Francisco, London and Beijing. He retired in 2010 as Chief Operating Officer. From 2000 to 2003, Duane led the development of an enterprise information system for the firm’s investment funds. Prior to Horsley Bridge, he was a CPA in Pennsylvania and New York for Arthur Andersen & Co.

Duane has a B.A. and an MBA from Cornell University. Besides managing a portfolio of private investments, he is currently project manager for the 5-year renovation of a 100 year-old house on the Cornell campus.

Andrew Saltoun

Andrew Saluton

Andrew Saltoun is the CEO of Integra Partners, a healthcare services company acquired in 2011. Prior to acquiring Integra, Andrew held roles at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker and Vestar Capital Partners as an investor for the multi-billion-dollar private equity fund. Andrew is an active investor in entrepreneurial, growth companies including Bonobos, Axial Markets, and numerous search funds and their acquired businesses. He is a board member of Integra Partners, Light Wave Dental, Datacor, and the Brooklyn Museum. Andrew received a bachelor degree in business administration from Emory University and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Jay Davis

Jay Davis is a co-founder of The Nashton Company. The Nashton Company is a holding company investing in recurring revenue services businesses. Nashton builds leading companies in niche markets over a very long period of time.

Prior to cofounding the firm, Jay served as the CEO of Vector Disease Acquisition, a holding company that provides vector-borne disease prevention programs and lake management services. Under Jay’s leadership, the company made 14 acquisitions and grew at a CAGR of 43%. Vector Disease Acquisition was acquired by Rentokil Initial (FTSE: RTO) in November of 2017.

Jay obtained a Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Economics

Jason Panos

Jason Pananos is a co-founder of The Nashton Company. The Nashton Company is a holding company investing in recurring revenue services businesses. Nashton builds leading companies in niche markets over a very long period of time

Prior to cofounding the firm, Jason served as the President of Vector Disease Acquisition, a holding company that provides vector-borne disease prevention programs and lake management services. Under Jason’s leadership, the company made 14 acquisitions and grew at a CAGR of 43%. Vector Disease Acquisition was acquired by Rentokil Initial (FTSE: RTO) in November of 2017.

Jason obtained a Master in Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a BBA in finance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kent Weaver

Kent Weaver is currently executive Chairman and former CEO of Progressive Home Care, a Northern California-based health care company. Previously, Mr. Weaver held executive positions in marketing and product management for a VC-backed marketing automation startup, as a regional CFO and business analyst in Pepsico’s Pizza Hut Division, and as a management consultant at Ernst & Young.

He received his MBA from the Fully Employed Program at the University of California, Los Angeles and BS in finance from the University of Southern California. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Integra Partners, Change Academy Lake of the Ozarks, T-Base Communications, and Neuro International.

Will Bressman

Will is the CEO of RIA in a Box, recently acquired by Aquiline Capital Partners. Originally, Will acquired the business via a search fund (Rushmore Partners) with his business partner, GJ King. Prior to RIA in a Box, Will was a former manager of business development at LX.TV, a digital media content provider acquired by NBC Universal in 2008. Will joined the company at its founding and during its growth, Will helped broker distribution and content partnerships. Prior to LX.TV, Will worked on strategy and analytics projects at Good Morning America.

Will holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and is a graduate of Harvard College magna cum laude with a degree in History.

GJ King

GJ King is the President of RIA in a Box, recently acquired by Aquiline Capital Partners. Originally, GJ acquired the business via a search fund (Rushmore Partners) with his business partner, Will Bressman. Previously worked in the investment management division of Goldman Sachs serving as a trusted advisor to a select group of high net worth entrepreneurs, families, and foundations. King holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and a BA from Brown University where he graduated magna cum laude. At Brown, King was a member of the varsity basketball team and still plays regularly. He also previously held the Series 7 and 66 licenses. GJ is a Chicago native and currently resides just outside of Cleveland.

Rockpoint Capital Advisors

Louis Konig
Technology and Analytics Advisor

Louis Konig has over a decade of technology consulting experience; specializing in data mining related to complex litigation and due diligence matters and as well as data visualization tools, explanatory statistical models, and predictive models.

Most recently, Louis has served as Lead Data Architect and Lead Analytics Manager for the largest bankruptcy process in US history. Additionally, Mr. Konig has worked alongside with a Nobel Prize winning economist conducting historical analysis instrumental in deciding legal settlement for $100M+.

Louis received a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from NYU Stern School of Business.