april 7, 2014 an advertising supplement to the los angeles ...apr 07, 2014 · most influential...

Most InfluentialPrivate Equity Investorsin L.A.County

April 7, 2014 • An Advertising Supplement to the Los Angeles Business Journal

This special advertising supplement did not involve the reporting or editing staff of the Los Angeles Business Journal.

THE right private equity investor does morethan provide an infusion of cash for yourbusiness. He or she – and the institution

they represent – can genuinely prepare your organi-zation (with the right resources, capital and guid-ance) for the next level of growth and beyond.

There are some truly outstanding professionalsmaking up the Los Angeles lending landscape.We’ve listed 16 of them here, along with somebasic information about their careers, practiceand some relevant recent projects they’ve beeninvolved with.

Congratulations to the trailblazing professionals whomade this list and thank you for your contributions tothe local business community’s success!

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20 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL APRIL 7, 2014

MOST INFLUENTIAL PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS

Bill BarnumPartner & Co-FounderBrentwood Associates

Years practicing: 30Years with current firm: 29Education: Stanford University,Stanford Law School, StanfordGraduate School of Business

Doyl BurkettPartnerKayne Anderson CapitalAdvisors, L.P.

Years practicing: 16Years with current firm: 14Education: Princeton University,Harvard University

Craig EnensteinChief Executive OfficerCorridor Capital, LLC

Years practicing: 14Years with current firm: 9Education: UC Berkeley,Lauder Institute at theUniversity of Pennsylvania,Wharton School of Business

Brentwood specializes in brandsthat have a fiercely loyal customerbase because over time that’s real-ly what drives market share,according to Bill Barnum. He co-founded the firm’s private equitypractice in 1984, and the firm hassince invested in more than 40companies with a total transac-tion value, or market value ofequity at the time of the deal plusdebt, of more than $5 billion.Brentwood Associates currentlyhas more than $850 million undermanagement.

At Brentwood, Barnum has aunique methodology. He hasmade a science of spotting lesser-known consumer concepts withstaying power and turning theminto more profitable powerhousebrands, increasing demand with

fine-tuned marketing and broaderdistribution.

Presently, Barnum serves as aDirector of Lazy Dog, K-MacHoldings, Sundance HoldingCompany, The TeachingCompany, Veggie Grill and ZoësKitchen. He also serves as an out-side Director of Quiksilver, Inc.

Last year, under Barnum’s stew-ardship, Brentwood completed adividend recapitalization of PaperSource, Inc. In the past year,Barnum and Brentwood alsomade substantial investments inpopular restaurant concept LazyDog Restaurant & Bar and iconicpremium men’s footwear, appareland leather goods designer, manu-facturer and marketer AllenEdmonds.

Doyl Burkett is a partner forKayne Anderson Capital Advisor’sgrowth private equity activities. Hemanages day-to-day operations,leads new investments and worksactively with the portfolio compa-nies.

Burkett and the Kayne PartnersFund Team are focused on growthprivate equity investments rangingin size from $5 million up to $20million, primarily in companiesengaged in technology/technology-enabled service, healthcare/health-care service, or business serviceindustries. The team seeks outminority/non-control investmentsin growing, proven businesses thathave experienced managementteams where invested capital willbe used to fund growth (eitherorganic or through acquisition).

Over the last year, Burkett ledthe Kayne Partners team through

a successful and extremely busyperiod. In addition to makinginvestments in ten platform com-panies, Burkett and his team hadsix full or partial realizations.

On the investment front, heled or co-led investments inConservice (utility billing systemsfor multifamily housing), AparcSystems (parking technologies),FaceFirst (facial recognition soft-ware system), Rage Frameworks(business process automation andbig data), ColdLight (big data andpredictive analytics), Search Optics(automotive digital marketing),and MaintenanceNet (service con-tract renewal platform) and active-ly participated in the investmentsin Convercent (governance andcompliance software), Starmount(mobile point-of-sale and back-end software for retailers) andMDLIVE (telemedicine platform).

Craig Enenstein foundedCorridor Capital, LLC in 2005 andserves as its Chief Executive Officer.With both operating and invest-ment experience, he leads Corridoras an active partner with Corridor’sportfolio companies. He has devel-oped Corridor Capital to be astrategic and operational partner tothe companies in which it investsand to work closely with the man-agement and boards of directors ofthose companies.

Corridor Capital, as a privateequity fund sponsor, focuses onUS-based lower middle marketcompanies but typically providesmore than just capital. The firmbecomes actively engaged as pri-vate equity partner with its portfo-lio companies across strategy,operations and finance.

Under Enenstein’s stewardship,Corridor Capital invests mainly in

companies that will benefit fromCorridor’s investment and opera-tions team working alongside man-agement to build the infrastructureand efficiencies necessary for sus-tainable scalable growth. Industriesinclude specialty manufacturing,business services, environmentalservices and other defensive sec-tors. Corridor typically works withentrepreneurs and family-ownedbusinesses that have not yet real-ized the benefits of hands-on, insti-tutional ownership.

Last year, Enenstein’s firm soldControl Devices, LLC andacquired Innovative OfficeProducts, a leading manufacturerof ergonomic mounting solutions;and SCI Floor Covering, Inc. aleading distributor and installer offloor covering products.

Jim FordManaging Director andPortfolio Manager, GlobalPrincipal GroupOaktree CapitalManagement L.P.

Years practicing: 21Years with current firm: 18Education: UCLA, Stanford

Jim Ford is a Managing Directorand Portfolio Manager withinOaktree’s Global Principal Group.He is responsible for overseeing allactivities of the Global PrincipalGroup, including investmentcommitments and approvals,client relations and administrativeand personnel-related matters.

Ford has been involved insourcing and executing a numberof the Oaktree’s most significantinvestments and led the GlobalPrincipal Group’s efforts in themedia and energy sectors prior tobeing named a PM in 2006.

He has also worked extensivelywith a variety of Oaktree portfoliocompanies, including serving onthe Boards of Directors of CequelCommunications (the eighthlargest cable operator in the U.S.),Crimson Exploration, ExcoResources, Forcenergy, Inc. (oil

and gas exploration and produc-tion companies) and RegalEntertainment (largest movieexhibitor in the U.S.), as well asnumerous private companies.

Over the last year the group ledby Ford has invested in severalspecial-situation structured/hybridinvestments and distress-for-con-trol transactions. One of theminvolved providing an out-of-court comprehensive capital struc-ture solution, in agreement withthe company’s senior lenders, sub-ordinated noteholders and formerowner. Another involved a rescuefinancing for an internationalretailer of which the group hadbuilt a significant blocking posi-tion in its debt.

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Alec GoresCEO, Chairman & FounderThe Gores Group

Years practicing: 35Years with current firm: 35Education: Western MichiganUniversity

Alec Gores is the Founder,Chairman and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of The Gores Group, aglobal investment firm focused onacquiring controlling interests inmature and growing businesseswhich can benefit from the firm’soperating experience and flexiblecapital base.

Under his leadership, The GoresGroup has continued to acquirebusinesses in need of operationaland financial resources, while creat-ing value and working with man-agement teams to establish anentrepreneurial environment as afoundation for sustainable growth.This philosophy has served thefirm well. Since 1987, over 80 busi-nesses have been successfullyacquired. The current portfolioincludes 23 active companiesworldwide with combined annual

revenues of over $7 billion. Today, over half of the current

portfolio is in technology, mediaand telecom sectors, representingthe “roots” of the firm. Othersectors of focus include industri-als, business services, healthcareand consumer.

During the summer of 2013,The Gores Group successfullypriced the IPO of Stock BuildingSupply (“Stock”) at a price of $14per share and subsequently com-pleted a secondary in March ofthis year. The firm had acquiredStock Building Supply, a diversi-fied lumber and building materi-als distributor, from Wolseley plcin May of 2009. At the time ofacquisition, Stock had been los-ing more than $200 million inEBITDA per annum.

Jeremy HollandPrincipal, OriginationThe Riverside Company

Years practicing: 17Years with current firm: 4Education: California StateUniversity Northridge

Jeremy Holland leads deal-sourcing activities for the westernregion of North America for TheRiverside Company, working outof the firm’s Santa Monica office.As Principal of Origination, hesources deals for Riverside global-ly with a focus on the westernregion of North America. He hasmore than 17 years of privateequity experience, all of it inSouthern California.

Riverside hired Holland todeepen and strengthen its effortsto source deals in the westernregion, working across five globalfund families and investing incompanies of all sizes up to $250million in enterprise value.Working with various teams acrossvarious deal sizes and industries,he has closed 11 acquisitions inthe last 24 months, including two

in Southern California.Holland works on all kinds of

transactions, but also continues tobuild out Riverside’s Consumerpractice, and serves as the firm’sIndustry Sector Head forFranchising deals, leadingRiverside’s specialized globalFranchising team and driving thestrategy for the firm’s approach inthe specialization.

Holland is a trusted resource forpeople throughout the deal com-munity. Investment bankers oftenwill consult him before launchinga client to get a sense of the mar-ket and positioning.

Lenders often seek him out tohear about market conditions.Even competitors ask for hisadvice as they look to grow theirfirms and/or make career changes.

William HopkinsCo-President &Managing PrincipalOdyssey Investment Partners

Years practicing: 24Years with current firm: 20Education: UC San Diego

Bill Hopkins co-founded andserves as Co-President andManaging Principal of OdysseyInvestment Partners, a multi-bil-lion dollar private equity firmwith expertise in a wide variety ofindustries, including aerospace,equipment rental, distribution,insurance/healthcare services,energy, packaging, safety products,industrial equipment and industri-al automation.

During the past year, the LosAngeles office that Hopkins leadsoversaw the exit of two portfoliocompanies that generated attrac-tive returns for Odyssey’s investors.Each of these companies grew sub-stantially under Odyssey’s owner-ship, through both organic initia-tives as well as add-on acquisitions.These included the sale of TNTCrane & Rigging, Inc., the leading

provider of lifting services andequipment to customers in theNorth American energy and indus-trial infrastructure end markets, toFirst Reserve. Odyssey acquiredTNT in 2011.

Last year, Hopkins and Odysseyalso signed a definitive agreementto sell its portfolio companyBarrierSafe SolutionsInternational, a leading providerof branded disposable gloves andinjection molded protectivefootwear, to Ansell Limited, aworld leader in providing superiorhealth and safety protection solu-tions. Through its two flagshipbrands, Microflex and Onguard,the company sells consumableprotective products designed tomeet the specific needs of endusers in a diverse range of attrac-tive end markets.

Jacob KotzubeiPartner, Member of theInvestment CommitteePlatinum Equity

Years with current firm: 12Education: WesleyanUniversity, ColumbiaUniversity School of Law

Jacob Kotzubei, who joinedPlatinum Equity in 2002, isresponsible for the structuring andexecution of acquisition anddivestiture transactions and is amember of the InvestmentCommittee. Kotzubei leads ateam of professionals responsiblefor the entire acquisition execu-tion process, including diligence,valuation, contract negotiationsand financing.

Kotzubei works closely withPlatinum Equity Founder,Chairman and CEO Tom Gores,and plays a significant role in rais-ing capital from limited partnersfor the firm’s investment funds. Inaddition to his core buyout team,Kotzubei oversees the PlatinumEquity team that pursues debt-for-control investments.

Most recently, Kotzubei ledPlatinum Equity’s acquisition of a

51 percent stake in Emerson’sembedded computing and powerbusiness, which is a leader in thedevelopment of power conversionand embedded computing solu-tions for communications, com-puting and industrial applications.The acquisition closed inNovember 2013. Other transac-tions include CompuCom, PNAGroup, Ryerson, SCM MetalProducts, Canvas Systems, KEMET,Pomeroy, Schutt Sports, andNeovia Logistics (CaterpillarLogistics Services).

Prior to joining PlatinumEquity, Kotzubei was a VicePresident of the High TechGroup at Goldman Sachs andwas head of the East CoastSemiconductor Group.Previously, he was a successfulM&A attorney with Sullivan &Cromwell in New York City.

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APRIL 7, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 23


J. Christopher LewisManaging PartnerRiordan, Lewis & Haden/Equity Partners

Years practicing: 32Years with current firm: 32Education: USC

Chris Lewis is the role modelfor success in private equity. Heco-founded Riordan, Lewis &Haden/ Equity Partners withRichard Riordan in 1982 and, overthe ensuing 32 years, built thefirm into a preeminent institu-tional PE group. RLH has generat-ed better than 30% gross com-pound annual rates of return onits investments over the past threedecades, through all types of eco-nomic cycles.

Lewis and the firm have devel-oped a distinctive reputation forfairness, flexibility, congeniality,and integrity. Under his leader-ship, assets under managementhave grown to over $600 millionwith a diversified investor baseconsisting of domestic and foreign

pension funds, endowments, andhigh net worth individuals.

Within the past 18 months, theefforts of Lewis and the maxITmanagement team yielded one ofthe most successful investmentoutcomes in RLH’s 30+ year histo-ry – the acquisition of maxIT byScience Applications InternationalCorporation for total considera-tion in excess of $500 million.

Lewis’ consistent track recordof exceptional investment successis a result of his steady focus onseveral guiding principles to cre-ate investment value: high ratesof organic growth, low levels ofdebt, distinctive market-leadingbusinesses, and managementteams with a proven track recordof success.

Johnny LopezPartner, Member of theInvestment CommitteePlatinum Equity

Years with current firm: 19Education: Universityof the Pacific

Johnny Lopez joined PlatinumEquity in 1995 as one of the firm’sfounding partners. He is respon-sible for the structuring and exe-cution of acquisition and divesti-ture transactions and is a memberof the Investment Committee.

In Platinum Equity’s earlyyears, Lopez, under the guidanceof Platinum Equity Founder,Chairman and CEO Tom Gores,worked to execute upon all of thefirm’s M&A initiatives includingbusiness development and leadgeneration, transaction execution,and transitioning acquisitions.

He established the foundationof the firm’s approach to businessdevelopment that Platinum Equitystill applies today. His contribu-tions to Platinum Equity’s mis-

sion, principles and culture havebeen important factors in thefirm’s success. He also helpeddevelop Platinum Equity’s trade-mark M&A&O strategy and con-tinues to work closely with thefirm’s M&A teams to ensure itssuccessful execution. Most recent-ly, Lopez led the acquisition of a70 percent stake in the Australiandirectories business Sensis, a trans-action that closed in February2014. Other transactions includeWheel Pros, US Robotics, PeakTechnologies, AllianceEntertainment, Harvest MeatCompany and ClipperWindpower.

Prior to Platinum Equity, Mr.Lopez worked with Mr. Gores atVentech Software.

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Brian Sauer

PartnerThe Riverside Company

Years practicing: 13Years with current firm: 10Education: Colorado StateUniversity

Brian Sauer is a Partner at theRiverside Company and is basedin Los Angeles. He has been withRiverside for 10 years. Before join-ing Riverside, Sauer spent threeyears as an Associate, SeniorAnalyst and Analyst at KeyBancCapital Markets/McDonaldInvestments, where he wasinvolved in numerous M&A andcapital raising transactions.

Sauer is a generalist investor,with a focus on Business Services.Recently, he was the lead Partnerwith acquiring Blue Microphones,a Westlake Village manufacturer ofmicrophones and related technol-ogy for professional studios, liveperformance and consumers for

home and portable electronics. Heis currently serving, or has served,on the Board of Directors of anumber of companies, includingBlue Microphones, DISA GlobalSolutions, PharmMD, OnCourseLearning, and PhysiciansPharmacy Alliance.

In November of last year, Sauerwas on the team that successfullyexited PROFITsystems, a ColoradoSprings, Colorado-based providerof software and other services forthe retail furniture industry.

Sauer has a BS in businessadministration with a concentra-tion in finance from ColoradoState University.

Loren Schlachet

Managing PartnerThe Riverside Company

Years practicing: 19Years with current firm: 14Education: University ofPennsylvania, Stern School ofBusiness at New York University

Loren Schlachet manages theRiverside Micro-Cap Fund (RMCF)family. As Fund Manager of RMCF,Schlachet leads the fund and hasmore than 19 years of buyoutexperience. During his time withRiverside, he has completed 100acquisitions, 45 platform acquisi-tions and 55 add-on acquisitions.

Schlachet serves on the firm’sSenior Investment Council,Executive Committee and devel-oped the RMCF concept in collab-oration with the firm’s Co-Ceo’s,in addition to playing a lead rolein building the RMCF team.Schlachet has led a success storywith RMCF, demonstrating thatbuying and building little leaderscreates superior returns and makesindividual portfolio companiesmeasurably bigger and fundamen-

tally better at exit. Under Schlachet’s leadership,

RMCF was very active in 2013,completing eight acquisitions andexiting three investments. Like allRiverside fund families, RMCFmakes generalist investments, butthey often fall under one ofRiverside’s eight industry special-izations. Acquisitions in 2013included a considerable number ofsoftware & IT companies, particu-larly value-added SaaS providers.

Also among RMCF’s 2013additions were BlueMicrophones and BeGreenPackaging. Among the compa-nies sold in 2013 were AlignNetworks, a transaction yieldinga gross return of $186 million ona $15 million investment.




Alex SoltaniChairman and CEOSkyview Capital, LLC

Years practicing: 15Years with current firm: 10Education: UCLA

As founder of Skyview Capital,Alex Soltani leverages his success-ful entrepreneurial experiences,diverse background in acquisi-tions, and broad operational acu-men to create the investmentdirectives and provide overallmanagement of day-to-day opera-tions for his rapidly growing, yetstrategically focused private M&Aorganization. He remains activelyinvolved with every aspect ofSkyview’s transaction lifecycle,and takes an intimate role in eachof Skyview Capital’s investments.

Several recent transactionsinclude the acquisition of theWiMAX business from NSN, theacquisition of Mimio from NewellRubbermaid, the sale ofTRM/Solvport to Marlin Equity,and the acquisition of the TekelecMobile Messaging Business.

Prior to Skyview, Soltani

worked at Platinum EquityHoldings, a globally recognized,$8 Billion dollar private-equityfirm which specializes in theacquisition of industry-leadingcorporate divestitures, by utilizinga proprietary investment modelwhich often resulted in exponen-tial value creation.

In addition to his capacity asChairman of Skyview Capital,Sourceone Wireless Group, andCollins Enterprise Solutions,Soltani is also a Director and amember of the Board of FastechIntegrated Solutions, TRM CopyCenters, and Amvest FinancialGroup. Soltani holds his degreefrom UCLA and has been invitedas a guest speaker to lecture onthe topics of entrepreneurship,mergers & acquisitions, and cor-porate divestitures, at the UCLAAnderson School of Management.

Matt ThompsonVP of Portfolio OpertaionsSkyview Capital, LLC

Years practicing: 17Years with current firm: 3Education: Pomona College,Stanford Business School

Matt Thompson joined Skyviewin 2012 and brings over 17 yearsof experience in private equity,finance, consulting, and opera-tions. He is involved with per-forming due diligence on newinvestments and performing port-folio company oversight. He hasexperience with companies rang-ing from startups to fortune 50enterprises, with a specializationin the telecom, media, and hightechnology sectors.

While at Skyview Capital,Thompson has completed sixtransactions, including the cor-porate carveout of the WiMAXbusiness unit from NokiaSiemens, the acquisition of theMimio Interactive Whiteboard

business, the sale of theHeadsprout educational softwarebusiness, and the sale ofTRM/Solvport to Marlin Equity.

Prior to Skyview, Thompsonwas VP of Finance at the GoresGroup, a $4B private equity firmbased in Los Angeles. At the GoresGroup, Thompson was involvedwith closing four levered buyouttransactions in the high-tech, con-sumer, and industrial sectors.

Thompson has an MBA fromStanford Business School and a BAin Biology and Economics fromPomona College He is a CertifiedInsolvency Restructuring Advisorand has published several telecomand restructuring articles in TMATopics and AIRA Journal.

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© 2014 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved.

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“I know exactly who you should call.”People who know Private Equity, know BDO.

Congratulations Jeremy Holland of The Riverside Company and all those being

recognized as the Most Influential Private Equity Investors in Los Angeles County!


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Jeff WhitePartnerSkyview Capital, LLC

Years practicing: 15Years with current firm: 9Education: SMU in Dallas

Jeff White is actively involvedwith supporting all M&A efforts atSkyview Capital. As a 15-year vet-eran in international private equi-ty, executive management, andstrategic consulting, White estab-lished and oversees all of SkyviewCapital’s business developmentefforts and department of associ-ates. He directs all new businessactivities and staff for the firm’sglobal acquisition interests. Hemanages all origination, intelli-gence tracking, relationship man-agement, and screening processes.

White is also responsible fordriving growth through acquisi-tions by identifying and assessingall transaction opportunitieswithin the M&A and businessdevelopment team. He also helpsmanage the initial-through-latestages of the transaction andacquisition process.

White has broad sector and

transactional expertise across amultitude of global industries,including international andstrategic consulting; operations;sales and marketing; media; IT;telecommunications; technology;and manufacturing. He deploysthis expertise throughoutSkyview’s holdings worldwidewith a particular focus on thesoftware and the telecommunica-tion space.

White’s extensive senior-levelmanagement and internationalconsulting experience is para-mount to the firm’s M&A processand oversight of portfolio compa-ny strategic planning, develop-ment, and execution. He has heldcritical positions at many distin-guished firms such as MerrillLynch, First Federal Bank ofCalifornia, Platinum EquityHoldings, and Inuum.

Robert WymbsPartnerPlatinum Equity

Years with current firm: 14Education: RutgersUniversity, Wharton Schoolof Business

Robert Wymbs, who joinedPlatinum Equity in 2000, man-ages strategic divestiture opportu-nities, working with PlatinumEquity’s portfolio management,business development and otherM&A teams to examine potentialexits and execute divestituretransactions.

Wymbs leads a dedicated sell-side M&A team whose innovativeapproaches to complex divestituresituations have created a valuabledifferentiator for the firm.

Wymbs and his team haveclosed more than 50 transactions.Most recently, his team led the

sale of Keystone Automotive, atransaction that closed in Januaryof this year. Other transactionsinclude divestitures of Synertech,Billing Concepts, AEES, MatrixTelecom, US Robotics, AllianceEntertainment and ContegoPackaging Group.

Prior to joining PlatinumEquity, Wymbs spent four yearswith the Los Angeles Dodgersand three years at McKinsey &Company. He held various posi-tions in strategic development,business development, projectmanagement, operations andmarketing.




Investors School

2 USC2 Wharton School of Business1 California State University, Northridge1 Colorado State University1 Columbia Law School1 Harvard Business School1 NYU Stern School of Business1 Southern Methodist University1 Stanford University1 UCLA1 University of California, Berkeley1 University of Pennsylvania 1 University of the Pacific1 Western Michigan University1 University of California, San Diego

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