John Block - Unity Partners
John Block is the Co-Founder and CEO Unity Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm that partners investors and operators to build better together.
Private Equity Fast Pitch
enFebruary 29, 2024
Bob Grady, Gryphon Investors
enFebruary 21, 2020
What was the main topic of the podcast episode?
Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?
Were there any notable quotes or insights from the speakers?
Which popular books were mentioned in this episode?
Were there any points particularly controversial or thought-provoking discussed in the episode?
Were any current events or trending topics addressed in the episode?
About this Episode
Bob Grady, is a seasoned private equity executive with over two decades of experience. Prior to joining Gryphon, he spent five years as General Partner and Managing Director of the Cheyenne Capital Fund, a $500 million private equity fund that achieved top-decile performance among similar vintage private equity fund-of-funds.
Over the same time period, Mr. Grady was Chairman, as a non-paid volunteer, of the New Jersey State Investment Council, which oversees the state’s $78 billion pension plan. During his tenure as Chairman, the fund significantly outperformed its expected rate of return and its policy benchmarks, achieving over $35 billion in investment gains and income over four fiscal years.
From 2000-2009, Mr. Grady was a Partner, Managing Director, and Global Head of Venture & Growth Capital at The Carlyle Group. In addition to sitting on Carlyle’s Management Committee, he was the fund head for Carlyle Venture Partners, a growth capital partnership with $1.5 billion under management in three funds, while also sitting on numerous Carlyle investment committees and portfolio company boards of directors. While at Carlyle, he was a Director of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), where he also served as Chairman. Before his tenure at Carlyle, Mr. Grady spent seven years at Robertson Stephens & Co., including as a Partner and Managing Director who served on the firm’s Management Committee.
Earlier in his career, from 1989-1993, Mr. Grady served in the White House as a senior policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush. He held a number of key roles, among them Deputy Assistant to the President, Executive Associate Director of the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), and OMB Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science.
Mr. Grady also served on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business from 1993-2004 as a Lecturer in Public Management, teaching courses on environmental policy, regulatory policy, and investing in highly regulated industries.
Mr. Grady holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has been a Director of numerous private and public companies and non-profit organizations. He is currently a Director of Maxim Integrated Products (Nasdaq: “MXIM” and Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE: “SF”), as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Recent Episodes from Private Equity Fast Pitch
John Garcia - Solyco Capital
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.
Private Equity Fast Pitch
enFebruary 15, 2024
Anthony Maniscalco - Investcorp
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
Private Equity Fast Pitch
enFebruary 01, 2024
Ben Fraser - Aspen Funds
Ben is the Chief Investment Officer at Aspen Funds, where he combines his analytical nature with a passion for delivering outstanding client service and strong returns through out-of-the- box investments.
Prior to joining Aspen, Ben served as a Commercial Lender at First Business Bank, one of the top SBA lenders in the nation. There, he specialized in government-backed loan originations, specifically SBA and USDA loans. Before that, he worked as a Commercial Credit Underwriter for Crossfirst Bank, where he personally underwrote over $125MM in C&I and CRE loans across various industries.
Ben also has experience working in the asset management industry, having served as a key member of the team at Tortoise Capital Advisors. At Tortoise, he helped grow institutional managed accounts from ~$3BN AUM to ~$7BN AUM.
Ben holds an MBA from Azusa Pacific University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Kansas, where he graduated magna cum laude.
Ben is the co-host of the “Invest like a Billionare” podcast where he joins his father, Bob and Aspen co-founder Jim Maffuccio, to dive into the world of alternative investments and speak with successful investors.
The trio also discusses economic trends, including megatrends such as inflation, energy prices and deglobalization. Their goal is to empower others looking to explore less volatile investment opportunities improving their portfolio’s performance and enabling them to become more financially secure.
Private Equity Fast Pitch
enJanuary 18, 2024
Quotes and Mottos Montage from Private Equity and Investment Banking Professionals
In this highly anticipated annual episode of Northstar's Private Equity Fast Pitch, we bring together the industry's top leaders from the past year. Join us as we delve into the personal mantras and driving forces that fuel these prominent figures in the Private Equity and Invesment Banking arena.
Guest Speakers:
· [04:22] Jeff Armbrister, Hamilton Lane
· [06:47] Caroline Stevens, MPK Equity Partners
· [08:54] Stephen Vaccaro, Hirtle, Callaghan & Co
· [10:21] Ganesh Rao, Thomas H. Lee Partners
· [11:55] Jeff Eaton, Eaton Partners
· [13:58] Arthur Hollingsworth, Texas Private Equity
· [14:52] Dave Tayeh, Investcorp
· [16:46] Brian McGee, New Water Capital
· [18:52] Marc J. Leder, Sun Capital Partners
· [20:06] Christiaan van der Kam, Schroders Capital
· [21:39] Mark Sotir, Equity Group Investments
· [22:53] Jeff Collins, Cloverlay
· [24:19] Chris Burbach, Fundamental Income
· [26:27] Rami Cassis, Parabellum Investments
· [27:12] Christopher Merrill, Harrison Street
· [28:26] Ross Jones, Berkshire Partners
· [32:49] Jeffrey Stevenson, VSS Capital Partners
· [35:15] Pardis Nasseri, Palm Tree LLC
· [37:33] Michael Butler, Cascadia Capital
· [40:01] Neha Champaneria Markle, Morgan Stanley
· [41:40] Michael Bego, Kline Hill Partners
· [43:03] Drew Maloney, American Investment Council (AIC)
· [45:19] Chris Sznewajs, Pacific Avenue Capital Partners
These top professionals will share their favorite quotes and mottos, offering insights into what motivates and drives them on a daily basis. Get ready for a captivating journey into the minds of these industry leaders
Tune in to gain valuable insights and inspiration from these influential voices shaping the Private Equity landscape. Discover the mantras that power success in this dynamic industry.
Christopher Sznewajs - Pacific Avenue Capital Partners
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
Drew Maloney - American Investment Council
Drew Maloney is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Investment Council (AIC), an advocacy and resource organization that represents the private equity and private credit industry. Maloney first joined the AIC in 2018 and has since played a critical role helping private equity and private credit tell its powerful story about creating jobs, growing businesses and strengthening millions of Americans’ retirement savings. During that time, he has educated policymakers, the media and the general public about the industry’s importance to the American economy and to American workers, testifying before Congress about the benefits of private equity and launching a sustained education campaign to highlight the industry’s role supporting the economic recovery from COVID-19. Under Maloney’s leadership, the AIC has almost doubled its membership and revenue.
Maloney is recognized as a leading government affairs expert, with more than 25 years of experience in both the public and the private sectors. Prior to joining AIC, Maloneyserved as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Legislative Affairs, as a corporate officer and Vice President of Government and External Affairs for the Hess Corporation, and as CEO of prominent bipartisan government affairs firm Ogilvy Government Relations. Maloney began his career working on Capitol Hill and later advised several presidential campaigns and transition teams.
Michael Bego - Kline Hill Partners
Michael A. Bego is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kline Hill Partners, which he founded in 2015. Mr. Bego sits on the Investment Committee of all of the Kline Hill Partners funds and is a board member of organizations including the American Investment Council and the Greenwich YMCA.
From 2005 through 2015, Mr. Bego was a partner at secondary firm Willowridge Partners, where he was instrumental in developing a focused strategy around small-deal secondary transactions. Mr. Bego was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. until 2005, conducted a turnaround at Vincent Longo in 2003, was in venture capital at LGP from 2000 to 2003, and ran projects and sold enterprise software at Numetrix (now part of Oracle) from 1993 through 1998.
Mr. Bego founded and runs "THE Secondary Day" since 2006, an annual, collegial event that each year brings together executives across the secondary industry.
Mr. Bego received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Cornell University in 1993 and an MBA (Beta Gamma Sigma) from Columbia University Business School in 2000.
Private Equity Fast Pitch
enNovember 16, 2023
Neha Champaneria Markle - Morgan Stanley
Neha Champaneria Markle
Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Solutions
Neha Champaneria Markle is a Managing Director and the Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Solutions. Prior to joining the firm, Neha served on the investment teams at Apax Partners and Pomona Capital. She also served on the management team for Springboard Enterprises, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on improving female entrepreneurs’ access to venture capital. Neha started her career as part of the financial analyst program at Morgan Stanley. Neha received a B.S. magna cum laude in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Butler - Cascadia Capital
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.