Committee

Abbeygale Anderson is the Founder of Cross Impact Capital, an investment firm with the mandate of investing in underserved founders and/or category-redefining businesses that seek to address some of the largest disparities among underserved communities. The fund is focused on tech-enabled solutions within financial services and healthcare.

Previously, Abbey was an Investor at Stone Point Capital, where she focused on investing in businesses within the global financial services industry.

Outside of work Abbey serves as a Board Member for her alma mater, Noble and Greenough School and the Synergist Network, a national organization dedicated to providing women the infrastructure, network, and business acumen critical for long-term success in their investing career. Abbeygale graduated Cum Laude from Dartmouth College with a degree in Political Science and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Jarrett is a Principal at Heritage Growth, responsible for originating and evaluating investment opportunities and working with management teams to implement operational and growth strategies. Previously, Jarrett was employed by Brightstar Capital Partners and Trive Capital, where he was engaged in private equity investments for companies spanning a variety of industries including niche manufacturing, recycled services and building products.

With over 15 years of experience in corporate law and commercial real estate development, Lauren Barnett brings a deeply informed and practical perspective to her role at Hartman Simons. Prior to joining the firm, she served as in-house counsel for a private equity firm, where she advised her team on a wide range of complex real estate investments and development projects, with a particular emphasis on multifamily housing and development in renewable energy.

Her practice focuses on private equity-driven commercial real estate development, private debt and equity placement, corporate governance, business formations and compliance. She counsels developers, investors, and institutional clients through all stages of the deal lifecycle, from structuring and negotiation to execution and ongoing asset management. Clients value Lauren for her pragmatic, solution-oriented approach and her ability to navigate the business and legal complexities of corporate and real estate transactions with clarity and confidence.

Christy Brown is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and Georgia Tech alumna, currently serving as CEO of Dr. Noze Best, a pioneering baby tech company known for its innovative medical-forward products like the NozeBot and BreatheEZ Humidifier. Under her leadership, the company has achieved remarkable growth, tripling revenue year-over-year and expanding into major retailers like Walmart and Target.

A multi-time founder and experienced leader, Christy is deeply committed to fostering innovation and supporting emerging startups. She is the Managing Partner for Techstars Emory Startup Catalyst Accelerator, a program run by Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where she shares her expertise to help founders pivot, scale, and succeed. Christy is also a passionate advocate for women's entrepreneurship, leveraging her experience to mentor and empower future business leaders.

William brings 18 years of commercial, middle market and corporate banking experience to his role, having worked previously for Synovus, Truist and, most recently, Georgia Banking Company. He holds a master’s degree from Georgia State University and a bachelor's degree from University of Georgia. Buchly co-founded an athletic fundraising event, the Trinity Combine, and previously served as chair of the Trinity Community Ministries board. 

Shila Nieves Burney, an award-winning project manager, is the Founding and Managing Partner of Zane Venture Fund. Shila spent her 20+ year career advocating for marginalized groups. She has worked closely with leading organizations and exceptional talent to create solutions that address disparities through investment in human capital.

Shila founded Zane Venture Fund, a seed fund that invests in underrepresented founders with the goal of closing the funding gap while generating high returns for investors. Shila also founded Zane Access which provides early-stage companies led by diverse teams access to cross-functional experts, resources, best practices and customized content critical to accelerating growth.

Corey Clemons is a Vice President at Georgia Oak, supporting Georgia Oak’s deal, portfolio, and sourcing efforts.

Corey joins Georgia Oak from ServiceMaster, a Roark Capital portfolio company, and TireHub, a JV between Goodyear and Bridgestone. He’s served in a variety of roles including FP&A, corporate strategy and the in-house M&A team. Prior to TireHub, Corey was an Associate with JP Morgan Chase in their multinational corporation and public finance credit team, where he worked on several notable municipal and infrastructure finance deals.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Corey holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Georgia. He grew up around football and played quarterback for an NCAA Division III school. He currently lives in Atlanta with his wife and two daughters.

Brock Cline is a Certified Business Performance Advisor (CBPA) with Insperity. Insperity’s mission statement is to help businesses succeed so that communities prosper. To that end, Brock leverages his experience gathered from management consulting, angel investing, and business operations to provide strategic insight to small to medium sized business in the areas of operational excellence and risk/liability management.

Brock is skilled in data collection, analysis, and solution implementation across many operational and procedural remits. Attracting and retaining top talent, benefit and compensation plan composition, and training/development plan creation are several topics that are currently top of mind to many of his clients. He concentrates his practice and book of business around serving employers with 5-150 employees, with a large representation from 20-75 employees. Brock is industry agnostic and takes a long-term, consultative approach to educating and informing any business owner that he interacts with. As one of the few lifelong Georgians, his network is deep and broad, and he derives great fulfillment by connecting the right people at the right times for the right reasons.

Brock is also deeply passionate about nonprofits and has served on multiple boards. The causes of food insecurity and mental health are especially close to his heart. He also supports several local nonprofits in both professional and personal capacities. He graduated from Emory University with a major in English. His better half is Bre, and they are coming up on 14 years of marriage…and they have an incredible fur baby named Wonton.

Mr. Dangar is responsible for the origination, underwriting and management of senior debt, mezzanine and equity investments from the Atlanta office. Prior to joining Stonehenge, Mr. Dangar led business development for transaction services for Aprio, LLC, a regional tax and accounting advisory firm focused on growing, middle market companies. Prior to that, Mr. Dangar was the National Deals Sales Leader for PwC, responsible for driving M&A conversations and advice with the firm’s U.S. clients. Prior to that, Mr. Dangar worked for 20 years in the investment banking field, providing buy-side M&A and financing advice to privately-held, growing companies in the US and abroad for Westminster Securities, Wachovia Securities and E&Y. Mr. Dangar earned a BS in Building Construction and a Minor in Economics from The Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Mr. Dangar was recently named one of Georgia's 500 Most Influential People by Georgia Trend Magazine.

Mr. Falconer is Co-founder and Managing Member of ScanTech Holdings LLC. A 2007 graduate of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), ScanTech is an electron beam and X-ray technology holdings company.

Mr. Falconer is responsible for all corporate operations and has led the company to numerous local and national awards including the Best New Emerging Homeland Technology Company, the Top Ten Most Innovative Technology Company in Georgia, Finalist for Georgia’s International Deal of the Year and Runner-up at the Global Security Challenge.

Mr. Falconer has also played a key role in securing investment capital to fund the successful spin-off of ScanTech’s technology into a homeland security company, ScanTech Identification Beam Systems, LLC (www.scantechibs.com) and a food safety company, Reveam, Inc. (www.reveam.com).

Mr. Falconer still plays an active role in both spin-offs serving as founding President and Chief Executive Officer at ScanTech Identification Beam Systems and Chairman of the Board and a senior technical advisor at Reveam.

Since 2003, Ed has been co-founder and managing partner of SouthPointe Ventures, LLC, an Atlanta-based lower middle market control buy-out fund. SouthPointe focuses on the industrial manufacturing, distribution, and business services sectors, typically in the Southeast and Central U.S.

Prior to SouthPointe, Ed held senior management and operations roles in a family-owned equipment distribution business, and as CFO for the 3rd largest Wendy's franchisee. Ed started his career in leveraged lending at successor banks to Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Ed serves on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Georgia, on the Investment Committee for Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, as FP&A committee chair for the Finance Council of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and on the Host Committee for the Beloved event. Ed graduated with a B.B.A degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame.

I am the cofounder and CEO of Renewal Logistics, a company that was born to provide customized distribution support to the world's largest retailers. Our first client was a global brand, with a problem that no other vendor in the world could solve, a need to completely decontaminate and repackage a very large purchase order of over 300,000 apparel items to be sold to a big box wholesaler within two weeks. We secured a location, built infrastructure, and scaled processing from 0-27,000 units in 3 days, and completed the project ON TIME (in fact two days early), IN FULL, with 100 % clean lab results, and zero complaints from the wholesaler, known for their stiff chargebacks for compliance errors. Our team’s willingness to go above + beyond, and hone in on the small details, has resulted in our growth into a leading 3PL company for retailers. In addition to projects like this, my team also specializes in Fulfillment, Returns management, Value Added Services, including reticketing and kitting, and packaging for Ecommerce, such as FBA prep.

Ira is a senior financial executive with over 25 years of experience tackling complex business matters, improving operating performance, developing strategic plans, implementing core strategies that consistently improved financial performance and maximized stakeholder value. An expert at analyzing business needs and marshaling cross-functional team resources to deliver results. Extensive leadership experience in varied “C-suite” management roles – CEO, CFO, COO and CRO.

Thoba Grenville-Grey serves as a Senior Associate at o15 Capital Partners. He is primarily responsible for origination, deal execution, and portfolio management of private credit & equity investment opportunities. Prior to joining o15, he was an Investor at Ethos Private Equity (JSE: EPE), a generalist private equity firm focused on growth equity transactions and leveraged buyouts across fintech, healthcare, and education. Previously, he held roles at EQT (STO: EQT), Awethu Project Capital, and The Boston Consulting Group. He received his MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and his BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Levar Haffoney is the Managing Partner of Vedere Capital Group (VCG). VCG invests in business services, healthcare services, and logistics related businesses. He is responsible for strategy, deal sourcing, due diligence, negotiations, deal structuring, and financing.

Mr. Haffoney began his career in financial services. He earned a B.S. in Business, Management, and Economics from the State University of New York and an M.B.A. from the Eastern University College of Business and Leadership.

Shuron Hall brings a wealth of experience spanning more than 20 years in the banking industry. She currently leads a group of commercial bankers specialized in providing exceptional advisory services to our commercial clients. Shuron is driven by helping to advise our clients and serving our communities.

Tonya Hicks, an accomplished leader, and trailblazer in construction, energy, and promoting women’s empowerment. As the President and CEO of Power Solutions, Inc., Managing Principal of Women Do Everything, LLC, and Founder/President of she-EV, Inc. Tonya has made significant contributions in several male-dominated industries. With a passion for excellence, Tonya’s journey began as she broke barriers, becoming the first woman to become a Journeyman Inside Wireman Electrician in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 917 and the first Black Woman to become an IBEW Journeyman Electrician in the State of Mississippi.

In 2000, at the age of 28, Tonya founded Power Solutions, Inc., an electrical contracting, and facility maintenance company. Today PSI specializes in renewable energy, electrification, and EV charging solutions. Her visionary leadership has driven the company’s success, expanding its operations internationally, as featured in Forbes Japan in November 2019. Additionally, Tonya’s progress as a tradeswoman and business owner in the construction industry garnered recognition in the New York Times in March 2020. Recognizing the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion, Tonya launched Women Do Everything LLC in 2015. Through this initiative, she has been instrumental in training and supporting women in male-dominated industries, both through employment and entrepreneurship. During the pandemic, Tonya founded sheEV, to provide safer EV charging locations for women, elderly, and disable persons. In 2024, the launch of the she-EV Car Club will be the first of its kind; providing community support, educational resources, and products members can trust.

Dennis founded North River Group around the belief that traditional private equity does not partner well with family owned businesses. He is active in all stages of North River Group’s investments: deal sourcing, due diligence / deal execution, and portfolio company oversight. Dennis particularly enjoys helping management teams with capital allocation, recruiting and business development activities. He is President of the Birmingham Alternative Investment Group (BAIG) and the Southern Capital Forum (SCF) in Atlanta.

He has taught as an adjunct professor for the business schools of The University of Alabama and Samford University. Dennis serves as an advisory board member of a Birmingham based family office holding company.

He received a JD/MBA and a BS in Finance from The University of Alabama. Dennis is a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham.

Michael is co-head of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group and its Investment Management Group. He focuses on middle-market corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures. He also serves on the firm's Executive Committee, the governing body of seven partners who oversee firm standing committees, strategic initiatives, and firm operations.

At Gridiron Capital, Sean focuses on developing new business partnerships, marketing, communicating with business owners, and managing investment sourcing and exit planning. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Sean served as vice president at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia. His responsibilities at BB&T included executing mergers and acquisitions advisory for middle-market businesses, as well as establishing and strengthening business development relationships with middle-market investors. Earlier in his career, Sean worked at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Ms. Andrella Kenner is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CI² Aviation Inc., an award-winning Aerospace, Engineering, and Information Technology provider, delivering a full range of aviation, technology, management, and administrative support services to a global audience of public and private agencies. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with multiple offices throughout the U.S., CI² Aviation is the nation’s only minority-owned, woman-owned business engaged in the provisioning of Air Traffic Control Tower services to the Federal Government.

Deirdre is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of leadership in finance and operations. She has led two successful exit events in the consumer space. Most recently, she co-founded OVME, a national med spa brand, and served as President / CFO. OVME, founded in 2018, scaled to 29 locations across 14 states, with $60MM in sales. Deirdre led the company to an exit event to a private equity investor, achieving a 10x return in under 4 years. Prior to OVME, Deirdre served as CFO of Leblon Cachaca, a Brazilian spirits brand. She played an instrumental role in Leblon’s sale to Bacardi. Deirdre began her career in investment banking and private equity.

Deirdre earned her BS in economics at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA at Columbia Business School. She currently resides in Atlanta with her husband and their two daughters.

Skilled strategic executive who has demonstrated success in analyzing market trends, identifying new growth opportunities, and developing transitional plans to address key growth opportunities. Adept at developing supply chains and have experience conducting supply chain planning across China, India, and the US, actively contributing to all facets of operational systems encompassing supply forecasting, sales forecasting, product costing, capacity planning, and utilization. 20+ years experience in leading cross-functional teams, streamlining key business workflows, and implementing new systems to support business functions.

Lee is managing director of Smart Business Network LLC, a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Dealmakers Conferences throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

Amy is currently Chief Financial Officer for SteelSky Ventures, an emerging venture capital fund investing across women's healthcare. She has extensive experience working with companies from very early-stage to public company with a specific expertise in the middle market.

Before joining SteelSky Ventures, Amy was the CFO for a PE-backed telecom infrastructure company and had her own consulting practice where she provided financial services to boutique investment banking firms, family offices, RIAs and directly to growth-stage companies in conjunction with capital rising activities Amy began her career with J.C. Bradford & Co. (acquired by PaineWebber and now UBS) as a financial analyst. She also had tenures at Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, Interstate/Johnson Lane Corporation (acquired by Wachovia Securities now Wells Fargo Advisors) and Stephens Inc.

Quinn Martin is CEO of Tri Scapes Inc.with direct responsibilities for marketing to new customers and managing the construction division. He has over 25 years in the horticulture industry and managed over $50,000,000.00 in construction and maintenance for Tri Scapes Inc during his tenure.

He believes that his long family heritage of farming along with his father’s hard work ethics molded him for the industry. His first job as a 9 year old was selling watermelons out of a truck on the road side. That later evolved to picking up aluminum cans, selling firewood, baling and selling pine straw then mowing lawns. Both his parents encouraged hard work, low debt, good education and serving others. He thrives to instill these beliefs on others.

Quinn believes that your greatest success begin with overcoming your failures, these experiences mold you for future life challenges.

Trevor is Canadian born and educated at the University of Saskatchewan. Trevor was actively promoted through Sales & Marketing positions at Procter & Gamble and Novartis in the US and Canada. He then rose to CEO positions in both venture capital and private equity funded health care companies.

Trevor currently serves as President and CEO of OMS360, a Private Equity backed Oral Surgeon Support Organization based in Atlanta GA. He is also active as an Operating Partner for Shore Capital Partners and serves as a Board Member or Advisor to a various companies and associations.

Jennifer Moseley is a corporate and securities partner at Burr & Forman LLP, where she counsels public and private companies on an array of transactional, regulatory, capital raising, financing strategies and corporate governance matters. She enjoys assisting clients in her role as counselor and helping clients navigate the intricacies of securities laws with practical solutions to meet their goals.

Lyle Newkirk is a CFO Partner with SeatonHill Partners in Atlanta. He has over thirty-five years of experience as a chief financial officer and in executive finance roles, with a significant background in technology and SaaS. Lyle has worked with public and private companies based both in the US and internationally, where he developed the strategies to achieve significant and sustainable top line revenue growth.  Lyle has extensive experience in both buy side and sell side M&A, including three exits to Fortune 500 companies. He has served as CFO for both public and private companies and has led one IPO.

Adam Nichols is a Principal at Sovereign’s Capital and is focused on investments in the lower middle market. He is involved in all aspects of portfolio investment activity, with primary responsibilities for investment origination and transaction execution. Adam has over 16 years of experience in corporate finance and investment banking advisory. Before joining Sovereign’s, Adam worked in the investment banking division of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. He was most recently in the Mergers & Acquisitions group where he focused exclusively on advisory, origination, and execution of M&A transactions for Commercial Banking and Private Wealth clients in the Southeast, with a focus on and passion for helping family-owned businesses. Prior to his M&A role, Adam spent several years in the Equity Capital Markets group, originating and executing IPOs, follow-ons, convertibles and private placements for private and public corporate clients.

Will Seippel successfully negotiated over 20 acquisitions and structured complex transactions surpassing $5 billion in capital. A lifelong collector, he created WorthPoint to bring pricing transparency to the $360 billion fine art, antiques, and collectibles market. Today it is the world's largest valuation resource, with 1.3 billion images and 700 million pricing data points of vintage and antique items.

Lisa Senters-McDermott is a private aviation expert, CEO, and founder of Jet Senters Aviation, JSA. With more than 27 years of experience in the aviation industry.

Frequently quoted as one of the leading aviation experts and nationally recognized in the press for her knowledge and expertise, Lisa is considered the go-to resource and trusted advisor to CEOs, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and Fortune 100 companies. Her clients depend on her advice and honesty in deals ranging from buying entire aircraft to structuring complex management contracts to finding charter services when needed.

Lisa has been a keynote speaker for many groups, including a Harvard alumni group, Corporate Jet Investor, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. She most recently appeared at Big Sky Montana TEDx, where she spoke about the Resilience of an Entrepreneur. Lisa is a serial entrepreneur and has done everything from inventing a lipstick device to appearing on TV to selling a sitcom to HBO and many various other Entrepreneurial endeavors.

Lisa is involved in many philanthropic organizations and is a graduate of the Fellows program at Halftime leadership group.

Lisa is a member of the Board of Directors of Warrick Dunn Charities and is a group leader at Buckhead church and is very active with her faith.

Jonathan Sherrill is a seasoned business strategist with over 27 years of experience in the steel building component manufacturing industry. As President of Gulf Coast Supply, he led the company to significant growth and industry recognition. In 2018, he founded Quicken Steel, which he successfully scaled and exited.

Currently, Jonathan offers CEO coaching services and invests in business ventures. As a member of YPO, he is dedicated to helping business owners achieve their goals and prepare for successful exits.

Tom has spent the last 22 years at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch where he considers himself an “Intra-Preneur”. He is the founder of a 9 person boutique within the company called Singh & Associates.

He and his team specialize in pre-exit planning for business owners looking to sell their company in 12-36 months. By using their Proprietary financial Modeling Process, they run various simulations and prescribe strategies to help owners maximize their desired outcome.

He also oversees the Avalon location of Merrill Lynch managing 9 Billion of client assets and has been named the top 13 “Best in State Wealth Advisors” list by Forbes Magazine – 4 years in a row.

Dave Sutton is a globally recognized marketing strategist and investor, with over 30 years of experience transforming businesses through innovative marketing practices. He is the founder of Blue Rhino Capital and TopRight, a transformational marketing consultancy. An accomplished author, Sutton has contributed to significant works in marketing, including “Marketing Interrupted,” “Strategic Analytics,” and “Enterprise Marketing Management: The New Science of Marketing.” His expertise covers a broad spectrum of marketing disciplines, including branding, digital marketing, and leveraging artificial intelligence in marketing. A sought-after speaker, Sutton is known for his insights on marketing ROI, brand strategy, and the impact of technology on marketing. His leadership roles in organizations like YPO and his academic background in computer engineering and marketing enrich his unique perspective on marketing’s role in business growth and innovation.

Tim Templeton has been sourcing deals for Trivest since 2001. Tim’s focus is to talk with founders to determine if their goals and objectives align with Trivest’s unique approach to private equity, which has earned Trivest the distinction as one of only 15 PE firms in the country recognized as a “Top Founder Friendly Investor” by Inc. Magazine every year since the list’s inception in 2019.

Gordon R. Watt is a Managing Director & Co-Founder, Ascent Advisory Partners. Gordon has over 30 years of M&A and investment banking experience. He has both middle-market and Wall Street experience, having advised clients ranging from small, founder-owned businesses to large, publicly traded companies. He was a Managing Director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (now Truist) responsible for the execution of both M&A and capital raising transactions. Prior roles included Managing Director in the investment banking group at The Robinson-Humphrey Company (a division of Citigroup). He started his career in the corporate and investment banking group at Chemical Bank (now JPMorgan) in New York City. In 2019, he co-founded Ascent Advisory Partners to provide M&A advisory services to family and founder-owned companies in the lower middle-market.

Nathaniel Wilson was the co-founder of AKA Tree Service which was acquired in 2023 by a private equity firm. Nathaniel is a co-founder and co-owner of Wilson Construction Management, a heavy civil construction company with a primary focus in roadway construction. Wilson Construction Management was founded in 2019.

Rachel Wilson is a strategic venture capital advisor with extensive experience managing $120M in assets under management across multiple funds. With a proven track record spanning the entire investment lifecycle, Rachel excels at fundraising, LP relations, portfolio construction, and performance optimization. As former Managing Partner of The BFM Fund and Principal at Collab Capital, she secured strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including Visa, Microsoft, Nike, and Salesforce Ventures, while achieving 10x returns across portfolio companies.

Rachel specializes in building operational infrastructure that reduces manual processes while enhancing data quality and reporting capabilities. She holds an MS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a BA in Managerial Economics from Agnes Scott College. Rachel serves on the board of Black Women in Venture Capital and as Committee Chair for Inclusive Capital Counsel at Living Cities.

Connor Winn joined Sovereign’s Capital in 2024 as a Principal, bringing a wealth of experience as both a private equity investor and an operator. In his role, Connor plays a pivotal part in sourcing, evaluating, and executing investment opportunities, while closely collaborating with Sovereign’s existing portfolio companies to drive growth and success.

Before joining Sovereign’s Capital, Connor was the Vice President of Finance at LiveSource, a premier multi-enterprise supply chain business network, now part of WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC).

Connor’s career also includes his tenure as Senior Vice President at Fulcrum Equity Partners, where he specialized in growth and buyout investments in healthcare and technology sectors. Earlier in his career, he worked at Citizens M&A Advisory, advising on mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, and capital-raising transactions across healthcare, technology, and business services industries.